The R3V Bicycle Thread

[rodrigo]

Finished installing brakes on my fixed Bridgestone. Riding without brakes was not that bad...where I live it is mostly flat, but during a road ride with old team mates a few weeks back I got a good scare involving a traffic light so brakes came on. On longer road rides it is also nice to have the additional hand position of the brake hoods.





Some nice Shimano levers that i hand polished and painted some details for charisma:




Since I bolted the 15mm to the frame so I do not lose it. When I shove it in the saddle bag to sticks out so I have to sandwich it between the strap and the bag....it was always tipping to one side. This way it is on there and with a 4mm is comes off in seconds.



You can also see some problem solvers cable stops installed on the top tube to carry the brake cable to the back. Wrapped the frame with a rubber shim and snugged the bolt for the cable stop clamp for a nice tight fit.

[T3rd Ferguson]

thats a bridgestone frame?

nice bike but i wouldnt have done that to a bridgestone frame, unless i was converting one of their road bikes.

[rodrigo]

thats a bridgestone frame?

nice bike but i wouldnt have done that to a bridgestone frame, unless i was converting one of their road bikes.

It is a Bridgestone road bike..an RB-2. I had track ends brazed, bosses shaved and a repaint, but all the holes for the calipers were there.

[scabzzzz]

is that marc estrins red bike youre talking about? thing was fuckin nassssty sick

YEAHHH!!!

You met Marc? Easily one of the most understated, illest kids I know. He's a fantastic rider too man, super strong and nimble for his size. That bike is bidness.

[scabzzzz]

So I bought that bike... so far I love it.

Looks awesome man.
If it were mine, for simplicity, I would take the rear brake off. Upgrade to a single chainring crank set. MTB style shifters on a riser bar. Leather grips. Brooks leather saddle. God damn.....

[ColdAccord]

david; why don't you like the sti shifters? I love them, I always ride on the hoods.

[87e30]

Looks awesome man.
If it were mine, for simplicity, I would take the rear brake off. Upgrade to a single chainring crank set. MTB style shifters on a riser bar. Leather grips. Brooks leather saddle. God damn.....

I wanted to swap some of those things.

but i've ridden it for the past 4 days straight. I think around 20ish miles, then just some quick stress release riding, then like 14 miles, and then today just another quick ride.

There are a lot of hills in the area and I have been using two of the chain rings. (larger ones) I'm worried about switching to one because I find that it gets that chain click on the derailleur if I'm not in the proper chain ring on the front. So I'm saying with one chain ring can I still utilize all of the 9 gears in the back? It seems like I've had to use a combo so far.

Also for the handle bars, I'm really not sure. Currently buying a nicer camera and doing an m52 swap so I don't think switching bars is a priority. What I have is actually working quite well.

As for pedals... I dunno what to do there. I don't have shoes for the clip pedals I have but I've just been reading in tennis shoes or flip flops on these pedals.

Sorry for the rant. Just not completely sure what I'm looking for. Overall super happy with the bike, I love getting out and riding it and I'm happy with the purchase.

A picture of your friend's bike would be sweet!

(Oh, and I use the rear brake... going down steep hills pedaling full speed is fun! and dangerous...)

[scabzzzz]

I wanted to swap some of those things.

but i've ridden it for the past 4 days straight. I think around 20ish miles, then just some quick stress release riding, then like 14 miles, and then today just another quick ride.

There are a lot of hills in the area and I have been using two of the chain rings. (larger ones) I'm worried about switching to one because I find that it gets that chain click on the derailleur if I'm not in the proper chain ring on the front. So I'm saying with one chain ring can I still utilize all of the 9 gears in the back? It seems like I've had to use a combo so far.

Also for the handle bars, I'm really not sure. Currently buying a nicer camera and doing an m52 swap so I don't think switching bars is a priority. What I have is actually working quite well.

As for pedals... I dunno what to do there. I don't have shoes for the clip pedals I have but I've just been reading in tennis shoes or flip flops on these pedals.

Sorry for the rant. Just not completely sure what I'm looking for. Overall super happy with the bike, I love getting out and riding it and I'm happy with the purchase.

A picture of your friend's bike would be sweet!

(Oh, and I use the rear brake... going down steep hills pedaling full speed is fun! and dangerous...)

Well for one, if you're in certain gears and getting some clicking or whatever, it sounds like your chain isnt the right length or the deraileurs are out of adjustment. Riding on the hoods is fine, and having drop bars are fine with road bikes. For city riding is what I'm talking about, with riser bars. Its easier and feels more like riding a cruiser/single speed than a full on race bike (which, btw, is what your frame is made for or modeled after).
Pedals? Do whatever gets you off. Im doing MKS Sylvans with MKS clips and Toshi single's on mine. But thats just my preference.
Back brakes dont do much, maybe 25% of your stopping power. Front brake has 3x the power of stopping you. I thought this was a city/college cruiser anyways?

PS - Do whatever makes you happiest with your new bike.

[scabzzzz]

david; why don't you like the sti shifters? I love them, I always ride on the hoods.

I just coughed up 250 dollars for fucking shifters, so yeah, I love STI shifters I guess.

[87e30]

I thought this was a city/college cruiser anyways?

PS - Do whatever makes you happiest with your new bike.

Thanks. And it was... but home for the summer I've been riding it more. And 20+ mile rides aren't out of the question. (I know this isn't LONG but it's long enough to make it more than a campus cruiser imo)

Rear brake is kinda helpful, I see no reason to remove it personally. As for the drop downs and STI shifter... they have grown on me a lot and I don't see a reason to spend money on it at the moment. Kind of like the whole bike, I love it the way that it is. As I learn and if I do get more into the sport then I'll start to changes things up. For now I love the bike and everything works for me.

I think I might need to find something else to ride around campus as this bike looks quite a bit nicer than any other bikes I see on campus.

[DC12k]

Hey guys. So I'm thinking about picking up a single speed bike pretty soon.

so far I've kind of liked the look of a few:

Felt dispatch (red)

http://www.feltracing.com/09-catalog/urban-alternative/fixie-series/09-dispatch.aspx

Specialized Langster tokyo

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=38451&eid=109

Any comments or other suggestions for a good bike? My budget is about 1k. I'd like to have a good platform to upgrade off of. I guess I could build something from scratch but I'm pretty new to all of this and don't really have any experience with the various brands to know what is good or not.

-Danny C.

[Jand3rson]

I want a Felt Dispatch. Fuck, I want any Felt bike.

[jduffett]

Hmm, I just realized I have some pics to post in this thread now!

Well, sort of.





It is an '07 Giant Reign X1.

[87e30]

^^^^ That looks like a blast!

[scabzzzz]

Hey guys. So I'm thinking about picking up a single speed bike pretty soon.

so far I've kind of liked the look of a few:

Felt dispatch (red)

http://www.feltracing.com/09-catalog/urban-alternative/fixie-series/09-dispatch.aspx

Specialized Langster tokyo

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=38451&eid=109

Any comments or other suggestions for a good bike? My budget is about 1k. I'd like to have a good platform to upgrade off of. I guess I could build something from scratch but I'm pretty new to all of this and don't really have any experience with the various brands to know what is good or not.

-Danny C.

Ive ridden several Langsters, they feel like bloated track bikes when they were meant to be single speed commuters. That Felt is decent at best from what I've seen (never ridden one). They are going to be super relaxed and not aggressive (may be a plus for you).

I'd go with a Bianchi Pista as a first bike to upgrade off of. They perform extremely well and can take a lot of abuse and you would actually get money back if you sold it because they have really nice beginner aggressive geo.