What type of bicycle do you ride?

[John M Flores]

Really enjoyed your video. Congrats on new bike. Who is the fellow you are riding with?

Thanks, Tom. Who am I riding with? Me, myself, and I. Did you see multiple people in the video.

 

[Santa]

Thanks, Tom. Who am I riding with? Me, myself, and I. Did you see multiple people in the video.

Yes, with the fisheye type lens you have 1/2 of you on one side and have half of you on the other side. that’s why I Asked you “who is that you were riding with”?

 

[Atom Ant]

My ride is a 1999 3-speed Brompton, still going strong after cycling on four continents. It's convenient and fits the shape of my frame perfectly. Unfortunately on family days out I am always the last one home, typically because of photographs, I hasten to add.

My Brompton is a bit younger - an S6L that I bought new a couple of years ago. It is yet to travel overseas, but it is considering visiting Singapore in late April for the BWTC on 1 May. And now that I won't be going to Japan for the Rugby World Cup in September, it may be coming with me to Japan before the RWC.

My B is the only bike that is allowed to stay inside the house; our other bikes fill the garage (relegating our cars to the driveway)

 

[John M Flores]

Yes, with the fisheye type lens you have 1/2 of you on one side and have half of you on the other side. that’s why I Asked you “who is that you were riding with”?

It's a 360 video. When you play it and things are working properly, those two halves are joined into a single me.

 

[=BY=SERG]

Marin Bobcat)))

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[John M Flores]

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Cinelli Hobootleg on its maiden voyage.

 

[=BY=SERG]

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[John M Flores]

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[John M Flores]

More 360 video for anyone interested:

 

[994]

More 360 video for anyone interested:

The effects of passing cars is super trippy

 

[speedy]

A pressie for my bike. I decided for comfort over weight. 100 gms heavier than the last alloy pair, but plenty grippy & roomy. And an utterly ridiculous Au $23 delivered to my door. They look really well made. CrMo spindles, proper ball race bearings, Nylon or plastic composite base, & replaceable studs. Took them for a spin this evening on my rehabilitation program, seem to be the biz. See how well they last. Being a Nylon/plastic they should handle rock strikes much better than the lighter alloy versions.

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[StephenB]

A pressie for my bike. I decided for comfort over weight. 100 gms heavier than the last alloy pair, but plenty grippy & roomy. And an utterly ridiculous Au $23 delivered to my door. They look really well made. CrMo spindles, proper ball race bearings, Nylon or plastic composite base, & replaceable studs. Took them for a spin this evening on my rehabilitation program, seem to be the biz. See how well they last. Being a Nylon/plastic they should handle rock strikes much better than the lighter alloy versions.

View attachment 750217

They look good. I'm thinking of buying another mountain style bike, and at 71 I don't have the balance for SPDs any more and I've found the downhill style of pedals really grippy. New bikes don't come with pedals. Now I don't want to spend a fortune, so around £600 tops for a bike (limited long term use considering my age). I'll be leaving it at my holiday place probably, where the terrain is very lumpy. Derailleur spec is a concern for me, do I go triple, double or single chainring? Any advice I've looked at Trek Marlin 6 and Marin Bobcat Trail 4. Both entry level.

 

[speedy]

Now I don't want to spend a fortune, so around £600 tops for a bike (limited long term use considering my age). I'll be leaving it at my holiday place probably, where the terrain is very lumpy. Derailleur spec is a concern for me, do I go triple, double or single chainring? Any advice I've looked at Trek Marlin 6 and Marin Bobcat Trail 4. Both entry level.

I'm not familiar with those bike brands myself. There's a Trek dealer just around the corner from me, but I haven't taken a great deal of notice of any particular models There's some really good budget bikes out there, if you're not worried about the latest & greatest. My bike is about 3 generations old in tech now (brakes/drivetrain) & there's absolutely nothing wrong with the level of performance. And, because it's a few generations old, it's cheap. Really cheap, compared to the latest "must have"
Drive train wise, my personal favourite is 2x10. Double chainring combined with a 10 speed cassette. I think it's the sweet spot in price, performance, & simplicity. The gear range is massive, (larger than the new fandangled 12 speed 1x cassettes) & the steps between gears are still nice & close. I'm running 36 & 24 teeth chain rings, & an 11-42 tooth 10 speed cassette. All Shimano. That gives me a top speed of just over 60km/hr downhill, yet you can climb the side of a cliff in low gear. With no big jumps between ratios. The shifts are slick, fast & accurate. Chains & cassettes are cheap as chips. I've got a Taiwanese Sunrace branded 10 speed cassette on the shelf to try at some point, they're supposed to be just as good as Shimano. I see some of the new big brand name bikes are starting to appear with Sunrace components on their more budget friendly models, so it mustn't be too bad. My bike originally came with an XT spec derailleur, (full XT group set actually) I side/"downgraded" graded to a plain Deore derailleur to suit the 11-42 cassette, & there is absolutely zero difference in shift quality that I can tell.
Brakes, I'd definitely be looking at hydraulic disks. Fantastic things. With a 180mm rotor, & the right brake pads, you have true 1 finger, stand you on your nose braking. Bomb proof. Reliable. And very affordable. The 180mm disc swap is very simple & cheap to do, if you want to upgrade from the more common 160mm. Just buy the disc, and add a 10mm packer under the caliper. The rest of the bike is basically how much you want to spend, to lose weight. Hope this gives you some sort of direction. I might even wander round the corner at some point, & check out the Trek Marlin

 

[StephenB]

I'm not familiar with those bike brands myself. There's a Trek dealer just around the corner from me, but I haven't taken a great deal of notice of any particular models There's some really good budget bikes out there, if you're not worried about the latest & greatest. My bike is about 3 generations old in tech now (brakes/drivetrain) & there's absolutely nothing wrong with the level of performance. And, because it's a few generations old, it's cheap. Really cheap, compared to the latest "must have"
Drive train wise, my personal favourite is 2x10. Double chainring combined with a 10 speed cassette. I think it's the sweet spot in price, performance, & simplicity. The gear range is massive, (larger than the new fandangled 12 speed 1x cassettes) & the steps between gears are still nice & close. I'm running 36 & 24 teeth chain rings, & an 11-42 tooth 10 speed cassette. All Shimano. That gives me a top speed of just over 60km/hr downhill, yet you can climb the side of a cliff in low gear. With no big jumps between ratios. The shifts are slick, fast & accurate. Chains & cassettes are cheap as chips. I've got a Taiwanese Sunrace branded 10 speed cassette on the shelf to try at some point, they're supposed to be just as good as Shimano. I see some of the new big brand name bikes are starting to appear with Sunrace components on their more budget friendly models, so it mustn't be too bad. My bike originally came with an XT spec derailleur, (full XT group set actually) I side/"downgraded" graded to a plain Deore derailleur to suit the 11-42 cassette, & there is absolutely zero difference in shift quality that I can tell.
Brakes, I'd definitely be looking at hydraulic disks. Fantastic things. With a 180mm rotor, & the right brake pads, you have true 1 finger, stand you on your nose braking. Bomb proof. Reliable. And very affordable. The 180mm disc swap is very simple & cheap to do, if you want to upgrade from the more common 160mm. Just buy the disc, and add a 10mm packer under the caliper. The rest of the bike is basically how much you want to spend, to lose weight. Hope this gives you some sort of direction. I might even wander round the corner at some point, & check out the Trek Marlin

Very informative, sometimes I need a small shove to get me rolling buying wise. My Cannondale hybrid runs on bog standard Deore, inc V brakes, and that's been fine for the last ten years, it's a heavy tourer and I want a bare to the bones fun bike really, my ancient MTB (over 25 years old) groans a bit when being laboured up slopes - one of us will break soon. The more budget priced bikes don't have even Deore, but it's cheap enough to upgrade separate components if need be. Thanks for taking the time for a very informative input

 

[Hazza]

I picked up a 26 year old Cannondale M300 a couple of years ago for next to nothing. I had to replace the triple chain ring and the 7 gear derailleur, both were well worn. Also swapped the lever shift changers for twist shift and the brake levers were upgraded along with all the cables. I tried it for a while then decided to swap the chunky tyres for a set of Hybrids (I don't do a lot of off road stuff) and they are heaps better for my needs. Grand total of around £150, cheap as chips and kept me busy for a while
I haven't been on it for some time, but now that I have retired there is no excuse.

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[John M Flores]

They look good. I'm thinking of buying another mountain style bike, and at 71 I don't have the balance for SPDs any more and I've found the downhill style of pedals really grippy. New bikes don't come with pedals. Now I don't want to spend a fortune, so around £600 tops for a bike (limited long term use considering my age). I'll be leaving it at my holiday place probably, where the terrain is very lumpy. Derailleur spec is a concern for me, do I go triple, double or single chainring? Any advice I've looked at Trek Marlin 6 and Marin Bobcat Trail 4. Both entry level.

When you say "lumpy" do you mean hilly trails or technical trails?

 

[StephenB]

When you say "lumpy" do you mean hilly trails or technical trails?

Steep roads that lead to trails that can be graded from easy to difficult. For example, a few days ago I set out to somewhere between four and five miles away, it was steady gradient all the way, I had to stop a few times for a rest on the steeper bits and drop down to granny ring to get away. The trail was 4 miles of dead easy flat, the ride home I hardly had to pedal. The lanes in Cornwall can be very steep, although often short - up a 1 in 6, down the other side to find another 1 in 6 climb awaits, I'm not as fit or young as I would like. Sometimes I may prefer to drive to a woodland area with designated trails, therefore an MTB that can be taken apart easily would be my weapon of choice. I would go entry level as I haven't a clue when the grim reaper will turn up I don't want to saddle (sorry about the pun) my wife with too much stuff to get rid of.

 

[StephenB]

I picked up a 26 year old Cannondale M300 a couple of years ago for next to nothing. I had to replace the triple chain ring and the 7 gear derailleur, both were well worn. Also swapped the lever shift changers for twist shift and the brake levers were upgraded along with all the cables. I tried it for a while then decided to swap the chunky tyres for a set of Hybrids (I don't do a lot of off road stuff) and they are heaps better for my needs. Grand total of around £150, cheap as chips and kept me busy for a while
I haven't been on it for some time, but now that I have retired there is no excuse.

View attachment 750297

That's a nice simple looking machine, Harry. I've replaced a lot of parts on my 25+year old Raleigh, but getting stuff to fit isn't always easy and compromises had to be made when replacing the bottom bracket, chainrings and front derailleur, the geometry maybe slightly out and it groans a bit when being pushed. Being from a generation that makes do and mend annoys me, but I can't help myself, I need to bite the bullet sometimes.

The old groaner...

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[speedy]

More pressies for my girl Saves having to carry a backpack on shorter, less technical rides. Easily fits a spare tube, tyre levers, set of Hex/Allen keys, CO2 inflator & a small screwdriver. If I expand the top half, I reckon I'd fit 2 spare tubes in without to much drama. Waterproof zips, and a little loop to attach my flashy blinky tail light to.

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[billca]

My old Loco Moto. Purchased the bare frame from Titus in Arizona and built it up over the winter.

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