Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

GeorgeStorm - The Trek 1.2 would be spot on really, in terms of a good quality well specced entry level road bike it's really good. I wouldn't bother with road bikes sub £500 to be honest, far too much compromise in quality or ride like crap and weigh a ton. As the saying goes: Strong, Light, Cheap.... Pick two of them!. I would either find an older model or save the extra few quid for a 1.2 (or just buy a hybrid for now). Size wise a 56cm should be spot on, the most important size on a road bike is the top tube length which will effect the reach to the bars, you can tweak it a bit by running a different length stem +/- 10mm without effecting the handling too much.

 

Went out on my bike up to the Gisburn Forest trails today, managed 11km (which doesn't sound like a lot really) but now I feel like someone's tried to turn me into a gigantic drumstick lolly. Seriously uncomfortable saddle.

 

FIBRE+
Evans only have 50cm of the 2010 model, and there's no way I can afford the £700 for the 2011 model now.
SO you'd say wait until I can? Any other bikes at around the £500 mark that are worth it?

 

The 50cm would be tiny, more for someone nearing 5ft. It is difficult at that price unless you can find something reduced. Usual sub £600 downgrades will be alloy fork instead of carbon (more weight and less comfort), possibly downgraded frame and wheels as well as the shifters and mechs. The 1.2 has a decent enough frame for the long run, already has the carbon forks, reasonably good wheels (wheels make a big difference, rotational weight is your enemy), and comes with Shimano Sora\Tiagra which is still at the basic end but much better than the cheaper stuff below it. Lifetime frame warranty, 2 years on Bontrager (including wheels), 2 years Shimano.

The Trek 1.1 is nearer your budget, it does have the downgrades I mentioned but is a fair price for what you get and looks pretty smart for the money too.

END>/Hard sell mode

Have you tried any local bikes shops yet? (independent ones, not Evans/Halfords), it's worth a try as some places might have shop soiled models or good condition secound hands from customer trade ins. Your size is by far the most common so it does mean most people will be buying that size but also most places will more likely stock them or have secound hands in that size.

 

Haven't yet, wanted to get an idea of what I should be looking for, before the people in the shop suggested stuff that I had no idea about, possibly ending up in me buying something rather foolishly
Hmm, even the trek 1.1 is quite pricey, considering it seems to have quite a few downgrades so to speak, not as many places have the 2010 model, and very few with a suitable frame size

 

Finally got around to getting a photo of my newest bikes (new to me last year).

First bike is not quite finished yet as some of the bits are off another bike,i've been riding it with the Alfine Hubgear for a couple of months now and love it (1x9 XTR before). It's the best compromise i've found of fast, quiet, comfy and it loves being thrashed about a bit too

Frame: Commencal Flame Titanium (100 made worldwide)
Forks: Fox 32 F100
Gearing: Alfine 8 Hubgear - Soon to be Alfine 11 speed on Stans Flow Rim
Bits: Thomson Post, Chris King Headset, Easton Carbon XC bars, Wellgo Mag\Ti pedals, Fizik Gobi Saddle, Kenda SB8 tires
Need to order some 2012 XTR Trail brakes and im fitting some modified XTR 960 cranks once i've polished them.
Will be around 24lb when it's finished.



I got the road bike secound hand last year but haven't taken it out yet, planning to get out on the road in May though. I'm not a full on roadie but do like doing so road miles with mates, I had an old Cannondale before but figured I may as well get something that I wouldn't need to upgrade ever.

Frame: Lemond Victoire - Carbon Fibre bonded into Titanium (won't see many frames made this way).
Fork: Lemond Carbon
Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium SL
Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 7800
Bits: Chris King headset, Thomson stem\seatpost, Fizik Aliante saddle, Continental GP4000 tires
16.8lb without pedals

Just need to get some nice bottle cages and probably some black leather Brooks tape.

 

While I know nothing about bikes, they both looks rather nice, love the thomson post is it? (the seat post) from the first bike especially!

 

Does anyone have any decent bike storage solutions? Stands or pulleys etc?

 

GeorgeStorm - Yer it's a Thomson layback post, not cheap but they are really well made and are light enough for a road bike but strong enough for a downhill bike.

format - I use cheap n cheerful storage hooks, hang the bikes vertically from the front wheel off the wall. Everything else i've looked at is more complicated and expensive but doesn't work any better for what I need.

 

Exactly what I use to, but with a big piece of pipe insulation over each hook to reduce any possible scratching.

 

ss

 

I want your lemon... Although my Allez will be a stupidly light, over-priced racing machine, I still want a more exotic frameset to match the level of components I'm using, and that is exactly what I'm after. Hate you so much...

Though one thing I cannot wrap my head around after being in the industry for as long as I have and working on as many bits as I have: why, oh why, do people actually use King headsets? Of all the absolute garbage I work on in my day to day career they are some of the worst bits of kit I'm forced to deal with, no matter the iteration present on the bike. To top it all off, their latest fiasco with the split-ring, claiming it to be their idea to make the headsets better (nothing at all to do with the patent running out, and them not wanting to pay it before), just spins my head around. Their hubs are decent enough, though the tools required are astronomically expensive, but why would somebody pay through the roof for an outdated, poorly designed, somewhat-colourful headset, when a ten dollar headset from a bike bought at WalMart has less of a chance of developing play due to the use of the time-tested split-ring? Not even the worst of headsets rely on a rubber O-ring, so why does King? And the worst part about all of this is when I see these same headsets on other mechanics bikes, with their only justification being that it was "expensive" or "colour-matched", whilst still admitting to the poor design inherent in their reliance of a rubber O-ring. I've honestly spent hours upon hours just trying to setup a King so it didn't drag or have play, whereas even the cheapest, worst of headsets we sell or work on at the shop never take me more than a minute or two to get feeling crisp and buttery smooth.

What I'm really trying to say is: are people so concerned about the cost of their bikes and the look that they are knowingly sacrificing quality of one of the main, integral parts of their bicycle just to fit in with their peer-group, or is it that they've heard the poor justifications for these over-priced bits of jewellery elsewhere, so they've unwittingly gone out on a limb to get one as well, but just won't admit to themselves that a headset at a quarter of the price will far out-perform it? Lack of research, or lack of self-respect?

Gah, rant over...

In other news: I've decided to build up a monster-bike for next winter as a secondary for those 50cm days, and I'm trying to decide if I want to just outright sell my 1x1 and build up a Pugsly, or convert my 1x1 into a Pugsly-clone (fork and front wheel from a Pugsly with a 2.7" rear tyre, or bigger if I can fit it). If I convert, then I can run a much more gnarly tyre out back, given that my only real options in the 4" genera are semi-slick in nature, whereas 3" has quite a wide range of tread options available. Almost certainly going to be single-speed to keep weight down, but I am considering going with something like the 2-speed crank offered by FSA so I have a bit of a bail-out gear for when it is truly nasty out. This may also be the bike I eventually use for Ride the Divide (longest cross-country race in the world - Banff to Mexico).

To the question of storage options: I keep my bikes in a variety of places within my apartment, but the daily drivers are kept in my bedroom on a large, rubber-backed carpeted area (think floor-mats for high traffic areas). I've been looking into solutions as well, and the best one I've come across uses a two-level system with individual slots for the bikes, allowing one to store quite a few bikes in a very small area (a lot of stores uses this method for display or storage purposes). Easy enough to make with some box steel, cut in half pipe, and some small-gage bent bits of steel pipe, though there are many options for pre-built solutions as well. Though I don't imagine many people have to store eight odd bikes at any one time like I do...

Single speed verses gears: the biggest difference is in the terrain and how strong of a rider you are, plus finances are a key factor. Keep in mind that the less complication you have, the cheaper and more reliable the bike will be - this is the reason most couriers and commuters use a single speed, or even a fixed-gear bicycle, as there is almost nothing to go wrong with them, and they're generally desperately cheap to replace. For an experienced rider, a bike with a very limited drivetrain will allow for very specific training (a certain cadence, or wattage) with a good challenge in certain situations (there is nothing like climbing a steep hill in an 80" gear), but even the modest cyclist will appreciate the benefits of a tall gear for their daily ride. Limiting yourself in such a way forces you to pack on the muscle to keep the wheels turning, whilst still allowing you to train for cadence when you're not pushing upwards. Most people, when given the chance, will pick an easier gear than they should be in, which tends to compromise their speed and doesn't offer them any real benefits insofar as muscle development or technique goes. A limited drivetrain doesn't allow for such excesses or undermining of oneself. But the best advice anybody can give you in such regard is to just try it before you make your mind up, as everybody is different in their cycling preferences.

Oh, and nothing trains balance like a fixed-gear does!

 

Great looking bikes Fibre

I built some new wheels for my DH bike last weekend as the old ones were a little worse for wear. Now running some Mavic 823 rims on Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs, tubless!

 

been running 823's for about a year now, did you know there just re-branded DeeMax's? but at half the price

 

Just got back from a 3 hour ride (aroudn 25km) with a fair amount of offroading. Went with a couple of guys from the compsoc a uni, pretty relaxed, going to make it a weekly thing methinks.
Only issue being its made me think maybe I should get a better MTB since it was really good fun
On that note in general, if anyone has any bike bits they want to sell, PM me, might try and slowly build up enough bits to put one together

 

Just came back from a lovely ride around the city. I guess we racked up 30 km, a nice part of which offroad. The Bruiser really isn't a street bike, and even less so with the messed up gears, the dirt saddle and tires.

Trying to start riding more and boozing less.

 

Malvolio - Lol, fair enough. I've never had any issues with Kings but I've read about bad experiences on the internet (but you get that with anything). After getting the first one it was a case of fit and forget so i've stuck with them, I can't be bothered to experiment with different options as they've worked fine for me and i'm not paying RRP so it's not as big a deal. The one in the Commencal has been in a both a jump bike and winter\work bike over a total of 4 years and still feals fine.

If I was after a reasonably priced headset I might try something like the Onza Mongo. Good size cups, large cartridge bearings and reasonably priced at £25 rrp.

Jamie - Let me know what you think of tubeless, i've never tried it. I wouldn't mind giving it a try even just for the experience.

Jipa - "Trying to start riding more and boozing less". The secret is Pub rides!. Find one a decent enough distance away and ride there, stop for a drink or two and ride back. Just don't do what some of my mates done one time and turn it into a road ride pub crawl

 

your not going to like me, .

My friend convinced me to go to cannock today, we just did the follow the dog route though as his dad was coming too.

Backs aching a bit now,

 

Haha yeah I've already decided not to combine those two activities ever again. Didn't crash, but yeah, lets do those stair drops sober.

 

We have two bikes that need kept in my house, and not a whole lot of room to do it. Does your bike sit 'flush' (ish) with the wall, or does it protrude? If it's the former, do the pedals scratch the wall?

edit : I mean do you have the bike on the hooks so that the wheels are close to the wall with the saddle being further away? Sorry if this is unclear. Could you post a picture?