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My contributions :)

My bike was a garage sale find and cost $20 but Its the best bike I've owned. Its from some brand I am not familiar with. A mid-80's Nishiki 10 speed men's bike with curved handlebars. I reckon this would be a prime candidate for making a hipster bike but I left it original. Only thing I did was the handlebars had nasty crumbly foam on them so I removed that and now just have plain aluminum handles. The frame is very well-made and solid. It rides really well and even though its pretty heavy by today's standards it feels light to ride.

edvard2 says

Its from some brand I am not familiar with. A mid-80's Nishiki 10 speed men's bike

Nishiki is the company that also made the Schwinn bikes at that time, built in Japan. I had A Nishiki myself, bought at the Atwater Bike Shop (CA). Had it until it was stolen.

edvard2 says

Only thing I did was the handlebars had nasty crumbly foam on them so I removed that and now just have plain aluminum handles.

Why not wrap with tape? Better grip than aluminum, less scorching on the hands when bike gets left in direct sun on a hot day.

I'll have to get some pics of it. But this one is some sort of edition and is signed by the builder. It literally says: " Built by:" followed by the name I can't recall. It also has some sort of cursive writing that says " Made in Japan", which I thought was sort of odd.

Vicente says

Why not wrap with tape? Better grip than aluminum, less scorching on the hands when bike gets left in direct sun on a hot day.

Its not that bad. The handlebars have a mirror finish and that pretty much reflects the heat. When its cold I wear box handler's gloves. I sort of like the look too, plus I hate it when tape gets all nasty from use.

Ok. I just looked it up. I believe mine is a "Nishiki Kokusai"

Gentle Readers,
I go into the local bike shop to get a new 700 tire, tube, and wheel rim liner. The sales guy shows me Botranger tires tightly folded into a carton. He says they are "color coordinated" for the bargain price of $60. Ok, I'm open to suggestions. (Why my wife likes to keep me around, anyway.) These wonderful $60 tires have the clincher beads busted on them from being folded. I gently replaced this revolutionary design in bicycle tires back on the rack. I wouldn't want to damage such a wonderful product.

I looked at the tires in the racks below and found the Botrangers I wanted. Kelvar puncture resistant and everything. Not folded. $40 which is still a little much, but I really needed them.

My lesson from this encounter at the counter: I try not to look like an idiot, but for the most part, I fear I'm failing at it.

Dammit.

Regards,
Roidy
P.S. Geithner says we are making money from the TARP. I wonder if he needs bicycle tires?
P.P.S. I will post pix of my bike when I get the back tire fixed up. 1980 Peugeot.

Roidy says

These wonderful $60 tires have the clincher beads busted on them from being folded.

I looked at the tires in the racks below and found the Botrangers I wanted.

You should have walked out and found another shop.

Vicente says

You should have walked out and found another shop.

Dear Vincent,
Yes, I should have. One problem though, I live in a one horse town in N. Louisiana. One bike shop unless I want to wait on an on-line delivery of a bike tire.
Dammit.
Regards, Roidy

My lesson from this encounter at the counter: I try not to look like an idiot, but for the most part, I fear I'm failing at it.
Roidy nice post. I feel your pain. Last time I visited the shop I walked out with teflon coated brake cable (did I really need that)? And buying a rear wheel. Uhhh, no... that would cost more than the value of my bike. The guys in the repair area took pity on me and mounted the cassette for me after I got the house brand wheel (versus we'll build you one for an arm and a leg). They do end up being helpful, but you have to ask. Bought some new pedals and they let me borrow the tool to unscrew the old ones and put on the new ones(no thank you, I'll take the cheapest plastic ones). About the only accessory I've got (besides gear for hauling the kids) is Specialized Nimbus tires. Almost no flats, although I lost a chunk of tread from one of them, but I convinced the bike shop to replace it.
Headset, you definitely win the 'pimp my ride' award.

Bike parts are for some reason ridiculously overpriced. But it could be due to a lot of people being "into it", as in they're the same type of people who probably buy $6 loaves of gourmet bread and drive $60,000 cars.

I needed a new set of tires a few years back for mine. Seeing as how I seemed to always get punctures in the old ones I decided to go with some Kevlar tires. Anyway, there were a zillion different kinds. I wound up buying some generic n-name brand for $20 each. Some of these tires were as much as a car tire or more. Ridiculous. 3-4 years later the tires I bought are just fine.

edvard2 says

Bike parts are for some reason ridiculously overpriced. But it could be due to a lot of people being "into it", as in they're the same type of people who probably buy $6 loaves of gourmet bread and drive $60,000 cars.

I needed a new set of tires a few years back for mine. Seeing as how I seemed to always get punctures in the old ones I decided to go with some Kevlar tires. Anyway, there were a zillion different kinds. I wound up buying some generic n-name brand for $20 each. Some of these tires were as much as a car tire or more. Ridiculous. 3-4 years later the tires I bought are just fine.

Yeah - I may need to replace my crankset - fortunately it's only $27 on amazon.

My boss rides a $5k + Bianchi and is telling me I need a $500 crank..

Some people are just infatuated with having the latest and greatest super carbon titanium crap - that really doesn't make a difference.

Bike parts can go from cheap to super expensive. Don't "love" bikes... Love riding.

Nice to see you aren't afraid to let your "road bike" flag fly....sideways.

Pretty!

Gentle Readers,
I will try again. Here is my daily rider. I ride it to work 10 miles to and back most days.
I bought it at a garage sale for $25 about 8 years ago. It has needed a lot of repairs over the years. It was made in 1980, so it has had some wear and tear.
Regards,
Roidy
P.S. Did ya' hear that the gang at OWS is gearing up for another round of yelling at the banks and our US Gov't? This ought to be interesting. This is an election year for Obama. I find him less scary than the Republican Far Right, but O' is no less a puppet for these hugely rich criminals. We have an oligarchy. It is not our friend.

Roidy - sweet ride ! Love the classic road bike.

joshuatrio says

Roidy - sweet ride ! Love the classic road bike.

Gentle Reader,
Thank you. It is a lot of fun. Parts are dirt cheap, too. I had to have a new fork - $50 installed. I did spurge and get a new set of sealed head set bearings. I never have to grease them or adjust them or anything.
BTW, it's really fast and durable.

Regards,
Roidy, P.S. Fuck you! Lil Timmy Geithner! You tax cheat you! Bitches.

What do y'all think about rear hubs with internal gearing?

Seller locally is getting rid of a half-built long tail bike that includes a Nuvinci hub.

A promotional video I found:

http://youtu.be/56SDjxH1NuM

I'd add a nexus or alfine 8 speed to a bike with horizontal or semihorizontal dropouts. They're kind of pricey new though and I have no real need. They have a reputation to last. The older nuvinci hubs are a lot less common. They were super heavy, like half the weight of a light bike. But they had a rep for being tough. There may be lighter ones now. This is all second hand info. No personal experience.

Are these Nuvinci internal hubs sealed and maintenance free?

If so, one could couple it with a belt (instead of a chain) and have an upkeep free drive train. Would be real quiet, too.

HeadSet says

Are these Nuvinci internal hubs sealed and maintenance free?

If so, one could couple it with a belt (instead of a chain) and have an upkeep free drive train. Would be real quiet, too.

Supposed to be. Hmmm, drive belt is interesting idea.

I've been thinking about a Mundo Yuba, I think someone posted about it in another thread.

Started toying with the idea of buying the base bike, then trying to add electric assist for longer/easier cruising later. Perhaps the Nuvinci Harmony system.

A yuba or the kona or surly version would be nice if you carried heavy loads all of the time. I think xtracycles are probably enough if you have an old mtb.

The belt drives require a break in the chain stay (special bike). Otherwise, there is no way to get the belt on. It doesn't break and reassemble like a chain, which is how you get a chain on a bike. A chain on a single speed or internal gear hub is nearly silent. It is never out of adjustment and is in a perfect line, so it takes a lot longer to wear and is much quieter than a normal geared bike.