bikes

[Blue Fescue]

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

[manysnakes]

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

Pisgah?

[Drangus]

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Got this fun one for $40 yesterday morning. Had to break it in on some trails. keep you eyes open for these ones, they're pretty sick.

[close]

With everyone jumping on the vintage MTB bandwagon, I've surprised that there hasn't been more interest in the mid-to-high-end chromoly 90s hybrid bikes, especially since you can still readily find 700c tires and rims, whereas with 26" you're looking at an ever-dwindling stock.

Yeah, I think most people just don't really know about them. 26ers are definitely more common for sale I feel, but a Specialized Crossroads, Trek Multitrack, Miyata 1000, all these are somewhat common and can fit anywhere from 700cx38-45mm most of the time. Who knows why, but I do know this thing handles amazing and can keep up with most gravel/hybrids as long as the rider can!

I think down the line I will upgrade the bars from these narrow stock ones to something a bit wider, and maybe the wheelset. But for $40 I a m enjoying it stock as much as possible. Was nearly mint when I got it besides some old grease in the drivetrain. Took it out to CO Springs last weekend for a big ole climby ride in the mountains. It was righteous.

[Joust Ostrich]

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

hot
action.

[Blue Fescue]

Expand Quote

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

[close]

Pisgah?

Oh how I wish, though I am from up there and go back to Boone pretty often.  Wilmington Nc on the coast.  flat and sandy so the singlespeed is making the few trails we have more interesting

[Blue Fescue]

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Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

[close]

hot
action.

Thanks!  i do tend to look at it a lot more then my other bikes.  it looks so good on the drivetrain side.

[Mr. Pickles]

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

This is rad. I've been wanting a ss mountain bike for a long time. There's been a niner for $800 on CL for a couple of months that I've been fighting with myself NOT to buy, but now I might have to...

[Skibb]

Speaking of 90s mid hybrids, here’s my Univega with the revamped cockpit: drops and bar-end friction shifters. So much fucking fun to ride, beyond stoked on the switch.



Sorry for the shit photo, you’ll have to take my word for it haha.

[Blue Fescue]

Expand Quote

Finished my singlespeed Esker.  It is really fun and has made the local trails a bit more fun.  The repetition was killing me.
bonus disc golf bag

[close]

This is rad. I've been wanting a ss mountain bike for a long time. There's been a niner for $800 on CL for a couple of months that I've been fighting with myself NOT to buy, but now I might have to...

It is definitely fun and I have been phantom shifting all over the place.  It is also the first hardtail I have ridden in forever.  Really makes me pay attention to the trails I have ridden a million times.  Usually on a full suspension I am day dreaming and just rolling over stuff

[manysnakes]

I rode SS for a long, long time, even did some 75 and 100 mile races on one. I cannot imagine doing that now and I do wonder if so much singlespeeding is part of why my left knee is so jacked up.

[Frank and Fred]

I did two rides last weekend. One on a SS and one on geared bike. Looking at my strava stats they were both the same distance but the SS was quicker, more elevation and way more fun.

[Frank]

i have a frame with an unfortunately seized seatpost(my older retro mtb) that has cutouts that make it ideal to make a singlespeed out of. now that my actual single speed bike got stolen, i hope to remove that seatpost, so i can build that one up again. i really like riding single speed, i never really shift a lot anyway and stay within a range of mostly 3 upper gears. and my city is very flat, little elevation and almost no reason to shift at all a lot of the time.

also gotta fix the reach on my current bike and been thinking of looking for a bmx style stem and race bars to bring the bars a bit closer and higher.

[Frank and Fred]

I rode SS for a long, long time, even did some 75 and 100 mile races on one. I cannot imagine doing that now and I do wonder if so much singlespeeding is part of why my left knee is so jacked up.

What gear did you run? I've found being too spiny seems better than being too mashy for the knees. i'd rather look under geared spinning down hill than crossing my knees and back mashing up hill. so i've been lowering my gearing over the years.

[Coastal Fever]

I feel bad ruining the sanctity of this dope thread with my department store bullshit, but I upgraded from my old Free Spirit beater to a newer used Supercycle today that I’m kinda hyped on.  Both pictured below.

I originally just wanted to get gravel tires for the old one, but realized it would cost me around $100cad and it’s tough to find 27 x 1-1/4”s anywhere.  Whereas the new bike cost me $275, with 700c tires that are easy to find, and I can prob recoup $100 or so by selling the old one. 

I mostly ride on crusher dust trails and hoping to go on some nice longer rides this spring/summer/fall.  We have an old railway trail system that’s mostly flat and well kept where I’m from, that goes on for about 100 miles which is pretty amazing.

[Skibb]

I feel bad ruining the sanctity of this dope thread with my department store bullshit, but I upgraded from my old Free Spirit beater to a newer used Supercycle today that I’m kinda hyped on.  Both pictured below.

I originally just wanted to get gravel tires for the old one, but realized it would cost me around $100cad and it’s tough to find 27 x 1-1/4”s anywhere.  Whereas the new bike cost me $275, with 700c tires that are easy to find, and I can prob recoup $100 or so by selling the old one. 

I mostly ride on crusher dust trails and hoping to go on some nice longer rides this spring/summer/fall.  We have an old railway trail system that’s mostly flat and well kept where I’m from, that goes on for about 100 miles which is pretty amazing.

Need to see some pics of this!

And congrats on the new ride, looks sweet.

[concerned_parent]

$20 score from this past weekend:

[Coastal Fever]

@Skibb Thanks man!  If you just google BLT Trail NS it’ll give you a pretty good idea of what it looks like.  Pretty straightforward but some really nice views along the way, gorgeous in the fall.  What’s nice is that most of it isn’t too far from the main road, and a good portion is right by the ocean.  So you get this incredible mix of salt air and pine smell that’s almost like a Bath & Bodyworks candle or something.

[manysnakes]

$20 score from this past weekend:

Damn dude, that’s a quick $1200-1500 flip on eBay.

[concerned_parent]

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$20 score from this past weekend:

[close]

Damn dude, that’s a quick $1200-1500 flip on eBay.

i believe it's a 90's reissue, so it's probably only a $500 flip =]

that being said i rode it around Queens all weekend and felt like a total gangsta

[Drangus]

Speaking of 90s mid hybrids, here’s my Univega with the revamped cockpit: drops and bar-end friction shifters. So much fucking fun to ride, beyond stoked on the switch.



Sorry for the shit photo, you’ll have to take my word for it haha.

Yo nice. I am looking into switching up my setup to drops and bar end shifters.
Kidna wanna get the old brake levers where the cable goes up and out the top, I think theyre called non aero or something. They look dope.

[323-BALM]

My favorite spot is 30% clear of snow. Heat wave has arrived, let the melt out continue!
Scenic right hander and thumpy mossblaster

[Blue Fescue]

My favorite spot is 30% clear of snow. Heat wave has arrived, let the melt out continue!
Scenic right hander and thumpy mossblaster

Those both look fun, I miss topography

[SLAPASONIC]

I did another cycling trip around parts of Japan up until last week. Did around 350km over 5-6 days, just cycling and camping through mountains and chilling at beaches. I got to explore the mountains of Nara prefecture, and island/bays of Ise, Mie, it was pretty awesome. Videos below if anyone's interested.

[Frank]

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My favorite spot is 30% clear of snow. Heat wave has arrived, let the melt out continue!
Scenic right hander and thumpy mossblaster

[close]

Those both look fun, I miss topography

!!!

i live in a coastal plain and it sucks, i miss seeing rolling hills.

[Joust Ostrich]

I did another cycling trip around parts of Japan up until last week. Did around 350km over 5-6 days, just cycling and camping through mountains and chilling at beaches. I got to explore the mountains of Nara prefecture, and island/bays of Ise, Mie, it was pretty awesome. Videos below if anyone's interested.

I'll watch 4 more episodes of this.  Great job, again.

[Hash Slinging Slasher]

kind of a weird question, but does anyone have experience biking with a hydration vest and/or have good recommendations? wanting to get get into significantly longer rides regularly without having to worry as much about water fill-up spots. i'm guessing they'll all manage bumps and other cycling movements pretty well due to them being primarily made for running, but they're probably not all made equal either. thanks for any info

[manysnakes]

kind of a weird question, but does anyone have experience biking with a hydration vest and/or have good recommendations? wanting to get get into significantly longer rides regularly without having to worry as much about water fill-up spots. i'm guessing they'll all manage bumps and other cycling movements pretty well due to them being primarily made for running, but they're probably not all made equal either. thanks for any info

I used to wear one whenever I did long MTB races. Buy one of the minimalist types from Fox or Camelbak and it’ll disappear behind you. There’s usually enough room in there for some snacks and Clif bars, so it’s doubly handy for that.

The bladders get moldy quickly, so rather than try to dry it out, my advice is to stick it in the freezer when you’re done with it.

[c. 1995]

kind of a weird question, but does anyone have experience biking with a hydration vest and/or have good recommendations? wanting to get get into significantly longer rides regularly without having to worry as much about water fill-up spots. i'm guessing they'll all manage bumps and other cycling movements pretty well due to them being primarily made for running, but they're probably not all made equal either. thanks for any info

No experience with those but do some longer rides with nowhere to get water. What works for me is a cage that can take a larger bottle. I use a velo orange Mojave cage that fits a 40oz Klean kanteen and then a regular squeeze bottle that holds 27oz and that’s usually enough. Can run a smaller water bottle too under downtube if you have the mounts. Also makes a big difference to hydrate some before riding.

[Andmoreagain]

kind of a weird question, but does anyone have experience biking with a hydration vest and/or have good recommendations? wanting to get get into significantly longer rides regularly without having to worry as much about water fill-up spots. i'm guessing they'll all manage bumps and other cycling movements pretty well due to them being primarily made for running, but they're probably not all made equal either. thanks for any info

I use a 2L pack dirt biking. It's very slim and you don't really notice it much but it can make your back a little hotter. I'll sometimes bring it mountain biking for long rides but if it's going to be mellow enough and there's room on the bike I'd prefer a couple of bottle in cages to keep weight low and off my back.

[manysnakes]

Expand Quote

kind of a weird question, but does anyone have experience biking with a hydration vest and/or have good recommendations? wanting to get get into significantly longer rides regularly without having to worry as much about water fill-up spots. i'm guessing they'll all manage bumps and other cycling movements pretty well due to them being primarily made for running, but they're probably not all made equal either. thanks for any info

[close]

No experience with those but do some longer rides with nowhere to get water. What works for me is a cage that can take a larger bottle. I use a velo orange Mojave cage that fits a 40oz Klean kanteen and then a regular squeeze bottle that holds 27oz and that’s usually enough. Can run a smaller water bottle too under downtube if you have the mounts. Also makes a big difference to hydrate some before riding.

The Mojave cage is good, I would also recommend the Arundel Looney Bin. It's much uglier than the Velo Orange cage but its ratcheting function is unmatched. I have two and they're great, allow me to carry two giant stainless steel bottles full of water.