Kensington Avenue aparently has some sort of by-law prohibiting snow plows ... but other than that, ya it's been fun lately.

damn... i was going to ride out there today too. hey, it's snowing... pretty.

Hmm ... I wonder *checks calendar* ... d'oh, so close. I was hoping this month's CM would be on NYE, but it's the night before. Anyone want to come out to that one? It might make for some fun snowy mayhem. I've got to go out of town to make my token visit w/ the family, but I'll be back in Toronto by Boxing Day night (yes, I show up Christmas Eve and leave Boxing Day morning ... I couldn't care less about this stupid holiday).

brrr.. cold out there today! Icey near the curbs too.. definite side-street riding time.

The snow has been awesome lately. If you don't mind a little fishtailing, the roads are prefectly viable for the most part. I'd stay away from East York, though. Our plows suck, but it's not too bad closer to downtown.

i find the main streets are more clear of ice and snow.. i was wobbling like crazy trying to navigate through a few inches of semi hard-packed snow in a laneway near my place.. king/queen/richmond/etc. were fine though. i'm still on slicks though :rolleyes:

oh yeah? I just took Harbord from Ossington to Bedford and then Bloor to Bay and North on Bay to Davenport, where I work. All of those streets save Bay had a fair amount of ice/snow at the curb. I'm sure it varies from area to area though.

and I'm still on slicks also. :)

I bit it this morning on some polished ice near a side-street intersection. Pretty slick stuff, I could barely walk on it after I got up. Need some of those carbide studs for christmas.... Don't you hate it when you bail in view of some cagers....so humiliating.

My MEC shoe covers are great though-my feet were toasty all the way to work-they get my seal of approval.

ugh. A guy on a mtb bailed pulling up to an intersection 5 feet away from me on Friday morning. He went down hard enough that his glasses flew off his face. d'oh!

Anyone have any recommendations on studded tires? :)

I checked out shoe covers at MEC a few weeks ago (picked up some leg/arm warmers and some cordura pants), but the only ones I found seemed pretty expensive to me. They're weren't actually MEC branded though I can't remember what they were. I haven't shopped around though, so the prices could have bee fine.

I managed to find my neoprene socks, so I'm rocking those right now. It's a bit of a squeeze inside my bike shoes though. But they kept them from falling off this morning, so I guess that's something. It's sad when low-pile carpet over concrete feels warm on your feet, huh? :)

If you guys see any good deals on fixed gear wheelsets here in Toronto give me a shout!
I saw a pretty good deal at urbane today. Their mavic open pros 36h are on sale for $75 bucks. But I still need to get them to build it up for me :(
Thanks!

The problem with studded tires is they're frigging expensive. The ones we sell at the shop are $79.00 and that's like 25% below the MSRP. You can get those in about 35mm - 38mm though (the Nokian line w/ the carbide studs). I think we've got some Contis as well that are about $60 each. MEC sells some as well. Anyone know if those ones are any good?

I've just been sucking it up on my 25mm Duros (oh hells ya) and sticking to the main streets. I'm happy to take up a whole lane if that's what it takes to stay out of the ruts + ice.

if you've been reading the forums, no doubt you'd read the posts about the nashbar formula/hub wheelsets. add that to their 99cent shipping and you've got a good deal if you're primarily concerned about saving money. however, i'd much rather have someone knowledgeable about fg build my wheels by hand though. if this is your first fixie, i'd recommend buying something off the shelf and riding the heck out of it. after a year or so (if you still like riding fixed) then build your dream bike and bling it out. plus, you'll still have your first bike as a beater.

you guys have got me curious about studded tired now... does anyone use frame-saver?? argh.. i really should just get a winter ride.

Sigh, their wheelset is gone from the Nashbar website. + I don't have a credit card as I'm still a student.

You mean the Schwalbes? http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=153987

This thread should be a sticky by now. It's one of the better used threads. How do you go about getting that done?

Ask a mod, I guess. I kind of like it in it's natural state though. Stickying something seems almost pretentious.

Welcome back, by the way. For someone who started this thread we don't see much of you. :D

Man, I LOVE this thread!
just goes to tell how much cooler Toronto is :)
(i'm quite surprised places like NYC and Chicago don't have their own city thread)
Yea, I don't think it should be stickied, it perfect the way it is.
whooo... *high 5*

Ha, ya. I've been cought up in the Road bike forum as of late, and I don't even have a multi speed road bike yet. Don't tell anyone :rolleyes:

Oh, BTW. I've heard that Curbside Cycle may be doing some small single speed races in the spring. Very informal, but fun races around campus and what not. Sounds like fun. If I hear anything else I'll be sure to post in here. It would be nice to meet some of you guys some time.

This thread is nice and cozy. Maybe I'll start hanging out again. Cheers

P.S. WOOT to over 1000 posts in this thread!

I just wax the beater with Turtle Wax, which is like $5 at Canadian Tire.

You could also invest the time in making some home-made studdies, which are cheap and have been working out well for me (though I chose a minimal amount of studdage, because I am fairly confident in my winter handling afer 5+ years without any form of studded tire -- fallen only twice, and those were both due to cars nearly clipping me). Icebike.org has directions, if you're interested.

On a general note, it would be wicked to meet up in Toronto -- Critical Mass seems to lure some of us out, and it's a nice informal thing each month. Perhaps some sort of clothing or symbol to ensure we all know who's who?

Hey Eugene...Please tell me you aren't riding the Sannino? Be nice to yer sweetheart!!

some of us already know each other from CM, that's how I met a bunch of the guys in here. I say just look for the small group of fixies and say "bikeforums?". :)

I'm still riding my 23c slicks, and without any (*knock on wood*) major troubles so far. And yeah, I'm more than willing to move as far out into the lane as I need to so that I'm not riding in snow/ice. I'm not even sure how well a studded 35 would fit on my bike... it doesn't have the most clearance I've ever seen, that's for sure.

That would be cool if curbside sponsored some events this year.. I wouldn't mind giving it a try. It's been like 10 years since I raced last (which was offroad), but I'm always willing to be humiliated. :) I've said it before and I'll say it again: a couple trips out to London would be cool too!


ps. For a little more Toronto-thread love: I've been too busy lately to really bother with the rest of the forum, but I still check this thread more-or-less daily. aww! :P

I never liked the "through the casing" method they describe on icebike. We used to thread sheet metal screws screwed obliquely into the lugs and you'd actually end up using the edge of the head of the screw for the stud. When that got worn, you'd just turn the screw a bit more and it's be ready to go again. Dirt cheap and very quick to set up.

cavernmech, yeah it's the Sannino he's riding. It's criminal...

Apart from the local relevance, I find this thread a little less uptight. . .

These don't look like a bad deal:

http://www.chucksbikes.com/store/indexwh033.htm

Have you considered building your own wheels though? It's way more fun, and even your first set will probably be way better than some machine built crap.

So what do I need to build up my first set of wheels?

Knowledge:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

Not too much. First you need to go here and read this-printing it off will be helpful as you can use it as a reference as you build:

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

Then assuming you have the spokes, rims, nipples and hubs you want to use, you need a spoke wrench. It helps to have a truing stand, but I have built lots of wheels without one, just use the brake pads and your frame or fork.

Suggestions:

Make sure you lube the nipple/rim interface, and the spoke threads with grease or oil. Makes the build way easier.

Go slowly and carefully-don't rush, and everything will work out nicely. Wheel building is not rocket science, and it really isn't all that hard, despite the way most shops try to make it sound. I started building my own b/c the quality of handbuilts I got from a number of local shops was really bad. Even my first build was way better than what I was getting from Dukes, Sporting Life etc.


I do my final tensioning with an inflated tire on the rim, the air pressure actually slackens the spokes slightly. Even, high tension=strong reliable wheel.

I find rims with steel eyelets are easier to build (less friction between the nipple and rim, but it doesn't matter all that much.

Watch out for spoke twist as you bring the tension up. You will learn to feel it, and back off the nipples to release the twist.

Have fun!

You beat me to it!

I know you said you don't have a credit card, but there are alternate methods of payment on eBay. Many sellers take Money orders/Cashiers checks too. I would buy the parts separately; like, buy the hub and rim on eBay and then have it made here in Toronto by whomever you trust. You'd be surprised how cheap some stuff goes for on ebay.