Bikes are (still) the coolest invention in the universe

A recent boing thread saw some discussion of the darker aspects of cycling and I was left wanting a counterpoint to that. The last bike thread seems to have died out and been closed, so maybe we can resurrect it and discuss how amazing bicycles are?

Here’s my latest love. A Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier, inspired by classic French randonneuring/cyclotouring bikes. The first bike I’ve built up myself (even the wheels). It carried me over 300km last weekend, through 18 hours of cold rain, without complaint.

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I’ve been riding a lot of gravel and mixed terrain, thus this:

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Needs disc brakes and integrated grip shifters at minimum! Maybe even some form of suspension. It is 2019, people!

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Let the flame wars commence…

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All they need is an engine, a body, some nice plush seating, room to haul groceries, a good sound system, and a bunch of cup holders, and they’d be perfect.

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Well, the first one at least has four of the things on your list and if you pop in a pair of headphones or clip a set of speakers to the handlebars (safety!), you’ve got the sound system. :slight_smile:

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Was going to say the same, I have a water bottle sized Bluetooth speaker which fits in a bottle cage.

Bonus: the dynamo generator (for the headlight) can provide USB power to charge the speaker up during the daytime!

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2hx35f

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Yeah, was the bike complaint-free or the rider?

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The rider might have been a bit whiny by the end. The trick on that kind of ride is to do it with a bunch of other equally crazy people and stick together for moral support.

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What are rims but huge discs? And what are pneumatic tires if not excellent, ultra-low-unsprung-mass suspension?

Gripshifters have lots of moving plastic parts to break on you. Old school levers have one bolt that can be adjusted while riding.

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Wow, very nice. I can’t imagine that’s the original fork, though? Grant Petersen is not a unicrown guy.


My commuter isn’t all that much to look at but it gets me where I need to go.

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That’s the original fork.

Some of the high end MB’s from Bridgestone came with a crowned fork, but the castings were fatally flawed. Oddly enough, the unicrownn fork is the one you want.

Edit for fat fingered typing.

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