General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[scottcw]

Originally Posted by eglbc

thoughts on look keo carbons?

Best pedal ever... Bebop.

 

[rdawson808]

Rode to work tonight. Really nice morning for it. About 6 miles.

As I start to lock up my bike, another guy comes in. He says to me "You know, there are sort of un-officially spots here that people have." I just stare at him. "They...you know...do this stuff to the rack..." He meant that they put old tubes and duct tape on them to make them cushy. Which presumably means they think those spots "belong" to them.

Is this elementary school? Reserving spots? It's first-come, first-served. End of story. Besides, how the **** do I know you "reserved" that spot? By the duct tape? What about the locks left all over? Are all of those spots "taken" too? What happens when all of the room is "reserved," yet I'm still in earlier than you? That's ***** #1.

***** #2 is about people who think their bikes are so ******* precious they can't have the metal rack touching it. Really? Check your priorities. How these people must cry if they ever crash. Not over broken bones or blistered skin, but over knicked paint!

***** #3 none of these spots were the farthest from the elevators, or in any way the least desirable spots. They were the best spots--ends of the racks, best for complete locking, and closest to the elevators.

Douchebag F***ers.

Plus, I forgot my waterbottle this morning so was dying of thirst by the time I got in.

 

[otc]

thats pretty annoying. While I can confess to having "spots" where I may get internally annoyed if I can't put my bike there (like at my apartment), I would never actually think I had some sort of claim to it...I don't think I could see myself even jokingly telling somebody "hey you stole my spot!"

I'm guilty of the paint thing though...I have a bike that I painted myself and while its got some knicks and scratches, I'd rather it not get any worse so I try to be careful about how I lock it up...I don't actually go so far as to cover my locking spots with tubes or wrap the frame in electrical tape...I just try to lock it gently (and it is worth noting that in a wet area with heavy winter salt use, paint is a functional part of the bike when it comes to rust prevention). The other bikes though...they just get locked.

 

[rdawson808]

So I'm thinking of getting a new mt bike. Actually for mt. biking. No guarantee I'll do it, but I've been thinking about it. I need something to be more competitive about and I used to like mt. biking, but just haven't been out in years. [Hence building a city bike when my mt. bike was stolen last fall.]

What are you guys riding these days? 26 or 29? What about a Cyclocross bike? Can you stick full on fat mt. tires on one? I've had Trek in the past and been happy, but I'd like to try out some others.

I'm thinking no more than $1000, disc brakes, hard tail. And I'm in no mood to build it myself. And that's all I got for now. Some possibilities

Trek 6500 or the 6000

Kona Cinder Cone

Then there's Giant or Cannondale, I suppose. What else?

 

[Ispy]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

So I'm thinking of getting a new mt bike. Actually for mt. biking. No guarantee I'll do it, but I've been thinking about it. I need something to be more competitive about and I used to like mt. biking, but just haven't been out in years. [Hence building a city bike when my mt. bike was stolen last fall.]

What are you guys riding these days? 26 or 29? What about a Cyclocross bike? Can you stick full on fat mt. tires on one? I've had Trek in the past and been happy, but I'd like to try out some others.

I'm thinking no more than $1000, disc brakes, hard tail. And I'm in no mood to build it myself. And that's all I got for now. Some possibilities

Trek 6500 or the 6000

Kona Cinder Cone

Then there's Giant or Cannondale, I suppose. What else?


Kit wise, those are pretty similar. Honeslty, in the sub-$1000 range all your options are going to be pretty similar with the exception of frame angles. You gotta just go get on them and pick the one that feels the best and maybe comes from a shop that will support the purchase down the road.

 

[MarkI]

Mercier Kilo TT for first fixie?

thoughts

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

So I'm thinking of getting a new mt bike. Actually for mt. biking. No guarantee I'll do it, but I've been thinking about it. I need something to be more competitive about and I used to like mt. biking, but just haven't been out in years. [Hence building a city bike when my mt. bike was stolen last fall.]

What are you guys riding these days? 26 or 29? What about a Cyclocross bike? Can you stick full on fat mt. tires on one? I've had Trek in the past and been happy, but I'd like to try out some others.

I'm thinking no more than $1000, disc brakes, hard tail. And I'm in no mood to build it myself. And that's all I got for now. Some possibilities

Trek 6500 or the 6000

Kona Cinder Cone

Then there's Giant or Cannondale, I suppose. What else?


I'd look in bikesdirect.com too- their 'house brand' motobecane looks decent and reviews seems good enough, and at a $1000 price range for a hardtail you get top components (rock shox adjustable fork, xtr's, fsa's, ritchey controls....). friend of mine got a fly team model and he seems happy with it.

 

[EMY]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

So I'm thinking of getting a new mt bike. Actually for mt. biking. No guarantee I'll do it, but I've been thinking about it. I need something to be more competitive about and I used to like mt. biking, but just haven't been out in years. [Hence building a city bike when my mt. bike was stolen last fall.]

What are you guys riding these days? 26 or 29? What about a Cyclocross bike? Can you stick full on fat mt. tires on one? I've had Trek in the past and been happy, but I'd like to try out some others.

I'm thinking no more than $1000, disc brakes, hard tail. And I'm in no mood to build it myself. And that's all I got for now. Some possibilities

Trek 6500 or the 6000

Kona Cinder Cone

Then there's Giant or Cannondale, I suppose. What else?

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Bike+08.aspx#

this bike is better spec'ed than all three. if you do go with this, I would change the stem because there were some issues with the EA30.

 

[goldenbraid]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Rode to work tonight. Really nice morning for it. About 6 miles.

As I start to lock up my bike, another guy comes in. He says to me "You know, there are sort of un-officially spots here that people have." I just stare at him. "They...you know...do this stuff to the rack..." He meant that they put old tubes and duct tape on them to make them cushy. Which presumably means they think those spots "belong" to them.

Is this elementary school? Reserving spots? It's first-come, first-served. End of story. Besides, how the **** do I know you "reserved" that spot? By the duct tape? What about the locks left all over? Are all of those spots "taken" too? What happens when all of the room is "reserved," yet I'm still in earlier than you? That's ***** #1.

***** #2 is about people who think their bikes are so ******* precious they can't have the metal rack touching it. Really? Check your priorities. How these people must cry if they ever crash. Not over broken bones or blistered skin, but over knicked paint!

***** #3 none of these spots were the farthest from the elevators, or in any way the least desirable spots. They were the best spots--ends of the racks, best for complete locking, and closest to the elevators.

Douchebag F***ers.

Plus, I forgot my waterbottle this morning so was dying of thirst by the time I got in.

That's lame. You should lock your bike up to his.

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

As I start to lock up my bike, another guy comes in. He says to me "You know, there are sort of un-officially spots here that people have."

Originally Posted by otc

thats pretty annoying.

Originally Posted by goldenbraid

That's lame. You should lock your bike up to his.


A follow-up: I told a co-worker about it and he asked if the guy was, let's call him, Mr. Smith. I didn't know, so he described Mr. Smith to me and I said that, yes, that sounds like the guy I talked to. Well my friend says he was in the garage one day and Mr. Smith was there and he witnessed Mr. Smith ***** about someone parking in "his spot" and then kick the bike that was there. Someone has anger issues. A call to building security might be in order.

b

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by acidboy

I'd look in bikesdirect.com too- their 'house brand' motobecane looks decent and reviews seems good enough, and at a $1000 price range for a hardtail you get top components (rock shox adjustable fork, xtr's, fsa's, ritchey controls....). friend of mine got a fly team model and he seems happy with it.

Originally Posted by EMY

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Bike+08.aspx#

this bike is better spec'ed than all three. if you do go with this, I would change the stem because there were some issues with the EA30.


Thanks for the recommendations guys. Never heard of Motobecane and Jamis is one that slipped my mind. I'll have to check them out.

b

 

[zippyh]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Thanks for the recommendations guys. Never heard of Motobecane and Jamis is one that slipped my mind. I'll have to check them out.

b


Motobecane is an old name in cycling that has long since gone out of business.
Bikesdirect licenses the name and slaps it on Taiwanese frames. Nothing wrong with the bd bikes but there's no connection to the original motobecane. Same with the Mercier bikes they sell.

 

[EMY]

as urban as it gets.

 

[il_colonnello]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Then there's Giant or Cannondale, I suppose. What else?

I bought a Caffeine F3 a couple of years ago, the last model year before they downgraded the specs of the whole Caffeine range (2007? 08?):

Generally speaking, Cannondale = BEAUTIFUL.

Cannondale bikes are essentially "lower specs @ higher price" - you get a little less in terms of wheels, groupset, etc. and at the same time pay a little extra for the name. I have two though and never regretted either purchase.

 

[Shiny]

In a similar vein to rdawson's post, I park in a set of bike noodles. There are 4 of them coming out of the ground. kinda like this: I I I I. Well anyway, there's been this d*k that has parked his moped inbetween two of the noodles(!) Like this: I&I I I. &=moped. He effectively takes up 2 bike spaces. He never parks at the end, either.

This is not one of those scooters that's thin with the pedals on it. It's one of those fat mopeds that allows you to put your feet in some resting platform in front of the front wheel.

Are there any laws to prevent this? How have you all dealt with this?