General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[Gradstudent78]

 

[rdawson808]

^^^ I like the looks of it, but I know nothing about it.

Has anyone heard of, and have you anything to say about, these brands:

Electra
KHS
Davinci

They all make Dutch-style bikes and I think are available here in the US. One (the KHS Green) at a very reasonable price. Just wondered if anyone had anything to say about them.

b

 

[zippyh]

Electra is a fairly well known brand of mostly cruiser/townie type bikes.
They seem to be fairly widely distributed at bike shops.

KHS is a lesser known manufacturer of a full line of bikes.
I don't know much about them but spec wise them seem fine.
I've seen them a lot on closeout at various websites.

Da Vinci seems to be a custom frame builder specializing in tandems.
Those aren't going to be cheap.

 

[Shiny]

A little more for rdawson:

Electra: pretty good if you will be doing weekend rides and the like. Bikes will probably not hold up well to day to day commuting and other utility usage. Nice looking bikes and some incorporate a "foot forward" design where you can put both feet down at a stop.

KHS: good quality bikes. I've actually ridden them and they make bikes for all types of riding: road, MTB, cruisers. These are probably made overseas in the same places that build popular brands like Cannondale, Trek etc. They are just rebadged. I'd give KHS the edge over electra in terms of build quality.

Never heard of Davinci.

 

[otc]

Quick wheel tire question...

I am rebuilding a womens hybrid (specialized crossroads cruz...prolly late 90s) and had to buy a new rear wheel. I got a cheap new alloy rim and a used cassette and the rim certainly looks to be 700C but it is noticbly wider than the front rim I have.

I tried to put a tire on it and I cant get the first bead on it at all. Tried another tire and had the same problem. Usually I can get the first bead on with bare hands easy...

What is goign on here? It looks like a 700C rim and while it is a little wider, I would think one of the (treaded, hybridy) tires I have would at least fit around it

 

[rdawson808]

Thanks to both Zippy and Shiny. I'd never heard of them, so that's useful info.

b

 

[kronik]

Originally Posted by otc

Quick wheel tire question... I am rebuilding a womens hybrid (specialized crossroads cruz...prolly late 90s) and had to buy a new rear wheel. I got a cheap new alloy rim and a used cassette and the rim certainly looks to be 700C but it is noticbly wider than the front rim I have. I tried to put a tire on it and I cant get the first bead on it at all. Tried another tire and had the same problem. Usually I can get the first bead on with bare hands easy... What is goign on here? It looks like a 700C rim and while it is a little wider, I would think one of the (treaded, hybridy) tires I have would at least fit around it
Do you have a tire lever? They should be the same width if they're both 700C.

 

[aragon765]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

^^^ I like the looks of it, but I know nothing about it. Has anyone heard of, and have you anything to say about, these brands: Electra KHS Davinci They all make Dutch-style bikes and I think are available here in the US. One (the KHS Green) at a very reasonable price. Just wondered if anyone had anything to say about them. b

Originally Posted by zippyh

Da Vinci seems to be a custom frame builder specializing in tandems. Those aren't going to be cheap.

Originally Posted by Shiny

A little more for rdawson: Never heard of Davinci.
Just FYI - Da Vinci is the Tandem maker. Devinci is a Canadian bike manufacturer who has a complete line of bikes (road, mtb, hyrid, etc), and is widely distributed in Canada. They (used to?) make all their frames in Quebec, which was quite notable at the time of mass-outsourcing to the far East. They are not a boutique maker (I am not even sure they make a tandem), and are not priced any higher than an equivalent brand. Another option for "dutch-style" bikes with north-american sensibilities (that is, designed to be a little lighter, cheaper than the original) is Opus bikes, also a Canadian company out of Quebec. Although it seems that the trend has caught on, as even Trek, Specialized and Cannondale are now making bikes that fit in this general category - I went for a spin on the belt-drive Trek the other day - and it is a pretty cool ride!!

 

[rdawson808]

Thanks for the clarification. I did mean Devinci, not Da Vinci.

And thanks for the heads-up about Opus. I'll look into them.

b

Originally Posted by aragon765

Just FYI - Da Vinci is the Tandem maker. Devinci is a Canadian bike manufacturer who has a complete line of bikes (road, mtb, hyrid, etc), and is widely distributed in Canada. They (used to?) make all their frames in Quebec, which was quite notable at the time of mass-outsourcing to the far East. They are not a boutique maker (I am not even sure they make a tandem), and are not priced any higher than an equivalent brand.

Another option for "dutch-style" bikes with north-american sensibilities (that is, designed to be a little lighter, cheaper than the original) is Opus bikes, also a Canadian company out of Quebec. Although it seems that the trend has caught on, as even Trek, Specialized and Cannondale are now making bikes that fit in this general category - I went for a spin on the belt-drive Trek the other day - and it is a pretty cool ride!!

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by kronik

Do you have a tire lever? They should be the same width if they're both 700C.

I do have a tire lever but I just cant get it on (and this is the first bead before I put the tube in). The tires I tried were both wire bead which I have found to be a little harder but this seems ridiculous. The rim looks more like a 29er than a road rim but they take the same size tires so I have no idea.

I will try again when I get home...maybe I was missing something

 

[mondayc]

Does anyone have any hot and humid riding advice, besides dressing in light clothes and drinking plenty of water? I just got back from Minneapolis, where the weather was great, to this awful heat wave in Illinois. 106 degrees with the heat index and humid as hell. I'm still trying to get back to 200 miles a week, but this really sucks. Yeah, I know

.

 

[SUPER K]

Hot and humid? , come on down and train for a fall ironman here in south Louisiana. Start early(daylight), fluids(cytomax, endurox, etc, your choice, or find sites that custom mix your nutrition) , electrolytes, sun screen, insulated water bottles. When you stop to buy more fluids, get some ice in helmet and crotch. Sounds crazy, but those are heavy blood flow areas. Yea it will melt and drip, but you are full of salty sweat anyway.

Get back to health club and jump in pool or cold plunge, rinse, repeat.

 

[aragon765]

Originally Posted by mondayc

Does anyone have any hot and humid riding advice, besides dressing in light clothes and drinking plenty of water? I just got back from Minneapolis, where the weather was great, to this awful heat wave in Illinois. 106 degrees with the heat index and humid as hell. I'm still trying to get back to 200 miles a week, but this really sucks. Yeah, I know

.

You pretty much nailed it. Only other thing I can advise is to ride early in morning or later in the evening to avoid the heat of the day. Other than that, you just need to get out there.... I have found my body does acclimatize to heat after a couple of weeks of steady riding, and then it will be fall/winter again!

 

[kronik]

Threw up for the first time in a long time due to exercise after my Spinervals session today.. done the video numerous times.. just went too hard I suppose at the end, overheated, drank water too fast, BLAARRGHGHHH.

Good times.

 

[bbaquiran]

Originally Posted by kronik

Threw up for the first time in a long time due to exercise after my Spinervals session today.. done the video numerous times.. just went too hard I suppose at the end, overheated, drank water too fast, BLAARRGHGHHH.

Good times.

Which workout made you throw up? I like the Tough Love one. 3hrs of intervals!