But you knew that, right?
October 24, 2017 11:16 AM Subscribe
Bicycle Suspension is Evil and why said suspension may be among the last traces of our existence on the planet.
Luddites come in all varieties I see.
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
posted by peeedro at 11:29 AM on October 24, 2017 [18 favorites]
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
posted by peeedro at 11:29 AM on October 24, 2017 [18 favorites]
About that parting shot - "Magna" is like Target or Walmart house brand, low quality and short-lived, and then repairs or replacement parts are the entire cost of the bike again, and then that's the end of the person's bicycling story.
posted by turkeybrain at 11:31 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by turkeybrain at 11:31 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Every time I ride my suspension-free bike on the path alongside MLK Drive and hit those goddamn unavoidable tree-root-bumps I do not feel superior. I feel like I made a mistake.
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:32 AM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:32 AM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
Cheap bicycle suspension is evil. Bicycle suspension on big-box hybrids is evil.
Bike ragebait is some of the worst ragebait out there.
Meanwhile I'm eyeing a (maintenance-free but ugly-as-sin) Lauf for my gravel grinder.
posted by supercres at 11:33 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Bike ragebait is some of the worst ragebait out there.
Meanwhile I'm eyeing a (maintenance-free but ugly-as-sin) Lauf for my gravel grinder.
posted by supercres at 11:33 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
I have a rigid bike. I upsized my tires, ride them at a low-medium inflation and got a spring saddle. To me it’s been as comfy as a suspension but cheap and easy.
posted by JoeBlubaugh at 11:38 AM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by JoeBlubaugh at 11:38 AM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm a big guy, so a full squish bike has always been out of the question for me.
But the front fork suspension has meant so many fewer taco-ed rims.
A fatbike is next on my wishlist. I just wish they had taller tires - I have a 37" inseam and even 29ers look ridiculous under me. My other complaint - if you're a bike designer who makes the bike bigger by just making it taller, I hope you catch a spiked pedal in your reproductive organs. Taller people also need a longer top tube, so their knees can clear the handlebars, you fuckwits.
At least they finally got past the 4cm long handlebars.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:38 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
But the front fork suspension has meant so many fewer taco-ed rims.
A fatbike is next on my wishlist. I just wish they had taller tires - I have a 37" inseam and even 29ers look ridiculous under me. My other complaint - if you're a bike designer who makes the bike bigger by just making it taller, I hope you catch a spiked pedal in your reproductive organs. Taller people also need a longer top tube, so their knees can clear the handlebars, you fuckwits.
At least they finally got past the 4cm long handlebars.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:38 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Whoa, that Lauf is super interesting. Can’t wait for the tech to get cheaper!
posted by JoeBlubaugh at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2017
posted by JoeBlubaugh at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2017
Luddites come in all varieties I see.
Hey, I also drive stick.
Pretty much for the same reason, in fact.
posted by bonehead at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hey, I also drive stick.
Pretty much for the same reason, in fact.
posted by bonehead at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
I tend to agree, realizing that suspension was great... if you aren't the engine. When you need power most, too much is wasted making the bike go up and down rather than forward.
I hadn't thought much about the obsolescence angle, either. Regardless, it's plainly obvious that the bicycle market is keen to produce innovation that's way too often unnecessary if not bogus. Because that's how you move bicycles out the door.
posted by 2N2222 at 11:44 AM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
I hadn't thought much about the obsolescence angle, either. Regardless, it's plainly obvious that the bicycle market is keen to produce innovation that's way too often unnecessary if not bogus. Because that's how you move bicycles out the door.
posted by 2N2222 at 11:44 AM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Meh. The writer wants to hate on suspension but also doesn't want to seem like a complete idiot so he ends up writing a mealy-mouthed piece that goes for false balance. Whatever energy this piece might have had just trickled through the sieve of his convictions.
Yes, you can ride a rigid mountain bike. Or you can just grow some ovaries and ride a road bike like a real woman.
See, that's how you do a polarizing-essay dig. You just fucking go for it. You leave bodies and new enemies in your wake. You don't title your piece "Bicycle Suspension Is Evil" and then have sentences like "And yes, of course a great suspension bike can be a joy to ride, and the enhanced traction and reduced fatigue are a considerable advantage in a competitive situation." Fuck that noise. Take a fucking stand there.
That said, he's right in both directions. The vast majority of riders are better off rigid. I've done some pretty gnarly trails on my '92 Cannondale. But that said, I did some trails in Moab for the first time easier this year on a Santa Cruz Tallboy and man, what a dream. "riding a bike with too many moving parts can be like caressing your lover with oven mitts" - no fucking way. that ride was like the sweetest orgy ever imagined where you're being pleasured in ways you didn't even know existed. That trail on a rigid bike? Ugh, what a nightmare that would have been.
And if his point is that garbage department store suspended bikes are garbage, wow, some fucking killer thesis there. Department store bikes are garbage. But every time I see someone riding one I think "yeah, good for you, ride that shitheap. one less car." So what can I say? It's not my problem that they sell a hundred shit bikes that get thrown out or lost in a basement for every one that gets ridden. If that's what it takes to get more cyclists on the road, hell yeah.
As for "Meanwhile, a great rigid bike can be a joy to ride to the trail and on the trail and on the way home from the trail", sure I guess. But I don't even bike all the way to road rides. I'm not going to bike 150k to do a 60k loop through wine country. I'm not doing 50k of flats to get to the bottom of a 2000+ foot climb. And no one is going to bike from the Moab Motel 6 to get to Dead Horse Point (or a much better trail). Like geez, let's separate the realities of commuting by bike from recreational riding.
Anyway, good start with the title but not enough follow-through.
posted by GuyZero at 11:45 AM on October 24, 2017 [24 favorites]
Yes, you can ride a rigid mountain bike. Or you can just grow some ovaries and ride a road bike like a real woman.
See, that's how you do a polarizing-essay dig. You just fucking go for it. You leave bodies and new enemies in your wake. You don't title your piece "Bicycle Suspension Is Evil" and then have sentences like "And yes, of course a great suspension bike can be a joy to ride, and the enhanced traction and reduced fatigue are a considerable advantage in a competitive situation." Fuck that noise. Take a fucking stand there.
That said, he's right in both directions. The vast majority of riders are better off rigid. I've done some pretty gnarly trails on my '92 Cannondale. But that said, I did some trails in Moab for the first time easier this year on a Santa Cruz Tallboy and man, what a dream. "riding a bike with too many moving parts can be like caressing your lover with oven mitts" - no fucking way. that ride was like the sweetest orgy ever imagined where you're being pleasured in ways you didn't even know existed. That trail on a rigid bike? Ugh, what a nightmare that would have been.
And if his point is that garbage department store suspended bikes are garbage, wow, some fucking killer thesis there. Department store bikes are garbage. But every time I see someone riding one I think "yeah, good for you, ride that shitheap. one less car." So what can I say? It's not my problem that they sell a hundred shit bikes that get thrown out or lost in a basement for every one that gets ridden. If that's what it takes to get more cyclists on the road, hell yeah.
As for "Meanwhile, a great rigid bike can be a joy to ride to the trail and on the trail and on the way home from the trail", sure I guess. But I don't even bike all the way to road rides. I'm not going to bike 150k to do a 60k loop through wine country. I'm not doing 50k of flats to get to the bottom of a 2000+ foot climb. And no one is going to bike from the Moab Motel 6 to get to Dead Horse Point (or a much better trail). Like geez, let's separate the realities of commuting by bike from recreational riding.
Anyway, good start with the title but not enough follow-through.
posted by GuyZero at 11:45 AM on October 24, 2017 [24 favorites]
My data point is size one and amateur rider level but after a few rides of bikes that had front suspensions then one ride on a buddy's bike that had a rear suspension I could not argue with his phrasing insofar as he said (roughly) that a bike with a rear suspension feels like it's pushing you uphill. The impact may lessen, or downright degrade to a negative, once a certain skill/fitness level is reached but that Specialized Epic with a 'smart' suspension (insofar as it could/would lock itself out on the flats/non bumps based upon some sort of mechanical logic) was just effing brilliant and a true pleasure.
It just felt like you kept contact with the drive wheel to the ground so much better.... again, amateur so who knows....
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:49 AM on October 24, 2017
It just felt like you kept contact with the drive wheel to the ground so much better.... again, amateur so who knows....
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:49 AM on October 24, 2017
I remember in the 90s, when the prevailing wisdom was that lighter and tighter, with shorter chainstays was the key to Nirvana. I also remember when full suspension bikes like the MC San Andreas and Boulder Cycles came on the scene and all the magazine guys were like, "whoa. The light bikes are cool, but these suspended bikes are fun!"
And they were, and they are. The fact is, I ride my mountain bike to have fun (I can get my fill of moral superiority while I'm passing all you dumb shits in traffic on my hybrid) and suspension makes it a lot more fun. Faster, easier, better climbing, less fatigue. Fun.
In sum, you do your thing, geezer, and I'll do mine.
posted by klanawa at 11:51 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
And they were, and they are. The fact is, I ride my mountain bike to have fun (I can get my fill of moral superiority while I'm passing all you dumb shits in traffic on my hybrid) and suspension makes it a lot more fun. Faster, easier, better climbing, less fatigue. Fun.
In sum, you do your thing, geezer, and I'll do mine.
posted by klanawa at 11:51 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Also he is indeed right on this:
"Even those 1970s-era 10-speeds have found new life as fixie conversions or vintage commuters, but that first big mountain bike boom unleashed more unsalvageable crap on the planet than BP, Exxon, and Michael Bay combined."
I don't know who decides what bikes to sell in the Targets and Wal-Marts of the world but god yes, please stop selling those 40 pound full-suspended cro-mo turds and just fucking sell the equivalent of a decent mid-80s French 10-speed. With better geometry. It's not hard. And those bikes would actually get used.
posted by GuyZero at 11:56 AM on October 24, 2017 [9 favorites]
"Even those 1970s-era 10-speeds have found new life as fixie conversions or vintage commuters, but that first big mountain bike boom unleashed more unsalvageable crap on the planet than BP, Exxon, and Michael Bay combined."
I don't know who decides what bikes to sell in the Targets and Wal-Marts of the world but god yes, please stop selling those 40 pound full-suspended cro-mo turds and just fucking sell the equivalent of a decent mid-80s French 10-speed. With better geometry. It's not hard. And those bikes would actually get used.
posted by GuyZero at 11:56 AM on October 24, 2017 [9 favorites]
The thing you do for fun is wrong.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 11:57 AM on October 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Sing Or Swim at 11:57 AM on October 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
Probably this article should hold to the kernel of wisdom that it really can defend: cheap suspension is stupid, putting it on every inexpensive bike is dumb, and faddish things that will break instantly and are difficult to maintain are not great if what you want is a good national or international market in used bicycles (which is what I think we all should probably want). Aside from that, whatever, ride what you want. Just maybe think twice if you're going for a new $200 bike that you'll ride daily and you're presented with a dubious excuse for suspension. That's all.
posted by koeselitz at 11:58 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 11:58 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
And finally: Bike Snob, for those who do not know him is usually more right than wrong and his blog is the greatest, but his magazine columns are just way too weak.
I mean, what happened to the Bike Snob that shat on Jake Gyllenhaal for riding with a pie plate? Give me more of that and less of this fair-and-balanced stuff.
posted by GuyZero at 12:01 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I mean, what happened to the Bike Snob that shat on Jake Gyllenhaal for riding with a pie plate? Give me more of that and less of this fair-and-balanced stuff.
posted by GuyZero at 12:01 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Riding a full suspension bike without lockouts and without clip on pedals is a good way learn good pedaling technique: plant your butt on the seat and make perfect smooth circular motions with your feet. When you can ride like that with no bobbing up and down you can pedal up any steep loose gravel ascent.
posted by 445supermag at 12:02 PM on October 24, 2017
posted by 445supermag at 12:02 PM on October 24, 2017
Reading the article and then the posts here makes me wonder if this isn't a bit of a "where do we go from here?" attempt for an industry that has painted itself into a corner for getting a new generation of riders.
The entry point for a reasonable ride these days is at least 1500 dollars US, which is not exactly chump change. Double that for a suspended bike. So making an argument, even a poorly crafted one, for a movement away from crappy tech just for the sake of tech isn't completely misguided.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:05 PM on October 24, 2017
The entry point for a reasonable ride these days is at least 1500 dollars US, which is not exactly chump change. Double that for a suspended bike. So making an argument, even a poorly crafted one, for a movement away from crappy tech just for the sake of tech isn't completely misguided.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:05 PM on October 24, 2017
I was about link to Wal-Mart's bike page to mock them and second OHenryPacey here but actually, they sell mostly reasonable bikes. Yes, they have some of the aforementioned unecessarily suspended garbage, but they have a bunch of fixies and perfectly decent flat-bar bikes and they even have this fatboy which honestly looks like a complete steal at $222.
Damnit, what has the world come to when I can't even shit on walmart?
posted by GuyZero at 12:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Damnit, what has the world come to when I can't even shit on walmart?
posted by GuyZero at 12:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I found a YT review of that bike and it looks like even more of a steal on a $/lb basis as it weighs close to 50 pounds. So not quite as cool as I had hoped. But the dude gave it a 9/10, so hey.
posted by GuyZero at 12:18 PM on October 24, 2017
posted by GuyZero at 12:18 PM on October 24, 2017
The component frame and spec on Wal-Mart bikes is still utter garbage. $200 is a bad deal for a bike that'll last six months (if that) and isn't worth repairing. It is never not a better idea to buy a quality used bike than a new Wal-Mart bike, no matter where you sit on the Luddite/moral-superiority axis.
posted by klanawa at 12:18 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 12:18 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
You can get a perfectly decent road bike from your LBS for about $500. You can shave off even more if you go with Bikes Direct and don't mind doing some assembly on your own. To say nothing of the used market, though of course you're taking on the usual risks there.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:19 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by tobascodagama at 12:19 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I remember the first time I rode a mountain bike with suspension. It felt like pushing a wet fart up a hill. Then again, mountain biking is not my jam. I prefer an open road, an open schedule, and a mess of miles in front of me. Especially if there is a good dive bar at the end of the ride.
posted by Fezboy! at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Fezboy! at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I rented a Trek Procaliber once, the first time I ever had a bike with suspension, to ride a local trail while visiting my parents. I had no idea what the trail was like, assuming it was a pretty laid back graded gravel/paved trail like some I'm used to at home. The bike shop guys were like, "No, you don't want a road bike for this." They were right. That ride would have been full of a lot more cuss words and fall overs if I hadn't had the suspension. It has a helpful place.
Meanwhile, my wife is checking out the new Futureshock system on Specialized. She test rode a Roubaix (the bike shop guy must have been confused on our income level) and loved it.
posted by Atreides at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, my wife is checking out the new Futureshock system on Specialized. She test rode a Roubaix (the bike shop guy must have been confused on our income level) and loved it.
posted by Atreides at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I regularly ride singletrack and 'downhill' stuff on my touring bike. The key is tires and having a frameset that handles reasonable tire clearances. And by reasonable I mean greater than 33mm!
I threw some 45mm WTB Riddlers on and they have been a dream. Lots of squish and no pinch flatting even with low pressures.
posted by tmt at 12:23 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I threw some 45mm WTB Riddlers on and they have been a dream. Lots of squish and no pinch flatting even with low pressures.
posted by tmt at 12:23 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I remember the first time I rode a mountain bike with suspension. It felt like pushing a wet fart up a hill.
If you are pedaling on a high-travel suspended mountain bike, you chose the wrong trail.
posted by GuyZero at 12:25 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
If you are pedaling on a high-travel suspended mountain bike, you chose the wrong trail.
posted by GuyZero at 12:25 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
As a rider whose cycling skill set is in imperial rather than metric and is missing, like, half the sockets,
That was good.
posted by asperity at 12:35 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
That was good.
posted by asperity at 12:35 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you are pedaling on a high-travel suspended mountain bike, you chose the wrong trail.
If it's not designed to be pedaled, they have no business calling it a bicycle.
posted by enn at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
If it's not designed to be pedaled, they have no business calling it a bicycle.
posted by enn at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Glances left shiftily, glances right, attempts to hide troll-smirk: "I dunno, those Alex Moulton Double Pylon bikes are pretty spiffy!"
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2017
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2017
i loves me some quality bikesnobnyc trolling
posted by entropicamericana at 12:48 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 12:48 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
real talk tho: this is good
posted by entropicamericana at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
BikeSnob has, lately, really been living up to his initials. His columns are basically just clickbait/ragebait; he's absolutely not worth my time anymore.
I feel like he hates on stuff just to drive traffic, not for any good reason. If it makes him money, okay, I guess, but I don't have time for his half-baked retro-fetishism/knee-jerk hatred of anything new in cycling.
posted by uberchet at 12:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I feel like he hates on stuff just to drive traffic, not for any good reason. If it makes him money, okay, I guess, but I don't have time for his half-baked retro-fetishism/knee-jerk hatred of anything new in cycling.
posted by uberchet at 12:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
He never says what's bad about bike suspension.
Mostly that since he lives in new York it seem irrelevant.
posted by GuyZero at 1:11 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Mostly that since he lives in new York it seem irrelevant.
posted by GuyZero at 1:11 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I wonder how he feels about fancy madern disc brakes on bikes?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:13 PM on October 24, 2017
posted by Thorzdad at 1:13 PM on October 24, 2017
Luddites come in all varieties I see.
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
Oh, you kids and your new-fangled nomenclature.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2017
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
Oh, you kids and your new-fangled nomenclature.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2017
I had to google to even figure out what bicycle suspension was, but this puts me in mind of how nowadays you can't find a car without a teensy unfixable computer in it. It's cool that they exist, but it would be nice if there were more options without them.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I used to much prefer suspensionless bikes but I grew up in the relatively smooth soft flatness of Southwestern Ontario. When I lived in Ottawa my preferences changed. The difference between a dirt trail and riding on the Canadian Shield was pretty significant. Also mountain biking in the Rockies made me really appreciate suspension.
Now I wish my hybrid bike had some suspension because after about an hour riding in Chicago I get numbness in my hands.
I'd also like a fake gas tank. For the style points.
posted by srboisvert at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2017
Now I wish my hybrid bike had some suspension because after about an hour riding in Chicago I get numbness in my hands.
I'd also like a fake gas tank. For the style points.
posted by srboisvert at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2017
Bike Snob that shat on Jake Gyllenhaal for riding with a pie plate
I imagined the actor being pointed out for dangerously occupying his hands and attention with an ill-timed dessert, which would make a certain sort of sense. But the pic in the article showed me I was mistaken so I had to go look up what a "pie plate" was for, and why it deserved such derision...Oh. My. God. What a silly tempest in a teapot.
(tldr: it's a bit of safety equipment to help prevent an ill-adjusted chain from slipping off the biggest cog and getting jammed between that and the spokes, which is not a good thing to happen; so of course it's considered by Certain People to be as heinous as training wheels and handlebar streamers on a racing bike)
Unfortunately the bike I currently own came without a spoke protector, but now I'm tempted to actually go out and buy one - not because it's needed, but just to annoy all the self-important bro's.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
I imagined the actor being pointed out for dangerously occupying his hands and attention with an ill-timed dessert, which would make a certain sort of sense. But the pic in the article showed me I was mistaken so I had to go look up what a "pie plate" was for, and why it deserved such derision...Oh. My. God. What a silly tempest in a teapot.
(tldr: it's a bit of safety equipment to help prevent an ill-adjusted chain from slipping off the biggest cog and getting jammed between that and the spokes, which is not a good thing to happen; so of course it's considered by Certain People to be as heinous as training wheels and handlebar streamers on a racing bike)
Unfortunately the bike I currently own came without a spoke protector, but now I'm tempted to actually go out and buy one - not because it's needed, but just to annoy all the self-important bro's.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
I can't find a damn pie plate for love or money, but now I really want some handlebar streamers.
posted by maudlin at 2:00 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 2:00 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ooh, or how about a spoke protector with built-in streamers?? Now yer talkin'!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
The thing is, the benefit of suspension for riding off-road terrain, is VERY dependent on your local terrain. And terrain is a bit like climate - the world is a big place, and people living in Tasmania tend to not relate at all to the experience of people living in far north Queensland.
Sydney's mountain biking terrain is often a dash of sand sprinkled on rock and more rock. It's rocks all the way down. Since this BikeSnob article came out, I have a standing offer of $50, for anyone who can ride the Gahnia trail in North Sydney, on a rigid bike, without putting a foot down. It's an IMBA blue square cross-country trail, so should be no trouble for you retro-grouches! If you fail, you get a free card for your hospital bedside table.
posted by other barry at 2:20 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sydney's mountain biking terrain is often a dash of sand sprinkled on rock and more rock. It's rocks all the way down. Since this BikeSnob article came out, I have a standing offer of $50, for anyone who can ride the Gahnia trail in North Sydney, on a rigid bike, without putting a foot down. It's an IMBA blue square cross-country trail, so should be no trouble for you retro-grouches! If you fail, you get a free card for your hospital bedside table.
posted by other barry at 2:20 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just popped back in to say thanks for this link. Reading the rest of Eben's posts|stories|essays|what-have-you on outsideonline has successfully distracted me to the time at which I get to leave work for the day. I find their curmudgeoning quite in the wheelhouse of my biases.
posted by Fezboy! at 2:31 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Fezboy! at 2:31 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, on an ordinary bridlepath in the UK, you're going to be riding on a path that's either criss-crossed by tree roots or etched with a streamlet, depending on whether you're crossing contours or traversing them. You're a lot more in touch with the ground a lot more often if there's a few inches of travel between you and the wheels.
But on built paths, yeah, all the bumps are there by design, not random happenstance, and you're fine without suspension.
Anyway, I picked up my bottom bracket motor today, so this isn't the lawn I'm being told to get off. (Obviously, that's going on a rigid frame for city use).
posted by ambrosen at 2:32 PM on October 24, 2017
But on built paths, yeah, all the bumps are there by design, not random happenstance, and you're fine without suspension.
Anyway, I picked up my bottom bracket motor today, so this isn't the lawn I'm being told to get off. (Obviously, that's going on a rigid frame for city use).
posted by ambrosen at 2:32 PM on October 24, 2017
Taller people also need a longer top tube, so their knees can clear the handlebars, you fuckwits.
Not taller women though! We have longer legs. My inseam is 36" and I'm six foot. I ride a rockhopper like all other tall women out there, because we can't reach the handlebars on anything else. I don't think I've ever met a tall woman on a different model of mtn bike. You probably should never ride one.
posted by fshgrl at 2:33 PM on October 24, 2017
Not taller women though! We have longer legs. My inseam is 36" and I'm six foot. I ride a rockhopper like all other tall women out there, because we can't reach the handlebars on anything else. I don't think I've ever met a tall woman on a different model of mtn bike. You probably should never ride one.
posted by fshgrl at 2:33 PM on October 24, 2017
in the UK, you're going to be riding on a path that's either criss-crossed by tree roots or etched with a streamlet, depending on whether you're crossing contours or traversing them.
Though this would be fine with a suspension, in my mind this is actually a decent kind of trail for a rigid mtb. It's what I rode most of my life. It's fine. It's certainly easier and comfier with suspension, but this is what I imagine My Snob is grousing about - trails where it could go eitehr way.
Now, bombing downhill or doing serious slickrock? Suspension all the way.
(And now some trials weenie shows up and asks why I'd even ride with gears on a technical trail)
posted by GuyZero at 2:38 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Though this would be fine with a suspension, in my mind this is actually a decent kind of trail for a rigid mtb. It's what I rode most of my life. It's fine. It's certainly easier and comfier with suspension, but this is what I imagine My Snob is grousing about - trails where it could go eitehr way.
Now, bombing downhill or doing serious slickrock? Suspension all the way.
(And now some trials weenie shows up and asks why I'd even ride with gears on a technical trail)
posted by GuyZero at 2:38 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
What about suspension seatposts?
Don't agree to be the stoker on a tandem without one. You don't have a chance to lift your ass because you can't see the road. Sans Thudbuster our tandem would not have lasted long.
posted by GuyZero at 2:40 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Don't agree to be the stoker on a tandem without one. You don't have a chance to lift your ass because you can't see the road. Sans Thudbuster our tandem would not have lasted long.
posted by GuyZero at 2:40 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well, he's not wrong, even though I expected him to be.
If you are pedaling on a high-travel suspended mountain bike, you chose the wrong trail.
Yeah, that's the marketing problem. Most people aren't buying a bike based on it's intended usage, or even realize that different parts of the world, different sized people, and different usages would do better with drastically different bikes. I don't Downhill.
But I'm pretty much a grouch too. All my bikes are steel, 26", with a front fork. Even the expensive custom frame one. I am totally willing to go with new things that actually work better, if they work better, and don't require me to take on a part time job maintaining them.
I love disc brakes because they work so much better for a bigger person, but only mechanical discs. I'm not going to mess with hydraulics. I like front suspension, but only really stiff, low maintence forks with short travel. Again, weight and mass distribution. I'm sure 29er's are cool for some, but as a dude with short legs I can't see it.
The entry point for a reasonable ride these days is at least 1500 dollars US, which is not exactly chump change. Double that for a suspended bike. So making an argument, even a poorly crafted one, for a movement away from crappy tech just for the sake of tech isn't completely misguided.
And most people don't realize they could put together a much deal leaving all the bling off that would work better for them. So I think he makes a good point.
posted by bongo_x at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you are pedaling on a high-travel suspended mountain bike, you chose the wrong trail.
Yeah, that's the marketing problem. Most people aren't buying a bike based on it's intended usage, or even realize that different parts of the world, different sized people, and different usages would do better with drastically different bikes. I don't Downhill.
But I'm pretty much a grouch too. All my bikes are steel, 26", with a front fork. Even the expensive custom frame one. I am totally willing to go with new things that actually work better, if they work better, and don't require me to take on a part time job maintaining them.
I love disc brakes because they work so much better for a bigger person, but only mechanical discs. I'm not going to mess with hydraulics. I like front suspension, but only really stiff, low maintence forks with short travel. Again, weight and mass distribution. I'm sure 29er's are cool for some, but as a dude with short legs I can't see it.
The entry point for a reasonable ride these days is at least 1500 dollars US, which is not exactly chump change. Double that for a suspended bike. So making an argument, even a poorly crafted one, for a movement away from crappy tech just for the sake of tech isn't completely misguided.
And most people don't realize they could put together a much deal leaving all the bling off that would work better for them. So I think he makes a good point.
posted by bongo_x at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
That was fairly insufferable.
He never says what's bad about bike suspension.
He doesn't like it.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:52 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
He never says what's bad about bike suspension.
He doesn't like it.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:52 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
His bike is “surly”.
posted by chavenet at 2:56 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:56 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Although I've gotten tired of his curmudgeonly schtick, he does say what's wrong with it: cheap, poorly executed suspension is unnecessary in the contexts where the bikes will be used and hastens the point at which your department-store bike will become a piece of trash (a point he makes with a bit of hyperbole).
All of this is true! You could build a really shitty $300 suspended bike with 21 speeds, or for the same price you could build a reasonably serviceable rigid bike with 3 speeds that would serve most department-store-bike-shoppers better, but wouldn't look as flash.
posted by adamrice at 2:58 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
All of this is true! You could build a really shitty $300 suspended bike with 21 speeds, or for the same price you could build a reasonably serviceable rigid bike with 3 speeds that would serve most department-store-bike-shoppers better, but wouldn't look as flash.
posted by adamrice at 2:58 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
What about suspension seatposts?
Don't agree to be the stoker on a tandem without one.
That's useful, thanks. I never found the suspension seatpost on a bike I once had to be worth bothering with, but I can see how it's got potential for tandems. (Last time I was on a tandem regularly I was nearly always riding as captain, and also I was much younger and the bike didn't remotely fit anyway, but when you bring home a wheelbarrow of tandem parts for $10 you're not all that concerned about comfort.)
posted by asperity at 2:59 PM on October 24, 2017
Don't agree to be the stoker on a tandem without one.
That's useful, thanks. I never found the suspension seatpost on a bike I once had to be worth bothering with, but I can see how it's got potential for tandems. (Last time I was on a tandem regularly I was nearly always riding as captain, and also I was much younger and the bike didn't remotely fit anyway, but when you bring home a wheelbarrow of tandem parts for $10 you're not all that concerned about comfort.)
posted by asperity at 2:59 PM on October 24, 2017
Though this would be fine with a suspension, in my mind this is actually a decent kind of trail for a rigid mtb.
It's very dependent on the local geology, is my feeling. With the limestone in this area, farm tracks are normally golf ball size lumps of limestone in a clayey matrix, so drainage water cuts fairly deep and narrow and meandering. I've found it a lot easier to avoid getting rutted when I'm intentionally out for a ride on my suspension bike than when I'm "oh, I'll take the long way home because it's sunny" on my commute bike.
On non-preview, chavenet, my rigid bike's Surly, and my suspension bike's Rocky Mountain. So there's some nominative determinism there.
posted by ambrosen at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's very dependent on the local geology, is my feeling. With the limestone in this area, farm tracks are normally golf ball size lumps of limestone in a clayey matrix, so drainage water cuts fairly deep and narrow and meandering. I've found it a lot easier to avoid getting rutted when I'm intentionally out for a ride on my suspension bike than when I'm "oh, I'll take the long way home because it's sunny" on my commute bike.
On non-preview, chavenet, my rigid bike's Surly, and my suspension bike's Rocky Mountain. So there's some nominative determinism there.
posted by ambrosen at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
only mechanical discs. I'm not going to mess with hydraulics.
But hydraulics are much easier to adjust. I donated so many business cards to the cause of my partner's mechanical disc brakes that I made sure my bike with disc brakes has hydraulics. They're much less fiddly and no business cards are required.
posted by asperity at 3:02 PM on October 24, 2017
But hydraulics are much easier to adjust. I donated so many business cards to the cause of my partner's mechanical disc brakes that I made sure my bike with disc brakes has hydraulics. They're much less fiddly and no business cards are required.
posted by asperity at 3:02 PM on October 24, 2017
But hydraulics are much easier to adjust.
Interesting. I don't know that I've ever adjusted them aside from changing pads.
Maybe it depends on the model.
posted by bongo_x at 3:08 PM on October 24, 2017
Interesting. I don't know that I've ever adjusted them aside from changing pads.
Maybe it depends on the model.
posted by bongo_x at 3:08 PM on October 24, 2017
It is so great. I loosen the little screws, squeeze the brake lever, and tighten the little screws, and it just works.
The only problem is they just work so well that I got really confused when they started squealing and the usual adjustment didn't fix it. "What's wrong? These pads only have like a thousand miles on them." "They're covered in motor oil." "Oh. Guess that makes sense."
posted by asperity at 3:14 PM on October 24, 2017
The only problem is they just work so well that I got really confused when they started squealing and the usual adjustment didn't fix it. "What's wrong? These pads only have like a thousand miles on them." "They're covered in motor oil." "Oh. Guess that makes sense."
posted by asperity at 3:14 PM on October 24, 2017
It is so great. I loosen the little screws, squeeze the brake lever, and tighten the little screws, and it just works.
Hmm. That's what I do with my mechanicals, with the exception of slipping a card in there for spacing, and no motor oil. But I've hardly ever adjusted them. Maybe I don't ride enough.
posted by bongo_x at 4:19 PM on October 24, 2017
Hmm. That's what I do with my mechanicals, with the exception of slipping a card in there for spacing, and no motor oil. But I've hardly ever adjusted them. Maybe I don't ride enough.
posted by bongo_x at 4:19 PM on October 24, 2017
It's wild what people give a crap about.
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:36 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 4:36 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's wild what people give a crap about.
Let's all get back to Bike Snob's days of greatness: the lone wolf and the world's greatest madone.
posted by GuyZero at 4:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Let's all get back to Bike Snob's days of greatness: the lone wolf and the world's greatest madone.
posted by GuyZero at 4:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hey I didn't realize that he's already written a rebuttal to his haters:
But I'm extremely fortunate that my most favoritest of guilty pleasures is also part of my job as a semi-professional bike blogger, and it it this:
Riling up the readers of Outside magazine...
In any case, all of this proves something I've always believed, which is that when it comes to being simpering gear weenies the Mountain Bike Freds (or "Barneys") are a thousand times worse than the roadies.
Savage.
posted by GuyZero at 4:53 PM on October 24, 2017
But I'm extremely fortunate that my most favoritest of guilty pleasures is also part of my job as a semi-professional bike blogger, and it it this:
Riling up the readers of Outside magazine...
In any case, all of this proves something I've always believed, which is that when it comes to being simpering gear weenies the Mountain Bike Freds (or "Barneys") are a thousand times worse than the roadies.
Savage.
posted by GuyZero at 4:53 PM on October 24, 2017
That's what I do with my mechanicals, with the exception of slipping a card in there for spacing, and no motor oil.
Yeah, it mostly seemed like the card thing took a lot more time and hassle than just squeezing. The motor oil I chalk up to lots of riding in the rain in an area where people don't maintain their cars and are leaking oil everywhere.
posted by asperity at 4:58 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, it mostly seemed like the card thing took a lot more time and hassle than just squeezing. The motor oil I chalk up to lots of riding in the rain in an area where people don't maintain their cars and are leaking oil everywhere.
posted by asperity at 4:58 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Luddites come in all varieties
Yeah, mine is a medium in orange. So much love for my fully rigid, steel frame, single speed mountain bike.
And yah its got a carbon fork and disc brakes (mechanical natch) but I'm no retro-grouch.
posted by soy bean at 5:48 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, mine is a medium in orange. So much love for my fully rigid, steel frame, single speed mountain bike.
And yah its got a carbon fork and disc brakes (mechanical natch) but I'm no retro-grouch.
posted by soy bean at 5:48 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've never understood why someone would want a suspension on their bike. It robs power, requiring the rider expend more effort to travel the same distance, and a similar effect can be achieved by lifting a bit of your weight off the saddle and onto your legs and not death gripping the handlebars.
On rocky and wash boarded offroad trails I get it, but it seems counterproductive on the streets. And yes, I've ridden over plenty of root infested paved multi use trails.
posted by wierdo at 7:31 PM on October 24, 2017
On rocky and wash boarded offroad trails I get it, but it seems counterproductive on the streets. And yes, I've ridden over plenty of root infested paved multi use trails.
posted by wierdo at 7:31 PM on October 24, 2017
Ok Eben Weiss, I clearly understand your position on suspension but I think you are over 40 years old now. Get ready for the coming years when you might experience anything from from prostate problems, disc issues in your low back, arthritis in your hands or shoulders that slip.
I look forward to see which full suspension frame you are riding, your reviews of them and which is the best!!!
posted by Muncle at 7:45 PM on October 24, 2017
I look forward to see which full suspension frame you are riding, your reviews of them and which is the best!!!
posted by Muncle at 7:45 PM on October 24, 2017
Luddites come in all varieties I see.
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
Oh, you kids and your new-fangled nomenclature.
Fred. I'm a Fred.
I have an Electra Townie 21 in metal-flake blue. A pedal-forward cruiser awkwardly converted for a front deraileur. It came with a truly crap spring-only front-suspension fork, on, get this, a threaded headset! Going up hills was all "boingy-boingy-boingy!"
So I converted to a comp-grade threadless, swapped in a fixed fork with brake bosses and fender mounts, with the longest steerer tube available, because Electra, and a questionable riser stem and there was literally nothing left for me to saw off that steerer.
Was I done there? No.
Billet BMX platform pedals with carbon steel replaceable teeth treads to replace the plastic ones I destroyed on day one. A gleaming blue "V-brake booster" from the golden age of CNC-milled MTB components gathering dust on EBay, bought simply to mount the glorious chrome Velo-Orange fenders securely between the brake bosses. Another anodized blue extra-beefy seatpost clamp to go with, as when I was building the thing, I was a more-athletic-than-most 350lb daily commuter.
Am I done yet? NO. 7-speed Shimano Megarange freewheel! Indexed Shimano thumbie shifters, rare as hens' teeth, works better than advertised, picked up as NOS from Sheldon's former shop, I tell you no lies! Waterproof commuter pannier with repair kit on one side of the Electra-made rack, the only one that fits, folding grocery pannier on the other. (Once brought home a scuttling-in-its-bag lobster and steak dinner, complete with a bottle of wine, for a surprise anniversary treat in that!) Generic mounted tail-light, and I keep killing nice namebrand headlights for one reason or another, but I have a nice generic LED one on now and it's plenty bright and durable.
Now. Now is this the ultimate Fred ride?
NO.
Next step - I bent the SRAM cranks into taco shapes (I mean, the chain held up better!) so I will replace with a Velo-Orange triple crankset. I may add a Wald front basket while I'm about it.
See you on the nice and nigh-neverending local bike trails this weekend, cowboy! Watch me as I cruiiiiise.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:27 PM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Retro-grouch is the preferred nomenclature.
Oh, you kids and your new-fangled nomenclature.
Fred. I'm a Fred.
I have an Electra Townie 21 in metal-flake blue. A pedal-forward cruiser awkwardly converted for a front deraileur. It came with a truly crap spring-only front-suspension fork, on, get this, a threaded headset! Going up hills was all "boingy-boingy-boingy!"
So I converted to a comp-grade threadless, swapped in a fixed fork with brake bosses and fender mounts, with the longest steerer tube available, because Electra, and a questionable riser stem and there was literally nothing left for me to saw off that steerer.
Was I done there? No.
Billet BMX platform pedals with carbon steel replaceable teeth treads to replace the plastic ones I destroyed on day one. A gleaming blue "V-brake booster" from the golden age of CNC-milled MTB components gathering dust on EBay, bought simply to mount the glorious chrome Velo-Orange fenders securely between the brake bosses. Another anodized blue extra-beefy seatpost clamp to go with, as when I was building the thing, I was a more-athletic-than-most 350lb daily commuter.
Am I done yet? NO. 7-speed Shimano Megarange freewheel! Indexed Shimano thumbie shifters, rare as hens' teeth, works better than advertised, picked up as NOS from Sheldon's former shop, I tell you no lies! Waterproof commuter pannier with repair kit on one side of the Electra-made rack, the only one that fits, folding grocery pannier on the other. (Once brought home a scuttling-in-its-bag lobster and steak dinner, complete with a bottle of wine, for a surprise anniversary treat in that!) Generic mounted tail-light, and I keep killing nice namebrand headlights for one reason or another, but I have a nice generic LED one on now and it's plenty bright and durable.
Now. Now is this the ultimate Fred ride?
NO.
Next step - I bent the SRAM cranks into taco shapes (I mean, the chain held up better!) so I will replace with a Velo-Orange triple crankset. I may add a Wald front basket while I'm about it.
See you on the nice and nigh-neverending local bike trails this weekend, cowboy! Watch me as I cruiiiiise.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:27 PM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Perfectly decent flat-bar bikes and they even have this fatboy which honestly looks like a complete steal at $222.
Oh my god, no! (REEEEEE! :) That bike is a huge unrelenting piece of crap and is practically the platonic example of Bike Shaped Object as a liability or injury waiting to happen. Lets count the sins:
First off, all of the components are garbage. All of them.
There is no way those disc brakes have any quality or alignment going on, and they have no business being on those incredibly crappy levers. I would be intensely surprised if those disc brakes even worked any better than rim brakes, didn't squeak or squeal or didn't have warping in the rotors right out of the box. They will also probably warp if heated through hard braking, assuming you can get them to brake hard. What brakes even are those? Where do you get spare disc brake pads? I'm not going to assume that they're high quality disc brake pads that last very long, so that'll be a problem sooner rather than later.
The frame is garbage and massively undersized and strength for a fat tire bike. The headset, fork and gooseneck/stem is also drastically undersized.
Fat tire bike rims are a huge pain in the ass and they like to warp and taco more than almost any other kind of rim. They need to be properly trued and tensioned, and they need truing and tensioning on a regular basis.
And all of this is being assembled out of a kit box, by a minimum wage employee, with walmart handtools, by someone who probably doesn't really care about bikes.
Last, that bike is going to have warning stickers all over it and in the manual that you're not supposed to ever take it off of any kind of a sweet jump or drop. (And if you buy that thing for a kid, that's the first damn thing they're going to do assuming they can get the 50 pound monster going faster than 5 miles an hour.)
In addition to this a lot of these big box bikes use non-standard part sizes. Lets say you break or strip that crank, or even the screws holding the brake levers on. Chances are you won't be able to find a spare part at your local bike shop. Walmart *definitely* does not have the spare parts. The only bike "components" they usually sell are tires, tubes, and maybe if you're lucky they might have one kind of chain or some old blocky brake pads.
And, well, for $200-250 you can go down to almost any local bike shop that deals in used/rebuilt bikes and you can pick up a decent steel or aluminum road, mtb or commuter/cruiser. You can build a killer bike for even less at a bike co-op.
It's not a cost or elitism issue, really. Well, I guess it is a cost issue, because that Walmart bike is too expensive. The wear and tear and repair costs alone even used gently as directed will add up in frustrating ways.
A lot of those bike shaped objects are also just bad for engaging new cyclists. They'll get tricked into buying a Walmart BSO and then they'll hate it because it's so uncomfortable, difficult and even unsafe feeling to ride - and they'll be right about all three of those things, but as applied to that BSO, not biking in general or how easy and comfortable the right bike is.
Or how cheap a good used bike can be.
And, yeah, there's not really a wrong way to ride a bike. If it makes someone happy, have at it. There's weirdos out there that like one wheel, and some like three or four, I'm cool with that. Some people like climbing, some prefer to only go downhill. It's all cool.
But that bike is not a good deal, and I have yet to see a proper "good deal" on a dept. store bike or BSO.
And I've owned a bunch of department store BSOs. One of them damn near killed me when the front axle failed and it didn't have a basic safety feature like skewer/axle retention lugs and I french kissed asphalt.
The one that wasn't a total piece of crap was the old Huffy single speed beach cruiser I had that my dad got for some ridiculous sale price like 30 bucks, and, well, even that fell to pieces inside a year and was almost impossible to repair or work on because all the metal and bolts were so soft and crappy.
I put 3 people on good used bikes this summer by going with them to the co-op. People would say "I kind of want to look at bikes!" and I'd just say "Fuck yeah, let's go now!" and help them pick something out for a test ride that would fit. Next thing they know they're buying a bike.
posted by loquacious at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oh my god, no! (REEEEEE! :) That bike is a huge unrelenting piece of crap and is practically the platonic example of Bike Shaped Object as a liability or injury waiting to happen. Lets count the sins:
First off, all of the components are garbage. All of them.
There is no way those disc brakes have any quality or alignment going on, and they have no business being on those incredibly crappy levers. I would be intensely surprised if those disc brakes even worked any better than rim brakes, didn't squeak or squeal or didn't have warping in the rotors right out of the box. They will also probably warp if heated through hard braking, assuming you can get them to brake hard. What brakes even are those? Where do you get spare disc brake pads? I'm not going to assume that they're high quality disc brake pads that last very long, so that'll be a problem sooner rather than later.
The frame is garbage and massively undersized and strength for a fat tire bike. The headset, fork and gooseneck/stem is also drastically undersized.
Fat tire bike rims are a huge pain in the ass and they like to warp and taco more than almost any other kind of rim. They need to be properly trued and tensioned, and they need truing and tensioning on a regular basis.
And all of this is being assembled out of a kit box, by a minimum wage employee, with walmart handtools, by someone who probably doesn't really care about bikes.
Last, that bike is going to have warning stickers all over it and in the manual that you're not supposed to ever take it off of any kind of a sweet jump or drop. (And if you buy that thing for a kid, that's the first damn thing they're going to do assuming they can get the 50 pound monster going faster than 5 miles an hour.)
In addition to this a lot of these big box bikes use non-standard part sizes. Lets say you break or strip that crank, or even the screws holding the brake levers on. Chances are you won't be able to find a spare part at your local bike shop. Walmart *definitely* does not have the spare parts. The only bike "components" they usually sell are tires, tubes, and maybe if you're lucky they might have one kind of chain or some old blocky brake pads.
And, well, for $200-250 you can go down to almost any local bike shop that deals in used/rebuilt bikes and you can pick up a decent steel or aluminum road, mtb or commuter/cruiser. You can build a killer bike for even less at a bike co-op.
It's not a cost or elitism issue, really. Well, I guess it is a cost issue, because that Walmart bike is too expensive. The wear and tear and repair costs alone even used gently as directed will add up in frustrating ways.
A lot of those bike shaped objects are also just bad for engaging new cyclists. They'll get tricked into buying a Walmart BSO and then they'll hate it because it's so uncomfortable, difficult and even unsafe feeling to ride - and they'll be right about all three of those things, but as applied to that BSO, not biking in general or how easy and comfortable the right bike is.
Or how cheap a good used bike can be.
And, yeah, there's not really a wrong way to ride a bike. If it makes someone happy, have at it. There's weirdos out there that like one wheel, and some like three or four, I'm cool with that. Some people like climbing, some prefer to only go downhill. It's all cool.
But that bike is not a good deal, and I have yet to see a proper "good deal" on a dept. store bike or BSO.
And I've owned a bunch of department store BSOs. One of them damn near killed me when the front axle failed and it didn't have a basic safety feature like skewer/axle retention lugs and I french kissed asphalt.
The one that wasn't a total piece of crap was the old Huffy single speed beach cruiser I had that my dad got for some ridiculous sale price like 30 bucks, and, well, even that fell to pieces inside a year and was almost impossible to repair or work on because all the metal and bolts were so soft and crappy.
I put 3 people on good used bikes this summer by going with them to the co-op. People would say "I kind of want to look at bikes!" and I'd just say "Fuck yeah, let's go now!" and help them pick something out for a test ride that would fit. Next thing they know they're buying a bike.
posted by loquacious at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
For me, it's all about downhill vs. uphill. I had a suspension bike, just the front forks, and going downhill was great. It smooths out the bumps and the curb hops quite nicely. But suspension just full out sucks your energy input when you are starting from a dead stop on flat land, and especially going uphill. That's when it makes no sense to have any suspension.
Ideally, suspension works if you always start on top of a hill, or somehow avoid having to move from a dead stop. So in other words, its use is pretty limited, unless you're doing downhill bike trials or something.
posted by zardoz at 9:05 PM on October 24, 2017
Ideally, suspension works if you always start on top of a hill, or somehow avoid having to move from a dead stop. So in other words, its use is pretty limited, unless you're doing downhill bike trials or something.
posted by zardoz at 9:05 PM on October 24, 2017
I like suspension just fine on a downhill bike, but my 700c CX flatbar gravel pounding tourer has no use for that kind of frippery.
Slap*Happy, you're a maniac. We need pictures of this.
posted by loquacious at 9:26 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Slap*Happy, you're a maniac. We need pictures of this.
posted by loquacious at 9:26 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I like to ride my bike, too. It is fun and good. It’s a two-wheeler.
Ooh, you pretentious bastard!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ooh, you pretentious bastard!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Decent, modern rear suspension designs work great when climbing.
posted by markr at 12:58 AM on October 25, 2017
posted by markr at 12:58 AM on October 25, 2017
Now I wish my hybrid bike had some suspension because after about an hour riding in Chicago I get numbness in my hands.
On the suspensionless "mountain bike" that I bought in a store bankruptcy sale in the early 90's (and that i still own and ride), I later added a thing called a Girvin Flexstem. It's basically a suspension for your handlebars. I find it reduces the fatigue in the hands a bit. And it still looks 90s cool.
Apparently, the idea has come back, but aimed at roadies.
posted by Artful Codger at 1:56 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
On the suspensionless "mountain bike" that I bought in a store bankruptcy sale in the early 90's (and that i still own and ride), I later added a thing called a Girvin Flexstem. It's basically a suspension for your handlebars. I find it reduces the fatigue in the hands a bit. And it still looks 90s cool.
Apparently, the idea has come back, but aimed at roadies.
posted by Artful Codger at 1:56 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
People buy Malwort bikes because they are shiny and they are cheap and the ppl buying them just don't understand; they're the same market of people that bought a Yugo, or a Chevy Vega, or Japanese cars in the 1960s and early 1970s, or Kia's in the early 1990s. Myself, I just didn't know. I came *this* *close* to buying a Malwort bike, which I would have ridden five times max and then thrown away, or, worse, left on my patio. I had a friend at the time who was *totally* into really quality bicycles and he told me "NO NO NO NO NO !!!" etc and I'm so glad I listened to him.
It seemed an awful lot of money -- right at 700 bucks -- but it was just a great bicycle, the largest production bike made that year (a Giant Ranier XL) so it fit my tall galoot body just perfectly. Not to mention that the bike shop I bought it from had bought too many of those big beasts and knocked a hundred bucks off to get it out the door -- cool. It came with mechanical disc brakes that were total pieces of shit, lasted not but a few years, but I got a decent set on clearance at REI and they lasted til I let the bike go, a few months ago. I wrecked that bike any number of times, one of them a really good one, but that bike was far tougher than I was (I've got the x-rays to prove it) and mostly it only needed some adjustments, and twice a new set of handlebars (esp on that best wreck, twisted like pretzels -- whoa.) I had that beast 17 years, hated to let it go, I gave it to the Yellow Bike bicycle co-op here in town, making *certain* that they knew that the frame was cracked in three places. Which never bothered me a bit but drove my bike mechanic nuts, Andy was all the time going on about me dying, or worse, in some horrific wreck if/when that frame finally gave, which, as I constantly had to assure Andy, it wasn't going to do. (Goddamn, did that ever bug him.) Other than that, all of the components on that bike could be -- and I bet they were, too -- used to help someone else put together a sweet bike; I'd have done that myself but I just *could not* find an XL frame set up for disc brakes and got tired of waiting.
The thing about buying a decent bicycle is that you can put new components on it when you wear out the old ones. I'd pretty much replaced everything on that Giant over the years, all except the fork and the front wheel. A zillion new tires, any number of new chains, a few cassettes, a few ring sets, a new back wheel just before I let the bike go -- I rode it till the bearings completely disappeared.
So before I let go that Giant I needed a bike to ride, right? Right. I found a great bike on Craiglist, seven years old but brand new, an XL Raleigh that'd been in a storage unit. Literally a brand new bike, not one chip in the paint, the nubs still on the tires, brand new saddle, brand new everything, literally a brand new bike. 300 bucks. Worth every nickel. I hammered the guy down from 350 but truth be told I'd have gone $400 -- don't tell him though. Front suspension, mechanical disc brakes -- no way I'd go without disc brakes having once had them, I do like to stop when I yank on the hooks, no matter wet or dry or whatever else.
The difference between the two bikes is pretty drastic, the feel of the ride is very different. If you've ever ridden a cutting horse, where you lean into it and it moves with you, that's what the new bike is like, sortof. Agile maybe. But not fragile, for sure. Maybe nimble? More nimble than agile I think. I really like it a lot. It weighs considerably less, that's got to be part of it, but that's not the whole story, the weight of the Giant actually felt better on a good drop, I've got to pay more attention on the new bike on this one drop on my daily ride, esp if it's muddy that day.
I don't *need* a mountain bike but I like them. I could get by with a hybrid for almost all of my current riding but not on The Green Belt, not without having a living will all filled out. Riding on the streets here in Austin is truly dangerous so a road bike is out, though I sure like them, the feel of them, how light they are, how responsive. I could get by without the front suspension on my bicycle for the most part but I surely wouldn't want to. And if ever I head back out onto The Green Belt it'd be pretty much insane to not have it, because The Green Belt is really harsh, it's really rocky, there's cactus where there isn't rock, some water, just all manner of fun stuff to keep you awake and alert....
`````
I have done all that I can to steer ppl away from garbage can bicycles but it's a mindset. You'd think I'd have understood it perfectly well, as I know that garbage tools are, well, garbage. Clothing too -- I have three wool sweaters that I bought in 1985. I've got nice coats, too, some nice shirts. And boots also, you've got to put the money in front but then they're worth new heels, new soles, plus I get to wear really nice boots. But for whatever reason I couldn't see it in bikes. My friend saved my ass, he really was insistent, and I'm surely glad that he was. My best friend lives in East Texas, Livingston, he knows how much I benefit from riding every day, he sortof believes me when I tell him that it's worth the money to buy a good bike. But he won't get off the dime. If he lived here I'd bet he'd be on a good bike by now; as it is, he's bought a couple of garbage cans and has suffered the pain of garbage can bikes, rather than the pain of learning to shop for whatever bike he'd like and finding a good bike wrench to help him enjoy it...
posted by dancestoblue at 2:00 AM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
It seemed an awful lot of money -- right at 700 bucks -- but it was just a great bicycle, the largest production bike made that year (a Giant Ranier XL) so it fit my tall galoot body just perfectly. Not to mention that the bike shop I bought it from had bought too many of those big beasts and knocked a hundred bucks off to get it out the door -- cool. It came with mechanical disc brakes that were total pieces of shit, lasted not but a few years, but I got a decent set on clearance at REI and they lasted til I let the bike go, a few months ago. I wrecked that bike any number of times, one of them a really good one, but that bike was far tougher than I was (I've got the x-rays to prove it) and mostly it only needed some adjustments, and twice a new set of handlebars (esp on that best wreck, twisted like pretzels -- whoa.) I had that beast 17 years, hated to let it go, I gave it to the Yellow Bike bicycle co-op here in town, making *certain* that they knew that the frame was cracked in three places. Which never bothered me a bit but drove my bike mechanic nuts, Andy was all the time going on about me dying, or worse, in some horrific wreck if/when that frame finally gave, which, as I constantly had to assure Andy, it wasn't going to do. (Goddamn, did that ever bug him.) Other than that, all of the components on that bike could be -- and I bet they were, too -- used to help someone else put together a sweet bike; I'd have done that myself but I just *could not* find an XL frame set up for disc brakes and got tired of waiting.
The thing about buying a decent bicycle is that you can put new components on it when you wear out the old ones. I'd pretty much replaced everything on that Giant over the years, all except the fork and the front wheel. A zillion new tires, any number of new chains, a few cassettes, a few ring sets, a new back wheel just before I let the bike go -- I rode it till the bearings completely disappeared.
So before I let go that Giant I needed a bike to ride, right? Right. I found a great bike on Craiglist, seven years old but brand new, an XL Raleigh that'd been in a storage unit. Literally a brand new bike, not one chip in the paint, the nubs still on the tires, brand new saddle, brand new everything, literally a brand new bike. 300 bucks. Worth every nickel. I hammered the guy down from 350 but truth be told I'd have gone $400 -- don't tell him though. Front suspension, mechanical disc brakes -- no way I'd go without disc brakes having once had them, I do like to stop when I yank on the hooks, no matter wet or dry or whatever else.
The difference between the two bikes is pretty drastic, the feel of the ride is very different. If you've ever ridden a cutting horse, where you lean into it and it moves with you, that's what the new bike is like, sortof. Agile maybe. But not fragile, for sure. Maybe nimble? More nimble than agile I think. I really like it a lot. It weighs considerably less, that's got to be part of it, but that's not the whole story, the weight of the Giant actually felt better on a good drop, I've got to pay more attention on the new bike on this one drop on my daily ride, esp if it's muddy that day.
I don't *need* a mountain bike but I like them. I could get by with a hybrid for almost all of my current riding but not on The Green Belt, not without having a living will all filled out. Riding on the streets here in Austin is truly dangerous so a road bike is out, though I sure like them, the feel of them, how light they are, how responsive. I could get by without the front suspension on my bicycle for the most part but I surely wouldn't want to. And if ever I head back out onto The Green Belt it'd be pretty much insane to not have it, because The Green Belt is really harsh, it's really rocky, there's cactus where there isn't rock, some water, just all manner of fun stuff to keep you awake and alert....
`````
I have done all that I can to steer ppl away from garbage can bicycles but it's a mindset. You'd think I'd have understood it perfectly well, as I know that garbage tools are, well, garbage. Clothing too -- I have three wool sweaters that I bought in 1985. I've got nice coats, too, some nice shirts. And boots also, you've got to put the money in front but then they're worth new heels, new soles, plus I get to wear really nice boots. But for whatever reason I couldn't see it in bikes. My friend saved my ass, he really was insistent, and I'm surely glad that he was. My best friend lives in East Texas, Livingston, he knows how much I benefit from riding every day, he sortof believes me when I tell him that it's worth the money to buy a good bike. But he won't get off the dime. If he lived here I'd bet he'd be on a good bike by now; as it is, he's bought a couple of garbage cans and has suffered the pain of garbage can bikes, rather than the pain of learning to shop for whatever bike he'd like and finding a good bike wrench to help him enjoy it...
posted by dancestoblue at 2:00 AM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Or you can just grow some ovaries and ride a road bike like a real woman.
Transphobia is everywhere!
posted by Dysk at 3:08 AM on October 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
Transphobia is everywhere!
posted by Dysk at 3:08 AM on October 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
it's funny that he doesn't even touch on the maintenance requirements of suspension parts. Fox recommends that I rebuild my fork and replace the seals on my rear shock at least once a year. in terms of bike maintenance, that's pretty involved, i had to buy several special tools.
posted by indubitable at 6:41 AM on October 25, 2017
posted by indubitable at 6:41 AM on October 25, 2017
As a former Moulton rider, I just popped in here to say that you — and that includes Eben Weiss — are doing it wrong. Carry on.
posted by scruss at 7:18 AM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by scruss at 7:18 AM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
We live out where there's a lot of empty desert land and a lot of it isn't flat. A typical ride for me starts on the streets, then into gentle desert, then a really rough wash crossing, then riding the service dirt road for the railroad tracks, another wash crossing, more desert, back onto the pavement, etc. I love my front suspension bike for this. Off-road? Shock does a nice job. On pavement? Reach down and lock it out. Having the option to jump off-road in a hurry is really useful out here. And the front shock has saved me a lot of painful bumps.
posted by azpenguin at 8:02 AM on October 25, 2017
posted by azpenguin at 8:02 AM on October 25, 2017
I have a cross bike, a fat bike and an old Dutch omafiets none of which have suspensions. Granted, 5" tires on the fat bike are kind of like suspension.
At least it's not another essay on the "purity" of a fixie.
posted by misterpatrick at 10:25 AM on October 25, 2017
At least it's not another essay on the "purity" of a fixie.
posted by misterpatrick at 10:25 AM on October 25, 2017
Do how almost nobody needs a sport utility vehicle next. Disposable-consumer-goods-are-disposable and in imitation of current upscale fashion is not really just a bike thing.
This thread is like the cosmos of my local bike shop. Great when its neighborhood folks getting their democratically adjusted bike, horrible when its status-seekers/minmax types who start bitching because their tires have hit 300 miles. A small percentage of the latter have legit concerns. Nobody is riding because their life depends on it, stop counting ounces. (Commuters, who sort of do depend on it I don't think are typically as concerned. Because luggage.)
I've seen two great bike cultures, totally the opposite. One was the Netherlands where bike is so bikey they have every utility bike you could imagine (at one point I would have cut you for a Bakfiet). The other was India where they seemed to be just one kind of bike, also with deep penetration.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:44 PM on October 25, 2017
This thread is like the cosmos of my local bike shop. Great when its neighborhood folks getting their democratically adjusted bike, horrible when its status-seekers/minmax types who start bitching because their tires have hit 300 miles. A small percentage of the latter have legit concerns. Nobody is riding because their life depends on it, stop counting ounces. (Commuters, who sort of do depend on it I don't think are typically as concerned. Because luggage.)
I've seen two great bike cultures, totally the opposite. One was the Netherlands where bike is so bikey they have every utility bike you could imagine (at one point I would have cut you for a Bakfiet). The other was India where they seemed to be just one kind of bike, also with deep penetration.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:44 PM on October 25, 2017
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I'll put shocks on it if I like
posted by koeselitz at 4:18 PM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I'll put shocks on it if I like
posted by koeselitz at 4:18 PM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah long travel suspension soaks up a bit of energy but losing traction on steep roots and rocks soaks up more. I have a specialized enduro. Its a fun mushy tank but it climbs like crazy.
Also have a couple of (road) bikes with mechanical disks and one with hydros. There is just no comparison. Hydros are better (can't afford them for the road bikes yet). But either is better than rim brakes. I got rid of my rim brake bikes because I got sick of my sidewalls grinding down to the point that the rims explode. I was going through as least one set of wheels each winter... a high price to pay when rim brakes work so poorly when its wet and gritty out. The disks last longer, work better, require less maintenance and significantly reduce my wheel budget.
posted by klanawa at 12:19 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also have a couple of (road) bikes with mechanical disks and one with hydros. There is just no comparison. Hydros are better (can't afford them for the road bikes yet). But either is better than rim brakes. I got rid of my rim brake bikes because I got sick of my sidewalls grinding down to the point that the rims explode. I was going through as least one set of wheels each winter... a high price to pay when rim brakes work so poorly when its wet and gritty out. The disks last longer, work better, require less maintenance and significantly reduce my wheel budget.
posted by klanawa at 12:19 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
People buy Malwort bikes because they are shiny and they are cheap and the ppl buying them just don't understand;
I don't know. I looked at buying bikes at bike stores but I'm mixing commuting and exercise, so with a fixed distance weight is the only variable adding difficulty and wasn't even sure bike commuting would be reasonably pleasant on the roads & trails in my city. So I bought a $120 Wal-Mart bike 3 years ago, and have had to make about $100 worth of repairs (all parts easily attainable, some repairs through a shop and some myself which I'd call a great learning experience) and I'd never call it a great bike but 3 years of 40 miles a week for $220 seems like a pretty good deal. It's kinda heavy at 40lbs, but other than that it's great and gets endless positive comments. Also about $600 or so per year is how much my car costs to run for the same commute, so that didn't seem like a good value proposition.
I agree nobody could use this bike to Tour de France or mountain bike, but for what it is it's perfectly fine, and if you want to try bike commuting because you are on the fence about it I would strongly recommend a cheap bike.
My next bike will be probably be slightly more expensive, maybe something in the $500 range. But that's years from now.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:39 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't know. I looked at buying bikes at bike stores but I'm mixing commuting and exercise, so with a fixed distance weight is the only variable adding difficulty and wasn't even sure bike commuting would be reasonably pleasant on the roads & trails in my city. So I bought a $120 Wal-Mart bike 3 years ago, and have had to make about $100 worth of repairs (all parts easily attainable, some repairs through a shop and some myself which I'd call a great learning experience) and I'd never call it a great bike but 3 years of 40 miles a week for $220 seems like a pretty good deal. It's kinda heavy at 40lbs, but other than that it's great and gets endless positive comments. Also about $600 or so per year is how much my car costs to run for the same commute, so that didn't seem like a good value proposition.
I agree nobody could use this bike to Tour de France or mountain bike, but for what it is it's perfectly fine, and if you want to try bike commuting because you are on the fence about it I would strongly recommend a cheap bike.
My next bike will be probably be slightly more expensive, maybe something in the $500 range. But that's years from now.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:39 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
"It's kinda heavy at 40lbs"
You understand, right, that this is nearly twice the weight of a reasonable commuter from a bike shop, right? That'll make a material difference in the ride experience.
posted by uberchet at 7:49 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
You understand, right, that this is nearly twice the weight of a reasonable commuter from a bike shop, right? That'll make a material difference in the ride experience.
posted by uberchet at 7:49 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
You understand, right, that this is nearly twice the weight of a reasonable commuter from a bike shop, right? That'll make a material difference in the ride experience.
My penchants for understatement shouldn't be confused with me being out of touch with reality. Yes, it's a boat anchor with wheels.
posted by GuyZero at 9:06 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
My penchants for understatement shouldn't be confused with me being out of touch with reality. Yes, it's a boat anchor with wheels.
posted by GuyZero at 9:06 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
My first adult quality bike was (is) a Surly Crosscheck; I didn't built it up myself -- I bought a factory build, and that means it's CRAZY heavy for a road bike at 28 or 30 pounds. Even so, I rode it often and far as a key part of a weight loss plan. I joked that I wanted to lose enough weight that it mattered how much my bike weighed.
Well, about 45 or 50 pounds later, I got there, and upgraded. I bought a relatively nice carbon fiber bike -- which I realize isn't part of this conversation, but stay with me -- that weighs only about 18 pounds. That twelve pounds made an ENORMOUS difference in the effort required to ride.
I can't imagine pushing 40 pounds around. I'm not sure the bikeshare bikes here in Houston weigh that much, even.
All of which is a long way of saying: Insanely heavy cheap bikes from Walmart or whatever are not a good choice. People will have much more fun on a proper bike shop bike, even if it costs more to begin with.
posted by uberchet at 9:13 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, about 45 or 50 pounds later, I got there, and upgraded. I bought a relatively nice carbon fiber bike -- which I realize isn't part of this conversation, but stay with me -- that weighs only about 18 pounds. That twelve pounds made an ENORMOUS difference in the effort required to ride.
I can't imagine pushing 40 pounds around. I'm not sure the bikeshare bikes here in Houston weigh that much, even.
All of which is a long way of saying: Insanely heavy cheap bikes from Walmart or whatever are not a good choice. People will have much more fun on a proper bike shop bike, even if it costs more to begin with.
posted by uberchet at 9:13 AM on October 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I rode a new Specialized Roubaix on a century last week. The big tires and suspended ride really made a difference at the end of the ride. My old bones really liked it.
So, I'm on "Team New-Fangled" myself.
posted by pdoege at 11:26 AM on October 26, 2017
So, I'm on "Team New-Fangled" myself.
posted by pdoege at 11:26 AM on October 26, 2017
I rode a new Specialized Roubaix on a century last week.
Come on on, Cannondale had the HeadShok in '92! Everything old is new again.
posted by GuyZero at 11:40 AM on October 26, 2017
Come on on, Cannondale had the HeadShok in '92! Everything old is new again.
posted by GuyZero at 11:40 AM on October 26, 2017
I have a '15 Roubaix, but I rode the new version this summer at a Specialized Demo Day. (I was shocked, because I was expecting the old "parking lot demo" -- but they were set up at the rally point for my Sunday morning group, and that day were were going 40 miles.)
Both are "endurance frame" bikes, meaning they prioritize comfort over absolute speed, but you're still on a road bike that has no special adaptions for genuinely large tires. I think maybe 28s are as big as you can go, which in the greater scheme of things is only a single size bigger than the current go-fast bike default (25). My Surly Crosscheck will take much, much bigger tires.
The new frame is definitely faster and stiffer than mine, but I found the "FutureShock" thingy in the stem to be really off-putting. Mine was supposedly set to the firmest setting, but it felt disconcertingly bouncey every time I got out of the saddle to sprint.
posted by uberchet at 12:03 PM on October 26, 2017
Both are "endurance frame" bikes, meaning they prioritize comfort over absolute speed, but you're still on a road bike that has no special adaptions for genuinely large tires. I think maybe 28s are as big as you can go, which in the greater scheme of things is only a single size bigger than the current go-fast bike default (25). My Surly Crosscheck will take much, much bigger tires.
The new frame is definitely faster and stiffer than mine, but I found the "FutureShock" thingy in the stem to be really off-putting. Mine was supposedly set to the firmest setting, but it felt disconcertingly bouncey every time I got out of the saddle to sprint.
posted by uberchet at 12:03 PM on October 26, 2017
(A Secteur is a great bike. You'd feel the difference if you went to a carbon bike, but it's not the kind of jump I made because your current bike is so much closer to the road norm.)
posted by uberchet at 12:04 PM on October 26, 2017
posted by uberchet at 12:04 PM on October 26, 2017
When I was a student (more than ten years ago) my friends hauled a Magna mountain bike out of the tip and gave it to me as a present. I still have and occasionally ride an instantiation of that bike. It has gone through a full ship of Theseus cycle and there are no longer any remaining original parts. The last piece to die was the frame, I tore the downtube wide open riding trails.
Magna are the archetypal supermarket bike, all plastic and mold lines everywhere, but that bike served me so well. I rode a century with a two-person tent strapped to the top tube and an entire automotive socket set in a hiking rucksack, went trail riding in the woods, hauled a rave soundsystem on a trailer, used it as a ladder to climb trees, tried the really short handlebars thing, added clips, removed the clips, hand-built a wheel for it with eyelets and triple-butted spokes, crashed it into cars, commuted ~20 miles a day in London, respaced the dropouts, reamed and re-threaded the head tube, you name it.
Now I have more money and have bought a somewhat nicer bike but it's nowhere near as fun as that horrible piece of scrap :)
posted by liliillliil at 10:31 PM on October 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Magna are the archetypal supermarket bike, all plastic and mold lines everywhere, but that bike served me so well. I rode a century with a two-person tent strapped to the top tube and an entire automotive socket set in a hiking rucksack, went trail riding in the woods, hauled a rave soundsystem on a trailer, used it as a ladder to climb trees, tried the really short handlebars thing, added clips, removed the clips, hand-built a wheel for it with eyelets and triple-butted spokes, crashed it into cars, commuted ~20 miles a day in London, respaced the dropouts, reamed and re-threaded the head tube, you name it.
Now I have more money and have bought a somewhat nicer bike but it's nowhere near as fun as that horrible piece of scrap :)
posted by liliillliil at 10:31 PM on October 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by OHenryPacey at 11:27 AM on October 24, 2017 [11 favorites]