General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[patrick_b]

( raises hand )
The Fountain Valley store was 2 stories of awesomeness.
They used to have midnight madness sales.
People would shop at midnight.

That's a riot. I can only imagine the hours I'd spend in a place like that when I was in my 20's and MTB was my only interest (besides drugs and alcohol and occasional female companionship).

That brings back a fond memory. I'd bought my GF (now wife) a Trek hardtail in the late 90's and we were riding a well known trail network right outside of Boston. Being so close to the city, it was crowded on weekends but was great singletrack. As an attractive woman in her 20's, she was wearing lycra shorts and a sports bra/half shirt kind of combo typical of the time. We crest a hill and pass a group of riders coming the opposite direction and the first guy in their group catches a glimpse of skin and does a double take. He stares just a second too long and hits something sending him ass over end into the woods. All his buddies watched it happen and mocked him mercilessly. He shrugged apologetically and we all had a good laugh.

 

[otc]

In case anyone cares, Backcountry was kind of a dick a little while back. Tried to claim the word "Backcountry" and attack a bunch of small businesses that used it in their name.

Why Thousands of People Are Mad at Backcountry Right Now

The online effort to cancel Backcountry.com

www.outsideonline.com

Legit small businesses like backcountry guide services or small brands that used the word in their name (well before Backcountry started doing some house branded gear). The most egregious was probably "Marquette Backcountry Skis" where it was clearly a descriptive title and not even a branding attempt...

Personally I've always found them to provide very good service and I didn't stop shopping there, but it did leave a sour taste in my mouth. Its not really a community that takes kindly to limiting access to public land, so suddenly doing that metaphorically with a common generic term kind of makes you question where the current management's heart is.

That said, they did eventually back down under public pressure...hopefully it was just lawyers run amok, but I don't see how the CEO could approve of such a boneheaded move in the first place.

 

[Fueco]

Wow! I haven't thought about Supergo in years. They were the first of the big superstore, pre-internet, mailorder bike shops that I remember. I was always jealous at the So Cal (?) guys that could pick stuff up from their local Supergo. The prices were outstanding. Supergo brings back a lot of memories.

There was a store in Mountain View (Bay Area) for a little while. It eventually became a Performance store when They were bought out. The sore closed before we moved to Colorado...I bought my second road frame (a 2003 Fuji Roubaix Pro) from them back in the day.

My first road bike (a 1999 LeMond Tourmalet) came from Pacific Bicycles, a local chain that closed up in the early 2000s.

 

[mhip]

That's a riot. I can only imagine the hours I'd spend in a place like that when I was in my 20's and MTB was my only interest (besides drugs and alcohol and occasional female companionship).

That brings back a fond memory. I'd bought my GF (now wife) a Trek hardtail in the late 90's and we were riding a well known trail network right outside of Boston. Being so close to the city, it was crowded on weekends but was great singletrack. As an attractive woman in her 20's, she was wearing lycra shorts and a sports bra/half shirt kind of combo typical of the time. We crest a hill and pass a group of riders coming the opposite direction and the first guy in their group catches a glimpse of skin and does a double take. He stares just a second too long and hits something sending him ass over end into the woods. All his buddies watched it happen and mocked him mercilessly. He shrugged apologetically and we all had a good laugh.

That's hot...

 

[sugarbutch]

The pivot bushing of the rear derailleur on my gravel bike is worn out. Shimano is giving ship estimates in 2022 for either a like-for-like Tiagra or a GRX400. I predict there will be a lot more people on SRAM in the next year.

 

[patrick_b]

Dusk in Bar Harbor, ME circa 1999. We’d rent sea kayaks and ride the trails in Acadia National Park.

Those old yellow Rock Shox are a blast from the past.

 

[Fueco]

That's a riot. I can only imagine the hours I'd spend in a place like that when I was in my 20's and MTB was my only interest (besides drugs and alcohol and occasional female companionship).

That brings back a fond memory. I'd bought my GF (now wife) a Trek hardtail in the late 90's and we were riding a well known trail network right outside of Boston. Being so close to the city, it was crowded on weekends but was great singletrack. As an attractive woman in her 20's, she was wearing lycra shorts and a sports bra/half shirt kind of combo typical of the time. We crest a hill and pass a group of riders coming the opposite direction and the first guy in their group catches a glimpse of skin and does a double take. He stares just a second too long and hits something sending him ass over end into the woods. All his buddies watched it happen and mocked him mercilessly. He shrugged apologetically and we all had a good laugh.

This story could only be improved if she’d dumped you and married him...

 

[Piobaire]

I'm returning the Fitzik. A to B comparison rides and the Bontrager seat is actually superior. Getting the Fitzik did trigger me to raise the stem a tiny bit and move the seats forward. Made the OEM saddle pretty much perfect.

 

[patrick_b]

I'm returning the Fitzik. A to B comparison rides and the Bontrager seat is actually superior. Getting the Fitzik did trigger me to raise the stem a tiny bit and move the seats forward. Made the OEM saddle pretty much perfect.

That’s too bad. It’s one of the best looking saddles on the market. But if it doesn’t offer any benefit, I get not wanting to keep it.
Aesthetics do play a part in cycling to me. I look at a bike the same way I look at a car. Carbon wheels for instance, Zipps are like BBS wheels on a 911.

 

[imatlas]

In high school my best friend had a really sarcastic way to say "BBS alloy wheels" and ever since then when I see or hear that phrase I hear him saying it.

 

[Piobaire]

It's more than not offering a benefit; it's made the bike less transparent. You're right, great looking saddle, but ****** doesn't see it that way.

I'm going to admit I am unsure if having the equivalent of BBS wheels is a good thing or bad thing.

 

[Fueco]

That’s too bad. It’s one of the best looking saddles on the market. But if it doesn’t offer any benefit, I get not wanting to keep it.
Aesthetics do play a part in cycling to me. I look at a bike the same way I look at a car. Carbon wheels for instance, Zipps are like BBS wheels on a 911.

If aesthetics is more important than comfort, you’re not riding enough.

 

[patrick_b]

If aesthetics is more important than comfort, you’re not riding enough.

Certainly not more important but it absolutely plays a [large] part. Something about the Italian bikes for instance just speaks to me. I could drool over that Bianchi blue in their lineup for days. Same with the custom ti or steel builders. Sadly, CF isn't all that striking to look at (though Parlee does a good job).

I hated the OEM Specialized saddle on my 2008 bike so I immediately replaced it with a Flite. On the new bike I found the OEM saddle surprisingly comfortable.

 

[otc]

I think I'm going to go mountain biking today for my first trail ride of 2021. Should have gone yesterday as the temps just dropped 15 degrees, but I'll survive.

I'm going to ride my old wheels/tires just so I remember what they feel like.

Putting on the new, much nicer wheelset today feels like a waste... Having not ridden for months, I won't get that "whoa, these spin up way faster" feeling without giving myself a baseline.

 

[Piobaire]

How hard is it to install the discs and cassette then install a tubeless tire? I've done all three of those tasks exactly zero times. Will I need any special tools? Like a cassette puller or something?