the bicycle thread. version 2.

[slackerbot]

i guess the old one got deleted?

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

[charlie bucket]

its prob still there but i couldnt find it and didnt want to take the time to track it down

[premium]

atomiclotusbox made the first one, so it's ghandi.

still can't find the other one.

i'm going to tear down a full suspension Schwinn that my brother in law gave to me

and scavenge the parts onto an old Trek frame that i've been saving for just such a chance.

anyone know how hard aluminum is to weld?

where would you go for something like that to have someone do it?

the Schwinn has a crack in the frame right at the seam down by the cranks. cool bike otherwise.

[herrokitty]

Originally posted by premium
atomiclotusbox made the first one, so it's ghandi.

still can't find the other one.

i'm going to tear down a full suspension Schwinn that my brother in law gave to me

and scavenge the parts onto an old Trek frame that i've been saving for just such a chance.

anyone know how hard aluminum is to weld?

where would you go for something like that to have someone do it?

the Schwinn has a crack in the frame right at the seam down by the cranks. cool bike otherwise.

i have heard that AL is pretty difficult to weld.

[premium]

i wonder if it's even worth it.

in my experience, a weld seam that breaks, will only break again someday.

anyway, i'm proceeding as if the frame is shot.

the Trek is a rigid frame, but i'm gonna try to throw the shock fork from the Schwinn onto it.

[golivar]

speaking of trek, their founder just passed away. sad. sheldon brown just died recently, too.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/trek_...er_dick_burke/


hey premium i would just scrap that frame, too. sounds like the crack is near the bottom bracket. you don't want to mess with that. i've seen bottom bracket shells explode, and you don't want that to happen while you're cranking up a hill somewhere, or speeding down one, for that matter. check the length of that fork, too, before you throw it on the trek. if the fork is much longer than the stock one, the bike's geometry will be too slack and the steering will be too slow, and it will suck on climbs.

[Charlie]

I'm saving up to buy a road bike this year. I've been riding my mountain bike with slicks for the past couple years. I want to have one bike strictly for the road and one for the trails. It's a pain in the ass constantly switching from slick tires to mountain tires. I actually didn't even ride any trails last year because I became too lazy. And I suffered some bad spills the last time I went so I'm also kinda shook. But watching all these mountain bike shows on RushHD makes me want to hit the trails again.

Is it best to buy a bike in July or August when stores are trying to clear inventory for the newer models, like buying a car? I'm willing to spend a good chunk of change for a nice bike.

[golivar]

i think fall/winter is the best time to shop for bikes, that's when stores are trying to make space for the coming year's models, which usually arrive in the spring. july and august are right smack in the middle of riding season, and business is still brisk, so you're probably less likely to find a good deal on a current model. late spring and summer are the prime selling times for new bikes, so during that time the stores will stick as close to the msrp as they can. i would start checking out the shops now. my local shop has been giving some pretty good deals on 2007 konas. i'd love to get one of those 7" or 8" travel kona downhill/freeride rigs.

i wish i had that RushHD channel, my buddy has it and it's pretty cool. lots of freeride mtb coverage. you're in jersey too, right charlie? yeah the trails are pretty shitty right now. i checked out chimney rock last week and i got about half a mile in before i turned around. too much mud and ice patches. it just sucks the energy right out of you. at least it's been warming up, though. i can ride in shorts again.

i ride my mountain hardtail on the road. i'm mainly just trying to build up my endurance for the summer. i never switch tires, though. i run kenda knobbies in the front and a maxxis holy roller in the rear. the maxxis is kind of a fat hybrid high psi street/trail tire with small, flat knobs, so it's not too heavy and doesn't have a lot of rolling resistance. i run a marzocchi shock fork, but on road rides i use the lockout to get rid of most of the pedal bob.

[Jook Sing Vegas]

To weld aluminum you would need to find a place with a TIG welder, but they're harder to find cause they cost a grip. Anyways you don't want to risk that shit breaking.

[invictus]

I think they have a welding set up at the Bikrowave in Santa Monica - not that far from the GR stores....

[Charlie]

Originally posted by golivar
i ride my mountain hardtail on the road. i'm mainly just trying to build up my endurance for the summer. i never switch tires, though. i run kenda knobbies in the front and a maxxis holy roller in the rear. the maxxis is kind of a fat hybrid high psi street/trail tire with small, flat knobs, so it's not too heavy and doesn't have a lot of rolling resistance. i run a marzocchi shock fork, but on road rides i use the lockout to get rid of most of the pedal bob.

Yeah I'm using a pair of Vredestein S-Licks that are 1.3" wide at 90PSI. Skinny tires look a bit awkward on a MTB but boy are they fast on the road. I was using a pair of Specialized Fatboys before the Vredestein but I got too many flats with them. I wish I had bought an extra pair of the Vredestein S-Licks because I don't think they sell them anymore. Where else am I gonna find blue tires?

My favorite trail in Jersey is Allamuchy which is off Route 80 in Warren County. Actually, it's the only trail I've really ridden in NJ. I usually go with my brother and he says it's the best one in our area. It's not as technical as those trails up Route 17. Only thing that sucks are all the mosquito bites I used to get. I don't miss the faceplants either. But I gotta get over this fear of falling. I'll probably wait a couple more months before I try Allamuchy again. The mud and cold must be bad over there too.

[kamenriderv3]

i agree with skipping the cracked frame. at this point, the weld crack is visually obvious but who knows if the other parts are stressed. maybe there's more damage that you can't detect yet.

[Robocon^^]

I'm pretty stoked on this ulitlity bike from Kona. Reminds me of the mama chariots of Japan.

http://www.konaworld.com/08_africabike3_w.htm

[golivar]

^ yeah the africabike is pretty cool. interesting story behind it, too. for every africabike purchased in a store, kona will donate one to an hiv/aids prevention center in africa for its workers to ride.

[golivar]

Originally posted by Charlie


My favorite trail in Jersey is Allamuchy which is off Route 80 in Warren County. Actually, it's the only trail I've really ridden in NJ. I usually go with my brother and he says it's the best one in our area. It's not as technical as those trails up Route 17. Only thing that sucks are all the mosquito bites I used to get. I don't miss the faceplants either. But I gotta get over this fear of falling. I'll probably wait a couple more months before I try Allamuchy again. The mud and cold must be bad over there too.

i've never ridden allamuchy, i've been wanting to check it out, as well as hartshorne down near red bank. i've ridden chimney rock, lewis morris, clayton and mercer. what route 17 trails are you talking about? i'm not familiar with those.

i've fallen a few times. went over the bars in a few instances. it does mess with your head. the ironic thing about mountain biking is, for the most part, the faster you go, the less likely you are to crash. go figure.