Help me choose a bike

Kelsey, thats a result and a half! The lines on that thing look so nice and clean without all that brake clutter. Your pedaling must be getting pretty smooth by now.

i think riding fixed has made me a much better cyclist overall. you're more connected to the bike, you better anticipate traffic/doorings/pedestrians since you can't stop suddenly. now i just have to get some fancy clip-in shoes! plus, i read that riding fixed gear is "healthier" for you since you have to pedal all the time. bonus!

Yeah, you wouldnt get a lot of rest! I built up a crappy singlespeed with an old mtb frame and I love the direct feeling of riding that thing. Dont think Ive got storage space here for a fixy though worse luck.

my first fixie was on a mtb frame.
how do you like riding on that mtb?

I can withstand the courier mocking I will get for having a third ring, but then, I will have gears which is cause for mocking enough. I'm not fit enough not to have a third ring just yet.

Nick, you were all up for campag, pashmina says no. What should i do?

i heard they're good, for what it's worth.

every bike I've ever had has had shimano bits, campagnolo sounds far more sexy and exotic.

supposedly, they are.

I guess what makes it a bit easier, is that if I get stuff from eBay, all campag stuff is road.

i just did a quick search on google for "campagnolo vs. shimano" & there are all these nerdy (but helpful) articles on the differences. ultimately, either is good. i think it mostly depends on your tastes.

I don't know the UK market, but Shimano here is convenient by its ubiquity.
Campy fans always tell me it feels stiff and crappy when new "but it breaks in awesome!" So does a Brooks riveted saddle, I say screw that.

Kelsey yr Pista is beauty.

Seems to me like Shimano bits can be great, but the name alone doesn't mean a thing, since even K-mart brand bikes now have very, very cheap Shimano components.

My last two bikes have had brooks b17 saddles.

ah! i was just thinking about those yesterday!! how'd you like them? i'm so curious.
i want a comfy saddle. maybe one with a cooter trench. has anyone ever used those?

I liked it enough to go through wearing it in a second time after the bike at the time was stolen. Leather feed, (available from horse related stores) helps it break in quicker and keep it in condition. I had shower caps to keep the rain off when it was parked. For a real comfy saddle, the brooks with the huge springs under the arse is the ultimate but you have to ride in a sit up and beg position for it to work. B33 it seems to be.

i don't think i want anything with springs in it. i've found that often the harder the saddle, the easier it is to ride longer distances. well, nothing *too* hard. but a leather saddle might be very, very nice. and somewhat breathable maybe?

Mrs hunter swears swears swears by the Terry Butterfly. She rides a lot of miles. It's got a big trench/hole in the middle. Seems like that would suck in the rain. Doesn't rain much here tho.

I had shower caps to keep the rain off when it was parked.

Isn't life too short for that? I did see a brooks recently that was like an abreviated B-17, maybe that's the B-33? It was Racing Green with Copper rails and rivets, and it was indeed the handsomest saddle ever. But ain't carrying no shower cap nuh uh.

does the mrs. ride upright or more road-bike like?

She came out of long course triathlon, rides a pretty flat position even on the hoods. She found the Butterfly through much trial and error while training for Worlds. The problem with saddles is that no two asses are the same obv. I would consider the Butterfly medium wide for a woman's racing saddle, but sorta plush especially the mid-front.

very handy! thanks!

This has been a very useful thread.

I'm on the verge of ordering last year's Kona jake frame and some campag Vento g3 wheels, kinesis crosslight 2 forks. £344.97

Headset, bottom-bracket, front deraileur, rear-deraileur, rear cassette, front rings, cranks, handlebars, brakes, brake/gear levers, bar tape, brake and gear cable, chain, tyres, inner tubes. Am I missing anything?

I dont really have much of a clue on the Shimano vs Campag issue, can only confirm that Shimano parts are a lot easier to get in the shops. But try someone like Parker International on the internet and theyll have all the bits youd need. But once you start going down one path, youre pretty much tied in to that brand cos I dont think theres that much cross-compatibility. Fer instance, I think Im right in saying that a Shimano cassette wont fit on Campag wheels etc. But Hunter could set you right there.

More bits youll need that werent on yer list - handlebar stem, seatpost, maybe seatpost clamp if it doesnt come with the frame, pedals, rim tape... err cant think. Thatll be quite a nice little rig that lot.

seat, of course as well. I'm finding it hard to see how that would come in cheaper than just buying the bike now, having scanned prices.

Nick's spot on, except for deferring to me.

Maybe pay attention to whether the Kona is spaced 130mm (road) or 135 (mtb) in the rear triangle. "Proper" xc bikes are 130mm, but some manufacturers are spec'ing 135mm.

Yeah Ed, it's almost always cheaper to get a whole bike than going a la carte, at least if you find a good deal. If you're serious about saving, you can do it piece-at-a-time, but it's usually sorta arduous. As you might guess from my obnoxious shower cap comment, I'm not usually patient enough to find and buy everything in that manner.

Nick I didn't notice how sick yr bike was til I went back and looked just now. (Do you ride the shown SLR saddle? I've never seen one on an mtb.) I sold my worn out mtb last fall. I'm sans mtb for the first time in a long time, and the trails are melting off--or were til we got 20" of snow last Sunday.

I've now found a french cross bike for the same price as the jake, and I might be in france soon. My knowledge of french and italian is going to get me more indecision, I've found a much cheaper, italian made frame and fork combination, a bit lighter than the jake frame and £30 cheaper.

I must now think and see what bits I can scrounge.

Hunter I bought my bike frame only, so its not really built up the same as that one in the picture. Ive stuck slighty heavier duty, more durable parts on it, cos I wanted it for long-distance/24-hr racing things rather than pure XC speed, so reliability and comfort were important to me really. Didnt go for the SLR, just a bog-standard Flite. Still weighs in quite light for a full-susser though. Where is it you live btw Hunter? What sort of terrain have you got round there?

Ed, if youre buying Italian, most rockists would say that youve gotta go with Campag!

Yes but what would most bike mechanics say? Unless yr lucky enough to get yerself an old '80's super record groupset, AVOID. Honestly, I DREAD getting bikes w/modern campag in for repair - getting it setup "correctly" is a thankless task that takes FOREVER. Whenever I find myself bitching abt shimano 9-sp, which is very often these days, I should remind myself that AT LEAST IT'S NOT CAMPAGN0L0.

What I want is for someone to produce a good, reliable 7-speed cluster groupset, ie not keep stacking sprockets on the cluster because obviously more=better WHEN IT ISN'T. argh.

oh crap, this thread is making me want to get a bike again.... notthat I will, I'm toomuch of a lazy sod. If work wasn't so far away it'd be different but no.

NickB, that's one hell of a bike, I always used to lust after Roocky mountains when I was into that sort of thing

I live in Denver. The mtb riding is pretty good. Most of the front range parks start out with 500-2000 ft of climbing immediately from the trailhead. I actually like it because that means yr circuit ends with good descent (which I ride cautiously).

Pash I want thumbshifters, I found eight speed just right. Just, yknow...plain old shifters, is that so hard? They work. They last. You can friction them. It's a topic done to death, but let me put my boot in too. After many long years of riding I know exactly what I want in a mtb if I can ever get enough $ to gether to build it up.

So this appears to be the french option, all shimano bits

http://www.vitus.fr/img/site/serie/route-aluminium/vitus-crosside.jpg

The cheap Italian made frame, a ghastly paint job.

http://www.bikes-dolan.uk.com/en-us/images/DSCF0375thum.jpg

Damnit this is hard and I can't even really make a decision until I find out what, if anything I can scrounge and is worth scrounging.

Does the Dolan/Solan/Olan have bottle braze-ons? Cause if yr gonna use it as an all-rounder you'll probly want those.

Old school "pure" cx frames had no bottle braze-ons since you never carry bottles. My Gitane cx frame is this way. It's now my commuter and holding a bottle would be an improvement.

I can see the Vitus does have them. It also has a double chainring AND a long cage rear mech, which is sorta cool. It looks like a 32 on the back--you wouldn't need a triple.

The vitus looks like a good all rounder. I noticed the wide range cassette as well. It comes down to when I want the bike and how soon I get to france. The jake is available here and now in the UK.

Searching for thing on the web in Italy is soul destroying. It's like the internet 8 or 9 years ago.

BMX!
BMX!
BMX!

(GT Expert? Cruiser 2003 model + added front v-brake.
If I could somehow add hub gears it's be the fastest bike in the WORLD!)

BMX is all well and good unless you actually want to get to places.

Wherever you go, you'll end up back where you started. So enjoy the ride!

Riding with my knees by my ears is not what I call enjoyment.

So I have a plan. A cheap second hand bike, probably someone's outgoing winter trainer, there are a lot of them about at the moment, either through eBay or Cycling Weekly or whatever. I have to bear in mind that I have nothing of my old cycling gear left bar my shoes, pump and bicycle clips.

I shall ride myself to some degree of fitness on that, meanwhile I shall save for a cross frame and i'll have at least some bits to transfer across.

And i've seen that an eddy merckx alu cross frame is 'only' €659 and worth saving up for in my book, I can satisfy my inner dreaming 12 year old. they are also a very respectable dark charcoal this year.

ed, if you ever do decide to build a bike with parts you find, talk to me. we do loads of international shipping over the net, and have some very good deals...

Interesting. i will have to work out what will be cheaper in the US vs europe but I could definately be up for that.

Ed, have you seen There's Something About Mary? Lee Evans' character Tucker had *exactly* your voice. It was spooky, doubly so as he doesn't exactly look anything like you.

Um, er, bikes. I had my first couple of proper rides on my new bike. My handlebars are a bit low (which I'll adjust next time), but otherwise it feels pretty great to ride. There is a bit of chain-rub (I'm sure this is the technical term) when I use the big cog by the pedals (again, sorry about the jargon here) - is there any tweak or anything I can change to stop this happening?

big cog by pedals = chainring. Take it to the shop and ask them to sort it out.

... though be aware that if it has a 9-speed sprocket cluster, it's actually a 15-speed bike for practical purposes - use the smallest 5 sprockedts w/the large chainring, the middle 5 w/the middle, and the large 5 w/the small chainring, otherwise the chainline usually gets a bit, er, diagonal. This is the case generally I find, and one more reason why I think pushing more than 7 sprockets on the cluster was an incredibly stupid move.

Ed, good luck in your search. If I see anything around I'll shout. Watch out that you don't buy something with components that are too shagged though, else that could be a more expensive way of doing it than just buying something all built-up from new.

I live in Denver. The mtb riding is pretty good. Most of the front range parks start out with 500-2000 ft of climbing immediately from the trailhead. I actually like it because that means yr circuit ends with good descent (which I ride cautiously).

Hunter, Colorado looks like an awesome place to ride off-road or otherwise. Am now quite the boiling vessel of envy, damn you!

What I want is for someone to produce a good, reliable 7-speed cluster groupset, ie not keep stacking sprockets on the cluster because obviously more=better WHEN IT ISN'T. argh.

Pash, I totally concur! Running a 9-speed cassette at the minute and the shifting always goes to hell when it gets muddy. Actually, I was quite tempted by the hub-geared bike that Thorn are doing as a winter mountain bike. 853 tubing, Hope disc brakes, Rohloff hub. Not sure about having all that weight in the back wheel though, I've heard that it makes for a weird old ride.

NickB, that's one hell of a bike, I always used to lust after Roocky mountains when I was into that sort of thing

Shucks Porkpie! It's a great frame for me, not the most sophisticated design, but it's nice and simple and it just works! Had it 2 years or so and the suspension is still as tight as ever. Rides beautifully and climbs like a monkey with its tail on fire. Only gripe is that the paint is the thinnest, flakiest paint I've ever seen and keeps dropping off in big chunks. And with every chunk my heart just groans. Anyhow - GET A BIKE, GET A BIKE, GET A BIKE! ;o)

I've sold a couple of Birdy Grays and fitted a Rohloff hub to an old jack taylor touring tandem, and I have nothing but praise for the thing. It's an awesome piece.

The Rohloff hub is an engineering marvel. 14 sequential gears.

Point well made Nick, I figure on updating a few components. I'm expecting deraileurs and bottom bracket to be a possible early replacements. We shall see though, it's an funny way of buying a bike on the installment plan.

ilx cyclebikers in london/oxford/sarf-east - does anyone want to ride from london to oxford, poss combined with a walk/punt/fap afterwards? have just mentioned it over on the walking thread The rolling London walking thread

I might be up for cycling to Oxford, yeah. I'll check out the other thread.

I'd love to get one of those Rohloffs on my BMX, but they're about 5 times what my bike cost!