First mail-order bike, and first used bike from aless-thank-knowledgeable rider.

Overall, I feel I got a good deal on a decent bike. I think it would
have been problems galore for someone who wasn’t handy with the tools,
considering it’s “great condition and ready to ride” advertised
state. All in all, about what I’d expect from a mail order discount
bike. I’m happy. Wish me and the bike luck – the testing starts
today.

What did ya pay--less than half of what a similar bike shop bike would
cost?

Are you basing that ("less than half") on what bikesdirect.com claims
the retail value for their bikes is, or have you actually made
comparisons to bikes at a shop? I have yet to see a bikesdirect.com
claim for retail value that isn't greatly exaggerated.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"landotter" wrote in message
...
On Oct 7, 11:59 am, " wrote:

Overall, I feel I got a good deal on a decent bike. I think it would
have been problems galore for someone who wasn’t handy with the tools,
considering it’s “great condition and ready to ride” advertised
state. All in all, about what I’d expect from a mail order discount
bike. I’m happy. Wish me and the bike luck – the testing starts
today.

What did ya pay--less than half of what a similar bike shop bike would
cost? Ya, with some fiddling, you got a deal, that's how the
bikesdirect crap works--but they gimp you on the hubs. When you trash
them, you can rebuild on a SA three rear and mount up some Fat Frak
Schwalbes and have a freaky cool town bike. ;-)

On Oct 7, 5:38*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
Overall, I feel I got a good deal on a decent bike. I think it would
have been problems galore for someone who wasn’t handy with the tools,
considering it’s “great condition and ready to ride” advertised
state. All in all, about what I’d expect from a mail order discount
bike. I’m happy. Wish me and the bike luck – the testing starts
today.
What did ya pay--less than half of what a similar bike shop bike would
cost?

Are you basing that ("less than half") on what bikesdirect.com claims
the retail value for their bikes is, or have you actually made
comparisons to bikes at a shop? I have yet to see a bikesdirect.com
claim for retail value that isn't greatly exaggerated.

Around here, a similar spec single speed mtb runs $600--800. I don't
look at their "retail"pricing. If you know how to wrench, and how they
gimp you on some stuff, it's a deal, if you're gonna take to a bike
shop for assembly and suffer not having support, it's not a deal.

Bikesdirect is neither good nor evil, just a place that sells a
commodity. If you need a relationship with a bike shop--then go to a
bike shop. People shouldn't expect to open a boxed "Motobecane" and
not have to build it up properly--just like people at a bike shop do
with their bikes.

On Oct 7, 5:42*pm, Chalo wrote:
DanKMTB wrote:

The next thing I noticed was a loose headset. *The PO had installed a
Cane Creek S9, and apparently gaffed something. *Upon pulling the cap,
I could see the steerer was bottomed out against the cap. *Ever try to
trim 1/8” off a steerer tube with a pipe cutter? *PITA, but doable. *I
could have used another spacer, bud didn’t see myself wanting the stem
any higher than it already was (already using a few spacers) and
besides, I didn’t have one handy in 1-1/8”. *

You pull off the stem, subtract one wide spacer and add a narrow one,
then put the stem back on and put the wide spacer on top of it.

I'm aware of the process of adding or exchanging spacers. All of my
bikes have some spacers. However, as I said, I don't see myself ever
wanting the stem any higher than it already is. In fact, after riding
home tonight, a nice mix of on and off road, I decided that I'm going
to lower the stem a spacer or two (something I already suspected from
puttering around the driveway, but needed a good ride to confirm). I
also didn't have any 1 1/8th spacers, which means that had I followed
your procedure I still would not have had a chance to ride the bike.


I disapprove of cutting fork steer tubes. *

Fortunately, you don't need to approve, as it's not your bike. I'm
perfectly happy with the setup, and it's my bike, so it seems to me
all is well.


It's like hacking the
sleeves off a dress shirt instead of rolling them up-- sure, it
accomplishes the immediate job, but it diminishes the intrinsic value
of the thing.

I disagree. Cutting the sleeves off of a dress shirt will ruin the
look and arguably function (being dressy) of a dress shirt. Cutting
down a long steerer does none of this. Some forks come with
ridiculously long steerer tubes. It makes sense to cut them down.

The last new fork I installed was a Marz. From the marz instructions/
website:

"A threadless steer tube is pre-installed on the fork from the
factory. It will need to be cut to the required length for a proper
fit."

I'm going to trust Marz., along with my regular bike shops, to know
how to install a fork. Leave some spacers for adjustability? Sure.
Never cut a steer tube? No way.

The head tube on this bike is 4.25". Most new forks seem to come with
8"-8.5" steer tubes, along with instructions to cut them to size.
You're suggesting that the right way to do it is to use 3.75" - 4.25"
of spacers? No thanks.

On Oct 7, 6:38*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
Overall, I feel I got a good deal on a decent bike. I think it would
have been problems galore for someone who wasn’t handy with the tools,
considering it’s “great condition and ready to ride” advertised
state. All in all, about what I’d expect from a mail order discount
bike. I’m happy. Wish me and the bike luck – the testing starts
today.
What did ya pay--less than half of what a similar bike shop bike would
cost?

Are you basing that ("less than half") on what bikesdirect.com claims
the retail value for their bikes is, or have you actually made
comparisons to bikes at a shop? I have yet to see a bikesdirect.com
claim for retail value that isn't greatly exaggerated.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

When I say I paid well less than half, I'm basing it on what I have
seen in bike shops, and what I paid. As stated, I bought this bike
used, for a smidge over 1/2 what it would have cost to get it from
bikesdirect, completely disregarding the suggested MSRP.

What's the cheapest 29er you guys sell? I'd be surprised if you had
any bikes at all for what I paid for this, and I'd be surprised to
learn you had any mountain bikes at all (excluding childrens bikes)
for less than double what I paid.

This bike is $400 from bikes direct, although I paid substantially
less. What do you guys carry in that price range?

wrote:

Now for a rack and some extra-wide fenders, of either the ultra-rugged
or quick-release variety Then again, maybe I should hold off on
any ordering until I determine if I’m gonna need a crank arm. I might
buy the rack locally anyway, make sure I get something that works with
this bike.

Not sure where you are, but I saw sone really nice Axiom Journey racks
at the local Sports Basement. They had a much better selection than REI
or any of the local bike stores. They also have a good selection of
fenders. It's pretty rare to find a store that has a good selection of
bicycle accessories around my area. One good thing about the Axiom racks
is that you can buy some of the Tubus long brackets to mount them, since
the brackets that come with most racks are too short.

On Oct 7, 6:20*pm, " wrote:
*Leave some spacers for adjustability? *Sure.
Never cut a steer tube? *No way.

The head tube on this bike is 4.25". *Most new forks seem to come with
8"-8.5" steer tubes, along with instructions to cut them to size.
You're suggesting that the right way to do it is to use 3.75" - 4.25"
of spacers? *No thanks.

But think of the accessories you could mount!

BTW--I agree, my main two bikes have ~1cm of spacers above the stem--
much more than that starts to look a little unkempt--but that's when
you either flip your stem or swap it out. Spacers are strictly for
trimming height.

On Oct 7, 7:56*pm, SMS wrote:
wrote:
Now for a rack and some extra-wide fenders, of either the ultra-rugged
or quick-release variety *Then again, maybe I should hold off on
any ordering until I determine if I’m gonna need a crank arm. *I might
buy the rack locally anyway, make sure I get something that works with
this bike.

Not sure where you are, but I saw sone really nice Axiom Journey racks
at the local Sports Basement. They had a much better selection than REI
or any of the local bike stores. They also have a good selection of
fenders. It's pretty rare to find a store that has a good selection of
bicycle accessories around my area. One good thing about the Axiom racks
is that you can buy some of the Tubus long brackets to mount them, since
the brackets that come with most racks are too short.

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, I'm on the other side of the
country - MA/NH. I'll keep the Axiom racks in mind for the long
bracket ability, however. At this point I'm thinking I'll mail-order
myself some fenders and buy a rack locally. I'd like to take
advantage of the sale on that Topeak @ REI & burn up some dividends,
but I'm thinking I should get settled with some fenders first to make
sure the rack I end up with will fit over the fenders. By the time I
get the fenders, the sale will be over. I wonder how long REI will
hold a product if you order it shipped to store? If I ordered the
fenders tomorrow, I'd have them next week and could then go by REI
with my bike to pick it up. If it doesn't fit, simply return it,
without ever leaving the parking lot. Hm... I might be on to
something here...

DanKMTB wrote:

Chalo wrote:

I disapprove of cutting fork steer tubes. *

Fortunately, you don't need to approve, as it's not your bike. *I'm
perfectly happy with the setup, and it's my bike, so it seems to me
all is well.

It's like hacking the
sleeves off a dress shirt instead of rolling them up-- sure, it
accomplishes the immediate job, but it diminishes the intrinsic value
of the thing.

The last new fork I installed was a Marz. *From the marz instructions/
website:

"A threadless steer tube is pre-installed on the fork from the
factory. It will need to be cut to the required length for a proper
fit."

I'm going to trust Marz., along with my regular bike shops, to know
how to install a fork. *Leave some spacers for adjustability? *Sure.
Never cut a steer tube? *No way.

Whatever. If you have a midget bike to accommodate, so be it. I'm
usually doing well just to find a fork that comes with a steerer
longer than the head tube of my bike. When I go to Yellow Bike
Project for parts, I can choose from multitudes of forks for itty
bitty frames that can now be used on, well, other itty bitty frames.
Good thing they avoided having any extra spacers!

Remember that Marzocchi is much more interested in you buying another
fork in the near future than in you being able to productively
repurpose the fork you already bought.

The head tube on this bike is 4.25". Most new forks seem to come with
8"-8.5" steer tubes, along with instructions to cut them to size.
You're suggesting that the right way to do it is to use 3.75" - 4.25"
of spacers? No thanks.

4.25" + 1.25" HS stack height + 2" stem clamp = 7.5" stack height.
Sure, you could use a shorter headset and a stem with a shorter clamp
and cut away all the excess, but then you are constrained to equal or
shorter replacement parts. You're out of luck if you want to swap the
fork to a frame with a longer head tube. If you get injured or for
some other reason you want to raise your bars temporarily, you have to
get different bars or a taller stem instead of just rearranging a
couple of spacers. These seem like some relatively useful things to
give up for the questionable benefit of not having extra spacers.

Chalo

On Oct 7, 11:42*pm, Chalo wrote:
DanKMTB wrote:

Chalo wrote:

I disapprove of cutting fork steer tubes. *

Fortunately, you don't need to approve, as it's not your bike. *I'm
perfectly happy with the setup, and it's my bike, so it seems to me
all is well.

It's like hacking the
sleeves off a dress shirt instead of rolling them up-- sure, it
accomplishes the immediate job, but it diminishes the intrinsic value
of the thing.

The last new fork I installed was a Marz. *From the marz instructions/
website:

"A threadless steer tube is pre-installed on the fork from the
factory. It will need to be cut to the required length for a proper
fit."

I'm going to trust Marz., along with my regular bike shops, to know
how to install a fork. *Leave some spacers for adjustability? *Sure..
Never cut a steer tube? *No way.

Whatever. *If you have a midget bike to accommodate, so be it. *I'm
usually doing well just to find a fork that comes with a steerer
longer than the head tube of my bike. *When I go to Yellow Bike
Project for parts, I can choose from multitudes of forks for itty
bitty frames that can now be used on, well, other itty bitty frames.
Good thing they avoided having any extra spacers!

Remember that Marzocchi is much more interested in you buying another
fork in the near future than in you being able to productively
repurpose the fork you already bought.

The head tube on this bike is 4.25". *Most new forks seem to come with
8"-8.5" steer tubes, along with instructions to cut them to size.
You're suggesting that the right way to do it is to use 3.75" - 4.25"
of spacers? *No thanks.

4.25" + 1.25" HS stack height + 2" stem clamp = 7.5" stack height.
Sure, you could use a shorter headset and a stem with a shorter clamp
and cut away all the excess, but then you are constrained to equal or
shorter replacement parts. *You're out of luck if you want to swap the
fork to a frame with a longer head tube. *If you get injured or for
some other reason you want to raise your bars temporarily, you have to
get different bars or a taller stem instead of just rearranging a
couple of spacers. *These seem like some relatively useful things to
give up for the questionable benefit of not having extra spacers.

Chalo

Is there any particular benefit to having a very long head tube? (vs.
having more rise in the stem, if stems were made with that much rise)
Seems beyond a certain point it can only make the frame more flexible,
and from experience, the flex around the head and steer tube plays
havoc with center-pull cantilever brakes.

[n.b. I'm being curious about frame design, not arguing with points
you raise about the frames that are available. Likewise looking at the
local selection of used forks reminds me of looking at the rack of
hundreds of pants in the thrift stores that max out at 34" inseam:
useless.]

-pm

On Oct 8, 2:42 am, Chalo wrote:
DanKMTB wrote:

Chalo wrote:

I disapprove of cutting fork steer tubes.

Fortunately, you don't need to approve, as it's not your bike. I'm
perfectly happy with the setup, and it's my bike, so it seems to me
all is well.

It's like hacking the
sleeves off a dress shirt instead of rolling them up-- sure, it
accomplishes the immediate job, but it diminishes the intrinsic value
of the thing.

The last new fork I installed was a Marz. From the marz instructions/
website:

"A threadless steer tube is pre-installed on the fork from the
factory. It will need to be cut to the required length for a proper
fit."

I'm going to trust Marz., along with my regular bike shops, to know
how to install a fork. Leave some spacers for adjustability? Sure.
Never cut a steer tube? No way.

Whatever. If you have a midget bike to accommodate, so be it.

Yup… 19” 29er – a midget bike if I ever saw one.


I'm
usually doing well just to find a fork that comes with a steerer
longer than the head tube of my bike. When I go to Yellow Bike
Project for parts, I can choose from multitudes of forks for itty
bitty frames that can now be used on, well, other itty bitty frames.
Good thing they avoided having any extra spacers!

You usually have trouble finding forks with a long enough steer tube
to fit your head tube? Seriously? I assume you’re talking about used
bikes? Being on the huge size yourself, are your head tubes far
longer than usual? I don’t plan to grow any taller, so my frame sizes
are probably going to stay in the same area from here on out. I only
had access to 2 of my mtn bikes last night, but the steerer tube on
the other was just under 4.5”. I have more than ¼” of spacers on the
forks of both bikes. I don’t know what’s on the third mtn bike, since
I didn’t build it and it wasn’t where I was last night.


Remember that Marzocchi is much more interested in you buying another
fork in the near future than in you being able to productively
repurpose the fork you already bought.

They also sell replacement steer tubes for their forks. The last fork
I bought from them was a 1” threadless that was normally 1 1/8th.
They put a 1” steerer in it at the factory when I had my LBS order it,
and said if I ever toast that frame and want to reuse the fork they
can press a 1 1/8th steer tube into it.

Park Tool doesn’t sell forks, do they? From Park:
“The steering column on new forks typically come longer than required.
The column is then cut for the size according the particular bike it
is to be installed”.


The head tube on this bike is 4.25". Most new forks seem to come with
8"-8.5" steer tubes, along with instructions to cut them to size.
You're suggesting that the right way to do it is to use 3.75" - 4.25"
of spacers? No thanks.

4.25" + 1.25" HS stack height + 2" stem clamp = 7.5" stack height.

1.25” HS stack height? I find that the headset on the new bike, as
well as the headset I installed with the new fork on the other bike,
were both 1” HS stack height. A 2” stem clamp seems generous to me as
well, some may be that tall but I don’t think it’s the rule. The bike
I rode in today, the new SS, has is @ 1.5”. I’m 90% sure that the
stem on the other bike is actually a bit shorter, having seen them
side by side last night.


Sure, you could use a shorter headset and a stem with a shorter clamp
and cut away all the excess, but then you are constrained to equal or
shorter replacement parts. You're out of luck if you want to swap the
fork to a frame with a longer head tube. If you get injured or for
some other reason you want to raise your bars temporarily, you have to
get different bars or a taller stem instead of just rearranging a
couple of spacers. These seem like some relatively useful things to
give up for the questionable benefit of not having extra spacers.

Who said anything about cutting away _all_ the excess? Like I said, I
use spacers on all my bikes – just not an ungodly amount of them. I
suppose it’s a matter of personal preference – I can live with having
bikes and styles you don’t approve of.