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Biking Nerds Unite

Okay, so let's all remember fixed-gear-rule-#1: Do not, under any circumstances, ride w/ loose laces/pants!!! I just went for another ride, and felt my foot get squeezed, and [quick goat thinking]just went harder to bust the lace instead of trying a painful stop. If that were pants and not a shoelace I woulda wiped hard..
 
sexNcandy said:
Yea i know you are a guy I just thought maybe you got it off someone and didn't know. I've just seen a lot of ladies mtb with that kind of frame like this

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/raid-700l-2013-womens-mountain-bike-ec043350

Yeah you're right lots of brands have started selling lots of womens bikes that look similar.


I liked their website, they have some top bikes. I'd like to try riding a mtb like that
Click to expand...

Basically it's kind of like riding a bike that's somewhere between an mtb and a bmx. Most NS Bikes are 24" wheel rather than 26" wheel, and I'm also starting to see lots of 24" wheel bmxes about too. They're pretty specialised for dirt jumping or street freestyle type riding though.

Tbh I'm looking to get rid of my mtb and get something like this:

IMG_5795.jpg


...and something like this:

2014_Giant_Trance_Advanced_275_0.jpg



Unfortunately I don't have a spare £5k knocking about.=D
 
sexNcandy said:
Yea i know you are a guy I just thought maybe you got it off someone and didn't know. I've just seen a lot of ladies mtb with that kind of frame like this

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/raid-700l-2013-womens-mountain-bike-ec043350


I liked their website, they have some top bikes. I'd like to try riding a mtb like that
Click to expand...

The sloping top tube is meant to give room for the boys during more aggressive riding. The one you linked is a ladies bike, but it isn't the sloping top tube that makes it so. The short top tube length on it is just as important as a sloped top tube.

Owen..I meant that the fork seems like it has too much travel for that frame, but I may be wrong. What length of fork is that head tube rated for?

I have always liked the trance a lot.

Mine is similar to this, but green with chain tensioner and a sektor instead of a pike.

tallsideview1.JPG
 
Shimmer.Fade said:
. The one you linked is a ladies bike, but it isn't the sloping top tube that makes it so. The short top tube length on it is just as important as a sloped top tube.
Click to expand...

What do you mean wrt top tube length v top tube slope? Is that only a dirt bikes thing?(have never done proper dirt trails or those types of bikes) On my street bikes I've never ever noticed any real difference from top tube distance (or even 'base' distance ie wheel-to-wheel distance, i mean kinda on wheel to wheel but only minimal and that's w/ pretty large variations i've ridden), and i've ridden a slanted top-tube frame before (on a street/race bike... don't ask lol) and noticed nothing, save being feeling goofier while knowing it was safer in a fall/fuck up. But, on bmx, literally 1" top tube lenght differences are incredibly noticeable when doing tricks. In fact, being a smaller adn lighter guy, i think i have more sensitivity to frame size than bigger ppl, relativity i guess but maybe in my head. I do know that once i swapped bmx frames a few times and pegged it in for my size, it seemed to be a huge difference and, riding my older bmx, I was appalled at how badly it 'handled' when doing basic tricks.
 
Yea dude fit is key. Nothing about length vs slope, only that for aggressive riding slope is good! That Giant Trance up there also has a slope, and so does my Sovereign. It would be very ballsy to ride hard with a normally high top tube (TT). The length simply affects how far you need to reach to get to the bars. Gals are normally shorter than dudes, so it makes sense to have a shorter TT.

On the subject of wheelbase the shorter the more agile and unstable the bike will be. A longer wheelbase has the advantages of being more stable (trekking for instance), but less agile. If you look on that frame I posted there is actually a sliding mechanism in the back which allows me to change my wheel base ~3cm.

A bit more weight will let you throw the bike around better, but it also makes it harder to pedal yourself somewhere.

I know nothing about BMX unfortunately. Me and concrete don't have the best relationship, so I try to stay in the woods as much as possible except when commuting (riding normally).

Edit: Got my photobucket working again lol. Not the best pic, but here she is.

IMG_0071.jpg
 
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IMG_0071.jpg
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Are those iscg05 tabs? Or do you have outboard bearings and an adapter to fit the chainguide?

I need to run a single sprocket up front instead of my rockguard double. I need a chainguide as my bike has iscgo5 tabs.
What I mean is I want my chainline to be stock as per manufactuer specs.
 
I mention this because i've had too many bikes stolen (including locked ones)
Click to expand...

I met someone at walmart who needed someone to lock up his new bike so he could go inside the store and buy himself a lock. After speaking with him ( he had development disabilities ) I locked all three of our bikes to the rack and when we came back out 30 minutes later, they were still there. Sussposedely there are some bike trails in a State Park near the post office on Missouri Ave.
 
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The frame has iscg05 tabs, but I couldn't get that version to fit. I had to bend the one on there now in order for the chain line to line up properly, and it is sandwiched between the frame and an external BB. The drawback is that if I were to hit it too hard I could potentially loosen up my BB. Hasn't happened yet as I don't really do much riding that would use the bash much.
 
Shimmer.Fade said:
Owen..I meant that the fork seems like it has too much travel for that frame, but I may be wrong. What length of fork is that head tube rated for?
Click to expand...

It is a lot of travel for the hard tail granted, given that the bike is bought as a whole like that I doubt they would have attatched a fork with too much travel for the head tube though. It rides with about 30mm of sag though so it doesn't look like that when you're actually ridinng it.

Like I say looking to get rid of it though!
 
beagle- that's funny as fuck re locking the bike to go in and get a lock- same exact thing for me the other day when i got my bike on the road but needed to hit home deeps for chain/padlock. I waited a min or two near entrance looking for someone pulling up in a truck (half their parking lot) that looked approachable, then just gave up and did the real fast, walk in / deposit bike inside doorway, sped-walked to hardware dept looking like i was on speed, and reinforced that image by constantly staring at the entrance while paying... embarrassing but bike was safe :)
And I know that room in the pic haha, are you riding the trail much now? I'm probably 1-2 more days/rides from being ready for real distance stuff, we should ride again, tearing up c.wtr beach was fun as fuck (hmm, NDTITL and going to hulk hogan's store/restaurant thing was awkward tho)

shimmer- that pic doesn't suck in the least, there's actually something pretty cool about it (the photo.. obvi the bike is proper!)
 
bmxxx said:
beagle- that's funny as fuck re locking the bike to go in and get a lock- same exact thing for me the other day when i got my bike on the road but needed to hit home deeps for chain/padlock. I waited a min or two near entrance looking for someone pulling up in a truck (half their parking lot) that looked approachable, then just gave up and did the real fast, walk in / deposit bike inside doorway, sped-walked to hardware dept looking like i was on speed, and reinforced that image by constantly staring at the entrance while paying... embarrassing but bike was safe :)
And I know that room in the pic haha, are you riding the trail much now? I'm probably 1-2 more days/rides from being ready for real distance stuff, we should ride again, tearing up c.wtr beach was fun as fuck (hmm, NDTITL and going to hulk hogan's store/restaurant thing was awkward tho)

shimmer- that pic doesn't suck in the least, there's actually something pretty cool about it (the photo.. obvi the bike is proper!)
Click to expand...

Thanks, I put a lot of work into the bike because a good bike becomes a true companion. I went shopping for a few things real quick on my mountain bike the other day with none of my stuff with me. Some sketchy looking people in the parking lot, so I just put it over my shoulder and walked in the door. People gave me a few strange looks, but it felt way better than the paranoia I would have leaving it outside.

owen...NS knows what they are doing more than I can see through a pic, I'm sure they have beefed it up enough to take some hits. My main concern was that the head tube wasn't beefed up enough to take such a fork. I find for hardtail riding fit and frame material make pretty big differences. I would love a good titanium frame one of these days, but for now I will suffice with a tange prestige steel =D.
 
The total bike weighs 16.7kg for a hardtail.....it's fucking unbreakable regarding the frame. It's also way too heavy, hence one of the reasons I want to get rid of it.
 
lighter/stronger, such a beauty & a money pit, eh? I actually haven't ridden bmx in a sadly-long while now, but just this afternoon I acquired one: a POS, close to walmart-grade Mongoose w/ flats, a seized chain and seized rear flywheel, blah blah.. Luckily I've got a 13T sprocket (that'll fit the 1pc cranks on this! Rare sprocket, relatively speaking) and extra chain, so after some days' sanding, spraying, stripping/cleaning&overhauling/lubing/tuning, i'll be back on a bmx for 1st time in a while, am f'ing psyched! Thing even had 2 pegs, and although they're the burled type that typically can't grind, i'm pretty sure i can use the circular sander (a stationary, high-power unit) to get the burls negated and just hit that bitch w/ gloss paint or something, then grind the fuck outta it the 1st times i ride and keep tossing wax on its bottom to get it sliding properly. Am happy as a pig in shit right now, even though the top tube's too long (lol, when i was sitting on it the 1st thing i thought of, upon realizing how short the top tube was, was my asking you to elaborate on the toptube length thing ;) ) and it's obviously on the heavy side. Will still be tons of fun for basic grinds, manuals, 180's etc, and since i haven't ridden in a while that's all i need to keep me smiling for a couple months :) OH and the bars are actually proper width, which is surprisingly uncommon on these cheaper bikes.. haha my hipster, fixie-only brother saw the bike and while we're discussing it, mentioned 'cutting down the bars' (he likes the suicide/chode handlebars on fixies), had to explain to him why big handlebars and top tubes are better for bmx but worse for fixies :p
[edit: lol, just for shits&gigs i'm gonna snap a pic of this wreck, so i can post the pics i'll surely take when i finish him soon-enough..]
 
5ZWpvbw.jpg

so yeah, it's ugly and a clunker, but <5hrs TLC and less than $20 will have this thing on the road IMO, not as a good bike but def as a solid f'around bmx, which is more than enough for me after being off trick bikes for so long! :D
 
Having fun is what counts =) Be careful with that thing though. I would recommend start slow/hard to test for mechanical problems before going fast/hard.

I don't take the lighter stronger thing too far. I try to stay within the realm of practicability. Frame material for me is more important in terms of feel/strength as opposed to worrying about the weight. My bikes have to be overbuilt enough to not have really a chance for acute mechanical failure.

Owen, that thing is a fucking clunker, good luck getting rid of it quick!! I guess the fork and frame together somehow get there lol. With my steel frame/sektor (also not a light combi) I top off at 12-13kg.
 
bmxxx said:
5ZWpvbw.jpg

so yeah, it's ugly and a clunker, but <5hrs TLC and less than $20 will have this thing on the road IMO, not as a good bike but def as a solid f'around bmx, which is more than enough for me after being off trick bikes for so long! :D
Click to expand...

Mongoose for less than $20 is a steal (it probably actually is=D).
 
nah i meant that it'll be under $20 to get him on the road lol, and no actually know the thing's not boosted (friend of friend got to take 4 unclaimed, complete wrecked bikes from the apartment complex's storage where he worked, I fixed up 2 of them for my friend, he gave me this one and last one we just tossed it was beyond repair)
 
I know absolutely nothing about bikes, but could yall recommend a decent bike under $300 that would be appropriate for riding on mostly asphalt (very rocky and not smooth whatsoever) and could also go off-road? I'm not going to be doing any kind of jumping or anything like that since I am way too clumsy for that.
 
brutus said:
I know absolutely nothing about bikes, but could yall recommend a decent bike under $300 that would be appropriate for riding on mostly asphalt (very rocky and not smooth whatsoever) and could also go off-road? I'm not going to be doing any kind of jumping or anything like that since I am way too clumsy for that.
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how often are you going to be riding it? And from where to where?
 
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