Bicycles!

[massacremasses]

I would want regular pedals on a fixie...

[Apex]

The only time I would suggest something like Power Grips on a fixie is if there are hills involved. Then you would really need the extra torque that the straps would provide. Being able to pull and push on the pedals would make a HUGE difference on a FG in a hilly area.

[thumper64]

Anything nice would be more likely to get stolen. I ride a kinda beaten up Mongoose I put together from two junk bikes. 26" wheels and shifters off a steel frame bike, and an aluminum frame from one I found without wheels. Adjust the bearings so they spin freely and it seems to work well enough for me.

[BlueHairSar]

In my experience and older decent brand is going to be wayyy better than anything new you buy at target.

And unless your lugging your bike up stairs a lot, or hitting some massive hills, the weight of the frame has much less of an impact that you might expect.

[choneofakind]

Werd!

The only time I feel the weight of my road bike is when I get off the saddle and crank, and I feel it in my arms when I pull the bike back and forth to get more power. Other than that, the bike feels light. I still want a more rigid frame though, so carbon it is for me

My mtb on the other hand, is a pig that hides its weight very well, even on hills. I only notice it in really quick up/down pumping sections of tight trails, when I'm really having to whip it around.

[massacremasses]

mines like 30 lbs.

[choneofakind]

My road bike: 23 lbs
my MTB: 34 lbs
my bmx bike: 30 lbs

[Apex]

My MTB is a hair over 30, road is around 27 with all my gear, and I won't say how much my cargo bike weighs. Hahaha

[leed]

Mmmmeh need to get back on my bicycle! I rode 5 miles the other day and was beat. This is after 4-5 month break of usually doing 20-30 miles a few times a week. That and I need to get a brake lever for my fixie/commuter.

[massacremasses]

Ive ridden mine like 2 times. I want to ride it more, but I dont have anyone to ride it with

[Apex]

99% of my rides are alone. I find it rather relaxing and it enables me to clear my mind.

[choneofakind]

same. It's nice to have a buddy, but at the same time, one of you is always being held back or worked to death, and it's just so nice to vent some steam on your own. It's very peaceful.

[leed]

Agreed, I usually ride alone as well. Riding with people is more difficult as it's hard to find someone who rides the same pace as you. They're either a lot faster or a lot slower in my case.

[massacremasses]

I dont have time to go by myself though... I always have Noah in the evenings

[choneofakind]

I feel your pain. I've been sitting here watching my road bike in my dorm room because I've had Strep for over a week now, eating hurts, and I can barely drink enough water, much less the extra needed to go exercise. I feel so damn lazy and I'm going crazy!!

I'm getting better, but damn. I'm gonna go crazy.

[Apex]

One word, trailer. You'd be surprised how cheap you can find a bike trailer on craigslist.

I passed one up that was only $25. I told myself, I must finish organizing the garage before I start checking out trailers.

(you need a place to put the thing, right?)

[choneofakind]

That's a workout

[Jono]

Man kids must suck. Haha. I don't want any for a looooooooong time!

[massacremasses]

he can ride his own, hes just so damn slow. which is not all his fault. he has a little bike and the wheels are tiny so he has to peddle so fast to get anywhere. And its a single speed so he has problems up hills. And he is a giant pussy and wants to walk down them

[choneofakind]

WHATT?? When I was that size, my parents had to physically stop my from going down them!!!!! I was like "I WANNA GO FASTTTT!!!!!"

heck, I still do that. Everyone knows that the empty cop car sitting on the side of the road with a radar speed display is just a challenge to see how fast you can go on a bike!

[Apex]

There have been numerous times where I could have gotten a ticket on my bicycle for speeding.


Top speed so far, 44mph. We don't have many opportunities to surpass that speed here in Texas. We are not known for our hills.

[massacremasses]

could you ride on two wheels at 3 like him? I couldnt, haha

He is 4 now though

[Apex]

You could always try to find something like this for cheap:



Click the image, amazon lists it for $71. It says it is for ages 4-9.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

could you ride on two wheels at 3 like him? I couldnt, haha

He is 4 now though

I was on two wheels the summer before kindergarten. That was also the summer I started playing soccer in the recreational league. It was a big summer. So that would have put me at 5 years old? idk...


@Apex, I've hit 55 down a hill pedaling like a mad man. There's a hill in the valley that leads right into this tiny town called Peninsula, and the speed limit goes from 45 (I can pass traffic on that hill...) to 25, with a light at the bottom. If you hit the light green, you can whiz through town and right past the police department at about 50-55 mph, then completely clear the railroad tracks on the other side with only a liiiitle tiiiny bunny hop. I had a buddy get pulled over on his road bike and get a "warning" from the police officer. The cop was a good guy. He was just impressed that my buddy got moving that quickly on a bicycle.

[Apex]

I'm sure a cop around here wouldn't know what to do if someone hit 55mph. At least here in SE Texas it is far too flat to hit that speed.

In order to obtain my top speed, I had to hit the motor half way up a big hill (big gear and out of the saddle). I crested the hill in the red and then spun out of my biggest gear, I looked down and it said 44.5mph. I am pretty certain I went faster, but on a charity ride, being surrounded by many people who are not seasoned cyclists, I didn't check it again. I was going to fly through the next turn at 40+mph, but all the newbs hit their brakes because apparently a bicycle loses it cornering ability at speeds above 10mph. So I had to slow as well. I slowed to 20mph, yelled "ON YOUR LEFT!" and flew around them. I encountered evil stares for being so reckless by going so fast in a turn. I just smiled back.

[choneofakind]

I know!! So many cyclists are afraid of turns at 30+ mph. That's just where it gets fun!!! Pick up the inside pedal, drop the inside shoulder, look through the turn and go for it!!! My bicycle is just as fun to toss around as the ninjette, except I have to pedal back UP the hills

[Apex]

Most of it is not trusting that a little 700x23c tire can and will actually grip the pavement as long as you don't get stupid. They just cannot comprehend that such a small tire actually can handle those speeds and the lean angles.

Now, I wouldn't have tried that on a MTB with knobbies...I would slow down some for that turn, but 20mph would have been quite manageable on a MTB.


It is like a love/hate relationship on that BP MS150 ride from Houston to Austin. I love the ride, I hate how people act on the ride. Especially those who ride side by side and take up an entire lane of road. Plus they cannot hold a line to save their lives, so you have to be VERY careful when you pass them. I am debating on being a ride marshal next year so I can actually tell people to move over and they will listen.

[leed]

Originally Posted by Apex

There have been numerous times where I could have gotten a ticket on my bicycle for speeding.


Top speed so far, 44mph. We don't have many opportunities to surpass that speed here in Texas. We are not known for our hills.

Most I have managed to get out of my road bike is 45-46 with a rearwind. I was hauling ass, and it was shortlived on a slight downhill. It was pretty freaking awesome though. Best part was the speed limit was actually 45!

And update: After my moping around about not riding anymore... Today I decided to commute by bike all day. Just got back at ~11.30. Not a long commute, but boy did it tire me out. I sure don't miss the terrible drivers that hate cyclists though... Every time I go back out for the first time in a long time, I run into at least one.

[choneofakind]

True dat! Inconsiderate drivers suck. You really have to be defensive and aware on a bicycle.


eh, I'll take just about any turn on an MTB I figure that the mtb is easier to handle with one or both of the wheels sliding than the road bike is, plus I have a lot more experience riding out slides on the MTB than the road bike. For example, pedal strikes on the MTB = no biggie. Last week, I was whipping around a corner hot on the road bike and forgot to stop pedaling; clipped the pedal on the asphalt and totally skidded the back wheel waaay out. It was fun, but it could have ended badly.

Also, an MTB on 1.75" wide slicks is a fun around town hooligan bike that also handles REALLY well on pavement I can lean over too far on those tires.

[Apex]

I have to agree, the MTB is definitely great for urban riding. If I am doing a workout on my MTB around the neighborhood, and I get bored, I just hop curbs or ride through playgrounds to entertain me. Ok, ok, this is done at like 2am when nobody is up. It isn't like I am chasing kids through the playground...though that would be rather fun.
*makes mental note*

The only downfall to it is that it takes more energy to sustain a given speed and tends to be heavier. I admit, it is nice to just be riding and then "OOOHHH a trail!" and boom, you are on it.

[choneofakind]

Same. Nothing like breaking out the road biking spandex on the MTB and then hopping off of loading docks just as part of my work out.

I freaking baby the road bike over everything. Jumps are not advised.

[Apex]

Weird, I've taken my road bike offroad.

[choneofakind]

ewwww. How did that work out for you?

[massacremasses]

hopped a curb the other day on my MTB. The other side was lower than I thought... I about ate **** when I ran out of clearance

[choneofakind]

Just put your weight back, keep the bike level, and use your knees to take the hit.

[Apex]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

ewwww. How did that work out for you?

It worked great. Like a full rigid setup, except with hardly any traction. It was fun.

Originally Posted by massacremasses

hopped a curb the other day on my MTB. The other side was lower than I thought... I about ate **** when I ran out of clearance

Yeah, I can't remember ever bottoming out on my bikes. I normally bunny hop with enough speed to clear the crank.

Now I said that, I'm going to eat it next time I hit the trails.

[choneofakind]

The best part is when you're trying to ride a log pyramid-thingy over a fallen tree (never understood why they make those...) and you don't quite clear it and your sprockets grind into the tree and you get stuck like 2 feet up in the air on top of said tree. Happens to me all the time on this one spot at my local trail.

[Apex]

Pics or it didn't happen!

[choneofakind]

hmmm, once I get a GoPro this winter, I'll put a sticky on my MTB, and you can get some MTB pictures no more jumping parks for this kid though. That didn't end well this summer.

But I want to put the camera on the frame facing foreward so we can see the from suspension travel. It looks uber awesome!!

like this:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Apex]

I was thinking about mounting mine there, but I have a mud guard mounted on the downtube. That would get in the way of the camera. I may come up with something creative...like a sticky mount (only using a small amount of the adhesive) and zip ties to secure the mount. I am curious about my suspension travel as well. Normally I mount mine on my helmet, but that weighs down the helmet quite a bit. Frame mount would make more sense.

You can see a few of my vids here