Impressed by "Novice" bike commuter

"MP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my fellow night shift workers was recently the victim of car theft. ...

<snippity>

Quoted message said:

While scouting around for a replacement car, he decided to buy a $90 K-mart bike and ride to and
from work on it. He also sprang for a battery light.

BTW, no need to explore the discount store bike theme again.

<snip snip>

It's not the bike, per se, that bugs me; but the tires. I presume they're ultra-heavy low-pressure
1.9" full-knobbies, right? Wow. Those really suck pedalling energy on pavement. If it's a
full-suspension bike, with those tires, it must be a real workout to ride 14+ miles on that bike.

Quoted message said:

His apartment is somewhere between 12 and 15 miles from work, taking the straight route on
the interstate. With the back roads he needed to use on a bike, figure an extra couple of
miles at least.

So, we're talking 16+ miles on back roads. That's a helluva commute, even in daylight and
good weather.

Quoted message said:

So for two nights in a row, this totally inexperienced rider just hopped on a bike and went for
it.... but he did it because he needed to...

Need is an effective motivator.

Quoted message said:

I gather that the shifting and brakes worked about as you might expect for a bike of this kind.

Y'know, people on usenet bike NG's do make a fuss about high-end components and all. I have 4
mountain bikes (5 if you count my MTB tandem). They're equipped with XT/XTR drivetrains, and none of
them shift very well at all. Hey, I know how to setup and adjust shifters and derailleurs. Ever
since I switched to 9-speed rear mechs, I've had problems that I've never had before.

Poor shifting isn't necessarily a function of dollars spent, or even of mechanical aptitude. Just
thought I'd add my $.02 on that point (since it's on my mind of late...).

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

That is so true. Our local Big Ten state university (30,000+ students) offers daily proof of the
determination of commuters to defy all reasonable safety precautions and basic bike maintenance to
get where they need to go on-the-cheap. It's commonplace to see dozens of rusted Huffies with wheels
wobbling badly, brakes almost non-functional, pedal bodies gone, shifters stuck in the top gear,
bottom bracket creaking and wobbling, tires badly underinflated, etc. They're terribly unsafe, and
about to fall apart under the riders. But this is what many local students ride to school, day in
and day out. They see the bike very differently than I do. The fact that it manages to get them to
school is good enough for them (even if they have to stop the bike Fred Flintstone style.)

Quoted message said:

Now that he has his car back, he plans to use his bike for local errands.

Well, I'd think that a few days of 4-hours-plus round trip commutes would cure him of any need to
commute to work by bicycle. He probably has better things to do with his time than huff and puff for
half of his free time like that, even if it is great exercise.

-=B=-

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

Whatever. Grind it out for a few years and it's mostly habit, anyway. The equipment is whatever
doesn't break and is suited to the climate and conditions.

Commuting is a fairly hard use of a bicycle, I'd say. A little maintenance here and there is always
a good idea, though.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

MP wrote on 10/1:

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

The toys are nice, but all you need to start out is the will to turn one revolution after another.
Congrats to your coworker, and I hope biking will become a life-long habit for him now.

Michael

In article <[email hidden]>,

MP said:

Now that he has his car back, he plans to use his bike for local errands.

If the car is a convertible, he could fill it with topsoil, plant an azalea or rhododendron in it,
and move it around in the front yard, to follow the sunlight. If the car's a hardtop, the Jaws of
Life would fix that. Hell, so would an hacksaw and a little bit of elbow grease.

Maybe pop the trunk lid, and plant some shade lovers like impatiens or diefenbachia or coleus in
there. The bike could be used to fetch the plants from the local garden centre.

A fountain, driven by the cooling system, shooting up from between the front & back seats would be a
nice touch. And some sunflowers, just to make things cheerful. And maybe some Tom Thumb tomatoes
sprawling on the hood.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

"MP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

I'm with you up to a point, but I've also known plenty of people who felt forced onto a bike, rode
it as long as they had to, and then turned their backs on it as soon as they were able, saying
"never again."

It was hard, it hurt, it was uncomfortable, it wasn't fun. It was made worse by an inappropriate
bike, poorly set up.

Immediate necessity is certainly a powerful motivator. It's not the only one, though, and it has the
downside of not being self-sustaining. As witness your co-worker's immediate reversion to driving as
soon as it was possible.

Nice that he's still riding at all, though.

RichC

MP <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

A few months ago my commuter bike was stolen. It was a worn down bike almost 10 years old that
worked well enough for me but I guess it looked better than it was. The jokes on the theif.

Now I ride an old K-mart special that a friend gave to me. It is heavy has a kickstand, and I'd
be ashamed of were a cycling friend to see me on it. But I can be sure that it will be there when
I get back.

I admire anyone who gets off their butt and tries something they haven't done. This guy has
my respect.

Andy

Quoted message said:

Now that he has his car back, he plans to use his bike for local errands.

Email address clumsily de-spammed.

MP

MP said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

Ya mean they didn't measure his femur and determine his correct seat tube angle at K-Mart? ;->

Art Harris

This reminds me a little of myself. I became a bike commuter suddenly and out of necessity (driver's
license was suspended). I began by riding a cheap mountain bike (Schwin Mesa) for the 10 mile
commute each way. I got in pretty good shape and actually grew to love the ride. I now have a nice
road bike and have to look for longer routes to take to work.

What makes me nervous is that when I get my license back, I don't want to stop commuting on my bike!
I have grown to "need" the ride. It is the one form of exercise that I love and now know I will
stick with.

The only time it stinks to ride is when it is cold and raining. Neither cold nor rain alone is too
bad, but the combination can be nasty ;-) So now that I'm getting my license back, I can chose which
days I ride! That's great! I guess most of you can relate to how great that is, but my non-riding
friends can't understand why I get so excited about this.

Cheers, Tom

MP <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Until recently, I commuted to work by bike regularly. 12 miles there, 14 miles back by a different
route. I stopped doing this when I was transferred to the 4:30 pm to 12:30 am evening shift. I've
got a decent lighting system, but I don't really feel like riding back after midnight every night.
I get my riding in during my off hours in the day time now.

One of my fellow night shift workers was recently the victim of car theft. His 10 year old Saturn
was stolen from in front of his apartment building. Several days later, it was found abandoned,
and not too badly damaged, but he didn't know this was going to happen, of course. I gave him a
ride to and from work the first night, but then went on vacation. While scouting around for a
replacement car, he decided to buy a $90 K-mart bike and ride to and from work on it. He also
sprang for a battery light.

BTW, no need to explore the discount store bike theme again. I agree that he would have been much
better off trying to find a usable $250 hybrid in a bike shop. The K-mart bike is what he actually
did get, on the theory that he needed to save as much money as possible for another car (no theft
insurance, just liability).

His apartment is somewhere between 12 and 15 miles from work, taking the straight route on
the interstate. With the back roads he needed to use on a bike, figure an extra couple of
miles at least.

So for two nights in a row, this totally inexperienced rider just hopped on a bike and went for
it. He says he ended up walking toward the tops of some hills, and it took him a couple of hours
each way, but he did it because he needed to. He says that his battery light was pretty
effective, but tended to run the batteries down rather quickly, so that he replaced them after
the first night. I gather that the shifting and brakes worked about as you might expect for a
bike of this kind.

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

Now that he has his car back, he plans to use his bike for local errands.

Email address clumsily de-spammed.

MP

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 01:21:01 -0500, "B. Sanders" <[email hidden]> from Prairienet, The Community

Network For East Central Illinois said:

They're equipped with XT/XTR drivetrains, and none of them shift very well at all. Hey, I know how
to setup and adjust shifters and derailleurs.

Or, maybe not. 🙂

--
home.sport.rr.comcuthuluOpen ↗ human rights = peace Alright, you!! Imitate a WOUNDED SEAL
pleading for a PARKING SPACE!!
1:47:17 AM 1 October 2003

In article said:

"MP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my fellow night shift workers was recently the victim of car theft. ...

<snippity>

Quoted message said:

While scouting around for a replacement car, he decided to buy a $90 K-mart bike and ride to and
from work on it. He also sprang for a battery light.

See below for my comments; I think he could have gone cheaper.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a
commute. Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes.
But this guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

True.

Quoted message said:

That is so true. Our local Big Ten state university (30,000+ students) offers daily proof of the
determination of commuters to defy all reasonable safety precautions and basic bike maintenance
to get where they need to go on-the-cheap. It's commonplace to see dozens of rusted Huffies with
wheels wobbling badly, brakes almost non-functional, pedal bodies gone, shifters stuck in the top
gear, bottom bracket creaking and wobbling, tires badly underinflated, etc. They're terribly
unsafe, and about to fall apart under the riders. But this is what many local students ride to
school, day in and day out. They see the bike very differently than I do. The fact that it
manages to get them to school is good enough for them (even if they have to stop the bike Fred
Flintstone style.)

My objection to these sorts of bikes is that they could be fixed for so little into something like a
really good bike. Chains, pedals, even BBs are really cheap.

Worse yet, garage sales offer an almost limitless supply of serviceable, _good_ bikes for little
cash. On the weekend, I picked up two bikes, one from a garage sale, one from my secret source, and
both cost me C$11. The $1 one was an amazingly good late-70s Apollo frame with Shimano 600
components but trashed wheels and notable frame damage.

The big $10 was spent on a rideable mid-80s Japanese Bianchi with nondescript Sakae and other
lesser-brand components. The combination of these two bikes will become my winter rain bike; if you
don't need indexing, you can find a lot of bicycle out there.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau said:

Worse yet, garage sales offer an almost limitless supply of serviceable, _good_ bikes for little
cash. On the weekend, I picked up two bikes, one

Good examples, and for a minor sacrifice in quality, you can pick up bikes that are being discarded
for free. The problem with that, for the OP's friend, is that he needed transportation NOW, not next
trash day or weekend.

--
Rick Onanian

In article said:

MP said:

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a
commute. Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes.
But this guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

Ya mean they didn't measure his femur and determine his correct seat tube angle at K-Mart? ;->

Art Harris

I hate it when they measure my femur at K-Mart.

hacker44240 said:

This reminds me a little of myself. I became a bike commuter suddenly and out of necessity
(driver's license was suspended). I began by riding a cheap mountain bike (Schwin Mesa) for the 10
mile commute each way. I got in pretty good shape and actually grew to love the ride. I now have a
nice road bike and have to look for longer routes to take to work.

What makes me nervous is that when I get my license back, I don't want to stop commuting on my
bike! I have grown to "need" the ride. It is the one form of exercise that I love and now know I
will stick with.

The only time it stinks to ride is when it is cold and raining. Neither cold nor rain alone is too
bad, but the combination can be nasty ;-) So now that I'm getting my license back, I can chose
which days I ride! That's great! I guess most of you can relate to how great that is, but my
non-riding friends can't understand why I get so excited about this.

Cheers, Tom

Tom Go to a decent outdoors store and get a truly waterproof cycling suit. Get big enough so you can
wear layers of your fave insulation underneath. Use the car late at night and weekends. Keep cycle
commuting. You've already said it is the good thing for you. I got back into riding daily and
commuting full time when our local transit system went on strike. I hadn't done a decent ride in
agout 5 years, and my car had finally crapped out. Sold the carcase of the old gas burner, rode
daily (even tho I stopped for a gentle puke nearly every ride during the first week). My lungs
became strong as did my legs. I lost about 35 pounds the first year. I used to ride about 12 kms to
work and suffer for it. For the last few years I can (and do) ride 100 kms+ to visit friends or just
to go someplace I want to go. I truly believe regular cycling will increase the quality of your
life, and will likely extend the duration of your existence (*I think u will live longer!*)

Very Best Regards, Bernie

Quoted message said:

MP <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Until recently, I commuted to work by bike regularly. 12 miles there, 14 miles back by a different
route. I stopped doing this when I was transferred to the 4:30 pm to 12:30 am evening shift. I've
got a decent lighting system, but I don't really feel like riding back after midnight every night.
I get my riding in during my off hours in the day time now.

One of my fellow night shift workers was recently the victim of car theft. His 10 year old Saturn
was stolen from in front of his apartment building. Several days later, it was found abandoned,
and not too badly damaged, but he didn't know this was going to happen, of course. I gave him a
ride to and from work the first night, but then went on vacation. While scouting around for a
replacement car, he decided to buy a $90 K-mart bike and ride to and from work on it. He also
sprang for a battery light.

BTW, no need to explore the discount store bike theme again. I agree that he would have been much
better off trying to find a usable $250 hybrid in a bike shop. The K-mart bike is what he actually
did get, on the theory that he needed to save as much money as possible for another car (no theft
insurance, just liability).

His apartment is somewhere between 12 and 15 miles from work, taking the straight route on
the interstate. With the back roads he needed to use on a bike, figure an extra couple of
miles at least.

So for two nights in a row, this totally inexperienced rider just hopped on a bike and went for
it. He says he ended up walking toward the tops of some hills, and it took him a couple of hours
each way, but he did it because he needed to. He says that his battery light was pretty
effective, but tended to run the batteries down rather quickly, so that he replaced them after
the first night. I gather that the shifting and brakes worked about as you might expect for a
bike of this kind.

"Serious" riders tend to a make a fuss over finding just the right equipment to use for a commute.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm certainly not recommending cheap discount store bikes. But this
guy is a reminder that what you mostly need is motivation.

Now that he has his car back, he plans to use his bike for local errands.

Email address clumsily de-spammed.

MP

"Kevan Smith" <[email hidden]/\/\> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 01:21:01 -0500, "B. Sanders" <[email hidden]> from Prairienet, The

Community Network For East Central Illinois said:

They're equipped with XT/XTR drivetrains, and none of them shift very well at

all.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hey, I know how to setup and adjust shifters and derailleurs.

Or, maybe not. 🙂

I guess *somebody* had to say it ;-)

Well, all of my other bikes shift beautifully, only the 9-speed bikes (all 3 of them) have problems.
I used Shimano-supplied cables and housing on two different all brand-new Shimano drivetrains on
brand-new frames. My new road bike, which has a beautiful and perfectly aligned Soulcraft Royale
frame, has an Ultegra/DuraAce drivetrain and Ultegra shifters. It will shift OK for a week or so,
then go out of trim. I'm always having to fiddle with the cable tension trim - much more than I've
ever had to in the past with 7- and 8-speed drivetrains.

On my new 9-speed mountain bike, the problems are very similar. It's a brand-new Easton frame with
new LX shifters, XTR rear derailleur and XT chain,. The LX shifters seem to be the problem. Shift
detents are vague (as they are with Ultegra), and the action is waaay too light. I'm always
over-shifting, or under-shifting because I can't feel the detents easily. The LX shifters are *very*
sensitive. You have to "punch" them just right, or they mis-shift. If you press the downshift thumb
lever too slowly, the derailleur can either miss the shift, or shift poorly (leaving the derailleur
off-center of the cog). I've tried correcting for this vague and unpredictable shifting with a
little bit of cable tension trim biasing (ever-so-slightly preferring up- or down-shifts). It helps;
but doesn't cure the problem. I'm constantly adjusting the cable tension trim, and no single setting
seems to completely cure the shifting problems through the entire range, on both up- and
down-shifts. IOW: I can count on some good shifts, and some mis-shifts, every time I ride. It's not
a matter of set-up problems. Setting up indexed shifting on the workstand is easy. Getting these
9-sp LX shifters to behave is quite another thing.

Since I'm having basically identical problems on all three of my current 9-speed bikes (one of which
was setup by a pro mechanic, not by me), I have to conclude that there is something inherently
flawed in the design of the shifting system. Again, I restate: Never had these kinds of problems
before I switched to 9-speed STI and RapidFire.

The M5 Low Racer (recumbent) that owned briefly in 2002 had a 9-speed
XT/DuraAce/Veloce hybrid drivetrain, featuring the best shifters on the planet: Dura Ace bar-cons.
That bike had zero shifting problems, despite the gigantic chain length (3x normal chain length)
and extra-long fully-housed cables. Because that 7 1/2-ft-long monster recumbent shifted so
perfectly with the D/A 9sp bar-cons, I'm increasingly of the belief that 9-sp STI brifters and
RapidFire+ shifters are the problem. As a result, I will probably go with all Campy for my next
road bike (9-speed, not 10-speed). I'm not sure what to do about the mountain bikes; but I'm
thinking about trying the Forge thumbshifter mounts for DuraAce bar-cons. That should be the
perfect setup for 9-sp. I've had nothing but good luck with Shimano bar-cons and thumbshifters.

-=B=-

In article said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

Worse yet, garage sales offer an almost limitless supply of serviceable, _good_ bikes for little
cash. On the weekend, I picked up two bikes, one

Good examples, and for a minor sacrifice in quality, you can pick up bikes that are being
discarded for free. The problem with that, for the OP's friend, is that he needed transportation
NOW, not next trash day or weekend.

Which is why good cyclists are _always_ working on a project bike they can give away!

What, you didn't know the standards had risen?

But really: you've already built your road bike, your MTB, maybe your alternate MTB (so you have a
hardtail and an FS), and your rain bike.

And yet good bikes are still going for nothing at garage sales, dumps, and just being left out with
the trash.

Go out there, spend the $10 next time you see a non-apalling 20-year-old road bike for sale. bring
it home. Repeat a couple times. You now have enough parts to create some decent bikes. Turn 'em into
fixies in the meantime. Whatever you like. Then, when a friend complains that they don't have a car,
offer them a bike. When a friend wants to come for a ride, offer them a bike. When you see someone
walking home from their ride with a two-piece frame, offer them a bike.

Heck, set them up with newbie-friendly flat bars and point them to a good source for fenders. Keep
the drop bars for when they want to go faster. Then put on your best evil grin, and turn them into
full roadies. Eventually you'll sell them on trying clips, or clipless. Then they're sold. You won't
win over everyone, but what the heck, your investment into them is $10 and some hobby-labour, and
they'll probably give the bike back if they don't like it anyways.

The secret is that by riding on relatively narrow, (and more importantly) slick tires, these riders
will automatically be faster than they would be on the knobby-equipped Wal-Goose they could have
bought for $100. And if you're doing it right, they'll fit the bike properly, which will help
immensely.

I don't give away a lot of bikes, but my dad is riding my last $10 bike, a soulful old tourer. The
Bianchi is going to be a useful rain bike, at least until someone else needs a bike more. Either
that or I'll make the Apollo rideable, or I'll salvage Dad's old Free Spirit, though that is
currently designated as the starting point for the Lamest Velodrome Bike Ever.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Quoted message said:

I hate it when they measure my femur at K-Mart.

i think that k-mart femur measurement is acceptable. last week, for example, i needed a new one. how
else could K-mart properly replace my thigh bone without measuring my existing one first? K-mart:
femurs yes, bikes no. alfred klek

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

Worse yet, garage sales offer an almost limitless supply of

serviceable,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

_good_ bikes for little cash. On the weekend, I picked up two bikes,

one

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Good examples, and for a minor sacrifice in quality, you can pick up bikes that are being
discarded for free. The problem with that, for the OP's friend, is that he needed transportation
NOW, not next trash day or weekend.

Which is why good cyclists are _always_ working on a project bike they can give away!

What, you didn't know the standards had risen?

But really: you've already built your road bike, your MTB, maybe your alternate MTB (so you have a
hardtail and an FS), and your rain bike.

And yet good bikes are still going for nothing at garage sales, dumps, and just being left out
with the trash.

Go out there, spend the $10 next time you see a non-apalling 20-year-old road bike for sale. bring
it home. Repeat a couple times. You now have enough parts to create some decent bikes. Turn 'em
into fixies in the meantime. Whatever you like. Then, when a friend complains that they don't have
a car, offer them a bike. When a friend wants to come for a ride, offer them a bike. When you see
someone walking home from their ride with a two-piece frame, offer them a bike.

Heck, set them up with newbie-friendly flat bars and point them to a good source for fenders. Keep
the drop bars for when they want to go faster. Then put on your best evil grin, and turn them into
full roadies. Eventually you'll sell them on trying clips, or clipless. Then they're sold. You
won't win over everyone, but what the heck, your investment into them is $10 and some
hobby-labour, and they'll probably give the bike back if they don't like it anyways.

The secret is that by riding on relatively narrow, (and more importantly) slick tires, these
riders will automatically be faster than they would be on the knobby-equipped Wal-Goose they could
have bought for $100. And if you're doing it right, they'll fit the bike properly, which will help
immensely.

I don't give away a lot of bikes, but my dad is riding my last $10 bike, a soulful old tourer. The
Bianchi is going to be a useful rain bike, at least until someone else needs a bike more. Either
that or I'll make the Apollo rideable, or I'll salvage Dad's old Free Spirit, though that is
currently designated as the starting point for the Lamest Velodrome Bike Ever.

We are on the same page, Ryan. This is my philosophy in a nutshell. It also explains why I have 11
bikes and a recumbent trike in my basement shop, several of which were saved from dumpsters. I'm
at the stage where I don't even go to garage sales anymore, because I know I'll be hauling home a
bike or two every weekend. But the thought of nice, useful older bike being destroyed in an
instant by the hydraulic ram on a garbage truck is what keeps me on the look out for abandoned
bikes wherever I go.

-Barry

Ryan Cousineau said:

And yet good bikes are still going for nothing at garage sales, dumps, and just being left out with
the trash.

Go out there, spend the $10 next time you see a non-apalling 20-year-old road bike for sale. bring
it home. Repeat a couple times. You now have enough parts to create some decent bikes. Turn 'em
into fixies in the

Indeed, that is one of the things I plan to do with my collection of garbage-bikes: a single speed,
a fixie, etc. The rest I figured to fix and sell at a yard sale; I can't have too many bikes living
permanently in my gf's dad's garage. One of them will be given to my gf's aunt for free, once I fix
it up, though.

Quoted message said:

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

I don't think ol' Fabby would appreciate your philosophy as you've described above (and in the parts
I snipped).

--
Rick Onanian

In article said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

And yet good bikes are still going for nothing at garage sales, dumps, and just being left out
with the trash.

Go out there, spend the $10 next time you see a non-apalling 20-year-old road bike for sale.
bring it home. Repeat a couple times. You now have enough parts to create some decent bikes. Turn
'em into fixies in the

Indeed, that is one of the things I plan to do with my collection of garbage-bikes: a single
speed, a fixie, etc. The rest I figured to fix and sell at a yard sale; I can't have too many
bikes living permanently in my gf's dad's garage. One of them will be given to my gf's aunt for
free, once I fix it up, though.

Quoted message said:

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni
Fan Club

I don't think ol' Fabby would appreciate your philosophy as you've described above (and in the
parts I snipped).

Hey, the last garage-sale bike was a Bianchi. Just don't tell him it was steel.

Steel is a deal,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club