Can bicycles be stored outside? Since I have a house and don't yet have a garage I'd really like to finally get one.
Absolutely. Try to keep them out of direct sunlight and dry to minimise the effect the weather will have on them, but yeah they're fine outside.
Oh boy rip that idea then. We had something like 28 days of May with rain, and June so far is looking to be the same. I also live in one of the snowiest places.
I wonder if I can get a storage shed that will fit a bike.
Does your house not have a back verandah? Build a deck and put a verandah over it!
(or buy a garden shed)
This'll fit your bike and a bunch of other stuff in it (like your lawn mower!), and it's made of galvanised steel not vinyl.
Can bicycles be stored outside? Since I have a house and don't yet have a garage I'd really like to finally get one.
Absolutely. Try to keep them out of direct sunlight and dry to minimise the effect the weather will have on them, but yeah they're fine outside.
Oh boy rip that idea then. We had something like 28 days of May with rain, and June so far is looking to be the same. I also live in one of the snowiest places.
I wonder if I can get a storage shed that will fit a bike.
Does your house not have a back verandah? Build a deck and put a verandah over it!
(or buy a garden shed)
This'll fit your bike and a bunch of other stuff in it (like your lawn mower!), and it's made of galvanised steel not vinyl.
Yeah that's on my things to do, I need a permit to put up a shed larger than 10 cubic feet. I do like the vinyl ones better than the steel ones, though, but the price difference makes me pause because $400 is a good price.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Galvanised steel will outlast vinyl by decades. May as well buy your shed once and be done with it, and not have to worry about replacing it when it starts to fall apart.
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
I just called, and while he daid he thinks it was the right size, I caan come in to try a another size, so we'll see how that goes.
Right now it's a size 60 frame and I'm 1.77m with .83m leg, which of course I only thought of to check for after the visit to the shop.
So far I only ever bought 1 bike myself, a cheap one 10 years ago and the rest were all hand downs and such, so maybe I'm just freaking out abit over the cost of this one.
Like schuss said, they can make adjustments to make it more comfortable, and also - sometimes the purely "correct by measurement" size frame may not be the one that suits you 100%. I went with the by-the-numbers frame size for my commuter bike and I went with a frame slightly larger than my height recommends for my touring bike, and riding my touring bike feels much better for me. It's true that his name is Shucker for a reason, of course, so there is that...
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
+2
Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
If you are looking at storing the bike, how about hanging it vertically just inside the front door? It'd be cheaper than all the other solutions if that's important.
Yeah I keep my bike in the hall if possible but hanging it off the wall is also v convenient.
If you leave it outside (which in this climate I really wouldn't recommend), you'll need to do more frequent maintenance to make sure the gear-train doesn't rust out.
Went on my first long ride in a month today, only 40km but I'm done. Gonna need to get a lot fitter to get back to my optimal summer riding schedule.
I wouldn't leave it out just because it has a much higher chance of getting stolen.
I will show off my current pos bike {I hate the brakes and how it shifts} but the time in the sun did a number on the cable coverings. When I was in the corps I bought a mountain bike at the BX since I could ride it around the base since I did not feel like driving or leaving most of the time. One night my bike was stolen I was using a u lock and the cheap cable lock. the used tin snips to cut the cable and removed the front wheel the broken tin snips were left behind
I will not say more as it got very ugly for the person who took my bike
I finally got tired of wrecking trouser legs with bike grease and put a chainguard on:
It's not really centered properly, because the brackets don't quite match up with the guard itself. There was a matching bracket that came with the guard, but to fit that I need to pull the bottom bracket and put it in behind there, which is more disassembly than I want to get into, so I got 'generic' brackets which work well enough to keep the dirty stuff safely contained, at any rate.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
I finally got tired of wrecking trouser legs with bike grease and put a chainguard on:
It's not really centered properly, because the brackets don't quite match up with the guard itself. There was a matching bracket that came with the guard, but to fit that I need to pull the bottom bracket and put it in behind there, which is more disassembly than I want to get into, so I got 'generic' brackets which work well enough to keep the dirty stuff safely contained, at any rate.
That's a WAY cheaper, easier, and more sensible solution that what I would have suggested!
So it took me far too long to clean my ebike chain, and I discovered that the chain doesn't move when I pedal backwards, making cleaning tough. I generally know that fixies are a different setup, and so are single speeds regarding pedalling and actually providing backwards motion, but it never occurred to me that I couldn't even move the chain while doing this. It is just a 9 speed with a single gear set. Is this just a known thing for these bikes? Do I basically need to get a bike stand to make this easier?
I think it depends on where the motor is -- some ebikes have the motor in the hub of the front wheel, some in the hub of the back wheel, some on the bottom bracket. (and some of them have torque sensors in the BB to do pedal assist, some have a trigger/twist on the handlebars you use to pedal it, etc).
So it's very possible that you can't pedal backwards -- it might be like a coaster brake in that respect. But assuming you have one of the clamps-around-the-chain cleaners (like this sort of thing), then if you clamp it around the bottom bit of the chain instead of the top, it'll "see the chain going the other direction", if you get the idea.
That's a good point, it's a mid drive motor, and I can see it being designed so that it doesn't transfer any backwards motion to the chain, even to let it spin freely. I could get one of those cleaners, but from the videos I've seen you keep those cleaners still, and spin the chain through them, which won't work so well for me if the wheels are on the ground and preventing the chain from moving.
Oh, yeah, that's a good point -- the cleaner I have likes to have the chain move through in one direction relative to the cleaner, but if you can't turn the chain without turning the wheel as well that's a bit awkward. (what bike did you end up with?)
One option is to clean a section of chain, lift back wheel up and pedal a bit, then clean the next section, repeat a few times -- it's a pain but it'll work. Or if you can remove the chain (with a chain tool / sometimes they have a special easy-break link) that would work.
Or you could just turn the whole bike upside-down.
(edit: or if you have a rear derailleur, then shift into the smallest gear and, now, if you pull the derailleur towards the front of the bike it should give enough slack for you to take the chain off the front gear, and then you'll have an easier time of cleaning it. This is the make-your-hands-dirty-est approach, though)
Yeah, I have a specialized comp 2.0, and it's 50 pounds so I haven't wanted to turn it upside down. For now I suppose I'll just do the cleaning with intermittent wheel turning as you said, I'd rather not get so dirty with taking off the chain.
I just found a 2003 Kona Stinky frame with rear shock (that's probably shot) for $30 on craigslist.
That's probably a solid start to a DH project right?
Ehhhhh, bikes have come a loooooonnnngggg way since then and good luck finding parts for it.
I thought this (was chatting to Doodmann about it) but I've kind of come around on it.
It's up to date enough that more recent kit will still fit it, but is probably not going to command high second hand prices because it won't fit a more modern frame (for example, I wouldn't expect to see a vibrant second hand market in non-tapered steerer mid-long travel forks, but they unquestionably exist and are out there on eBay and the like). Plus the fact that newer stuff is generally better (lighter, stiffer, stronger) means that even lower end kit is probably as good as or better than the parts originally specced.
I think the only real sticking point would be a sufficiently robust rear hub, given it would need to be 9mm QR, but I also think you can get away with a lot on a decent quality traditional adjustable bearing hub, especially if it's a 48H, and there are still options like Halo Spin Doctors available (which is sold as a trail hub, but is probably as robust as some DH hubs of the same vintage as that frame).
japan on
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
If I had a bunch of spare money and time I'd like to build a custom e-bike.
Motor in the rear hub, or the front hub, or the bottom bracket?
The other thing is the stinky was never that great a DH bike.
I'd also mention that if you aren't ok breaking a component every time out, you may want to stay away from DH. It's not a cheap discipline
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
The other thing is the stinky was never that great a DH bike.
I'd also mention that if you aren't ok breaking a component every time out, you may want to stay away from DH. It's not a cheap discipline
The other thing is the stinky was never that great a DH bike.
I'd also mention that if you aren't ok breaking a component every time out, you may want to stay away from DH. It's not a cheap discipline
Downhill is probably hyperbole for what I'll be doing. It's going to be closer to a comfy/faster trail rider than a true downhill bike. Hell, I had an old rental Rocky Mountain Element (XC) before and thought it was plenty good for my needs. The bar is set pretty low here.
Brand new Fox 34 float-e for $400 but it's a 1.5 tapper. *flips table*
Right now I'm looking at a Specialized Enduro, a Rocky Mountain Slayer, and a Stinky.
But I'm also going to look at an old Rockshox Boxxer Downhill Suspension on my lunch break.
The other thing is the stinky was never that great a DH bike.
I'd also mention that if you aren't ok breaking a component every time out, you may want to stay away from DH. It's not a cheap discipline
Downhill is probably hyperbole for what I'll be doing. It's going to be closer to a comfy/faster trail rider than a true downhill bike. Hell, I had an old rental Rocky Mountain Element (XC) before and thought it was plenty good for my needs. The bar is set pretty low here.
Then look at Enduro/longer travel trail bikes. DH bikes are not designed to be pedaled up things.
+2
Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Yeah I think they're commonly called "freeride" bikes? Like a cross-country bike but with like 6 inches of travel instead of 4.
I realized what I am looking for (and what the stinky is) is an All Mountain bike. There are a couple different names but it's between an Enduro and a DH.
Anyway, bike update!
Frame: $30
Fork: $150
Parts bike (stem, handlebars, brakes, shifters maybe a wheel or two): $100
Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Boxxers were great mid-range forks back in the day, as long as they're still working right you should be able to attack some pretty big trails. What's that rear shock on the Stinky?
Boxxers were great mid-range forks back in the day, as long as they're still working right you should be able to attack some pretty big trails. What's that rear shock on the Stinky?
Stock I'm pretty sure.
I will likely have to replace it immediately after getting the rest of the bike setup.
At this point I'm most worried about trying to find a 26" thru-axle front wheel.
Depending on how ambitious you want to get, you could build one. As long as you can find a suitable hub and a suitable rim (possibly already attached to wheels).
There are plans online somewhere for building a wheelbuilding jig out of plywood.
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
In pursuit of getting my left commuter pedal to stop clicking I have dismantled them. They are cheap pedals (because it's my commuter so it gets left outside at work and is ideally not-super-appealing-to-steal) and they are so far 500x more of a PITA to take apart to get at the ball bearings than my Spikes. At this point I'm like okay I guess I'm investing in a full socket set but ALSO maybe I should just buy new freaking pedals and call it a day?? bahhhh
Also when me and Shucker (my Surly) arrived in Spain I whoopsed one of the disc brake pads right off its little cradle thing so that was a 30-minute "guess I'm learning how to do this now" project
Bikes! They're the best!
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
At this point I'm most worried about trying to find a 26" thru-axle front wheel.
Depending on how ambitious you want to get, you could build one. As long as you can find a suitable hub and a suitable rim (possibly already attached to wheels).
There are plans online somewhere for building a wheelbuilding jig out of plywood.
Don't do this. You need to buy a proper wheel trying stand and master the art of wheel truing, which is rarely needed. You'll spend more on parts and the stand than for a nice 26 wheel.
I've taught a handful of people how to build and true wheels at community bike shops over the years; it's a fun project that bike nerds often really enjoy so I wouldn't totally discourage someone from going that route. I'd agree it doesn't' make economical sense, but if there is any kind of bike enthusiast community around it's often possible to get a mentor or borrow tools to learn stuff. The last shop I volunteered at even had a spoke threading machine so we made a few whacky wheels for folks for all kinds of dumb and fun projects.
In pursuit of getting my left commuter pedal to stop clicking I have dismantled them. They are cheap pedals (because it's my commuter so it gets left outside at work and is ideally not-super-appealing-to-steal) and they are so far 500x more of a PITA to take apart to get at the ball bearings than my Spikes. At this point I'm like okay I guess I'm investing in a full socket set but ALSO maybe I should just buy new freaking pedals and call it a day?? bahhhh
Also when me and Shucker (my Surly) arrived in Spain I whoopsed one of the disc brake pads right off its little cradle thing so that was a 30-minute "guess I'm learning how to do this now" project
Bikes! They're the best!
I'm at least four months overdue on a strip-down and clean (not to mention one of my brake hoods is twisted about 45 degrees off true). And I actually enjoy doing that stuff, I just can't seem to justify the time to myself.
I feel like an idiot as I will climb billboards and under bridges I will store my bike when I go out rather than use the questionable bike rack
I had a cheap mongoose bike with extremely nonexistent brakes
They looked like this
I know how to ditch a bike while in motion sadly so rather than use the bikes I would force the bike to wipe out to stop {it seemed safer than pressing the leveler and getting nothing}
So I the week before I got fired bought a new bike and it's a world of difference to have brakes Still because of the heat I have not used it that much since {in the 30 days since I have ridden my bike 12 of the days} Still I feel I am going to do a grocery run tomorrow just to test out the bike since I could do it with just braking trouble before
Posts
Does your house not have a back verandah? Build a deck and put a verandah over it!
(or buy a garden shed)
This'll fit your bike and a bunch of other stuff in it (like your lawn mower!), and it's made of galvanised steel not vinyl.
Yeah that's on my things to do, I need a permit to put up a shed larger than 10 cubic feet. I do like the vinyl ones better than the steel ones, though, but the price difference makes me pause because $400 is a good price.
Like schuss said, they can make adjustments to make it more comfortable, and also - sometimes the purely "correct by measurement" size frame may not be the one that suits you 100%. I went with the by-the-numbers frame size for my commuter bike and I went with a frame slightly larger than my height recommends for my touring bike, and riding my touring bike feels much better for me. It's true that his name is Shucker for a reason, of course, so there is that...
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Satans..... hints.....
If you leave it outside (which in this climate I really wouldn't recommend), you'll need to do more frequent maintenance to make sure the gear-train doesn't rust out.
Went on my first long ride in a month today, only 40km but I'm done. Gonna need to get a lot fitter to get back to my optimal summer riding schedule.
I will show off my current pos bike {I hate the brakes and how it shifts} but the time in the sun did a number on the cable coverings. When I was in the corps I bought a mountain bike at the BX since I could ride it around the base since I did not feel like driving or leaving most of the time. One night my bike was stolen I was using a u lock and the cheap cable lock. the used tin snips to cut the cable and removed the front wheel the broken tin snips were left behind
I will not say more as it got very ugly for the person who took my bike
It's not really centered properly, because the brackets don't quite match up with the guard itself. There was a matching bracket that came with the guard, but to fit that I need to pull the bottom bracket and put it in behind there, which is more disassembly than I want to get into, so I got 'generic' brackets which work well enough to keep the dirty stuff safely contained, at any rate.
That's a WAY cheaper, easier, and more sensible solution that what I would have suggested!
That's probably a solid start to a DH project right?
So it's very possible that you can't pedal backwards -- it might be like a coaster brake in that respect. But assuming you have one of the clamps-around-the-chain cleaners (like this sort of thing), then if you clamp it around the bottom bit of the chain instead of the top, it'll "see the chain going the other direction", if you get the idea.
One option is to clean a section of chain, lift back wheel up and pedal a bit, then clean the next section, repeat a few times -- it's a pain but it'll work. Or if you can remove the chain (with a chain tool / sometimes they have a special easy-break link) that would work.
Or you could just turn the whole bike upside-down.
(edit: or if you have a rear derailleur, then shift into the smallest gear and, now, if you pull the derailleur towards the front of the bike it should give enough slack for you to take the chain off the front gear, and then you'll have an easier time of cleaning it. This is the make-your-hands-dirty-est approach, though)
Ehhhhh, bikes have come a loooooonnnngggg way since then and good luck finding parts for it.
I thought this (was chatting to Doodmann about it) but I've kind of come around on it.
It's up to date enough that more recent kit will still fit it, but is probably not going to command high second hand prices because it won't fit a more modern frame (for example, I wouldn't expect to see a vibrant second hand market in non-tapered steerer mid-long travel forks, but they unquestionably exist and are out there on eBay and the like). Plus the fact that newer stuff is generally better (lighter, stiffer, stronger) means that even lower end kit is probably as good as or better than the parts originally specced.
I think the only real sticking point would be a sufficiently robust rear hub, given it would need to be 9mm QR, but I also think you can get away with a lot on a decent quality traditional adjustable bearing hub, especially if it's a 48H, and there are still options like Halo Spin Doctors available (which is sold as a trail hub, but is probably as robust as some DH hubs of the same vintage as that frame).
Motor in the rear hub, or the front hub, or the bottom bracket?
No.
All three.
I'd also mention that if you aren't ok breaking a component every time out, you may want to stay away from DH. It's not a cheap discipline
Pshaw, just ride gently and never crash.
Downhill is probably hyperbole for what I'll be doing. It's going to be closer to a comfy/faster trail rider than a true downhill bike. Hell, I had an old rental Rocky Mountain Element (XC) before and thought it was plenty good for my needs. The bar is set pretty low here.
Brand new Fox 34 float-e for $400 but it's a 1.5 tapper. *flips table*
Right now I'm looking at a Specialized Enduro, a Rocky Mountain Slayer, and a Stinky.
But I'm also going to look at an old Rockshox Boxxer Downhill Suspension on my lunch break.
I love craigslist shopping.
Then look at Enduro/longer travel trail bikes. DH bikes are not designed to be pedaled up things.
Anyway, bike update!
Frame: $30
Fork: $150
Parts bike (stem, handlebars, brakes, shifters maybe a wheel or two): $100
Goal is to keep it under 500 all said and done
Stock I'm pretty sure.
I will likely have to replace it immediately after getting the rest of the bike setup.
Yep, this is usually the problem with the older stuff.
Depending on how ambitious you want to get, you could build one. As long as you can find a suitable hub and a suitable rim (possibly already attached to wheels).
There are plans online somewhere for building a wheelbuilding jig out of plywood.
Also when me and Shucker (my Surly) arrived in Spain I whoopsed one of the disc brake pads right off its little cradle thing so that was a 30-minute "guess I'm learning how to do this now" project
Bikes! They're the best!
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Don't do this. You need to buy a proper wheel trying stand and master the art of wheel truing, which is rarely needed. You'll spend more on parts and the stand than for a nice 26 wheel.
I'm at least four months overdue on a strip-down and clean (not to mention one of my brake hoods is twisted about 45 degrees off true). And I actually enjoy doing that stuff, I just can't seem to justify the time to myself.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I had a cheap mongoose bike with extremely nonexistent brakes
They looked like this
I know how to ditch a bike while in motion sadly so rather than use the bikes I would force the bike to wipe out to stop {it seemed safer than pressing the leveler and getting nothing}
So I the week before I got fired bought a new bike and it's a world of difference to have brakes Still because of the heat I have not used it that much since {in the 30 days since I have ridden my bike 12 of the days} Still I feel I am going to do a grocery run tomorrow just to test out the bike since I could do it with just braking trouble before