BillyD

Here's my Ishiwata-tubing. Rides like a dream. Cuz it's real.



@3alarmer and @LesterOfPuppets - any particular brand of skin walls you prefer?

3alarmer

...I have seen similar exotic setups on some of the higher end folders: Bicycle gearing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



But they usually use a derailleur in combination with an IGH, so the derailleur acts as the tensioner. There is probably a reason they do it this way.

3alarmer

...Panaracer Pasela, without question. Not exactly a skinwall, but close enough. Relatively cheap for the quality of the tyre. RB-1's are the schizzle here, and almost unobtainable on the CL.

...........#curseyouGrantPetersen

Velo Vol 

That's not much of a facepalm unless you knew the cars were turning and charged into their path.

I doubt you even looked at your bicycle today.

Come on, someone has to challenge me for the crown.

UnfilteredDregs

I may be going about this the wrong way, apparently there's internal geared hubs that may suit my needs...I like the idea of singlespeed in terms of simplicity but what I want is essentially a bombproof urban scoot-about that has the absolute minimum gears for my terrain. I have a bit of up/down/up/down before I get to the flat lands of Manhattan and Brooklyn...

3alarmer

...I believe you opened this discussion with this:

Frankly, while I find it insulting personally, I was willing to forgive it as based on ignorance of motive and intent. Now you seem to want to make it about my disapproval of the modern.


Let me know when you want to make it about "let's be honest", because we're not there yet.

3alarmer

...peeps were doing that with SA AW hubs and choosing the right cog for it in 1971, when I was doing it in D.C. The AW has a remarkable range between high and low, if it is a little short on number of gear selections. The Shimano IGH hubs seem to be either wonderful or terrible, with little middle ground. Hopefully, their products are more universally reliable now.

The last time I did an IGH project of the sort you have in mind, I went with SRAM; they had the best reviews at that time.

If you want to remortgage your house, get a Rohloff.

Trsnrtr

Sweet.

rpenmanparker 

I use exactly three gears in Houston, the 39 up front and the 19, 17, and 15 in back. The other 17 combinations don't bother me any just being there unused. But I can see how a three-speed IGH would be nice for an up, down, flat combo terrain.

Trsnrtr

Ok, how about I forgot all about oiling a FG chain and getting your finger too close to the chain wheel while the chain is turning?

I've got a bad blood blister under a nail now and I could have cut the end of my finger off which did happen to a friend of mine back in the 80s while oiling a track bike chain in the stand.

Ramona_W

I was at the used bike shop this afternoon and- though I vowed not to buy anything today and kept to that vow- I did see several likely candidates for the cheap, sticker and paint the hell out of it, run it into the ground then donate it bike I was looking for for this summer. I also found out they'd removed the tres pimp purple rims and hubs from a bike I'd previously donated, dropped the price from $75 to $45 in order to sell it, and put the purple rims on a bright blue Dynamo which they've priced at $95. (The guy I was talking to was funny because he said "You're looking for a BMX bike?" I was like "Dude, two years ago I learned to ride on a cute little 18" BMX bike before I move to the 20" Magna those flashy purple wheels came off of." And then we talked about the conversion from coaster brake to freewheel and he saw us on the way to Starbucks on the tandem and... Good bikey times.)

My daughter, who does not ride, said "Why don't you just ride the bike you already have?" I said "That bike is suited to a different purpose than the new one will be." She said "That's why Lester has so many bikes. Because this bike is for this kind of riding and that bike is for another kind." I said "Only partly correct. The other reason is that he loves bikes."

And then I missed turning where I had meant to turn because I was formulating visions and plans for the new bike I haven't even committed to buying yet.

BillyD

Yeah I was pleased as spit when I found one to fit me.

UnfilteredDregs

The Shimano stuff seems to be quite popular now, I know my shop does a lot of builds with Alfines and such...I found an excellent resource for comparing the various makes and models here. I'm going to have to map my current 11 spd gear range, in terms of what I use on a typical city jaunt, and see what IGH meets the requirement. Not as bad as I thought this would be...

Trsnrtr

The Rohloff is a jewel.

Velo Vol 

Now we're talking facepalm . . .

Ramona_W

Love the look of the Masi but I'm a great admirer of that color for bikes. But I like orange too and, of course, coffee and pecan rolls.

Ramona_W

That's such a funny picture because the fork and stem are from that Marin the guy brought in and insisted we break up and mix with a -? What was the bike he already had with suspension? Anyway- for those who weren't there- a guy brings in this beautiful Marin. We were all oohing and aahing over it. He says he's always wanted a Marin and now he's got one. Much congratulating ensued. Then he says it's too hard to ride because it doesn't have suspension and his other bike does and he really needs suspension because he's gonna use it for commuting. I pleaded with him. Everybody pleaded with him. "But you always wanted a Marin and now you've got one and if we take it apart, it won't be worth as much money and it won't be a Marin anymore." But he was adamant.
#youcantsellsense

rpenmanparker 

Insulting you personally or otherwise was the last thing I wanted to do. I'm fascinated by your and Les's endless appetite for more of the same GENERAL kinds of bikes you already have. I don't mean to disparage it, only to discuss it. I'm sorry if I offended you. I won't bring it up again.

Ramona_W

If I had this pic poster-size, I'd put it up somewhere. One step better would be an exploded diagram of it. I love those.
#nerd

UnfilteredDregs

I have my 11 spd drivetrain utterly optimized for how and where I ride...I use the full range of the cassette and both chainrings other than the two crosschain combinations. I'm regularly across the cassette and not sitting within a particular set of cogs. The only thing missing is some of the downhill oomph I used to have because I went with a sub-compact 46/30 crank. Nevertheless spinning 46/11 @120 rpm ain't too shabby.

My relaxed riding tends to be sedately (Sedate is subject to debate...) puttering about the city and since I have a tendency to break my bike the appeal of a simpler cycle for my puttering is strong. What I think I'm going to end up doing is starting with a singlespeed first and using less hilly access from the Bronx to Manhattan, and I'm going to purchase a frame that can accommodate an IGH if need be.

UnfilteredDregs

It appeals to my German half.

Ramona_W

Well, I'm curious now. When you say "general" kinds of bikes, what do you mean? Are you thinking it would be- for lack of a more apt word- "better" to own a pure form of each variety of bike like a CF road bike, a mountain bike with suspension, a fixie, a BMX bike, a cruiser, etc or bikes with widely divergent gearings or what? What do you feel would be not "the same"?

If I had unlimited space and a less limited income, there are bikes I would have around because I love their lines. LoP posted a picture of that "maroon" Free Spirit and I'm not too embarrassed to say I sometimes gaze at it admiringly as, between rides, it hangs on the bedroom wall. (Is that sick?)There was a green one at the bike shop for a while and I liked that one too but I prefer this dark "nearly the inside of a cherry pie" red.

I have a Trek 820 in the blue fade from 1995. I didn't fall in love with the purple 830 we had in the shop and I'm not sure why but I liked its looks a lot. There was a red with yellow accoutrements Trek in another thread I very much lusted after and the bike below isn't mine but I wouldn't kick it out of the garage either. There's something about the way the Trek folks draw bikes. I guess it's a good thing the conditions above don't prevail.

rjones28 

I did not.

3alarmer

...when i was in the MFA program at Minnesota, there were always guys in every show who would stroll around, look for a while, and then say to the ol' lady (or anyone else who would listen), "I may not know art, but I know what I like". After a while, I started saying it myself. I soon dropped out of the MFA program.

Dannihilator

The old steel treks are great riding bikes, not overly impressed with the newer stuff to be honest.

That being said, inadvertently dropped a guy on a project one on a climb today while out on my ride. He passed me at the bottom of this climb but must have blown himself up in doing so, seeing as I spin past him 20 yards later. Heard him reaching for gears as I passed.