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What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 11th 08, 11:16 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
[email protected]
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Posts: 3
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

I'm doing a survey on what kind of bikes are being used for affordable
mid-range road bikes, bikes that you'd use for running around town or
everyday commuting.

Sure, on Sundays keen riders trot out their pride and joys -- the very
high end Treks, Specializeds, Rossins, Colnagos, Cannondales, etc. but
there is a fairly limited set of names you see on every day road bike
frames, the ones that are locked to lamp posts outside the grocery
store and are most often converted into single speeds.

I suspect that certain brands are chosen because they are lightweight,
good quality, but not so sought after as to be expensive or appealing
to thieves. They are also, I suspect, not so precious that they can't
take the occasional scratches and dings that come from heavy regular
urban street riding or be "frankensteined" with mix-and-match
components.

And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
Fiori, Miyata, Nishiki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
was ever available around here.

What brands/makes/models do you see in your area? What are your
thoughts on what makes a great beater?

I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Peter
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  #2  
Old May 12th 08, 12:02 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Jeff[_6_]
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Posts: 83
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

wrote:
I'm doing a survey on what kind of bikes are being used for affordable
mid-range road bikes, bikes that you'd use for running around town or
everyday commuting.

Sure, on Sundays keen riders trot out their pride and joys -- the very
high end Treks, Specializeds, Rossins, Colnagos, Cannondales, etc. but
there is a fairly limited set of names you see on every day road bike
frames, the ones that are locked to lamp posts outside the grocery
store and are most often converted into single speeds.

I suspect that certain brands are chosen because they are lightweight,
good quality, but not so sought after as to be expensive or appealing
to thieves. They are also, I suspect, not so precious that they can't
take the occasional scratches and dings that come from heavy regular
urban street riding or be "frankensteined" with mix-and-match
components.

And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
Fiori, Miyata, Nishiki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
was ever available around here.

What brands/makes/models do you see in your area? What are your
thoughts on what makes a great beater?

I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Peter


Depends.

From my perspective, a beater is a bike I buy used for a reasonably low
price. The brand is not terribly relevant provided the bike is solid
and in decent condition.

That said, I bought a new commuter bike this year (I use my bike enough
for commuting and errands to justify it, at least in my mind). I bought
a Kona Dew Plus, added a rack and fenders (and lights). Cost me about $500.
  #3  
Old May 12th 08, 12:09 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Keats
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Posts: 3,193
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

In article ,
writes:

And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
Fiori, Miyata, Nishiki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
was ever available around here.


I'm pretty much a life-long Vancouverite, and back
in the '70s I amassed a fleet of Apollos. People would
buy 'em, decide they don't like riding, and then give 'em
to me. Those things were beauties, and they still are.
Apollos and Sekines. Before then, it was all pretty much
CCM, Raleigh, and if you wanted up-market: Peugeot.

As a port city on the Pacific Rim, Vancouver has always
enjoyed first-pick of the best exports from the Asian
markets. Beauty, eh?

Nowadays, local folx's humble whips are usually
lower-end Norcos from the '80s. Those things are
built like brick sh!740u23z. They weigh just about
as much, too. As opposed to those spritely, lugged
frame'd, lovely Apollos and Sekines of the '70s.
It's a cryin' shame that the rest of North America
seems to have missed-out on 'em.

What really gets my goat is that the OldRoads.com/
vintage bicycle site is totally oblivious of those
bikes' very existance.

I guess the history of bicycling in Vancouver is
parochial and isolated. That notion saddens me
so much.

But I'm heartened by your news that our lovely,
die-hard Apollos have made it all the way to
Toronto, and continue to thrive there.


cheers,
Tom





























--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca
  #4  
Old May 12th 08, 04:00 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
[email protected]
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Posts: 3
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

sorry.
typo.
that should have been "Fuji"
Peter

On May 11, 6:16 pm, wrote:
I'm doing a survey on what kind of bikes are being used for affordable
mid-range road bikes, bikes that you'd use for running around town or
everyday commuting.

Sure, on Sundays keen riders trot out their pride and joys -- the very
high end Treks, Specializeds, Rossins, Colnagos, Cannondales, etc. but
there is a fairly limited set of names you see on every day road bike
frames, the ones that are locked to lamp posts outside the grocery
store and are most often converted into single speeds.

I suspect that certain brands are chosen because they are lightweight,
good quality, but not so sought after as to be expensive or appealing
to thieves. They are also, I suspect, not so precious that they can't
take the occasional scratches and dings that come from heavy regular
urban street riding or be "frankensteined" with mix-and-match
components.

And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
Fiori, Miyata, Nishiki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
was ever available around here.

What brands/makes/models do you see in your area? What are your
thoughts on what makes a great beater?

I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Peter


  #8  
Old May 15th 08, 04:04 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Peter Cole[_2_]
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Posts: 4,572
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

wrote:
I'm doing a survey on what kind of bikes are being used for affordable
mid-range road bikes, bikes that you'd use for running around town or
everyday commuting.

Sure, on Sundays keen riders trot out their pride and joys -- the very
high end Treks, Specializeds, Rossins, Colnagos, Cannondales, etc. but
there is a fairly limited set of names you see on every day road bike
frames, the ones that are locked to lamp posts outside the grocery
store and are most often converted into single speeds.

I suspect that certain brands are chosen because they are lightweight,
good quality, but not so sought after as to be expensive or appealing
to thieves. They are also, I suspect, not so precious that they can't
take the occasional scratches and dings that come from heavy regular
urban street riding or be "frankensteined" with mix-and-match
components.

And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
Fiori, Miyata, Nishiki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
was ever available around here.

What brands/makes/models do you see in your area? What are your
thoughts on what makes a great beater?


It used to be that the old (70's/80's) "sport tourers" were the popular
candidates, but these seem to be getting scarce. Lots of MTB's around,
unfortunately, the best of those -- first generation, rigid forks,
non-compact frames, seem to be getting scarce, too.

For beaters, there's always a trade off between upgrading an old bike,
buying a cheap new frame or just buying a new low-end bike. I've done
all three, and it seems to work out about the same. Depends mostly on
your junk pile.

One of my more successful projects was a bike build from a 26" frame
with relaxed angles, canti studs and braze-ons that I found curbside on
trash day. Nice because I could use cheap MTB components (wheels,
shifters, brakes, cranks) yet have a bike that was a better road bike
than most MTB conversions. Came out a poor man's Koga-Miata ($150 vs.
$1500). Built it as my wife's commuter, but she's so fond of it it's the
only bike she rides on the road.

The brand I seem to have used the most of here (Boston) is Fuji (used to
be Raleigh). I have a fixed (700c) built from an 80's frame, a geared
road built from a NOS EBay frame, and a fixed (26") built from a first
generation MTB. I recently bought an early Cannondale (EBay), that type
of bike is probably going to be the next generation of donor.

To me, the best beaters are the most standard bikes. Anything unusual in
thread pitch, diameter or bearing/component mounting makes it a toss
back. Horizontal dropout are a big plus.
  #9  
Old May 19th 08, 09:06 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Dane Buson
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Posts: 1,340
Default What are the "beater" road bike brands in your area?

Peter Cole wrote:

To me, the best beaters are the most standard bikes. Anything unusual in
thread pitch, diameter or bearing/component mounting makes it a toss
back. Horizontal dropout are a big plus.


Yes, anything French gets the upturned nose. I still have some French
parts from a broken bike (bottom bracket, headset)[1] that I'm keeping for
a bit in case someone I know needs them though.

[1] Before I knew enough to form this policy.

--
Dane Buson -
"The GOP is the evil party, the Democrats are the stupid party, and
bipartisanship is when they join forces to do something both evil and stupid."
- Stephen Johnson
 




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