General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[patrick_b]

When did kickstands become so uncool. Too much drag or weight? Too dorky? They are fairly practical. I had one on my DS 8.5 but it got bent smashing into a curb so I removed it.

I think it's a snobby bike guy thing. It also applies to dork disk and reflectors and I'm very guilty of it. If I had a bike that I just used as a city/beach cruiser, I'd use a kick stand. But since my bikes are lightweight performance bikes, I don't want the extra weight (not that it really matters). I'm actually down a few pounds this year after a fairly sedentary winter.

 

[smittycl]

I think it's a snobby bike guy thing. It also applies to dork disk and reflectors and I'm very guilty of it. If I had a bike that I just used as a city/beach cruiser, I'd use a kick stand. But since my bikes are lightweight performance bikes, I don't want the extra weight (not that it really matters). I'm actually down a few pounds this year after a fairly sedentary winter.

"dork disc?"

 

[Piobaire]

The plastic disc on the rear wheel designed to stop your chain from popping off the granny gear and into the hub.

 

[smittycl]

The plastic disc on the rear wheel designed to stop your chain from popping off the granny gear and into the hub.

Like the long fiberglass pole with orange flag my Mom made me put on my cool red Schwinn with the banana seat.

 

[greekgeek]

I think it's a snobby bike guy thing. It also applies to dork disk and reflectors and I'm very guilty of it. If I had a bike that I just used as a city/beach cruiser, I'd use a kick stand. But since my bikes are lightweight performance bikes, I don't want the extra weight (not that it really matters). I'm actually down a few pounds this year after a fairly sedentary winter.

That's pretty funny to see dork disc mentioned here today, as by coincidence I had just learned the term this morning!

New to cycling beyond short jaunts in the hood, meanwhile I have an old Cannondale Bad Boy ca. 2000 that I am trying to get into more usable form. Replaced a cable/housing, adjusted the brakes and the derailleur. (Park tool videos FTW, shop could get to it for over 1 month)

Somewhere along the way the severely yellowed dork disc disintegrated, after searching for a replacement decided to leave it off for now.

 

[sugarbutch]

A carbon bike likely isn’t designed to accommodate the forces of a kickstand at the typical mounting locations.

 

[smittycl]

A carbon bike likely isn’t designed to accommodate the forces of a kickstand at the typical mounting locations.

That sounds a bit odd. I’m sure it could work.

 

[Fueco]

That sounds a bit odd. I’m sure it could work.

It probably would, but especially on high end bikes, the frame is engineered for very specific forces. I wouldn’t dream of pinching the frame on a $5000 frame. It’d be too easy to over tighten the bölt and destroy the bike.

 

[otc]

You can get a handmade carbon stand: https://upstandingbicycle.com/shop/the-upstand/

Not really a kickstand though, you have to slide it into place...not sure I really see the point.

There are a handful of reasons why nobody wants normal kickstands:
1. They are heavy--doesn't make sense to put something heavy on a bike where you pay $$$ to reduce weight.
2. They hold the bike up when you walk away...you know what else holds the bike up? The post you locked it to. If you're going to carry around some extra weight, a small lock is better.
3. Not a lot of room for the standard bottom bracket mount kickstands on a lot of modern bikes (especially now that tires are growing).
4. Rear-axle mount kickstands don't work as well and with the addition if kickstands and giant cassettes...they no longer have anywhere to clamp to.

 

[sugarbutch]

The tube walls on carbon bikes are super thin and not at all intended for clamping. If there isn’t a boss incorporated to mount something, I wouldn’t put it on the frame

 

[smittycl]

The tube walls on carbon bikes are super thin and not at all intended for clamping. If there isn’t a boss incorporated to mount something, I wouldn’t put it on the frame

Okay, makes sense. I have zero experience with carbon bikes.

 

[venessian]

When did kickstands become so uncool. Too much drag or weight? Too dorky? They are fairly practical. I had one on my DS 8.5 but it got bent smashing into a curb so I removed it.

Uncool dorkiness are the least of the cons. The bolded terms are the main reasons to avoid kickstands. They are not any more practical than a wall, can, mail box, lamp-post, tree, etc., and can be dangerous, simply not worth it.

 

[venessian]

A carbon bike likely isn’t designed to accommodate the forces of a kickstand at the typical mounting locations.

The tube walls on carbon bikes are super thin and not at all intended for clamping. If there isn’t a boss incorporated to mount something, I wouldn’t put it on the frame

Not necessarily. Many carbon-fiber frames have very robust bottom bracket areas and solid/reinforced dropout areas, esp disc frames or all-road, gravel/cross, or mtb frames. It is not only the structural nature of the material. Any lightweight frame (whether high-end steel c-f, steel, alu, or ti) will pose similar clamping risks, in that clamping any accessories on tubes should be avoided, period. Another reason is that for the more stable kick-stand, a center-mount type, there is often not enough clearance between the seat tube and the wheel to properly seat most kick-stand clamps. Otoh rear-mount (at the dropout or disc tab) kick-stands are often pretty unstable, flimsy, and really not worth the hassle.

Kick-stands are more risky than they are useful, perhaps the exception (besides a child's bicycle) being if one rides a fat-tubed, long c-stay leisure beach cruiser type of thing. But even then, why?

 

[Fueco]

Kick-stands are more risky than they are useful, perhaps the exception, besides a child's bicycle, being if one rides a fat-tubed, long c-stay leisure beach cruiser type of thing. But even then, why?

Scene 1(guy on cruiser bike rolling down the bike path adjacent to Venice Beach)

Two bikini wearing hotties lower their sunglasses to check him out.

Dude rolls to a stop and engages the bike’s kickstand.

Hotties roll their eyes and look away to a dorky guy ( @edinatlanta ) on a bike without a kickstand.

 

[HRoi]

The bikini wearing hotties check me out because I have a kickstand, not because my bike does