Yay! New Bike! [Now With Pics!] [56K!] [!!]!

[magic]

Of the pedally kind. None of this motorized malarkey for me.

Over the last month or two, i've been cleaning out my storage locker and have been finding bike parts everywhere. This morning, I sorted everything out and all of my "spares" and cast-offs have amounted to what is essentially a full 2005 Shimano XT build kit. The only exceptions are the cassette (XTR), brakes (Avid Single Digit 7's and Speed Dial 7 adjustable levers - which are leagues ahead of any of Shimano's rim brake options) and the hubs/wheelset (Sun Rhyno Lite rims on Shimano XTR hubs).

I packed up the parts and took them down to the LBS for a cleanup, and while i was chatting with the guys there while the stuff was being looked over, I noticed that there was an old GT Agressor 1.0 frame in Medium hanging on the wall at the back, covered in dust. The owner told me I could have it if i ran out and grabbed everyone a cup of coffee. $19 @ Starbucks later, the frame was in my trunk.

I got home and slapped everything together. Dug out my "spare" fork (Manitou Black Super Air 100/120) and threw it on - it even matches - and pulled down an old set of Panaracer FireXC tires.

Complete bike for $19. Parts were cleaned at no charge.

Complete, the whole thing clocks in at a stupendously light 23.5 pounds. Cleaned up, it looks like a new-off-the-shelf bike, one that would easily retail somewhere north of $2000. For four cups of coffee and a Biscotti.

Pics to follow as soon as i find my camera (in said storage locker). Silver frame with a red fork, red/black details on the frame and red sidewalled tires.

I'm a bit on the stunned side, really. Half that i built a well-specced bike so cheaply, half that I actually had a full race spec build kit's worth of parts lying in storage.

I think i'm going to call this one Biscotti.

[Hispanicgamer]

That's so cool! But.....

[ChrisGrenard]

I approve of this thread.

And of building *anything* with spare parts.

[tiny ogre]

That's pretty cool, but it's only $19 if you got all those parts free too

I'm taking my bike in for a "tuneup" next week. I haven't actually ridden it in a couple of years, but I'm going to start again, dammit. Going to get new tires, tubes, brake pads, and basically let them ream me for whatever the hell else they can convince me it needs

It was a $700 bike 8 years ago, and it's still perfectly good, it just needs a little love. I did ride it practically every day for three years, so I got my money's worth out of it, but I'm going to get some more.

[hitbyambulance]

i'll give you $50 for it.

[Jeff V]

Great deal! I'd like to see a picture, too!

The biking gods are pissed at me. Last year, a LBS gave me a set of Xero X1 rims (retail approx. $225). Two weeks ago, the rear rim cracked by one of the spokes, making it hard to keep the rim aligned and the wheel unreliable. Prior to this, a Mavic rim did the same thing. I guess aluminum isn't strong enough to sustain the constant pressure of my massive ass.

I'm trying to decide whether to continue throwing money at this bike (2000 Bianchi Volpe touring bike) or get something new. The owner of the LBS told me I'd have to resort to Fleabay for parts as it is, that Shimano no longer supports the shifters and gearset I have. The new bikes I'm looking at are in the $1200-1500 range, though, and could go a lot higher if I get wheels made out of an exotic material.

[fancydirt]

Sweet, can't wait to see the pics! I upgraded the last bike I bought (Marin Palisades) with spare parts that were nearly free so even though it only came with LX components, I have an XT rear deraileur and Avid Single Digit Ti brakes and levers.

Really hoping I can fit a road bike into the budget for this year to make the longer rides a bit less of a workout.

[magic]

Pics!

Sorry for the crappy quality, they were taken from my measly 2MP cameraphone.












I think it looks pretty sharp - especially for a "cheap" quickie build from spares. Took her out on a maiden ride today and it handles pretty well. The front end's not designed to be set up with a 5" fork, so i had to crank the adjustment down to 100MM - as a result it's a tiny little bit on the wandering side on slow climbs, but it's no worse than my iDrive which has become my all mountain beater. I've got a pic of that below, just because it was in the way earlier.

Had to switch out the XT rear derailleur after the ride to an LX. It was a short cage mech, and it was giving me a ton of trouble on the downshifts (it's a rapid-rise, so shifting is reversed from normal on the triggers - click up and thumb down instead of clicking down and thumbing up. Much easier shifting as the spring works WITH gravity instead of against it). I'm probably just going to pick up a new XT or XTR long cage in the winter blowouts.
Also, I've forgotten how good the WTB SpeedV saddles are.

here's a pic of the beater:

[magic]

and yes, i'm really a big fan of the Panaracer FireXC Pro's. They're great on NJ Hardpack trails, with low rolling resistance and sharp knobs on the edges for some great cornering speeds. It's a bi-directional tire, which makes it great to keep in a mule pack (as long as it's kevlar beaded) and i've NEVER had a flat from a pinched tube while using them. The ones on the Aggressor are the Kevlar beaded, the iDrive just has the cheap wire beads - which are still great. The way to tell them apart is the Kevlars don't have the "anti snakebite protection" printing on the sidewalls.

And it's damn near impossible to find these in any other color than red in a bike shop around here - if you can find them. They also sell them in blue and yellow. And in UST form. I have a set of them on my XC racer

[cheeba]

Gorgeous bike! And what a deal!

God I miss biking. Hope to pick it up again next spring.

[Hispanicgamer]

Not bad for a cameraphone! Awesome bikes!

[tiny ogre]

Not bad for a cameraphone!

No shit. That's an excellent camera phone right there. You should see mine. You have seen mine if you've read the right threads. "Jalapeno bread" will probably turn it up.

Nice bike too, but I'm way more impressed with the camera phone Does it actually have a flash? Man, my phone is so obsolete

[DonD]

That's just awesome, Magic.

Come Spring, we have to hook up for a ride.

[magic]

That's just awesome, Magic.

Come Spring, we have to hook up for a ride.

preferably off road... i've lost all enthusiasm for road riding, but yeah, I'd be up for meeting up for a ride.

[hitbyambulance]

i was out walking yesterday and i saw a bike being given away, just propped up on the intersection corner. very rare in this city! it's a GMC (yes, the auto manufacturer) Denali, but not actually made by GMC (licensed to Kent Bicycles). 2018 model, was in really good condition and looks like it was hardly used, but the tires were completely flat from probably sitting in a garage forever. i wheeled it home and checked the serial number on bikeindex - was never registered there. filled up the tires and tried it out. seemed to work fine (for a pretty low-end model) but it's got the 'road bike' geometry, which i am completely unused to.

https://kent.bike/products/700c-x-22-5- ... oad-denali

[Jaymann]

I upgraded my 56K for this?!?

[stimpy]

i was out walking yesterday and i saw a bike being given away, just propped up on the intersection corner.

THIEF!!!!

[hitbyambulance]

I upgraded my 56K for this?!?

you're going to need DSL for this one:

[coopasonic]

I've gotten rid of a few bikes the kids have outgrown by putting them out on the corner with a "free, as is" sign on them.

[YellowKing]

Well while we're here, let's trade bike pics

This is the one I bought last year. Elektra Loft.

I wanted something cruiser-ish but still had gears and hand brakes, so this was a nice hybrid. The only downside is that this thing was made for street riding - there's no shock absorption so you're not going to want to take it over potholes and heavily cracked sidewalks. I absolutely love it though. For roaming around the neighborhood with the kiddos, it's a blast.

[hitbyambulance]

Well while we're here, let's trade bike pics

This is the one I bought last year. Elektra Loft.

I wanted something cruiser-ish but still had gears and hand brakes, so this was a nice hybrid. The only downside is that this thing was made for street riding - there's no shock absorption so you're not going to want to take it over potholes and heavily cracked sidewalks. I absolutely love it though. For roaming around the neighborhood with the kiddos, it's a blast.

ehhhhh who needs shocks. how much does it weigh? i like the colors.

[Pyperkub]

I upgraded my 56K for this?!?

I wanted to know who paid 56k for a bike!

[YellowKing]

ehhhhh who needs shocks. how much does it weigh? i like the colors.

It's 30 pounds. I loved the color as well, that was what really sold me on it. I was torn between this one and an all black model from a different manufacturer that rode equally well, and ultimately the look of this one made the difference.

[Lassr]

I bought a bike last year also. Cracks me up seeing the 56k warning now on these older threads...

[EvilHomer3k]

Yeah, it takes milliseconds now for these pics. Kind of funny.

[Daehawk]

Looks like an old British army bike.

[Sudy]

A quick googling suggests about 50% of the U.S. had broadband connections at home by the end of 2006, so I guess these tags were still relevant. I think I'd had it for years by that point though.

I still can't believe we were posting here 15+ years ago, and that I actually remember some of these threads. Also miss some of these posters who are long or mostly gone.

[Daehawk]

I was on cable modem by then.

[Holman]

A quick googling suggests about 50% of the U.S. had broadband connections at home by the end of 2006, so I guess these tags were still relevant. I think I'd had it for years by that point though.

I still can't believe we were posting here 15+ years ago, and that I actually remember some of these threads. Also miss some of these posters who are long or mostly gone.

I remember logging on to Gone Gold at work because it was faster.

[Carpet_pissr]

I also chuckled at the 56K "warning", but it's been so long, I can't remember if that tag was to warn people using a 56K modem (or less), or something else.

Was it "if you aren't using at LEAST a 56K modem, don't even THINK about clicking on these MASSIVE pictures!"?

[Holman]

I also chuckled at the 56K "warning", but it's been so long, I can't remember if that tag was to warn people using a 56K modem (or less), or something else.

Was it "if you aren't using at LEAST a 56K modem, don't even THINK about clicking on these MASSIVE pictures!"?

[STILL LOADING]

[Jaymann]

[Blackhawk]

I also chuckled at the 56K "warning", but it's been so long, I can't remember if that tag was to warn people using a 56K modem (or less), or something else.

Was it "if you aren't using at LEAST a 56K modem, don't even THINK about clicking on these MASSIVE pictures!"?

That is what it was. A warning that there was an image-heavy thread. When I started hanging out with all y'all back in 2001 or so, I was on 26.6k dialup. A screenshot thread meant clicking the link and going and doing something else for a while.

[Daehawk]

I was on 26.6k dialup

28.8 perhaps?

[Lassr]

I was on 26.6k dialup

28.8 perhaps?

he couldn't afford the extra 2.2 back then!

[raydude]

After seeing both my girls have so much fun on their bikes I finally decided to buy my own. Last time I rode a bike was over 35 years ago. I did some research and decided I wanted a bike that let me ride upright and with as much comfort as possible. Something that let me relive my youth riding BMX bike days. So I went to a local bike shop, talked to the dude, just told him I hadn't ridden in over 35 years and wanted to ride with the girls. He pointed me to the Specialized Roll Sport and let me take it out for a test drive on the neighborhood streets.

I was a little wobbly but the bike felt good, so I bought it and took it home, along with a brand new bike helmet. The girls went out riding with me and had a great time "helping Daddy relearn how to ride a bike". Really looking forward to more daddy/daughter bike time.

[Jeff V]

Good deal, hope you learn to enjoy for your own health and not just as something to do with the kids.

This week both my kids leveled up to medium-sized kids bikes. They actually had them last year, but my son just learned to ride 2 wheels and found the larger bike unwieldy while my daughter couldn't make hers move. My son is fine this year on the larger bike, my daughter still struggles from time to time but first time out they both ditched daddy and I think made home a good 10 minutes before I did. Next time I took my bike, and my daughter couldn't go faster than idling speed for me. The larger bike is still a little much for her, and while it has "stabilizers" (her word for training wheels) I think she's still too small to handle it while trying to learn to ride 2 wheels.

[Daehawk]

Nice looking bike. I dont think Ive ever seen one without the cross bar. Or the nut breaker as I remember. Also the cranks seem really small. Always liked large turn cranks. I like that color though and the thicc tires.

[EvilHomer3k]

After seeing both my girls have so much fun on their bikes I finally decided to buy my own. Last time I rode a bike was over 35 years ago. I did some research and decided I wanted a bike that let me ride upright and with as much comfort as possible. Something that let me relive my youth riding BMX bike days. So I went to a local bike shop, talked to the dude, just told him I hadn't ridden in over 35 years and wanted to ride with the girls. He pointed me to the Specialized Roll Sport and let me take it out for a test drive on the neighborhood streets.

I was a little wobbly but the bike felt good, so I bought it and took it home, along with a brand new bike helmet. The girls went out riding with me and had a great time "helping Daddy relearn how to ride a bike". Really looking forward to more daddy/daughter bike time.

Nice. It's great to get out on a bike. So much fun especially with the kids.

[YellowKing]

Really looking forward to more daddy/daughter bike time.

That's why I originally bought my bike, and then the kids lost interest like they do with everything. Now I find myself riding far more than they do. Which is fine - I love the exercise, and it's a great change of pace from walking/running.