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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a
custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. |
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#2
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
"Anton Berlin" wrote in message ... I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. Anton Berlin, I was very happy with a (aluminum) cyclocross bike with one set of wheels with cyclocross tires, and another set with road tires. Derailleurs. Don't know about discs - if they don't slow wheel trading, I'd try them. Otherwise, cantilevers. Kerry |
#3
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
Anton Berlin wrote:
I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I can't help specifically but even I, a well known cheap *******, can't manage with only one bicycle. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#4
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
On Jan 20, 10:33*am, AMuzi wrote:
Anton Berlin wrote: *I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? * Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. *Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I can't help specifically but even I, a well known cheap *******, can't manage with only one bicycle. +1 Speaking only for myself, I can mostly get by with 2 but that's the minimum - one for road, one for off-road. All of the questions asked by the OP are specific to intended uses that fall squarely into the YMMV category. DR |
#5
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
Per Anton Berlin:
I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I don't have 10 machines, only five, including a hard tail, two FS's, and a single speed. But I'm probably one of those nuts. Since I built up my Salsa Fargo, it has been used for 90+ percent of my riding. This would validate your cyclocross-style predilection although I do not aspire to tours or touring. My typical rides are 1.75-3.5 hours, 80% on paved surfaces. I think I paid something like six-hundred bucks for my Fargo frame. Maybe it's not up to a Ti custom, but it's durable, comfortable, fits my weird-ass body well enough... and probably has 80 percent of the function at 20 percent of the price. I favor: - 700C wheels bc, in narrower widths like 38's they roll perceptibly better over rough ground/soft grass. With 55's, I can't say I can feel the diff although others say they can. - MTB Rims. Mine are Delgados. I can put 28's on them and that's about as skinny as I ever want - and I don't even use them very often because they beat me up too much. My favored tires are 38's, but I *could* mount Big Apples some day if/when I had too much money laying around. - Cable-actuated disc brakes. Cable bc it's good enough and do not require periodic bleeding. Disc bc they are more fault-tolerant and predictable. - Rohloff hub bc it's bombproof, quick to shift 3-4 gears, and I don't have any extra brain cells to spare worrying about which front chain wheel I am on. I would qualify that with the observation that my initial attraction was the "bombproof" aspect and, since I'm riding mostly on paths now that's moot. It's also ungodly heavy and expensive. That being said, I still wouldn't go back. OTOH, if I just *had* to go back, it wouldn't be the end of my world by any means. In fact, I kind of enjoy the light feel of my one der-powered FS (the other one runs Rohloff) - I like the sound of S&S couplings although I do not use or need them. Had them on another frame that never worked out for other reasons and found them tb fault-tolerant and generally bombproof. i.e. they do not depend on tightnesss to function and there are not small parts to fall into the grass and become lost Also had the Ritchey system on still another aborted frame. If you go with a breakdown system, definitely go for the S&S and do *NOT* go with Ritchey. - Flat, not drop bars - but with 6" extenders on them facing forward and slightly down. Reason: in tight turns, they do not get in the way of my legs, I have a greater range of fore-aft hand positions, they support the Roholoff shifter, getting on the forward-facing extensions out of the saddle going up hills is really nice; and the hand positions/comfort are good enough. The comfort is not as good as being on the hoods of drop bars, but it's close enough. - Those German ergo grips. They're super-easy to put on/take off when it's time to move things around or make adjustments and their shape prevents the hand numbness that used to plague me. -- Pete Cresswell |
#6
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
On 1/20/2012 7:21 AM, Anton Berlin wrote:
I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. If you want S&S Couplers you should start your search for a TI bicycle on http://www.sandsmachine.com/ as you can't retrofit these yourself. The problem with MTB wheels is that there aren't a lot of good road tires for MTB wheels. Forget about internal gearing. |
#7
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:21:44 -0800, Anton Berlin wrote:
I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. * * * AB, I have 8 bicycles currently & several more two wheel projects, and I also need to reduce the number, but can not seem to part with them. I know I have to many downtube shift Aluminum bicycles, but each one has a different story and memories. I must keep a fixey to work on my peddling skills each week. A 1987 Novara XR, that I ride quite often with its 26x 1.25 tires absorbing a lot of the local pavement irregularities. I love the Mercedes ride of the Jamis Ventura when spending 3 hours or more in the pedals. I have a Takara grocery getter with a steel frame I can chain without worry of seeing a new scratch while shopping. I built the old frame to carry groceries, and avoid using an Aluminum frame bicycle that attracts scratches & dents. Also a light weight Aluminum/CF bicycle with decent components lashed to a tree or bicycle rack/stand is to great of a temptation for unsavory bicycle resellers of bicycles they do not own. Yes, it will be quite difficult to reduce the number of bicycles, but it would be a nice respite, until the next must have was found in a garage sale needing a few parts and some TLC. JR the postman |
#8
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
SMS wrote:
Forget about internal gearing. The opinion of someone who's never lived with a Rohloff. It's a hassle to set up initially, it has handlebar compatibility issues, it weighs four pounds, and it's very expensive. But it blows away any other kind of gear changing mechanism, bar none. Derailleurs are as smooth and sophisticated as pipe wrenches compared to this. Chalo |
#9
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
On Jan 20, 9:33*am, AMuzi wrote:
Anton Berlin wrote: *I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? * Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. *Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I can't help specifically but even I, a well known cheap *******, can't manage with only one bicycle. -- Andrew Muzi * www.yellowjersey.org/ * Open every day since 1 April, 1971- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - |
#10
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Getting down to 1 bike - what would you pick
On Jan 20, 9:33*am, AMuzi wrote:
Anton Berlin wrote: *I am one of those nuts that has 10 machines in the garage. From a custom made Columbus Max with SR an Aquila titanium with a brand new c- record large flange group, to several carbon frames and a collection of disc wheels and H3s etc. I am in the stage where I want to simplify and feel that I could get practical and get down to one bike and be content with that. My current idea is a titanium cyclocross style bike that uses mtb wheels, has a long wheelbase and is set up for touring (fenders, panniers, etc) would be the best compromise of all worlds. I want a bike that is flexible enough to ride everyday, tour extensively on (already have 2 cycling trips around the world and multiple through Europe) The open questions are rim brakes or discs ? * Derailleurs or internal gearing (rohloff or sram) ? And the pros and cons of using s&s couplers. *Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I can't help specifically but even I, a well known cheap *******, can't manage with only one bicycle. You can get by with a 1975 Raleigh International -- a red one. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...rnational.html Fully serviceable in even the most remote locales, and if you need it smaller for packing, you can hack through the top tube and down tube and braze it back together later. Sew-ups for racing, fat tires for touring, and ten (count 'em ten) different gears. Now, I do own over forty bikes, all of them C-Record or better -- and six with Super-Duper Record and two with Crotch of Doom -- many made of exotic materials and with aerodynamic wheels. It is an impressive stable of bikes. I even have valet parking. I have also ridden around the solar system twice, and can state with certainty that the only bike anyone needs is a 1975 Raliegh International. -- Jay Beattie. |
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