So many benefits to riding a bicycle......

[Jared Purdy]

I save so much money, stay healthy, and just enjoy life by riding a bicycle nearly everywhere I go.

Walking or Biking to Work Could Make You More Productive

New research shows that a bad commute can set the tone for the entire day.

www.bloomberg.com

No arguments here. I live to ride my bike. If the weather isn't cooperating, I'm on my indoor spinning bike. Since upping my game, I've lost 22/lbs in three months, mostly through cycling. Outside, on the road, there's the psychological health of it too.

 

[Jared Purdy]

If you guys only knew how deep the rabbit hole goes at my place......and not just bikes, but tools, and parts, and electronics, and......

View attachment 984799

You have shares in Park Tools?

 

[telemnemonics]

If you guys only knew how deep the rabbit hole goes at my place......and not just bikes, but tools, and parts, and electronics, and......

View attachment 984799

I never buy Stew Mac tools but I DO buy Park tools!

 

[Jared Purdy]

I never buy Stew Mac tools but I DO buy Park tools!

Indeed, I have quite a few. Some are likely "antiques". Unlike most people I know, I love to work on my bikes. Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance. It's like yoga, with tools and a bike.

 

[Milspec]

This thread just got me motivated to log some miles. Brought the old girl out today, still a nice ride.

 

[Milspec]

Thanks. I haven't heard that suggestion yet. Not good news, but if that's the answer, I'd rather know it than remain as clueless as I am now.

And, if that's true, I'm wondering why the LBS would have recommended that combination. I know they ordered everything, or at least that's what they said, back in the late summer of 2020 when everyone was buying bikes and parts were (and probably still are) scarce.

I just wanted to finally get a decent wheelset after buying a good used bike with a stock wheels. The rear wheel that went out of round shortly after buying it as I bombed down a washboard gravel downhill run probably faster that I should have. I had the LBS true the stock wheels so I could keep them as backups or for some other bike for our growing kids. I had a few extra bucks at the time , so I ordered a tubeless wheelset after years of reading how great tubeless is, fixing lots of flats from goathead thorns, and hearing that a good wheelset makes all the difference. I'm in my fifties now and wanted to get something that was "lifetime quality", if you know what I mean. I'd hate to have to buy something else so soon.

I love the bike, when the tires hold air. When I bought this, I had a '96 Specialized Allez with 25mm tires that were too thin for the miles and miles of gravel trails that run right behind my house. I also had (and still have) a '93 or '94 rigid mountain bike that I put "dirt-drop" handlebars on, but it always seems like a lot more work to ride than the road bike was (obviously). I wanted a bike that was more like a road bike but with fat tires. I thought this was the answer, and I think it will be when I get the wheel & tire thing figured out.

Have to love those truckers

 

[Frontman]

Right now I am getting ready for an overnight ride to Izu, which is famous for its beautiful coastlines and hot springs. I’ll rid out, check into a hotel, spend the next day exploring, stay a second night at the hotel to soak in the cedar hot spring tub, have some good food (and beer), then ride home the next day.

Rather than ride a new bike with all the gears, disk brakes, and gadgets, I’ll ride this old 50’s Oscar Egg touring bike. It’s light, despite all the steel in its construction, and had a wonderfully smooth and comfortable ride.

 

[jays0n]

This thread just got me motivated to log some miles. Brought the old girl out today, still a nice ride.

Nice lookin Surly. Always have a soft spot for Them. Have owned a few. Surly is like the Telecaster of bikes. Well made, dependable, nothing on em you don’t need.

 

[jays0n]

So today I helped with this High School bike class. We took 15 kids all over SF. It was challenging. Had a few crashes, but everyone survived.

At some of the rest spots:

 

[chris m.]

So today I helped with this High School bike class. We took 15 kids all over SF. It was challenging. Had a few crashes, but everyone survived.

At some of the rest spots:
View attachment 985163

View attachment 985164

Ya gotta pray no kid shows up with a Walmart bike equipped with pot metal parts. Even worse, with totally janky full suspension. If I were dictator or ran NHTSA or something then any new bike sold would have to meet some minimum quality standards…. A decent beach cruiser is quite reliable so it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive to be serviceable…,

 

[Honga Man]

Another quick thought on my tubeless setup that you guys were kind enough to discuss with me earlier.

At a website of a small shop in California that I've visited in person, I found this:

The Tubeless Rim Brake Wheelset - Black Mountain Cycles

It’s easy to custom configure your new wheelset. It automatically begins with the build, tubeless tape, and tubeless valves. All wheels are 32 hole. Choose your rim Choose your hub Choose your spoke color Hit “Add To Cart,” check out and I’ll handle the rest Add a pair of tires on the...

blackmtncycles.com

He says:

• Velocity Quill – 21mm internal rim width, run tires tubeless up to 48mm

I saw the chart posted a couple pages back from the Velocity site and am not saying a dealer knows the product better than the manufacturer, but it seems not everyone agrees on what size tires work with that rim.

 

[Stanford Guitar]

Another quick thought on my tubeless setup that you guys were kind enough to discuss with me earlier.

At a website of a small shop in California that I've visited in person, I found this:

The Tubeless Rim Brake Wheelset - Black Mountain Cycles

It’s easy to custom configure your new wheelset. It automatically begins with the build, tubeless tape, and tubeless valves. All wheels are 32 hole. Choose your rim Choose your hub Choose your spoke color Hit “Add To Cart,” check out and I’ll handle the rest Add a pair of tires on the...

blackmtncycles.com

He says:

• Velocity Quill – 21mm internal rim width, run tires tubeless up to 48mm

I saw the chart posted a couple pages back from the Velocity site and am not saying a dealer knows the product better than the manufacturer, but it seems not everyone agrees on what size tires work with that rim.

I think it’s tire determinant more than rim determinant. Tire manufacturers determine what width rim, at what pressures, tube/tubeless etc. I’m sure there are 48mm tires that will work fine with those rims, but not all 48mm tires. Seems those tires you have like a wider rim, likely due to a less stiff sidewall or bead shape etc.

 

[Milspec]

I can't solve the road conditions, but a good e-bike makes a long commute much more viable. At least once a week I do a 42 mile round trip commute on my ebike. I bought a 52V, 500W mid-drive motor and battery kit from Luna cycles and put it on my hard-tail. It has a 1 kwh battery on it. I could probably do the whole trip at almost 25 mph on one charge, but to help maintain long-term battery life I bring the lightweight charger with me and top it up again at work before heading home. Since I built the bike myself there's no governor on it so it will go around 30 mph in the flats very easily. But I set it to a lower assist level and pedal. I basically get the equivalent of the workout I would get if I were riding let's say 10 miles each way on a regular bike instead of 21 miles each way on an e-bike. Takes me an hour each way. In the afternoons during rush hour I actually often get home faster on the e-bike than I would have gotten home in my car.

Luna Cycles is based in S.F. and they sell some nice kits.

View attachment 984950

I took a look at their site...pretty interesting. Their stealth bike is pretty tempting actually except the battery life is a little low for my commute. It would probably work on lower settings, but I have some killer hills that will likely chew up a battery.

I could add a motor kit to my Long Haul Trucker like you did, but not sure if that is really the way I want to go. I still ride my trucker on long rides under traditional power and not sure I want to add all that weight if I don't need the assist power.

If that stealth could be fitted with an additional batter pack so it could run 30 miles at full assist....I would be a buyer.

Interesting stuff though, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Colo Springs E]

Once the weather warms up, longer days (basically May - October here), I try to ride my bike at least once a week.

It never fails... every single time I ride my bike to work... it turns out to be a great day. I love riding my bike!

 

[jays0n]

Ya gotta pray no kid shows up with a Walmart bike equipped with pot metal parts. Even worse, with totally janky full suspension. If I were dictator or ran NHTSA or something then any new bike sold would have to meet some minimum quality standards…. A decent beach cruiser is quite reliable so it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive to be serviceable…,

Luckily in our case, the school runs a program to get kids on bikes and repairing bikes, so they have a huge supply of bikes and gear. So all the bikes were known good solid bikes. We actually had no equipment failures. I had to straighten out some bars and fix some shifters after one of the kid’s crashes, but that was it.

But yeah, if they were bringing their own bikes .. I might have passed

 

[cometazzi]

I feel like this subject is coming up a lot lately and I've posted this pic twice now:

Compared to some of the mighty steeds I've seen in this thread, my Craigslist Giant Sedona is nothing special, but it's the best bike I've ever had. Just this last Sunday I was able to dig it out of the basement, re-inflate the tires and go on the maiden voyage for 2022.

What a blast! I wish I could do this year round.

 

[Stanford Guitar]

Grocery store run, just the essentials in my panniers.

 

[jays0n]

I feel like this subject is coming up a lot lately and I've posted this pic twice now:

View attachment 985201

Compared to some of the mighty steeds I've seen in this thread, my Craigslist Giant Sedona is nothing special, but it's the best bike I've ever had. Just this last Sunday I was able to dig it out of the basement, re-inflate the tires and go on the maiden voyage.

What a blast! I wish I could do this year round.

Nuttin wrong with that at all. A simple Giant like that is another Telecaster bike. Gets the job done smoothly, and won’t let you down.

We don’t need to be ridin Custom Shop or PRS Private Stock type bikes to have just as much fun. Just need something that rides nice, handles well, and stops when you ask it to.

It’s great to see all of the experiences people are posting in this thread.

 

[Stanford Guitar]

I feel like this subject is coming up a lot lately and I've posted this pic twice now:

View attachment 985201

Compared to some of the mighty steeds I've seen in this thread, my Craigslist Giant Sedona is nothing special, but it's the best bike I've ever had. Just this last Sunday I was able to dig it out of the basement, re-inflate the tires and go on the maiden voyage for 2022.

What a blast! I wish I could do this year round.

The best bike is the one you ride.

 

[NC E30]

If you haven't yet tried it, pour some of that Stan's in there and air it up. Roll it around tilting it from side to side so that the sealant coats the sides around the rim.

Like others have mentioned, they should be hard to break free from the rim. I run relatively low pressures on my gravel bike (25 to 30 psi) and have never had a problem. I'm running 43mm Panaracer Gravelking SK on 22mm inner width DT Swiss R500 rims.

If this doesn't work, those rims and tires may just not be compatible, meaning you will either have to go back to tubes, or experiment with tires to find what is compatible. There may be someone on the bike forums with those rims that could share what tires they have had success with.