Folx, I have the blues tonight and I'd like to talk about bicycles.

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  • Nagarjuna [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I once found the chop shop my bike had been fenced to and stole it back. It was just some dude's house near the uni.

      • Nagarjuna [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I'm inclined to call it stealing since it impacted someone's livelyhood!

    • 5bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      That's cool as fuck actually.

      Do you use a back pack or some other cargo system? Cause for all it's worth, cycling distances with a backpack is not great

      • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I got a milk crate zip tied on to the back of my bike

        I haven't ridden in over a year, though, I'm fat and afraid I'll break it. I broke the bike seat before :(

        • 5bicycles [he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          4 years ago

          If you wanna get back on a bike I'd suggest proper mountain bikes. They're rated for someone of lesser weight to do jumps n shit. They'll take pretty much all the abuse a larger person could throw at it in daily use.

          Bit less efficient though. Might wanna change the knobbly tyres out for slicks.

  • Asia_Set [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    I biked over 100 miles in one day last summer, and I'm looking to make it an annual event for myself. This year I will have the pleasure of doing it on this model of bike (not the exact bike in the blog post, just the same model), which my rich ass cousin will be giving me since he never rides it. Does anyone here have any specific opinions on what to expect from a carbon road bike, albeit one from 2005, for someone who has never ridden one before? I currently have a 2013 Cannondale Synapse Sora that I picked up as the bike's third owner from my local bike shop, which I will be selling of upon receipt of the first bike linked above.

    • 5bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      I biked over 100 miles in one day last summer,

      Sick!

      Does anyone here have any specific opinions on what to expect from a carbon road bike, albeit one from 2005, for someone who has never ridden one before?

      I can only tell you from a newer one: it rides insanely smooth compared to an aluminium frame. Also I guess there's some nerd shit about stiffness I guess.

      The high level components do make it nicer. I wouldn't spend the required amount of money on an upgrade, but aforementioned bike did have full ultegra and you can pretty much shift under full load. It's not worth the money if you'd have to buy it I think, it is fucking nice though.

      Careful about that front wheel though. That does not look like it's made to hold up to any impact at all. It'll be fine on good roads, I'd be wary of even potholes however.

      • Asia_Set [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        full ultegra

        I didn't even notice that in the blog post, I'm actually pretty sure the bike my cousin is giving me has full Dura Ace lmao. As far as the front wheel goes, I'm definitely putting the widest tires on that I can, which I assume will be 28x700c.

    • 5bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      was like ??? but he waived me to turn so whatever.

      Yeah, never trust other people in traffic with things like this. They mean well, there's a good chance they're clueless morons.

  • LaBellaLotta [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I built a set of wheels and rode around on them, something really cool about lacing wheels to me.

  • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Nothing really to post just remembering riding my shitty cheap front and rear suspension mountain bike everywhere as a teenager and bombing over speedbumps and kerbs as if they didn't exist. Also used to cycle to a park and ride to the top of some big dirt hills and bomb down them.

  • boyfriend__ascendent [he/him,undecided]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Made a frame bag for my bike, then made one for my dad’s bike, now we have matching frame bags :-)

    Also I just got back from my first long ride (for me) of the year. 50 mi and 5k vert. Not bad on my beater machine.

  • Express [any,none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I bike to work, I bike to get errands done. I love my bikes, I just wish I didn’t have to worry about theft. I could use my nicer bike more often instead of only using it on leisure rides on the weekend.

  • thisismyrealname [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    getting ready to start actually biking places, but i'm not very comfortable on the road (american drivers are psychotic). how bad is it to ride on the sidewalk?

    • boyfriend__ascendent [he/him,undecided]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Not generally frowned upon unless in crowded areas.

      I suggest looking for uncrowded streets if you can. It might take some time, but you could try to scout out routes to places you go commonly and figure out quiet streets to ride on.

      • Galli [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Here is a map specifically for finding quiet streets to cycle on. Hit or miss depending where you are, but you can improve it by contributing to open street map.

    • 5bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      how bad is it to ride on the sidewalk?

      If there's no pedestrians there, who cares.

      Be aware though, drivers don't expect cyclist anyways but they especially don't expect any speed over maybe a jog, more probably a walk, on the sidewalks if they bother to check. You need to treat pretty much every intersection where you can't see the crossing well enough as a stop sign, even if the adjacent road would technically have the right of way. Pretty much the same for driveways, entrances to parking lots etc. etc.

    • VHS [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      in less dense areas where people aren't walking you can easily get away with it, there are some potential issues such as height difference from one tile to the next and overhanging trees. i'd also recommend riding on quiet residential streets where there is very low traffic to start out.

  • medium_adult_son [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    My dad had his old road bike fixed up for me when I was a kid, and going from a cheap mountain bike to that was amazing. Going super fast under my own power is one of the best feelings in life. It's even better with a modern bike. :wholesome:

  • Catherine_Steward [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Fell off my bike the other day because I saw at the last second that a car was coming down the road I was planning to cross. Got out if it with a very mild scrape on my palm. Success.