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Biking Nerds Unite

Shimmer.Fade said:
A hard tail has front suspension, so your specialized would be called a fully rigid if the fork is rigid. There are some great mountain bikes these days, with so much variety that one can get a bike to specialize for a specific area (cross country or free ride/down hill being the extremes in the spectrum), or a bike somewhere in between depending on the kind of riding you want to do. There is a good quote relating to this spectrum from Keith Bontrager that goes something like this..."high strength, low weight, or low price. You can only pick two". However, price is relative and a decent new mountain bike hardtail starts at around $1,000 (low price). My bike has a decent weight to strength ratio, but is still fairly heavy (~30lbs), and cost so far about $2,000. I have about $600 worth of upgrades planned within the next year. However, my bike is meant to get rough, and can handle pretty big jumps, drops, and other abuse. It is also heavily modified/customized, and would have been much cheaper to get a better bike in the very beginning, which wasn't an option at the time.

If you have great trails around, and are serious about getting into MTB, I would recommend browsing some biking forums (or better yet, talk to local riders) to get an idea of what kind of bike is best for the kind of riding you want to do in your area.
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Awesome! Thanks for the great advice.
 
lately riding when im riding, itl down shit or skip it usualy only happens in certain grears, but as log as i patention i can shit it back up it starts running fine again. what should i do to i need to adjust the cable on my gears, or do you think something else is wrong?
 
cable? you mean the chain, right? chain slipping on the sprocket is really common on multispeed bikes because the derailleur (the "leg" hanging out by the rear hub) has to physically drag the chain over while everything is still moving. pumping the pedal back and forth a few times usually jolts it into place but if it's more fucked than usual it's likely that falling or brushing against something nudged the derailleur out of position. can fix that with a hex key and a bit of patience.

man, i haven't ridden since at least last summer. sucks because i miss my bike. i gots a hybrid bike that's been longing for new tires and a rear disc brake conversion because fade on the stock pads is so so serious. lol can already imagine how sore legs and ass are gonna get on the first spin of the season (for me anyway)
 
yeah i think thats what the problem was, i still have that problem but now a few a the links are bent, do i need to replace those link right away or is it safe to ride on them
 
If the links are bent they can get stuck, which can cause problems (like lock up the back wheel, mess up the front/rear derailleur). Impossible to know without seeing it. I would personally get a new chain/cassette, but then again my bike is my sole means of transportation. I think you said earlier in the thread you have a limited budget, so if you can't get new parts or repair the old then be careful.

Do you have the tools and extra links to add some? This is possible, but you will need to add links that are compatible with the chain. You could also try to bend them back to normal, but you will most likely never be able to get it perfect without compromising the strength of the chain.

I don't mean to be preachy, but you are starting to see the effects of an improperly maintained bike. Eventually the replacement costs of parts will overtake the money that you try to save by not taking the bike in to be repaired by people who know what they are doing. If you want to do repairs yourself here is a link with good information http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help. You don't always need all the tools they say, but a basic understanding of mechanical work is good.
 
i fuckn hate cars, i dont know if im lucky or not. i was riding the yesterday and a car pulled out in front of me, the car was stopped at a stop sign but of course he doesnt look before he pulls out,at least he asked me if i was alright before taking off. the only problem is now me bikes fucked, if it wasnt for the bent tires, i have no idea how i did it but somtime after that while trying to deal with that i complletly fucked up me derailer or whatever it is that shifts the gears. then after this all happened i leave my bag on the trolley with all my money, my passport, and whole pack of newports that i just bought. i had to walk like an hour and a half just to get home. oh yeah i just cashed my paycheck and all my money was in my bag.
sorry for bitching so much, im just depressed at the moment
 
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:( always be extra careful around cars. it's unfortunate that the vast majority of drivers quickly forget about the danger because they're shielded with a steel cage and airbags so they always end up cutting corners and bikers/moto riders are often the ones who end up paying the price for the lax judgment of car drivers. sucks that you lost your pay, hope you aren't living pay-by-pay! on the bright side, all you have to do is avoid buying a new pack of smokes and you'll be on your way to saving more money than you just lost ;)
 
Oh glitter that sucks majorly!! What a crappy experience. :\

Is there any way you can go back and look for your things? Or report it to the police?

Also, have you spent any time in The Dark Side at all? Those guys are pretty amazing at providing support during crappy times like this. <3
 
That does suck! Next time make sure you call the police/get the insurance from the driver. If what you say is what happened then he is clearly at fault, and his insurance would buy you a new bike. Bikers often forget they have the same rights as any car driver (with exception of roads with a minimum speed limit). I got 800 euros when some lady pulled out into my lane from behind a bush about 2 meters in front of me.

If you plan on keeping the frame, make sure you look it over for bending/fracturing (especially the fork and the headtube).

Hope today is shaping up a bit better for you!
 
I had a fall on my bike today. I think because of my new tires, they're pumped to 70psi. It happened when I went to turn around sharply in the street and my front wheel washed out and my torso came into contact with the edge of the curb. Now my wrist is lightly sprained and two of my ribs are sore. I will probaly be sore for 2-3 days. My new seat got a rip in the fabric also.

I'm very excited about the new tires though. They were on sale. They're dual compound ( hard in the center, softer on the outside tread ), have low rolling resistance and are rated at 80psi MAX.
$22.98 link to pricepoint:
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/19230-320_KENKR8-3-Parts-73-Tires/Mountain/Kenda-K-Rad-Tire.htm

kendatire.png



front light $40. Its 130 lumens which is good enough to not just be spotted, but light up whats in front of you. Its got a real strobe function. Cars think you are an emergency vehicle and sometimes when your ride up behind them all the retroreflective street signs reflect and the driver pulls over. Funny to watch, I'm kind of self concious about it, so I rarely use it. A 23 watt CFL bulb is about 1660 lumens.
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/23035-225_NITM42-2-Accessories-35-Lights/NiteRider-Mako-2-Watt.htm
pic:
frontlight.jpg


rear light $30. Its one of the brightest rear bicycle lights on the market. It uses reflectors to direct the light at cars. USB rechargeable.
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/21717-225_BLBFR0-2-Accessories-35-Lights/Blackburn-Flea-4-Rear-Light-USB-Charger.htm
pic:
rearlight.jpg


retro-reflective stickers. I cut them into smaller pieces and strategically stick them on my bike for a custom look. My bike lights up SO much that I cant commit crimes on it anymore for fear of being identified!. I'm srs.
I didnt buy mine at wal-mart, but they sell it. Does anyone else use these?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Blazer-2-x-18-Reflective-Tape-4pk/16880523

pic of retro-reflective tape. It has technology that "gathers" the light, "multiplies" it before reflecting it back at the cars beams
retroreflectivetape.jpg



link to online reflective tape specialty store: This store has a big selection of tape. Even glow in the dark tape. Neon, metallic flake etc. They sell protective tape designed for helicopter blades, but put to use in other applications by the aftermarket.
http://www.findtape.com/category/racers-tape-standard-extreme-duty-racer-tape.aspx
 
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Lol Beagle, what are you running those tires for at 70 PSI??? Your side knobs probably won't contact the ground during cornering at that high of a PSI. I guess they would roll good on fire roads, but even then they look like they would have trouble cornering at higher speeds. They have a min PSI of 30.. maybe try running them at 45-50 for street and 35-40 for trails, and see how they do. Having the front wash out is about the worst feeling (the worst is hitting the ground after that) while biking.

I have a 300 lumen light that I use to see on dark roads, but I've found it isn't sufficient for night mountain biking. I plan on picking up a magic shine when winter starts rolling around.
 
beagleboy said:
^ what is a magic shine? pic?
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Here is a link to their website with different models.
http://magicshine.com/product.asp?id=37

I've never seen one in person, but I have read a lot over them, and according to a lot of people who like to MTB at night they are, for the price, pretty much unbeatable. I forget who the most reliable american dealer is, but google should be able to help there.
 
months w/o update? whar the bikers?

101312152642_zpse161865a.jpg


just re-did him the other day.
- matte black frame
- rear brake (usually ride w/o brakes)
- new sprok (needed higher ratio)
- water and u-lock clip-ons (doing way longer rides now and hate packs/backpacks)
- bullhorn bars (from flat bars. still getting used to these, really don't like 'em but better for racing)
- pedal cages (LOVE the difference these make :) )
 
Riding our bikes??=D Not actually that many bike nerds on here though, and those that are probably do most of their bike chatting in real bike forums.

Interesting bike.. not the most functional, but it looks fun. If you like pedal cages you may try investing in clipless. I personally hate clipless (pedal cages even more), but most people seem to love it.

Being car free rocks =)
 
This cyclist is stuck on a truck now! Hahaha. When I can get my own truck, you can be positive I'm going to tie up my bicycle in the cab. Just another month or so of training and I'll be able to pick up my bike and get back out there and riding.

I'm loving the sleekness of your bicycle, by the way, bmxxx. Looks like you've got almost everything you need to go wherever you need to.
 
shimmer- i'm going for speed/functionality (of the 20mile variety) - why would you call that inefficient? I'm actually surprised you said that.. (if you mean no gearing, that's pretty irrelevant because the terrain i ride is very flat)

simply.live- nice, that'd be crazy, being able to ride in different places all the time!! and thnx for the compliment :) I'll post my other project real soon when it's a lil closer to completed; it's another bike of same type, but it's for my lil brother (he gets outta jail soon, and is going to have a great ride waiting for him ;PPPP )
 
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