My Bike!!

Been on here for a few years talking about car junk.

But here's my bike, and not my car for a change.

Hey, you're a fixie hipster, too!

Oh. My. God.

Those clearances make me weak in the knees.

She fast, very fast yes...

Want.

Coming from the motorcycle world...that seating position looks extreme! Comfortable or useful? Not a criticism..just trying to learn...

Xceler8x wrote: Coming from the motorcycle world...that seating position looks extreme! Comfortable or useful? Not a criticism..just trying to learn...

Extreme? Yes, for a road bike. But, for a track (velodrome) bike, it's pretty normal.

Comfortable? Depends on the rider height and arm length. I couldn't ride it for long, but some of the taller guys with monkey arms would be ok.

Useful? No, not on the road. But, on the track, it's more aerodynamic.

The hipster/fixie crowd likes the clean, purposeful look of track bikes, so that's what they ride. No different than kitting out a euro-trash sedan to look like a BTCC entry.

Or like driving a stripped and cage car on the street.

Can we make the tread titles indicative of what;s inside? Sorry to say it but I have no interest in looking at bicycles. I haven't been interested since I was 14 and that is not gonna change. Instead of saying my bike could we say my bicycle? That way those of use who are only interested in vehicles which have a motor and pollute the environment can check out only those threads?

Not meaning to be an shiny happy person, just tired of looking through pages of bicycles expecting to see motorcycle content which we all know is way cooler than bicycles...

:)

Yeah, bicycles are not loud or smelly enough, and don't make smoke.

J/K I love my bicycle too.

How much does that weigh? It looks like it's made of toothpicks.

mattm wrote: Can we make the tread titles indicative of what;s inside?

No. Sorry. We don't really do that here.

confuZion3 wrote:

mattm wrote: Can we make the tread titles indicative of what;s inside?

No. Sorry. We don't really do that here.

Or when the subject is a motorcycle the subject can read: "motorcycle" and when subject is a bicycle it can read "bike" (which is short of Bi-cycle). With complaints like that I guess bikes are about to get banned from Sprockets?

Nice bike Bro!

See if we attached a motor to the bike, no matter how small, suddenly people would have interest.

Bicycles are my gym membership on two wheels.

It took me a while, but I have really developed an appreciation of bicycles. In suburbia, they are probably a nuisance, but towns like Gainesville are really bike friendly. Riding a bike effectively is a lot more than speed, too; preserving momentum is very important.

While we're on the topic, my seat is cracked, so what should I replace it with? What is the consensus on cage pedals, or whatever they're called?

What do you ride?

I'd say something cheap and comfortable but not overly huge because weight is a pain (not really, it sucks to pedal a heavy bike).

On the pedals look into metal platforms and toe-straps. They allow you to pull on the up-stroke of your pedal, so long as your seat is at the optimal height and the straps are tight enough. Not required though, as you can rock just normal platforms from a BMX just fine.

Seat depends on what pants you wear.
Street pants = something fairly padded, like one of the mid-range WTB mtn bike seats. Bike shorts = something thin and light, take your pick

Pedals - metal platform, BMX style work pretty well for around town use. - metal platform with clips - ok if you're a hipster or hitting the velodrome, but I never really saw the point - clipless - mucho better for offroad or fast paced road riding

here's my bike:

The reason I want to clips is so I can actually use an upstroke, but more importantly, for riding in the rain: Whenever the road is wet, so are my pedals and soles of my shoes. I don't really want clipless because I would prefer using whatever shoes I have on, not specific ones that go click-clack when I'm walking around.

It looks so comfy...and so does your carpet.

It treats me well. I'm running the weird bars because I crashed it a few years back, and this one was half the price of a normal road bar.

Clips might make sense in that case, though I'd just get some SPDs and casual mtn bike shoes. They typically have the cleat recessed, and enough flex in the sole, to be walkable. Keene even makes an SPD compatible sandal that's pretty nice.

Also, a good BMX flat has lots of traction (via little screws on the flat), so that would solve the rain problem, but not the smooth-round-pedal-stroke problem.

Also, get good metal pedals and clips. The plastic pedal bodies are usually pretty junky.

Another option, that you don't see too much anymore, is PowerGrip straps.

ZOMG powerstraps FTMFW BPE (Best Pedals Evaaar)

but seriously, there is a huge derailleur deficiency around here lately. C'mon guys, theyre not that bad

Those Power Straps look pretty promising; it would be great if I could upgrade without buying new pedals.

You used to be able to buy them without the pedal. But either way, I think they're fairly inexpensive (relative to going clipless, at least).

The cheaper models are in the mid $30's on Amazon.