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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Bicycle Thread

How much difference is a super good mountain bike that would be good for trails as well as urban riding compared to a mid quality brand such as Giant for a casual rider who will be relying on his bike much more for transportation in the coming months?

Is it worth the increased price tag? Reason I ask is once I move, the only time I will drive my car is to and from work. Everything else is walking or biking distance.
 
There are very few differences that a normal person or for that matter even really experienced people notice. Part of it is prestige and consumerism.

The factory where Giants are built builds bikes for most of teh big brands as well, that is why giants are a relatively good bargain.

Rememebr they all buy the parts from the same 2-3 suppliers, pick the bike on price, colour and if you like the dealer.

For commuting, get a 2 good locks (1 u lock and one chain/cable).



michaelskis said:
How much difference is a super good mountain bike that would be good for trails as well as urban riding compared to a mid quality brand such as Giant for a casual rider who will be relying on his bike much more for transportation in the coming months?

Is it worth the increased price tag? Reason I ask is once I move, the only time I will drive my car is to and from work. Everything else is walking or biking distance.
Click to expand...
 
donk said:
There are very few differences that a normal person or for that matter even really experienced people notice. Part of it is prestige and consumerism.

The factory where Giants are built builds bikes for most of teh big brands as well, that is why giants are a relatively good bargain.

Rememebr they all buy the parts from the same 2-3 suppliers, pick the bike on price, colour and if you like the dealer.

For commuting, get a 2 good locks (1 u lock and one chain/cable).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Looks like I will just keep what I have.

I bought a Giant Ricon SE several years ago (2001 or 2002), and I have been pondering up grading. But I don't ride in races or anything and I think that overall I am happy with the performance of the bike.

I do think that I might upgrade the seat... and by the sounds of it get a second lock.
 
I agree with Donc on this one. :h: Giant is a perfectly reliable bike manufacturer and you very well might end up with something less reliable by going upscale because all those bells and whistles means there's a lot more to go wrong.

If you're itchin to spend money though I'd focus more on things specifically for utility biking. The most essential is fenders. When I started utility cycling I got fenders right after ruining a pair of paints and a shirt with the 'ole mud streak after a light rain. A rack is also very nice to have, and maybe pannier bags. Lights too. And maybe handle-bar end mirrors. You can easily spend several hundred dollars just on this stuff.
 
Your bike is not that old, if you don't ride much, just clean the bike up, take it in for an overhaul (maybe $100) and ride it. New grips and a new saddle work wonders on making a bike ride better.

I am riding bikes that are 8, 9 and 19 years old. They get new parts when needed and overhauls annually and ride perfectly fine.





michaelskis said:
Thanks for the advice. Looks like I will just keep what I have.

I bought a Giant Ricon SE several years ago (2001 or 2002), and I have been pondering up grading. But I don't ride in races or anything and I think that overall I am happy with the performance of the bike.

I do think that I might upgrade the seat... and by the sounds of it get a second lock.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, 2 years is not old. I'm still riding my 1996 Trek 970. It's wonderful. Quality cro-moly is great and very forgiving.
 
jordanb said:
If you're itchin to spend money though I'd focus more on things specifically for utility biking. The most essential is fenders. When I started utility cycling I got fenders right after ruining a pair of paints and a shirt with the 'ole mud streak after a light rain. A rack is also very nice to have, and maybe pannier bags. Lights too. And maybe handle-bar end mirrors. You can easily spend several hundred dollars just on this stuff.
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What about a wind shield and bug deflectors? (just kidding)

I might look into fenders... I too have been soaked a time or two.
 
donk said:
A bit more digging and I may have found the canadian importer for kronan.

They appear to be $400USD and about 15 minutes from my house

http://snoform.com/index.php?cPath=83
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There is a little disclaimer on the site that says Kronans are not currently available for sale North America. The worksman bike looks like it could be ideal for Mrs. Tranplanner. After this morning's illegal transit strike, we will definitely be getting her her own bike soon!
 
Tranplanner said:
There is a little disclaimer on the site that says Kronans are not currently available for sale North America. The worksman bike looks like it could be ideal for Mrs. Tranplanner. After this morning's illegal transit strike, we will definitely be getting her her own bike soon!
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I see enough of them around town, that I think they might be importing them, but probably have some legal issues due to safety standards, so say they are not available.
 
Anyone following the Dauphine??

On cycling.tv right now <----Best website ever. Confirmed.
 
Jeff said:
Anyone following the Dauphine??

On cycling.tv right now <----Best website ever. Confirmed.
Click to expand...

Yes, 2 canadians and 1 "polish" rider are doing very well.

This is one of the few positive things of where I work, their are a tonne of race fans who know alot about the sport, even though most are lance fans.
 
My race on Saturday, a Cat 3 event, was just combined w/ the P/1/2/3. Do you have any idea what this means?

The P/1/2/3 in Philly, the day before the pro race....

This is gonna hurt so freaking bad.
 
Those are time trial races, right? I know what the CAT scale means but vaguely remember P/1/2/3. Are you doing this on street or is there a velodome? Either way I know I lack the endurance for a CAT .25. Good luck!
 
I officially did more laps of the course in my warmup, than I raced today. I got my azz handed to me by the Navigators and some TIAA Creff mofos...

2 laps, off the back.
 
Utility cycling...

I've been trying to use my bike instead of the car for short trips around the city. I have a mid-80s steel road bike with a rear rack and panniers that works well for small trips to the grocery store, six-pack runs, visiting friends, and the like. However, I can easily overload the frame/rack when filling it with groceries, and it doesn't provide quite enough space for bulky stuff (like for runs to the recycling center).

Any of you cyclists out there have a preferred way to haul loads on a bike? Right now I'm considering a small trailer or an xtracycle kit. The xtracycle is intriguing - it's a frame attachment that shifts the rear wheel of a bike back to provide rack space for large loads, a seat for a passenger, etc. Unfortunately (fortunately? ;-) ) I'd probably have to find a different bike to attach it to... the roadie just seems too flexy.

Thanks!
 
^^^Those kid trailers can haul alot of junk...I just use my messenger bag though for most trips.

I have an XL Timbuk2 bag and I've never not been able to cram everything I've needed into it....there are even bigger ones out there too.
 
Question

Last night while riding, a car was turning in front of me and i gave the window a knock with my knuckle to let them know i was there, no damage to the car. Thought nothing of it, it has happened to me and I've seen lots of people do it. The guy ended up chasing me down and threatening me and wanting to fight. i stayed relatively cool and just repeated that he did not appear to see me and three others and that i was just defining my space. Told him to cool it and pulled my cell and said that if he wanted me to stop i would, but I was calling 911 to report him. i ended up blowing my whistle right into his wife's ear to ask if they would have preferred that. I know that was a bit over the top, but seemed like teh thing to do then

Did I do anything wrong, or was he over reacting?
 
donk said:
Question

Last night while riding, a car was turning in front of me and i gave the window a knock with my knuckle to let them know i was there, no damage to the car. Thought nothing of it, it has happened to me and I've seen lots of people do it. The guy ended up chasing me down and threatening me and wanting to fight. i stayed relatively cool and just repeated that he did not appear to see me and three others and that i was just defining my space. Told him to cool it and pulled my cell and said that if he wanted me to stop i would, but I was calling 911 to report him. i ended up blowing my whistle right into his wife's ear to ask if they would have preferred that. I know that was a bit over the top, but seemed like teh thing to do then

Did I do anything wrong, or was he over reacting?
Click to expand...

He was exhibiting the typical behavior of the Homo sapiens motorus. (Motor Man)EVERYTHING revolves around HIM. Anything that delays or annoys or causes any pasuse in their God-Given RIGHT TO DRIVE is evil-probably communistic or even Satanic.

At least he wasn't driving a ridiculous bubba Dualie pickup, which along with an open can of "Bud" or "Coors" is the vehicle of choice out here in the less yuppified reaches of Northern California. :-@ :-@

To answer your question-you were well within your rights. Your calmness in the face of enraged assholedom is admirable.
 
I've maced peeps for less than that. Fvck em.

I've gotten hit 3x now, I dont think twice about smacking a car or waving in the window anymore.
 
Got a flat yesterday on my beater bike. Had to walk to meet a friend, then walk to a bike shop. Fortunately the shop was cool and has tire levers and a pump for people to borrow.

Damn staples.
 
Class-Based Snobbery Confession

I was going to create a new thread for this, but because it is directly, 100% related to cycling:

I HATE THE BUBBA CULTURE AND THEIR g&^%$# d*&*&&*** GIGANTIC MOTORIZED TOYS OF DESTRUCTION!!!!!!!!

God, I hate riding on some roads out here, because Bud-Drinking Bubba and his Bubbettes have to careen down the damn roads in their immense Ford F350 Dualies towing their damn gigantic power speed boats with flames painted on the side and the damn gigantic rocket exhaust pipes. Why do some people never mature beyond the high school level? SLOW DOWN, IDIOTS. That montser truck is not meant to be driven at 45 miles per hour down a winding canyon road. Especially when drunk on a twelve pack of bad American beer! :-@
 
Last weekend I went riding at about 10:00am, late for me. It was 90-95 outside and I was a big salty popsicle for thousand's of gnat's. :) I also rode through a massive swarm of bee's. You definately want to have bike short's on when that happen's! - no stings.
 
Tour de France Shake-Up

So it sounds like heads are rolling as a result of a doping investigation in Spain... several high-profile riders including favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso have been banned from this year's race, which starts tomorrow.

I find it very surprising that the teams took this drastic step. Perhaps attitudes about doping in the pro cycling world really are changing.
 
Incredible! There must be some evidence that they haven't released yet for people such as Basso and Ullrich to get the boot. Is no one clean? And as Bob Roll said, why is it cycling does more than any other sport to get clean, and yet cycling gets the worst rap of any sport?

Here's hoping for an American podium this year. Go Floyd and Levi!
 
The Irish One said:
Last weekend I went riding at about 10:00am, late for me. It was 90-95 outside and I was a big salty popsicle for thousand's of gnat's. :) I also rode through a massive swarm of bee's. You definately want to have bike short's on when that happen's! - no stings.
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What I hate are when the bees get down into the front of the jersey. Or in the helmet ventilation holes. :-c
 
Stupid Cyclist Tricks, Version 10,001

Why, oh why do I use no common sense on riding days with food?

I'm already feeling lethargic this weekend. Oh boy! Let's ride 70 miles! In the 90 degree heat. With nobody else to break the headwinds.

Let's stop at a coffee shop and drink a big gulp sized Iced Mocha. Let's feel the damn 24 ounces of milk sour and gurgle in the already questionable stomach for the remainder of the 70 mile ride. As the temperature continues to escalate to 95 degrees. Smart Boy! :-@ :-$
 
BKM said:
With nobody else to break the headwinds.
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or worse yet, head the breakwinds.

Sorry, I just got done watching a 3 day Beavis & Butthead marathon :-$ .
 
BKM said:
Or in the helmet ventilation holes. :-c
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After 10+ years of riding, had this happen for the first time last Tuesday. Never even realized what a common occurence it was until it happened.
 
Maister said:
or worse yet, head the breakwinds.

Sorry, I just got done watching a 3 day Beavis & Butthead marathon :-$ .
Click to expand...

For 72 hours straught, with no breaks except for the commercial? You are a mighty television warrior, Maister. I bow down before you?
:p :D
 
BKM said:
For 72 hours straught, with no breaks except for the commercial? You are a mighty television warrior, Maister. I bow down before you?
:p :D
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Okay, I didn't really. I just needed some kinda pretext for engaging in juvenile behavior.


five....four....three.....two....
 
Jeff said:
After 10+ years of riding, had this happen for the first time last Tuesday. Never even realized what a common occurence it was until it happened.
Click to expand...

Wasps and hornets are worse, they sting you over and over agian.

My trip was to go to our road nats, here is a picture of the next winner of the vuelta.

ryder.jpg
 
My new bicycle

I thought I'd post pictures of my new bicycle. This is to replace the Bianchi aluminum can that I sold at a substantial loss. Interestingly this whole project didn't cost much more than what I got for the Bianchi.

I rooted through the Working Bikes warehouse for hours to find this, and then had to climb into a pile of bikes and yank it out. But isn't she a beaut?

1975 Schwinn Suburbian, which is a Continential with cruiser features (north road bars and springed seat, basically, the latter of which isn't shown because I took it off to put it on my racer).

p0001.600x600.jpg


Here's what I did to it:

  1. Painting: I removed all the components then stripped off the old paint down to the bare metal. I put two coats of rustoleum primer and then two coats of high gloss enamel. This is at the recommendation of the guy at the paint shop, and the job seems way more durable than any other home paint job I've seen, although it's still significantly softer than a powdercoat. Total cost: $40
  2. Saddle: Picked up a Brooks B66 from a friend. I had to also get a new seatpost. Cost: $35
  3. Rear Wheel: I picked up a SRAM P5 5-speed planetary gear hub with drum brake for $70 with shifter. It had some parts missing but I got SRAM to send them to me for free. I bought the spokes new but rebuilt it using the old rims (Weight Wusses: I rode steel rims to Milwaukee and back so you can shove your "alloy" crap up your ass) after cleaning all the rust and that off of them.
  4. Front Wheel: I bought a new Sturmey Archer X-FDD dynamo/drum brake hub. Other than assorted parts like spokes and cables, This is the only thing I bought new. Cost: $80. Also, because I have drums in both hubs I have no rim brakes. I don't even notice rain. :h:
  5. Lights: Ok, this is probably the coolest part. I picked up an old motorcycle headlight and pulled out the old bulb. I built a circult that powers five super bright green LEDs in the front and two red in the back. The thing is powered while I'm riding by the dynamo in the front hub. When I'm not riding it's powered by a 9 volt battery. The battery is taped under the rear rack with the rear lights (which use shells for pen flashlights as housing) and the circutry to rectify and limit the dynamo output is mounted to the same protoboard as the headlamp LEDs in the front case. The cost of this was something like $45, with most of the cost in the LEDs.
  6. Racks: I already have the front rack, I had to buy the back rack for $40 (oopse, something else I bought new), but it's very sturdy.
  7. Tires: Yeah, another new purchase. :-$ Maybe I should edit that. I hate getting flats so I bought Schwable Marathon HS tires for it. $70, but well worth it if it means I don't have to push it to a train station and leave it there all day and end up being late to work.

And here it is now:
(Gallery with big pictures here: http://neighborhoods.chicago.il.us/a/Bicycles/)
p0002.600x600.jpg

p0003.600x600.jpg

Front Hub:
p0004.600x600.jpg

Rear Wheel:
p0005.600x600.jpg

p0006.600x600.jpg

p0007.600x600.jpg


I tried to show off the lamps. It's hard to do with a camera.

Taken at night in my apartment with the lights off. This is standing over the bicycle
p0008.600x600.jpg

And behind it.
p0009.600x600.jpg

And in front.
p0010.600x600.jpg
 
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