noob questions

j/k that bike is despicable

thing is: KMs are about $450 for the frame/fork. decent wheelset + tires will run close to ...$300? add in everything else and you're over a grand.

surly sells 'em complete for $1200, but they come with knobbly tires an ugly uncomfortable saddle and no moustache bars

I need noob bik for drunk summer roll outs

http://surlybikes.com/1X1_ltd.html

http://surlybikes.com/images/1x1_ltd_lg.jpg

ok what the hell

http://blog.makezine.com/162388357_1e253f8f85.jpg

I really want that rubber chain bike FYI. Good for biking in a suit I hope.

Surly's are awesome, get one of those.

http://www.gorillabicycles.com/web/en/snowwhite/

wtf??

Raleigh One Way

http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/road/one-way/

Raleigh Clubman

http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/road/clubman/

yeah get a one way. great bikes. perfect for your needs

The One Way does look ideal. Do you think you'll find yourself going for longer weekend rides at all?

If you do find something you think suitable, come back to the thread and let us know what and we will thumbs up/down as appropriate.

(Having said that, I think bikes with gears still make most sense in almost all situations. It's definitely worth test riding different styles of bikes, from full-on roadie to MTB with slicks and seeing which feels most fun and most suitable. And you can test ride new bikes from reputable shops, too)

http://blog.makezine.com/162388357_1e253f8f85.jpg

wtf is happening at the "BB" there?

US raleigh and UK raleigh are not the same company any more, are they?

Also, this is still beautiful:

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/guvnor.html

http://www.britishbicycle.com/pashley/guvnor/

US raleigh and UK raleigh are not the same company any more, are they?

I would guess not. They certainly have different product lines.

Is this a good deal for a fixie frame?
http://www.on-one-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Il_Pompino_550.html

How much could I get the rest of the bits for?

That is a good deal. Its a great frame too, well liked in the messenger community. I reckon you could build it out for a couple of hundred.

I bought it. Friend has some spare wheels too, w00t.

wow those are cheap! and yeah, i've heard great things about the pompino

i've got a beat ass old trek that i've never liked very much frankly, i think it's time to get a decent road bike for tooling around. this is looking really great to me:

http://thehubbikecoop.org/itemdetails.cfm?LibId=53457

my question is, would it a better deal to find something similar used and have some work done on it? old 10-speed frames can't be that hard to get a hold of

it might be trickier than you think? mpls bike dorks are pretty on the ball when it comes to picking up nice old used bikes

wld agree here in denver, its got completely crazy to where if it has semi horizontal drops dood thinks its worth $x00.

talking about bare frame

also, i've heard bad things about ReCyles on Hennepin....inflated prices, bad mechanics, unscrupulous

OK... I have held on this one for a while, but here it is. This bike came into the shop a couple months ago, customer had just bought it from Recycle. They said something was wierd in the steering, our intial thought was maybe the headset was loose. Except when we grabbed the front brake and pushed the handlebar forward to check, the front wheel pivoted forward when the handlebar was pushed forward. Thats interesting... We took it in back and removed the fork to find that the steer tube had previously be severed clean off. They had put 2 pins through it, criss crossed and tacked them in. That was the remedy. Terribly, horribly disgustingly unsafe. That is someones face. Here is a link to the photos taked of the fork.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8293134@N08/2968936651/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8293134@N08/2968936525/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8293134@N08/2968936413/

good resource for mpls bike stuff, btw: mplsbikelove.com

omg wtf is all i can type

i know right? not sure if ReCycles did the tacking, but it's clear that, even if they didn't, they either didn't notice it or didn't care.

there's a whole thread on them on the mpls bike forum, most of it O_O wau how r u in business

hm yeah going the custom route right off is probably jumping in at the deep end.

still, that redline looks great, doesn't it? a road-style single speed is probably what i'm after, anyone have any recommendations?

kona paddy wagon: http://www.konaworld.com/09_paddywagon_u.cfm

Surly Steamroller http://www.surlybikes.com/steamroller_comp.html

http://www.myspace.com/fixedgearsareforjerksandlesbians

:O≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

baahahahaha

never actually heard that band's music, mind

but no i'm not interesting in a fixed gear tbh

steamrollers can be singlespeeds! it just depends on what you do with the rear wheel!

!!!

o i c

v v newb

steamrollers can be singlespeed, but I think they only come with a front brake stock. So you'd have to add a rear brake and a cable and a lever. Not such a big deal, but it will cost you a bit.

I've good things about that Redline, and the price is nice. I say go for it. The geometry is kind of slack, but that sounds like what you might like.

If you're looking for a budget option, a lot of people swear by the singlespeed offerings of bikesdirect.com

^I've HEARD good things about that Redline

A slightly more expensive option:

http://www.salsacycles.com/casserollCompSS08.html

It has a semi horizontal dropout so it can be converted to gears at a later stage and I love the super skinny tubing.

Incidentally, you can still get last years surly steamroller, which was a much nattier brown, and it is cheaper.

http://bicyclewarehouse.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=10948&site=google_base

Here's one: Is buying a Schwinn ten speed off craigslist and making it a single speed and changing out the handlebars a) cost-effective b) the kind of thing I can do in my attic with no bike-maintenance experience c) at all a good idea?

also: Salsa is local!

http://www.salsacromotostem.com/

Here's one: Is buying a Schwinn ten speed off craigslist and making it a single speed and changing out the handlebars a) cost-effective b) the kind of thing I can do in my attic with no bike-maintenance experience c) at all a good idea?

I don't have personal experience with conversions, but everything I've heard suggests that they are seldom that cost-effective, especially nowadays. You're unlikely to find a bargain, quality bike to work with on Craigslist. Prices for vintage road bikes are pretty inflated (or were before the economy headed south). So You'll have to expect to pay probably something like $100-200 just to get a decent bike to work with. Apparently there are still really cheap vintage bikes out there (fewer than there used to be, for sure), but you'll have to prowl Salvation Army shops and yard sales. Even then, you may not strike gold.

Once you get the bike, you'll have to invest in some parts and tools. The bike may need some work to function well, which will cost money. So, I've heard people say that a conversion often costs $200-300 (sometimes more) when it's all said and done.

If you want to learn about bikes and have that feeling of pride/accomplishment, then it makes sense. Otherwise, buy a bike from bikesdirect.com

Seriously, bikesdirect.com is a very good possibility. The bikes are really popular with people on a budget who want a nice bike. It's a solid product at a low price.

Another noob Q: What do you think a shop should or would charge for rebuilding a damanged 3-speed wheel, if the hub were supplied? Including rim, spokes, and labor, and anything else I'm missing...? Answers appreciated b/c right now a shop that I like is fixing to charge me $120 to replace a rear wheel w internally geared hub that wasn't damaged when I took it in -- I intended for them to rebuild it but they say it got damaged in the unlacing...?

if the hub is supplied, it shouldn't cost any more than any other kind of hub. generally $45 for labor, i'd wager, the rest depends on what kind of rim you put on it

A plain old steel rim, I guess. That's what was on there before. What do those run?

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.

dl, more than you would ever need to know about rim and tyre widths (with a handy chart near the end under 'width considerations':

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

on the three wheel recumbent, depends how you're using it. they have a very wide stance, which makes maneuvering anywhere around traffic hard. also, they are very low and i've been told, therefore more likely to be hit by cars, thus the common use of flags for recumbents. my general attitude is, if you need a recumbent to get on a bike, go for it, but if you don't, skip it.

hay hay i got some slicks. only had time to change the front one and it seems good. problem is, the front wheel quick release axle kind of fell apart while i was taking it off. i put it back together best i could, but i had to guess how because nowhere on the internets could i find anything that told me e.g. washer, washer, spring, fork, fork, spring, nut (think that's the order i put em on). so i hope i haven't bollocksed it up. back tyre this weekend. uh ohs...

DL - you might be better off going to a bike shop and getting them to check your quick release, you really don't want your wheel to fall out while you're riding.

quite right indeed.

dunno about that, it ain't rocket science

http://www.montaguebikes.com/assets/images/ownermanual/standard-labeled-quick-release.jpg

that's what i need! thanks ledge, you're a ledge!

ha

except the drawing's missing two washers there. never mind, i'm sure i got it right by looking at the back wheel.

washers eh, what's the point in them.

i was having terrible trouble opening a super tight quick release lever the other day. my super bike nerdy friend - not quite up to the level of building his own wheels but i wouldn't put it past him - fixed it in a jiffy by turning the lever a full turn without opening it (anticlockwise i presume), then it popped open no trouble. magic!

washers probably sit between the nut and the spring at either end, but most quick release assemblies don't have them

i was having terrible trouble opening a super tight quick release lever the other day

my lo-tech solution to this is always to whack it open with my pump placed through the wheel

mine's one of those special quick releases that only open if the bike's upside down so that's maybe something to do with it.