[krazygl00]

There was that time I was rebuilding a wheel to replace the hub, unlaced the rim and spokes, had the hub in hand and then realized I had not yet taken off the fixed-gear cog. Sigh.

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@eminva 126629 wrote:

Thanks — 32 spokes. The wheel is a Maddux DC 3.0 Disc. I know this is not a high end bike, but he likes hybrids and you probably wouldn’t want to park a nicer bike in front of a high school on Route 7 everyday.

Appreciate the insights.

Liz

Not really knowing about the quality of the Maddux brand, I would say it is entirely possible to make a 32h wheel built adequately for a 200lb rider with 40lb or so load. You might even be able to do it with the existing hardware; the key would be getting a good wheelbuilder who will re-tension and re-true the entire wheel and do all of the goodies that good wheel builders do such as pre-tension the spoke shoulders and do a final wind-up relief.

Pro-tip: if they don’t use a tension-meter during the build they’re doing it wrong.

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@notlost 126453 wrote:

Amazon has some decent pricing on the Velo Transit Freemont 30 pack…these are usually $180-200, some colors currently going for under $50. I have a 40 liter pack of theirs and it has held up well over the last year. Definitely waterproof on the inside…outside pocket not so much.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y7QFQT8

How good are these? Are they $180-200 good or $50 good (with a $180 “real” price tag as an enticement)?

I am a sucker for bags and packs but I really don’t need anything right now. However if this were an amazing $200 pack for $50 I might be persuaded to get one. You know, for a friend!

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@PotomacCyclist 123245 wrote:

HTO was more convenient for those in Pentagon City/Crystal City. The closest REI is smack in the middle of Columbia Pike. It’s not a pleasant bike ride there from PC. I wouldn’t mind if REI opened a store in Pentagon City or perhaps in one of the planned buildings in Crystal City.

REI is planning to open a flagship store in the old Uline Arena in NoMa, north of Union Station. But that’s not convenient for people in Pentagon City either. (I still plan to check out the new store when it opens, but I doubt I’ll go there that often. It will be too far away from me.)

FTFY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_State_Route_244

Signed, one of those “far end” residents

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Do you still have the quill-to-threadless stem adapter?

[krazygl00]

Then of course I find a bike like this and it makes me feel confused and weird. I guess I sort of get what they’re going for there; at least who they might be appealing to, and either their designers/marketers are idiosyncratic geniuses or deranged lunatics.

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@PotomacCyclist 115111 wrote:

They are a big-box budget bike manufacturer, but they are trying to move into the upper-end of the market. I don’t know if they will remain in the big-box retailer category or not.

At a triathlon meeting last fall, Diamondback sent a representative who talked up their new high-end triathlon bike. They gave one of the bikes away in a raffle and offered significant discounts to all club members.

I didn’t win the bike and I haven’t bought their bikes, so I can’t speak to the quality. I just know that they are trying to break into the high end of the bike market.

As for the ad, I have no idea. It does seem odd that he has a “friend” who gets a wholesale deal on the bikes and he is selling multiple bikes on CL.

If you look up the model on other websites, it does show a list price in the $1,700 range. On Amazon, the actual price is $1,541. No customer reviews.

– Performance Bicycle listing: $1,499. No reviews.
– Dick’s Sporting Goods: $1699.99. No reviews.

No reviews anywhere, except some site that lists the supposed top 10 hybrid bikes, but all of them are Diamondback bikes, LOL.

This is the only review I can find, and it’s not much of a review. It’s a video that includes excerpts of other reviews, except there aren’t any names or organizations associated with any of those reviews. Really bizarre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRjH2vmvzXk

On the Diamondback website, many of the “city” bikes are listed in the $250-$350 range. Other bikes run between $550 and $1200, for what it’s worth.

These are good insights. I found similar search results online and sort of a lack of well-rounded reviews. This coupled with the odd CL sales thing has me hesitating.

@DismalScientist 115116 wrote:

Price (at Performance) seems appropriate for specs.

I think branding non-specialty bikes is complete hogwash. Most frames are produced in a handful of Chinese plants, regardless of brand. Components are made by a few companies and are the same regardless of bicycle brand.

I don’t know about the CL ad. Does this guy know how to assemble bicycles?

Will this be too much bicycle? Is your wife’s name Frederica?

What’s wrong with Bikes Direct anyway?

Nothing specifically wrong with Bikes Direct at all except to be aware of what you’re buying.

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I’ll be there.

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@rcannon100 98933 wrote:

…hanging out on the right – allowing the crazies to be on the left.

WOW the election has really affected this town :p

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@Crickey7 97699 wrote:

I think the issue in the early 1980’s was that manufacturers were desperately trying to reduce weight, but the technology and materials they had available to them were not really up to the task. You may recall a brief obsession with drilling components. Then, of course, we saw the creation of the oversized aluminum frame with its astonishing lightness but incredibly harsh ride qualities.

The bikes we have today are truly wonderful. Light, fast, reliable and comfortable. Nostalgia is fine, but I’d ride a 2015 Roubaix frame with 105 components over any bike made before 2000.

I wholeheartedly agree that we live in a golden age of bikes and components. Which is why I get all vexed and curmudgeonly whenever a friend wants advice on buying a Walmart bike.

But I think in your encapsulation of recent history you should include that lightness – for it’s own sake – diminished as a design objective in favor of a more cohesive set of traits that also included stiffness, ride quality, etc. Witness the offering at any recent NAHBS and the premium price high-end custom steel frames still fetch.

Once stunning lightness became economical while still retaining strength it seems some of the focus went to ride quality. Yes, makers are still trying to produce light bikes but for many riders it seems that at a certain point enough was enough and other qualities became the focus.

So I wouldn’t necessarily choose a 2015 Roubaix over any bike made before 2000. Many of them, yes. But a lot of bikes made before 2000 still have ride characteristics that are quite competitive with today’s bikes, despite being a few pounds heavier than “modern” offerings. And with judicious component group upgrades one can still stay not too far behind the weight curve.

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You all just rode right past my house We couldn’t make this one but will be riding later today. Plus I wasn’t sure the ride/route would be kid/trailer/friendly.

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@creadinger 97038 wrote:

This is the wrong crowd to write this to, because I know none of us is suicidal and lights have been discussed ad nauseum.

Grammar win. Thank you.

@rcannon100 97136 wrote:

There is a big big difference between a strobe and a blinkie. Strobes, well they JUST SUCK. Based on requests from this forum, I always run my lights on solid (no blinks) while on trails.

Comments on the trail ~ My attitude is that people are not going to get the message the first time. They probably wont get the message the second time. Maybe not even the third. But if we all politely repeat the message “light or reflectors please” ~ ninjas will get the message. Someone who hears that enough times on the trail will most hopefully have an epiphany.

I second the use of solid lights on the trail. My practice has been solid lights on the trail where they are less likely to be confused with a motor vehicle, and where you want to spare the eyes of other trail users; blinky lights on the road where demand for attention is at a premium and you definitely want to disambiguate yourself from cars.

If I have a near miss with a ninja my ire gets up and I usually call out “you need a light!”. I am fairly certain they are hearing this as “your knees are tight!”

@Terpfan 97139 wrote:

It’s also a reminder to make sure the batteries are charged. I forgot last year and battery went out on MVT before OT while rear blinky worked. Some other kind cyclist slowed down and offered to let me follow him with his light on to OT (from there I could take city streets with lights on a longer way back).

I did this once for someone…and on the MVT as well. It might have been me.

That dude was awesome.

Yep it was me.

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@bobco85 96279 wrote:

Am I really invisible?

Rob a bank and find out!

That’s a crummy intersection because people don’t think of the mall parking deck as a source of traffic. Also, I avoid Carlin Springs like the plague. Which is a funny expression because, does anybody in the western world actively do anything to avoid the plague? Maybe it should be “…like I avoid talking to co-workers in the bathroom”, or “…like I avoid making eye contact with pan-handlers.”

[krazygl00]

We just went through this, and here is what worked for us. Our daughter has been on a balance bike since she was about 4 years old. She wasn’t really good at it until she saw some other kids on their balance bikes zooming around and then it kind of clicked for her. After that she could easily scoot and balance for 20 or more feet. We didn’t really push the issue but she started saying she wanted a pedal bike, probably because she was loving her trail-a-bike. We got one with training wheels and I adjusted them about an inch off the ground each, thinking she already had the balance thing down and the wheels would be there just in case. This wound up being a total disaster as all they did was serve to catapult her and the bike over to either side. After some tears I adjusted them down even with the rear wheel and then she was happy. For about a month or two she rode like this until she said she wanted to try without the training wheels so we took them off.

I think she almost regretted this when she realized there was no going back However she soldiered through and did a few rides with me holding her. Then one evening at a playground I had her ride in circles with me letting go for a few seconds at a time, which she was proud of. The next evening we did a repeat of that and she finally got it. I think the balance bike definitely helped with this because she was riding like a natural. Steering to balance made complete sense to her. However I don’t think a balance bike alone would have been enough because what she had to learn with the training wheels was to pedal to move herself. The final piece was learning to pedal to keep moving to balance, and that is the part that can only be learned on the bike.

[krazygl00]

@hozn 96058 wrote:

I was just looking at that this AM from wiggle: http://www.wiggle.com/exposure-joystick-mk8-with-handlebar-and-helmet-mount/ (same ballpark price, but a few $ cheaper w/ free shipping).

Instead I ordered a helmet mount for my minidrive XL light. I don’t think I need 400L to supplement my handlebar light, even in the woods. For my next light, I’ll consider it, though.

I am loving my Power Drive XL. I have a Mini Drive XL as well. The battery life of both of these isn’t quite what Lezyne claims but they are still great lights and I dig the replaceable batteries. I keep a Nitecore charger at the office and one at home. 18650’s and 123’s are cheap online. You have to make sure you get the “protected” ones.

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