anyone into cycling or bicycles in general?

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Mountain Goat
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02 Oct 2020, 4:38 am

Looking at the design, if the rear wheel was brought back a bit so it is more behind the rider then below the rider, it would add more stability to the design without increasing the weight. Shorter wheelbase gives good acceleration but the rear suspension cancels the acceleration effect out a little, so it is designed with comfort in mind (Which is why I thought a slightly longer wheelbase to add stability would have been an advantage BUT different designs and angles can at times change the conventional rules so maybe they found it works ok as it is.
It is an interesting design. Does it require a little "Force steer" to balance? What I mean by this is many recumbent designs need to rider to manually steer the opposite way that one needs for about half a second to a second to shift ones body to lean into the corner before turning the right way. It is just a little "Flick" in the opposite direction to do this. It is why people who don't know this may have difficulty riding some recumbent designs. I learned how to do it when mountain bike racing as get it right and one can tjrow the bike through corners much faster then the other competitors... Unless they knew the trick too! Most didn't.
Littlw tricks like this and rider positioning when cycling through demanding conditions make a big difference when riding offroad. I rode in the days before suspension (Or when the odd one new out front suspension fork became available which cost more then most of our bikes so prehaps one lucky rider had them in a race?) so tyre choice and gearing were crucial. Front tyre needed to be wide to absorb the bumps and hopefully float above the mud. Rear tyre (And this is where most riders made tyre choice mistakes) had to be narrow so the rear wheel would drop through the mud and grip on something solid below. Here in my area of Wales it tends to be mostly clay so the very top surface is wet and sticky but below that and it is usually solid. It is surprizing how many professional mountain bike riders don't know this. An example, Steve Baker who at the time used to be the worlds number one rider came here to race in an event and was seriously outclassed having assumed that our mud was just like it was anywhere else. Our mud needs powerful legs, a thin rear tyre with a wide front tyre AND less cogs on the freewheel or cassette (six cogs tended to be the best compromize) as what tended to happen in the muddier events was those who used seven or more which had cogs spaced slightly closer together were having issues with clay not clearing if it was sucked up by the chain and matted itself into ones cluster of cogs. A five or six speed freewheel had wider spacing so was able to keep operational for longer as it allowed the sticky clay to free itself.
It is little details like this that make the difference when riding. We used to use foam handlebar grips which were ideal for a way to absorb the bumps and for good hillclimbing, a lightweight but strong set of quality steel handlebars made a difference, as some chose aluminium which were ok, but steel had less flex so one wasn't fighting the flex so much when pulling on the handlebars. They may weigh a little more but they did make a difference, as dis wide bars and bar ends. There was a fasion at the time for longer stems with narrower bars which did not handle well!


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auntblabby
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02 Oct 2020, 4:52 am

Mountain Goat wrote:
Looking at the design, if the rear wheel was brought back a bit so it is more behind the rider then below the rider, it would add more stability to the design without increasing the weight. Shorter wheelbase gives good acceleration but the rear suspension cancels the acceleration effect out a little, so it is designed with comfort in mind (Which is why I thought a slightly longer wheelbase to add stability would have been an advantage BUT different designs and angles can at times change the conventional rules so maybe they found it works ok as it is.
It is an interesting design. Does it require a little "Force steer" to balance? What I mean by this is many recumbent designs need to rider to manually steer the opposite way that one needs for about half a second to a second to shift ones body to lean into the corner before turning the right way. It is just a little "Flick" in the opposite direction to do this. It is why people who don't know this may have difficulty riding some recumbent designs. I learned how to do it when mountain bike racing as get it right and one can tjrow the bike through corners much faster then the other competitors... Unless they knew the trick too! Most didn't.
Littlw tricks like this and rider positioning when cycling through demanding conditions make a big difference when riding offroad. I rode in the days before suspension (Or when the odd one new out front suspension fork became available which cost more then most of our bikes so prehaps one lucky rider had them in a race?) so tyre choice and gearing were crucial. Front tyre needed to be wide to absorb the bumps and hopefully float above the mud. Rear tyre (And this is where most riders made tyre choice mistakes) had to be narrow so the rear wheel would drop through the mud and grip on something solid below. Here in my area of Wales it tends to be mostly clay so the very top surface is wet and sticky but below that and it is usually solid. It is surprizing how many professional mountain bike riders don't know this. An example, Steve Baker who at the time used to be the worlds number one rider came here to race in an event and was seriously outclassed having assumed that our mud was just like it was anywhere else. Our mud needs powerful legs, a thin rear tyre with a wide front tyre AND less cogs on the freewheel or cassette (six cogs tended to be the best compromize) as what tended to happen in the muddier events was those who used seven or more which had cogs spaced slightly closer together were having issues with clay not clearing if it was sucked up by the chain and matted itself into ones cluster of cogs. A five or six speed freewheel had wider spacing so was able to keep operational for longer as it allowed the sticky clay to free itself.
It is little details like this that make the difference when riding. We used to use foam handlebar grips which were ideal for a way to absorb the bumps and for good hillclimbing, a lightweight but strong set of quality steel handlebars made a difference, as some chose aluminium which were ok, but steel had less flex so one wasn't fighting the flex so much when pulling on the handlebars. They may weigh a little more but they did make a difference, as dis wide bars and bar ends. There was a fasion at the time for longer stems with narrower bars which did not handle well!

it is the easiest most natural bike to ride, first time i just hopped on it and rolled down the road, no drama, just intuitive ease and comfort, no body english required. you can adjust the seat angle as well as forward-backward to suit tall or short people. you can also adjust the firmness of the rear shock, from plush to firm. a pity they stopped making them 2 decades ago.



Mountain Goat
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02 Oct 2020, 5:29 am

Giant also made something similar. Actually as Giant made the frames and forks (Non suspension forks) for most manufacturers so they ended up being the worlds largest mountain bike manufacturer and the worlds second largest bicycle manufacturer around 20 years ago, you may be riding a bike made by Giant! Haha.
The manufacturers don't like admitting that they buy in the bike frames from elsewhere, though a few still make their own frames and forks. The problem is for the UK and most of the west is that the Far East just do things so well and at such good prices. Fair play to them. Countries that were once thought of as "Cheap imports" have really upped their game and brought out real quality stuff. Stuff that dare I say the rest of the world may struggle to compete.

Tyres... Are you able to get Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres out there? They last for ages and have puncture protection. They also are tyres that grip rather well.
In Britain they used to be called Swallow because it was too soon after the war to get away with using their German name. When they first brought out their hard wearing Marathon tyres it was the first tyre to display their German "Schwalbe" brand name which was in 1990 or 1991 if I recall. The early Marathon tyres had a different grip and had no puncture protection but they outlasted other tyres many times over, so it was well worth us paying double the price of cheaper brands to get them.
The only criticism I have noticed is that on the occasional tyre they can have a sidewall bulging fault. If it is one needs to take them back to get a replacement. I have not heard of one of these sidewalls give out, but they should not have this issue. It is the only negative thing I have seen with these tyres and I had been fitting them to bikes for customers for around 25 years or more (Apart from a few years on and off in other trades or being unemployed etc). Only one mountainbike we failed to fit them on as the bikes wheel rim tollerences seemed to be on the small side and the Marathon tyres tend to have a slippery sheen to the material (Does not effect the tyre tread grip). We had to try other makes of tyres for the customer to find tyres to fit. They were the standard 26" mountain bike size. (In the last five or so years the new 27.5" and 29" have taken over).

Schwalbe Marathon come in a variety of sizes and widths and also come in the Marathon and Marathon plus forms.


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Sahn
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02 Oct 2020, 10:18 am

This year I've sold my Carlton Clubman, my Dawes Ranger and a single speed vintage Peugeot road bike and a Marin Muirwoods 29er Hybrid. I'm currently selling an unfinished project, it's a Marin St Raphael frame with Bontrager carbon forks (700c).
Bikes and bike parts have been cluttering my space for years now and the expense of maintaining so many bikes was too high, so I decided to go down to owning just one bike, my steel 26er Cove Hardtail mountain bike. After making the decision I started to replace parts including new forks and two new wheelsets (Hand-built). I have a rugged set for off-road, fitted with the widest knobbly tyres I could fit and lighter wheelset with semi-slick tyres, mostly for road use and dry conditions.
I haven't done any huge rides this year but I did manage to take the bike up onto Dartmoor (UK) several times and do some camping / loaded mini tours which followed old byways and crossed some very boggy sections. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to resist getting a road touring bike, but for now I'm all done with winter tours, I had a rough time touring in Europe last winter and the bike I have should be fine for touring in warmer climates, it's easy to transport too.
I hope to get out to India next winter (2021) and ride from the Southern Cape up the West Coast to Mumbai and beyond, in the meantime I can sling this bike in the car and go for short offroad rides. I did a lot more riding last year and around 6000 miles of loaded touring but currently I'm happiest just getting out for an hour or two and riding easy cross country routes with a bit more pace.
Anyway, I'm feeling commited to clearing the decks, getting all the spare parts gone, now that by bike is well set up, I may even try to sell them as a lot. Hehe, thinking about it all I just remembered another frame that needs to go, it's a retro Schwinn mountain bike frame. It will be a relief to move around the place without constant projects, parts, wheels, tyres, greasy rags and bits of cable scattered everywhere :P



Mountain Goat
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02 Oct 2020, 11:06 am

domineekee wrote:
This year I've sold my Carlton Clubman, my Dawes Ranger and a single speed vintage Peugeot road bike and a Marin Muirwoods 29er Hybrid. I'm currently selling an unfinished project, it's a Marin St Raphael frame with Bontrager carbon forks (700c).
Bikes and bike parts have been cluttering my space for years now and the expense of maintaining so many bikes was too high, so I decided to go down to owning just one bike, my steel 26er Cove Hardtail mountain bike. After making the decision I started to replace parts including new forks and two new wheelsets (Hand-built). I have a rugged set for off-road, fitted with the widest knobbly tyres I could fit and lighter wheelset with semi-slick tyres, mostly for road use and dry conditions.
I haven't done any huge rides this year but I did manage to take the bike up onto Dartmoor (UK) several times and do some camping / loaded mini tours which followed old byways and crossed some very boggy sections. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to resist getting a road touring bike, but for now I'm all done with winter tours, I had a rough time touring in Europe last winter and the bike I have should be fine for touring in warmer climates, it's easy to transport too.
I hope to get out to India next winter (2021) and ride from the Southern Cape up the West Coast to Mumbai and beyond, in the meantime I can sling this bike in the car and go for short offroad rides. I did a lot more riding last year and around 6000 miles of loaded touring but currently I'm happiest just getting out for an hour or two and riding easy cross country routes with a bit more pace.
Anyway, I'm feeling commited to clearing the decks, getting all the spare parts gone, now that by bike is well set up, I may even try to sell them as a lot. Hehe, thinking about it all I just remembered another frame that needs to go, it's a retro Schwinn mountain bike frame. It will be a relief to move around the place without constant projects, parts, wheels, tyres, greasy rags and bits of cable scattered everywhere :P


Dawes Ranger. 1986 or thereabouts?


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Sahn
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02 Oct 2020, 12:10 pm

Mountain Goat wrote:
domineekee wrote:
This year I've sold my Carlton Clubman, my Dawes Ranger and a single speed vintage Peugeot road bike and a Marin Muirwoods 29er Hybrid. I'm currently selling an unfinished project, it's a Marin St Raphael frame with Bontrager carbon forks (700c).
Bikes and bike parts have been cluttering my space for years now and the expense of maintaining so many bikes was too high, so I decided to go down to owning just one bike, my steel 26er Cove Hardtail mountain bike. After making the decision I started to replace parts including new forks and two new wheelsets (Hand-built). I have a rugged set for off-road, fitted with the widest knobbly tyres I could fit and lighter wheelset with semi-slick tyres, mostly for road use and dry conditions.
I haven't done any huge rides this year but I did manage to take the bike up onto Dartmoor (UK) several times and do some camping / loaded mini tours which followed old byways and crossed some very boggy sections. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to resist getting a road touring bike, but for now I'm all done with winter tours, I had a rough time touring in Europe last winter and the bike I have should be fine for touring in warmer climates, it's easy to transport too.
I hope to get out to India next winter (2021) and ride from the Southern Cape up the West Coast to Mumbai and beyond, in the meantime I can sling this bike in the car and go for short offroad rides. I did a lot more riding last year and around 6000 miles of loaded touring but currently I'm happiest just getting out for an hour or two and riding easy cross country routes with a bit more pace.
Anyway, I'm feeling commited to clearing the decks, getting all the spare parts gone, now that by bike is well set up, I may even try to sell them as a lot. Hehe, thinking about it all I just remembered another frame that needs to go, it's a retro Schwinn mountain bike frame. It will be a relief to move around the place without constant projects, parts, wheels, tyres, greasy rags and bits of cable scattered everywhere :P


Dawes Ranger. 1986 or thereabouts?
yeah, the frame had enough space to fit 700c wheels and I had it as a tourer for a few years. I made the silly mistake of replacing it with a disk brake touring bike, it didn't have the same finesse. The Ranger had a crazy long wheelbase and was only slightly heavier than a Galaxy (not the over engineered moder galaxies), the bike I replaced it with felt sluggish. I once fitted the Ranger with 2.25" knobblies on 700c wheels, despite not having disk brakes it was a great all rounder, bullet proof, stable, pretty. In retrospect I should have kept it and converted it back to 26" wheels, it would have been a great expedition bike, I'd already converted it to drop bars and bar end shifters.



Mountain Goat
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02 Oct 2020, 12:31 pm

I hve n old 531 level top tube Raleigh MTB. I dis it up and my cousins son had it as he needed a bicycle. It had a lot of go for an old rigid mou tain bike. I have just had it back after he had been riding it with a loose headset for a month and I told him not to, and he lwft it outside for about a year. So all the bolts are fragile with rust. He lives near the beach. It took me months to rebuild it and now it needs it again. Surprizingly that the frame and forks are not that rusty. Just where he had scratched it ans had not painted it. I had totally stripped it down and rust proofed it before repainting it and I had brush painted it, so it was well protected.

Problem is I have not been up to doing much working on bikes. What I used to do in an hour has taken me several months due to not being able to face working on bikes. I had the last burnout while working on bikes the last time I worked, so I am very slowly trying to ease my way into sorting out my normal daily rides, which I have hardly been able to ride at all the last two years as I have had three burnouts in two years.

Soo.. I am slowly easing my way back into things, but I can't hurry.


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prinanab
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12 Oct 2020, 12:50 pm

i absolutely love Bicycles!! !! !! !! they make me happy and I am keen on learning all about Bicycles. they are a good way to exercise as well, very good for cardio and leg workouts. :P :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :D



Mountain Goat
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12 Oct 2020, 1:06 pm

prinanab wrote:
i absolutely love Bicycles!! ! ! ! ! ! ! they make me happy and I am keen on learning all about Bicycles. they are a good way to exercise as well, very good for cardio and leg workouts. :P :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :D


Do you have a bicycle or two?

What sort of things do you want to learn?


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