• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

flipstah

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Messages
4,877
Reaction score
19,935
Also, a question: I used one of the conventional chain sizing methods (wrapped around big chainring and big cog, bypassing the derailleur) and it’s actually a link or so short by that measure, but in the small chainring and either of the two smallest cogs, the chain has zero tension and sags. 50-34 up front, 11-42 in the back.

Thoughts?

maybe adjust the RD? Mine does that and that helped

PSA: if anyone finds some vintage working brifters that works on 7x2 or 7x3 holler at your boy!

64289AD5-1381-4A06-8BC3-E73EC90A11DD.png

I also need to change the tyres on my MTB that I built. If I want less knobby tires so it rolls faster than 2.1 do I stick to that width or go narrow like 1.75?

these are my options:



4BB39C40-23BD-44D0-8ADC-D8B6073E48AE.png
1F90C4B0-46BF-4CE6-9B0C-02270E9AFA54.png
C80A79BD-8E1B-472F-8F77-C54D34FCA74A.png
 
Last edited:

patrick_b

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
6,682
Reaction score
9,705
Also, a question: I used one of the conventional chain sizing methods (wrapped around big chainring and big cog, bypassing the derailleur) and it’s actually a link or so short by that measure, but in the small chainring and either of the two smallest cogs, the chain has zero tension and sags. 50-34 up front, 11-42 in the back.

Thoughts?
I've always used the same method to size my chain. Wish I had better advice but if it shifts OK, I tend to run it that way.

Alternately, this seems like the perfect opportunity to buy a new chain, preferably one of the blingy gold KMC chains for massive internet clout.

bleo2yfa6z7z.jpg
 

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
24,428
Reaction score
18,981
Fyi, that method no longer produces correct chain lengths with these big wide range cassettes. Check the manufacturer manual, because the number of extra links varies.

Not sure what that means for seeming too long in the little cog though...
 

sugarbutch

Bearded Prick
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
24,567
Reaction score
35,547
Fyi, that method no longer produces correct chain lengths with these big wide range cassettes. Check the manufacturer manual, because the number of extra links varies.

Not sure what that means for seeming too long in the little cog though...
I'm using a Wolf Tooth and and big cog is not officially supported by Shimano, so I'm not sure there's such a manual. This worked with the Tiagra derailleur which has less capacity than the GRX, so it's a bit mystifying.
 

flipstah

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Messages
4,877
Reaction score
19,935
I’m getting chatter when shifting to the smallest rear cog. Might need to adjust the RD limit?

0822B3D7-426D-4C59-9C0D-7DF624E16C1E.jpeg


edit: I also did hot laps on my other bike and got faster averages than last time so definitely going to work on my cadence in this stretch of road:


E54A62A0-D42C-4E59-B9A0-F77029DAD02C.jpeg
07A9E4F7-55EF-4FF1-9942-E0967FB8E63E.jpeg
 
Last edited:

sugarbutch

Bearded Prick
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
24,567
Reaction score
35,547
I revisited the chain situation this afternoon. I put it in small-small, removed the quick link, and pulled the chain ends together until I had what seemed like the minimum acceptable tension. After removing the surplus links, everything's better except I can't get into big-big. That's a tradeoff I'm willing to accept. I still need to fine-tune the shifting, though. Going up the cassette is perfect, but coming back down from the big to the little cog is inconsistent. Frequently it takes two clicks to get any action, and then it will go down two cogs. I am prepared to accept that the brifter is worn (it is presumably of the same vintage as the derailleur I just replaced), but it's still kind of annoying.
 

UnFacconable

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
3,398
Reaction score
5,359
Ok let me start by apologizing in advance for this question but I need an official @otc ruling and couldn't find a better thread for the request

I'm considering whether I might just be better off getting a e-scooter rather than a bike. I say this as someone who has long felt like the e-scooters are a plague on the urban landscape, that all of the scooter mobility companies will go out of business and that they are unsafe. A portion of my thesis was that scooter riders don't wear helmets and that we have untalented people riding them on sidewalks and crashing into people. Oh, and they are more susceptible to OTB crashes.

Having said that, scooters have some advantages over bikes. First - I can take it into my office or bars or whatever so I know it won't get stolen. Second - it won't take up valuable space in my garage since I can more easily hang it on the wall than a bike. Third - I have a bike lane for most of my commute so I don't have to sidewalk ride it. Fourth - I can mitigate some risk by being a better scooter rider than average, wearing a helmet and getting a safer scooter. Fifth - it appears there are scooters that can tackle a ~20% grade. Oh and sixth - it's a ****** bike ride with one very steep hill followed by stop and go traffic for less than 2 miles. There is no opportunity for an enjoyable bike commute.

This is an article I found that is really making me re-assess e-scooter safety, particularly for my use case. This is the scooter that a few minutes of research turned up as a possible front runner and it appears to be pretty safe with good breaking and enough oomph to get over my hill.

So setting aside that I hate scooters, think they're dorky, hate the scooter share situation, etc., are they actually a safe choice for me given the alternatives (riding a bike or walking)?

The other piece is that I can see scooters being kind of an interesting alternative for tooling around in different places but like can't really imaging myself using an ebike other than for my commute.

As a penance for my sins, I will be mountain biking once or twice next week during my vacation.

EDIT: Fixed busted link.
 
Last edited:

clee1982

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
28,756
Reaction score
24,514
e-scooter makes a lot sense and I can't see it being unsafe relative to bicycle if you're being reasonable yourself. I mean if there 18 wheeler and bus going up and down and there are no bike lane, e-scooter or bike are equally unsafe to me anyway.
 

clee1982

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
28,756
Reaction score
24,514
if I have a way to shower and change I'll definitely bike or just run to the office, it's less than 5 miles with gentle slope up and gentle slope down (though once you get to manhattan there are really no bike lane cross town).

though now come to think about it, the harder part to all of this (even if I can shower and change) would be to take my 4 years old to daycare first and on time then doing all of that..., so in short probably not going to happen...
 

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
24,428
Reaction score
18,981
Ok let me start by apologizing in advance for this question but I need an official @otc ruling and couldn't find a better thread for the request
Your article link is broken--just 2 amazon links.


I think your analysis is about right...they're kinda lame and there's lots of reasons to hate on the scooter explosion, but they exploded because they fill a need.

They are certainly questionable from a safety perspective, but a commitment to wearing a helmet goes a long way there along with not being an idiot. You're never going to have big enough wheels to counter big potholes (or curbs), but one with decent wheels, air tires, and good braking would go a long way...as would being familiar with the hazards on your commute route.
 

UnFacconable

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
3,398
Reaction score
5,359
Your article link is broken--just 2 amazon links.


I think your analysis is about right...they're kinda lame and there's lots of reasons to hate on the scooter explosion, but they exploded because they fill a need.

They are certainly questionable from a safety perspective, but a commitment to wearing a helmet goes a long way there along with not being an idiot. You're never going to have big enough wheels to counter big potholes (or curbs), but one with decent wheels, air tires, and good braking would go a long way...as would being familiar with the hazards on your commute route.
Here's the article: article.

Thanks (and thanks @clee1982). I'm starting to come around for all the reasons mentioned. Essentially I think the main problems with scooters vs bikes can largely be mitigated through best practices and getting a safer scooter (better brakes, not tiny wheels) and then it just comes down to convenience, speed, etc.
 

am55

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2014
Messages
4,936
Reaction score
4,646
if I have a way to shower and change I'll definitely bike or just run to the office, it's less than 5 miles with gentle slope up and gentle slope down (though once you get to manhattan there are really no bike lane cross town).

though now come to think about it, the harder part to all of this (even if I can shower and change) would be to take my 4 years old to daycare first and on time then doing all of that..., so in short probably not going to happen...

This is literally the best bike-related thing I have ever purchased. I ended up dismantling all the rear seats and our ride time went up perhaps 4x (not to mention, we could go a lot more places). But you do need a mountain bike fork for the foot clearance - although it didn't stop me installing it on a roadie for the first seat, I just had to be careful turning.

I've seen a heroic father at the playground on a Brompton with 16" wheels, with a more minimalist front and back seats. Perhaps better suited for the office (mine has internal bike storage, but not much in the street), but I haven't found the seat brand yet. It was basically folded tubing with a tiny leather square.
 

sugarbutch

Bearded Prick
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
24,567
Reaction score
35,547
The little wheels are the sketchiest aspect of the scooters. Even on the model you highlighted, typical street conditions will be challenging. Helmet and higher skill level will mitigate the risk, but I think a bike is still safer.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 45 40.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 44 39.6%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 18 16.2%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 25 22.5%

Forum statistics

Threads
504,444
Messages
10,573,995
Members
223,705
Latest member
isequan7
Top