My free bike becomes a commuter
09-03-13, 02:58 PM
#51
Pedaled too far.
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That does it. You're going into my sig line.
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09-03-13, 08:18 PM
#54
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Group hug!! 
09-03-13, 08:52 PM
#55
Banned.
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But I have a bike that I'm happy with. That was the point of this thread. If you don't wanna ride a department store bike, your business.
I wear $20 shoes, thrift store clothes, don't own a tv, shoot (freaking awesome!) photos with a kodak, and drive a 12 year old Kia Rio. And I'm not poor. And I'm happy. I think my priorities are just fine.
Have a nice day!
I wear $20 shoes, thrift store clothes, don't own a tv, shoot (freaking awesome!) photos with a kodak, and drive a 12 year old Kia Rio. And I'm not poor. And I'm happy. I think my priorities are just fine.
Have a nice day!
09-03-13, 09:35 PM
#57
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I like your bike and like even more that you are getting great function out of something many wouldn't have looked at. Like the baskets too!
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Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
09-05-13, 02:29 PM
#58
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Sheesh, folks--it's a bike and she commutes on it. Let's get over it and enjoy the fact that another former-soon-to-be-landfill-mass-lump is now bringing joy to someone else, with very low carbon emissions...
I like it--especially after I read what your intentions for it are.
Oh, and for the record, joeyBike's videos most often feature a Cinelli SuperCorse (a superb, if "sleeper," thoroughbred)--he'd have a harder time hunting geeks on that Surly he occasionally drags out...
09-05-13, 06:21 PM
#59
I don't get out enough
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He's still fun to watch
09-06-13, 05:34 PM
#61
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Mathematical Proof Cheap Bikes are Better
Yip, your bike has a very utilitarian elegance about it. Don't get butt-hurt by the Bourgeoisie bike snobs. They sometimes have a difficult time comparing the math of inexpensive bikes. Specifically, they get a little edgy when comparing the satisfaction equation of expensive bikes vs. inexpensive or in your case, free bikes.
Satisfaction/t(time) = ((Amount of Use + desirability factor)/expectations)/price paid
Removing expectations, the simplified equation is Satisfaction over time is a function of the amount of use + desirability factor divided by the price paid. This equation can be used to compare ANY material purchase with another similar material purchase.
Comparing satisfaction over time between two identical bikes, used identically, the less expensive of the two will mathematically have a higher satisfaction factor.
Where the Bourgeoisie lose their minds is when a free bike is entered into the equation and compared to a mithral racer with an ethereal price. You can see from this equation that with respect to ANY free bike, Satisfaction over time for a bike with a price of zero, is so great that it cannot be defined.
Summation: All other things being equal, cheap bikes are funner, free bikes are funner still.
Satisfaction/t(time) = ((Amount of Use + desirability factor)/expectations)/price paid
Removing expectations, the simplified equation is Satisfaction over time is a function of the amount of use + desirability factor divided by the price paid. This equation can be used to compare ANY material purchase with another similar material purchase.
Comparing satisfaction over time between two identical bikes, used identically, the less expensive of the two will mathematically have a higher satisfaction factor.
Where the Bourgeoisie lose their minds is when a free bike is entered into the equation and compared to a mithral racer with an ethereal price. You can see from this equation that with respect to ANY free bike, Satisfaction over time for a bike with a price of zero, is so great that it cannot be defined.
Summation: All other things being equal, cheap bikes are funner, free bikes are funner still.
09-06-13, 08:33 PM
#62
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I agree about the lights and fenders (though the fenders can wait, I live in a desert), but not the tires. 1/2 my commute (it's only 3 miles each way), is an old abandoned highway. I ride through some crazy stuff. Rocks, gravel, sagebrush, broken glass, rattlesnakes . Goat heads are the killer though. I've got thorn resistant tubes in this thing and on the first ride with it I pulled out 3 goat heads. I wouldn't trade the ride for anything though, it's a gradual downhill much of the way to work, always puts me in a good mood.
. Goat heads are the killer though. I've got thorn resistant tubes in this thing and on the first ride with it I pulled out 3 goat heads. I wouldn't trade the ride for anything though, it's a gradual downhill much of the way to work, always puts me in a good mood.[h=1]RhinoDillos Tire Linerswork great for me.I get goatheads .[/h]
10-09-13, 10:30 AM
#63
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I wish I had a before picture, but the bike was just so ugly (and I wasn't actually planning on doing anything to it besides wiping the dirt and spiderwebs off). So you'll have to settle for a picture from after I replaced the handlebars and seat. I have no idea how old this is, but it is a Murray "Sky Canyon", I'm going to guess early 90's because it looks like the bikes I had as a kid.
I sanded off most of the rust, and painted it with glossy black rustoleum. Then I found these old baskets from a previous bike, and painted them too.
If you don't look too close at the paint job (I brush painted it, too lazy to take it apart and spray paint), it looks pretty decent. Rides well too. And thanks to the baskets, I can ditch the backpack if I need to stop on the way home for groceries.
(and I wasn't actually planning on doing anything to it besides wiping the dirt and spiderwebs off). So you'll have to settle for a picture from after I replaced the handlebars and seat. I have no idea how old this is, but it is a Murray "Sky Canyon", I'm going to guess early 90's because it looks like the bikes I had as a kid.I sanded off most of the rust, and painted it with glossy black rustoleum. Then I found these old baskets from a previous bike, and painted them too.
If you don't look too close at the paint job (I brush painted it, too lazy to take it apart and spray paint), it looks pretty decent. Rides well too. And thanks to the baskets, I can ditch the backpack if I need to stop on the way home for groceries.
10-10-13, 01:49 AM
#64
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.It hasn't fallen apart yet, but there is the issue of the idiot who paints a bike glossy black in a dirt-happy desert.
Nah, it's going strong and is still a fun ride.
10-10-13, 12:04 PM
#67
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10-12-13, 08:30 PM
#68
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Glad you've got something you enjoy... that bike looks snazzy to me.
I've gotten great use out of my free 40-year-old clunker bike. It's ugly as sin, but does the job and has yet to break down
I've gotten great use out of my free 40-year-old clunker bike. It's ugly as sin, but does the job and has yet to break down
02-05-15, 10:47 AM
#69
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Free is free is free! You are already ahead of the game. You can ride that bike into the ground and when it dies, you aren't out anything.
There is nothing wrong with friction shifting - yes, it may be less precise, but it works. If it didn't work well, there wouldn't have been such a bike boom in the 70s. They don't take any real particular skill or luck - and riding with friction becomes simple enough.
When it comes to BSO (Bike shaped objects), see AcidFasts' thread about his Mango, still going strong.
There is nothing wrong with friction shifting - yes, it may be less precise, but it works. If it didn't work well, there wouldn't have been such a bike boom in the 70s. They don't take any real particular skill or luck - and riding with friction becomes simple enough.
When it comes to BSO (Bike shaped objects), see AcidFasts' thread about his Mango, still going strong.
02-05-15, 11:36 AM
#70
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This thread is quite old. I wonder if the bike on the original post its till rolling. And if it is I would like to know about any upgrades done to it.
02-05-15, 12:03 PM
#71
Banned
02-05-15, 12:04 PM
#72
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02-07-15, 08:23 PM
#74
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Joeybikes is funny. I like him. He does what he does. I don't think I've read anywhere were insults peoples choices of bike. He pokes fun at the guys who take things too seriously. He is showing everyone it's not the bike but the rider that makes a difference. But whatever, you think we need some great expensive bike to get us from point a to point b. Transportation is whatever gets you around. Some people can't or won't spend 300 or 400 dollars on a bike to be left out in the weather and rust or be stolen. Now be down with your bad self and enjoy the ride.
Simply aiming to get by allows you to lower that standard, of course.
04-18-17, 07:21 PM
#75
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Original Poster here. This is a really old thread.
The bike is still rolling. I don't commute to work anymore (moved), but it still lives outside year-round. In the spring I air up the tires, throw some oil on the chain, and it's good to go for another summer. I think it will get used more for groceries and running around town than it did before, because I live closer to all that stuff now. I just got a cargo trailer for it, so that should be fun. Though I'll be curious to see if it gets used more for groceries or for taking my dogs on bike rides.
The bike is still rolling. I don't commute to work anymore (moved), but it still lives outside year-round. In the spring I air up the tires, throw some oil on the chain, and it's good to go for another summer. I think it will get used more for groceries and running around town than it did before, because I live closer to all that stuff now. I just got a cargo trailer for it, so that should be fun. Though I'll be curious to see if it gets used more for groceries or for taking my dogs on bike rides
.
