Sweet agony of choice - best all-around bike for under a grand?



On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 03:15:13 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Blair P.
Houghton <[email protected]> wrote:

> What is the deal with this fetish for fixed-gear machines?
>
> Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
> to the earliest days of the sport?
>

hammerheads trying to prove how macho they are.
 
[email protected] (Thomas Reynolds) wrote:
>
> Blair P. Houghton <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > What is the deal with this fetish for fixed-gear machines?
> >
> > Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
> > to the earliest days of the sport?

>
> Neither. It's just plain fun. Try it, you might like it.


Or if you are like me, you might try it at length only to decide that
it's like pouring whiskey up your nose-- it makes you laugh, causes
you pain and suffering, and wastes an otherwise good thing.

It might not be so bad if you live somewhere with no hills and no
cars, though.

Chalo Colina
 

>> What is the deal with this fetish for fixed-gear machines?
>>
>> Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
>> to the earliest days of the sport?
>>

>hammerheads trying to prove how macho they are.
>


So that explains why my wife wants one.


Chris Neary
[email protected]

"Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the
same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on
a bicycle" - Helen Keller
 
Thu, 07 Oct 2004 04:05:45 GMT,
<[email protected]>, Chris Neary
<[email protected] > wrote:

>>> What is the deal with this fetish for fixed-gear machines?
>>>
>>> Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
>>> to the earliest days of the sport?
>>>

>>hammerheads trying to prove how macho they are.
>>

>
>So that explains why my wife wants one.


For you or for her?
Maybe she saw you ogling that red haired twenty-like art babe who
rides her old Falcon track bike all over town.
--
zk
 
David Reuteler wrote:
> Kevan Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>OTOH, since I haven't eaten at a Taco Bell in like 20 years, this isn't
>>>exactly a big sacrifice.

>>
>>The seven-layer burrito is OK. Five-hundred and thirty calories of no-meat
>>goodness. It's so small, though -- very calorie dense.

>
>
> i'd starve to death without them. try also the bean burrito + rice.
>
> @ burger king the bk veggie is also a trip. i don't eat them regularly
> (last time was over a year ago) but when touring i'd get 'em and the counter
> guy would rarely know what i was talking about. followed of course by the
> cook. but all bks have 'em.


I'm legume intolerant, so most of Taco Bell's food is bad for me anyway.
When I want to eat Mexican food, I go to this really great local
restaurant where they know to keep the beans and guacamole faaaaarrrrrr
away from me. Man their chicken is good. Mmmm.

-km
 
On 07 Oct 2004 02:08:02 GMT, David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

>Kevan Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>OTOH, since I haven't eaten at a Taco Bell in like 20 years, this isn't
>>>exactly a big sacrifice.

>>
>> The seven-layer burrito is OK. Five-hundred and thirty calories of no-meat
>> goodness. It's so small, though -- very calorie dense.

>
>i'd starve to death without them. try also the bean burrito + rice.
>
>@ burger king the bk veggie is also a trip. i don't eat them regularly
>(last time was over a year ago) but when touring i'd get 'em and the counter
>guy would rarely know what i was talking about. followed of course by the
>cook. but all bks have 'em.


There is a Taco Bell right on my route from work to home. At least
twice a week I stop in for dinner. I'm not big on most junk food. In
1970 I took a vow that I would never eat at McDonalds or Burger King
again, and I haven't. But I made no such vow about Taco Bell. I guess
it didn't exist yet. Nor Wendys, so I allow myself to eat there if
need be.

I love Taco Bell. I saw an interview with Andre Agassi. He likes it
also. Hasn't improved my tennis though.
 
[email protected] wrote:

> [email protected] (Thomas Reynolds) wrote:
>>
>> Blair P. Houghton <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> What is the deal with this fetish for fixed-gear machines?
>>>
>>> Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
>>> to the earliest days of the sport?

>>
>> Neither. It's just plain fun. Try it, you might like it.

>
> Or if you are like me, you might try it at length only to decide that
> it's like pouring whiskey up your nose-- it makes you laugh, causes
> you pain and suffering, and wastes an otherwise good thing.
>
> It might not be so bad if you live somewhere with no hills and no
> cars, though.


Cars are no problem, at least if you're not too cool to mount a front
brake.

I do have to admit that there have been times when I wished my fixie was a
singlespeed instead when I've taken it on hillier routes.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.
-- Walt Kelly
 
I'd recommend trolling the classified ads and used bike shops in your
area for a couple of weeks, and waiting for a nice road or cross bike
to pop up that is in your budget. If you don't need the new bike right
away, you can do much, much better by being patient.

I tried it both ways this summer: bought the first bike I rode from the
LBS that felt good, ('05 Specialized Sirrus) realized it didn't
actually feel that good when I rode it more than a couple of miles, and
just dealt with it until my baby ('02 Bianchi Imola in great shape)
showed up at the local consignment shop for less than $800.

Used bikes are a great way to get an amazing piece of machinery
cheaply, especially if you're willing and able to do some basic checks
and maintenance yourself. I might have even been able to afford the
Bianchi new, but I probably would have just settled for something much
lower-end, just to get off the hybrid.

Of course, you can prepare by doing a bunch of test rides at your LBS,
and see what model (or at least geometry and size) seems to fit. It's
good info, and riding all those slick new bikes is also a lot of fun.
 
Benjamin Lewis <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Cars are no problem, at least if you're not too cool to mount a front
>brake.


We now present

Reductio ad absurdum,

or,

The Ultimate Fixie:

A bicycle that has just one gear.

No derailleurs, no frame, no saddle, no bars, no brakes,
no wheels, no spokes, no hubs, no ring, no chain, no crank,
no pedals.

Just a rider and his gear.

Preferably an 11.

--Blair
"Chamois optional."
 
>>>> Is it a kinky fad or are people honestly trying to connect
>>>> to the earliest days of the sport?
>>>>
>>>hammerheads trying to prove how macho they are.
>>>

>>
>>So that explains why my wife wants one.

>
>For you or for her?


For her, I already have my old Sun fixie.

>Maybe she saw you ogling that red haired twenty-like art babe who
>rides her old Falcon track bike all over town.


Which town? - sounds like a cool bike.



Chris Neary
[email protected]

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh
 
Fri, 08 Oct 2004 02:06:43 GMT, <TCm9d.21407$a41.13067@pd7tw2no>,
A hopelessly pastoral "Fabrizio Mazzoleni" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Chris Neary" <[email protected] > wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>>
>> Which town? - sounds like a cool bike.
>>

>Probably East Vancouver, Zoot hasn't been anywhere in
>the last three decades.
>


Fab, Milano may be the centre of bicycle style but East Van is the
indisputable epicenter of bicycle culture.
Get with it.
--
zk
 
>
> It might not be so bad if you live somewhere with no hills and no
> cars, though.
>

Hills are no problem if you have the right gearing. Using a lower
gear for going up will give you a low enough gear for back pressure
going down... works great. Cars? No biggie either. If anything, it
is easier riding VERY close to cars, since fixies are more stable at
slower speeds, and riding an old conversion, who really cares if you
trade paint with a car or two?
 
Fri, 08 Oct 2004 01:30:18 GMT,
<[email protected]>, Chris Neary
<[email protected] > wrote:

>>For you or for her?

>
>For her, I already have my old Sun fixie.
>

Oh, cool. Yes, I imagine it would be harder to ride one that doesn't
fit. I've played around with a velocipede. Those are fun too but not
as practical as a fixie conversion. She should have one and if she
likes it get a special built SS bike later. I'm suggesting not dumping
a fortune into a bike that might not get ridden after the initial
fascination fades.

>>Maybe she saw you ogling that red haired twenty-like art babe who
>>rides her old Falcon track bike all over town.

>
>Which town? - sounds like a cool bike.


Vancouver, BC so there's a several hills and frequent rains.

It's a standard baby blue Reynolds 531 Falcon track frame from the
mid-seventies. Ruby red head tube and enamelled head badge. It's
become Sarah's favourite bike since she started riding it more than a
year ago. I saw her when she was still running the track fork and no
lock nut on its road wheels. She's since put on a road fork, front
brake and a dummy lever along with a slightly longer stem extension. I
don't remember if she's got fenders on it. They're hard to mount and
complicate removing the rear wheel on a track frame.

Old steel frames with horizontal drop-outs are what you want for the
street, IMO.
--
zk
 
08 Oct 2004 21:11:32 GMT,
<[email protected]>,
David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

>> I don't remember if she's got fenders on it. They're hard to mount and
>> complicate removing the rear wheel on a track frame.

>
>sks race blades. here's my little snowbird.
>
>http://www.raildog.com/commute/images/0.jpg
>
>> Old steel frames with horizontal drop-outs are what you want for the
>> street, IMO.

>
>humbug!


Nice bike. But, with an old road bike you would have had room for the
rest of the fender too. And one brake lever on drop bars leaves you
without a balanced convenient alternate hand position on the hoods.
It's like having only one bar-end on flat bars.
It doesn't look like any of that stops you from riding though.
--
zk
 
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> Nice bike. But, with an old road bike you would have had room for the
> rest of the fender too.


yea, you guys (pnw) really do make an art form of fenders. i was just in
seattle and was really impressed by that, actually. if ya have to do it
do it with style, ey?

> And one brake lever on drop bars leaves you
> without a balanced convenient alternate hand position on the hoods.
> It's like having only one bar-end on flat bars.


i've never missed the other, actually. and i do ride "on the hoods" so to
speak. my left hand just drapes over the bend and pulls on the bar when
sprinting or climbing. it rips up the handlebar tape pretty good but that's
about it. i don't have one partly out of aesthetics (i have to admit
there's some fabs in me) and partly because i give or get the left side to
or from other fixed gear folk (i'm the relatively rare right-side front so
it's easy for me to find extra levers).
--
david reuteler
[email protected]
 
08 Oct 2004 22:22:28 GMT,
<[email protected]>, David Reuteler
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> Nice bike. But, with an old road bike you would have had room for the
>> rest of the fender too.

>
>yea, you guys (pnw) really do make an art form of fenders. i was just in
>seattle and was really impressed by that, actually. if ya have to do it
>do it with style, ey?


If you think our fenders are cool, you should see our snorkels and
inflatable panniers for when it really gets serious.
--
zk
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> writes:
> 08 Oct 2004 22:22:28 GMT,
> <[email protected]>, David Reuteler
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> Nice bike. But, with an old road bike you would have had room for the
>>> rest of the fender too.

>>
>>yea, you guys (pnw) really do make an art form of fenders. i was just in
>>seattle and was really impressed by that, actually. if ya have to do it
>>do it with style, ey?

>
> If you think our fenders are cool, you should see our snorkels and
> inflatable panniers for when it really gets serious.


I just spent more on Scotch Gard (3rd can, @ $10.oo/can)
for my rain cape, than I initially spent on the cape itself.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
 
Fri, 8 Oct 2004 16:57:46 -0700, <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

>I just spent more on Scotch Gard (3rd can, @ $10.oo/can)
>for my rain cape, than I initially spent on the cape itself.


I've been wondering what kind of vegetable wax blend would work on
canvas. Something that didn't get too stiff when temperatures drop or
leave your clothes smelling like popcorn. Easy to apply and maintain
and cheaper than proprietary products.
--
zk