Your latest bike purchase?

[ebubar]

So this is more of a preemptive new bike purchase query.

I had a recent encounter with an automobile (i’m fine, a few scrapes and the fellow who did the hitting is taking responsibility and paying for the bike damage). I truly believe It was a genuine accident so I don’t want to take advantage of the guy. I took the bike into Proteus for an assessment hoping it would only need bar tape and a tuneup, but it turns out the seatstay was badly bent. Continued use would void my warranty making it “ride at your own risk”. Since I ride daily, we’re taking no chances and are going for a Jamis Crash Replacement.

If there is a frame available, I can get a new frame and have the components switched over. This will be the cheapest option, and I might choose this if it works out. I suspect its not likely that Jamis has a 2014, size 54 cm Quest Comp sitting around as a frameset (which they don’t sell standalone).

My inclination is to go for a fully new bike in case any components are damaged and just not showing it. The cost to fully replace the Quest through Jamis’ crash replacement deal (charged to the car driver) is roughly the same as the cost of a new Kona Rove Al. Through selling old parts and the replacement bike, I suspect I could gather up the cash for the Rove. As I’ve been riding more i’ve learned i’m more interested in comfort and distance over speed. The Kona Rove Al seems more suitable for comfort while perhaps sacrificing some of the speed of the Quest. Also, the presence of the disc brakes for all weather riding and increased stopping power is tempting after this encounter.

Does anyone have opinions or impressions of the Rove Al? Ride quality of the steel versus aluminum (i’m thinking larger tires would soak up a lot of road buzz, perhaps negating the differences in frame smoothness)? Sora triple versus a Claris Compact Double (though I suppose the Jamis components could be moved onto the Rove)?

[hozn]

@ronwalf 105936 wrote:

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7547&stc=1[/IMG]

I wish Giro offered some (any?) of the lace-up shoes/boots in HV (wide) models. I’m curious how these hold up in the cold. The brief Velo review said they were warmer than expected, but that doesn’t really tell me anything useful I’m pretty happy with my Northwave boots, but if I could find something that was still warm after an hour in ~15F temps, I’d probably add it to my long-term shopping list.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ebubar 105965 wrote:

Does anyone have opinions or impressions of the Rove Al? Ride quality of the steel versus aluminum (i’m thinking larger tires would soak up a lot of road buzz, perhaps negating the differences in frame smoothness)? Sora triple versus a Claris Compact Double (though I suppose the Jamis components could be moved onto the Rove)?

I don’t know how much value my insight is, but I think that the aluminum vs. steel question to a degree depends on what your needs/preferences are. I have two aluminum bikes, but they’re both “race” bikes (one a road bike and the other a track bike) and pretty stiff…but I like that, because it feels more responsive when climbing and accelerating. Yeah, it’s a harsher ride, but I’m willing to make that tradeoff….My steel bikes definitely ride smoother, but they just don’t feel as lively…kinda like a sports car vs. a luxury sedan. All that said, I think some big strides have been made with aluminum for use in a broader range of frames, so it can be made to provide a pretty comfy ride like steel, but without the weight penalty.

Regarding Claris vs. Sora, I haven’t ridden Claris, but I’d be hesitant to go lower than Sora (which is perfectly functional, if not as smooth as something like Tiagra or 105). Basically, I’d say get the nicest groupset you can afford (although I’d say diminishing returns start around the 105 level). Double vs. Triple? Meh. I have bikes with both and I don’t really even think about it. For a commuter or tourer, a triple is kinda nice to have to give you lower gearing, but you can achieve the same thing on a double with careful cassette choice. Again, I’d make the decision based on the groupset rather than double vs. triple.

[hozn]

I think I am going to have a new 54cm Foundry Riveter road disc frame to unload (sell) next week if you want to go carbon disc, though it sounds like a racier geometry than you are looking for. (The frame is brand new, but the fork I would be including is mildly used and is a generic QR fork instead of the 15mm thru-axle fork that typically ships with the frame. Yes, I bought the frameset just to swap out the fork.)

[dasgeh]

We Moose Mitts’ed the bakfiets. They’re amazing. I especially like that the orange matches the orange rain cover (key for keeping kids warm in the winter – 2yo doesn’t wear a coat under it unless it’s under 30).

I had been worried about them fitting the Boda’s mustache bars but they fit without a problem. I ordered a yellow pair for that bike (in the background here, but not really visible).

[vern]

I just put a new set of Gatorskins on my road bike. On my old set I’d run up 4000 miles…and no flats! But the contact surface on the old set was completely flat – all the round was worn off the tires, so I figured it was only a matter of time.

[Lt. Dan]

upgraded my tool storage from a smaller Stanley box. Lowes had a deal on a nice multi piece box with a handle and rollers… Now to buy MORE TOOLS!!!

[cvcalhoun]

My latest bike purchase was a battery for my Garmin Edge 500. Replacing the battery required

• Acquisition not only of the battery but several specialized tools. (Even Strosniders does not sell anything as small as a Tor-X 5 screwdriver!)
• Finding instructions online. (They are not included in the Edge 500 manual.)
• Refinding the instructions, after the forum on which I originally found them had a glitch that caused it to reject ALL visitors as spam. (For anyone else that needs them, the Google cache of the forum post is here.)
• Accepting that I will no longer have use of the speaker, because attaching the battery to that requires either a soldering iron or a hot glue gun.

I am alternating between being unreasonably proud of having managed this, and ticked with Garmin for making such a simple repair nearly impossible.

[Steve O]

@cvcalhoun 106630 wrote:

My latest bike purchase was a battery for my Garmin Edge 500. Replacing the battery required

• Acquisition not only of the battery but several specialized tools. (Even Strosniders does not sell anything as small as a Tor-X 5 screwdriver!)
• Finding instructions online. (They are not included in the Edge 500 manual.)
• Refinding the instructions, after the forum on which I originally found them had a glitch that caused it to reject ALL visitors as spam. (For anyone else that needs them, the Google cache of the forum post is here.

I am alternating between being unreasonably proud of having managed this, and ticked with Garmin for making such a simple repair nearly impossible.

Hey, I’m wondering if my battery is going, too. I’ve noticed that the display gets faint sometimes, but then it comes back. Was that an early symptom for you? It has not had any problems with recording or syncing; just the display.

[cvcalhoun]

@Steve O 106633 wrote:

Hey, I’m wondering if my battery is going, too. I’ve noticed that the display gets faint sometimes, but then it comes back. Was that an early symptom for you? It has not had any problems with recording or syncing; just the display.

No, I didn’t have that issue. The problem for me was that the charge, which used to last 12 hours or more, was running out after only 2-3 hours. I was ending up having to turn it off any time I stopped the bike, and still having it run out before I’d finished some of my rides.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@cvcalhoun 106630 wrote:

ticked with Garmin for making such a simple repair nearly impossible.

Probably hired a bunch of ex-Apple designers…

[cvcalhoun]

@TwoWheelsDC 106636 wrote:

Probably hired a bunch of ex-Apple designers…

Yep, my friend who replaced a battery in an iPhone said the process was similar. The one difference is that the Garmin battery replacement requires a soldering iron, or at least a hot glue gun, if you want to keep the speakers operational. I have neither. A friend offered the use of her soldering iron, but given the difficulty of taking the whole thing apart, and the fact I have no idea how to use a soldering iron, I’m just going to see how much the lack of a speaker drives me nuts before deciding whether to take her up on her offer.

[Starduster]

@Starduster 102522 wrote:

Christmas has arrived. My wife now has a Breezer Uptown EX-LS, fresh from Papillon Cycles. Just the type of bike she wanted all along. The old bike just didn’t have that personality. *It* (the Schwinn Essence in the [ATTACH=CONFIG]7226[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7227[/ATTACH]second photo) is now with Larry Behery @ The Old Bike Shop, probably already on the sales floor.

Now, my original intent was one with a dynohub. That didn’t happen, but I have a Euro lighting solution soon. After I’ve run my mouth for so long, I *should* practice what I preach, non?

Putting my money where my mouth is- Busch+Muller Ixon Core headlight and a Busch+Muller Toplight Flat S Permanent, which fits the rack perfectly.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7729[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7730[/ATTACH]

An on-the-road image is available here, at http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp, or http://www.bumm.de/innovation-original/lichtvergleich-scheinwerfer.html. Light on your path of travel without having to *cover your light* to keep from blinding your fellow riders. My point all along.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Finally pulled the trigger. This is going to look sooooo nice paired with the Omniums on my MASH.

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 108441 wrote:

Finally pulled the trigger. This is going to look sooooo nice paired with the Omniums on my MASH.

I hope you have better luck than @Dirt or myself had with those BBs. I was thinking this was going to be the best long-term solution, but mine was completely destroyed after 9k miles, which included complete regressing (using their $70 grease fitting tool!!) every 2-3k miles. And then they were going ti replace it for me, but it had welded itself to my frame during that time (note: use anti-seize! grease is not sufficient if you won’t be taking it out and regressing it every few thousand miles) so the threads were destroyed. I threw it in the trash and went back to regular cartridge bearing BBs.

On the other hand, they do look nice. You could get a red Hope BB or one of those fancy Enduro cartridge bearing BBs, which also come in red. I have no idea why CK thought that cartridge bearings were a bad idea…

And of course, you are welcome to borrow (or probably have) my grease port tool for that CK BB should you decide to keep it.

I think Dirt’s experiences with those was worse than mine.

[Author]

Posts