General Bike Thread (Desiderata, questions, porn) - Page 81

makes sense and thanks for the shopping advice. i'm going to get a book and see what i can do to learn about fixing up a bike and maintaining it on my own. this seems like a good opportunity. one question--how do i figure out which brake hood/cover will fit my brakes? the ones on there right now are nasty. Searching for Shimano 105 brake hoods comes up with a number of options. I don't know how to figure out what exact model my brakes are. Maybe Ill just take it to my LBS, especially since I want to see about truing the wheels as well.

It's true, the cross-check is heavy, especially laden. I took a lighter load on my back today on the pink bike and the ride was quite a bit faster than my fastest ride to work on the cross-check.

Thanks, I have spoken to people and it seems that a touring bike is my best choice. I don't want to ride long distance, and I don't want a heavy cruiser or mountainbike----I need "something in between"

It just that all the used bikes I've seen seem (are?) prohibitively expensive for used bikes. I can think of very few used- markets where the depreciation is so low. There are some who readily admit that the new trend is responsible for this. I dunno, maybe I am ill informed.

then there are those who say just buy a walmart road bike and get some parts changed at a bike shop and there you have it: a good bike that is almost the same as others that are 3 times or more expensive.... I just may do this.

So i guess you want it for commuting around town, maybe carrying groceries or a laptop or something but not heavy touring? that's basically what i was looking for too. I don't know how i'd feel about buying a wal-mart road bike. First, I'm definitely convinced that steel frames are awesome. I like the feel of my surly and my other bike more in comparison to my brother's aluminum REI bike (which itself is actually quite nice and has some additional features my surly lacks), but I can't imagine it being that great of a deal to buy a crappy frame and load it up with better components. If you need to carry stuff you need to make sure you can mount at least a rear rack (usually you'd want some braze-ons for mounting the rear rack), and that you will have enough clearance to put decent sized panniers without your feet hitting them when you ride.

as for the used market, at least on CL, i see a ton of variation. I've seen some things that seemed quite cheap for what they are and others overpriced. for example, around me this seemed like a decent deal (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/2920641082.html) but I didn't see it when I was looking and also was more than I wanted to spend for something to tide me over while my bike was fixed (but now I'm kind of tempted...). I don't know that much about bikes which is why i originally bought new figuring I'd get something decent even if not amazing (I bought a stock cross-check and many people say at least some of the components are not so great). That's also why I ask the nice people here for help. They steered me to my latest purchase, which needs some TLC but seems to have a decent steel frame and good components to work off of. It was $250 and is great for getting around town without a lot of stuff.

Maybe look at the surly long haul trucker and cross-check, jamis aurora, bianchi volpe, salsa casseroll and vaya. If you just want something to get you from point A to B and that's not very far, most any bike will do that, some just in more comfort/style/speed/reliability than others.

Thanks for that list of bikes. I will keep searching and hope to find something that at least comes close to a deal.

I know any bike will do, I have been ridding a cheap-o "mountain bike" from target ($80 hah!) for some time now and after riding this about town when I don't want to drive to close places or even using it at beach bike trail (I am in Los Angeles and do the Marvin Braude bike trail sometimes) I realize I need something better, more efficient and possibly lighter.

wrenching on bikes is extremely satisfying. it takes a little investment up front, but is worth it because of all the available literature and free info on youtube. the Parktool AK37 (37 tools for basic "do almost/95% of everything" kit) is what I got. Also a good stand is helpful. I got the parktool PSC10 stand off some one in craigslist for about $90, but realize that even at full price it would be worth it.

the only time I'll use the LBS is for things like installing headsets, that require special tools that I don't really want to buy.


hit the mechanic's sub-forum at bikeforums.net. they'll answer your question sometimes frighten-ly quick (like at 3:45am on a weekday a min after posting). just provide pictures and all the serial numbers available - the more details (pictures and info) you provide - the better the advice you get back.

sometimes you'll go to the LBS thinking that they'll know what you need, and its like they're just as clueless as you are - or other times they are sages. its a crapshoot (even at the same LbS that were geniuses the last time you dealt with them).

Park Tools site has a bunch of useful wrenching information/tutorials.
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

i've got a white cannondale six carbon 5, 56cm frame. love her. i'll post pics later.
nearly identical to this

Nice bike, I've test ridden one. I have a CAAD 8, but at heart I'm a steel man.

I'm keeping my steel Bianchi as my run around when I build up my carbon bike....some day.

I'm keeping my steel frame Bianchi, too. It's a great bike that has gotten better with age, IMO. No way I'm getting rid of it although I do plan to pick up a lighter bike at some point.

so now i'm getting a bit crazy, but at $450 is this a solid deal? http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/2920641082.html I'm considering it as a third bike, but maybe I'm getting crazy. Cross-check for riding to work, pink bike for riding to the bars, and Jamis for weekend rides. maybe that's silly. also, can't figure out what year it is from.

Pink bike seems like a very nice frame with pretty decent components on it already.

Might be a better option to do something like buy a partial groupset on ebay if you wanted upgraded shifting. You wouldn't need new brakes/crankset/maybe even front derailleur...and a gently used 9 or 10sp 105 or ultegra set of brifters/cassette/rear derailleur shouldn't be that much (hopefully you don't need a new wheel to use the cassette)

also triple fronts on road bikes are wack

Just got this on Tuesday:

2005 Lemond Zurich

That is a nice looking ride.

I changed the tires on my commuter on Sat. It took me an hour because the rims were so f-ing narrow. I've never had such trouble. Yikes. I hope I don't get a flat. I might cry.

b

-Replaced the cartridges in my hubs with some phil wood bearings.
-Replaced old crappy aero levers with some new campy-style tektros (although they have the ugly ergonomic lever since apparently the straight lever version is done).
-Replaced cables and handlebar housing.

Wheels feel silky smooth and the combination of better levers and correct housing routing has really firmed up the brakes. Unfortunately I also feel a lot more resistance in the levers...it is partly that there is some unavoidable dragging in the cable but I think also largely due to the levers being designed for modern brakes which have very weak springs (so combine my strong spring old school brakes with modern levels and you are fighting a lot of spring)...still a vast improvement though.

Also, I hate my new bar tape. I bought some Origin-8 cork tape thinking it would be similar to the Ciclolinea cork that has been going strong since late 2009 (only had to replace it due to swapping the levers and cables). I will see how it actually rides but it feels like really cheap foam that doesn't even pretend that it is cork.