noob questions

Oh no, I always ride with a helmet. I'm just super-fussy about my hair.

So yeah I'm riding to and from work now at least half the week. It's about 4-5 miles with some hills and rush hour traffic, takes me around 20-25 minutes. I also work right next to a state park so sometimes for a break at work I go and do a circuit on the bike paths there, it is super fun. My new thing is that I am good at going really really slow now, and I have started to be brave enough to take my hands off of the handles and do things with them.

So what I have been doing now is riding my bike over to this little independent deli at lunch and buying a sandwich and riding the sandwich back to these picnic tables under this bridge and parking my bike and eating the sandwich and reading a book. It feels like the early twentieth century or something!

Also there is a bike shop at work and they have a pump I am going to learn to use.

One thing that confuses me is this

when there are two lanes but I want to take a left turn, how soon can I move into the left lane and what part of that lane should I ride in until I turn, the far left, the far right or the middle?

i stay to the far right of the turn lane if there's room, but if it's not safe i take the whole lane. once i'm through, i go back to the right side in that case.

Oh damn biking in LA would be tricky. I'm spoiled with Philly and it's vast majority of one-way/one-lane streets.

I thought biking in LA was pretty decent actually. Way easier than SF. Long distances sorta balanced by nice weather.

Oh man here I go missing LA again. Last summer I had plenty of time to ride and pretty much every journey east would take me by Tacos Leo ...

Caught a flat! In the shop now, getting it fixed!!

Now's the time to learn how to change a tube!

Yes, well luckily I caught it only a 10 min walk from Flying Pigeon, so I walked there and had a cold blueberry soda and checked out some Bern helmets while the lady fixed my wheel and realigned my gears. See how...bike I am??

Aren't those helmets nifty?

Opinions sought on my n00b idea of changing my compact chainset from 50-34 to 46-34. Just don't use the high gears that much and when cruising always find i wanted to cross the chain massively.

What's your cog range? I'd look at expanding that first.

Also -> ride faster.

more detail on expanding cog range plz. does that mean new rear cassette? will it fix chain crossing problem?

pretty happy with my leisurely sunday rider stance tbh.

I don't understand why you have a chain crossing problem! Is your derailleur bent or something?

nah, i just normally find myself on the middle/low end of the cassette when on the big front ring? idk maybe my indexing is a bit iffy as well. maybe i take it too easy. idk.

Chain crossing should really be an issue you may want to trim your from derailleur a little.This varieties from system to system how it is achieved and from brand to brand how much is necessary. SRAM is notorious for needing lots of trimming (apparently fixed in new Red)

As far as rear cogs go you can mess around to have lower gears come sooner in the range. This is SRAMs range, if you move from an 11-26 to an 11-32 then you'll hit the lower gears a cog sooner. Move to a 12-26 and you get the higher gears a cog sooner but the low gears stay the same.

11-23: 11-12-13-14-15-16 -17-19-21-23,
11-26: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23 -26,
11-28: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28,
11-32: 11-12-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32,
12-25: 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25,
12-26: 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-26,
12-27: 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27,
12-28: 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-22-25-28,
12-32: 12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28-32

interestin'. doing another ride this sunday, will try and clarify the problem more accurately and figure something out from there.

just saw this on craigslist, this is like beyond 'noob' territory going into 'what on earth are u thinking':

http://oi43.tinypic.com/2j0nihj.jpg

http://www.bocyc.eu/gallery/big/bocyc_05-quatro.jpg

^^ savages

wait are we talking abt handlebars?

the *dropped* handlebars?

If we want to talk savages

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qb8QktenUts/T41xMv9GE4I/AAAAAAAAaS4/lGpxg8lxiL0/s1600/scott.jpeg

courtesy of bikesnob

http://delaware.craigslist.org/bik/2947323490.html

idgi

i bet the guys at the bike shop LOVED this dude.

xp stevie, this is the cycling equivalent a post selling a gourmet meal with lines like "i had the chef pour heinz ketchup all over it for better flavor"

someone in delaware is trolling, and doing it well

wait are we talking abt handlebars?

― Time, a group with Jam and Lewis (Stevie D(eux)), Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:54 PM

the *dropped* handlebars?

― Time, a group with Jam and Lewis (Stevie D(eux)), Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:54 PM

we're taling about the dropped handlebars that are flipped upside down. and in the case of the first one upside down AND the stem and handlebars are BACKWARDS

courtesy of bikesnob

http://delaware.craigslist.org/bik/2947323490.html

― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Saturday, April 21, 2012 10:02 PM

haha i <3 craigslist. and bikesnob.

And the shop adapted a kickstand to fit the carbon fiber frame

had me LOLing at "replaced handlebars for better control"

that thing is already somewhat infamous

http://thedailygrind.robdamanii.com/2012/04/11/facepalm-files-the-sad-scott/

whoops didn't see it was on bikesnob that explains the infamy

is that really sadder than a full race trim scott creaking under a 220 pound lawyer on some charity ride

lol

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/2967945092.html

is that price a typo or

USE BIKE MURRAY TOURIN MTN BIKE FRONT SUSPENSION SYSTEMS just need clean up it ...

Hey does anyone have any general tips for looking for second hand steel road bikes?
This is the kind of thing I am looking at. Is there anything I should be looking out for apart from general fit and feel?

In addition to looking at the components, it's worth googling the tubing, I think, you can get an idea of how good the bike was in a particular year. Not all steel is equal even under similar paint jobs. You can cut through a lot of the bullshit surrounding the brand and it being 'vintage' and the like.

So looking up "Columbus Aelle" gives me

http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/columbus/columbuschart.htm

It's at the bottom end of the columbus range, largely un butted. The ride will be comfortable to the point of being squishy. €420 seems pretty high price for something that started life as a budget racer.

VdG, are you in London and might you be interested in an 80s Holdsworth tourer to fit approx 6 footer? Needs a clean and a service but it was fully functional 5 years ago and has been in a shed ever since.

Mine's a mid-level Reynolds 531 10-speed tourer in (dirty, scratched) white. Needs a lot of tlc but is mechanically in decent nick.

Naa I'm in Germany

Thanks ed, I'll try and inform myself about frames a bit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/europe/in-denmark-pedaling-to-work-on-a-superhighway.html

"The plan has received widespread support in a country whose left- and right-leaning lawmakers both regularly bike to work (albeit on slightly different models of bicycle)."

what are the "slightly different models" here? anyone know?

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae31/Foxx-Dot-Com/4chan/1254517783743.jpg

loool

Massive noob question here - please don't laugh. I currently have a mountain bike/ATB which I mainly use for road cycling to and from work on a fairly flat road. I'm constantly getting overtaken by racers (and even Bromptons) as my fat-arsed tyres drag themselves along the road. I'm thinking of getting skinnier tyres with a smoother tread. Can I simply change the tyres or will I need to do more than that (e.g. change the wheels themselves or something like that?). Recommendations are also very helpful!

yes you can simply change the tyres. check the diameter of your current tyres but they'll almost certainly be 26". can't recommend anything in particular but try these links:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=740
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycle/mtb-slick-tyres/

thanks ledge. yeah i'm certain they're 26"

the tire wall should have the size written on it, e.g. 26x2 (26" diam, 2" wide). what width do you currently have?

not near my bike right now. i'll check though.

if in doubt go to the bike shop and tell them you want to change to slicks. they'll sell you ones that will fit.

I never learned to ride, I want to now. Just recreation on city streets and parks, pretty flat, $500-$600 budget (want to buy new so the shop can make appropriate adjustments, etc.).

Is there a suitable Trek? I read about the Felt Glassell and that sounded interesting too.

Also Kind of interested in a three-wheel recumbent tbh.