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General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

emptym

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I have Hexlox on the Nua bike. It's worked so far.
 

emptym

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Loving it so far, but I haven't had a chance to test it on the SF hills yet. Just got back from NJ.
 

otc

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Parts are coming in...

Have a force 1 crank and rival 1 derailleur. Placed orders on seat, handlebars, seatpost, and wheelset.

Really hoping my fork isn't too short...realized that the fork I got is the wound up Gravel X, which is 15mm shorter than the Team X. I've tried measuring the frame to figure out how that would impact head tube angle, but I'm really just going to have to put it together and see how it goes.
 

Jr Mouse

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Ordering a Surly Cross Check via a local bike shop. Should arrive in about a week. Based on my research and talking to friends and several bike shops it seemed to be a good match for what I'm looking for.

Ordered the 62cm and hope it fits. Wasnt sure about the 62cm or 64cm but the shop assured me they would reorder it if the bike didn't fit me well.
 

otc

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Sweet, the Cross Check is a versatile frame.

Have you considered a front rack?

I've been considering switching to something like a front porteur rack on my commuter (I have another bike with a front wald basket and it is pretty sweet).

I think the cross check has mid-fork eyelets, which gives it a lot more front rack options, although a rack that extends all of the way down to the axle can usually handle more weight.

6890368768_ce39f52e8b_b.jpg

35643382442_1857ebe83c_b.jpg
 

Jr Mouse

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Not sure what type of rack ill eventually get. I live a good 10 miles from work and don't have any plans to bike commute that. Would mainly be for times I would want to carry something around town.

It's how versatile the frame is that sold me on it seemed like a good foundation to grow on as I see how serious I get about riding. Didn't break the bank either.

My first dropbar. That's going to be interesting to get used too. Been told it can take a month of riding before it feels right. Guess I can always convert to a flat if I grow to hate it.

Model I got:

8848C77E-39A8-4C6B-A5B4-B9560219C454.jpeg


699646B1-A76D-4D52-AB9B-54CA2050A66A.jpeg
 

otc

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I am surprised they haven't moved it over to disc brakes.

Those are both itty-bitty frames--I think it looks better in tall-person sizes :)
 

otc

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Wasn't finished:

Drop bars are great (I hadn't noticed that both of the pictures I included were flat bars). If they are fit to you correctly they are just so much more comfortable. Well...actually riding on the hoods. I use the actual drops pretty rarely in day-to-day use, so I suppose I could go with just bullhorn-style bars. The key is that it puts your wrists in a neutral position rather than twisted like a flat bar.

Bar end shifters make it slightly more annoying to hang out on the hoods, but they also save hundreds of dollars over decent integrated options.
 

Jr Mouse

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I am surprised they haven't moved it over to disc brakes.

Those are both itty-bitty frames--I think it looks better in tall-person sizes :)

They have a model called Tye Straggler. It's basically a Cross Check with disc breaks and SLIGHTLY changed geometry. It's also almost $450 more. If I lived in an area of the country that got more rain I might have considered it.
 

Jr Mouse

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Wasn't finished:

Drop bars are great (I hadn't noticed that both of the pictures I included were flat bars). If they are fit to you correctly they are just so much more comfortable. Well...actually riding on the hoods. I use the actual drops pretty rarely in day-to-day use, so I suppose I could go with just bullhorn-style bars. The key is that it puts your wrists in a neutral position rather than twisted like a flat bar.

Bar end shifters make it slightly more annoying to hang out on the hoods, but they also save hundreds of dollars over decent integrated options.

Integrated shifters are really that much more expensive? Was thinking I might upgrade down the line.
 

otc

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Actually, that is probably a large portion of the premium on the Straggler. Looks like the straggler has a different build kit, including integrated shifters. Mechanical disc brakes certainly don't cost much more than rim brakes these days. The straggler is running SRAM Apex parts, which probably cost them more than the cross check parts across the board, but the shifters are going to be a big part of that.

Integrated units can be kind of expensive depending on component level. I probably wouldn't go below Tiagra on the Shimano side, which will run you about $150 at the cheapest (Apex is SRAM's lowest end at like $175, but they don't change technology across price points like shimano it works just as well as their higher end shifters). But you might have trouble getting it to work on a cross check's standard build kit. Looks like they use a shimano mountain rear derailleur, which is not compatible with shimano integrated shifters. There are some adapters you can use to make it work, but you might have to do weird things like get an old-stock or used 10-speed 105 rear shifter and a Jtek shiftmate #6 pulley. Bar end shifters aren't so bad though :)

Either way, just surprised they hadn't switched over to disc. Wandered through a bike shop a few weeks ago and basically every single bike had disc. Most had also already embraced flat-mount...surprising how fast that standard has been adopted.
 

Jr Mouse

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Any advice on bike helmets that aren't ugly and don't suck? I need a new one.

The Giro Reverb doesn't seem bad to my eye.
 

sfo423

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More about the fit. IME Specialized fits smaller heads (more like helmet 'on' head'). The Kask Protone is very different; yet also fits a smaller head. Its more of a head fitting 'into' the helmet.

If you have a large head you have way more options that are 'aesthetically' pleasing.

Any advice on bike helmets that aren't ugly and don't suck? I need a new one.

The Giro Reverb doesn't seem bad to my eye.
 

Jr Mouse

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More about the fit. IME Specialized fits smaller heads (more like helmet 'on' head'). The Kask Protone is very different; yet also fits a smaller head. Its more of a head fitting 'into' the helmet.

If you have a large head you have way more options that are 'aesthetically' pleasing.

Yeah. I'm a pretty big guy. Would be looking at the L/XL models from most companies. Agree that finding the right fit would be the most important things.

I just find a lot of helmets on the market fairly ugly.
 

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