Show us your Ride

[blybo]

10 hours ago, wasabijim said:

nice, they were rather exotic and drool worthy 

 

i ride my HT mtb as my daily work commuter. at times with a head wind i feel like a sail pulling me backwards. 

 

next year I'll be moving further out of the city so a more dedicated urban commuter is in order. I'm thinking a wide pair of bullhorns 

anyone have experience with these? how wide do they come? 

 

Why not drops? Bull horns still won't help into the wind and will muck up the geometry of a mtb frame. Modern MTB frames have a very high stack height and slack headtubes making them impractical for regular road use. My old 90's MTB would have been better. About 15 years ago I went from a Giant XTC hardtail to an entry level LeMond road bike for my 15km commute. The ease and speed of the LeMond was incredible compared to the XTC. Partly weight/efficiency and partly larger wheel size I assume.

 

You can get wide gravel drop bars. Small drops and flared out so so more comfortable to ride in the drops for long periods.

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by blybo

[wasabijim]

no I wont be modifying the MTB. we have an obligation to pursue any justification to add bikes to the stable....  

 

I find drops too narrow and I feel more comfortable/confident being able to muscle the bike  around. I 'm not trying to set a personal best or take KOM each day so being overly aero or efficient at hi speed is not a priority vs being responsive or stable enough to boost a traffic island or set of stairs. 

[Grimmie]

1 hour ago, wasabijim said:

 

I find drops too narrow and I feel more comfortable/confident being able to muscle the bike  around. I 'm not trying to set a personal best or take KOM each day so being overly aero or efficient at hi speed is not a priority vs being responsive or stable enough to boost a traffic island or set of stairs. 

 

Hmmm... Having been 95% sold on a gravel bike this is the nagging in my head that say's 'why?'. I'm a solo rider (Billie-no-mates) and ride for fun and to exercise my aging body. I guess I'm really looking to upgrade or have a new experience in my cycling having had nearly ten years of the same. It's that that's driving me to follow Blybo's terrific advice, the gravel bikes do seem a new challenge that will hopefully spice my ride up a bit, - if I can handle it

Edited December 11, 2019 by Grimmie

[Grimmie]

What incredible value is this one. I'm sure there must be a hundred downsides, fully exposed cabling, alloy forks, cheapest gear-set, but $800 cheaper!!!!!

 

IN STOCK

GR-150 Adventure Road Bike - Black

$399 $550.00

Wide 35c Tyres

Fitted with wider 35mm tyres for a better ride on all surfaces. Increase your comfort levels against bumps and better protection from punctures

Specifications

Colours	Black, White
Frame Sizes	50cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm
Frame	Alloy 700c Road Frame with Alloy Forks
Handlebars	Alloy Road style Handlebars, W:420mm
Shifters	Shimano 14-Speed Tourney Dual Control SIS 2 x 7 Speed Levers
Derailleur	Shimano Tourney (Front) FD-A050 & Shimano Tourney (Rear) RD-A070
Saddle	Cionlli Road Saddle with ED Rail
Pedals	Steel / PP (9/16")
Brakes	POWER Front & Rear Disc Brakes
Brake Levers	POWER Alloy Brake Levers
Spokes	14G

Freewheel	Shimano Tourney MF-TZ500-7, 14-28T 7SP Index
Chainwheel	Prowheel Steel (34/50T×170L 7 Speed)
Chain	1/2"×3/32"×112L
Headset	Steel (Ø28.6×Ø34×Ø30mm H=22.7 10 PCS)
Front Hub	Steel (14G×36H 3/8"x100×140mm)
Rear Hub	Steel (14G×36H 3/8"×135x180mm 7 Speed)
Bell	Alloy/Plastic
Tyre	Road H-441(700C×35C)
Rim	Alloy, CNC Sidewall (700C×14G×36H F/V)
Warranty	Lifetime warranty on frame and fork

Edited December 11, 2019 by Grimmie

[Grimmie]

As you can tell I'm glued to the computer searching for bikes.

 

Must go for a ride........NOW.

[blybo]

28 minutes ago, wasabijim said:

I find drops too narrow and I feel more comfortable/confident being able to muscle the bike  around.

That's EXACTLY why the gravel drop bars have been created. Some of them are as wide as 65cm in the drops, that's mtb bar territory. My "gravel" bike is from before the term gravel bike even existed and you could not not buy an off the peg CX bike with disc brakes. So it has still got traditional 44cm drop bars where most roadies now ride 40-42cm bars. I've used that width it feels fine for me even on single track, it's my mtb bars that feel awkward.

[blybo]

29 minutes ago, Grimmie said:

What incredible value is this one. I'm sure there must be a hundred downsides, fully exposed cabling, alloy forks, cheapest gear-set, but $800 cheaper!!!!!

 

IN STOCK

GR-150 Adventure Road Bike - Black

$399 $550.00

Wide 35c Tyres

Fitted with wider 35mm tyres for a better ride on all surfaces. Increase your comfort levels against bumps and better protection from punctures

Specifications

Colours	Black, White
Frame Sizes	50cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm
Frame	Alloy 700c Road Frame with Alloy Forks
Handlebars	Alloy Road style Handlebars, W:420mm
Shifters	Shimano 14-Speed Tourney Dual Control SIS 2 x 7 Speed Levers
Derailleur	Shimano Tourney (Front) FD-A050 & Shimano Tourney (Rear) RD-A070
Saddle	Cionlli Road Saddle with ED Rail
Pedals	Steel / PP (9/16")
Brakes	POWER Front & Rear Disc Brakes
Brake Levers	POWER Alloy Brake Levers
Spokes	14G

Freewheel	Shimano Tourney MF-TZ500-7, 14-28T 7SP Index
Chainwheel	Prowheel Steel (34/50T×170L 7 Speed)
Chain	1/2"×3/32"×112L
Headset	Steel (Ø28.6×Ø34×Ø30mm H=22.7 10 PCS)
Front Hub	Steel (14G×36H 3/8"x100×140mm)
Rear Hub	Steel (14G×36H 3/8"×135x180mm 7 Speed)
Bell	Alloy/Plastic
Tyre	Road H-441(700C×35C)
Rim	Alloy, CNC Sidewall (700C×14G×36H F/V)
Warranty	Lifetime warranty on frame and fork

another supermarket type brand. Alloy forks will rattle your teeth out, even on the road. That's why all proper bikes these days use carbon forks, or a minority of touring/adventure bikes like mine which use a steel fork, as the material has inherent give in it.

 

This is mine (funny I could google it as I'm on the work computer). It's got different wheels/tyres, black bar tape and saddle now. Back then there was no internally routed cables either. Peddles are clip in on 1 side and flats on the other, which is great for when I'm just sitting around the caravan park and have to go find the kids.

Edited December 11, 2019 by blybo

[blybo]

54 minutes ago, Grimmie said:

the gravel bikes do seem a new challenge that will hopefully spice my ride up a bit, - if I can handle it

a lot of people are saying that gravel bikes are getting back to philosophy of the early John Tomac type MTB designs. Modern MTB designs have become so over suspended and slack in geometry that most trails off little challenge. I used to ride the Lysterfield MTB trails on my Pivot dual suspension bike and I could just plough through the obstacles. My Soma gravel bike is far more challenging, rewarding and fun.

[Grimmie]

 

On 11/12/2019 at 6:11 AM, blybo said:

 

Reid is about as far from quality as you can get, the "home theatre in a box" of the bike world. Big on bling for the price but inherently terrible bikes.

 

Try and pick up a 2018-2019 model from a reputable brand, it will save you money but from name you can trust.

OK, I can accept that you have all the experience to make that call and that you're speaking in good faith but I'm struggling to find the downside of these compared to the Giant Revolt 2, the Merida Silex Lite 200, the Trek Checkpoint AL3 etc at a similar (all above actually) price point. The Granite has all the better accessories (below) compered to sora gears and 'composite' forks on the others, so I'm guessing it must purely be the frame that lets it down?

 

I'm going to call in at The Bicycle Entrepeneur, Trek Bikes and Reid cycles to have a look this afternoon but am guessing I won't know just by looking or riding round the car-park which is better. Will be nice to just have a look and feel though.

 

On another tack, I had a ride of my son's old Trek Alpha road bike yesterday which was something of an eye opener. Quite enjoyed it though vastly different to my Cypress. The Alpha is a 58cm frame and I was over stretching for the hoods for sure so the shop visits will at least allow me to finalise a size (probably 56 with my height at 1790 and wingspan at 1860). Watched a couple of videos re. sizing so should know what to look out for.

Frame Material	Double butted alloy with dropped chainstays, rear thru axle, luggage mounts and enhanced clearance
Fork	Custom carbon fibre with front rack mounts and disc mounts and thru axle
Crankset	FSA Omega 34/50T with mega exo BB
Shifters	Shimano Tiagra 20 speed STI shifters
Front Derailleur	Shimano Tiagra 4700
Rear Derailleur	Shimano Tiagra 4700
Brakes	TRP Spyre disc brakes with 160mm rotors
Brake Levers	Shimano Tiagra 4700
Hub	Novatec sealed bearing disc hubs, front and rear 12mm thru axles
Wheelset-Rim	Alex MD17 alloy
Tyres	WTB Riddler 700 x 37C
Chain	KMC X10
Freewheel/Cassette	Shimano HG500 10-speed cassette (11-34t)
Bottom Bracket	FSA Mega Exo BB4000
Handlebars	REID compact alloy race bar
Stem	1-1/8″ alloy, oversize
Grips	REID CX race tape
Saddle	Reid CX Race
Seatpost	REID Carbon fibre 27.2mm, 350mm length
Pedals	VP 535 platform

 

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Grimmie

[blybo]

19 minutes ago, Grimmie said:

OK, I can accept that you have all the experience to make that call and that you're speaking in good faith but I'm struggling to find the downside of these compared to the Giant Revolt 2, the Merida Silex Lite 200, the Trek Checkpoint AL3 etc at a similar (all above actually) price point. The Granite has all the better accessories (below) compered to sora gears and 'composite' forks on the others, so I'm guessing it must purely be the frame that lets it down?

 

I'm going to call in at The Bicycle Entrepeneur, Trek Bikes and Reid cycles to have a look this afternoon but am guessing I won't know just by looking or riding round the car-park which is better. Will be nice to just have a look and feel though.

 

On another tack, I had a ride of my son's old Trek Alpha road bike yesterday which was something of an eye opener. Quite enjoyed it though vastly different to my Cypress. The Alpha is a 58cm frame and I was over stretching for the hoods for sure so the shop visits will at least allow me to finalise a size (probably 56 with my height at 1790 and wingspan at 1860). Watched a couple of videos re. sizing so should know what to look out for.

Re sizing, see if you can find the reach and stack of your son's bike, and work backwards from there. I'm 180cm tall and have always ridden a smaller frame with longer stem, it slows the steering a bit but also have a lower front end which preferable to me. Some brands also measure differently, most of my bikes have been 54's but my Soma is a 51 but reach and stack almost the same as the 54's. Reach and stack are universal measurements and slight changes can be made to seat and handlebar position as long as you are close in sizing.

 

I know a reasonable amount about bikes as I've custom built 3 in my 15 years since getting back into it, rather than buying off the peg. You learn a lot along the way so you don't stuff up the build.

 

It's not just questionable frame quality on these cheap brands, it's geometry, how they are put together, what they use for bottom bracket, steerer bearings etc etc. The bit's that get left off the spec sheets. I'd suggest the frames are probably using straight through heavy tubing as compared to double or triple butted tubing. YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT WANT ALLOY FORKS. I've seen quite a few ridden by "people riding bikes" as opposed to cyclists, and you wouldn't believe how some of them are put together. Seat tubes with setback pointed forward, forks around the wrong way. If buying a no name brand I'd pay to have a reputable bike shop strip it and re build for me.

 

Trek are great bikes but Giant is better bang for buck. Trek (and a lot of other brands) are still living off the good publicity TdF's wins so you pay for the perceived quality. Their top of the line bikes are mega expensive. Trek has better street cred but most smart people can see the value in Giant even if some cycling snobs look down on them

 

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by blybo

[Mr_Gadget]

Here's mine, picked it up yesterday.

[blybo]

@Grimmie

 

Found anything yet?

[Mendes]

On 12/01/2020 at 8:00 AM, Mr_Gadget said:

Here's mine, picked it up yesterday.

Nice one, have the same in the black..................

[Grimmie]

Nice looking bike, that would do the trick alright. I'm still in limbo as I've committed to buying the misses an e-bike too and it's made the task even harder.

 

Not given up yet though.

[Benje]

@blybo (and @frankn )

 

I followed this thread, and vacillated between a bike with front suspension and a flat-bar road bike.

Finally got the internal approval for a bike, and acquired a Trek FX4 from the local shop. 

So far so good - three rides, haven't fallen off, haven't hit anything, haven't scratched the cars at home getting in and out.

Disc brakes, 10x2 speed gears, 32mm tyres, carbon forks.

 

I ride on bike path back-streets and the Linear Park - no roads for me.

I also run on Linear Park, and often walk with others, who might have children and/or dogs.

It is interesting seeing the different perspectives of walkers/dog-walkers/runners/slow cyclists/fast commuters on non-road trails.

Hopefully, I have a nice, safe outlook across all trail users, especially on the really narrow parts of the Linear park trail.

 

Benje

 

[blybo]

3 hours ago, Benje said:

@blybo (and @frankn )

 

I followed this thread, and vacillated between a bike with front suspension and a flat-bar road bike.

Finally got the internal approval for a bike, and acquired a Trek FX4 from the local shop. 

So far so good - three rides, haven't fallen off, haven't hit anything, haven't scratched the cars at home getting in and out.

Disc brakes, 10x2 speed gears, 32mm tyres, carbon forks.

 

I ride on bike path back-streets and the Linear Park - no roads for me.

I also run on Linear Park, and often walk with others, who might have children and/or dogs.

It is interesting seeing the different perspectives of walkers/dog-walkers/runners/slow cyclists/fast commuters on non-road trails.

Hopefully, I have a nice, safe outlook across all trail users, especially on the really narrow parts of the Linear park trail.

 

Benje

 

Well done. Front suspension is heavy and ONLY required if riding rough mountain bike trails. For shared paths and the road, you are better off with a rigid carbon fork. I haven't looked at the FX range for many years, but I know they have always been highly rated.

 

I rode with a nervous mate recently who refused to ride on roads except back streets or those with more cyclists than cars. So 4 of us rode around 20km of shared paths that day and I've got to tell you, it's the most stressed I've been on a bike for several years, constant dodging, slowing and then accelerating again. Shared paths have too many dogs off lead, headphone wearing walkers, joggers and blind turns to make cycling enjoyable. The remaining 3 of us were quite relieved when he swung off to head home and we immediately got back on the roads.

[Benje]

@blybo

 

that describes my ride exactly!

But, I can slow down when I see people, all I have to worry about is the mad cyclist passing me from behind.  A lot less risk than the infrequent car poses.

 

Benje

[wasabijim]

on my daily commute into the CBD I pref to share the road with traffic vs the river side walkways which are just too random. road traffic rarely gets above 40 km/h (even when the limit is set at 60) and cars etc. yes you have to be confident and balance assertiveness and courtesy but on the whole obey rules and are more predictable than e-scooters, pedestrians with headphones, dogs, tourists and walking clubs. plus there's  johnny come lycra-clad lately who thinks the congested paths are his personal raceway

[wasabijim]

saw this bad boy in the shop yesterday. I don't usually dig Cannondale and their left field approach but this looked potent plus lights and  bumper protection integrated into the frame. at $2.7k tho... including a few pedestrian components like breaks and BB

 

https://www.cannondale.com/en-au/bikes/active/urban/bad-boy/bad-boy-1?sku=c33100m10sm

 

 

 

 

[blybo]

9 hours ago, wasabijim said:

on my daily commute into the CBD I pref to share the road with traffic vs the river side walkways which are just too random. road traffic rarely gets above 40 km/h (even when the limit is set at 60) and cars etc. yes you have to be confident and balance assertiveness and courtesy but on the whole obey rules and are more predictable than e-scooters, pedestrians with headphones, dogs, tourists and walking clubs. plus there's  johnny come lycra-clad lately who thinks the congested paths are his personal raceway

I can only hit like on your post once, so + eleventy billion.

 

Cars and other road users are 95% predictable. Despite what some would have you believe, they are not out to get you, so as long as you ride predictably and don't go out of your way o hold traffic up, the road always works for me unless out with the family, who I can't trust to be predictable.

 

I've always loved the Bad Boy. I thought it was discontinued several years ago. The lights are probably not great in real world situations. I love the new Knog Cobber but the large ones are required to pump out enough light for use as daytime running lights. https://bikerumor.com/2019/03/28/knog-cobber-shines-almost-all-around-with-330-of-front-rear-light/

[Grimmie]

So.... today's the day.....probably!

 

Off out to decide between the Shogun EB1 and E Go City Cruiser for the other half.

Both around 1500 - 1600 dollars. The Shogun's prettier but the E-Go seems better spec'd.

 

As for me, I've decided, with much angst against the gravel type bike. I've ridden a couple and just feel that the aggressive ride position and narrow bars will not suit me. So of all the Hybrid sports types I can't go past the Giant Fastroad as per the guys above. It's above my budget but has all the spec's and looks a million. The only opposition may come from a Scott 20 that I have spoke to with the sales person at The Bicycle Entrepreneur in Osborne Park. Much cheaper but may do the job.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Grimmie

[blybo]

23 minutes ago, Grimmie said:

with much angst against the gravel type bike. I've ridden a couple and just feel that the aggressive ride position and narrow bars will not suit me.

you know that's just the one's you've ridden right? Unless you want an upright city bike like the one your wife is after flat bar and drop bar bikes usually have similar reach, however there can be variations within each style type. When my wife went from a flat bar to drop bar the reach did not change at all. If you want a gravel bike just swap some parts to get the reach and handlebar width you want. If not that's fine as well.

 

You can these bars in up to 46cm width (plus the flare of the drops) and they should only cost $60ish locally. They also have a shorter reach than many. Standard reach for a drop bar is around 80mm, these are 68mm

[Grimmie]

23 hours ago, blybo said:

you know that's just the one's you've ridden right? Unless you want an upright city bike like the one your wife is after flat bar and drop bar bikes usually have similar reach, however there can be variations within each style type. When my wife went from a flat bar to drop bar the reach did not change at all. If you want a gravel bike just swap some parts to get the reach and handlebar width you want. If not that's fine as well.

 

You can these bars in up to 46cm width (plus the flare of the drops) and they should only cost $60ish locally. They also have a shorter reach than many. Standard reach for a drop bar is around 80mm, these are 68mm

 

Thanks Blybo, your help and advice has been much appreciated and the gravel bike option was a real tempter. It may well be that once used to riding the droppers I'd wonder why I never got them years ago but now feel that maybe I wasn't being overly practical as I never go off road/path, don't need high speed (though don't mind it either) and would be more comfortable with flats plus the bar risers to give some wrist relief. (sounds rude!)

 

That Giant looked awesome in the shop and have a great price at around $1600, so I'll have that on Monday. As to the misses, she's getting the Reid Ladies Pulse at $1499 which has all the best specs of the others combined plus full-size wheels and pretty stylish. I know the mid-drive are probably desirable to the hub-drives but this one seems the best compromise at a good price.

 

Can't wait to give them a go. Katie will probably zoom past me now, i won't be happy.

[k-k-k-kenny]

With help of Victoria's finest cycle tradies - Gordon Hill, Kevin Wigham, Kenn Dickie - put this together last year.  Oddly enough, frame was made by same person in same year as my Hillman roadie: George McDonald in 1976.  Track bikes are grouse fun once you get past the urge to freewheel (and get pitched over the bars for your trouble).  Except when Karen or Trev bring their feckin dogs along because it's so convenient having that fence round the track to keep them from pishin off, and hasn't your bike got brakes, mate?

Edited February 15, 2020 by k-k-k-kenny

[blybo]

10 minutes ago, k-k-k-kenny said:

Gordon Hill, Kevin Wigham, Kenn Dickie

Didn't know Kevin was still with us. My best mate growing up lived next door, and he were also friends with Shaun, his son. Saw inside Kevin's workshop many times... but I was too much into BMX at the time to care or realise what a legend frame builder he was.