Bicycle Interests, All Types Welcome!

[maxacceleration]

Nice pictures! We like pictures! Serious cross up Joe.

Santa Cruz Blur. Great bike, my best friend has one. 10 years old but he fully rebuilt it. Its light and cush.

Folders are interesting bikes, and there are a few good ones. I almost bought one a couple of years ago, Bike Friday I believe. When space is more important than bringing a full size bicycle they make sense.

Fitness is a fickle thing. Some of us keep it and others don't. Some have never really achieved 'fitness'.
I have been very fit, pedaling 150 miles a week in certain years. Since 2008 I have had injuries and health concerns (excuses!). So at this point I will try to cram a month of rides when its time to go visit my 'fitter' cycling friends. Not ideal.
Maybe I'm becoming a retired slacker. But the discovery of pedal assist bikes has been a revelation for me. Godsend lol. Maybe I'm the lazy one.

Pedal assist bikes and ebikes (there are specific differences) can be a good topic.
They could be for people that are 'lazy', meaning not going out of your way to be 'bicycle fit'. Or, more in my case, I don't spend the time to get to my former fitness levels.
A pedal assist bike you have to pedal. Coast and it don't go (except for coasting). There are a couple of classes of pedal assist bicycles, determining what speed you have pedal assist support to (20 or 28 mph).
Some Ebikes have a throttle where you don't have to pedal at all.
I consider myself more roadie than mtn biker, but most of my pics are on mtn bikes.
For me, now, a pedal assist bike allows me to keep up with a faster crowd.

Thoughts on ebikes! And lets see pics of bikes on and in our vans.
Fun stuff. Pictures please.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

I was very into mtn biking when it came onto the scene in the early 80's. Shown here is my Ritchey Commando that Tom built for me in 1984. I added a titanium Salsa El Mariachi a few years ago. I'm not riding mtns now as much as road riding. Shown are my two main road bikes, a Colnago carbon and a Moots titanium. And a pic of my retired S-Works Specialized Tarmac racer that was too fast for me at my age!

Damn that Ritchey is cool but I think your off on the date. Looks more like an 89 or 90? U-brakes were not spec'd on bikes until 88 or 89 as I recall. Anyhow, personally built by Tom? The dude's a legend. That bike should be in a museum.

[Pritikin]

We miss our old van. A sprinter just isn't the same -- despite being well mannered on the road etc. We've even talked about going back (which basically just means I get to read the classifieds section with real interest).

Except when it comes to the bikes. I really love having space for the bikes to be stored in an inside garage w/ all their gear and etc out of the elements. This is particularly important given our upgrades from 15+ yr old santa cruz blur/superlights to a pair of pivot 429s. Serious fun. Seriously more expensive. Its nice to have them out-of-sight and locked up when going for day trips hiking or camping or even backpacking.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by maxacceleration

Maybe I'm becoming a retired slacker. But the discovery of pedal assist bikes has been a revelation for me. Godsend lol. Maybe I'm the lazy one.

Pedal assist bikes and ebikes (there are specific differences) can be a good topic.
They could be for people that are 'lazy', meaning not going out of your way to be 'bicycle fit'. Or, more in my case, I don't spend the time to get to my former fitness levels.
A pedal assist bike you have to pedal. Coast and it don't go (except for coasting). There are a couple of classes of pedal assist bicycles, determining what speed you have pedal assist support to (20 or 28 mph).
Some Ebikes have a throttle where you don't have to pedal at all.
I consider myself more roadie than mtn biker, but most of my pics are on mtn bikes.
For me, now, a pedal assist bike allows me to keep up with a faster crowd.

Thoughts on ebikes! And lets see pics of bikes on and in our vans.
Fun stuff. Pictures please.

Ebike threads usually devolve into blue vs red type bickering but I'll throw my 2 cents out. Personally I'm not a fan on non-motorized trails. I get the fitness part and also declining skills as one ages but it's a slippery slope. If the land manager decides that class I ebikes are ok on multi-use trails then I'm on board. Until then, I am opposed. But take that with a grain of salt as I am a mountain bike advocate and am actively building, maintaining, and proposing new trails. I have worked hard to build a strong partnership with the US Forest Service.


Your never too old for some air time!

[Twoxentrix]

E-bikes will continue to be a topic of controversy, so not going into that discussion other than to say they have benefits & we own a pair..
Always been active (mostly hiking, swimming, basketball, and anything outdoors). bicycling always had a place - a means to get to my activities & a simple mode of transportation. Enjoyed dirt bikes too, so the e-bike combined both worlds.
We recently purchased two folding 20" Fat Tire bikes and love them. Opted for the 20" tires because they simply are easier to navigate on narrow & ruff trails than 26". Fold them up and put down the back aisle of the Van with ease.
Initial motivation was to have something that would allow us to get around and explore, be able to pick up needed items without having to pack up the Van, serve as a safety net in the case the Van became disabled (probably never happen since i have a 6.0!!!), and something we could enjoy around town.
Wife has had 2 knee replacements so with the motor assist she is now able to participate.
**Ours also have a thumb throttle so I can let loose and ride around like i was on my old dirt bike.

[simplesez]

I don't take many photos of bikes.

The ones in the photo i posted are pretty cool and all custom made for us.* Mosaic Di2 CX, Mosaic singlespeed CX, Desalvo singlespeed belt drive CX, and a Sycip 69er singlespeed mountain bike.* She likes titanium and I like steel.* Unlike the van these bikes are low maintenance, handle aggressive, and are fast. Lol way too much invested for a cycling discipline that lasts 2 or 3 months but they are lifetime bikes and the relationship with a custom builder is a pretty special one.

Anyway we mountain bike a ton. Here are some fun shots from this summer. Rode less recently but getting to ride in the Rockies up to Canada was amazing.

[maxacceleration]

I understand the debate of sole non motorized pedal power vs assisted pedal power. And the disagreements that go along. And land use.

How about if folks that support pedal assist chime in on pedal assisted bikes, and the non powered bike crowd follow up with them?
Avoid the debate, and talk bikes. I follow all bikes as many do I will guess.
Make it friendly here!

Who is running sew-ups (as in tubulars) on their road bikes?

I have a few pics to post up of my bikes, but I'll do it over time...

[velo47]

Originally Posted by JoeH

Damn that Ritchey is cool but I think your off on the date. Looks more like an 89 or 90? U-brakes were not spec'd on bikes until 88 or 89 as I recall. Anyhow, personally built by Tom? The dude's a legend. That bike should be in a museum.

I dunno, I got my Fat Chance in '84 or '85 and it was one of the first production bikes with a rear Suntour cam brake like on that Ritchey. I think some of the Ritcheys and the Fishers were spec'd similarly. That Ritchey was an awesome bike!

I started road racing in college as dry land training for ski racing. That was about '81. Started with a full Dura-Ace on a Palo Alto Columbus frame. Bent it when I got hit by a car and the driver bought me a new Ciocc frame, state of the art at that time. Got a Gios Pro when I was working in one of the bike shops, then a Fuji Sandvik Titanium. All were Dura-Ace, never got the Campy bug. The Fuji bike lasted me until 1999, when I quit racing due to a full hip replacement. Along the way, I got the Fat Chance, and then a Merlin Titanium mountain bike, a Hooker time trial bike, and a Redline cyclocross bike. Always remained primarily a Roadie, though. Mtn bike racing was just too hard! Raced all over California, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Haven't been on a bike since the hip replacement. Miss it sometimes, but I have a lot more free time now than when I was working and training, which didn't leave time for much else.

That's me, on the back of the tandem, at Nationals in Cincinnati in 1999.

[86Scotty]

@marrett, Dude I had no idea you were in to bikes. I can't believe we haven't talked about that before.

@Shenrie, Dude I had no idea you were in to bikes. I can't believe we haven't talked about that before.

I doubt that very many here will stretch back to BMX since there is so much to talk about with modern road and off-road bikes but I'm with you bro! I grew up riding and racing BMW. My first was a Redline which got rebuilt and abused for years. By the time I sold it it was worth thousands: 401 Flight cranks, Hutch pedals with Urchins (remember those?), Cycle Craft Fredz bars and the amazing DK stem and seatpost clamp, UNI seat (which was hardly a seat), etc. etc.

I traded up with a friend to a Torker cruiser and then to a Free Agent, my all time favorite 20". I wish I still had that bike. Fairly rare and got lots of attention. I don't think I was as good as you but I sure enjoyed building and riding them. My room was the local bike shop.

To show my current mountain and road steeds would be quite a letdown to this crowd. Nice stuff on display so far.

[marret]

@86Scotty. Haha, never got past motorcycles . I'm not riding bikes like I used to these days but an electric or pedal assist might get me out more. I am slowing down on the motorcycles...

I to all here though. I knew we had bicyclists, but didn't know to this level.

Awesome bikes and stories.

Great thread @Max.