bikes

[PuffinMuffin]

Once you致e reached mature cyclist phase and you just accept that your bike is going to have a rack, I highly recommend the Fairdale Skate Rack. It works perfectly, I use mine all the time. I知 thinking this summer that I might do a little skate tour and go ride around to some more remote northwest skateparks. A rare product that works exactly as advertised.

Hahaha, I 100% wanted a Fairdale skate rack. I don't bring much when I ride, a mini hand pump, 2 tubes, some shitty pre-glued patches, quicklinks, and my cellphone which all fits in a bottle. Only been stranded a couple of times, due to catastrophic part failure or getting hit by a car. So I couldn't justify the cost of a rack plus the Fairdale. 

[Frank and Fred]

I have a bike for commuting and a bike for longer adventures (both posted earlier in this thread) but this bike was left on the street for 'free' and has been my skate mission bicycle ever since.

I don't like the idea of the Fairdale racks. OCD would make me feel off-balance...

[Huell Howser]

^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

[PuffinMuffin]

^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

Your derailleur hanger is probably bent. In which case you'd need a derailleur alignment gauge tool, or bring your bike to a shop. It may be cheaper to just buy a new derailleur hanger if your frame has replaceable ones. That being said your frame itself could be slightly out of alignment, requiring a derailleur alignment gauge tool.

Or your cables could be stretched past the point loosening the barrel adjuster accomplishes nothing. In which case, you simply tighten your barrel adjuster all the way up, loosen the derailleur cable fixing bolt, pull the cable taut, and lastly tighten the cable while ensuring it's still taut. Index gears as usual.

Those are the two most likely scenarios.

The pawls in your brifters could also be on the frits, or clogged up with grime causing them to slip, though that's less likely. If so, some carburetor cleaner usually does the trick.

[manysnakes]

I have a bike for commuting and a bike for longer adventures (both posted earlier in this thread) but this bike was left on the street for 'free' and has been my skate mission bicycle ever since.

I don't like the idea of the Fairdale racks. OCD would make me feel off-balance...

Get two and carry two completes.

[Huell Howser]

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^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

[close]

Your derailleur hanger is probably bent. In which case you'd need a derailleur alignment gauge tool, or bring your bike to a shop. It may be cheaper to just buy a new derailleur hanger if your frame has replaceable ones. That being said your frame itself could be slightly out of alignment, requiring a derailleur alignment gauge tool.

Or your cables could be stretched past the point loosening the barrel adjuster accomplishes nothing. In which case, you simply tighten your barrel adjuster all the way up, loosen the derailleur cable fixing bolt, pull the cable taut, and lastly tighten the cable while ensuring it's still taut. Index gears as usual.

Those are the two most likely scenarios.

The pawls in your brifters could also be on the frits, or clogged up with grime causing them to slip, though that's less likely. If so, some carburetor cleaner usually does the trick.

thank you so much for the detailed response. I appreciate it

going to look into all these things and i'll report back when I get it fixed. This might be the time to start learning some basic bike maintenance on my own... haha

[manysnakes]

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^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

[close]

Your derailleur hanger is probably bent. In which case you'd need a derailleur alignment gauge tool, or bring your bike to a shop. It may be cheaper to just buy a new derailleur hanger if your frame has replaceable ones. That being said your frame itself could be slightly out of alignment, requiring a derailleur alignment gauge tool.

Or your cables could be stretched past the point loosening the barrel adjuster accomplishes nothing. In which case, you simply tighten your barrel adjuster all the way up, loosen the derailleur cable fixing bolt, pull the cable taut, and lastly tighten the cable while ensuring it's still taut. Index gears as usual.

Those are the two most likely scenarios.

The pawls in your brifters could also be on the frits, or clogged up with grime causing them to slip, though that's less likely. If so, some carburetor cleaner usually does the trick.

[close]

thank you so much for the detailed response. I appreciate it

going to look into all these things and i'll report back when I get it fixed. This might be the time to start learning some basic bike maintenance one my own... haha

Everything you need to know is in this video.

[Huell Howser]

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^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

[close]

Your derailleur hanger is probably bent. In which case you'd need a derailleur alignment gauge tool, or bring your bike to a shop. It may be cheaper to just buy a new derailleur hanger if your frame has replaceable ones. That being said your frame itself could be slightly out of alignment, requiring a derailleur alignment gauge tool.

Or your cables could be stretched past the point loosening the barrel adjuster accomplishes nothing. In which case, you simply tighten your barrel adjuster all the way up, loosen the derailleur cable fixing bolt, pull the cable taut, and lastly tighten the cable while ensuring it's still taut. Index gears as usual.

Those are the two most likely scenarios.

The pawls in your brifters could also be on the frits, or clogged up with grime causing them to slip, though that's less likely. If so, some carburetor cleaner usually does the trick.

[close]

thank you so much for the detailed response. I appreciate it

going to look into all these things and i'll report back when I get it fixed. This might be the time to start learning some basic bike maintenance one my own... haha

[close]

Everything you need to know is in this video.

sweet, gonna check it out! thanks

also update: I did some research about the build up in the brifters which led me to this video about using degreaser and then lubricrating inside the housing. I followed and my gears seem to be shifting now. stoked

I bought the bike about a year ago and took it in for a tune up around that time so I was surprised there was already that much build up inside

[Beeda Weeda]

its insane how much shit can build up on your bike. I swear, cleaning your bike regularly is the best maintenance you can do.

[Huell Howser]

@Beeda Weeda I am definitely going to start making it a regular thing. the difference is night and day

[Frank]

i love my bike, i am so happy i did maintenance. i was taking city bikes lately cause i had to service mine and it sucked. i should probably get a new chain tho.

[manysnakes]

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^how about that backyard bowl though! hot damn

I have an older cannondale and I have been having so many issues when shifiting with my shimano gear system, I need to look into fixing them. it almost becomes impossible to shift down gears which makes riding with any sort of incline/head wind miserable haha. Any pals have advice? they look similar to these:

I watched a few youtube videos about loosening/tightening the barrel adjusters but no luck... I am not road bike saavy

[close]

Your derailleur hanger is probably bent. In which case you'd need a derailleur alignment gauge tool, or bring your bike to a shop. It may be cheaper to just buy a new derailleur hanger if your frame has replaceable ones. That being said your frame itself could be slightly out of alignment, requiring a derailleur alignment gauge tool.

Or your cables could be stretched past the point loosening the barrel adjuster accomplishes nothing. In which case, you simply tighten your barrel adjuster all the way up, loosen the derailleur cable fixing bolt, pull the cable taut, and lastly tighten the cable while ensuring it's still taut. Index gears as usual.

Those are the two most likely scenarios.

The pawls in your brifters could also be on the frits, or clogged up with grime causing them to slip, though that's less likely. If so, some carburetor cleaner usually does the trick.

[close]

thank you so much for the detailed response. I appreciate it

going to look into all these things and i'll report back when I get it fixed. This might be the time to start learning some basic bike maintenance one my own... haha

[close]

Everything you need to know is in this video.

[close]

sweet, gonna check it out! thanks

also update: I did some research about the build up in the brifters which led me to this video about using degreaser and then lubricrating inside the housing. I followed and my gears seem to be shifting now. stoked

I bought the bike about a year ago and took it in for a tune up around that time so I was surprised there was already that much build up inside

Did you buy the bike new? If it's a new bike, your shifters should not yet need any kind of lubrication in a year. If it's old, that could explain it, but understand that degreasing and lubricating the shifters is not part of any standard tune-up. A knowledgeable mechanic might do it if they feel some drag or hesitation in the shifter, but best practice by far wrt to Shimano shifters is to leave them alone until they show trouble.

[Huell Howser]

@manysnakes ahhh gotcha. There must be something more to the cause then, I'll have to dig deeper. But no, my bike is about 20 years old

[PuffinMuffin]

@manysnakes ahhh gotcha. There must be something more to the cause then, I'll have to dig deeper. But no, my bike is about 20 years old

Wow, that dale is pristine for a 20-year-old bike. You can probably rule out gummed-up brifters seeing as it hasn't been ridden much. Might want to replace all the housing and cables, polymers in the housing degrade over time. That's a ton of reach for how low the saddle is.

[Huell Howser]

@PuffinMuffin yeah, I was so surprised at how clean it was when I actually went to check it out. just sat in a garage for years. I will look into replacing that housing stuff soon, thanks

and yeah the saddle is mad low in that pic. that is an old pic possibly from the day I picked it up so the saddle has been adjusted since haha

[manysnakes]

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@manysnakes ahhh gotcha. There must be something more to the cause then, I'll have to dig deeper. But no, my bike is about 20 years old

[close]

Wow, that dale is pristine for a 20-year-old bike. You can probably rule out gummed-up brifters seeing as it hasn't been ridden much. Might want to replace all the housing and cables, polymers in the housing degrade over time. That's a ton of reach for how low the saddle is.

Gummed up shifters are much more common with older one that have been sitting, regular use keeps the grease moving. Shimano's older shifters are famous for this in particular, since the story goes that Shimano's grease from this time incorporated some clay, so as the grease dried up all that was left was literal dirt.

So yeah, those shifters are probably gummed up. Some spray degreaser will probably help them out. Follow up it up some lube and they'll be golden.

[Huell Howser]

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@manysnakes ahhh gotcha. There must be something more to the cause then, I'll have to dig deeper. But no, my bike is about 20 years old

[close]

Wow, that dale is pristine for a 20-year-old bike. You can probably rule out gummed-up brifters seeing as it hasn't been ridden much. Might want to replace all the housing and cables, polymers in the housing degrade over time. That's a ton of reach for how low the saddle is.

[close]

Gummed up shifters are much more common with older one that have been sitting, regular use keeps the grease moving. Shimano's older shifters are famous for this in particular, since the story goes that Shimano's grease from this time incorporated some clay, so as the grease dried up all that was left was literal dirt.

So yeah, those shifters are probably gummed up. Some spray degreaser will probably help them out. Follow up it up some lube and they'll be golden.

damn this makes perfect sense. It'd been awhile since I looked up the model but I guess this cannondale r600 caad3 was released in 2000. I degreased/lubricated the brifters yesterday after y'all gave advice and went for a ride last night. shifting is working 100% 

[PuffinMuffin]

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@manysnakes ahhh gotcha. There must be something more to the cause then, I'll have to dig deeper. But no, my bike is about 20 years old

[close]

Wow, that dale is pristine for a 20-year-old bike. You can probably rule out gummed-up brifters seeing as it hasn't been ridden much. Might want to replace all the housing and cables, polymers in the housing degrade over time. That's a ton of reach for how low the saddle is.

[close]

Gummed up shifters are much more common with older one that have been sitting, regular use keeps the grease moving. Shimano's older shifters are famous for this in particular, since the story goes that Shimano's grease from this time incorporated some clay, so as the grease dried up all that was left was literal dirt.

So yeah, those shifters are probably gummed up. Some spray degreaser will probably help them out. Follow up it up some lube and they'll be golden.

Damn, I never heard this despite working with a few knowledgeable old heads. Good to know.

[PuffinMuffin]

Does anyone have any camera recommendations? Preferably a helmet cam? Long battery life and looped footage would be ideal.

Since moving to Ohio, there's a noticeably greater amount of aggressive drivers out here compared to more civilized states I've lived in. I've had trash thrown at me, spit on, casually ran off the road, and had a man hang out of the passenger seat of a car and slap my butt. I go out of my way to ride on wide shoulders or bike lanes, but it hasn't mitigated the issue. People out here are psychopaths who enjoy being cruel.

I'm so fucking over Ohio.

[Beeda Weeda]

anyone do Paris to Ancaster yesterday?

[SaySo]

The current set-up.

Definitely need to chop the stem a bit. Headtube is too short to accommodate it uncut.

[doctorkickflip]

Looking to buy a replacement bike after a horrendous experience buying one on craigslist that had problem after problem and eventually I just had to ditch on the road one day.

If I only want to spend ~$600ish are there any options for someone like me? Any tips on sorting through craigslist looking for red flags etc? Any new no-frills bikes that would fit the bill? I'm looking for something comfortableish, don't care if it looks stupid, that I can do a light, easy commute on 3-4 days out of the week.

Really have a lot of great, safe places to ride near me so I'm excited to get out rolling around again. Thanks in advance!!

[Huell Howser]

The current set-up.

Definitely need to chop the stem a bit. Headtube is too short to accommodate it uncut.

looks nice. where in japan are ya?

[SaySo]

Looking to buy a replacement bike after a horrendous experience buying one on craigslist that had problem after problem and eventually I just had to ditch on the road one day.

If I only want to spend ~$600ish are there any options for someone like me? Any tips on sorting through craigslist looking for red flags etc? Any new no-frills bikes that would fit the bill? I'm looking for something comfortableish, don't care if it looks stupid, that I can do a light, easy commute on 3-4 days out of the week.

Really have a lot of great, safe places to ride near me so I'm excited to get out rolling around again. Thanks in advance!!

I'd recommend getting a single speed or fixed gear, they're basically maintenance free, especially if you get bike with a set of wheels with sealed hubs and cranks with a sealed bottom bracket.

Other than checking your brakes and tires regularly, the maintenance that's required is cleaning the chain maybe monthly depending on your usage and the weather.

Sorry, I don't have any advice regarding Craigslist. Seems like folks are getting shadier due to the economy.

I'd recommend heading to your local bike shop to talk with the staff there. Many bike shops have used bikes, or bikes on consignment, and staff will often have bikes they may be wanting to part with. At the very least they can give you a general idea of how much you should be expecting to pay depending on what your needs are and what the local market is like. From there you can peruse ebay, etc., with more confidence.

A resource that is out there which seems to be based on the same platform as the SLAP Messageboards is: https://www.bikeforums.net

They are just as passionate and punctilious as we are here.

[SaySo]

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The current set-up.

Definitely need to chop the stem a bit. Headtube is too short to accommodate it uncut.

[close]

looks nice. where in japan are ya?

Thanks! It gets me where I want to go and rides really nicely.

I'm in Tokyo. Are you in Japan?

[Huell Howser]

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The current set-up.

Definitely need to chop the stem a bit. Headtube is too short to accommodate it uncut.

[close]

looks nice. where in japan are ya?

[close]

Thanks! It gets me where I want to go and rides really nicely.

I'm in Tokyo. Are you in Japan?

nice! I used to live in Asagaya, Suginami and before that in Kanagawa, but moved back to the states last year. always miss it. loved riding around tokyo so much

[cky enthusiast]

i rode a vivalo for work for ages, snapped it at the BB shell on broadway in manhattan

[SaySo]

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The current set-up.

Definitely need to chop the stem a bit. Headtube is too short to accommodate it uncut.

[close]

looks nice. where in japan are ya?

[close]

Thanks! It gets me where I want to go and rides really nicely.

I'm in Tokyo. Are you in Japan?

[close]

nice! I used to live in Asagaya, Suginami and before that in Kanagawa, but moved back to the states last year. always miss it. loved riding around tokyo so much

Right on! Asagaya's a dope area - I skated around the shoutengai a bit back in the day.

Yeah, I'm kicking around the idea of heading back home, but things seem pretty backasswards there at the moment (mores than usual).

Where in the states are you from?

[somefucker]

Does anyone have any camera recommendations? Preferably a helmet cam? Long battery life and looped footage would be ideal.

Since moving to Ohio, there's a noticeably greater amount of aggressive drivers out here compared to more civilized states I've lived in. I've had trash thrown at me, spit on, casually ran off the road, and had a man hang out of the passenger seat of a car and slap my butt. I go out of my way to ride on wide shoulders or bike lanes, but it hasn't mitigated the issue. People out here are psychopaths who enjoy being cruel.

I'm so fucking over Ohio.

das fucked

in short of a go pro, I got a i70Mai dashcam that I attach to the milk crate on my bike and run it off a solar battery pack. gives me a good hour-hour and a half continuous use. the camera has a easy to use app that you can view/download/share the footage from.

[PuffinMuffin]

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Does anyone have any camera recommendations? Preferably a helmet cam? Long battery life and looped footage would be ideal.

Since moving to Ohio, there's a noticeably greater amount of aggressive drivers out here compared to more civilized states I've lived in. I've had trash thrown at me, spit on, casually ran off the road, and had a man hang out of the passenger seat of a car and slap my butt. I go out of my way to ride on wide shoulders or bike lanes, but it hasn't mitigated the issue. People out here are psychopaths who enjoy being cruel.

I'm so fucking over Ohio.

[close]

das fucked

in short of a go pro, I got a i70Mai dashcam that I attach to the milk crate on my bike and run it off a solar battery pack. gives me a good hour-hour and a half continuous use. the camera has a easy to use app that you can view/download/share the footage from.

Dude, that's a really smart setup! I've decided I'm going to save for a Fly6 camera, and try to score a used one off ebay. Most cameras have shit for battery life.