The Bicycle / Biking Gear Thread

[sunvalleylaw]

I'm going to probably need to dive into a big bike upgrade soon as older me + steep hills /= going up hills easy. My current bike has a 11-25 cassette. Not sure if I can upgrade that to much lower gears without changing a lot of stuff so I keep grinding for now

I can send you out on this as adapted with a S/A 3 speed internal hub and see who that climbs for you! Fenders, chain guard and all!

 

[nuke_diver]

I suspect such a bike would cause a massive coronary. You have a death wish for me???

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Pics from going to pick up the bike which will be the platform for my project, some initial fitting of new (old) parts, and pics of some other parts that will go on eventually as I figure it all out. These in Portland. For gawd's sake, keep Portland weird. The hipster dude I bought this from who has way too many of these old Schwinn type bikes and projects is classic! Invited me to come back for some town events. Would be totally fun!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Got it home. Put an old Wald handlebar (like they used to use on the Marin Klunkerz) I happened to have laying around. I put on modern grips because they keep my hands and wrists happy, and they look good enough. I am not a purist. The brooks saddle is not on there properly yet. Just was seeing how it will look.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Various parts I have collected and will install.

I may have to use a different rear drum brake that will take a cassette and fit. I think I can find one that will not make me widen the spacing much if at all.

Shortened chain guard so I can have my one by 5 or 6 (not sure which cassette I will use yet) along with the 36t front ring. I want a chain guard as this will be a long pants bike some of the time for around town klunking.

Will build up wheels using these old Araya's like the Marin folks did (will do it at the Boise Bike Project as they have all the tools and I am now a supporting member with shop time available) around those drum brake hubs. As I said, I think I need to get a modern Sturmer Archer for the rear that will also accept a 5 to 6 speed cassette. I am going to verify spacing best I can today. The derailleur will go on with an emergency hanger bolted on. The lighter wheels will make the bike feel a bit more lively, as lively as a massive old 50's steel frame can feel.

 

[MonkeyZero]

I'm considering an electric bike. I figure it will get me back out exercising again and with the option to continue to be lazy but actually be outside at least.
Anyone have any experience with any brands? I am looking at more mountain bike set up styles but a more cruiser/road style works too. I just need to get out of the house.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Probably will need to find this hub or something very much like it.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I'm considering an electric bike. I figure it will get me back out exercising again and with the option to continue to be lazy but actually be outside at least.
Anyone have any experience with any brands? I am looking at more mountain bike set up styles but a more cruiser/road style works too. I just need to get out of the house.

Lots of cheapo ones out there, but it seems like getting a name brand such as Giant is better. A hard tail would probably be most versatile. from my research, getting one with a center mount motor (near the cranks) rather than a hub unit is way better. better handling and better performing bike.

Here is one I keep looking at from Giant. I wish it would accept fat tires for winter.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/showcase/talon-e-29

And here is some no name or non main brand bike I looked at as it will accept fat tires.

https://himiwaybike.com/products/premium-all-terrain-electric-bike

 

[Lerxst]

I'm considering an electric bike. I figure it will get me back out exercising again and with the option to continue to be lazy but actually be outside at least.
Anyone have any experience with any brands? I am looking at more mountain bike set up styles but a more cruiser/road style works too. I just need to get out of the house.

Don't buy the rando no-name bikes off Aliexpress or Amazon.

Go for any of the well-known/reviewed brands that actually have customer service and after sale support.

What's your budget?

 

[MonkeyZero]

Don't buy the rando no-name bikes off Aliexpress or Amazon.

Go for any of the well-known/reviewed brands that actually have customer service and after sale support.

What's your budget?

There are so many brands I can't tell who is legit and who is not. I watched a video last night that said 90% of the ebikes you see are the same bike with different badging.
I want a thumb throttle over a twist for sure. Not too concerned about top speed. Most in the 48v to 52v category go about 28 max. Don't think I'll need a double battery as 30-40 mile range would suit me fine.
Budget really depends on specs and quality but I'd say $2500 - $3000 is about max what I'd be willing to spend.

 

[Lerxst]

There are so many brands I can't tell who is legit and who is not. I watched a video last night that said 90% of the ebikes you see are the same bike with different badging.
I want a thumb throttle over a twist for sure. Not too concerned about top speed. Most in the 48v to 52v category go about 28 max. Don't think I'll need a double battery as 30-40 mile range would suit me fine.
Budget really depends on specs and quality but I'd say $2500 - $3000 is about max what I'd be willing to spend.

Do you want a full support local bike shop experience or do you want order it online, assemble, and you might be entirely on your own experience?

There are still a lot of bike shops that don't work on direct to customer sold e-bikes.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Do you want a full support local bike shop experience or do you want order it online, assemble, and you might be entirely on your own experience?

There are still a lot of bike shops that don't work on direct to customer sold e-bikes.

I get that. I rode long enough from age 15 to about 25 that I still have all of the tools and skills to work on my own stuff. At least the mechanical parts. Can't imagine the electrical stuff is that hard.
Only local to me ebike retailers are Trek (Way out of my price point) and someone who I'm pretty sure is just ordering them online from the same places I can.

 

[Lerxst]

I get that. I rode long enough from age 15 to about 25 that I still have all of the tools and skills to work on my own stuff. At least the mechanical parts. Can't imagine the electrical stuff is that hard.
Only local to me ebike retailers are Trek (Way out of my price point) and someone who I'm pretty sure is just ordering them online from the same places I can.

Just about any Giant dealer should be able to get you a Talon but that's class 1 so no throttle. (THB I don't really think a throttle is really a must-have. YMMV).

Otherwise in your price range you need to go direct and that comes down to a few choices:
hub drive vs mid-drive
hardtail vs fs (more bang for the buck w/ hardtail since no cost is going for rear suspension and frame complexity)
Integrated battery vs frame mounted removable (if you can't charge where the bike is stored, removable is pretty much needed)

Component spec is usually pretty close across brands at a given price point and w. e-mtb not really all that exciting until you're spending above your budget. Battery specs may be somewhat different but that may or may not result in additional range or battery life, depending on a bunch of factors. Look at the overall weight of the bike w/ battery in comparison too.

Find what bikes interest you and then research the brand and their after sale service and support. Getting replacement parts and warranty replacements vary from brand to brand

 

[Andrew Sak]

Giants are a great choice. Their U.S. headquarters are my work neighbors in Newbury Park. 200 yards from our shop. They make nice pedal only bikes too. I like the Trance.

 

[nuke_diver]

So today this happened

Clearly I have too much power in my legs . I never thought that it was possible to crack an Aluminum frame without a crash or something like that. I thought wrong.

However it does suck since today was going to be the annual ride your age ride and that didn't happen. Furthermore I'll be out of a bike for a while (at least one that can climb the hills around here without killing me).

There is a possibility of a warranty claim since Cannondale has a limited lifetime warranty so we will see. If I do get a claim it will only be for the frame which probably means I would need a bunch of new components still (this frame is 10 years old).

So a new road bike or at least new components seem likely. If that happens I am wondering if I can use the old parts on my even older bike (I suspect not since it is +40yo). The biggest question is: Can a bike that is a 27" wheel have those swapped out for 700mm wheels (I will also assume that the entire drivetrain would need to change). The Cannondale was a CAAD3 Ultegra and those are good parts that I would hate to waste if I could use them

 

[Tig]

So today this happened
View attachment 84510
Clearly I have too much power in my legs . I never thought that it was possible to crack an Aluminum frame without a crash or something like that. I thought wrong.

However it does suck since today was going to be the annual ride your age ride and that didn't happen. Furthermore I'll be out of a bike for a while (at least one that can climb the hills around here without killing me).

There is a possibility of a warranty claim since Cannondale has a limited lifetime warranty so we will see. If I do get a claim it will only be for the frame which probably means I would need a bunch of new components still (this frame is 10 years old).

So a new road bike or at least new components seem likely. If that happens I am wondering if I can use the old parts on my even older bike (I suspect not since it is +40yo). The biggest question is: Can a bike that is a 27" wheel have those swapped out for 700mm wheels (I will also assume that the entire drivetrain would need to change). The Cannondale was a CAAD3 Ultegra and those are good parts that I would hate to waste if I could use them

Newer frames that still use rim brakes might have a wider rear dropout width than an older frame/rear hub will fit. Old 27" wheels might not work with the different brake caliper reach of a 700c wheel/brake/frame. Sometimes, you have to try fitting them together to see.

Sheldon can help.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/oldbikes.html
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakes.html

 

[Andrew Sak]

I'm sorry about your bike frame. My 2001 aluminum frame Cannondale Jekyll cracked after 6 or 7 years. I loved that bike. Mine cracked where the seat tube and top tube meet.
I upgraded all of the CODA parts soon after buying that bike. It was expensive. I won't ever buy a bike that makes their own components again. Shimano, Sram, and Fox for me. My still nice components never found there way to a new frame.
I don't have any advice. I hope you get back on two wheels soon.

 

[nuke_diver]

Looking at my old bike I think it will be quite difficult to reuse the Cannondale parts on it for various reasons but mainly due to the 30 year difference in technology. I did watch a video replacing 27" with 700cm and it's pretty likely they won't fit. The older bike doesn't look like it would have a way to mount the front derailleur either.

I brought the bike into the LBS and they will do the warranty request and see what Cannondale comes back with. Per the very helpful tech manager there it will likely be either a new frame and I will likely need to buy a bunch of new parts since the current frames are all disc brake ones or a store credit for a new bike. I think I'd prefer the latter but we'll see what they say.

I'm probably not going to know for a week or so and then probably another week or so before something can be built or delivered. So tomorrow I will find out if the hills I couldn't do on my old bike was due to the bike or fitness. Sadly I am 10 years older than when I last tried some of those hills so even fitter it might not go well for me...wish me luck

 

[nuke_diver]

Well did 35 miles on the old steel bike. It's HEAVY METAL Other than getting a slow flat (didn't need to change it only pumped up the tire twice on the way home) and some very odd noises coming from the drive train I did fine. Some of the noises were there the last time I rode it over a year ago but seem a lot worse. And there was some weirdness with the right pedal I'll look it over tomorrow.

 

[nuke_diver]

Well things are finally getting somewhere though it's been a slow, back and forth, process. The build a bike up from a frame didn't seem like a great deal. Yes it would be cheaper than the new bike but not a lot for similar to what I had components. So I decided to go with the new bike. The bad news is that it's not any new bike it's a specific one. The good news is that it's $1100 discounted for the frame warranty. The bad news is that it is a $3700 bike new . Since it's a main hobby and I ride ~5000+miles a year I think it's a worthwhile investment. It's not the bike I would buy if I didn't get the discount but for roughly 2/3 the price of the new bike it seems like a decent deal. Plus I'd rather deal with a LBS and pay a bit more for potential support in the future.

The new bike will be a CAAD13 105 Di2. I'm a bit nervous about the Di2 groupset since I'm not a racer and have never used electronic shifting but it seems like it is well liked (with the obvious exception of the Luddites). I could have done a mechanical GS for about half but I don't really want to spend the time and effort to build it myself (nor to I trust myself to build a bike from scratch and make it safe with components like disc brakes that I'm not so familiar with) so having the LBS build it makes it only a couple of hundred cheaper than the new complete bike from Cannondale with the more expensive (better???12 speed vs 11) GS. I should know in a couple of weeks if I made a mistake

It should look something like this (not crazy about the colour but it doesn't make you faster so...)