Bicyclettes

[jo3 b]

will most likely be doing the 5 borough tour this year.

[tylortakahisa]

jus saw a cat 1n2s pro crit today

the field sprint was nuts!!!

shit was mad sick:D

[rockon99]

Anyone riders in Portland Oregon - workin on gettin some friends together in Eugene to ride up there with me in a lil over a month.

maybe meetup or some shiiit - drink some beers

[vamks]

http://velospace.org/node/10810

Desperately want to build a bike similar to this:

The man's bike is flat out ridiculous. The vintage Lauterwasser bars are just plain perfect. I'm trying to compile the parts to do something similar. The perfect blend of functionality and form in my opinion.

Thought you guys may like it.

[ndmhxc]

i love the crank set on that

[mlproject]

anyone selling a full group? looking for used but not abused recent ultegra, sram red or equvalent. darker color or black version of whatever it is. new road project in the works.

[crissyw]

i'll be repainting my bike tomorrow (!) and was wondering if anyone had any tips.. stripping the paint using some paint on 3m stuff, then what? i'm pretty sure i need primer and topcoat or what not? thanks for any advice

[dubcbadass]

jus saw a cat 1n2s pro crit today

the field sprint was nuts!!!

shit was mad sick:D

tell me about it. love crits. how i was born and raised, my man. what race were you watching?

anyone selling a full group? looking for used but not abused recent ultegra, sram red or equvalent. darker color or black version of whatever it is. new road project in the works.

my reccomendation for a budget group is to buy a bikesdirect bike and just strip it for parts. then, build up a funky frankenbike with the cheapo taiwanese bikesdirect frame. also, ultegra and red aren't really equivalents. i would say that functionally, ultegra is somewhere between rival and force. i've ridden/raced the following and would rate them for value (lowest to highest) as: 105, ultegra, rival, force, dura-ace, red. campy is always overpriced and too hard/expensive to replace when you break it. good luck w/ your build whatever you choose!

[35percent]

Strip with paint stripper, don't get it on your hands, it'll burn. (klean-strip works great)

Clean with water, then a after strip cleaner or acetone.

let it dry overnight.

Primer, 3 light coats, light sanding/wetsand in between with 1000grit

light coats of your color, probably 5-6

light coats of gloss.

I painted it a dust gray, no pics, might strip it again and buff the aluminum with steel wool and clear powdercoat it.

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=1873697&postcount=10817

Paint stripper is awesome, stripped all the paint from my frame today. I used Strip-Klean paint stripper, a 1" paint brush, putty knife, wire brush, synthetic steel wool, and a towel, and a pie tin to pour the stripper into. It's crazy because it starts to crackle and peel the paint within a few minutes, you can hear it fizzle off. I sanded it to help the stripper penetrate the clear coat, and the blue tape is covering the trek logo/made in USA stamp. If anyone is painting a bike it's worth it to take the time and $30 worth of supplies and completely strip it.

If I had access to a bead-blaster I would blast the frame, sand it with the steel wool, and put a satin clear over it because the raw aluminum just looks so nice in my opinion.

[mlproject]

woops.. meant to say rival in my post. i've been thinking about going the bikesdirect route but want to jump on a deal if anything else is out and about.

[crissyw]

thanks so much! pretty helpful post <3 i'll have photos when i finish!

[the Repeater]

i love the crank set on that

I'll save my gripe about cottered cranks (Raleigh) but I can't give those completely useless shorty fenders a pass. Full-length set of alloy's or stainless ones would be pretty killer.

mlproject : would you want 9 speed? I'm parting out my road bike, I decided I don't need it if you want 9-speed Ultegra. One of the best groups ever IMHO, but if not I get it. $35-50 cassettes is tits though.

[k1d.]

Still looking around for a road bike..

But heres my triathlon bike.

[lestat]

is anyone doing/has anyone done the 5 borough bike tour in nyc? i'm pretty sure registration starts in a week, and i'm thinking about doing it for the first time. just wondering how it is, as it might be a pain to get down there with my bike and find a place to stay.

its an experience... riding with appr 30k people... it was relatively easy for me except for the uphills on the Verrazano and BQE... no gears to switch, just gotta suck it up and mash it

what bites is when you're forced to walk your bike because a bunch of fat slobs' heart fails from trying to make it uphill without changing gears... it isnt too often but often enough to get annoyed.

[dubcbadass]

Still looking around for a road bike..

But heres my triathlon bike.

if you want a tip from a seasoned bike person, hear this: whenever you rest your bike on something like a car or a post or whatever, do it with the drive side out. there is no specific reason for this. just do it. it will make you look less of a noob... especially when taking pictures of it so that people might say, "nice ride, bra." it lets folks see what is going on.

also, in general, i don't get why folks call their tt rigs "tri bikes" (i looked up op's specific model and it does mention "tri specific" geometry blah blah, but i think that is a marketing move). the tt was around before the tri, for one. putting a bento box, aerobar bottle, and your behind the seat bottle holders on it and ride it in a "tri top," to me, doesn't make it any less a tt bike with some goofy extras.

also also, you left your pie plate on there.

[mlproject]

5boro is rad. hope i can do it this year

[crissyw]

ive read through a lot of this thread.. but there are so many pages and a lot of information ;(

ive got a 1980's heavy old raleigh. it was a fixed gear till I had converted it to a coaster brake, just because fixies in san jose don't really work for me (lots of hills)

It's a 55cm, just a bit too tall for me (5'6)... so in order to make this bike shorter I would have to swap out either the frame or what? Swapping the frame would work for me since I'd also want to make it lighter (aluminum? I think it's steel or something right now.)

Thanks for putting up with my questions haha. Completely noob at this but I'm definitely trying to learn.

[Dead_Wizard]

Damn, I'll be back in Jersey in May. Not sure If I want to ride old Kilo TT in a ride like that though.

[k1d.]

if you want a tip from a seasoned bike person, hear this: whenever you rest your bike on something like a car or a post or whatever, do it with the drive side out. there is no specific reason for this. just do it. it will make you look less of a noob... especially when taking pictures of it so that people might say, "nice ride, bra." it lets folks see what is going on.

also, in general, i don't get why folks call their tt rigs "tri bikes" (i looked up op's specific model and it does mention "tri specific" geometry blah blah, but i think that is a marketing move). the tt was around before the tri, for one. putting a bento box, aerobar bottle, and your behind the seat bottle holders on it and ride it in a "tri top," to me, doesn't make it any less a tt bike with some goofy extras.

also also, you left your pie plate on there.

Ah I see. Thanks for the heads up.

As you can tell I'm a bike n00b. Never rode bikes. Was asked if I wanted to do a half ironman so I picked up the Felt S32 cause it was a pretty good deal and just started riding....

Whats a pie plate also?

[Headmut]

to the bike experts,

i've browsed through around 600 pages on this thread. i don't know a ton about bikes, but i'm looking to buy a new one. it would be for when im at school, which is in halifax, nova scotia. there are alot of hills in halifax. something to commute around town with and to class. i have some experience riding (i toured across a big part of europe about 5 years ago) but i was only 15 at the time and didn't really know what i was doing. i don't know much technically and the amount of info is pretty overwhelming.

i'm looking for a quality roadbike, less than $1000 that i can keep for awhile or upgrade or something if i become more passionate about riding.

[phoenix]

ive read through a lot of this thread.. but there are so many pages and a lot of information ;(

ive got a 1980's heavy old raleigh. it was a fixed gear till I had converted it to a coaster brake, just because fixies in san jose don't really work for me (lots of hills)

It's a 55cm, just a bit too tall for me (5'6)... so in order to make this bike shorter I would have to swap out either the frame or what? Swapping the frame would work for me since I'd also want to make it lighter (aluminum? I think it's steel or something right now.)

Thanks for putting up with my questions haha. Completely noob at this but I'm definitely trying to learn.

if you recognize that the frame is too tall for you (and just based off of your height, I would agree with that assumption though height is probably the least relevant factor), then you should look for another frame. I would look for something between 51 and 53 if I were you, but ideally, you should test ride the new bike so that you aren't in the same situation a few months from now. Just about any new frame will be lighter than your old Raleigh- even if you stuck with steel. There is a chance that some of the parts from the Raleigh will not work on the new frame, but that's really something we could only answer after you decided what new frame you're interested in and the specs on your current bike.

If you're looking for some immediate changes, getting a shorter stem may make the bike a bit more comfortable though you will lose some handling ability. Based on your inexperience, I don't think its an awful idea to find a friendly local bike shop though and have them show you some entry level single speeds or road bikes. Might be able to sell the Raleigh complete and move to a professionally set up and fit bike.

[crissyw]

thanks for the advice i'll look around

[dubcbadass]

Ah I see. Thanks for the heads up.

As you can tell I'm a bike n00b. Never rode bikes. Was asked if I wanted to do a half ironman so I picked up the Felt S32 cause it was a pretty good deal and just started riding....

Whats a pie plate also?

No worries. I enjoy helping in the un-n00bing process.

"Pie plate" is the colloquialism for the plastic disc between your cassette ("gears" on your rear wheel) and your spokes. I think it is otherwise known as a 'spoke protector.' But, it really does no such thing. It just makes you look like a n00b. Next time you take your bike to a shop ask them to remove it or change/take off your cassette for cleaning, just pull that shit outta there. Some of them will just crack right off if you pull at them/cut them without removing the cassette.

[tylortakahisa]

tell me about it. love crits. how i was born and raised, my man. what race were you watching?

it was a local pro cat 1s n 2s and i also saw the masters 35+

it was a course called mothballs by my school

im racing a crit sunday, any pointers???

[phoenix]

So excited for the crit season here. We're just starting the road season and I've got a few months before crit series start up. I'm not sure if this is your first race/ crit or what, but be sure to get there early and warm up. Crits are so fast-paced, you have to be ready to go all out from the very beginning. Place yourself well when you line up- basically, just don't start yourself in the back of the pack. I actually like to start right in the middle.

If you happen to get lapped, don't get discouraged. It happens. Don't kill yourself trying to catch up with the pack (this depends on the length of the course though). you can save your energy and get back in the pack once they lap you. Just be sure to pick up speed before the group reaches you so you can more easily match their speed and hang on to a wheel.

[the Repeater]

How are they not pulling you from the course?

Should only be getting a free lap if you crash.

[zissou]

I've never heard of a crit where they allow someone to get lapped and then sit in the pack.

[k1d.]

No worries. I enjoy helping in the un-n00bing process.

"Pie plate" is the colloquialism for the plastic disc between your cassette ("gears" on your rear wheel) and your spokes. I think it is otherwise known as a 'spoke protector.' But, it really does no such thing. It just makes you look like a n00b. Next time you take your bike to a shop ask them to remove it or change/take off your cassette for cleaning, just pull that shit outta there. Some of them will just crack right off if you pull at them/cut them without removing the cassette.

Ah I see. Thanks!

I have another question.. I plan on racing this road season... I have about 1200~ to spend on a new bike..

Do you or anyone have any suggestions at what brand and model I should be looking at? (preferably used.. since this is after all my first road bike and I want to get the best "bang for the buck" out of my 1200..)

[phoenix]

^^They let me in my first crit. Maybe because it was my first crit, first race. Maybe because it was a woman's race with a mixed field (we race woman's 2/3/4s together. the 1s race with one of the guys groups and I think 2s have that option as well). Maybe it was because they saw I had no warm up- I got left immediately in the first lap but stayed with the group after getting lapped. I'm not really sure. I just know they let me stay on the course after getting lapped in my first race and I really appreciated it, because it was a great learning experience. Its a good point to bring up that you may get pulled if you're lapped though so thanks because it slipped my mind.

[the Repeater]

You should see if your local club does a weekly TT series. Great for new racers to get information from experienced riders and see how they warm up, they are often free or $5, and can ease you into racing without the dicey, dicey danger of an industrial park after-work crit with >90º corners and sand everywhere and a pack of jittery 4's.