Bikes are the coolest invention in the universe

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I donā€™t think tracking is the solution either. I donā€™t expect weā€™re going to come up with one in this thread. Until a few decades ago we didnā€™t try to treat myopia, we said ā€œthatā€™s just the way eyes work, you can fix them by putting a chunk of glass over the eyes,ā€ which is not a fix at all. Then someone came up with laser surgery. Thatā€™s what i want for bikes. I have no idea what form it will take, but it wonā€™t just be a twist on what we can already do.

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Got this '74 Schwinn Continental about a year ago for $25. Itā€™s a beast. Handles poorly. Contains zero lightweight parts. 50 pounds of steel. Makes me happy as a clam.

And yes. Greatest invention evar. And I do find myself wishing it had a kickstand.

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similar products:
Pitlocks https://www.pitlock.de/en
Pinhead locks https://pinheadlocks.com/store/en/

The bonus is they just about take all the abuse you can give a bike and shrug it off. You may want to upgrade the brakes on it.

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Reallyā€¦ A cell phone on the bike I can call and get a position on would be the best theft deterrent.

The hardware is cheap now. A $15 drop in the bike frame silent alarm should be quite feasable and practical.

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ha, $25 sounds exactly right. which is cool, though; it is what it is. drown the hubs and bottom bracket in grease periodically and fuhgeddaboudit. looks like the front wheel was upgraded and is actually good.

Mine is the Specialized. The BMC is an even nicer machine that also rocks toe clips, which to my mind marks a bike as a tool rather than a toy. My beast is a 7.2kg commuter. At 70kg, I find more than 16/20 spokes redundant. Pff to more spokes Iā€™ll only need if one goes bang. And proper carbon is as tough as nails. Not at all scared of my carbon fork or bars. In fact that frame cost me nothing cause thereā€™s a crack (from a crash) in the seat tube just above the FD - previous owner got a new one under warranty, but the crack doesnā€™t matter a damn.

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I sure hope not. happy riding!

I almost didnā€™t recognize him in that old ad. He looks a little different now. Still so cool, though.

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Funny you mention that because it does need all new pads (flipped the current ones over to make do 'til then), and in the process of fiddling with screws trying to understand how to adjust the front brake handle, ended up with rear brakes that pull all the way without grabbing. So I just have front brakes for now, which makes me a little uncomfortable. Especially that one time my light slid upside down and blocked the front brake handle. But at the moment I use it mostly for going to the bar, so itā€™s not high on my list of things to get to.

Thatā€™s what I like about it; it works adequately for what I need while at the same time not being an attractive target for thieves. Although I admire the tech and nice things are nice to have, I donā€™t like owning things I have to be nervous about someone stealing, and good bikes seem to require a lot of effort to maintain possession.

Iā€™d love a bike that didnā€™t make the tender portions of my ass feel like they were being hit with a jackhammer.

Sure, I can get a giant cushy seat but then my friends mock me. Iā€™m middle-aged though and my body canā€™tā€¦take the punishment (that just sounds dirty) on my butt like it used to.

This is leaving aside that I have to ride nearly upright (not hunched over) because I have a seriously trashed L5/S1 disc in my spine (and have had surgery for it) so I canā€™t lean over things for hours.

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Less spokes usually means more rim. Iā€™d prefer a good rigid wheel for power transfer and durability to the low spoke fad. Yes, itā€™s a fad. Mavic CXP 33ā€™s laced to Chris King hubs are plenty light.

ETA: I like the toe clips though. Big fan myself. Do you ride them with cleats? (Guessing yes.)

They start around 80 thousand euros if you want the electric version.

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Me too!

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Ā¬_Ā¬ someone stole the shitty poundland lights that were ducttaped onto my bike while it was locked up outside the uni library tonight. had to cycle home w no lights in the dark

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of the two, the front brake provides the lionā€™s share of braking power, so youā€™re good. For replacement pads, Koolstop salmons are a standard recommendation. Cheap and very good performance, even when wet.

also, get in the habit of using the real brake levers not the ā€œturkeywingā€ extensions so that, in an emergency, you reflexively go for the real ones; under hard, white-knuckle braking, the turkeywings have a reputation for failure.

Though Iā€™ve actually been trying to keep my current bike clean and nice-looking, I still consider it something of a ā€œsleeperā€: A not very well-known brand, visibly very old, and utilitarian-not-sporty hopefully keeps it from being targeted. Luckily, my city has not yet got the insane levels of bike theft as NY, SF etc.

Recumbents are usually recommended in your case; although, if your friends mock you for a cushy saddle, theyā€™ll really love your recumbent. /s

OTOH, fuck 'em.

I also think this style is really neat but Iā€™ve never even seen one IRL, let alone ridden one

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It takes some getting used to but the rear brake is quite good for determining when the front brake is going to lock up. I.E. you get the majority of braking power out of the front brake, but if you apply the rear with less pressure, the moment it starts to skid is also the moment before the back of the bike lifts off the ground. (This is the moment you either let off the front brake a bit or shift your entire body off the back of the seat to counter the lifting.)

ETA: Iā€™m totally off topic. Bike stuff that raises my pulse.

Waterford frames are up there:

I like some of the stuff thatā€™s been done with titanium as well.

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Sometime Iā€™m afraid the closest I can get is daydreaming about steampunk short story ideas.

Maybe one of the spots @daneel suggested has bike retro tech people ā€¦ or a weird kewl renaissance faire. :slight_smile:

Speaking of, have yā€™all got your orders in for the Merckx Eddy70 yet?

To commemorate his 70th birthday thereā€™ll only be 70 issued. Handmade from Columbus XCr stainless steel tubes, Columbus carbon fork, Campy Super Record group customized by Campy for this particular build, Campy Ultra Bora wheelset, Cinelli Neos cockpit and post, and custom Cinelli saddle. Oh, and heā€™ll autograph it for you anywhere on the bike you want.

Looks like size XXL will just fit me. Now, if anyone can front me the $17,500 US, I will gladly pay you back on Tuesdayā€¦

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