Zing!

I think kergin was describin exactly what you're talking about - brakeless trend followers on off the peg bikes :) And not a general blanket statement per se

Although to be honest I hardly see even one bike on my commute down till I get south of St. Clair which is really disappointing. The one roadie I passed the other morning thought I was trying to show off and decided to repeatedly attack to drop me :(

Maybe I smelled or something.

Also: Quantum solace!

*evil laugh* it was MEEEEE *evil laugh Milano style*

Keith,

- we replaced the front brake pads
- we replaced the missing spacers in the headset stack

- the ratchet in the front shifter is going (gone?) and shifting to the big ring is not possible
- the derailleur hanger is really soft and has a crack developing
- the rear tire has a soft spot on the sidewall

... just wanted to let you know before the bike gets ridden by Sara.

I think most of the 10+ year vets on track bikes are normally found in the core during weekdays. For the rest of us who are out and about in other areas of the city, experienced fixed riders are few and far between. *ducks to avoid Keith-Rage*

No worries....I have a shifter, and tire for it and will grab a new hanger from the shop next week. Keep it as long as you want and giv'r!

Its not safety crap, and I know you and other experienced riders can and do use brakeless fixed gear bikes, but those guys are, as stated, few and far between, and concentrated within the core M-F. When I see brakeless riding on Harbord or Bloor, or other areas of the city, "trouble" is what goes through my head. Also, "trouble" isn't meant to indicate the rider is one way or the other; its meant in the general sense to encompass danger to themselves and others.

FWIW, I've also seen equally dumb sh1t pulled by people riding beach cruisers and utility bikes.

There's a safety thread?

[Another dumb question that I feel I will get torn up for if I asked in the main forums]

What does the NJS certification mean?

Is it that all parts with the NJS logo are within a certain tolerance? or built a certain way?


I am only asking because I see it everywhere and tend to pay no attention to it, and was wondering if I should. I tried to search but I couldn't find anything (even on google, mind you computers hate me)

[/stupid question]

Dude... there's a whole safety SECTION: http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=8

It basically means that it's been approved for keirin racing use in Japan.

Google is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihon_Jitensha_Shinkokai

i think i know what keith is talking about vis-a-vis the trendsters on stock track bikes riding avec bandanna in pocket. and that is that i don't want to ride near enough to them in traffic for them to do something stupid and take us both down. i saw one guy in kensington riding a brakeless conversion on flat pedals while wearing flip flops. mmm-hm.

where did you pick up the cruiser? that sounds wicked. on that note, i should post some photos of my "porteur" (in french it rhymes with "pretentious") now that it has the front basket dialed in.

i ask this every year but is there a source online for TDF streaming?

Yes please. That's my latest bicycle obsession.

oddly enough when i showed to to my dad he says "do you have a paper route or something?" i guess it's that old-tymey.

have you seen some of the kogswell cycles builds? i love the idea of those, matching fenders and all...

anything going on bike-wise tonight? the missus is going to the tfc game and so i'm allowed out of the house...

The "unsafe" vs. the "safe" brakeless fixie riders so remind me of the explosion of skating in the early 90's. We'd goto to competitions and while warming up on the kick ramps and sliders, there would always be a crowd of kids/teens out there trying these giant airs off ramps with one clue is to how to approach a ramp, ride a transition, kick a ramp, grab a board, level off in the air, or land for that matter. Some didn;t even have the sense to clear the landing area immediately and got crushed by ppl landing on them. Usually two or three minimum would go to the emerg. with busted elbows, wrists, ankles, and even skulls before the comp even began. I was doing judo airs over Toyotas, when a friend of mine said I wanna give 'er or that kick ramp. Don't do it I said you've been skating all of two weeks and you'll kill yourself, I had been skating about 14years at this point. Of course he doesn't listen, goes up off the top is instantly in big trouble and lands right on his ass trying to stop himself with both hands and CRACK, both elbows broken, casts for the summer.

Remember kids, when you are trying to emulate your local messenger types, they are experienced and generally you are not. Be aware that you NEED to learn the basics before you go ripping it up in traffic at breakneck speeds. Practice practice practice, closed malls create giant empty parking lots specifically for this purpose. I know we all want to be so rad but them's that are didn't get there overnight. Only the most naturally talented can get away with that , and they are few and far between. That said I've watched Tony Hawk mash his face on the street too.

Slept through The Tour this morning yay 8:30pm recoverage!


EDIT... part of experience is knowing how to minimize the damage when something goes horribly awry.

That's pretty much my plan right now, actually. Although I'm a little disappointed that the current run of frames are just plain black. The older, custard-colored ones look awesome.

Don't think there is a streaming option (unless there is a new one this year). What is the good torrent site to pick up the coverage in the evenings? ..Can't remember. I had a very dependable one last year.

hmmmmm custard....

There is a junk dealer near me and he sometimes puts bikes aside and I pay him a few bucks. I like this cruiser but it is a woman's step-through frame so I guess it will go up on CL once I have shined it up a bit.

And I didn't know there was a safety forum! I ride pretty unsafely, I will be the first to admit it but I've stopped going through reds now but I still cut off cars a lot, which is pretty dumb. When I am riding fixed, I am much safer since I feel that my stopping time is a lot lower. I think I suck at riding fixed, truth be known, but I like it and I have noticed in the last few years that I am a stronger cyclist all-around now that I ride fixed.

And yeah, at this time of the year it seems there are a lot of people new to cycling, fixed or geared. I sold a bike on CL a few weeks ago and it was a nice Raleigh mountain bike and the guy who bought it hadn't ridden a bike in 15 years but he wanted to get back into it since gas prices are so nuts. He got on it and rode around a bit (a little wobbley, but he was fine) and we were discussing the bike and I thought one of the strong points of the bike was that it had eyelets for fenders. I went on and on and on about how great fenders are and that you really need them in Toronto because rain can sneak up on you and the roads are really dirty all the time plus with fenders you can ride all winter and this guy is nodding his head during my whole fenders-thing and, as he pays me, he asks me "What are fenders?". I thought it was pretty funny. I shoulda used the term "mud-guards".

Google Street View + the Tour: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2...reet-view.html

i tried google... but my lack of knowing what NJS stood for screwed me over pretty hard.


thanks :)

demonoid

Mike, did you ever sell your Roger?

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/743074718.html

Yes (and it was a 55cm). Thanks for the heads-up though. Wes, looking to flip your's?

Even if I was interested in flipping it, I don't think I could to someone who requests it in "immaculate condition". Both because it ISN'T and because that's just a pretty lame thing to request for a previously used bike on CL. :P

All the same, I just emailed him to find out how much he's willing to spend.

edit: I still can't believe d0uche is censored.

Unlike prick.

http://www.weemonkey.com/images/sizzlers4.jpg

you can't sensor Prick... because i could prick my finger...


although i do love calling people "Stupid pricks"

and you couldn't "D0uche" your finger... but doesnt that mean 'clean' in french?