clink83

Yes, because a bike that has the handlebars cut into three peices, grip shift installed, then welded back together isn't "bad".

halfspeed

I think you're dreaming. People don't want drop bars because the position looks painful. I also tend to think bike paths are a net loss and that more bikes on the road just increases motorist frustration. I'll shut up now before this becomes and A&S flame war.

umd

Get back to us when you've put a thousand miles on that thing.

DScott

I'd b surprised if you could ride it that far without a major component failure (i.e., something costing more than the oiginal bike price to fix).

But still, we can appreciate this: "Plus, it just feels great to get out and ride every day!"

The first one's free...

umd

I don't want to be taken the wrong way here, so let me start out by saying I agree with all of that.

I put together my bike "from scratch" (well, from components anyway), and I will admit that I spent a good amount of time on it altogether. Probably a lot more than the OP. That said, I've also ridden it over 20,000 miles so far. I've also ridden it 10 times as far in June alone as the OP has ridden his bike, and have spent no time on it other than cleaning it, lubing the chain a few times, swapping wheels for races.

baribari

I don't think it looks painful. Most people aren't even aware of the purpose of drop bars, or just how significant the speed advantage is of road tires, or associate drop bars with $$$$ bikes (which is almost always true).

More bikes on the road means that more of the motorists out there are cyclists, which makes for more considerate motorists.

rjn3100

To the OP, I think your doing a great job and hope your enjoying your learning experience and riding...
The important thing is you are developing skills you will always have and able to apply to other aspects of life.

halfspeed

Talk to anyone who sells bikes. The whole point of flat bar road bikes and hybrids is to create a class of somewhat fast bikes that don't have the intimidation factor of the "hunched over" position of drop bars.

It also means that non-cyclist motorists have to deal with more cyclists which increases the frustration of having to pass them, making those motorists angrier and less considerate. And the number of motorists so dwarfs the number of cyclists that huge increases in the latter are raindrops in the ocean.

Magnificent777

I too came back to the bike with the Denali. I read Cig review and was encouraging.

I, since then have had a series of bikes , I bought and sold on Craig's list in a years time frame. I finally converted a Trek to what is my only bike as of now.

First bike Denali- 500 miles on it. Schwinn- 300 miles, Single Speed- 300 miles and now my Trek about 100 miles.

I have been hit by a car and fell 6 times.

I learned Bike Mechanics, Clip pedals and shoes make a huge difference, recovering from falls, races and long rides. I learn difference in technology of bikes, cost and performance.

If I had money I would have all the top of the line bike in road, mountain and cyclocross.

Converting my hybrid Trek was awesome ! Learn alot

deadprez012

Then I'll see you in August! When I finish marathon training, all my real cycling begins.

Hey, maybe everything will fail--but maybe nothing will. And I'm not biased or emotionally attached to this bike so I wouldn't mind telling what goes wrong with it. Besides, I may acquire something new before then and we never find out.

WhyFi

So, what - in your mind, there's a bell curve when comparing number of cyclists and driver frustration and, until you get to a certain density of cyclists, driver frustration will continue to rise? I'd agree, but would probably disagree on how many cyclists it would take to get to the down side of that curve and I certainly disagree with your, "we'll never have the numbers, so **** it - why even try?" sentiment.

Things are certainly different where you are, but I've already noticed a huge improvement in driver awareness and courtesy (strange those it may seem to non-NYCers) over the last few years - cars aren't 'pushing' me through single lanes of traffic as often, they're not diving in front of me to make it past the double-parked cars and a driver yielding the right-of-way has become, well, not uncommon. They still need to work on checking for "inside" traffic on turns crossing bike paths, but they're gettin' there...

Anyway, more bikes on the road IS a good thing, and we don't need to outnumber drivers - there just has to be enough of us that drivers take notice and become resigned to the fact () that we're a part of the daily grind that they're just going to have to deal with.

wheeldeal

^
I've noticed the same thing as well. As a driver & a cyclist, while I'm on the road, I've been noticing drivers are becoming more and more aware of cyclist/E-bikes/mopeds, etc.

halfspeed

I'd like to agree with you, but I don't. I think that the net benefit to road cycling of most cycling advocacy efforts is essentially zero. That's not a bad thing, since things could get a lot worse, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we think bike paths and more cyclists are improving anything.

WhyFi

Not even any attempt to lend weight to your stated belief? You should consider an avatar change -

ls0725

Is it the same car that hit you 6 times?

jasandalb

How did you true the wheels? Do you have a truing stand? Explain please.....

deadprez012

Went about it old-school bike-on-a-big-ass-rack style using a zip tie to check for wobble (which is a fun tip in a Park's manual BTW)...

...then double-checked my shadetree work with a proper truing stand at the university's open shop (and in reference to that fun tip above, it was incredibly effective as well).

I don't have the manual on hand, but essentially, you tie a zip tie to your seat stay and trim so that it just touches the rim at that particular point. It might be beneficial to do this at both sides. Spin the wheel slowly and "pre-tense" the spokes by squeezing lightly with your hands (this will quickly reveal excessively loose ones as an added benefit).

Spin the wheel again, and this time watch for where it contacts the tie hardest (it's easier to see approaching the zip tie than fleeing it) and adjust spokes accordingly. Assuming you had proper spoke tension at some point, elect to tighten opposing spokes before choosing to loosen adjacent spokes.

Adjust in half-turns, both the problem spoke and the one parallel to it on the same side before spinning the wheel again and checking for wobble at the same place. A pencil is good for marking where you were working...

When that particular section is well adjusted, resume spinning the wheel looking for the next area of rub.

Notes:
Use a zip-tie or some type of fixed measurement instead of your brake pads because they may be out of alignment due to general maladjustment or from being aligned to a wobbly wheel.

Even better, use a truing stand...but I don't know why you should bother when this is quite effective.

Cheers!

Viperplayer5220

Great story and great job. I have also taken the route of teaching myself and learning about bikes and how to fix them... well worth it.

jasandalb

Thanks OP. Pretty cool your school has a shop you can go to.

NoGaBiker

Hey, I know you from Miata.net! I'm MattA over there. Didn't know you were on here. I don't check in all that often because, as you cynically put it, it's just a pile of tubes and levers.

Are you really the world's slowest cyclist?

gettingold

I have a 1984 Nishiki International that I still love to ride from time to time. Heavy but comfortable and handles great. Lose the Denali. Even forgetting the politics of avoiding walmart (which I happen to agree with), buy a classic. I sold a similar one recently for less than you paid for the pig. The quality difference is palpable and you will still be able to use your mechanical skills.

halfspeed

My evidence is the same quality as that presented for the counter-arguments: experience and anecdotes which don't really "prove" anything. Absent anything better, I'll stick with my experience.

Thanks! Here's one for you:

ridethecliche

This. I'd much rather have an 80's Japanese bike with DT shifters than one of these. You can still work on those bikes, but the parts will hold up much better...

Edit: I see some of the C&V crowd chiming in over here to tell you the same. This is my story.

I bought an old 80's steel framed bike as a 'beater'. I got it for less than 300 bucks, and it was an 84 trek 760, which was the 2nd best frame they made for that year. Really!

I raced that bike and it never disappointed, and I still have it and play with it. It's been rebuilt 3 times as a commuter, race bike, and single speed, and I've never had a single bad thing to say about it. Some of the mid to high end 80's bikes can be had at a very good price and will just last if they haven't been completely abused. You just need to watch out for the french bikes of the era because they have some strange compatibility issues that I prefer to stay away from, while many of the people on C&V know what it takes to get them working.

Seriously consider this route. You wouldn't be making a mistake if you decided to upgrade the frame with newer parts. I raced my trek with modern campy parts and loved it. Might build it back up as a geared bike when I get the cashola to buy another crank.

DScott

I'll look forward to that. You know, in the interest of science and all that.

daxr

They treat their employees like crap, especially minorities and women. They are a multi-national corporation which siphons money out of local economies very effectively.

A dollar spent in a w-mart is gone, as far as the local community goes; a dollar spent at a locally owned or regionally owned store tends to have five times the benefit (or so economists say).

They sell the cheapest crap they can, all produced by the lowest paid workers in the world they can find.

The overall effect of w-mart is to multiply low-paying factory jobs in the undeveloped nations, eliminate better paying factory jobs in the US; then they flood US markets with cheap foreign goods and drive locally-owned businesses out; then as manufacturing and retail jobs here are eliminated, there are fewer and fewer people who can afford to buy anything else but cheap crap from w-mart, and so few jobs around that getting a low-paying job with no benefits at w-mart where they will treat you like disposable trash seems like good fortune.