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The best part about that part is where he lands directly on his massive bike chain, right over his spine, from somehow about ~10ft in the air and isn’t immediately paralyzed
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Aug 30, 2021 12:07
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My fixie experience is limited but what I dislike the most is that you can't corner hard since your pedals will strike the ground.
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Aug 30, 2021 12:19
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Can you do clipless pedals with fixies? I gotta see if a bike shop near me has one that I can test ride
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Aug 30, 2021 14:23
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Mauser posted:Can you do clipless pedals with fixies? I gotta see if a bike shop near me has one that I can test ride Best way
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Aug 30, 2021 14:44
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I expect shops would have them set up single speed (with a freewheel) not fixed. They might flip the wheel for a test ride if you ask nice and sign a waiver.
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Aug 30, 2021 14:57
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I'm thinking about the winter and wondering if having a transparent rain cape that goes from my shoulders all the way back to behind the bike seat would help build up some heat for the babber. Would obviously also help with getting rained on. Anyone had success with these canopy or cinch cover solutions? https://www.amazon.com/MARUTO-Pocktable-Rain-Cover-Child/dp/B00TSABH4G?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Hamax-Rain-Poncho-Waterproof-Windproof/dp/B00MEMWUKU
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Aug 30, 2021 16:13
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Was/Is it just a hipster fad? I only ever see the most cliché looking people riding them here in Paris. I'm guessing at least a few of them are riding old steel racing frames converted to single speed, which are a good toughness/lightness compromise for city use, often cheap, fun to ride, and a lot less attractive to thieves than new bikes.
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Aug 30, 2021 16:52
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Poe's law and all, but for fucks sake at least put a front brake on your bike and practice modulating it.
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Aug 30, 2021 17:02
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Invalido posted:My fixie experience is limited but what I dislike the most is that you can't corner hard since your pedals will strike the ground. Not if you are on a track frame with a raised BB. sweat poteto posted:I expect shops would have them set up single speed (with a freewheel) not fixed. They might flip the wheel for a test ride if you ask nice and sign a waiver. Why would you need to sign a waiver? 100YrsofAttitude posted:You’re not wrong. Whether on a bike or a car I try to brake as little as possible. Deceleration is real and good and if you’re going so fast it doesn’t work then you’re going too fast. Having a brake is faster. Most of the couriers I knew had gone through brakeless phases, but they found they made less money, as they had to ride more cautiously and slow down earlier and put a front brake on. You can emergency brake pretty well, but you kinda have to anticipate it. I had my (front) brake cable fail as I got right hooked (That's a *ping* sound I wont forget) and could not get the legs ready to leg brake, but managed to just turn with the car, who had then seen me and stopped. (I then promptly got rear ended by a cyclist at the next light!!) I got into fixed gear after trying it on the track. Loved how you could feel everything and the bike *just* responded. They are also amazing training tools. They force you to learn how to pedal, how to climb, how to relax your hips, etc and they will turn you into a much more proficient rider. They're also light, easy to carry up stairs, etc, so ideal for apartment/office dwellers that don't want to lock up your bike on the street.  I've had this 14 years now. I don't see the need for any other bike.
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Aug 30, 2021 18:36
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I’m pretty sure I can learn to pedal or climb on any bike with pedals tbh
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Aug 30, 2021 20:36
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Best part about owning a fixie is you can use mustache wax on the chain.
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Aug 30, 2021 20:42
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Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:I’m pretty sure I can learn to pedal or climb on any bike with pedals tbh You can usually tell from far distance whether it's a fixed rider or not, simply by how smooth they're pedaling. Most people aren't pedaling in circles, they just push down (and pull up if clipless).
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Aug 30, 2021 21:30
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This is always going to boil down to where you ride though isn’t it? I’d wreck my dicky knee here just trying to set off on rides in the Peak District, whereas in a beach town or flat city fixies are super fun.
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Aug 30, 2021 21:44
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Why would it wreck your knee?
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Aug 30, 2021 22:12
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I set off in granny gear when going up hills? My younger brother had a fixie and my main memory of it was being repeatedly smacked in the shin by it’s pedals pushing it up hills for him. I mean fair play to you if you could ride it round the Peak District but I could never get along with them.
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Aug 30, 2021 22:30
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Fixed gears are not fun on steep hills either up or down them, and anyone who says otherwise is either a masochist or lying to themselves. And this is coming from someone who does the majority of his racing on fixed gears. The best thing about a fixed gear commuting bike is imagining someone who tries to steal it immediately eating poo poo.
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Aug 30, 2021 22:40
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I got friends in the Peak District who rides fixed regularly. Geared down to the low 60's and obviously knows how to spin like crazy, but it's certainly doable.
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Aug 30, 2021 22:59
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ImplicitAssembler posted:I got friends in the Peak District who rides fixed regularly. Geared down to the low 60's and obviously knows how to spin like crazy, but it's certainly doable. Oh, no doubt it's doable. But it doesn't sound fun at all. Especially for commuting on.
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Aug 30, 2021 23:00
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bicievino posted:Oh, no doubt it's doable. But it doesn't sound fun at all. Especially for commuting on. And as noted, it will wreck knees in time. It’s as bad as grinding up every hill in too high a gear on a road bike.
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Aug 31, 2021 00:42
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Is there an electric bike thread? I'm thinking of moving further away from the city center for cheaper rent, and having an ebike would make the longer commute less painful.
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Aug 31, 2021 08:42
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Is indeed https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933074 Ebikes are good because I’m 42 this week.
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Aug 31, 2021 08:46
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bicievino posted:Fixed gears are not fun on steep hills either up or down them, and anyone who says otherwise is either a masochist or lying to themselves.
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Aug 31, 2021 09:08
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I'm in severe lockdown in Sydney so haven't biked anywhere for months. Finally got to yesterday when I went to get my vaccine (at last!! Australia's roll out is so bad). This is the bike parking situation in front of one of Sydney's major public hospitals:  Yeah some plants got pretty squished by the time I wrangled my cruiser in and locked up.
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Aug 31, 2021 10:29
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 every time i see somebody stack. learnincurve posted:I’d wreck my dicky knee I've got a wooden bladder.
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Aug 31, 2021 13:41
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Leng posted:I'm in severe lockdown in Sydney so haven't biked anywhere for months. Finally got to yesterday when I went to get my vaccine (at last!! Australia's roll out is so bad). About three months after initially complaining, my grocery store finally replaced their bike rack. Previously it was this thing with plastic bars loosely bolted to the ground. It was actually falling apart because the final time that I used it, I was unlocking my loaded bike and it kinda fell on one of the bars and shattered half of the thing. Too bad that they aren't enforcing the mask mandate at all this time around.
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Aug 31, 2021 14:35
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ImplicitAssembler posted:
Tell that to the cheapo steel frame and double-wall eyeletted front rim on my commuter fixie 
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Sep 3, 2021 08:45
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So, I posted about some bikes I was looking at getting earlier and I was advised not to purchase the Fuji. kimbo305 posted:Yeah, the fork blades do seem bent back a smidge, in the vein of a front wheel collision. EvilJoven posted:Oh ya if thats the case dont get that bike. Iguana it is if it fits. I went out and ended up trying out several of the bikes the guy had (his entire garage is filled with bikes in various stages of repair and a storage shed also filled with bikes), I found that out of the ones that he had, the Fuji felt the most comfortable as far as being able to fully extend my legs while pedaling and matching what I want to do with a bike. I didn't see any evidence of any bending of the frame anywhere when I looked at it in person and I think that might have just been because of the photo I posted at the time, I was hoping someone could clarify what I should be looking for with regards to that. I took another picture, and in retrospect I think this was not a helpful angle, but here it is  I believe this guy has a genuine passion and dedication for rebuilding bikes well. I quizzed him about what all his rebuilds entailed and it jives with the relevant knowledge I have about maintenance enough that I'd suspect he is at least fairly competent, but I'm not certain if he'd be able to recognize that kind of damage to a frame or its significance.
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Sep 4, 2021 16:01
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Here's an obviously bent fork: Sometimes the paint will crack or craze from the bend  And you might see similar bending or crazing on the down tube:  If he's as good as he claims, he would absolutely spot this damage during a rebuild of the bike. If you see anything like it, that means it was intentionally withheld. Not that I'm saying there is damage, just how to check more closely. Even if there is, it might be ok. It's the kind of thing that someone new to bikes might not be able to accurately assess the risk of, though.
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Sep 4, 2021 16:18
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Looks pretty normal from what I can see - besides the front brake being disconnected obviously, and remove that front reflector before it jams the wheel.
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Sep 4, 2021 16:23
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It's fine, buy it.
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Sep 4, 2021 16:44
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Yeah, I was looking for anything weird with the paint on the front fork and I couldn't see any distortion of any sort, very smooth. Front brake rubbing against the sidewall of the tire was one of the issues he noted with it, which is why it's disconnected in that photo. What's the deal with the front reflector? Probably gonna go ahead and buy it then
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Sep 4, 2021 17:37
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Reflector bracket seems to be almost touching the tire, and does basically nothing anyway. If you're riding at night, get a modern LED light that mounts to the handlebar. Bike looks great, enjoy!
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Sep 4, 2021 17:50
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EvenWorseOpinions posted:Front brake rubbing against the sidewall of the tire was one of the issues he noted with it, which is why it's disconnected in that photo. Does he tune up after someone buys it? Seems like one of the first fixes to make when prepping a bike.
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Sep 4, 2021 17:53
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He does the work on them before showing them. He tells me it's more of a self supporting hobby, and in that kind of work environment I can see that being a thing that gets overlooked until he actually brings it out to show someone. I'm pretty much convinced his enthusiasm for bikes is genuine, I'm similarly convinced he's not going to try to screw me over. When we talked through his methods I got the impression that he's at least not incompetent at mechanical work. He didn't try to hide the brakes issue or anything, when he noticed it was dragging a little he went through and was able to identify the issue pretty quickly, and he said he wasn't willing to sell it until he had fixed the issue and double-checked the bike, but yeah, the brakes are kind of a yellow flag. sweat poteto posted:Reflector bracket seems to be almost touching the tire, and does basically nothing anyway. If you're riding at night, get a modern LED light that mounts to the handlebar. Gotcha E: I don't think I've really done a good job of getting across my concern being less that he'll try to screw me, and more that his various levels of competencies could be uneven in a way that masks deficiencies. I've known quite a few wrench turners who are extremely competent at turning wrenches, but are terrible mechanics, if that makes sense. EE: I bought the bike, thread title delivers EvenWorseOpinions fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 4, 2021 18:53
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 I'm getting back into bike commuting! A family budget squeeze is forcing the issue and there's really no reason not to have been doing this all year so far anyway. I was good about it last year, but using my Orbea Mitis wasn't ideal. So I'm selling the Orbea and just finished the first phase of refreshing my old Cannondale ST400 for a year-round commuter. This is a really special bike to me. My dad bought it new in about 1989 and was really into road biking for a while when I was a kid. He fueled my love of riding at a really early age, but he quit before we ever got to ride together. He was always super supportive of me. Anyhow, he sold this one to a friend when I was about 12, and when I was in college, that friend gifted it back to me. I rode it all through college and into grad school when I picked up the Orbea from my then brother in law. The Cannondale got turned into a fixie, a single speed, and then rebuilt into a commuter for my fiance. She rode it till a couple years ago before deciding it was too big and wanted something a little easier to deal with, so I got her an 8-spd cruiserish townie bike, which is one of my favorite bikes ever. My commute is about 3.5 miles each way including a stop at daycare to drop off and pick up the kid. I used the Cannondale a couple times over the last couple weeks to do the commute, towing the kid trailer and it was scary. Notchy headset + bad front hub + 60 lb trailer = chaotic wandering and terrifying turns. I spent the rest of the time on my wife's bike. Thanks to a very generous gift of a new headset from kimbo305, I just got the Cannondale back running last night. The local bike co-op only charged me $10 to use the shop space to swap it out. The guy who helped was weird about me using the tools and wouldn't really let me get too involved but whatever. When I told him what I wanted to do, he grabbed the fork and rattled it around a little and said "This looks like it just needs an adjustment," so I said "No, I'm pretty positive it's a full replacement, I brought a new one with me." I got grilled on whether I knew the difference between JIS and ISO and if I had the right one. When he got the top unthreaded a bit, there was a rain of loose bearings, bits of seal, and crud and he said "Oh, I guess it might need a new one after all." After we got it swapped, he let me root through a bin of hubs to find one to cannibalize for an un-pitted cup for the front hub. Fortunately I got lucky with the one I took home and all I needed was one cup off of it. I put on a set of Salsa cx bars that were hanging around in the garage, a shorter stem, freshened up my tool kit, and had a great commute this morning. Eventually this season I'll need a new pair of tires, preferably something a little wider with a little more tread. The bike also needs a complete repaint. Dad's sweat was corrosive, and hosed up the paint on the top tube in places. I chipped away at it here and there, and the metal all looks fine, so I sealed it up with model paint and will just roll till next summer probably. Here's the whole rig. I'll try to find a good wall on the way home for a proper picture. 
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Sep 9, 2021 15:55
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congrats on getting back into it! What are you using to cover the scratches? my wife knocked over my loaded bike while we were hitting up garage sales and the paint got badly cipped  Additionally, upthread we were talking about heavy loads on bikes and I definitely misjudged the weight I was carrying.   I went to the hardware store again to get more dirt and turns out each bag is actually 40lbs and I got two. The rack is only rated for 55lbs, so I guess I'm not doing that again. A slight tap on the rear of the seat would start lifting the front wheel off the ground Mauser fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Sep 13, 2021 |
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Sep 13, 2021 14:22
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For various reasons I had to take public transportation twice recently and what a goddamned nightmare. At least as far as commuting goes I never ever want to go on anything that I don’t drive myself. I want to be responsible for whatever delays I suffer.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:53
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Mauser posted:congrats on getting back into it! What are you using to cover the scratches? my wife knocked over my loaded bike while we were hitting up garage sales and the paint got badly cipped I just took some Testors model enamel and put it on the bare aluminum bits and up into the edges of the chipped paint to hold it in place for a while. It's actually held for a few years that way with no further bubbling. When the time comes, I'll strip it all the way down to bare aluminum and do a proper paint job. There's going to be a bunch of aluminum oxide on the top tube to deal with, everything else is actually in great shape for the age. A few scrapes and bumps here and there. The last bike I painted went surprisingly well, so this one will be fun when I get to it. Got a year or so at least to decide on a new color scheme. Here's the last one I did: 
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Sep 13, 2021 18:35
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100YrsofAttitude posted:For various reasons I had to take public transportation twice recently and what a goddamned nightmare. At least as far as commuting goes I never ever want to go on anything that I don’t drive myself. I want to be responsible for whatever delays I suffer. I have to use lovely buses because of current care role and my god the engine fumes, even with the windows open, are unbearable.
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Sep 13, 2021 18:52
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Does anyone have a recommendation for a good trunk bag for a rear rack? I have this one but it flops over to the side a lot, which is annoying. I would prefer something that's still about this size but can be securely attached to the rack without floppage.
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Sep 21, 2021 18:55
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