Bicyclettes

[Originatek]

Well they were never designed to be ridden like that so not great to be honest. If all you're going to do is commute I'd look at something a bit more practical, especially if you have a long commute and in London traffic.

The classic bmx ratio is 44-16 which is definatly not the same as 2-1 (personally I run 28-10).

..i didn't want to go to in depth,but i run 11-26..on my flatland bike that is collecting dust that is..

[nakedsushi]

Looking to buy my first bike. I've got a shitty huffy bike from kmart right now (gathering dust for years) so this will be my first major bike purchase.

I would go with the Option 2: Peugeot. If the frame has no dents, rust on it, that seems to be a fair price (for LA anyway). I think I got my old road bike for that price off of CL. There's nothing wrong with an old road bike. Mine is probably older than I am. Bought a new rear wheel (kept the tires b/c the guy who sold the bike to me put on new tires already), crankset, bottom bracket, track chain and now it's a nice fixed gear bike =)

[canice]

peugeots are french threaded. pain in the ass unless the headset and BB are in working condition.

old merciers are nice bikes. if that one is lighter than the peugeot, i'd pick that one.

[st199ml]

My shiny new Moots Compact. Campag Chorus gruppo.

[nakedsushi]

I'm done working on my bike. I can't decide if I should take the rear brake off or not. I have a freewheel on the other side, but I never use it.

Why you shouldn't wear raw denim when riding a white saddle:

[canice]

another girl rider?!

[nakedsushi]

Yeah, the seat probably gave it away.

[jilla82]

bike projects are amazing. we had one in bloomington where you could volunteer time in exchange for parts. they always had open hours where you could use tools to overhaul your ride.

where is the one in chicago? i didn't realize you had one.

there are two that I know of. One is in the humboldt Park area (www.westtownbikes.org) and I believe Working Bikes also does the same type of thing (by the University of Illionois at Chicago).

I have a old shitty scwinn...would it be worth it to put better components on it? or is it best to start w/ a good base?

[knucks]

Went on my longest (lol) bike ride today. 7.14miles. Bike felt all right, rear wheel/chain didn't feel 100%, maybe because the chain/chainring have not broken in completely yet..

[mlproject]

^ new chains are usually pretty tight and will relax over time. i'll usually up the tension when i first put one on as it relaxes through the first 25 miles. lubing it before your first ride helps avoid the stickiness

[jilla82]

got in my first accident today.

I was going down the Lake Michigan bike path (will never go on it on the weekend again), and at a intersection two soccer moms were heading down my lane (but going into the opposite direction). So I swerved to avoid them and then hit a guy going in the left lane heading in the opposite direction of me. BANG!!!! our bikes got tangled up. I thought I was ok but then I looked down and saw I was bleeding right below the stomach. It was pretty nasty. Anyway, an ambulance came and took me to get stiches.

Im just sore as fuck (can barely walk) and my leg hurts. They gave me Vicoden, but im not sure if I want to take that. Im just sitting here smoking weed trying to relax.

Be Safe guys!!

[seenmy]

took another long ride out on sat 30 miles new gear ratio feel great deffinatly makes a difference particu;ary when riding against the wind,my chain still seem to make a creaking soun when i get up pace which is annoying bikes going in for a check up next week so hopefully they will sort it out then.think im gonna tackle london to brighton next year for fun

[st199ml]

61 miles single-speed!? I salute you. :-)

[seenmy]

61 on fixed,i figure i can do 30 easy and ive only been back riding 6 weeks,and even prior to that ive never ridden distance so london to brighton is my challnge to myself for next year,just to say i done it i guess.

[st199ml]

Hey mate, all power to you. I'll bet there'll be plenty of fixie riders with you too.

And it gets so packed by Ditchling Beacon you won't have to worry about a low gear, you'll just be honking up at walking pace along with everyone else. :-)

If the weather clears I'll ride London to Brighton this weekend, I only had time for 40 miles last weekend.

[seenmy]

yea i need to investigate the route to prepare myself, i just saw everyone loading thier bikes up yesterday night when i was walking to the pub and thought you know what im gonna do that next year.

you london based?whats the ride like?

[st199ml]

Good on yer.

I'm based in SE London / North Kent so pretty well based for getting down there or into North Downs. Never done the organised trip myself but watched it. Really busy. Go early or walk parts of it seems to be the mantra of most people.

Route is here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/BHF-London-to-Brighton-2004. Ride is pretty good all things considered. Only Ditchling brings a tear to the eye. But thats on a geared road bike... ;-)

[Ryan]

My new ride, plain ole langster

[seenmy]

pricing question on deep v wheel set, in usa particulary NY or philly basically im looking getting a deep v wheel set id like to know how much on average it would run me in the usa and how long bulid etc?as im loosly planning a trip out in late sept and id like to compare price to uk see wether its a worthwhile thing to pick them up when i come out or just to get it done in uk.

any help be grand thanks.

[ericdw]

prebuilt velocity deep v wheelsets can be had on ebay for like 250.

but if you're gonna have it built, it depends on the spokes and hub you want... i actually just called trackstar in nyc today to find out how much for them to build a rear wheel for me... 35 plus spokes, around 60 per wheel. can get the velocity rims online for about 50 each. so that's 110 per wheel before you buy a hub, which is the big variable.

i'm new to this too, so i could be wrong, but that's the research i've done. mlproject will correct my if i'm off

[seenmy]

nice one,yea im expecting a wheel set to run me around the 300 mark but i had rather plucked that figure out of the air somewhat,but im pretty sure in the uk it would run me that in pounds so it seem a worthwhile purchase to make while im out there.just again want to get my research in place long before i go so even if need be i can order it before i come out so its ready for pick up during my stay.

[ericdw]

i'm lookin for new wheels too... my khs came with weinmans and i know they're not going to hold up. i have some extra cash now so i wanna preemptively buy while i still have the funds.

i'm probably gonna get an aerospoke front and an iro rear.

about durability (for curbs, potholes, etc), i had originally thought that an aerospoke would be good. but i read something in another forum today that made me double think that. so what's a good front wheel? or a wheelset, but i want something of a little better quality than the mavic cxp22...

[@work]

i'm probably gonna get an aerospoke front and an iro rear.

I have a iro front wheel i'm willing to let go for $25. Real good condition.

[ericdw]

tempting, but i'm still thinking about the aerospoke, i've liked it ever since i saw stuntastic's pista on page1

[derek]

ordered my 2007 55 pista concept last week. Now I wait a month trying to figure out what build to go with. can't wait to finally get it

[Head Ninja In Charge]

Justice, where did you order your Pista from?

[canice]

don't buy anything that can't be trued/salvaged if one part fails... aerospokes look cool but are strictly for showing off.

cxp22s are pretty good quality... or go a step up with open pros. box rims are pretty strong too, if you like the classic look.

[ericdw]

that's true. i never thought of that. damn i really like the look though, lol

[derek]

Justice, where did you order your Pista from?

ordered it at Freewheel in San Francisco. I gave up calling everywhere to find them. They are backordered, but getting them for sure. Most of the other places I tried said they aren't sure if they were getting them so I went with the for sure place.

[TragicBliss]

Justice, where did you order your Pista from?

Cycles BiKyle has the 2007 Pista Concept in stock, ready to ship. The frameset and the complete bike. Plus you don't pay tax if you don't live in Pennsylvania. Anyway, take a look:

Pista Concepts In Stock

Cycles BiKyle Main Site

I've ordered from them and they're super legit, good dudes. Realy friendly too, call them up and they'll answer all your ordering questions.