is anyone into bikes?

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In case your wondering the 3 k bike is a Kona Kapu .

Next bike is from these guys equipped with Athena , though I will ask them pretty please with sugar on top to remove the stickers I am not a living breathing bill board. Though the Kona I'm OK with for the time being at least it has some street cred as opposed to say Giant, when it get dinged up I'll paint it baby blue or baby pink 50's style

vannicholas.com/


Oh and I like to make beer ( real beer) not crappy kits, beer and bikes it's like peaches and cream

Campy, you're a lucky guy. I'm sort of a slave to Shimano Dura-ace is nice enough for me. I always wanted Campy but those groupsets are harder to come by financially. Plus it's a real pain to switch everything. Looks like I'm sticking with the "made in China" components.

I just bought the adapter for the splined BBs, hope to install the octalink Dura-ace on my new bike. I hear the Ultegra BBs might have been a better idea in bad weather. I'm still deciding if I want to get an ultegra BB to switch in, pending weather conditions.

I appreciate my classic Schwinn Chicago steel. My 1977 Schwinn Sportabout is the only bicycle I've ridden the past thirty years, the past twenty years with the same guitar. I was fortunate to get the Sportabout model. It was the cheapest ten-speed made by Schwinn in 1977, a cheaper version of the once ubiquitous Varsity, but has Japanese SunTour derailleurs that are better than the French derailleurs on higher-priced Schwinn models of similar vintage. It also has the tubular front fork like a Continental or Suburban model, stronger, lighter and better-riding than the flatter fork of the Varsity.

With the upgrades from 2009, I now refer to my bicycle as a Schwinn "Super Sportabout". It has its own page on Velospace. It would be cool if someday it is included in a book or documentary about Schwinn ten-speed bicycles. It has served me long and faithfully, and I respect it.

that is a super yummy frame! I love cycling sometimes but i usually just use it to get around. i have an old saracen racer with a some new components. nothing special but i like it. I don't look after it anywhere near enough.

I worked as a cycle courier for a few days covering another guy. i got calls about pickup and delivery points and a time scale with which to get there. Some of the cycle couriers around here are more self employed than that. i can't say if it is a good job in the long run but i enjoyed the days i did

i also cycled a rickshaw around a hilly city with drunk people in the back. Good money at times and you get really strong and good endurance.

I did a great cycle a while back. from blair atholl to fort william. was perhaps a bit to long. i got so high after a while and it just kept me going and feeling euphoria. love it.

I commute to work on a specialized globe for most of the year. I am a winter wimp and drive the car then.

I don't do any form of spandex or lycra. No superman suit for me.

Riding a bike in the winter is like plunging into cold water. You will start to heat up from the exercise, and you'll feel just right in a few minutes. I usually overheat in the winter, even on the coldest days. If you can get through the initial shock, it's not that bad. Wind chill is the primary concern, so you do need a good scarf. Otherwise that cold will go right down your shirt like ice cubes and your hands are the most vulnerable to wind, so I use the really thick lobster-style gloves. In conclusion it really isn't all that bad provided that you're appropriately equipped.

Somewhat. I have been caught speeding on my goodwill bike by my friends in high school. Shimano index shifters. 18 speed, 700C. Heavy steel too, it had nice handlegrips on it but those ended up falling apart and I replaced them with electrical tape. I'm not as skilled at adjusting the brakes and shifters as I should be, though I've also known a semi-pro cyclist with a $6000 20 speed racing bike that couldn't even get my shifters set as well as I can. I love my SIS shifters anyways, just the feel of the instant gear change is to die for and the sound of the chain dropping down is so rewarding. I wish I had better gears though. I don't even use the lower 2 front cogs and the highest gear isn't high enough for me, my mom's 21 speed (also a 700C) is sooo much faster when I ride it, though the frame is flexy feeling since it weighs less than half what mine does.

And you winter ride in Chicago! I am in awe at your dedication.

Did you find your riding partner, I think that's the only time I crave human contact or the not so human ASD kind.


Though I'd find it hard to believe any woman would want me in their company, though thankfully not even Nt's are that sociable when riding just ride and enjoy the surrounds

It's the most beautiful time of the year right now not to hot not to cold Summer is a killer mid 30's (degrees) and 90's % humidity is not uncommon , bit like Singapore except with society hating psychopaths on the road (Brisbane is rated as Australia's worst city for cyclists.)

Actually I think I'd prefer to ride in almost any Asian city to here....

Perhaps I'm overreaching I haven't been to many so what would know?

I think she may be Dutch.

People seriously go around with "I survived bike winter 2011" t-shirts. It's honestly not that bad. You just need to warm up for a few minutes, like swimming in cold water. You also need a good hat, gloves, and scarf. I still overheat, but my hands can get icy from the wind chill. My winter bike is equipped with cyclocross tires for the snow, but I just wish I can switch out my caliper brakes for cantilevers. Cantilevers are so much more agreeable in the slush. My chain is looking really miserable right now; the precipitation and road salt made it a horrible shade of crusty orange. In addition, someone stole my seat, so I've been riding without it. My once handsome steel frame custom commuter bike is now seatless and noisy. It will need some serious tender loving care once the weather clears out in about a month.

Sadly, no. However I'm going to a collegiate race at Notre Dame this weekend so I will definitely have some camaraderie. Honestly, the pros are always complaining about racing in the cold, but the collegiate season starts in February, so I don't know why they think they have it so tough. Our team racing gear is not meant for winter...

My old boyfriend was really into bikes,triathlons and the Tour de France so I kind of learned about them from him a little. I used to see a Binachi on my university campus and kind of drool over it,even though I don't actively ride bikes.I still enjoy watching the Tour. But I'm not crazy or aggressive enough to get into biking or triathlons myself.

You don't have to have an aggressive personality. Some of the nicest people can have a hidden aggressive streak in a race environment. I'm one of them. It's not cool to throw water bottles at other cyclists and yell during races--although I've seen people do this--but you can be competitive and non-verbally passionate. Spots are prized in pack cycling. If I see a strategic spot in a pack of cyclists, I'll try to steal it and claim it for my own. It's part of the game and I love it. I also do triathlons and it's very much the same mentality.

People who aren't aggressive in real life can be really good at these endurance sports specifically because they don't have a temper, but prefer subtle approaches to be productive. In endurance sports the guys with the temper rarely if ever win (that's why they're mad). Alot of times it's the nice soft-spoken patient types that excel in endurance sports. I'm a really persistent person and I don't know how to express alot of emotion through my words or body language, and that's the ideal personality for an endurance athlete. All my emotions are expressed by how I ride, but not by my temper. I'm really challenged with emotional expression and I often look peaceful and calm even when I'm not. Cycling, along with playing piano, are the only two ways I know how to effectively express emotion.

Effectively express emotions, what about your pets ? Or are you one of those aspie freaks who's pet less ?

I 'm so devoted to them that I'm about to get of disability and am looking for night shift work so I can spend time with them during the day (their birds and reasonably so don't like to be disturbed at night, though the rescue one is OK with it you can pet her at 2 am and she's happy *

*I guess she's used to it as her previous owner irresponsibly kept her up to all hours


LOL I had a run in with a weight weenie corporate type on Sunday one I hadn't heard before "watch out" (on the rise, lugging 9.5 kg is a killer ) wtf is he so fast and aggressive that everyone should step out of the way for this hot shot, sometimes I'm not always the most polite person "coming through" though I always give a wave and a smile (forced) actually I caught up to this "weenie" on the flats on the "river ride " ( I call it the cafe latte ride as it's only 40 km .) which is enough for a Sunday ride .

Actually the Kona Kapu is superb on our sh**TY roads, nice and smooth to soak up the bumps though I hope to shave .5- 1 kg which shouldn't be to hard , I'd like to buy a stainless steal fork though I'm hesitant to be an early adaptor of new technology (I could shave nearly 1/2 a kilo their !) the steal one I have is nearly 1 kg!

Anyway would you think it would be stupid to buy the Van Nicolas unseen from the net, that and the fact I have never ridden Titanium, I think it should be all right , Titanium I here is a little bit flexy yeah , but I guess at the end of the day it's not important as a cafe latte rider who wants a "lifetime" bike ?

I've never ridden titanium before. I only speculate that it's not as flexy as steel. Can you test out a titanium at a bike shop? It seems like absorbance is your priority, so you should probably try before you buy. What site are you planning on using?

Yes, I love animals. When I was a kid I used to spend all my time reading about dog training and trying to train my own dog. I got reasonably good at it, so now I'm training a service dog for my sister. She's quadriplegic so she could use him. People would often tell me I have a "gift" with dogs. I always thought it was hogwash, but I think it might have something to do with my Aspiness.