Hey chimbleysweep!

Capitol Hill Bikes has a couple pistas right now ($550) if you want a test ride, but me, I'd hold out for the steamroller.

Also, specialized has started making a low-end singlespeed (i.e. freewheel and breaks, but one speed) that Capitol Hill Bikes has for about $450. A good deal.

Originally posted by thirsty moore:
Oh man, I've been drooling over the Surly Steamroller and the Bianchi Pista. They are gorgeous bikes.

You can affix a brake onto the front wheel if necessary. There's also what they call a flip-flop hub that is on one side fixed and on the other side freewheel.

Currently I'm stuck between getting a Pista or a Steamroller.

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
Anyway.
Back to bike talk.

I want a fixie so bad. But I'm not very good at skid stopping.

I've been looking at the Specialized but it just doesn't have the allure of a Bianchi or Surly.

I saw a 59" assembled Steamroller over at Revolution in G'town. It was 1000 bucks though.

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
Also, specialized has started making a low-end singlespeed (i.e. freewheel and breaks, but one speed) that Capitol Hill Bikes has for about $450. A good deal.

Personally I think you are crazy looking at single speeds.

For the money you could get something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3666205314&category=27947

Which would be a darn site more useful and practical.

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
Back to bike talk!

Anyone see that new Nike commercial, where Lance Armstrong is a boxer? I don't get it.

I've seen that ad, I think it's great even if don't quite understand what they're trying to sell….Agassi is a baseball player, Armstrong a boxer and loads of other athletes doing other stuff. It' sjust funny.

Just put my new Thule rack on my car today…wooo hoooo! Ready to go now.

The road bike I bought recently was a Mercier Serpens…nice bike. I did a lot of research before parting with my cashola, and I'm very happy with it. The only thing I've had to change is the saddle but the girl who sold me the bike said I would probably want to upgrade that pretty quick…she was right! ;) I'm not into pain on my bottom…

Originally posted by mankie:

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
Back to bike talk!

Anyone see that new Nike commercial, where Lance Armstrong is a boxer? I don't get it.

I've seen that ad, I think it's great even if don't quite understand what they're trying to sell…

Isnt the point that the athletes are great champions and that their "fighting spirit" would make them great, whatever path they had followed in life, as long as they has worn nike shoes.

Originally posted by mark e smith:
Personally I think you are crazy looking at single speeds.

For the money you could get something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3666205314&category=27947

Which would be a darn site more useful and practical.

Obviously you don't live/ride/commute in the city. Suspension forks are a waste of energy and totally unpractical. Mountain bikes are slow. Gotta get the big roadie wheels if you're going to get around, you know??

I commute on a 97 Stump Jumper, but I've had to replace tires (with slicks), fork (get rid of suspension) and cover it in stickers to avoid theft…

In the past 13 years I've gone through two Trek 800 Antelopes. Both were great workhorses and, unfortunately, both were stolen. They also weighed a ton. I'm tired of mountain bikes and am looking for something far lighter and much quicker.

How can someone deny how gorgeous this bike is? The frame is damn near immaculate.

<img src="http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/nickjohnson1.jpg" alt=" - " />

If you want singlespeed goodness and style, you gotta go with the new Kona:

<img src="http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/images/low/2K4_BikeHotRod_650.jpg" alt=" - " />

Choppers for messengers…

the horror, the horror X2

<img src="http://www.bps-nakayama.com/e/staff/ma-colnago.JPG" alt=" - " />

Is what a bikie should look like.

Are big wheels and skinny tires really the way to go in DC. Some of the pot holes are big enough to swallow my whole car. I would have thought a mountain bike with wide (ish) slicks as a very good compromise. The more upright position and thumbs and fingers always on the controls is certainly better for town.

When I had last had a MTB I had rigid forks. I guess that is rare now. When I rode an M2 stumpjumper, last, I just set the forks to thier hardest setting.

I'm curious. If I were to get a Surly Steamroller frame, would it be possible to put a flip-flop (one side fixed, one side freewheel) hub on it?

Originally posted by thirsty moore:
I'm curious. If I were to get a Surly Steamroller frame, would it be possible to put a flip-flop (one side fixed, one side freewheel) hub on it?

I can think of no reason why not.

True, the more I'm researching this, the more people I'm noticing using that style hub on their bikes.

Originally posted by mark e smith:

Originally posted by thirsty moore:
I'm curious. If I were to get a Surly Steamroller frame, would it be possible to put a flip-flop (one side fixed, one side freewheel) hub on it?

I can think of no reason why not.

Unless you're planning on velodrome racing or working really really hard to get used to a true fixie, it's the only way to go. Ever tried biking down Meridian Hill on a fixie? Ever tried stopping at the bottom? Enough said.

By the way… my good bike *sigh* still credit card debt on wheels after over a year but SOOOOOO fast!!! Not used for commuting, going to bars, errands. Used only for biking across Iowa, on paved surfaces, training, touring, and other trips not necessitating abandoning it with a U-lock.
<img src="http://cannondale.com/bikes/02/images/r500t_spec_02.jpg" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
[By the way… my good bike

Very nice, but why did you get a triple? Dont you get picked on by other roadies for that?

Originally posted by mark e smith:

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
[By the way… my good bike

Very nice, but why did you get a triple? Dont you get picked on by other roadies for that?

It's because I do alot of touring. On RAGBRAI last year, I seriously used every gear I've got. (I recall the particularly tretcherous century day, with such hills that I went from absolute high gear to absolute low gear.)

BUT… I have a small frame and the chain's not long enough to sustain a triple, to tell you the truth. I dump the chain alot. I would have to say, unless you're tall, the triple isn't a good idea, just mechanically.

Seeing as everyone is putting photo's of their babies up, here's mine…sorry it's so large (that's what I said last night!). This also came with a triple and I'm not planning on changing it just to be cool.

<img src="http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/serpens_big_triple.jpg" alt=" - " />

My mtn bike is a Trek 850, had it for years and it's never let me down…only been tuned up once too. No fancy suspension, just a damn good bike that's built like a tank.

Unfortunately the trek weighs the same as a tank…..

Ahhhhh Reynolds 853. What could be more beautiful. Nice job Mankie.

I hope you got it on sale though?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/mercier_serpins.htm

Originally posted by mark e smith:
Unfortunately the trek weighs the same as a tank…..

Ahhhhh Reynolds 853. What could be more beautiful. Nice job Mankie.

I hope you got it on sale though?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/mercier_serpins.htm

;)