I would like to buy a custom (non-folding) commuter bike on the Internet

Jay Bollyn wrote:
I'd be happy to make that a reality for helping to **** America over
for the last seven years, luv.Liberal, schmiberal--what you have in
America today are ideologues of the right, which verge on proto-
fascism, and ideologues of the middle, which still answer to industry.
Someone like Bill Clinton would be seen as rather conservative by most
Europeans. Get some perspective, sounds like you need it.

To my dear frend LO:

Thanks for your kind, helpful suggestions, regarding my new bike specs;

My only suggestion would be to keep your left-coast politics distinct from
your expert bike advice? Is this possible?

I believe the terrestrial otter is a Swede living in Nashville, Tennessee.

My greatest fear, is to have eight more years of the Clintons. If America
votes for Clinton in 2008, I am certainly going to move somewhere far away,
but I fear Canada is not far enough.

butbutbut, even with a Conservative government, Canada is more left-wing
than the US would be under $Hillary Clinton [1] (or was under W.J.
Clinton). There are no "developed" or "first world" nations to the right
of the US. Leaving the US is no easy matter, since desirable countries
to live in are not exactly welcoming.

You know, if the political right had more power in Illinois, you might
find your public sector job privatized, which would mean much more work
for the same wages, lower benefits and no civil service job protection.
Is that what you want?

[1] Goldwater campaign volunteer and College Republican chapter
president Hillary Rodham Clinton, that is.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth

Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote:
On 2008-01-26, landotter wrote:
On Jan 26, 3:37 pm, "Jay" wrote:
I do think my friend LO is just trying to playfully stick a shiv into my
conservative (any color as long as it is black) ribs.
I'd be happy to make that a reality for helping to **** America over
for the last seven years, luv.

Sorry, lando, but Jay is saved by the Electoral College on that one --
Illinois has been a blue state for some time now, courtesy of Cook County.
His vote didn't count. Neither did my third-party presidential vote. You
need to turn your ire on Florida or Ohio.

Well, the Republican Party has imploded in Illinois since the days when
Big Jim and his cronies ruled the roost.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth

On Jan 26, 4:41 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
landotter aka terra lutra wrote: On Jan 26, 3:37 pm, "Jay" wrote:
...
I do think my friend LO is just trying to playfully stick a shiv into my
conservative (any color as long as it is black) ribs.

I'd be happy to make that a reality for helping to **** America over
for the last seven years, luv.Liberal, schmiberal--what you have in
America today are ideologues of the right, which verge on proto-
fascism, and ideologues of the middle, which still answer to industry.
Someone like Bill Clinton would be seen as rather conservative by most
Europeans. Get some perspective, sounds like you need it.


Unlike most of us here, the terrestrial otter has the option of easily
moving to a social democracy that has one of the highest rates of social
and economic equality in the world. Yet he chooses to live in the middle
of the "Bible Belt". How curious.

Sounds like you've been listening to Limbaugh, asshole.

On 2008-01-26, Jay wrote:


You know, I get tired of saying that KZ is absolutely correct.

Just for you, jay, I'll say something completely dishonest one of these days.
I'll keep it a surprise, though, to keep you on your toes.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

"landotter" anonymously snipes:
On Jan 26, 4:41 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
landotter aka terra lutra wrote: On Jan 26, 3:37 pm, "Jay" wrote:
...
I do think my friend LO is just trying to playfully stick a shiv into my
conservative (any color as long as it is black) ribs.
I'd be happy to make that a reality for helping to **** America over
for the last seven years, luv.Liberal, schmiberal--what you have in
America today are ideologues of the right, which verge on proto-
fascism, and ideologues of the middle, which still answer to industry.
Someone like Bill Clinton would be seen as rather conservative by most
Europeans. Get some perspective, sounds like you need it.

Unlike most of us here, the terrestrial otter has the option of easily
moving to a social democracy that has one of the highest rates of social
and economic equality in the world. Yet he chooses to live in the middle
of the "Bible Belt". How curious.

Sounds like you've been listening to Limbaugh, asshole.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!

No, "landotter" completely missed the point of my post.

Personally, there is no way without coercion that you could make me live
in Nashville over Sweden - the heat, humidity and predominance of Bible
Thumpers and their ilk is a turn off. Heck, if someone offered me a job
is Sweden, I would most likely accept the offer. My question was out of
curiosity, not a suggestion to leave.

Frankly, what bugs me is that there are so many people that will post
things such as "if you don't like it, leave", yet these people have done
nothing to facilitate that. Why are they not lobbying their
congress-critters to establish a program to exchange malcontents is
beyond me. It makes me believe that what they really want is to impose
their will on people who think differently.

FYI - I have never voluntarily listened to Rush Limbaugh's radio program
in my life.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth

"Kristian M Zoerhoff" wrote in message
...
On 2008-01-26, Jay wrote:


You know, I get tired of saying that KZ is absolutely correct.

Just for you, jay, I'll say something completely dishonest one of these
days.
I'll keep it a surprise, though, to keep you on your toes.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff



I hereby nominate our Usenet friend KZ for RBT Contributer of 2008! Saint
Kristian!!

KZ has expert bike advice, and the dry sense of humor coveted by Usenet
regulars.

We don't need the formality of a second. No need to see an actual bike
miracle.

Congrats SAINT KRISTIAN! U da man!

J.

Jay wrote:

Joseph has suggested 'XXL size BMX frame with a monster long seatpost and
ape-hangers'.
snip
I don't know what 'decent quality BMX frame' means. Let's start at the top
$, and work down if necessary. Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing
about BMX frames.

BMX frames are not traditionally sized in inches, but by racing
category. This is a custom that has extended even to bikes that are
not used for racing. In order of size, the categories a

Micro (think four-year-old kid)
Mini
Junior
Expert
Pro
Pro XL
Pro XXL (more or less normal adult size)

There are probably "Pro XXXL" and such frames out there, but there's
no conventional understanding of sizing outside what I have named. If
you are of average or larger adult stature, only Pro XXL frames will
be suitable for your purposes. Some frames are sized in inches, but
the size refers to the top tube length and not the seat tube. Don't
bother with anything shorter than 21.5 inches.

The vast majority of decent quality BMX frames are made for one of two
purposes, but not both:

Racing, or (more commonly)
Freestyle-- which is jumping and other stunts.

There is another discipline called "flatland", which is a kind of
artistic cycling, but those bikes would be of no use to you
whatsoever.

Racing bikes will be lighter, more fragile (but still stronger than
the bikes most of us are familiar with), and longer in the rear end.
They have V-brake bosses mounted above the seatstays.

Freestyle and dirt jumping bikes--variations of the same thing-- are
built to take a beating. They tend to be heavier than full-sized MTB
frames and very compact in the rear triangle. They usually have U-
brake bosses mounted under the seatstays or above the chainstays.
Note that many of these have 14mm dropout slots, for hubs with
oversized axles. If you wish to use a 3/8" or 10mm axle, you'll have
to have stepped washers to take up the difference in size.

Here is an example of the most expensive sort of BMX frame you should
consider buying:

http://www.danscomp.com/211339.php

It's a freestyle bike in a grownup frame size, with a grownup price of
$289 for the frame only. Its dimensions are all quite generous for a
freestyle bike, which is why it's an acceptable alternative to a
racing frame. It has oversized dropout slots.

Here is a racing frame that would make a decent choice:

http://www.danscomp.com/201340.php

It's pretty light, reasonably priced at $199, and fairly long in the
rear triangle for a 20" bike. Here are a couple more of the same
general description:

http://www.danscomp.com/201073.php
http://www.danscomp.com/201122.php

Things to look for if you'd like to use a BMX bike as a commuter:

25.4mm (1") seatpost bore, which will allow a very long seatpost that
won't bend. Consider having a machine shop make you one by turning
down the top of a 1" aluminum rod or thick-walled tube to 7/8" to fit
standard seat guts.

U-brake bosses on the fork. If there are no bosses, you'll have to
use a long reach BMX sidepull caliper (which is a bit like trying to
stop your bike with chopsticks).

Steep seat angle. BMX seat angles vary wildly. The slackest of them
could easily put your saddle behind the rear axle if the seatpost is
long enough for full extension.

Handlebars with a minimum 8" of rise. 8" is the tallest common size
anymore; you may want to add a HeadsUp riser or the like underneath
the stem. The combination of a small wheel size and very short head
tube will put your bars too low unless you take extreme measures. BMX
handlebars are a different diameter than road or MTB bars, and their
stems are all very short, so having tall bars means you can tilt them
forward or back to get the right reach.

Steel frame with relatively long chainstays. This will give you a
fighting chance at spreading the rear end from the BMX standard width
of 110mm to something usefully wider for a multi-speed hub. It will
also allow you to add brazed-on details like a derailleur hanger and
shift cable housing stops.

There is one more kind of bike,now long departed, that might be a good
basis for your commuter. Formula One (or F1) was a sort of BMX bike
with gears for racing on autocross-style street courses. They came
and went sometime around 1990, give or take. Such a frame, if you can
find one, will be much taller than a normal BMX bike and set up for 6-
speed derailleur gearing. Haro, Diamondback, and Redline made them.

Good luck finding a suitable bike.

Chalo

landotter wrote:

http://www.cycleurope.co.jp/2008/mv9d.html

Wow!

It has ISO 451 rims. Why in the world would that be preferable to ISO
406? It's like the 650C of the twenty inch realm.

Chalo

Chalo Colina wrote:
landotter wrote:
http://www.cycleurope.co.jp/2008/mv9d.html

Wow!

It has ISO 451 rims. Why in the world would that be preferable to ISO
406? It's like the 650C of the twenty inch realm.

ISO 451 mm tires and rims are only made underground by gnomes.

The advantage of ISO 451 mm would be slightly lower rolling resistance
and slightly higher gearing with conventional derailer set-ups.
Presumably this is why Green Gear uses that size for their "road bike"
folders and why the "road bike" Minivelo-9D uses the size.

The advantages of ISO 406 mm are stronger wheels for a given rim section
and spoke count and much greater selection of wider rims and wide street
tread tires (no wide 451 mm tires are available).

For a fair weather only, club type riding road bicycle with small
wheels, I would consider ISO 451 mm wheels. For other uses, such as
commuting, errand running, touring and light off-road duty, stick with
ISO 406 mm.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth

Jay Bollyn wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
landotter aka terra lutra wrote:

http://www.cycleurope.co.jp/2008/mv9d.html

Wow!

A road bicycle with proper size wheels. To bad about the color (not a
celeste verde fan).

You are right Tom,

If I were to die tonight, and wake up a tree-hugging liberal, with whatever
is the current godless sexual tendency, then LO's suggestion would be
appropriate....

Please fill me in here. I never liked the "celeste verde" Bianchi color,
but never saw any sexual or other demographic connotation to it.

What am I missing?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth