bikes

[steve]

Super stoked to see this thread bumped up, I just did some repairs to this guy a few days a go to get dialed for summer ridding. Old 80s Fuji conversion running 42t-17t.

I also have a Surly Long Haul Trucker for touring. This was on my west coast bike/skate trip. LOADED UP SON!


Cut offs, proper cycling attire for sure. That's my skateboard on the back, in the rain condom.


I just got a 71 Stingray, fixing that thing up too. Just need a new chain and should be rolling. 3 speed shifter dude!!!

where did you tour? Me and my brother circumnavigated Humboldt County summer 2011. Did the Mattole, Lost Coast, Hoopa... shit was dope! Hoping to do one down to Yosemite this summer.
here's his LHT. peep the gallon jugs bungeed to the front rack! haha he had 1 on each side and i carried 1 on my bars.



here is my crosscheck

[garbage plate]

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careful about skid stopping too much though, wears out tires stupid quick. Watched two friends blow out their tires within 24 of each other from too much skidding

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Thats what I was going to say man, it's super fun but I can't afford to replace tires that often.

]

get these

[colin]

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watch this dude

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I don't know, maybe the balls-to-the-stem method is a good starting place, but I don't think it should be your final goal

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/438997-Seated-skids

[Jejenhausen]

Just picked up some cleets, feels much better being clipped in,  now I'm spending more and more time on my bike and loving it.

[mattofallmatts]

where did you tour? Me and my brother circumnavigated Humboldt County summer 2011. Did the Mattole, Lost Coast, Hoopa... shit was dope! Hoping to do one down to Yosemite this summer.

Ohhhh fuck yeah!! I rode Canada down to Mexico in 2009. I live here in Arcata, where are you? Mattole and the Lost Coast rule, best ramp ever is out in Hoopa at my buddy Tim's house. Come skate this summer!!

[Beeda Weeda]

i just clipped in on my mountain bike recently, its a very dorky, yet amazing feeling. I'm comfortable with myself, I embrace it.

[Smell Good]

I'm done with cages. I need to buy some regular platform pedals, also, some new bars and a rear brake.

Fixed --> single speed 

[steve]

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where did you tour? Me and my brother circumnavigated Humboldt County summer 2011. Did the Mattole, Lost Coast, Hoopa... shit was dope! Hoping to do one down to Yosemite this summer.

[close]

Ohhhh fuck yeah!! I rode Canada down to Mexico in 2009. I live here in Arcata, where are you? Mattole and the Lost Coast rule, best ramp ever is out in Hoopa at my buddy Tim's house. Come skate this summer!!

no shit!!! bahaha that's a badass ride!

I'm on the East Coast but my brother lives out at Manilla right now. I actually mailed him a complete and a pair of shoes yesterday. Homie doesn't skate much anymore but i threw together a sled from a local company for him since it's getting dry.

I'm probably heading out in July

[colin]

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careful about skid stopping too much though, wears out tires stupid quick. Watched two friends blow out their tires within 24 of each other from too much skidding

[close]

Thats what I was going to say man, it's super fun but I can't afford to replace tires that often.

Go to your local bike shop and see if they have any take-offs - tires some dude had them take off his bike when he bough new tires; he may not have thought they were nice enough for his g'ed-out road bike, but they will be plenty good for your fixie.
Also, Craigslist:

[mattofallmatts]

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where did you tour? Me and my brother circumnavigated Humboldt County summer 2011. Did the Mattole, Lost Coast, Hoopa... shit was dope! Hoping to do one down to Yosemite this summer.

[close]

Ohhhh fuck yeah!! I rode Canada down to Mexico in 2009. I live here in Arcata, where are you? Mattole and the Lost Coast rule, best ramp ever is out in Hoopa at my buddy Tim's house. Come skate this summer!!

[close]

no shit!!! bahaha that's a badass ride!

I'm on the East Coast but my brother lives out at Manilla right now. I actually mailed him a complete and a pair of shoes yesterday. Homie doesn't skate much anymore but i threw together a sled from a local company for him since it's getting dry.

I'm probably heading out in July

Siiick! Who is your brother I may know him. Its a pretty tight scene up here. Let me know when you are in town, I'm super busy but lets shred!

[neko]

Any advice on skidding even though I have both front and back brakes?

Like steve said, ditch the back brake; it's unnecessary and kinda dangerous.

If you want to learn to skid, go find a flat grassy area with firm enough soil to ride on. You can learn the balls-to-stem method, but that's some circus stuff, and won't help you in the least in traffic. Useful skids ? they used to be called "skips", but I don't know if people still use that term ? involve putting your weight on your arms, unweighting the back wheel a bit, and simultaneously locking your back leg and pulling up with your front leg. I first learned them by actually lifting my rear wheel off the ground and bashing it down a bit; it's fun, not the best for your wheel, but whatever! Learning to shift your weight is important, and once you learn it you can be pretty subtle about it. But the real key is in your legs; not in locking your back leg (which still has to happen), but in pulling up hard on your front leg. All my Vans that I ride in often get holes on the toe from my big toe pulling through while skidding, from the pulling-up motion of the front leg.

You can hold a skid that like pretty long once you learn the technique, though of course that's burning through a single skid patch on your tire. It's much more useful and economical to repeat small little skips back to back to back to slow down. And of course having the correct gear ratio for skidding will give you the most skid patches on your tire. I live in SF, ride my bike almost every day, buy shitty $20 tires, and replace my rear tire about once a year. Granted, I ride mostly for transportation; if you go out and get all Quicksilver every day, you're still gonna blow through tires quickly.

[Blue Fescue]

I don't think you should be riding fixed with Eggbeaters anyway.  You are never going to be able to get the tension high enough to keep you foot clipped in if you really need to stop.  

[Blue Fescue]

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Puch Mistral SLE (Puch is a legendary austrian brand, and the mistral bikes were their high-end ones).

[close]

That's a pretty bike. On on interesting side note, as I was looking for a hybrid bike on Craigslist for my sister-in-law, I came across a Ted Williams Sears bike (yes, the hall-of-fame baseball player). Some of the Ted Williams bikes were Reynolds 531 and some were made by Puch.

My Mountain Bike:

That is one sweet freeride bike.  What dropper post do you have and have you had any issues with it?  I really want one but with the cost and the problems people seem to have I am not sure.

[steve]

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Any advice on skidding even though I have both front and back brakes?

[close]

Like steve said, ditch the back brake; it's unnecessary and kinda dangerous.

If you want to learn to skid, go find a flat grassy area with firm enough soil to ride on. You can learn the balls-to-stem method, but that's some circus stuff, and won't help you in the least in traffic. Useful skids ? they used to be called "skips", but I don't know if people still use that term ? involve putting your weight on your arms, unweighting the back wheel a bit, and simultaneously locking your back leg and pulling up with your front leg. I first learned them by actually lifting my rear wheel off the ground and bashing it down a bit; it's fun, not the best for your wheel, but whatever! Learning to shift your weight is important, and once you learn it you can be pretty subtle about it. But the real key is in your legs; not in locking your back leg (which still has to happen), but in pulling up hard on your front leg. All my Vans that I ride in often get holes on the toe from my big toe pulling through while skidding, from the pulling-up motion of the front leg.

You can hold a skid that like pretty long once you learn the technique, though of course that's burning through a single skid patch on your tire. It's much more useful and economical to repeat small little skips back to back to back to slow down. And of course having the correct gear ratio for skidding will give you the most skid patches on your tire. I live in SF, ride my bike almost every day, buy shitty $20 tires, and replace my rear tire about once a year. Granted, I ride mostly for transportation; if you go out and get all Quicksilver every day, you're still gonna blow through tires quickly.

you've got it right here. For me, anyways, learning how to skid circus style was the first step to getting comfortable. You're right though, skipping is the only safe/practical way to do it. It's fun as shit too, whipping it around a little bit when you're blasting a puddle or whatever. Like doing a quick manny pivot over a sewer cap or patch of brick, know what i'm saying?

[colin]

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What dropper post do you have and have you had any issues with it?  I really want one but with the cost and the problems people seem to have I am not sure.

It's a GravityDropper Turbo: http://gravitydropper.com/.
I haven't had any problems, but I have not used it a lot - Based on all the posts I read on MTBR, it's the most reliable post.

Couple of things I have learned: I got the 5" 2" multiple position post, but wish I had gotten 5" 1"; 2" for pedaling over technical sections felt too low. But, you can buy a new inner post with the different drop positions from GD for like $30.
Also, I've read that you can buy the opposite lever you want (i.e., if you want a lever on the left side, buy a right handed lever), and then mount it on the underside of your bars. That way, it is more protected from impacts - I haven't tried this though.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

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Puch Mistral SLE (Puch is a legendary austrian brand, and the mistral bikes were their high-end ones).

[close]

That's a pretty bike. On on interesting side note, as I was looking for a hybrid bike on Craigslist for my sister-in-law, I came across a Ted Williams Sears bike (yes, the hall-of-fame baseball player). Some of the Ted Williams bikes were Reynolds 531 and some were made by Puch.

coincidences, huh? didnt think that people on here would know about Puch. stoked.

[neko]

you've got it right here. For me, anyways, learning how to skid circus style was the first step to getting comfortable. You're right though, skipping is the only safe/practical way to do it. It's fun as shit too, whipping it around a little bit when you're blasting a puddle or whatever. Like doing a quick manny pivot over a sewer cap or patch of brick, know what i'm saying?

Fuck yeah! Flairing skips/skids out to the side is crazy fun. Esp doing that around a turn, like powersliding through a turn on a skateboard.

[Jejenhausen]

Anyone here using strava?

Just got my first trophy, its very rewarding. Even if it was for a very short commute home from the city.

[Blue Fescue]

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What dropper post do you have and have you had any issues with it?  I really want one but with the cost and the problems people seem to have I am not sure.

[close]

It's a GravityDropper Turbo: http://gravitydropper.com/.
I haven't had any problems, but I have not used it a lot - Based on all the posts I read on MTBR, it's the most reliable post.

Couple of things I have learned: I got the 5" 2" multiple position post, but wish I had gotten 5" 1"; 2" for pedaling over technical sections felt too low. But, you can buy a new inner post with the different drop positions from GD for like $30.
Also, I've read that you can buy the opposite lever you want (i.e., if you want a lever on the left side, buy a right handed lever), and then mount it on the underside of your bars. That way, it is more protected from impacts - I haven't tried this though.

Thanks I will look into it.  I ride a lot more cross country style but want to get into enduro's so am looking at what I should get.  Seems like eventually a new bike but until then I will just kind of experiment.  I haven't ridden in a month as I am waiting for my bikes to get here but am going up to the mountains soon and will rent.  Can't wait.

[colin]

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.

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 I ride a lot more cross country style but want to get into enduro's so am looking at what I should get.  Seems like eventually a new bike but until then I will just kind of experiment. 

I'd be interested to hear how the enduro stuff goes and what you eventually do about a bike.

[colin]

Colnago International from I think the early to mid '80s: Columbus steel tubing and many of the original components: stem, headset, brakes, chainrings, cranks.

I put a new seat on there because I liked the juxtaposition of a new saddle with the old frame, and a Thomson seatpost because I like the look and needed something a little longer (this bike is a 54 cm and I'd probably take a 56 in these older-style frames; I have a Bridgestone RB2 56 that is more comfortable.)

I've got the original bars, but swapped them out for these Bontrager compacts with a 26mm clamp area with the Sram S500 levers to get my hands up a little because the old style was low, and my hands were even lower relative to the saddle because I'm running a longer post to adjust for the smaller frame.



Some details:

Stem and headset:



Fork crown with Ernesto Colnago signature on brake:



Seat stay (it's got the club symbol on the seat stay bridge as well):



Cutout on bottom of BB shell:



Big chain ring:





Last thing is that I took it to the shop for servicing on the bottom bracket and the spindle was like a work of art - the guy at the shop said is was made by Campagnolo

Wish I had better pics, but that is my cell phone

[Blue Fescue]

Wow that is a classic bike of the era, great find. 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

stoked for you, that looks amazing! and you just gotta love campagnolo parts.

[Lenny the Fatface]

My current baby.  I'm not feeling the bullhorn handlebars nearly as much as I thought I would....

[colin]

Giant Bike

My current baby.  I'm not feeling the bullhorn handlebars nearly as much as I thought I would....

Lenny, how tall are you?

[Lenny the Fatface]

lol I'm 6'3" or 6'4".

[steve]

My current baby.  I'm not feeling the bullhorn handlebars nearly as much as I thought I would....

try turning them up a bit more. I like bullhorns for the leverage I get while riding up hill and standing. they allow great use of the chest and shoulders.

[alka-seltzer]

anyone try butterfly bars? i put em on my mountain turned all terrain city lurker. wrapped the shit out of them. got em for $20. no more numb hands on long rides.

[neko]

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My current baby.  I'm not feeling the bullhorn handlebars nearly as much as I thought I would....

[close]

try turning them up a bit more. I like bullhorns for the leverage I get while riding up hill and standing. they allow great use of the chest and shoulders.

Yeah, that might help. I love bullhorns personally, been riding them for years and years. They started giving me wrist problems, though, so I ended up switching to these a few years ago:



They're perfect. The downward bend completely fixed the wrist pain. I couldn't think of a better handlebar for me.

EDIT: I also realized long after I started riding those that they're in one of the gnarlier bike photos I've ever seen:

[Joust Ostrich]

Does anyone know if there is a SLAP version of a bike forum?  Road bikes, not BMX.  I have some shit I need to figure out.  I came up, I'm just not sure how big.  I looked at bikeforum.net and pedalroom.com, but its hard to get a feel.

Also built this single speed up last week for $129 and two ice cream sandwiches.  1992 Peugeot (imported) from Germany.  Rides plenty good enough.

Watched this yesterday, 1962 Tour de France.  Fucked to see them run into stores to buy beer during the race.  Things were raw back then.