tomato coupe

ftfy

LarrySellerz

Lance could hit 175

CliffordK

So, what are the "chances"?

50/50 that one will buy it?
50/50 that one will buy it even if it meets all the criteria that Larry has?
10% chance that one will buy it, no matter what?
90% chance that one will buy it?

Are those cross top brakes? How much of the ride will be in the drops? Can one get the comfort and leverage needed to activate those from the hoods?

I'd be more comfortable doing a strenuous group ride on a bike that was set up properly with the right brakes, and that one has had more than 5 minutes warm up on.

Doesn't SF have some good level places and hills to climb? Do an all out sprint on the flats, then try a 20% hill climb, then sprint back to the shop, and you'll know if the bike does what you want.

mschwett 

lots of people commute on bikes with lots of gears without issue. i commute on a 2x12 carbon bike, have never had a commute fail or any major maintenance issue. if you get a good quality, properly specified bike for your purpose and maintain it properly there's no reason you can't stick with one bike for commuting and group rides and racing.

znomit

With a little help.

LesterOfPuppets

What's the best PED for cadence? Meth?

jadmt

comparing yourself to Lance?

datlas 

These threads are like a train wreck or a bad auto accident. You know it’s terrible but you can’t keep yourself from watching.

CliffordK

I'm not sure the answer to frames breaking. Some riders can go a lifetime without a frame breaking, then others can destroy several, including different materials.

Starting with new, good quality, never wrecked equipment may help, as long as you don't crash on it. Continuing riding on a crashed frame with potential hidden damage can be problematic.

I think some of the professional track cyclists are hard on equipment, but then again, their sponsor would just replace whatever breaks and the cyclists keep riding. Perhaps even supply new equipment for major events. So it would be worth following whatever the pro track riders are riding.

I'm not convinced a single speed is the answer, that you'll always be jumping between too high of gearing and too low of gearing. I can, or used to be able to climb in pretty high gears. But, I'd struggle simply riding up my driveway with a 48:16. And undoubtedly it would put both myself and my bike under a lot of stress.

ctak

Shirtless drop bar 2 hour what now?



Thread 1 was more entertaining
Ocean swimming in bib shorts

znomit

Something isn't right here. Usually shops are falling over themselves to get their products into the hands of highly successful "influencers".
Larry you need to go back and give them the "Do you know who I am???" talk.

CliffordK

I'm not sure that will help.

shelbyfv

Good point. Brands are always looking for appropriate ambassadors.

CAT7RDR

So if you ask for a short ten minute test ride but show up 2-3 hours later, I would not expect a friendly exchange afterwards.

Penal Code 532 PC prohibits theft by false pretenses – which is defined as defrauding someone of money or property by way of false promises or representations. The offense may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony and carries a penalty of up to 3 years in jail or prison.

Dot your i's and cross your t's or ruin your life.
Your choice.

bblair

I did that. Was looking for a new bike and admiring the LBS owners personal bike-a Lynnskey Titanium. He encouraged me to take it on a Sunday group ride of about 40 miles.

Yes, I ordered one and had it built to his recommendations. I guess if you are a regular customer with a new credit card in hand, then a long test ride is not out of the question.

genejockey 

Back in the 19th and early 20th Century, the were sometimes staged trainwrecks, for the entertainment of crowds. They'd run two old locomotives at each other on the same track to crash right in front of the spectators.

Bah Humbug

Michael Bay is taking notes.

Bah Humbug

Did he know you? An LBS where you've bought bikes is much likelier to give latitude.

bblair

Yes. I had many bikes serviced there over the years. I bought my tandem car carrier, which cost as much as a bike. Our club rides started at the shop, so yea, we knew each other well and it was his idea.

Kai Winters

You rode the "owners" ride...not a new bike sitting on the show room floor...apples and oranges

veganbikes

I mean if he really wanted to be Larry Sellers, he would be completely silent and not say a thing. In the greatest film ever made The Big Lebowski, Larry Sellers didn't say a damn thing, he was probably a prick who stole Dude's car and left his homework but never had a line.

For those who accidentally think this is a real question. If you take one of my bikes for that long I will be pissed unless you have worked it out with me in advance in a case like this if they were putting heavy wear on the bike I would make them buy it and refund them minus the cost of repairing and cleaning the bike if they didn't purchase it in the end. In terms of a Fuji Feather it is an overpriced cheap bike with a very vintage feel. I remember riding it years ago and hating it. It is certainly not a bike I would want to ride with others.

I would want a more road bike geometry and more comfortable parts for a single speed or fixed gear but also useful for the road and the rides I am doing. However in this specific case I would not want anyone like the OP near my rides as they are too much of a liability and a risk for the other rides.

A test ride is generally 5-20 minutes. Theft is generally riding a bike longer than that without working something out in advance. We had a customer once who took an "extended test ride" and in the end he was gone for days and was DUMB enough to walk past the shop with bike because it died on him and he was not happy I saw him walking bike and kept walking and I had to grab the bike from him. Don't steal a bike and don't ask if you can rent a bike for free. If you want the bike buy it if you don't, don't.

seypat

What I'd like to know is how much better or worse is one $400-$600 single speed track bike compared to other $400-$600 single speed track bikes?

CliffordK

The best way to really know is to take the bike out for a demo ride, fly it down to Mexico City.

Then ride it in the Velodrome.

If you can't get at least 56.5 km in an hour, the you might as well just give the bike to a street kid, and call the bike shop back and tell them it was junk.

Camilo

Plus a Lynskey vs. an inexpensive bike

LarrySellerz

I think you’d agree that $600-650 for a feather is steep, and that the inadequacies could be well masked by good maintenance and won’t expose themselves until the bike is pushed hard and actually tested. Not moseying around for 15 minutes and climbing a hill then calling it good.

40 miles shouldn’t do any appreciable damage to the bike, if it does it was faulty. It’s a single speed... Also I’d shout out the bike shop and the Fuji brand to anyone asking about the bike on the ride.

I have a single speed and the mechanical disk brakes are such a headache that I won’t even ride it anymore. I’m not going to go down that road again with a trash single speed. Is a feather the same thing as a kilo tt or is it worse?