An update on recent technical problems and more from the admin: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/250292/on-technical-difficulties-mod-coverage-and-other-things/p1?new=1
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What kind of bike do you ride
Pheezer
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
I just finished almost all of the upgrades I had planned for my ride. It's a piece o' crap mountain bike I inherited because my brother wasn't using it, I think he conned my dad into picking it up for two bills or so in Grand Forks, then promptly never rode it.
I replaced my brakes because both the front and rear were well past the wear line, replaced the front index cable because it was fucked and I couldn't get it adjusted to the point where I had access to all three of the front three gears (still working on this but it's oh so close to set right now), and both of my tubes and tires. I grabbed some extra shit, a gel seat cover and LED reflectors for the front and back, but who cares about that.
I just managed to get the tires installed today though, Tioga City Slickers. I had these miscellaneous knobby-ass 2" mountain bike tires that came with the bike on it, and they were okay-ish, but now I've got 1.5" road tire sex on the wheels. It is ridiculous going from one extreme to the other like that, the balance is a million times more sensitive and they're so much faster.
I'm sort of thinking about upgrading my frame though. I have no idea who made it, but it's heavier than I'd like, and not so cool lookin'. Hence the thread title. Show me your bikes. Tell me about the kind of beauty I could max out my credit card buying. I don't actually know anything about bikes except now I've figured out how to pretty much completely tear down and re-fit one and now I'm kind of getting addicted to the whole bike thing.
I replaced my brakes because both the front and rear were well past the wear line, replaced the front index cable because it was fucked and I couldn't get it adjusted to the point where I had access to all three of the front three gears (still working on this but it's oh so close to set right now), and both of my tubes and tires. I grabbed some extra shit, a gel seat cover and LED reflectors for the front and back, but who cares about that.
I just managed to get the tires installed today though, Tioga City Slickers. I had these miscellaneous knobby-ass 2" mountain bike tires that came with the bike on it, and they were okay-ish, but now I've got 1.5" road tire sex on the wheels. It is ridiculous going from one extreme to the other like that, the balance is a million times more sensitive and they're so much faster.
I'm sort of thinking about upgrading my frame though. I have no idea who made it, but it's heavier than I'd like, and not so cool lookin'. Hence the thread title. Show me your bikes. Tell me about the kind of beauty I could max out my credit card buying. I don't actually know anything about bikes except now I've figured out how to pretty much completely tear down and re-fit one and now I'm kind of getting addicted to the whole bike thing.
IT'S GOT ME REACHING IN MY POCKET IT'S GOT ME FORKING OVER CASH
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
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i used to ride a bmx (but i didn't actually do anything on it. i just rode around) until i fucked it up when i had my infamous accident that involved ripping open my scrotum. i haven't really ridden a bmx since then, and bikes in general i'm pretty leery about.
Thats pretty much what I've got. It did me well for five or so years of being my daily commuter while I was doing my undergrad degree. I haven't ridden it much in the last few years though.
Putting slicks on for a Mt. Bike you normally ride on the roads is a very, very, good idea, so congrats on doing that.
The frame says "Cro-moly" down the side, so I suspect it's either a chromoly frame or it's REAL shit and it's all phony advertisin' up ins.
It's got shimano gear shifters and brakes (v-style, threaded pegs). Nothing fancy though. 3x6 gears, although really, I've never needed more than the biggest one.
What are the good models for bikes? I'd be interested in a mountain bike or like a touring bike or whatever. What do people look for in those?
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
My bike is an old road Centurion Accordo I bought for $100 (I wonder if I overpaid?) going into college. I've put the thickest tires (armadillos) on it since because I kept getting flats from all the potholes.
I really want to get into cycling but am kind of apathetic with my current bike. It shifts pretty hard and isn't the most comfortable for longer rides. I'm trying to save up about $1000 for a moderately good road bike, but that's not happening as quickly as I need.
I try not to spend too much on bikes because they're so easily stealable. If you're going to trick yours out with neat stuff, honestly, make sure you can store it inside where you are at and where you are going. Even though my last workplace had a bikerack, I always wheeled it to the back.
BUT if you have to lock it up outside somewhere, get a chain that's long enough to loop through both the tires AND the body. I saw so many bikes on said bike rack that had their front tire taken off because people just chained the body and back tire and called it a day. or the opposite, i'd see a front tire attached to a chain and no bike.
Unfortunately it died after I torqued the front gear and it got warped. Commence random changing of gears. I just set it outside and let someone steal it.
Got a Mongoose. It's worked fine.
I want to move up to a touring bike someday, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to swing the money for that.
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
How do they compare in price to strict road bikes? I don't imagine maintenance/performance would be substantially different providing you have the right tires on?
Exam time coming, so probably won't be making any big excursions over the next few weeks. Though I may send off some more questions once I figure out a little bit more about what I'm going to be buying.
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
So what bikes/brand can I start off with without breaking the bank?
*twitch*
Sorry but that's one of my pet hates. For all Intents And Purposes. Intensive purposes doesn't make any damn sense.
Anyway, at the moment I have a Trek 6700 with RockShox Judys and a mixed Deore/LX groupset. I haven't ridden it in too damn long, though. It tends to just sit there in my Mag trainer. I have a suspicion that the shock oil has gone bad, and I really need to get around to removing the boots on the forks anyway. Hopefully this summer will actually motivate me to get around to doing a proper rebuild and getting out and about again.
I'm also thinking (since I'm going to be pulling off the forks anyway) of switching to a shorter stem and riser bars, rather than the very XC-focussed set up I have just now. Should make life a little easier on tight singletrack.
My baby:
Outdated by half a decade, and lots of the components have been replaced, but I payed next to nothing for it and it's served me well.
Turner, is that last bike in your first post a Bianchi MUSS? Looks purdy.
Edit: No, wait, the MUSS is single speed. I can't quite tell what that one is.
Edit 2: Better picture.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Do you mean the elaborate system of straps or the SPD kind? I use clip in pedals because they're good for pedalling efficiency. Once you get used to them you can clip in and out without even thinking about it.
Oh, and Veegeezee, Klein Attitudes are never out of date. It's one of the classics of frame design.
Straps, I'm with you.
SPD's (which I think you are talking about, cleats on your shoe clip into the pedal) are vital if you are doing a decent amount of cycling, especially in various weather. Aside from the fact that you increase the pressure you can put on the pedal (ie pull up as well as push down), they are necessary for wet weather etc when you can easily slip off.
Also, give it a couple of weeks and you won't have any problem falling over. If you do, they are too tight and you need to loosen the springs - this may have been the problem with your friend's bike, as being used to SPD's he will have had them set tighter than a beginner should.
I'm very surprised that nobody here uses Specialised at all. Are they purely a Euro company? They pretty much dominate the market in the UK, and I've never had a problem with their stuff.
My Steed
Specialized Langster
Good review focusing on fixed-gear
Single-speed pared down road bike, only cost £400. Initially swapped out: stock tyres for Armadillos (kevlar kinda necessary for London roads), pedals for Shimano SPD's. In the last 6 months rebuilt the wheels on the stock hubs (crash bent front wheel into an S-shape, whiplash was fun), and added new Shimano brakes, forget which model. Kept everything else the same.
Great points:
Flip-flop hub. Fixed-gear on one side, freewheel on the other. I can use the freewheel when I have to work or during the week to get around town, then it just takes a few minutes to set up the fixed-gear if I want to use it on weekends or on a whim.
Weight. I can literally lift it up on one finger. Aluminium frame which nonetheless has withstood the odd collision (pretty hard ones too) without a single dint. Allegedly it comes in at 21 pounds, but it feels to me like 10, and I've still got the brakes etc on. Perhaps this is heavy for a track bike, but for outside it's pretty damn good.
Durability. It's sturdy as hell. My bike gets some serious abuse (a lot of running over kerbs etc) and is regularly used on all sorts of tracks, mud slicks and so on where road bikes fear to tread. Over this winter, it's also had to live outside, since I have no space inside to keep it - this has simply meant I had to replace the chain twice in 6 months. Considering all this, it's had almost no problems; also, in the one serious accident I've had (learner driver turns into me without signalling, front wheel straight into bonnet at about 15-20mph), it performed admirably and suffered little damage; the wheels took all of the impact, I came out of the pedals nicely, nothing castrated me on the way out, took a little flying lesson and all good. Rebuild wheels, week off for whiplash, no further problems.
Weak point:
The standard chainring and bottom bracket have issues. The bottom bracket is just noisy, I've had several issues with clicking and so on which nobody has quite managed to sort out; it hasn't done any damage, but often it just sounds wrong. The stock chainring wore quite fast too, I'm going to have to replace it soon. Bear in mind, however, that at times I've been doing 250-350 miles a week standard, in all weather, over both rough ground and dirty ground. Considering this, I think it's stood up extraordinarily well with little need for maintainance.
Finally the standard brakes could be better, but if you are going to use the bike as a fixie, you'll be tossing those anyway.
Highly recommended as a good road bike for commuters, especially as a first bike, or a fun and comparatively cheap bit of kit for those with thousands of pounds in their racing stable.
Specialised are a US company, but I don't know how well they do over there. When I was buying my bike, the choice came down to the Trek 6700 that I got, a Gary Fisher (Hoo Koo E Koo, I think) or a Specialised Rockhopper. In the end I was swung by the fact that the Trek (which was the previous years model, so was discounted to within my price range) had a better base spec.
Plus, nothing like hauling ~50 extra kilos (chariot + 4-year-old + 2-year-old) and a load of drag behind you to get a great workout. Going uphill sucks like nothing else.
Because of the Flip-Flop hub. It'll work either as a fixed gear or a freewheel.
The Bianchi Volpe
http://www.bianchiusa.com/06_volpe.html
Light weight, mean acceleration and awesome shifting. It has the off-road durability of my old Trek 7200 and the light weight to compete with other road bikes. I also have the option to load this baby up with 100 lbs. of gear and go camping on weekends. It is divine.
I use it mostly for commuting to work, but when I take it for a spin on the weekends I go zoooooom! Unfortunately it's in the shop right now. The chain was skipping and one day lodged itself between the smallest cassette and rear derailleur. One strong downstroke of the pedal decapitated the derailleur and snapped the chain. =(
Moral of the story: don't mess with skipping chains, get them fixed fast.
Edit: Yes there's tiger print on the seat. The bike was designed by a guy for guys. Crazy Italians.
Heres what happened:
The trail I was riding (Sammamish River Trail, for you WA residents) crosses an intersection. Traffic was flowing my way. There was a car at the intersection, which looked like it wanted to turn right on red. It inched forward, then stopped. I saw traffic coming, and assumed that he wouldn't pull out. He did. I rode straight in to the side of his car.
I ended up getting a few minor bruises and scrapes. The front fork on my bike is toast, but I think thats the only major damage. I'll try to get some pics up later tonight, once I get home.
Unfortunatly, I was so shaken up, I neglected to get this guys number, so I can't charge him for repairs. I'll probably end up hitting up Recycled Cycles (they sell used bike parts for cheap) in the U-district for a new fork.
http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1432000&f=6
The Bianchi just happened to be $300 cheaper.
The only modification I made to it was installing a master link on the chain for easy cleaning. I also liked the V-brakes for the quick release on the Bianchi when I'm packing the bike into a car.
Edit: Just to note, the rear derailleur is a Shimano Deore that's usually found on mountain bikes. The manufacturer installed it on these touring bikes so you have a wider range of gears when pedaling uphill with a full load. It's a nice bonus on either the Volpe or 520.
As Japan said, you can (and I do) switch it from freewheel to fixed-gear just by taking the rear wheel off and turning it around.
I would go totally fixed-gear, except that a) the area of London where I live happens to have a lot of quite steep hills, and going down them on a fixie is a Bad Thing, and b) I work part-time as a messenger, and when you are on a bike for 10 hours a day, it makes life more fun to be able to freewheel.
Some messengers get a bit elitist and regard fixies as the only way to ride, but not as many actually do so as they would have you believe. Also: they're mental.
Yeah, the messengers I know swear fixed gear is the only way to be a true biker, but that no one but messengers should ride them because we don't deserve them.
Hills aren't a problem where I live though, so that could be why there's so many.
I'd agree if I could find a disc caliper compatible with the 22mm Hayes mount. I made the mistake of buying a set of brakes thinking I could mount them with an adapter, but there's not enough room between the chainstay and the seatstay for a caliper and an adapter. It's a difference of mere millimeters. I don't have a problem with rim brakes, though - good rationale for buying another bike if nothing else. :P
I think Hayes still make calipers to fit a 22mm mount, though their website seems to be unclear on the subject. Could be worth asking at a decent bike shop, or emailing Hayes.