General Cycling Discussion - Spiffy

Well, tonight I was unable to go ride.Soooo, I got out rags and some cleaner and dusted of the ole Tam.After 2 hours of scrubbing, and a quick cote of wax, I now have the spiffiest used MT Tam in the world. I also named my bike.....Spiffy :p

OK, I'm lost again. Which bike is this one? :confused:

Originally posted by JonR
OK, I'm lost again. Which bike is this one? :confused:

My Gary Fisher is a MT Tam, and I named it Spiffy. It the same bike I've been talking about.

Great name! And one of my favorite words! :)

Thanks,Joe. I didn't know you liked the word "spiffy". You have a spiffy site man!!!

dandy :)

The people here are pretty spiffy, too. :)

BTW, thank you for clearing up my latest (but surely not last) confusion, fubar. You know how it is when you add extreme heat to an aging brain: recipe for disaster. :eek:

What kind of wax do you use on bikes? I've used Johnson's paste wax but the fumes about drive me out of the apartment. Then I used some kind of foaming car wax and it seems to work pretty well and doesn't smell so bad.

I'm jealous of all those spankys who own more than one bike. It's not fair! :irritated:

Chris

I used some kinda car wax I found in my dads shed...:D
It didn't smell bad at all and now my bike has a nice luster to it, not super shiny, but just enough that I can look down and se my reflection on the top tube.

Originally posted by Chris L
I'm jealous of all those spankys who own more than one bike. It's not fair! :irritated:

Chris
If I had the $$$ I'd send you a bike, for I consider you my antipodal soul-brother! But, alas, I'm wondering how I'm going to pay for tomorrow's lunch...:(

Must have been something in the air. I started cleaning up my old 1980 KHS. 3 cans of gloss white enamel, a couple of skullw/flames decals, and 2 cans of "clear" later, we're talkin
spiffy. BTW, I've been using Turtle Wax Express Shine. You just squirt it on and rub it in--no "hazing" in all those nooks and crannies that are impossible to get at. Works great.

Originally posted by mwmw
3 cans of gloss white enamel, a couple of skullw/flames decals, and 2 cans of "clear" later, we're talkin
spiffy.
Sounds impressive! Any chance of a photo?

While a spiffy bike is certainly nice, cleaning a bike is no walk in the park.My hands are all cut up for the chainrings and cogs,my hands look worse than a auto-mechanic!!!

Originally posted by fubar5
While a spiffy bike is certainly nice, cleaning a bike is no walk in the park.My hands are all cut up for the chainrings and cogs,my hands look worse than a auto-mechanic!!!

You are doing it the hard way, Fubar.

Get yourself a spray can of foamy non-flamable engine cleaner at the hardware store ($1.50). Spray it on your drive train and back stays. Hose it off with water. Bounce it on the wheels a couple times. Done.

Then, you can dry it, wax it, re-lube the chain, and give it the TLC you want.

No need to be banging up your digits on your drive train components.

Oh Man....

Originally posted by JonR

If I had the $$$ I'd send you a bike, for I consider you my antipodal soul-brother! But, alas, I'm wondering how I'm going to pay for tomorrow's lunch...:(

Jon, speaking of second bikes, I was at Bike America the other night looking at the used rack. They have an Iguana and a Nishiki for sale at the same time. I thought of you and greeted your fine bikes' cousins.

I was thinking of getting an MTB for snow/ice this winter. I want to have a separate bike so I don't have to change wheels every other day in the winter. Fortunately, it doesn't get cold enough here for true black ice, but it still gets icy. After looking at tires, though, on Ice Bike and the Nokian bike website, I think I might get another road bike/hybrid and fit the most grizzled of the bikes with studded tires like Nokian W106

Maybe I'll also wax them. :)

Jonathan

Originally posted by JonR

If I had the $$$ I'd send you a bike, for I consider you my antipodal soul-brother! But, alas, I'm wondering how I'm going to pay for tomorrow's lunch...:(

Yeah, being broke sucks.

Chris

Originally posted by Chris L
I'm jealous of all those spankys who own more than one bike. It's not fair! :irritated:

Chris

I have only one bike as well. That's all I need!

:D

Originally posted by jramsey


I was thinking of getting an MTB for snow/ice this winter. I want to have a separate bike so I don't have to change wheels every other day in the winter. Fortunately, it doesn't get cold enough here for true black ice, but it still gets icy. After looking at tires, though, on Ice Bike and the Nokian bike website, I think I might get another road bike/hybrid and fit the most grizzled of the bikes with studded tires like Nokian W106


It does get cold enough for black ice, sometimes. The worst fall I've had yet (knocks on head as being nearest wood) was on invisible ice on the way to work.

Personally I think it's fun to have both a mountain bike and a road bike, but I can see the advantage of having two similar bikes, in that you could interchange wheels, etc.

Thanks for saying hello to the Nishiki and Iguana at the store. They come from two fine families. :)

Jon
Not a very good pic, but the old girl's looking pretty good in her semi-retirement.