10 Wheels

Nice bike...dump the kick stand.
You can most likey out ride most of the haters.

qmsdc15

I can't look at that picture.

Ride your bike to somewhere with a nice background and shoot it from the drive side.

Does your camera have automatic exposure? The picture is a very dark, hideous composition. I'm glad it's too dark to see a lot of the clutter. Why do you think we want to look at that? This is not the road forum.

Joel S.

Thanks for the dbag comments, very helpful. Nice to see you're a "hybrid elitist" as well, I'll be sure to watch for your name in the future. Regardless of your shallow minded definition of what makes a hybrid a hybrid, it's still a hybrid in my eyes.

I will take a better pic outside when I can, but I don't typically ride with my camera, and the brighter more composed pic I took in a rush this morning ended up not being in focus. Figured dark is better than not focused.

Either way, who gives a crap about the composition? This isn't a photography forum.

If you were being sarcastic, I apologize. If not, the above stands.

qmsdc15

This thread is "Post a Picture of Your Hybrid" and you failed! Try again!

Joel S.

Don't hate because you can't relate (keep up?)

Ok, when I first brought it home.



Rain?


Because I was bored:



And because carbon fiber is far cooler than thou:


10 Wheels:
Thanks! I'm a touch paranoid about it hitting the pavement. Been considering removing it though...

qmsdc15

Something wrong with your camera. The pictures are too dark. I can't see your bike!
Take it outside. Walk the bike if you can't ride yet.

Shoot the drive side!

Joel S.

I'm too busy riding it when I'm outside to stop for a photo shoot.

qmsdc15

Yeah right. You're a rider.

Joel S.

Shocking, I know. I surprise myself every day when I get home from my rides. Even when I'm out on the bike, I sometimes wonder if I've been possessed or something. Just feels... off. But still, I keep on doing it, doing over 115 miles a week too! I'm thinking about going to the doctor soon, just to see if something's wrong with me...

KungPaoSchwinn

Those pics look fine to me, not at best but certainly acceptable.Joel, can you describe the different between those 2 handlebars?

Viv Savage

That is a great looking bike. Nevermiind the haters, they only belittle themselves. How much were the mavic wheels if you dont mind?

AdelaaR

Nice bike and nice mods.
Qmsdc15 is right about the pictures though ... the first picture you posted was very unclear and the rest was taken with flash and flash tends to make weird and unnatural looking photos.
It is also nicer if you take pictures fom the side the chain is on, thus making your drivetrain visible
As qmsdc15 said, go outside on a nice sunny day and take pictures with a beautiful background ... your bike deserves it

Joel S.

The Race X is a flat bar, so there's no rise, and it's carbon fiber so it's lighter and dampens vibrations a bit. The stocker is a Bontrager SSR and has a 25mm rise. I didn't want the rise, and got a heck of a deal on the X, the weight savings/damping properties was just a perk.

Thanks! They were a little under $240 shipped to my door. Great price, and they made a noticeable difference in the ride.

Yea, I wrestled over uploading the first pic for a while because of the reasons yourself and qmsdc15 pointed out (and because that room is a mess in that pic), but it was all I had with the Mavics on it. I brought my camera with me today, so I'll see what I can do about getting a proper pic.

USAF1C1X1

What kind of fenders are those? I like em. I have Planet Bike Hardcore Hybrids and they are a PITA. I still haven't installed the rear because I need longer bolts (good luck finding a Home Depot or hardware store in South Korea).

Joel S.

They're Bontrager Interchange Nebulas. They were quite a PITA to initially install because the instructions are just awful, and they didn't come with a key bolt, but they're "quick release" so once you get 'em installed, taking them off/putting them on only takes a minute. I can take pictures of the bits that stay on the bike if you want.

Sixty Fiver

Turned up the lights a little...



I try and avoid direct sunlight if I am out shooting bikes and bright overcast days seem to be ideal if you want to get the best shots... my camera is decent but still does not work as well at night or indoors where there is no natural light.

Terrierman

USAF1C1X1

If you could that would be awesome. I am headed back to the states for 30 days next month and I might have the fenders shipped to me there so I can ship them back to Korea. Trek doesn't ship to an APO so they suck.

USAF1C1X1

Very nice bike!!

Joel S.

No problem! I'm too noob to be able to send PMs, so below are the pics.

These "bulbs" anchor the arms in place. They screw into pre-drilled mounting points. I'm not sure exactly what bikes have the points, but most of Trek's FXs do, and I'm sure the rest of their hybrids and maybe some of their road bikes do. (Need to get that chain cleaned!)




This holds the top of the front fender in place. It didn't come with the proper bolt, so I cannibalized one from my old MTB. It's the same size as the bolt that holds the cable to the brake arms. If you don't have canti brakes, there's another piece that comes with the kit designed for that.


Finally, this is the only bolt you'll need to remove/replace. Holds the top of the rear fender in place. I think you can leave it, but I didn't want the hanger dangling off the back of the bike.


The rear fender also clips into a point where the kickstand bolts to the frame. Depending on the bike, you either push it down and pull the anchor up through the point, or you push it down through the point.

That's it! Hope this helps.

Terrierman, nice bike! Are those bar ends I see on there?

qmsdc15

Yeah, jammin' Jamis!

Congrats on the new ride, T-man! I can almost remember what you had before. A black bike, Cannondale or Specialized?

Sticking with your patented bar end placement I see! Nice Brooks and matching seat bag. Do you have two seat bags there?

I don't like the rack placement. Is it so high because of the disc brakes? There's not much room to strap stuff to the shelf and panniers will effect the handling less if mounted lower. Heel clearance might be improved also, if you use panniers, with a lower rack placement because it would sit further back as well. I'd get a rack that fits the bike better if it was my bike.

Sorry to nitpick, but the rest of it looks so well thought out, the rack not so much... One more thing I'm curious about, it looks like a long black pole attached to your handlebar or stem? What is that? A flashlight?

qmsdc15

Joel, your drivetrain is a little gritty but not too bad. Your bike looked too clean in the first set of pictures. A lot of people buy nice bikes, get enthused about the technology, make nice upgrades but don't actually ride much. I mistook you for one of those people, but the newer pictures show a bike that is ridden. Sorry for the prejudicial comments I made yesterday.

Now sell your car!

USAF1C1X1

Thanks! I am definitely snagging those fenders. They look so easy to use/install!

USAF1C1X1

I can relate to that one. I've seen people who haven't ridden a bike in 10 years spend almost $1500 on something and never use it more than three times. They always have excuses. "Oh it just rained." "Oh I am busy after work." Sometimes I wish they would just give me their bikes. I'll make good use of them. Also I agree that his bike looked really clean in the first pic. A little too clean. Then again, I wipe down my bike and chain every few days. It's a pride thing and I'm a neat freak, plus it only takes a few minutes.

qmsdc15

It's the lube!

I rode my new bike almost every day for a month on the factory lube before adding lubricant to the chain. After 400 miles the drivetrain probably looked as clean as Joel's in the first picture. Indeed Joel's chain might look that clean because he hadn't lubed it yet. Then it rained and I had to lube the chain. I wiped it off a long time, but it's always too oily and picks up dirt no matter how much I wipe it off.

I used Boeshield T9 which is good lube but I think White Lightning or Rock 'n' Roll attract less dirt if actually reducing friction slightly less than the Boeshield. I'll gladly give up a tiny amount of glide for a cleaner chain. Grit eats up drivetrains and they aren't cheap to replace. I'm going back to the White Lightning.