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New BSO long-term test!

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New BSO long-term test!

Old 11-23-13, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
well it was bound to happen...but i couldn't get out the toe clips fast enough.
Toe clips on your so-called BSO? It didn't have to happen at all.
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Old 11-23-13, 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Toe clips on your so-called BSO? It didn't have to happen at all.
yeah ... i bought them to ride fixed gear ... but i haven't switched the rear wheel yet ... maybe i should put the regular pedals on for the winter

also, the narrow tires are really unforgiving.

at least there's some action in the thread.
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Old 11-23-13, 06:24 PM
  #278  
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
yeah ... i bought them to ride fixed gear ... but i haven't switched the rear wheel yet ... maybe i should put the regular pedals on for the winter

also, the narrow tires are really unforgiving.

at least there's some action in the thread.
Still believe you could have had a more useful so called BSO bike test (and a more useful, practical bike) if you had bought a typical inexpensive German city bike with a multi speed IGH, coaster brake, 622 x 47mm tires, fenders, and plain platform pedals.

Are such bikes unavailable in Britain; not even used Raleigh equivalents?
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Old 11-24-13, 09:53 AM
  #279  
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Still believe you could have had a more useful so called BSO bike test (and a more useful, practical bike) if you had bought a typical inexpensive German city bike with a multi speed IGH, coaster brake, 622 x 47mm tires, fenders, and plain platform pedals.

Are such bikes unavailable in Britain; not even used Raleigh equivalents?

I wanted to try the FGSS due to the hype and I have say that it is interesting. Also, you've done the German BSO test

First maintenance coming:

Wiping down the chain with my old socks and reoiling with Olive Oil ... I hope it smells good when I mash up the hills

photo:

Last edited by acidfast7; 08-08-17 at 09:35 AM.
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Old 11-24-13, 10:15 AM
  #280  
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
I wanted to try the FGSS due to the hype and I have say that it is interesting. Also, you've done the German BSO test

First maintenance coming:

Wiping down the chain with my old socks and reoiling with Olive Oil ... I hope it smells good when I mash up the hills

photo:
edit:

seems that I should be OK unless it gets too cold:


Last edited by acidfast7; 08-08-17 at 09:36 AM.
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Old 11-24-13, 10:28 AM
  #281  
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
I wanted to try the FGSS due to the hype and I have say that it is interesting.
No doubt that riding a bike with extreme limitations will be interesting; I imagine someday, somewhere there might be hype for Penny Farthing type bicycles and commuting to work on one of them would also be interesting.

Have you found any serious advantage of a fixed gear bike for commuting over a regular Single speed or 3 speed IGH equipped bike equipped with a coaster brake?
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Old 11-24-13, 10:37 AM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
No doubt that riding a bike with extreme limitations will be interesting; I imagine someday, somewhere there might be hype for Penny Farthing type bicycles and commuting to work on one of them would also be interesting.

Have you found any serious advantage of a fixed gear bike for commuting over a regular Single speed or 3 speed IGH equipped bike equipped with a coaster brake?
Well, I haven't switched to FG yet ... I'm still running it SS. I think it's a better workout than with my 27-spd MTB. Then there's the novelty factor as most people here think I'm insane including the local bike shop owner, who already thinks IGHs are insane and won't sell a single bike with one o_O

I think it's too short of a time to know (only 500km or so). I think the maintenance will be spectacularly low ... as in a set of cheap tires and a chain per year and no adjustments (£30).

However, it should be stated that I'm not a heavy user. I assume that I'll work roughly 150 days/year so I'll only log roughly 3000km per year. So, one chain and a cheap set of tires every 3000km seems about right.

I'm interested to see how long the freewheel lasts as it showing signs of rust. The fixed cog looks brand new though so I can swap the wheel around when the freewheel wears out.
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Old 11-24-13, 11:38 AM
  #283  
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
t ...the local bike shop owner, who already thinks IGHs are insane and won't sell a single bike with one o_O
Distaste for anything but performance themed or "hyped" trendy bikes and accessories sounds like many, if not most U.S. LBS establishments.
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Old 11-24-13, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
I think it's too short of a time to know (only 500km or so). I think the maintenance will be spectacularly low ... as in a set of cheap tires and a chain per year and no adjustments (£30).

However, it should be stated that I'm not a heavy user. I assume that I'll work roughly 150 days/year so I'll only log roughly 3000km per year. So, one chain and a cheap set of tires every 3000km seems about right.
I suspect that would be the typical maintenance cost of any relatively lightly used single speed bike, no matter what its purchase price or source.

I know the Walmart bashers/LBS devotees fill BF with posts about how low cost bikes without LBS provenance fall apart in a week, but I believe that is only so much trash talk from people with an agenda.
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Old 11-24-13, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Distaste for anything but performance themed or "hyped" trendy bikes and accessories sounds like many, if not most U.S. LBS establishments.
actually, i asked why he didn't carry and IGH bikes for commuting and he said they were too expensive to initially purchase and to maintain once they broke.

he also exclusively sold GIANT bikes, which is something I didn't see so much of in Germany.

and he wasn't trendy, he's had the shop for 20 years in the same location (I live in a small market village in the UK ... which is quite nice) and said that he did the whole IGH thing and couldn't recommend it to anyone.

he also said that a lot of people did the whole FGSS thing for 6 months and then stopped as it was too limiting.

interesting guy.

definitely not trendy ... more of an old pragmatic fisherman type

bought some grease from him and a footpump while building up my BSO
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Old 11-24-13, 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
I suspect that would be the typical maintenance cost of any relatively lightly used single speed bike, no matter what its purchase price or source.

I know the Walmart bashers/LBS devotees fill BF with posts about how low cost bikes without LBS provenance fall apart in a week, but I believe that is only so much trash talk from people with an agenda.
actually that one of the reasons I wanted to try this ... to see where the sweat spot is. I don't think that a $100/£100/€100 walmart is good value ... but i think $295/£295/€295 is a good price point ... I would imagine that the $£€200-300 range is probably the sweet spot.

i'm sorry that i don't use it more ... but 20km round-trip commuting is kind of standard for a bike commute in europe ... is it not?

as is between 150-200 working days/year?

please consider me at least an average commuter
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Old 11-24-13, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
actually that one of the reasons I wanted to try this ... to see where the sweat spot is. I don't think that a $100/£100/€100 walmart is good value ... but i think $295/£295/€295 is a good price point ...
Do you really think your "BSO" bike will prove to be more of a value than a $100 Walmart single speed bike if the measure of value is annual operating/maintenance costs?
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Old 11-24-13, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Do you really think your "BSO" bike will prove to be more of a value than a $100 Walmart single speed bike if the measure of value is annual operating/maintenance costs?
Undoubtedly.
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Old 11-24-13, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
actually, i asked why he didn't carry and IGH bikes for commuting and he said they were too expensive to initially purchase and to maintain once they broke.
3 speed IGH bikes too expensive? In comparison to what?

S-A or SRAM/Sachs 3 speed IGH mechanisms breaking; what do the British do to them? They last virtually forever with no maintenance in Germany and the U.S.
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Old 11-24-13, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
3 speed IGH bikes too expensive? In comparison to what?

S-A or SRAM/Sachs 3 speed IGH mechanisms breaking; what do the British do to them? They last virtually forever with no maintenance in Germany and the U.S.
I was actually shocked ... he had some new GIANT Escapes starting at £219.

Which is way below retail.

It was an interesting discussion, I've never seen someone turned off by IGH before, especially here with the rain.

It doesn't make sense.

But, we did have a nice discussion about following Hadrian's Wall across England for a nice trip.
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Old 11-25-13, 03:38 PM
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got a fair bit of brake pad wear

stats:

481km/299mi
£395/$638 total
£0.82/km
€0.98/km
$2.13/mi

goal is to catch up to the ratios of bigbenaugust:

6900km/4287mi
£267/$438
3.8p/km
5c/km
10.2¢/mi

photo:

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Old 11-26-13, 07:15 AM
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Acidfast's long lost brother:


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Old 11-26-13, 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Slaninar
Acidfast's long lost brother:


Excellent video.



I still think clipless pedals are overdoing it for a commuter unless they're riding fixed.
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Old 11-26-13, 02:49 PM
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stats:

499km/310mi
£395/$640 total
£0.79/km
€0.94/km
$2.06/mi

goal is to catch up to the ratios of bigbenaugust:

6900km/4287mi
£267/$438
3.8p/km
5c/km
10.2¢/mi

photo:

Attached Images
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Old 11-27-13, 03:12 PM
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stats:

519km/322mi
£396/$644 total (+£1 for the olive oil and used sock)
£0.76/km
€0.91/km
$2.00/mi

goal is to catch up to the ratios of bigbenaugust:

6900km/4287mi
£267/$438
3.8p/km
5c/km
10.2¢/mi

photo:

Attached Images
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Old 11-27-13, 03:46 PM
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off to CPH for 5 days!

here a video (not about CPH) but has a great mix of languages, cinematography, a great score and bikes ... and the ex-mayor of CPH who sounds quite Danish!

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Old 12-03-13, 03:32 PM
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back from CPH ... just learned that my £298K equipment grant was funded so I can get a flow cytometer with autosampler, a microplate spectrofluormeter and a microfluidic chemical synthesis reaction chamber

stats:

538km/334mi
£396/$650 total
£0.73/km
€0.88/km
$1.94/mi

goal is to catch up to the ratios of bigbenaugust:

6900km/4287mi
£267/$438
3.8p/km
5c/km
10.2¢/mi

photo:

Attached Images
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Old 12-04-13, 07:19 PM
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all is good ... tire tread is getting a little low:

stats:

557km/346mi
£396/$649 total
£0.71/km
€0.86/km
$1.87/mi

goal is to catch up to the ratios of bigbenaugust:

6900km/4287mi
£267/$438
3.8p/km
5c/km
10.2¢/mi

photo:

Attached Images
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Old 12-04-13, 09:31 PM
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
back from CPH ... just learned that my £298K equipment grant was funded so I can get a flow cytometer with autosampler, a microplate spectrofluormeter and a microfluidic chemical synthesis reaction chamber
Originally Posted by acidfast7
all is good ... tire tread is getting a little low:
557km/346mi
Maybe that fancy-dancy equipment will help you figure out how/why your tires could be showing wear at only 557km/346mi.
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Old 12-05-13, 02:33 AM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Maybe that fancy-dancy equipment will help you figure out how/why your tires could be showing wear at only 557km/346mi.
actually, the equipment is for rational design of novel antibiotics.

it's just the tiny pattern on the surface of the tire in the middle of the rear tire:



i thought it was because i put the power to the ground.
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