Bicyclettes

[the Repeater]

I recommend other tires with a puncture belt.

Armadillos last so long from the really hard compound, but you can get plenty of puncture resistance from other makes of tires with a puncture belt, like Bontrager's Hardcase, Gatorskins, or any number of other training/touring tires.

Armadillo's are sooo slick when the roads have any water or debris on them, it's just not fun or safe to ride. I won't criticize those that chose to go that way of set-and-forget, but I will say that much more happiness is gained from a better riding tire that will still avoid frequent punctures.

[TPR950H]

new bars

[GiZMO]

What rims bro

[TPR950H]

Mavic MA2 polished

[(10chars)]

the redbull ride+style event was amazing. sooo much insane street riding went down. here is the edit i made from the weekend

[halberdklown]

for someone that knows close to nothing about bikes, and wants to use craigslist to find his first bike, what are some of the things to look out for in order to make sure anything i find is a good deal?

[TPR950H]

one of the first things i look for on pictures of an old-ish roadbike is downtube shifters

[borkborkbork]

Lots of 70s bikes will still have the seattube decal with the type of steel used. If it's a Reynolds alloy, you can look up the number online. You ideally want something with crmo tubing (vs heavy 'gas tube' steel).

However, I'm with TPR950H. Avoid bikes with stem shifters, 'suicide levers' (brake extension levers) and steel rims. Oh, and as nice as old french bikes are, avoid them because they have strange bottom brackets and weird derailleurs and will basically cost you a fortune to fix up, upgrade or repair.

[gramps]

Any tips for a tight tire install? I am having a hell of a time getting a pair of 23x700 rubinos onto a set of mavic ma40s. I'm about to throw these things at the wall.

[stuntastic]

Then they'll bounce back and smack you in the face.

I've had the most problems with Rubinos and I don't know why. Even Randos were a shit ton easier to get on, while putting em on the way messengers would.

After many broken tire levers, blistered palms, I went and got some tire levers that had metal inside of em. They've worked like a charm so far, haven't bent a bit. Plus they're only a few more dollars more than regular tire levers.

[the Repeater]

Yeah, make sure you have the narrowest rim tape that'll work (just covering the spoke bed, not the lower wall below the bead) and some water, soap, or beeswax.

I keep soap and beeswax in my box anyway, but even a really tight tire can be mounted by pushing the casing down all the way round to the ground and then getting that last couple inches on.

Hopefully you're not using a hard bead or steel bead tire, those are the worst. Shops usually cheat by using a bead popper, mostly used for downhill tires that need to fit very, very tightly.

[lestat]

steel core levers, soma makes them... 5 bucks for a pair....

I got mixed results with rubino pros... 1 tire was virtually impossible to mount... but the other tire went on without the aid of tire levers....

[halberdklown]

does this seem like a good deal?

Silver and blue 53cm Bianchi vintage road bike. Frame in good condition. 16 speeds! Altus and Shimano FG derailleurs shift very smoothly. Custom crankset. Upgraded 700c wheelset laced to Shimano RX100 hubs with quick release front and rear wheels. New cloth rim tape installed. New 700x23c blue tires and tubes installed. New blue saddle. New blue handlebar tape. New chain installed. Nice bike! - $300

[GiZMO]

^curious about the crank but conaidering how much im wanting a bike like that, I would snatch with the quickness regardless of shifters. Take that w grain of salt as I don't k ow shit!

Baby powder on rim/tire has helped me in the past. Rubino is known to be ridiculous to put on, but not sure about performance or even removal. Update when you can!

[wild style]

That bike is not worth $300.

[frankie_four]

That bike is not worth $300.

+1

0123456789

[halberdklown]

^ thanks you two, that's all I needed to hear. Didn't think buying my first bike would be this difficult, to be honest

[TPR950H]

dude.

one of the first things i look for on pictures of an old-ish roadbike is downtube shifters

(ie. no stem shifters)

edit: here is a 52cm (might be ok since you posted a 53cm) you're in socal right? LA area?

get this down to $200:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/2299411460.html

[wild style]

new bars

This looks stellar. What bars?

[the Repeater]

My critic inside has me really hoping those are not the tires I think they are and that they are nice.

My inner mechanic has me wishing it was not a Record post.

However, very tasteful, and no amount of snobbery would have me critiquing its looks.

[TPR950H]

nitto jitensha. i angled them down a little after the pic was taken.

edit: tires are IRD paperlites (came with the wheelset when i got them with different bike complete) and the seatpost is a suntour superbe pro? thanks anyway! if anything, the saddle looks a bit outta place and my handle bar "wraps" are tennis wraps :\

edit2: can someone recommend me some nice bar plugs? id really like some velox rubber bar plugs but the diameter on these bars are too narrow. maybe those gilles berthoud joints? but those might be road sized too.

eh?

[halberdklown]

dude.

(ie. no stem shifters)

edit: here is a 52cm (might be ok since you posted a 53cm) you're in socal right? LA area?

get this down to $200:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/2299411460.html

Oops sorry, looks like I didn't completely understand what that meant...

Sucks the one you posted was sold a while back

[gramps]

Baby powder on rim/tire has helped me in the past. Rubino is known to be ridiculous to put on, but not sure about performance or even removal. Update when you can!

Heh, well. I managed to get the tire on today without having to slather it in anything, although those are all handy suggestions and I'm going to add them to my kit. I left it on overnight and I don't know if it stretched out a wee bit or if it just helped to come back to it. Changing these by the side of the road would be a real pain in the ass.

[cure]

^halberdklown, i would keep looking. for $300 u could probably get a bike with brifters.

I would recommend trying to get this guy down: http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2369724143.html

if ur location is actually LA then i would give it a shot. or look for bianchi bravas if you really want a bianchi at that price range

[ktothe]

Riverside? If you purchase that bike its going to pay for a meth binge or a lift kit for an f150.

[halberdklown]

^ thanks cure, I'll contact him after this class, hopefully it's still available considering it was posted a bit ago, but it's good you gave me a specific model I could look up, too Many to choose from! Riverside is good too, since I'm in LA on the weekends but go to school at UCI during the week and stay in irvine

[TPR950H]

that bike looks small if you were looking at 53 earlier.

[cure]

yeah thats true, ill look around for other stuff. I didnt really look at the size since it was in inches (wtf)

[the Repeater]

nitto jitensha. i angled them down a little after the pic was taken.

edit: tires are IRD paperlites (came with the wheelset when i got them with different bike complete) and the seatpost is a suntour superbe pro? thanks anyway! if anything, the saddle looks a bit outta place and my handle bar "wraps" are tennis wraps :\

edit2: can someone recommend me some nice bar plugs? id really like some velox rubber bar plugs but the diameter on these bars are too narrow. maybe those gilles berthoud joints? but those might be road sized too.

eh?

That's nice that your post matches. Still adjusts w/ two 11mm bolts under the saddle though, no? Regal isn't out of place, other than it's usually the choice of big riders which it appears you are not. My pref would be black elk or rubber grip, but that's a simply case of matching prefs.

I don't think it's so cool to plug your bars w/ heavy plugs on a nice light track bike w/ otherwise relatively light parts. I'd either glue carbon caps on the ends from normal plugs w/ the inners broken off or use simple plain plastic ones for mountain bikes (the correct I.D.) You also could glue a small piece of dowel in the correct diameter in any wood you like, would look very nice and custom to have it flush w/ the bar.

[amardeep]

new ride finally

Had the bar end shifters swapped for tiagras (is it just me or are bar end shifters super awkward?), added some inline brake handles & clip+clipless pedals, and changed the tires. Stock otherwise.

Can't decide if I'm gonna go the hood route and put a bunch of shit on the frame or the minimalist route and remove the surly decals. Not really diggin the way it looks now

I'll do some searching a little later, but any quick recommendations for a super cheap decent racing saddle. Like under $40, but I dunno how unreasonable that is. Stock saddle is so painfully wide