The Bicycle / Biking Gear Thread
- Thread starter sunvalleylaw
- Start date
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
I just picked this early 70s Peugeot at a yard sale for $40.
Nice score...looks like it's in great shape.
Back when I was in my early-mid teens, I had a trash picked Schwinn Continental & one of my friends had his Dad's hand-me-down Peugeot, much like that one. Those two 10 speeds took us all over the place.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
I had a Continental. Same blue as my first bike, my Stingray.
How do you feel about 26 to 700c??
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
The Continental was a heavier than that Peugeot but it was also more robust & stood up to the abuse kids can dish out. At the time, most of my friends only had BMX bikes so they were kinda limited in range compared to our 10 speeds.
I also had a dirt cheap crappy BMX at the time that was constantly breaking and getting repaired.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Yeah, I had the Continental and I had stripped my Stingray down and put a "10 speed" seat on it to make it kinda like a BMX bike. We road those bikes around on trails and built wood jumps etc. I never did have a proper BMX bike.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Oh, also, we did abuse that continental too. One thing we did was to tie a waterski rope on the frame and pull each other around on skateboards while the skater pretended to waterski. It didn't work out so well when I tried to throw up a spray in a puddle.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
neither did I
I had a habit of destroying things so my bikes generally came from yard sales or were trash picked & repaired. The BMX bike was a dime store Murray BMX bike that had a frame that might as well have been made of pipe cleaners and bailing wire. Granted, jumping it off the roof of our house into the pool probably wasn't the best thing for it either.
Tig
Fucktangular
My middle school and early high school bike was a blue Schwinn Sierra. I've never been able to find a picture of one online, so it must have been a short lived model.
I never got a BMX bike until I was in college. First, a cheap Takara, then a Redline PL20, then a black SE Quadangle followed by the first production freestyle by Bob Haro.
I wouldn't mind getting an SE Big Ripper.
I never got a BMX bike until I was in college. First, a cheap Takara, then a Redline PL20, then a black SE Quadangle followed by the first production freestyle by Bob Haro.
I wouldn't mind getting an SE Big Ripper.
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rickenvox
Animal Psychic
I had a Continental. Same blue as my first bike, my Stingray.
How do you feel about 26 to 700c??
yes, that's the opposite. 700s on a bike made for 27 creates more space between the wheel and the top of the fork, doesn't look right.
you know they have CO2 for pumping up flats nowadays.
OK just noticed the top picture with all the saddlebags. Pumps are necessary if you're really touring.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Yah, I never bonded with CO2. I run tubeless and pretty high volume tires on my main bike, my mountain bike, and still prefer to carry a pump. That pump on that commuter/tourer, which I made out of my first ever mountain bike and some cross wheels I traded some old parts for, is my first ever real bike pump too, which still works and fits the frame. So I carry it. I do do some real touring on it. That trip was the San Juans a few years back. And we do some gravel road tours, as well. The rest of the time, I commute with that bike in summer time. I also have since swapped out that big cruiser type bar to more of an english 3 speed type.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
F that noise. The less effort spent on swapping out a tube on the side of the road, the better from my POV.
I keep the infator, lever and spare tube in my under-seat pouch. Extra c02 cartridges & tubes are easy enough to carry if you feel the need.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Well, maybe I will give that a try this year.
nuke_diver
Riding Solo
I'm with you SVL, I tried CO2 but prefer to have a pump. Both bikes have small hand pumps on the frame. I have tubes and find it better to slightly inflate the tube first and CO2 is all or nothing pretty much.
Knock on wood I haven't had too many flats on the road lately though and I think it's because I always make sure to inflate to pressure prior to every ride. That and the tires are decent ones with reasonable flat resistance
Knock on wood I haven't had too many flats on the road lately though and I think it's because I always make sure to inflate to pressure prior to every ride. That and the tires are decent ones with reasonable flat resistance
rickenvox
Animal Psychic
I started carrying just 1 CO2 cartridge, an inflator, and 1 spare tube in my jersey pocket. Just because that's what most everyone does on the peloton ride I do on Saturdays with about 200 of So Cals best road racers. If you show up with hairy legs, a frame pump, helmet rear view mirror, or a jersey from some century ride you did - you will be tagged as a "Fred" and they will assume you're going to cause a crash due to bad bike handling skills. Peer pressure. But I have had my single CO2 cartridge fail on occasion (usually the ring in the inflator gets worn out) and then you better have a cell phone to call Uber. For long rides solo rides, frame pumps are also useful since CO2 never gets your tire back up to 110 PSI (for small racing tires).
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Your bike shop should carry at least two of the three common sizes of cartridges...You might be purchasing the wrong size if one can't inflate your tire fully.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
I don't ride with the real roadies (those focusing primarily on road riding, in this valley). There are some high level athletes here, and also a plethora of egos. I do ride with "real" mountain bikers, who sometimes ride road, gravel and cross. (EDIT: I am an alpine skier who mountain bikes a lot in the summer and does some bike commuting and road riding, and tries to keep up with the guys built like cyclists). For road riding, it is usually with the same guys I ride trails with, and they know me and don't care. Some of those guys have CO2, and some carry a pump. Our MTB rides are way out there, so most carry a pump there anyway, because if your CO2 doesn't seal right or inflate right, or lets all the gas loose not in the tube, you are stuck with a long, long walk. It has happened on our rides to guys without pumps (fortunately, one of the others of us generally do, so walk avoided). So, many are used to having a small pump when road bike riding, which we do early season some. Though some of those rides are gravel too. So, I show up with unshaved legs, my sidi dominators, (I refuse to spend a bunch of money on road only shoes), and no real kit. (Well, no road kit. Usually mountain bike clothes without race type logos, etc. Stuff like Club Ride type stuff. https://www.clubrideapparel.com/ Just layers appropriate for the weather. I don't like matching road kits for myself. So, I guess I am sort of a fred. But more just a mountain biker on a road bike just until the trails open up. It's all good. I accept my mountain biker fred-ness concerning road.
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sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Seeing this mentioned twice, I'll just say I've never had these problems in years of using one. Get one w/ a threaded collar (or enclosed cartridge design..bulkier) & flow control and you're unlikely to fudge it up.