bikes bikes bikes!

[Cush]

hey everybody, sorry it's been so long since i've shown my ugly face around here. let's start a general bike discussion.

a couple weeks ago i got a free english racer 10 speed and wheels. i put like 60 bucks into and it's so fucking sweet now. i'm probably going to see if i can get a job as a messenger in the city come spring time.

talk about your bike!

 

[Cush]

P.S. if you call me a hipster for liking bikes i'll sack tap you with a crowbar.

 

[DirtyRig]

There's a huge bikepunk scene around here, and the anarchists are always organizing these massive illegal bikerides through the city.

 

[Matt Derrick]

i love my bike, it's an old 80's raleigh frame with the old 'made in london' logo on it. im having a really hard time getting new brakes for it though. i hope to solve that this weekend at plan b.

also, i want to take it cross country at some point.

 

[Hoghead Bob]

P.S. if you call me a hipster for liking bikes i'll sack tap you with a crowbar.

Fucking hipster!

 

[iamcrkt]

I have a 56cm Long Haul Trucker touring frame that I built up with parts that I ordered through QBP.

I'm biking from Columbia, MO to Seattle, WA in early April or late March.

http://www.surlybikes.com ... for real!

 

[Mouse]

I've never learned much about bikes but i always wanted to. I'd love to pimp out a bike for myself and ride everywhere but alas i haven't the time right now and abotu 20 other projects ahead of that one.

know any good books or zines or sites to teach me the not-so-basics.

 

[Cush]

http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/title/1667/

that's the best bike maitinence book i've found. it's fairly cheap and it's from an awesome company.

 

[rideitlikeyoustoleit]

I guess you could say I'm a pretty big bike nerd.

Bike #1: White Nishiki International that I have converted to single speed.

Bike #2: Black Raleigh Pursuit that I have also converted to single speed. Components on this one are a little better.

Bike #3: Pink Univega road bike.

I toured the East Coast this last summer on a Panisonic, and it gave me little to no problems. However, I was hating life some of the ride for not keeping my granny gear on.

 

[wokofshame]

yeah i got a Giant not sure the name made in taiwan,
i can't say i'm really into spending more than half an hour at a time tinkering but it sure is nice to know how if i have to, derailleurs, brakes all that shiznit
i'm going on a bike trip from san diego to punto laredo, mexico next week.
was reading this NG book on china the other nite and it had pictures of these chinese peasants hunting from bikes :-X

 

[SimplemanChris]

Hi,

Bikes are my preferred means on travel too. I don’t have to wait around for a bus or sit for hours waiting to hitch a ride from a passing car. The only thing that can get in my way is maintenance when I have to ride in the mud and it clogs up the gears, chain and shifting cables. Oh yea, lets not forget flat tires.
I have a cool bike I got for free. It is an old Japanese 21 speed that had a free sign on it sitting in a driveway. I put new tires and cable on it and now it gets me around. You can score a good bike at Value Village or other hand me down stores. You should expect to pay around 20 bucks. Do the work yourself so that if you have a problem 50 miles from the nearest city, you can McGiver it to keep rolling along. The last trip I did was from the Puget Sound to the Columbia River. It was a 600 miles ride on old RR racks and dirt FS Roads. I think only about 30 miles of it was riding on paved surfaces. I did the entire trip stealth camping in the bushes for free. I have a old BOB Trailer that I pull behind my bike, I can carry about 90 pounds of gear and food with me. The best part about moving by bicycle for me is that I don't have to worry about money for gas, or my old P.O.S. truck breaking down every 200 miles

Chris

 

[hellomonday]

i recently found and old schwinn stingray with a purple seat and pink rims on it on the side of the road that im planning on fixing up at some point. its sweet as hell.
im kindof a sucker for the schwinns, right now ive got a blue breeze and its my best friend really. the only thing about it is that i cant ride right now because i live in michigan and the city has been barfed upon by ice and snow and shit. i hate the winter. gah...

 

[rideitlikeyoustoleit]

Old Schwinns are cool, but a lot of the old ones have internal three speeds and coaster brakes. My partner and I are always trying to disassemble them and to figure them out, but it is still a total mystery to us.

 

[SimplemanChris]

Old Schwinns ROCK! Yeah, those internal hubs are one of life's great mysteries. You have more courage than me if you take one apart and dive into it. I prefer the exposed derailleur type of shifters.
Most of the bike repair techniques I have learned are from Sheldon’s site. Here is the linkage,
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html

You can make your own chains for snow and ice by using large zip-ties. I wrap them around the tire and cut them to length. Keep in mind, unless you have a coaster or disk brake, you can’t use your brakes as it will hit the zip ties and break your pads off.
You can also make your own ice tires with short metal screws. Just google “homemade bicycle ice tires”. I am riding 12 months a year now. Man, I can’t wait until the warmer weather hits!!

 

[rideitlikeyoustoleit]

Sheldon Brown is an awesome website! The how-to's are great! I'm using that site right now to learn frame geometry.

 

[Matt Derrick]

You can make your own chains for snow and ice by using large zip-ties. I wrap them around the tire and cut them to length. Keep in mind, unless you have a coaster or disk brake, you can’t use your brakes as it will hit the zip ties and break your pads off.

You can also make your own ice tires with short metal screws. Just google “homemade bicycle ice tires”. I am riding 12 months a year now. Man, I can’t wait until the warmer weather hits!!

whoa, that's some kick ass info! i had no idea about the zip tie thing, that's cool!

 

[blackmatter]

i recently found and old schwinn stingray with a purple seat and pink rims on it on the side of the road that im planning on fixing up at some point. its sweet as hell.
im kindof a sucker for the schwinns, right now ive got a blue breeze and its my best friend really. the only thing about it is that i cant ride right now because i live in michigan and the city has been barfed upon by ice and snow and shit. i hate the winter. gah...

michigan weather is poop right now

 

[loam]

i'm going to take the front tire off of a bike and weld the frame to a shopping cart. i just need a place to do it.

 

[Dillinger]

I wish I had a bike. =(

 

[hellomonday]

once my friend was riding her bike really drunk this summer and she clotheslined it into this chain blocking off the entrance to a park driveway: funniest shit ever haha.
im trying to sort of just teach myself through books and stuff,
i found this really shit bike but the frame was really fucking cool, so i took it home and im fixing it as a sort of experimental thing learning as i go.