Show us your bicycles!

[_thelaughingman]

Denali frame with Fulcrum racing wheels.

 

[Adam Bernau]

Very nice. I like that look of bare metal. It looks expensive.


That was the biggest improvement I found on one bike I had. I put wide downhill racing bars on it and it was way easier to go up hills with the added leverage and they didn't break like the cheapO ones did. I lent it to a near 7 foot (~213cm) buddy and he said the bars where awesome compared to those puny narrow bars that the bikes come with. The ~same as your tires. I had 2.25" slicks similar to the ones like you have there and it handled awesome on the street, gravel and grass. I forgot to add one bike to my list. It was a Kona Dew with the narrow tires and they where really bad for casual riding. Too sensitive to steering input and a very harsh ride too. I got rid of that ride because it suxxored.

Those are unusual brakes from what I've seen before.

Yes, it looks expensive, but the main expense was my time spent with all the sanding and polishing Exactly, the handlebars are great, but i don´t fit in tight spaces between cars anymore. The Maxis Skinwall tires are very lightweight compared to the heavy terrain ones, much better on the tarmac.
Anout the brakes- yes, those are from my favourite german bike brake company, Magura. Hydraulic, excellent brake power controll and i also like the design.
Actually the V brakes are now very cheap, because everyone buys the disc brakes

Magura Hydraulic Rim Brakes

Ride safe with Magura hydraulic rim brakes! Find out more about our products: Magura HS 11, HS 22 & HS 33

www.magura.com

 

[LTig]

My dearest and most comfortable bike, a HP Velotechnik Streetmachine GT recumbent bike from 2003. Seen here in 2004 in Northern Norway (view to the Lyngen Alps) with some 25 to 30 kg of luggage. Despite the heavy load its handling is almost unchanged (put the heavy stuff into the low riders under the seat) which was the main cause why I bought it. Made one more long trip in Finland and a many short trips in the local surroundings.

Then there are

• a Pedersen (frame and saddle from Sölling in Christiania/Copenhagen), custom build by myself using Shimano 105 components, from 1988. Comfy.
• my previous travel bike, a Guylaine randonneur with a steel frame by Schubert & Schefzyk, custom build with Shimano XT components, from 1992. Made several long trips in Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Norway. Hasn't seen much usage after I got the recumbent bike.
• a foldable bike (Brompton) from 2006. Bought it after a ski mountaineering accident where I hurt my knee and had initial problems walking longer distances in town. Great for holidays because 2 of them fit into the trunk of our small Honda Jazz and there is still place for two small suitcases.
• a cargo E-bike (Riese & Müller Load), bought used in 2019 (2 years old, 600 km milage) because new it's just crazy expensive. Use it in winter time to drive to work.
• for unsafe places: a run down looking very old (1990's?) Campus Voyager 3 travel bike which I bought used for € 40. Looks horrible but in perfect driving condition. I had to change the wheels though but had 2 in stock (for the Guylaine) so no extra costs.

EDIT: here is a pic of the cargo bike. No way to fit the tree into my car (behind the bike):

 

[Doodski]

the brakes- yes, those are from my favourite german bike brake company, Magura. Hydraulic, excellent brake power controll and i also like the design.

They look very sturdy as in no resonating/trumpeting when wet. I had that issue with a cheap imported $100.00 front and rear V-brake kit that the bike shop installed for me on my rat bike. I had to run ShimanO wet/rain brake pads with some sort of abrasive stuff in them. They made a fairly noticeable scratching sound that was great for alerting people to me being behind them. They worked awesome in the dry too. Rim wear was increased though.

 

[LTig]

Then I got a small sized touring bike. A Motobécane. I think it was a 10 speed. I rode and rode that thing till one day I hit the brakes hard and the rear wheel turned into a potato chip. I wiped it out on somebody's lawn to avoid road rash and then I sold it with the wheel like a potato chip and the buyer was really happy about the sale.

Exactly the same happened to me once. A friend asked for a ride on the carrier and when he sat down with me on the saddle the back wheel gave in and looked like a potato chip. I got so angry that I gave the bike a hard kick with my boots - it made .. zaaaannnng ... and the wheel was straigth again . I could drive home but my friend had to walk (no way this would work a second time).

 

[Doodski]

Exactly the same happened to me once. A friend asked for a ride on the carrier and when he sat down with me on the saddle the back wheel gave in and looked like a potato chip. I got so angry that I gave the bike a hard kick with my boots - it made .. zaaaannnng ... and the wheel was straigth again . I could drive home but my friend had to walk (no way this would work a second time).

First thing I do whenever I get on a bike or buy another is I check the spokes for tension and the rim for alignment. Potato chipped wheels is really dangerous. The rear wheel locks up and it usually happens when applying the brakes hard. I made one bike mechanic do the rims even though he did a visual and said they look fine. I basically said look you're getting paid to do them so please humor me and do them. After he admitted that the spokes where loose and he straightened the rims pretty good too. I think it's a operation that bike mechanics try to avoid. I know I avoid it. It's a pain in the butt. A safety check, adjustments and do the rims was like a $90.00 job. Money well spent.

 

[LTig]

First thing I do whenever I get on a bike or buy another is I check the spokes for tension and the rim for alignment. Potato chipped wheels is really dangerous. The rear wheel locks up and it usually happens when applying the brakes hard. I made one bike mechanic do the rims even though he did a visual and said they look fine. I basically said look you're getting paid to do them so please humor me and do them. After he admitted that the spokes where loose and he straightened the rims pretty good too. I think it's a operation that bike mechanics try to avoid. I know I avoid it. It's a pain in the butt. A safety check, adjustments and do the rims was like a $90.00 job. Money well spent.

You're absolutely right. It happened to me when I was a student, the bike came from the junkyard and got stolen shortly afterwards. Not my problem when the thief breaks his neck.

Edit: My bike dealer told me about one of his customers, who hardens the spokes in a special way and claims that if you adjust them properly you won't need to to this again for the next 30000 km. YMMV.

 

[Chrispy]

Ah, my main money drain hobby

Some quick pics of my workshop and some of the bikes

 

[Doodski]

Edit: My bike dealer told me about one of his customers, who hardens the spokes in a special way and claims that if you adjust them properly you won't need to to this again for the next 30000 km. YMMV.

Wowzer. That's a new one.

 

[Chrispy]

I found the reverse steering bicycle and videos about it very interesting. I still do. Fundamental learning. The integration of mind and body. Non-cognitive learning.

Similar to the swing bike.....at our shop we had somewhat a home made version of it. https://www.americasbikecompany.com/Swing-King-Swing-Bikes-s/3.htm

 

[Chrispy]

Very nice. I like that look of bare metal. It looks expensive.


That was the biggest improvement I found on one bike I had. I put wide downhill racing bars on it and it was way easier to go up hills with the added leverage and they didn't break like the cheapO ones did. I lent it to a near 7 foot (~213cm) buddy and he said the bars where awesome compared to those puny narrow bars that the bikes come with. The ~same as your tires. I had 2.25" slicks similar to the ones like you have there and it handled awesome on the street, gravel and grass. I forgot to add one bike to my list. It was a Kona Dew with the narrow tires and they where really bad for casual riding. Too sensitive to steering input and a very harsh ride too. I got rid of that ride because it suxxored.

Those are unusual brakes from what I've seen before.

When I first got into mountain biking narrow xc racer boy bars were the rage....somewhere around 530/540 mm for my first lightweight mountain bike (my older Schwinn Sierra had big ol' bullhorns). Now my last two bikes came with 800mm bars....

 

[LTig]

Wowzer. That's a new one.

If I remember correctly the problem that you need to readjust the spokes is that the head is bent 90 degree in cold state and loses its form over time. This guy heated the heads with a very hot flame and cooled them down by sticking them into a pot of quartz sand. Probably more than once.

Maybe we have a specialist in metallurgy here who can confirm my babble...or tell me to shut up with this nonsense .

 

[Helicopter]

If I remember correctly the problem that you need to readjust the spokes is that the head is bent 90 degree in cold state and loses its form over time. This guy heated the heads with a very hot flame and cooled them down by sticking them into a pot of quartz sand. Probably more than once.

Maybe we have a specialist in metallurgy here who can confirm my babble...or tell me to shut up with this nonsense .

I just tap them with a hammer to set them when new.

Stainless steel usually has to get pretty hot to change its hardness. Getting there with a torch would be pretty imprecise. I doubt this treatment was actually beneficial or worthwhile.

I actually enjoy assembling and trueing wheels, but I have had some frustrations getting the right spoke lengths. I have more NIB spokes than I care to admit.

I am always smashing up wheels because I am 6'4", fat, and ride hard.

 

[antcollinet]

This was originally my old GT mountain bike, i didn´t wanted to"just put in in the thrash and buy a new one" as the bike enthusiasts around me recommended. Since i am not doing offroad biking recently, but more like city biking, i have used the old aluminium frame, sanded the paint and polished the metal, and also striped the derailleurs, changed the handlebars to more wide ones, and installed nice natural rubber brooks seat and front handles. And also installed nice german Magura hydraulic brakes. So it is somehow DIY repurposed bike
View attachment 166223

I love DIY repurposed bikes. For me the whole ethos of cycling should be about sustainability - not throw out and buy new.

And what a smart looking new steed.

 

[Chrispy]

Yes, it looks expensive, but the main expense was my time spent with all the sanding and polishing Exactly, the handlebars are great, but i don´t fit in tight spaces between cars anymore. The Maxis Skinwall tires are very lightweight compared to the heavy terrain ones, much better on the tarmac.
Anout the brakes- yes, those are from my favourite german bike brake company, Magura. Hydraulic, excellent brake power controll and i also like the design.
Actually the V brakes are now very cheap, because everyone buys the disc brakes

Magura Hydraulic Rim Brakes

Ride safe with Magura hydraulic rim brakes! Find out more about our products: Magura HS 11, HS 22 & HS 33

www.magura.com

If I were to use rim brakes again on a mountain bike, the Maguras are the way to go. Back when many of us were changing over from v-brakes to disc, one of our friends stuck with his Magura rim brakes....and a test ride of that bike had me convinced too, way better than I expected. I'd used ceramic rims/special pads with the v-brakes, but the Magura was just a cut above.

 

[oldmanhifi]

1988 Marinoni Special, recently repainted by Cycles Marinoni (Quebec, Canada). I ordered the frame from Marinoni in 1988. It was my second real bike, after a Nishiki Prestige. It is the best bike I have ever ridden. Have since upgraded the wheels to Fulcrum Racing 3's.

 

[Kuba]

 

[Kuba]

 

[rdenney]

Wowzer. That's a new one.

Spokes are already hard. But they are formed by swage-stamping on the crook end, which leaves residual stresses that may approach yield strength. The trick is to relieve those stresses. 1.) Build the wheel to the appropriate tension, which should be about two thirds of yield stress (and spokes are tightest when the wheel is unloaded). 2.) grasp pairs of parallel spokes between strong hands, and squeeze them together as hard as possible, all the way around the wheel. This forces high residual-stress grains in the spoke to yield, resulting in more uniform stress from loading relative to the yield strength. 3.) True wheel. 4.) Ride bike. Spokes that fail from fatigue usually do so because of high unrelieved residual stresses, which initiate cracks, which become stress risers and provide a root for a fatigue crack.

Nothing mysterious about it. The technique was first carefully described, along with correct finite-elements analysis, in Jobst Brandt's (RIP) The Bicycle Wheel.

Rick "who hasn't broken a spoke in tens of thousands of miles of riding" Denney

 

[antcollinet]

How come all these bikes are so damn clean. Are y'all not riding them?