It's official- I have a new favorite bike shop.

Stopped by Zen Bikes on my home yesterday, to locate a replacement ball bearing. They game me one for free in exchange for my promising to tell people that "Zen Bikes saved my balls," along with a sticker:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399037022

I find it amusing that Zen Bikes' slogan is essentially a confirmation of Wheaton's Law, and I shall proudly display this on my top tube.

So, two weeks in and Shitibike II has been doing well. Barely been vandalized at all, and the only thing stolen thus far has been the water bottle holder, but they removed it cleanly and didn't strip the threads, so I can't complain too much.

Interestingly, I've noted a trend whereby people treat the basket on the rear of the bike as a trash can. Thus far I have collected an empty Snapple bottle, the May 19 issue of Time Magazine with Vladimir Putin on the front, and Naima Ritter's visitor badge at the UN General Assembly building.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1400074562

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1400074754

(I didn't get a photo of the Snapple bottle , but you know what they look like.)

What was the message under the Snapple bottle? Did you return it for the 5 cent profit? Tell us more about this Snapple.

I have a carbon BMC roadie weighing under 7kg, worth more than my car I think. Anyway I recently got given this MTB for free, and I am loving it:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400135395

Riding up gutters, jumping over shit, going where I want. It's a 17" with 26" wheels, the rocks in the background are just really big! :giggle:

Cheers

Message? I have no idea. I didn't see any messages. I just placed the bottle on the ground next to the police box.




I think that this thread might be what you were looking for:

https://www.miataturbo.net/insert-bs...no-care-72705/

:giggle:

budget bike builds
 

I have an appreciation for quality bike parts after living through the junk that came on a Chinese MTB, but I don't need a bike to do more than get me and my junk from A to B in reasonable comfort. Though I'm in Atlanta, everything in the neighborhood is easily within walking distance so a bike works well to shave the time off any destination.

A couple of years ago I started riding the beach cruiser I bought over 33 years ago- before I had a drivers license. :loser: Based on the original RollFast tooling, it was manufactured in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL. I rode it as bought until I left Jax. for good in 1987. My Dad rode it for awhile and then it was stashed in the back of his shed.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400165183

Four years ago I got it back and removed everything but the Wald handlebars and Tange forks, stripped and painted it. I picked up a craigslist china mtb for parts to get it rolling.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400165183

I have slowly been upgrading those junk parts since. Proper rear der, brakes and seat installed. Also made a relaxed seat post and cargo basket that serves dual purpose as a seat for a passenger. I can tow both my kids as it is set up now.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400165183

I helped my neighbor install a new sewer run and in return he gave me all the bikes in his basement and filled my beer cooler. Among the cheap mountain bikes was his sister's 1969 Schwinn Hollywood.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400165183

I used the wheels/tires and brakes to make a commuter for my daughter. There are big hills around here so the gears are needed. The fender clearance in the original design provided the space needed for brake calipers - just had to weld in some mounts. Have since upgraded the rear der and gone to a grip shift that made for some effortless shifting. It's unlike anything in the school bike rack and all the parents remember the old Schwinns.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1400165183

I really dig that seatpost- very cool idea.

Finally struck gold on Craigslist. $40 for a Schwinn Sidewinder MTB with 2 extra sets of tires (one set new, the tires on the bike which are sort of worn, and some almost-bald ones which I'll probably use primarily). It sounds like the guy had a better/newer bike to ride so I bet he took pretty good care of this one.

Anyone else "dropbar commuting"? I cut my 8.2 mile commute ride from 40-45 minutes down to 32-33 minutes when I switched the MTB out for the road bike.

Predictably, climbing speed is way better with the road bike. The way in has a climb right at the end, and so on the way home the route kicks off with a sweet downhill run. The difference in time between the ride in and the ride home was around 10 minutes with the MTB, but only 2-3 minutes with the roadie.

I believe that I've found the perfect bike:

Novara Arkham Bike - 2015 - REI.com

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1438383163

Disc brakes, belt drive, internally geared hub with twist shifter, fenders, rack... Short of built-in lighting it's literally everything I could possibly ask for.


Any reason I should be convinced not to buy it?

Grip shifters.

Grip shifter. Singular.

But yes, after all this time I still vastly prefer them to trigger shifters. The latter are all fine and well for downhill bikes, but on flat pavement, a grip shifter is just so much more ergonomic and easy to use.

<p>Joe, I thought you were out of the market due to location. That aside, seems like a good commuting package. In years past, I had reliability issue with internal gear hubs, but that was a long time ago.&nbsp;</p><p>Would the 3 speed work well for you (huge jumps), or might you want a 7 speed?</p>

What? No. Trigger shifters are superior in all cases, and those who prefer grip shifters probably never learned to write in cursive.

I was. But I've grown tired of spending four hours every day commuting, and am moving back to Manhattan. UES, most likely.

Anybody want my car?



Reviews on the hub (SRAM i-3) say that it makes an annoying clicking sound when coasting, but is reliable.

Anyone who has ever cycled in NYC will tell you that you that an annoying clicking sound is the last thing you'll notice.

That said, I don't need a huge gear range. Manhattan is mostly flattish, and for the 6 months that I was commuting by Citibike, I never found the gearing on them to be inadequate (also 3 speed internal.) There are times when you find yourself coasting down a slight incline and can take advantage of the highest gear, but on my Schwinns (7 spd rear, solid front) I very rarely hit the tallest gear when actually under power.




I've owned several bikes with both designs over the years, and I have a personal preference for grip shifters. On pavement, I just don't have a need for the trigger shifter's resistance to white-knuckle bumps, and when coming to a stop, I like to be able to slam the shifter all the way down to the lowest gear in a single motion, rather than having to move my thumb into a weird position and then go "click-click-click-click-click-click" until I finally hit the bottom.

Every grip shifter I've ever tried felt like the mechanism, composed of broken glass, poorly molded plastic, and small pieces of rusted metal, was shredding itself to pieces every time I shifted, in contrast with the precise click and release of a good Shimano trigger. The trigger position falls quite naturally within thumb and index finger reach for me -- never had a problem or felt like I had to adjust my hand position.

Grip shifters are sometimes less precise, I'll grant you.

I simply prefer the convenience of having the shift actuator underhand at all times, rather than having to stretch to locate one of two different levers depending upon whether I wish to shift up or down and then repeatedly click it until I get there. I find that about as annoying on a commuter bike as a sequential-shift transmission would be on a DD car.

<p>Argument about sequential is invalid because&nbsp;it is only a three speed.&nbsp;</p>

Get an REI membership if you don't already have one. Pays for itself on that bike.

When my DD was a Giant Revel MTB, I converted the rear shifter from trigger to grip for the same reason. That was an 8 speed. Left the front shifter alone mostly because I very rarely took it out of the middle ring.



Was not aware of this- will definitely do that.