General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by venessian

I know nothing about the new Ibis, but the old Ibis was absolutely great and innovative. The Spanky, Hakkalugi, Silk Ti, Bow-ti...all amazing bikes. For a very brief time (like, minutes) Carl Strong was going to build their bikes when Ibis fell on hard times. Now, I don't have a clue who builds them, but I see Scot Nicol is still involved. Are they only c-f now?

scot nicol and a group of investors bought back ibis from its owners a few years back, and brought out the first generation ibis mojo shortly after that. and yes, they're mostly a cf company now, well except for a limited edition titanium mojo hardtail lynskey made for them couple of years back.

Originally Posted by Carlisle Blues

Here is a pic of mine a Cannondale Jekyll 1000

nice classic ride!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Originally Posted by acidboy

scot nicol and a group of investors bought back ibis from its owners a few years back, and brought out the first generation ibis mojo shortly after that. and yes, they're mostly a cf company now, well except for a limited edition titanium mojo hardtail lynskey made for them couple of years back. nice classic ride!
Thanks, that bike feels like it is a part of my body. All moving as one...

 

[BoomDiggs]

Originally Posted by oisin

When I got my bike I was pretty sure I didn't want clipless pedals, but after a few weeks of commuting, I feel like they may do me good. I would probably get the type where they are 1/2 clipless and 1/2 platform, because I also use my bike for quick errands and things.

. . .

What about shoes? Anything decent but fairly inexpensive? What should I look for? This wasn't an expense I was expecting to undertake, but for the daily commute and longer rides it seems to make sense.

If you go back to page 59 of this thread you will find that I asked pretty much the same question, the answers follow over the next page or two. After the suggestions I recieved I bought the eggbeaters and the clip-on platforms. I then bought a pair of Sidi mountian bike shoes. I did all of it on Ebay, all new equipment, for less than $100.

The platforms take all of 10 seconds to clip in and take off, for when you want to take that quick errand.

 

[oisin]

Originally Posted by BoomDiggs

If you go back to page 59 of this thread you will find that I asked pretty much the same question, the answers follow over the next page or two. After the suggestions I recieved I bought the eggbeaters and the clip-on platforms. I then bought a pair of Sidi mountian bike shoes. I did all of it on Ebay, all new equipment, for less than $100.

The platforms take all of 10 seconds to clip in and take off, for when you want to take that quick errand.

Thanks for this. I read the thread, but I guess I just wasn't thinking about pedals then. Lots of good info.

 

[Chico2007]

Originally Posted by acidboy

couple of shots I did of my bikes while having beer in the garage...

Nice rides. What kind of cranks on the hardtail? Cooks Bros.? Edit: Now lookign closer..I think I'm seeing the pedal (eggbeater) is making it look like you have some Cooks bog bones on there.

 

[acidboy]

^ thanks, the cranks are raceface next sl's and the pedals are xpedo's.

 

[Mr Herbert]

spent the weekend mountaining biking some trails for the first time - had an absolute blast. much more enjoyable than the road cycling im used to

i fell of quite a few times - do you mountain bikers use clip in pedeals for hardish single track? clips are obviously a great help going up hill but were the cause of me topling over a few times because i couldnt get my foot out quick enough.

think i will buy a second set of pedals for the more tricky trails and keep the clip pedals for the more gruelling stuff.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

spent the weekend mountaining biking some trails for the first time - had an absolute blast. much more enjoyable than the road cycling im used to i fell of quite a few times - do you mountain bikers use clip in pedeals for hardish single track? clips are obviously a great help going up hill but were the cause of me topling over a few times because i couldnt get my foot out quick enough. think i will buy a second set of pedals for the more tricky trails and keep the clip pedals for the more gruelling stuff.
What kind of clips and pedals are you using? I use Shimano sm-sh51 and I have never had a problem. They accompany my Shimano pedals. Hope this helps.

 

[bigbjorn]

Just moved my all-alloy 2006 Centaur/Chorus build to my Merckx MXL, and built up my Pegoretti with 2005 10sp Record. Got rid of a nice 8sp mid-nineties Chorus gruppo and will now start the "Great Shimano Purge of 2011." Now all of our bikes except my wife's commuter (1983 Trek 620) are built with 10sp Campy. So nice to have 100% interchangeability with parts and wheels.

Do any of you guys get OCD about standardizing parts on your bikes? Both my road bikes are built with Campy pre-2009 brake levers, Nitto 176 bars, and Regal (old) saddles. I like the user interface to stay the same!

Oh yeah, and HTFU.

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

spent the weekend mountaining biking some trails for the first time - had an absolute blast. much more enjoyable than the road cycling im used to

i fell of quite a few times - do you mountain bikers use clip in pedeals for hardish single track? clips are obviously a great help going up hill but were the cause of me topling over a few times because i couldnt get my foot out quick enough.

think i will buy a second set of pedals for the more tricky trails and keep the clip pedals for the more gruelling stuff.

Learn to unclip?

I ride time ATACs (awesome pedals) and onza HOs before that and have never had trouble quickly unclipping. Once you are used to it, it should be second nature

 

[Chico2007]

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

spent the weekend mountaining biking some trails for the first time - had an absolute blast. much more enjoyable than the road cycling im used to i fell of quite a few times - do you mountain bikers use clip in pedeals for hardish single track? clips are obviously a great help going up hill but were the cause of me topling over a few times because i couldnt get my foot out quick enough. think i will buy a second set of pedals for the more tricky trails and keep the clip pedals for the more gruelling stuff.
Also, depending on the pedal, you should have a tension adjustment on there. Maybe it's too tight. Picture of my 1994 Specialized Stumpjumper FS (some upgrades Ti bolt kit, Ritchey brake levers etc). Trying to get back into shape now (thats an old pic)

 

[shibbel]

I'm about to pull the trigger on this bad boy (7.9 FX). Any opinions? Should I take anything else into consideration? I can get this for $2,500 and the Trek store is doubling the warranty to two years.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

^^^

What year is the bike? Flat bar gives me the impression it is a touring type of bike.

 

[venessian]

Originally Posted by shibbel

I'm about to pull the trigger on this bad boy (7.9 FX). Any opinions? Should I take anything else into consideration? I can get this for $2,500 and the Trek store is doubling the warranty to two years.
To be honest, I have never really understood that bike. It's expensive for what it is: neither a real town bike, nor a real road bike. I guess its purpose is "touring" (but it can't really be loaded). The bars they spec are weird (if yours will come with that weird wide "aero" bar set-up

). The short tt means it will be difficult to set up later as a road bike or racer. It's almost c-x geo on a non c-x frame. Carbon-fiber on a "hybrid" bike seems absolutely absurd to me. If you like it, more power to you, but I have honestly never understood exactly where that bike fits in, and I think for $2500 one can do better for what it provides. What is it that you like about it, that is driving your choice over other options?

Originally Posted by Carlisle Blues

What year is the bike? Flat bar gives me the impression it is a touring type of bike.
But they're not simply normal flat bars; they're swoopy, really wide, shaped bars with these "aero" extensions stuck on the front...very strange, imo. (Unless they have changed them; I can't tell from the pic posted above.)

(Internet photo; not mine.)

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by shibbel

I'm about to pull the trigger on this bad boy (7.9 FX). Any opinions? Should I take anything else into consideration? I can get this for $2,500 and the Trek store is doubling the warranty to two years.

I have a 2009 7.6 and I like it. But I only paid something like 900 for mine (or less). I would not pay 2500 for one of these. You could buy two nice bikes for that money. And the two year warranty is basically useless--I doubt anything will go wrong with the bike for 5+ years.

What I like: mounts for a rear rack, fenders, etc. Nice nimble ride.

What I don't like: this weird "clix" drop-out on the front fork and special quick release skewer. I'm not sure why they thought this was better than a standard quick release. And my frame only has mounts for one water bottle (I think because of the small size of the frame; but my last mt. bike was as small and had two).

And, for the record, mine has pretty standard flat bars on it.

But my advice is to skip that ride.

b