Cycling bikes

seriously. if i were going to spend anything about $1k on a bike i'd probably be looking at small manufacturers who measure you and build bike to your spec. probably a ti frame. i also wouldn't worry about getting a super light bike unless you're going to be actively competing. for commuting i'm more interested in something built like a fucking tank that's easy to maintain (ie riding my 35 yr old steel frame converted to single speed). 

keep the tires inflated. occasionally tighten the brakes. replace the chain when it breaks ;)

  On 5/13/2018 at 3:25 PM, bendish said:

got banned from driving

back to cycling to work

so much better

except drivers are massive cunts

  On 5/14/2018 at 5:03 PM, juiceciuj said:

i also wouldn't worry about getting a super light bike unless you're going to be actively competing. for commuting i'm more interested in something built like a fucking tank that's easy to maintain (ie riding my 35 yr old steel frame converted to single speed).

Agreed, but questions to consider:

-Is there a chance you'll have to walk up and down 4 flights of stairs with the bike every day? I moved to a new apartment and its really pushing it on the weight. Jealous of yall with plush bike-parking setups.

-Or might I be interested in touring?  I considered stripping my road bike down to single speed but now having taken it on a few tours, Im glad I didnt.  Gears are amazing.

  On 5/14/2018 at 4:31 PM, Amen Warrior said:

I don't know how anyone could spend 5k on a bike and deal with the constant fear of having it nicked

This is why we can't have nice things.

I ended up finding a very cheap Pista frame set which I’ve been building throughout the week, gonna take it out tmrw to test it out. ready to cruise around looking extremely hip and cool and young as well.

just got back from a 400km excursion north to the sea and east into Poland.. was lush af, latter half without phone / map, didn’t really plan ahead and just went, and instead of going home did another two nights.. cycling is the fkn best.

tbh yea I don’t really want that expensive carbon bike, would probably be afraid to snap it in two rather than it being stolen.. my basic low/mid tier cross bike has been holding up fine so far, and I absolutely need my bike to go on roads and also do this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=AjDJ4Fy94vs

i have the perfect bike for the city, great to ride, but old and looks terrible so no chance of theft. seriously you cannot have a nice bike in glasgow, someone will just take the effort to snip it, unless you have one of those 130 quid kryptonite 20kg locks. even those arent infallible for a bike that looks like its worth thousands.

My fav

  On 5/19/2018 at 2:01 PM, phling said:

tbh yea I don’t really want that expensive carbon bike, would probably be afraid to snap it in two rather than it being stolen.. 

edit: ^sweet bridge pic 

I know when cf fails it does so catastrophically if you don't see or feel the initial stages of failure, but is it really that common of an occurrence on road bikes? shit I'm still considering getting a cf frame on my next mountain bike though that seems way more sketchy (especially when you fall as much as my dumb ass does out on the trails).

think I'll stick with getting the aluminum model and later upgrade to cf wheels and run tubeless instead

this is what I want

Nice trip, Phling. Can you stick in the picture of your fully loaded bike? Going around myself with a tent and a gas cooker next week! Hope the weather holds

  On 5/25/2018 at 1:30 PM, Godwin Austen said:

Nice trip, Phling. Can you stick in the picture of your fully loaded bike? Going around myself with a tent and a gas cooker next week! Hope the weather holds

aye! have fun duder :)

my bike fully packed is a bit shit tbqh, that rear rack is a cheap one, on that trip it actually broke down when I bumped hard into a pothole while not paying attention.. the little legs at the bottom bent inwards and into the spokes.. was fixable, but could have ended badly.. definitely need a higher quality racks.. the Ortlieb bags are very good tho! Want some for front as well..

so for the last two years i've mostly been commuting on my single speed in all weather because i'm too lazy to maintain my nicer bike (surly pacer) after rain rides and stuff and wanted to save it for long rides/workouts. i've only ridden it a few times when my ss either had a flat or some other issue i didn't immediately feel like fixing or like one or two longer rides. the seatpost got frozen in my nicer bike probably about 3 years ago now and it's frozen in a pretty uncomfortable spot. tried everything i could to get it loose. took it to a few shops and they took a whack at it but nothing. finally found a shop that's like "we'll get it out but your seatpost my be trashed and worst case scenario, your frame may be trashed too." i really hoped that wouldn't happen, but of course just got the call that he seatpost had snapped clean off inside the frame and only option is to try and find a machine shop to carefully bore it out which may compromise the frame too. so i'm probably going to end up getting cross check frame again (was my original first nice bike that got totalled in an accident).

probably about $600 i wasn't planning to spend

Found two Schwinn bikes being thrown out, Varsity and Collegiate Sport. Trying to restore one. Going to strip it down, stick some aluminum wheels on it and make it a fixed gear. Only thing I'm worried about is the lack of rim brakes if I use 700c. This would be exclusively for exercise in my neighborhood though, maybe a bike roller for bad weather.

Anyone try a copenhagen wheel or something similar? Might be useful for commuting.

  On 12/4/2018 at 7:11 PM, Ovitus said:

Found two Schwinn bikes being thrown out, Varsity and Collegiate Sport. Trying to restore one. Going to strip it down, stick some aluminum wheels on it and make it a fixed gear. Only thing I'm worried about is the lack of rim brakes if I use 700c. This would be exclusively for exercise in my neighborhood though, maybe a bike roller for bad weather.

 

Anyone try a copenhagen wheel or something similar? Might be useful for commuting.

Assuming you are going from 27" steel rims to 700c aluminum, you should still be able to find rim brakes with long enough reach to work.  The diameter is only slightly smaller.  If the current brakes dont reach, I'd recommend poking around an old "bike kitchen" or secondhand parts shop and literally try them on for size.

Mom opinion> Pls dont ride a fixie without brakes, having only one method of stopping is a danger not only to yourself but to others, and gives us bikers a bad name.

And unless youre rich, those copenhagen wheels seem expensive, and I worry about their future proof-ing.  imo kinda defeats the purpose of the 'found bike conversion'.

Also i said i'd post them earlier in the thread, but here are some random pics of my steed, mostly photographed carrying shit around town, and on a bike tour.

Plus 2 bonus pics of the "sunday bike scene" here in mexico city.  They close down a huge circuit including the main downtown avenue for bikes only.  ¡Viva la utopia!

enjoying my bike. great on the roller too. need to find a front break for safety precaution

headed out yesterday late afternoon, last few hours of winter sunshine (clear blue skies, light winds) to Windsor Great Park via the Thames from Dorney, hardly any souls about, perfect winter solitude. Though the town was real busy with Christmas tourists and shoppers, within 10 minutes in the park away from the Long Walk you could be the only person on Earth. On the way home I have to cross a M4 motorway footbridge and the sun was setting behind the spires of Eton College. Winter cycling when the weather is good can be the best time for a ride. 

I was buzzing when I got back, absolutely buzzin'

Anybody did a test-ride on these things?

https://shop.omniumcargo.dk/product/omnium-mini/

Looks like you would have to put in a bit more effort to get up to your usual riding speed. Although, I've seen curriers in SF riding a similar bike, but both wheels are the same side.

colleague of mine (full time messenger) has one of these (tho it looks  a bit longer in the front..? the one in the pic looks very short) and he likes it. haven't ridden it. The rack in the front has decent space and it's still mostly like a normal bike in terms of weight etc, I mean you probably wouldn't want to carry a Bullit up some stairs or whatever.

ah I see it's some mini version, he has the regular. imo just go for that, or put some rack thing on a normal bike instead. the mini rack there seems like neither here nor there imho...

functionality wise a forklift bike must be great. do you strap stuff onto the front of it? I thought a basket might be useful

  On 12/28/2018 at 8:13 PM, phling said:

colleague of mine (full time messenger) has one of these (tho it looks  a bit longer in the front..? the one in the pic looks very short) and he likes it. haven't ridden it. The rack in the front has decent space and it's still mostly like a normal bike in terms of weight etc, I mean you probably wouldn't want to carry a Bullit up some stairs or whatever.

 

ah I see it's some mini version, he has the regular. imo just go for that, or put some rack thing on a normal bike instead. the mini rack there seems like neither here nor there imho...

 

nah, the cargo isnt really an option, too long, no space to put, not to mention the price..and the front rack thingies are just good for something like 10kg (mini = max.125kg incl.driver)..frame kit mini is ~700€..well, that*s quite some dough. maybe i should go for their cargo rack (40€) and hope for the best. doing some catering/ bread thingies from time to time and would be nice to reduce stress levels on the delivery front. saw some foodora backpack clones on amazon..~80€..well..

biking is so great. i think i like it even more in the wintertime. last year did +8000 km