Show "Bicycle"

Last edited:
It rained yesterday here in LA and usually the next day air is clean and the sun is out! It's the best time to do outdoor activities. Anyways, I decided to do the Griffith Park hill climb again to the Griffith Observatory. On the descent, I take one of the back fire roads and today it was filled with puddles, loose gravel and lots of pot holes, perfect for the downhill! There were many other cyclists out today and one thing I noticed with geared road cyclists is that they'll default to their lowest gear, while sacrificing speed. In my case, with one gear I have to peddle hard through the steep sections and then I relax at the leveled road sections to catch my breath. Also road cyclists seem to forget they're on a closed road (no cars) and maintain a very narrow line. In my case I zig-zag the entire width of the road, because it's the only way I can keep up my momentum. I actually passed up a few geared riders! It's painful, but I certainly feel like reaching the top is much more satisfying and going downhill is way fun! :D

road_bike.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


road_bike_02.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
I just ordered a 2nd single speed bike! It's the same exact bike as the one I currently own, but I bought it used and one size smaller. I plan to run this bike as my road bike with high gears and more aggressive stem and seat post and I'll have my current bike setup as my uphill bike with low gears and comfort in mind.
 
I just ordered a 2nd single speed bike! It's the same exact bike as the one I currently own, but I bought it used and one size smaller. I plan to run this bike as my road bike with high gears and more aggressive stem and seat post and I'll have my current bike setup as my uphill bike with low gears and comfort in mind.
"I like it so much, I bought it twice."
 
"I like it so much, I bought it twice."
Originally I wanted a 2nd wheel set so I could have access to slicks and knobby tires without having to constantly take them off the rim and I could just swap the wheels depending on terrain. After doing some research, there's practically a non-existent aftermarket for 120mm rear disc hub 700c wheels (unless I build my own), so my other option was to convert to rim brakes in order to get access to different wheel sets.

I did a little shopping around and found my same bike used with a broken fork. I was thinking of just buying it for the wheels, but I sourced a replacement fork on Ebay and decided it was just more economical to buy the whole bike. The frame is one size smaller than my current bike, but I was thinking I could run this bike as the road bike since it comes with a larger chainring (46t) and set it up with a more aggressive seat post height and longer stem. I actually had to size down the stem on my current bike because the reach was a bit too long. Plus after perusing my local Craigslist and FB marketplace, I couldn't find any modern 4130 chromoly frame SS bikes for under $200 USD and whatever was listed was either way too expensive or old and rusted.

Plus like my cameras, I'm a bit OCD with having backup bodies...only problem is that I can't fit two bikes in my bag! :roflmao:
 
Jonathan, you're a bad influence. :D My wife walked in and caught me surfing eBay this morning. "You're not thinking of buying another bike frame, are you?". Me: "Ummm, well, I've been thinking about it." Her: "Sigh! You must be a glutton for punishment."

Sooooo, this is headed my way. A frame for a 1999 Specialized Crossroads Sport, a hybrid bike with a chromoly frame. I'm planning to strip my Trek Verve 3 of its wheels, brakes, and all the associated hardware and build myself a 700C steel frame 1X cruiser. I tried the single speed route for a while on the first bike I built, and while I do keep my bikes in the same gear about 95% of the time, it is nice to have options if the terrain gets too tough to grind it out. I'm really liking the steel frame 27.5/650B "monstercross" bike I completed on Christmas day, and this will give me two steel frame bikes. I think I'm done with aluminum. I'm planning to put both of the aluminum 700C frames I now have up for sale once this project is finished.

1999 Crossroads Sport.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Jonathan, you're a bad influence. :D My wife walked in and caught me surfing eBay this morning. "You're not thinking of buying another bike frame, are you?". Me: "Ummm, well, I've been thinking about it." Her: "Sigh! You must be a glutton for punishment."

Sooooo, this is headed my way. A frame for a 1999 Specialized Crossroads Sport, a hybrid bike with a chromoly frame. I'm planning to strip my Trek Verve 3 of its wheels, brakes, and all the associated hardware and build myself a 700C steel frame 1X cruiser. I tried the single speed route for a while on the first bike I built, and while I do keep my bikes in the same gear about 95% of the time, it is nice to have options if the terrain gets too tough to grind it out. I'm really liking the steel frame 27.5/650B "monstercross" bike I completed on Christmas day, and this will give me two steel frame bikes. I think I'm done with aluminum. I'm planning to put both of the aluminum 700C frames I now have up for sale once this project is finished.

View attachment 247519
Awesome! I can't wait to see your bike build! 👍
 
Here's one more puddle shot from yesterday and this morning I went road cycling with a buddy. For this ride we went through the Valley which is fairly flat terrain in this part of LA. My friend thinks I should get a geared bike, but in my mind a high gear single speed would be ideal! Also I was amazed at how light carbon bikes are even when fully loaded with water and accessories!

hard_ride.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


DSC_7015.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Oh yes. The LBS owner loaned me his all carbon Trek Stache MTB when I was looking at new bikes early last year. Although I'm not a true mountain biker, I remember taking that thing out into a local state recreation area on a rainy January day was a blast. I was able to climb trails I'd always had to walk my bike up before that.
 
The 31.8mm adapters for my Rixen & Kaul mount arrived today, just 3 days after ordering them from a bike store in the upper midwest US. $11 for four of them, including shipping. A source in the UK wanted $11 plus shipping for just two of them. They allow my camera bag to be mounted under the loop and close to the stem, as opposed to out front and high when mounted to the smaller diameter loop. I bought a set for each of my bicycles.

DSCF3812.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DSCF3816.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Oh yes. The LBS owner loaned me his all carbon Trek Stache MTB when I was looking at new bikes early last year. Although I'm not a true mountain biker, I remember taking that thing out into a local state recreation area on a rainy January day was a blast. I was able to climb trails I'd always had to walk my bike up before that.
Carbon is nuts. I'm sure I've lugged around camera gear heavier than my friend's carbon bike. Also he was running an Ultegra groupset and that bike shifted like butter. Though every time we hit rough terrain on the road my buddy had to be extra careful, while my bike absorbed the road bumps a lot easier. The difference between our bikes is like bicep curling a 15 lbs. dumbbell versus a 25 lbs. + dumbbell! The latter being much heavier!

Anyways, this will probably be the last time I run the gravel slicks on my purple bike, I switched back to knobby tires and will have this bike emphasize on daily riding and hill climbs. The other frame arrived and I swapped the gravel slicks to that bike. It's running a bigger 46t chainring, so I need acclimate myself to the higher gear.
 
I've been watching videos on the history of mountain biking, and how some of the legends of that era were racing old 1940s beaters off a mountaintop in Marin County, CA in the late 70s. Just piling a dozen or more people and their bikes in the back of a huge and ancient pickup, riding to the top, and flying down a dirt road sans helmet. Those old 1970s videos are a hoot. Just a bunch of young guys who refused to cut their hair so they could ride in "proper" bike races. Guys like Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, Tom Ritchie, and Joe Breeze weren't out to create history - they just wanted to ride and have fun.

Makes me want to go out and start scouring barns and garages for an old 1940s Schwinn Flyer. And I'm not even a real mountain biker. GAS comes in many forms.
 
Back
Top