hillsighed
Member
Thanks! Nah. My Bianchi is pretty much stock, hers is a custom job but we didn't paint any of the parts.
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Bicycle age
- Thread starter elrechazado
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Thanks! Nah. My Bianchi is pretty much stock, hers is a custom job but we didn't paint any of the parts.
Psychotext
Member
Bikeradar.com
It's quite common, though lower pressure will help... or better tyres.
I'd also add that the Park Tools website is a fantastic resource. They make great tools too, can't recommend 'em enough.
Psychotext
Member
Yeah, pricey but good.
Reminds me, I really need to buy a dérailleur / hanger alignment tool as I keep smashing my dérailleur on rocks... but they're seriously expensive for what's essentially a rod of metal with a couple of bits on it.
Reminds me, I really need to buy a dérailleur / hanger alignment tool as I keep smashing my dérailleur on rocks... but they're seriously expensive for what's essentially a rod of metal with a couple of bits on it.
I posted this the 2 Wheel thread but I guess it sort of belongs here too. >_<
Motorized bike I've been building over the past week. Just finally finished it and it rides pretty nicely! Though I'm going to replace the chain ring with a smaller one that's easier to pedal from standstill. All the added weight makes getting up to the necessary speed to start the motor really hard on any kind of incline.
Holy crap that looks awesome.
Beautiful. Both sites had great resources. Park Tools seems to have a lot more in terms of basic information, though, which should be helpful. Bikeradar seems like a great website generally. Bookmarked both!
Did a full ride to work for the first time in 2 months. little under 13mph, 1.5hr ride including stretch breaks, one close call w/ an asshole that decided to overtake me just as I was making a right turn (they then went on to park at the Home depot that's right after the turn -- considered confronting them for a second, then figured it's not worth wasting my patience). Groin felt a little tired, but it feels tons better now that I've iced it. Overall it feels great to be riding to work again, even if I know I'll have to either get a bus home or do it just once or twice a week till I'm 100% again.
Psychotext
Member
I'm a bit too scared to train at the mo... still terrified that it's a clot rather than just a muscle strain causing my leg pain. Chances it's a clot are unlikely (there's a set of indicators which you add up to get a total) but it doesn't really stop me being freaked out by it.
So a few weeks back I wrecked my bike(collision with a car) and just recently am able to ride again. The frame of the bike looks good but the forks are bent up a bit. Does anyone know how easy/hard it is to bend them back or if i should look for new forks? The bike is like 30 years old but it rides(or used to) pretty well. I can take pictures if need be.
I'd love to starting riding again soon with summer starting up and need to figure this out. D:
I'd love to starting riding again soon with summer starting up and need to figure this out. D:
davidnic
Member
If it was me I will get new forks cause they're sound pretty damage and I wouldn't risk bending them back their might don't have the same strength than before which could end badly for you one day.
Quote
Member
Forks already take a ton of abuse, I would look at getting it replaced. 30 year old bikes are cool and wall but maybe use this as an excuse to get a new one.
Right, and I wasn't sure if they'd have the same strength as before, not to mention them being so old in the first place. I'll look around and see the prices for forks as well as some cheap bikes in craigslist I suppose.
Does anyone have used bike brand recommendations? Was looking at forks online and they look like the go for around the same price as an inexpensive used bike. : / I think I'd rather just find a new bike as I'd also have to replace the tire and I'm not 100% sure if the body is fine even though it looks okay.
Here's what the forks look like in case you were interested. It doesn't look too terrible in the pictures but I dont see how it could get bent back into place. Both sides of the fork are bent to the left which makes it look not as bad.
http://i2.minus.com/jfKqQ7GRzv6p1_e.jpg
http://i3.minus.com/jbybJLTEErfjvq_e.jpg
Get it checked. It'll put your mind at ease and allow you to train again if it's not a clot - and if it is surely the earlier it gets looked at the better?I'm a bit too scared to train at the mo... still terrified that it's a clot rather than just a muscle strain causing my leg pain. Chances it's a clot are unlikely (there's a set of indicators which you add up to get a total) but it doesn't really stop me being freaked out by it.
Phantast2k
Member
I bought tubed tires (with a reflecting stripe) recently and damn, it's so hard to put them on. Tubeless tires 4tw.
The missus has given me bike shop vouchers for my birthday. She fucking rocks. Now to order some new goodies!
Interesting. What am I looking at here, an old StumpJumper? That bar / stem combo says mid-80's Stumpy.
You'll have a job getting forks with the same axle to crown length. Modern forks will be longer and will mess up the geometry of the bike. You're probably better picking up a cheap used bike unless you have a particular attachment to that one.
Edit: also, don't scrap your current bike, sell it. Someone out there will want to restore that.
Interesting. What am I looking at here, an old StumpJumper? That bar / stem combo says mid-80's Stumpy.
You'll have a job getting forks with the same axle to crown length. Modern forks will be longer and will mess up the geometry of the bike. You're probably better picking up a cheap used bike unless you have a particular attachment to that one.
Edit: also, don't scrap your current bike, sell it. Someone out there will want to restore that.
Psychotext
Member
I have, I don't pass enough indicators to get at the proper test (blood test / ultrasound).
Canis lupus
Member
I love bicycling, I find female bicycles very comfortable when I need it in the city, havent used my Giant mountainbike in ages.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Finished my first century group ride on the 18th, and it was my second century in the last 30 days. I left at 6:15 and arrived at my destination 105 miles/7 hours later. From looking at the parking lot at the end, I was somewhere between number 200 and 250 to arrive out of 4000. Not a race, but that still felt good.
Had a horrible start, my knees, hips, and entire left leg were all screaming with pain for the first 15 miles. At the first rest stop I moved my seat back a quarter inch and all was good, except for the energy the pain had sapped from me.
The rest of the ride was just as evenful with my right knee exploding in so much pain at mile 40 that I had to ride one-legged (thank God for clips) for 10 more miles until I could get to the rest area and stretch. I still couldn't push very hard on that side for about 20 more miles.
And then there was the rain. As a ginger I didn't mind not riding in the sun (no sunburn, yay) but I hated everyone riding without fenders in front of me. Also it kept the sand down at the finish line so that was nice.
The previous weekend I did 76 miles and it took me 7 hours as well. I suppose the route helped (not so hilly) but it felt good when it was over. The cheering of the crowd at the end was amazing. That was like a top-five moment, and I can see why people do it over and over.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2036027
Had a horrible start, my knees, hips, and entire left leg were all screaming with pain for the first 15 miles. At the first rest stop I moved my seat back a quarter inch and all was good, except for the energy the pain had sapped from me.
The rest of the ride was just as evenful with my right knee exploding in so much pain at mile 40 that I had to ride one-legged (thank God for clips) for 10 more miles until I could get to the rest area and stretch. I still couldn't push very hard on that side for about 20 more miles.
And then there was the rain. As a ginger I didn't mind not riding in the sun (no sunburn, yay) but I hated everyone riding without fenders in front of me. Also it kept the sand down at the finish line so that was nice.
The previous weekend I did 76 miles and it took me 7 hours as well. I suppose the route helped (not so hilly) but it felt good when it was over. The cheering of the crowd at the end was amazing. That was like a top-five moment, and I can see why people do it over and over.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2036027
Finished the last century of the KOM series, 41st out of ~160 riders. Looked to be a fairly moderate century, so I cranked up the intensity. Goal was to pull a sub 22 hour combined time, so I needed a ~6:45 time on this ride, I was aiming for 6:30. Left at 7:45, started it out easy, but once I hit some rolling descents, I went above LT a bunch of times doing big ring powering over the top. Went with a little recovery on a gradual ascent until the halfway point, then started in a strong effort up the last large climb. Kept doing the math on my head to make sure I was keeping a good enough pace. From mile 75 to 90 was a bit more of rolling with a small ascent, had a cross wind, was a bit rough alone, but I pulled through. @ mile 91, the rest was downhill, and it still wasn't quite at 6 hours. Went full bore downhill, average over 30 even with two stop signs. Pulled out a 6:15 time. Pretty satisfied with my performance for this one, unlike the last two where my pacing was off. Total time 21:27, 41st place out of 160 something for the whole thing, three centuries with a total climbing >32k feet. No more centuries for a while, back to the crits.
Man up, Nancy! I can't imaging second guessing all my aches and pains. I won't say I understand how you feel, but I do understand how much riding can be a mental challenge.
Good job, for me the worst part of centuries are the first and last 15 miles.
Man up, Nancy!
I can't imaging second guessing all my aches and pains. I won't say I understand how you feel, but I do understand how much riding can be a mental challenge.Good job, for me the worst part of centuries are the first and last 15 miles.
Psychotext
Member
Man up, Nancy!
If it is a clot, and it becomes a pulmonary embolism when I'm out on a trail... I'm dead. It's pretty much that simple. I just don't have a lot of faith in doctors (they said that it wasn't a clot the first time around, and then caught it afterwards).
So yeah... I'm second guessing it. Riding is easy, certainly never been concerned about any sort of challenge there.
Vincent Alexander
Member
Howdy! My girlfriend bought a 60 dollar bike seat for her 3 year old for 5 dollars at a garage sale. Once we got home, we realized it needed a seat rack/mount that sellers didn't have. So, we coughed up 20 more online for the piece. After we got it, we realized her bike doesn't have required upper eyelets. Yeah, we're not too bright. At this point, I'm going to take her old bicycle and we're going to buy her a brand new one. Any suggestions for online bicycle shopping? We went to Walmart, but no one there knew anything about bicycles. We found a professional bike shop, but the bikes there started at 300.
Oh yeah forgot to put in that post. It's a Diamondback TrailStreak. Was going to take a picture but I found the exact one here, minus the thing under the frame.
http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/vi...k-trail-streak-diamond-back-trail-streak-.jpg
Saw this on Craigslist. Looks like a good deal, but I'm not sure what medium frame means in terms of size. I'm about 6ft. Anyone have thoughts on this?
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/bik/3818498536.html
Today I played around with my front and rear derailleurs ever since my 2nd and 3rd gears started clicking. Adjusted everything after watching a youtube video and my bike feels like new again. Why didn't I do this before?? I was always afraid to mess with my bike but it's so damn easy, I need to hit myself for not doing it sooner.
Back to what I mentioned earlier in this thread about getting my max speed up - I started doing squats, lunges and wall sits and I can already feel a difference while sprinting.
Back to what I mentioned earlier in this thread about getting my max speed up - I started doing squats, lunges and wall sits and I can already feel a difference while sprinting.
Mind sharing the videos? I'm hoping to do the same this week and want to educate myself as best as possible before I start messing with things.
Installed some new metal pedals today since my rubber ones were breaking. Was a really simple job, but now I want to replace everything, and most of all the bike. I think I'll continue to toy around with this one and beat it to shit before I invest in something I don't understand.
So it looks like I'm going to be in the market for a bike. My fitness over the last nearly eight years has been entirely gym based - but the last couple of years I've been having issues with my back that has limited the amount I can do. I've been seeing a chiropractor after putting it off forever and it's time to start exercising again.
I don't fancy going back to the gym though, so I'm looking at doing some road running and cycling. It's so long since I've owned a bike I have no fucking idea where to start! D:
I don't fancy going back to the gym though, so I'm looking at doing some road running and cycling. It's so long since I've owned a bike I have no fucking idea where to start! D:
If you have history can't you use that angle? Is there no way you can go private?
Psychotext
Member
The history is taken into account when doing the "scoring". I could go private, but it's a fine balance between fear and hypochondria. I'm still truly hopeful that it's just a muscle tear / strain and I'm just being a big baby.
It really is hard to say whether a medium would fit a 6' tall person. There isn't a real standard on what a medium is. It could be a bit small (which could be corrected with the stem and seatpost).
Just trying to be supportive, don't die.
Better man than me then. Many time I find myself thinking this feels really bad, I better quit and not hurt myself. It takes so long for stuff to heal compared to twenty years ago.
Psychotext
Member
Like I said before, it's probably nothing... but it's a bit like wondering if you have a mini bomb in your body waiting to go off. I blame the doctors and nurses for scaring the shit out of me last time.
I really want to try mountain biking and I found out that Mountain Creek (Vernon, NJ) has a bike park. They have beginner trails and bike rentals. For a half day it's like 50 bucks for a full suspension bike and 30 for the pass. I was wondering if anyone ever went? Or if it's ok for someone with little experience.
I've watched a lot of gear tuning videos, and have never found one that good. The guy takes time and makes everything real obvious. Whether I could successfully do it on my own is still up for grabs.
Exactly, I think i found this on reddit so thanks to them for pointing it out. Some of my own tuning was a bit of trial and error since my bike is kinda dirty where his is brand new in the video. Still though, I figured it all out and I can't believe what a difference it makes!
Quote
Member
I haven't been but do it! My only tip is know your limits and walk the features that panic you. You'll love it!
Christoff Yurievich
Member
My rear derailleur 'blew up' on the way home yesterday, but at least it waited until I was almost there. I have no idea what happened, and didn't even notice when it happened since I have been having shifting issues due to the 7-gear wheel and 8-gear shifter. I only noticed that when I got to a hill, it would no longer shift beyond the 3rd gear. When I looked down to investigate, the silver arm was in the cassette because the screw fell out and I dropped a cog, throwing the arm violently up. No idea what caused it.
And you know what? I've had the bike for close to 8 years and it wasn't until this year when I started wanting to do the maintenance myself that I noticed. I asked the bike repair place who had done the last two tune-ups and they said that they just assumed I knew and adjusted the bike to work.
And you know what? I've had the bike for close to 8 years and it wasn't until this year when I started wanting to do the maintenance myself that I noticed. I asked the bike repair place who had done the last two tune-ups and they said that they just assumed I knew and adjusted the bike to work.
Nice little 25 mile ride today (yay for extended vacation weekends!), need to get to the bike shop though before next time. I need padded gloves or something so my wrists aren't killing me. I also need to look into some riding shorts or something to prevent chafing so I'm not so raw when I get home.
Vincent Alexander
Member
Anybody? Having a hard time finding bicycles to purchase online with upper eyelets.
keeblerdrow
Member
Alright cyclegaf, I just joined the ranks. But I'm feeling a little uneasy at the moment.
I bought my first non-elementary school Huffy with kicks bicycle today. I recently got a new apartment about 4 miles from my workplace. I plan on biking to work and then expanding that to pleasure rides/exercise this summer. The main drawback is that my job is in the rough neighborhood and my building has outside storage only with a bike rack. So there's a theft risk keeping my investment modest.
I got a Trek 7.3 fx. Paid about $670 for it before tax. Got a u-lock and a rear mounted fender/transport pad for free with purchase. For my purposes, this was the very limits of my budget. Did I do well? I've spent a considerable amount of money and may need some validation or advice. Shoukd I drop down to a lower one to make it less of a target for theft? Did I pay too much? My transaction is still reversible!
I bought my first non-elementary school Huffy with kicks bicycle today. I recently got a new apartment about 4 miles from my workplace. I plan on biking to work and then expanding that to pleasure rides/exercise this summer. The main drawback is that my job is in the rough neighborhood and my building has outside storage only with a bike rack. So there's a theft risk keeping my investment modest.
I got a Trek 7.3 fx. Paid about $670 for it before tax. Got a u-lock and a rear mounted fender/transport pad for free with purchase. For my purposes, this was the very limits of my budget. Did I do well? I've spent a considerable amount of money and may need some validation or advice. Shoukd I drop down to a lower one to make it less of a target for theft? Did I pay too much? My transaction is still reversible!
Hey dudes. I just bought a Trek 4300 Disc as my first mountain bike to start doing some frequent off road trail riding.
I live like an hour away from the dealership and just realized when I got home that the rear valve stem cap for my tire is missing. I know, not a big deal, but I'd like it to have one if I'm going through dirt and whatnot.
My valve stems look like this:
Presta valves.
Anyone know where I can get just a normal valve stem cap for a presta valve? One that's just a normal black cap lol. Not LED flashing lights or stupid 8 Ball shapes and stuff lol..
Looking on Amazon it's nothing but stupid kinds.
I live like an hour away from the dealership and just realized when I got home that the rear valve stem cap for my tire is missing. I know, not a big deal, but I'd like it to have one if I'm going through dirt and whatnot.
My valve stems look like this:
Presta valves.
Anyone know where I can get just a normal valve stem cap for a presta valve? One that's just a normal black cap lol. Not LED flashing lights or stupid 8 Ball shapes and stuff lol..
Looking on Amazon it's nothing but stupid kinds.
Don't put caps on them, tighten up the top.
Presta tubes will come with the black plastic caps and nuts (both aren't necessary).
keeblerdrow: I don't think bike cost directly corresponds to bike theft. Thieves aren't that smart, a flashy fixie will get stolen before a muted 4k road bike. That being said, a cheaper bike is cheaper to replace.
Presta tubes will come with the black plastic caps and nuts (both aren't necessary).
keeblerdrow: I don't think bike cost directly corresponds to bike theft. Thieves aren't that smart, a flashy fixie will get stolen before a muted 4k road bike. That being said, a cheaper bike is cheaper to replace.
Definately get a good pair of padded gloves. They make a huge difference. I usually wear bike shorts if I'm going to be riding more than 50km as my seat does a pretty good job of not hurting my ass. I've got one of these,
In my experience padded gloves are great for mountain biking not road biking as they just make the ride hotter and sweatier. Which do you do since I see you live in Alaska? The shorts should help, but I noticed if I rode a lot all the time in the past my crotch hardened to the friction and did never chaffe.
On another note, my biking season begins in CO now. Hopefully I can train hardcore on the road so the mountain trips become a cakewalk and not too physically tiring. My hope is to bike in Colorado Springs, Denver Area and Buena Vista. With luck I should get to them all and be almost in the best shape of my life.
Ok thanks, I was wondering about that.
I just made sure the little nut was tight on the valve so I won't worry about it then. I guess that explains why it's so hard to find caps for them - since they don't need it.
I think that if you are having bad wrist pain, there is something else going on besides gloves.
Shorts are necessary and will help with chaffing. I ride a road bike and it gets pretty toasty here in the summer; and I wear full finger gloves. I find I have better grip on the bars, I also have something to wipe the sweat from my eyes, and most importantly if I go down, I'd rather have some protection for my fingers and hands.
Shorts are necessary and will help with chaffing. I ride a road bike and it gets pretty toasty here in the summer; and I wear full finger gloves. I find I have better grip on the bars, I also have something to wipe the sweat from my eyes, and most importantly if I go down, I'd rather have some protection for my fingers and hands.
Eh, it's not that important in the grand scheme of things, but if I were you, I'd buy a spare tube and use the included dustcap on your current valve. They exist for a reason.Ok thanks, I was wondering about that.
I just made sure the little nut was tight on the valve so I won't worry about it then. I guess that explains why it's so hard to find caps for them - since they don't need it.
Mind you, I have anodised bullets for valve caps, so you probably shouldn't listen to me.
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