noob questions

and caek otm---if you're starting off, and living somewhere with hills, i'd get something with gears. in fact, i would suggest the surly cross-check!

LA gears

i don't think he wants drops

lol am0n

and i dunno, i feel like a steel frame would be a weird place to start

cross-checks work fine with risers, it'll just cost extra to have the shop set it up (esp since the the only way you can use the stock shifters is if you mount them on Paul Thumbies which are....expensive)

if you can stretch to ~600$ this it would be a good place to start imo http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/commute/soho/soho_s/#

but i gather from the shop link that maybe he's looking for something a bit more relaxed and upright like the 3-speed creme?

i am sitting in one-on-one bikes right now and i'm certain there is something here for mr real-life

So this is a no? I think $600 is too much for me, yeah.

ha i linked to the wrong trek model anyway, but yeah, if you're thinking more 300 than 600 they're off the menu anyway

This "creme" looks nice

adam, buy my hybrid off me!
http://www.swobo.com/catalog/product_info_b.php?cPath=2448_2459

THERE'S A BOTTLE OPENER UNDER THE SEAT!

$400 range

http://store.citygrounds.com/store/product/7864/Linus-Roadster-Classic-Complete-Bike-Black/

creme is fairly cheap but made in europe so is probably hard to find/relatively expensive in the us. there must be similar sub-500 upright position manufacturers over there though if that's what you're after.

adam buy jaxon's swobo

that is a cool bike

we don't live in the same city anymore :(

but if i were to drive down to la i'd bring it w/me

that bike looks fun

it is. hella weird. coaster breaks in back, disc in front. 3 speed internal hub. big tires. i rode the shit out of it. up big hills, long rides. super fun.

i didn't hear much about this schwinn, but it's cheap if you're set on the upright thing, although it looks like it weighs a ton.

so... after riding home in the rain today (despite a forecast that said otherwise!!) i have towel dried my bike and lubed my chain. anything else i should do to prevent issues? by the time i got home, my breaks were really squeaking.

or my brakes. you know, whatever.

Brakes will squeal in the wet, particularly when new. Wiping the braking surfaces of debris is good practice

I'm a fan of washing and drying the chain regularly. You can get a chain washer for not much money and I'm a fan of Rock and Roll miracle red degreaser for this.

I eyeball brake wear and tyre sidewalls before every ride and just listen for any other noises.

(also it is novarra and spoils my rapha/castelli forme)

i have the gold rock and roll. is red better? tbh i wondered, when reviewing the options at lbs, if it was all just marketing or if they were really different. i think the guy there said gold would be good for me.

i guess now i am mostly confused - do you need to grease your chain, or degrease it? or do you just degrease it after every few lubes? i feel like *ack* cathy right now!

xpost that post ended up in the wrong thread.

both grease and degrease. There are two philosophy's in lube, dry lubing and wet lubing. Dry lubes are waxes that flake off over time so in theory pick up less dirt but need more frequent application. Wet lubes tend to allow dirt to stick but need less frequent re application.

AFAIK gold is a drylube, I use R&R red on the road bike.

I use dry in the summer and wet in the winter and on my commuter bike all the time.

My standard procedure though is to wash the chain at least monthly this removes any grime and metal particles that might promote wear; but yes you degrease and then regrease with clean lube.

ok. so red to clean, something else to lube.

I use finish line wet lube, it works, never used dry, maybe next summer.

Ed's right on the chain cleaner, those things are a pleasure to use compared to the old scrub with a toothbrush or take off cOmpletely and soak in paraffin methods....

When you do lube it back up, take your time and lube the chain from abOve, it's the bearings inside that need living not the outer plates. Then take a wad of kitchen paper and run the chain through that to take off the excess that will only pick up more muck, rather than doing anything beneficial.

There's something quite beautiful about a freshly cleaned and lubes chain, especially if it's zipping quietly through a clean smooth drivetrain, sigh.

Think I'll give the felt a deep clean tomorrow.

Rock and roll have miracle red cleaner and red lube. Green nipple cream too, FNARR!

http://www.rocklube.com/bicycle.htm

Jesus, some awful spelling mistakes in that post, sorry guys, combination of tiredness and smartarse iPhone spelling correction.

sorry pp meant to reply to your text then got sidetracked

def going to trawl CTC; need to start piecing together a potential itinerary

Not sure what your aims are but I can recommend Cherbourg or St Malo to Caen. The vendée comes highly recommended (cf. this year's TDF). And some friends recently did the Rhine to Basel IIRC they started somewhere in south East Belgium to take advantage of Eurostar tickets taking you to anywhere in Belgium

http://www.rheinradweg.eu/en/index.php

so clipless.....

um, convince me

i have to take two pairs of shoes everywhere?

it just seems like so much hassle.

are you just riding around, goin places? or do you go on "rides"?

i rode clipless on my commuter/work bike for ages and it was great (and also necessary on a brakeless track bike). however, when i was commuting, i was in separate kit anyway, and kept my nice shoes at the office. when i was a messenger, riding my bike was my job.

i recently put BMX platforms on my CX/city bike, and I love it. most of this was motivated by only having one pair of clipless and wanting them on my MTB, but now that i've gotten accustomed to it, i'm p sold on flat pedals as being the best urban option. it's not a big deal to throw my clipless on my bike if i'm going on a proper ride, and not carrying two pairs of shoes (or being a dork in bike shoes all day) is great

Oh god I'd never ride sans cleats now. No way. I don't feel safe without them these days. The shoes I have are fine for walking around in, too, though obviously not all of them are. Also you can get regular trainers with space for cleats these days - http://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/footwear-148/cycling-shoes-218/ - which makes them even easier / more practical.

Cleats make pedalling so much more efficient. They also make me feel much more "at one" with the bike. Hippy bullshit, I know, but it's a definite psychological advantage, I think, to feel more connected to the bike. Physiological, too.

I do hate the term 'clipless', though, it seems are-backwards - cleats are not clipless, it means you DO have clips, unlike regular pedals wjhich are clipless? Unless it comes from toe-clips, which it probably does, but that just seems etymologically screwed. Like "I could care less" vs "I couldn't care less". The former means you do care, ergo wtf, confusion?!

My commuter bike has double-sided pedals, both clipless and flat. My fun bike has double-sided clipless.

the first time i rode clipless (having never ridden with toeclips) was incredible, i felt like my power output doubled. was an instant convert. as for shoes, you can get less dorky ones, or dual sided pedals you can ride with normal shoes if you really need to wear those dress brogues.

yeah clipless is such a stupid term. should be strapless!

"clipless" comes from toe-clips, yeah. esp since some "cleated" pedals used to have toe clips! (http://www.yellowjersey.org/tocleat.html)

but yeah, it's confusing. lotta ppl just say SPDs, like Kleenex. anyway: clipless pedals are totally great and i love them and you def go faster. but if yr bike is yr main city transportation (ie - not just a commuter) then i think flat pedals are the jam. but that assumes that you ride your bike everywhere all the time, don't want to carry extra shoes, and anticipate situations where bike shoes would be a liability (dancing!). if it's just for to-and-from work, or actual sunday rides or whatever, then go for clipless.

not so dorky cycling shoes?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/Full/9494.jpg

[Removed Illegal Image]

http://www.hostelshoppe.com/images/products/la_08keen_comuter.jpg

yr dork mileage may vary

http://media1.roseversand.de/product/370/3/3/336352_1.jpg

i feel compelled to point out you would not catch me dead in those sandals

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/images/products/medium/exustar-sp705-stelvio-leather-spd-touring-commuter-shoes-black-IMG20634EXUSTAR_L.jpg

i commute in these, they are basically bike cop shoes. i leave a couple of pairs of work shoes in my office and change when i get in.

i trimmed off the exustar tab and blacked out the tongue logo ~~stealth~~

also, i dont want straps on my commuter shoes because, lol ~stealth~, but i want them ez on/off, so i (ninja) replace standard laces with elastic laces (/ninja).

Cozen, can't recommend cycling in hollan enough, specifically on the LF1 north sea route. We did hoek to heemskerk on Saturday and it was a real pleasure. Just about 60 miles, maybe 15% of those on actual roads. The cyclepaths through the dunes are just awesome, mostly smooth paving (we had a fair amount of block paving, and a couple of kms of light gravel too). Plenty of views, plenty of pastry stops, courteous drivers when the paths did cross, marvellous.

As for pedals, clipless all the way now, despite the odd "moment" such as the one last night where a straight pull out saved me from a v ignominious fall from stationary.

i do about 150 miles a week commuting and nobbing around, then a big most sundays to get rid of hangover

i'd hate the idea of riding on flats, i like having the slot to put my foot in

i see loads of ppl with spds looking a bit flakey clipping in and out and in and out when it's busy around london

i dunno, think im gonna buy some new pedals (mine fell apart the other day) then maybe treat myself to some spds and use them on the long rides and see how that goes

thanks for the shoe recommendations guys

150 miles+ is a shitload to be riding on flats, but imo gbx's assessment of that ish is exactly right