Bicyclettes

[zelah]

the trek was used, hence why its even close to my initial price range what do you mean about the wheels, though, not sturdy enough? I was wondering because they use the same wheels for the XO1 which is a cyclocross bike.

by the way someone had one of those for sale too, used.

yeah i would not worry about wheels not being sturdy enough. unless you're ridiculous on your bike, or 240+ pounds, you're not going to run into a road wheel that'll fall apart on you

[mizanation]

found this article on fixed bikes:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7217570

[greentalks43]

jesus fucking christ i spent three hours grinding the shit out of my beautiful cinelli bars as i twisted, pulled and pried away at the salsa stem attached to it.

that's the last time i listen to the dude at my shop who said i should put 26.4mm bars on a 25.4 stem masquerading as a 26.0. apsoidfupawj ;kasjd;fk!!!!!!!!!!!

why did i ever buy these obsolete terrible 26.4 bars?

does anyone have a set of 25.4 pursuit or track bars (38cm) they want to sell?

Yeah I read somewhere that you are asking for death by putting 26.4 or even 26.0 in a 25.4 stem. I would say you could pick up a cinelli stem off ebay for hella cheap but I dont know if you are running threaded or threadless.

[steven]

[knucks]

here's my bike project..going to turn this into a fixie

[arevalo]

It's finished but no pics yet.

Will take a final fancy shot when I have time.

[photo]

I am not sure how fixie's quite work, does the back hub have a direct connect to the rear sprocket that only turns if the chain does? Does that make sense, hopefully someone could explain it better. As well how hard would it be to change from a single gear to fixed setup on a bike, I still intimidated of fixies so I was wanting to get a single gear and maybe switch up later.

[canice]

on a freewheel bike, the sprocket spins freely, thus allowing your chain, and attached chainring/pedals to stay stationary while the wheels keep moving.

on a fixed gear the sprocket is directly attached to your hub, so you create a direct drive between your pedals and your wheel. think of a turntable.

also, buy a flip-flop hub. it has a freewheel on one side and fixed on the other, so you have both. and you always have the option of later threading on a second fixed cog so you have different gear ratios.

you shouldn't be scared of riding fixed, it's just different.

[photo]

So for a Pista you could just switch out the hub and replace it with a flip-flop hub and you could go fixed or free? Where do the bikes that you used to ride as a kid with the push back oin pedals braking fit in? Canice you are quite knowledgable by chance would you know any bike shops to goto buy parts/ get help in Calgary, from all I have seen its mainly mountain bikes with the occassional street bike mixed in? Would you recommend any online shops that are in Canada?

[mizanation]

i always longed for a bike like my first bikes: fixed gear, no brakes (or just one on the front). in fact, i was going to buy a kid's bike because i thought that was the only option. i didn't know that there's a whole bunch of bikes for grown-ups who ride like this. good stuff, thanks guys.

[canice]

photo, what you're thinking about are coaster brakes. they're probably the closest thing to fixed gear, but the difference is: coaster brakes you can stop pedalling and keep coasting (and then apply back-pressure to brake), but with a fixed gear your pedals move at the same rate as your wheel because they are directly connected. so if you stop pedalling on a fixed, one of two things will happen:

1. you get bucked up and over your handlebars

2. your pedals keep carrying your feet through the motions.

it's strange for the first few days you ride it, and everyone has a fuck-up where they forget to keep pedalling. but it's fun, because you are in tune with the motion of your bike, and you have greater control over your speed and handling. resisting the motion of your pedals effectively IS a brake, so you can do fun things like skip, skid. and because it's direct drive, you can trackstand and ride backwards.

don't know of any calgary shops, but a lot of bike brands like specialized, trek, bianchi and khs carry fixed gear models. they might have em in stock.

[photo]

Thanks Canice

Can coaster brakes on a single gear still be converted then with a flip-flop hub to make it a fixie? Another question I have is wouldn't you get bucked forward if someone cut in front of you abrubtly or can you some how stop that fast with a fixed gear? As well Canice you said for safety reasons if you ride a fixed gear you should ride with toe clips, why is that or did I misunderstand you? Thanks

[knucks]

What's a good (cheap $) rear wheel/hub to get? I will have to get new wheels for my bike, but I want to do it on the cheap..

[arevalo]

Formula hubs will do the job.

They're about $80/pair.

[meditation]

can someone please explain what these laminated cards are that fixed gear riders have in their wheels?

[arevalo]

can someone please explain what these laminated cards are that fixed gear riders have in their wheels?

Spoke cards.

For the most part, they are from alley cats (races) which are given out to show that you have participated in that specific event.

Sometimes, just to look 'KEWL'.

[dystaind]

Photo-

It's pretty hard if you're not watching the road carefully and someone cuts infront of you abruptly. The best you can do is basically do a skid stop where you lift your weight off of the back wheel, lock your legs, then let the wheel come down and you resist the movement of the pedals and you bear your weight down in back. It ain't pretty and it can get hard on the knees, but it can stop you pretty quickly. It also works better/best with clips so your legs can lift the back wheel more easily... plus your feet won't get bucked out of the pedals as easily. Some fixie riders also have brakes... since your legs control the backwheel with the drive train, having a front brake is more essential (the front brake provides more than half of your braking power anyway).

It's not that much more effective than using rim brakes. It takes a few feet to come to a complete stop and jamming on rim brakes (especially if you put most of your force in the front) can easily throw you over handlebars. Disc brakes might be different... I actually have no experience with them but I know they work better in rainy/wet conditions. But fixies also work quite well in those conditions.

Nothing really beats having your eyes and ears open for any potential danger. Chances are-- nobody's going to jump infront of you at the last second... if you keep your head about you, you should be able to anticipate any sort of danger and possibly any escape route or actions you might need to take to avoid getting killed. That is... if you want to keep riding and living on two legs.

[mlproject]

DQM x Trackstar opening last night and today ... fucking sick!

[canice]

Thanks Canice

Can coaster brakes on a single gear still be converted then with a flip-flop hub to make it a fixie? Another question I have is wouldn't you get bucked forward if someone cut in front of you abrubtly or can you some how stop that fast with a fixed gear? As well Canice you said for safety reasons if you ride a fixed gear you should ride with toe clips, why is that or did I misunderstand you? Thanks

you can't convert a coaster hub into a fixed hub.

if you fall off your bike if someone cuts in front of you, it's your own damn fault. you can usually mount a front brake, but that said, if you can pull skids even under duress it's just as effective as a hand brake. every cyclist should be looking ahead into the distance anyway to anticipate cars pulling out, u-turning, pedestrians, bad drivers...

mlproject: awesome photos. are you still doing spoke card project? never got an email with the flyer, but i'm still willing to help.

[zelah]

if you can pull skids even under duress it's just as effective as a hand brake.

flat out lie

[mlproject]

i'm still doing it, but things have been extremely busy this week. it was spring break for a lot of friends and everyone decided to come to NYC. i'll shoot you a flyer later this week.

those aren't my photos, btw, but the show was amazing. more on skelly's blog of full bikes (less crowded today) .... http://invisiblecitizens.com/trackstarbikes.html

zelah, if you are a skilled rider, you will have skids, skips, rad stops, foot down skids, etc in y our arsenal for emergency stops. the nature of riding a fixed gear bike has you in a totally different mindset so you're paying a hell of a lot more of attention. plus, riding in shitty weather, a fixed setup is much more reliable when your brake doesn't stop your wheels because of water/ice/etc.

for anyone wanting to get into fixed or start flamewars about brakes, riser bars, hipsters, mash sf, etc, head over to bikeforums.net and see that its been done 100 times before.

[dnnsmanace]

My first...

Chose this over an older Bianchi Pista frame because the steel felt like shit and I thought this type of frame would be better to start with. Praticed skidding the back tire, worked aight, then the chain came off. Tips? I get it to skid but then the tire keeps going again after I guess my pressure goes on the back tire again? How to prevent that?

Getting new tape on bars and tires next week...

[mackelface]

You know the feeling of stumbling upon something and knowing right then and there that you're about to fall in love with it and make it another one of your life's passions? This thread gave me that beautiful feeling. I feel enlightened.

[canice]

dnnsmanace: your chain is too slack. take out some links or move your wheel further back into the dropouts.

mackelface: don't be deceived. bikes make you a dork, even if superfuturians are into it. you'll start wearing helmets. and cleat-like shoes. and bike tights. and riding through through the dead of winter.

[mlproject]

once you go slack you never go back!

bikes = dork deluxe

current setup:

[knucks]

i cannot wait to get home this weekend..

[WINDman]

arevalo haven't I seen your bike somewhere

Here's my ride, not a fixed gear sorry!

[alterion]

You know the feeling of stumbling upon something and knowing right then and there that you're about to fall in love with it and make it another one of your life's passions? This thread gave me that beautiful feeling. I feel enlightened.

yep, its how i felt when i found superfuture

[rok]

RIP my cheapie - crashed on embarcadero in SF

61cm generic frame (steel lugged)

powdercoated flat black

tange headset

matching suntour deraillers

suntour thumbies

specialized BG milano seat on a generic kalloy seatpost

cinelli 64-40 giro d' italia drops with matching cinelli stem wrapped in ond school fabric

cheap tektro brake levers

matching dia-compe f/r brakes

irc tires on matching shimano hubs laced to araya wheels (trashed front: replaced with a generic hub laced to an old school bowtie hub not pictured)

now in works = sky blue univega conversion. f/f rear phils laced 3x to black deep vs in back, phils laced radial to silver anodized deepv in front. sugino 75 cranks 46t zen, 17t eai cog.. must collect funds lol

[knucks]

i'm a little confused as to the parts i need to buy...

do i need a lockring for my cog?