Carl Fogel said:After the first five rides, it seems as if the Fury Roadmaster ($53.71
at LawTram, plus tax) deserves its own thread. (If nothing else, this
will keep this bicycle-shaped object from soiling other threads in
rec.bicycles.tech.)
Previous and overly detailed posts regarding this triumph of the bicycle-
industry's art may be seen at:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-
8&selm=c255ll%241k10%241%40f04n12.cac.psu.edu
or
http://tinyurl.com/3cucphttp://tinyurl.com/3cucp
(which is where Dave Van Tol started it all)
and at:
s.google.com/groups?q=g:thl2912196017d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-
8&selm=ZXv1c.8302%24Xb5.2972%40fe01.usenetserver.com
http://tinyurl.com/yqv8ghttp://tinyurl.com/yqv8g
(which is where Tom Sherman should have let sleeping dogs
lie). Both posts are part of long and foolish exchanges.)
As gloomily predicted, my expensive new bicycle suffered a potentially
serious mechanical problem that can only be blamed upon inadequate setup
by the overpaid slackers who took my money!
Pedalling furiously around my four-mile route through the city park like
Benny Hill, I noticed that my left thumb shifter did not seem as fixed
and reliable as Julius Caesar, who likened himself to the North Star.
Several times, either vibration or my clumsy paw moved the lever
from "H" toward "L," whereupon the front derailleur began to make a
faint noise, as if thinking about putting its hand on the chain's
knee--curses!
I considered posting a plea for advice, but feared that Sheldon Brown,
famed for his short tempered unwillingness to suffer fools gladly, might
lecture me severely.
(Besides, Sheldon is a fixed-gear fanatic and may know nothing about
sophisticated thumb-shifters. Why do so many dealers become fixed-gear
freaks? Is it a reaction to the endless shifting problems that they see,
somewhat like bouncers in a topless bar losing interest in--well you get
the idea.)
Luckily, I have a pre-publication copy of Jobst Brandt's "The Left-Hand
Thumb Shifter" (Huffy Press, 12th edition, 2005, $49.95). It counseled
pre-tensioning the triple-ring shifter by rotating its honkin' big cross-
head screw clockwise "until the handlebar begins to yield locally."
The shifter now seems much improved, but woe to those who forgo the
services of the local bike shop!
Carl Fogel
Since the Fury RoadMaster is used solely for serious testing purposes,
not idle pleasure, its rugged kickstand was removed to reduce weight and
to exercise my 8mm allen key.
Curiously, kickstands are almost ignored on rec.bicycles.tech, where
posters are willing to argue about almost anything.
Performance does not even sell a kickstand.
Nashbar offers a single sleek, handsome kickstand for $5.
BikeToolsEtc offers two kickstand models, one for $4 and the other for
$9. (They also offer a $26 tool for working on $5 kickstands, a good
example of the bicycle industry's practical attitude.)
Why have kickstands vanished in the U.S.? Is this a sign of how bicycles
have changed from practical transportation to mere pleasure? Is it that
bicycles are now always stored inside? Are they always leaned against
something solid and locked to it? Are bike racks so common that there's
no need for a kickstand?
Cost doesn't seem to be the culprit. Only inexpensive bicycles like the
Fury RoadMaster include kickstands. The more expensive the bicycle, the
less likely it is to sport a kickstand.
It's not that a kickstand is useless. Now that it's nearly summer, I
often see bicycles lying on the ground next to the asphalt path along
the Arkansas River, laid down by riders impatient to get a closer look
at the turtles in the ponds. Other bicycles sprawl the highway
shoulders, where there's nothing to lean them against when a few riders
stop to swarm around a mechanical problem or a flat tire.
(I scorn such practical parking techniques and simply flip my touring
bike upside-down onto its seat and handlebars whenever I stop, a
practice that I gather outrages some posters, but which I find quite
convenient.)
Am I mistaken about the kickstand vanishing? What percentage of
rec.bicycles.tech posters will admit to using kickstands?
Carl Fogel
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