I ride a bike every day as it's my mode of transport to/from work whatever the weather. I'm not some pansy fair-weather cyclist ;-)
+1. For a number of years did my to/from work km's on a recumbent bike, a Challenge Distance (mine is purple). Clocked 25000 km on it, has been through the Ardennes & in Paris city centre. Also used in winter time & rough terrain where people wouldn't expect to encounter a recumbent bike. A few people have offered me scrap metal price for it, :P but with a few fixes it should fetch more... Almost new derailleur €70, tires €30 a pop, etc.
After that bought a cheap 2nd hand bicycle. ~€80 Euro worth, got me ~12000 km before I totally wore it down.
Now I'm on a similar 2nd hand, due until I spend the money on a proper next bike.
What is the benefit of a recumbent bike? I'v seen them, I've even had a go on one, but thought my all-round vision was restricted and that steering seemed to involve more thought than was necessary and I say that as a regular Unicycle rider.
I've not ridden a bike since about 2011 when my old bike's front wheel developed a fault.
I used to love going down Strathclyde Park on weekend mornings and cycling round the loch, unfortunately one week i went down and there was a boat race going on and the place was packed so decided to leave.
I stopped going when i got harassed by local neds who threatened to smash the bike off my face one day!
You'll need spanners, and Allen keys. If the tube on the new forks is too long you may need a ruler/tape measure, and a saw (Let's hope not though, it's awkward, and if you saw your tubes there's no refund).
I imagine the only thing that would make removing the old forks difficult would be if you have a hollow bolt, on your headset that the front brake cable is fed through then to get the forks off you have to take the cable out of the brake itself (Which is easy enough but if it's frayed it's a bugger to get back into the brake). If the headset doesn't have a hollow Allen Bolt on it I'd suggest getting one and feeding the front brake cable down it after fitting the new forks. Yes I just said it's awkward to remove it, but it's better to have one like that, if the brake cable goes down the tube there's no chance of it getting caught up or tangled if the handlebars are turned too hard or sharply (speaking from experience it's not fun when that happens). Also if you were to go that far buy the hollow Allen Bolt, don't drill one, these can be unstable, and the last thing you want is the Allen Bolt breaking while you riding your bike and the headset coming loose (Also speaking from experience that is not fun).
Yeah, in most 'classic design' bicycles, there's a bolt that holds the steer into the tube. Loosen that bolt, and with a bit of wiggling you can pull out the steer.
Then there's a few rings/nut that hold the fork in the frame. Unscrew & the fork comes out easily.
Now if all this holds true for newer-design bicycles, I'm not sure. Vendors tend to throw in their own custom parts now & then. Good for looks, (possibly) not good for ease of disassembly. :(
(speaking from experience it's not fun when that happens). ... (Also speaking from experience that is not fun).
Was that in one incident / crash / fall? :))
Sorry can't help myself, seems you have inspected the ground often enough... Few of the worst things I've had was a steer that broke off just-like-that (metal fatigue?), and a front wheel that broke when the rim was worn too thin by the break pads. All on different bicycles btw. No injury to speak of in either case...
I asked a used d bike shop (that runs as a charity and not for profit) near where I live about buying some cheap forks to fit on my Wife's bike (with threadless headset) while I get her Rock Shox Psylo repaird. My wife rides a 2000 Marin Hawk Hill.
The man was like oh well, to fit a fork you need special tools, then their is a race bearing then theirs this and that and a pipe of the right size you need to push this and that though correctly. I remember swapping things out on 90s bikes before and never having such issues. It got me to thinking was he deliberately trying to over complicate the process?
Well, I spoke to three places today and a specialist fork re-builders and got as far as Rocks Shox Psylo 2002 and they were all of the opinion that it was passed its servicable lifespan.
I think I'm going to have a stab at re-building them myself. I brought all the spares, o-rings and seals etc together with the special 5W oil and special grease (probably cheap grease re-branded). I have also downloaded the service guidelines and the only tool required I did not have was Snap Ring pliers so I got them too.
When my wifes bike is done I'll put up a picture. It should be quite a rejuvenation.
I want to buy a new bike for my Son who is turning 6. He has a little kiddoe bikewith 16" wheels which cost my parents a whopping 45 quid. :)) It's heavier than my adult mountain bike, probably made of pig iron. Having said that it's lasted him well since his 4th birthday and has taught him to ride fast and confidently.
I want to buy him a bike with gears. I am aware that I 'really should' avoid department store bikes that cost around 100-150 dollars (80-120 pounds). I also want to get him something light and well built. It seems that this requirement puts the price up to arround $200 to $400. $299 will get me a 6 speed bike with V brakes and reasonable front suspension, $370 will get me a 12 speed bike with disk breaks and good front suspension.
The thing is I'm having a hard job selling the idea of spending >= 300 on a 20" wheeled kiddies bike to my wife. I kind of feel its a bit much too. What do you all think?
Comments
What is the benefit of a recumbent bike? I'v seen them, I've even had a go on one, but thought my all-round vision was restricted and that steering seemed to involve more thought than was necessary and I say that as a regular Unicycle rider.
Mountain bikes, in general, have taller frames and larger wheels.
I used to love going down Strathclyde Park on weekend mornings and cycling round the loch, unfortunately one week i went down and there was a boat race going on and the place was packed so decided to leave.
I stopped going when i got harassed by local neds who threatened to smash the bike off my face one day!
Sad thing is I heard the makers of Taggart were told to tone it down a bit ;)
You'll need spanners, and Allen keys. If the tube on the new forks is too long you may need a ruler/tape measure, and a saw (Let's hope not though, it's awkward, and if you saw your tubes there's no refund).
I imagine the only thing that would make removing the old forks difficult would be if you have a hollow bolt, on your headset that the front brake cable is fed through then to get the forks off you have to take the cable out of the brake itself (Which is easy enough but if it's frayed it's a bugger to get back into the brake). If the headset doesn't have a hollow Allen Bolt on it I'd suggest getting one and feeding the front brake cable down it after fitting the new forks. Yes I just said it's awkward to remove it, but it's better to have one like that, if the brake cable goes down the tube there's no chance of it getting caught up or tangled if the handlebars are turned too hard or sharply (speaking from experience it's not fun when that happens). Also if you were to go that far buy the hollow Allen Bolt, don't drill one, these can be unstable, and the last thing you want is the Allen Bolt breaking while you riding your bike and the headset coming loose (Also speaking from experience that is not fun).
Then there's a few rings/nut that hold the fork in the frame. Unscrew & the fork comes out easily.
Now if all this holds true for newer-design bicycles, I'm not sure. Vendors tend to throw in their own custom parts now & then. Good for looks, (possibly) not good for ease of disassembly. :(
Was that in one incident / crash / fall? :))
Sorry can't help myself, seems you have inspected the ground often enough... Few of the worst things I've had was a steer that broke off just-like-that (metal fatigue?), and a front wheel that broke when the rim was worn too thin by the break pads. All on different bicycles btw. No injury to speak of in either case...
The man was like oh well, to fit a fork you need special tools, then their is a race bearing then theirs this and that and a pipe of the right size you need to push this and that though correctly. I remember swapping things out on 90s bikes before and never having such issues. It got me to thinking was he deliberately trying to over complicate the process?
I think I'm going to have a stab at re-building them myself. I brought all the spares, o-rings and seals etc together with the special 5W oil and special grease (probably cheap grease re-branded). I have also downloaded the service guidelines and the only tool required I did not have was Snap Ring pliers so I got them too.
When my wifes bike is done I'll put up a picture. It should be quite a rejuvenation.
I want to buy him a bike with gears. I am aware that I 'really should' avoid department store bikes that cost around 100-150 dollars (80-120 pounds). I also want to get him something light and well built. It seems that this requirement puts the price up to arround $200 to $400. $299 will get me a 6 speed bike with V brakes and reasonable front suspension, $370 will get me a 12 speed bike with disk breaks and good front suspension.
The thing is I'm having a hard job selling the idea of spending >= 300 on a 20" wheeled kiddies bike to my wife. I kind of feel its a bit much too. What do you all think?