[acidtripwow]

I recently purchased a Diamondback Wildwood bike and it is the best bike I've owned. It rides very well and the shifting is pretty smooth.

Diamondback » Wildwood ‘09

Can anybody recommend a good adult helmet?

 

[iriverdude]

Quote:

Can anybody recommend a good adult helmet?

Any brand, as all have to pass certain tests, although I believe Giro have more stringent tests.

acid if that's your bike lock out the shocks when you're on the road. I'd also replace that ladies size saddle

 

[DanTheMiataMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Campagnolo > Shimano. You should be able to buy a Mirage equipped bike, Mirage has been replaced with the more expensive Veloce groupset.

Cool any bike brand and or model recommendations?

 

[iriverdude]

Depends, are Marin, Kona, Scott & Cannondale expensive in the US compared to other brands? They're incredibly expensive over here.

I love the look of Condor bikes. I've got Mirage and Veloce, I think better than Shimano Tiagra which I've used.

Condor® Cycles - Please Note: We will be closed closing at 3pm on wed 10th June and all day Thursday in preparation for the grand re-opening on Friday 12th

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanTheMiataMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif What are some decent entry level road bikes that dont have crappy Sora type components that are good for like 25 mile rides?

If you need a lot of mechanical "hand holding" for drivetrain adjustments/chain lube, then go to a reputable local bike shop. If you know how to fit and set up a bike and do basic wrenching, then other alternatives become open to you. I've got a workstand, a set of bike specific tools, a fairly adequate library of bike books and more than forty years worth of fooling around with the things. I may get flamed by some local bike fascists, but I've had good luck with bikesdirect.com. I've got an all Ultegra Motobecane Century Pro and a Motobecane Cafe Sprint that I put a Bionx kit on. Both have worked out great and I am very happy with them. The Century Pro has got a more upright seating position that my old back really appreciates after twenty or thirty miles. Very hard to beat the prices which include shipping.

BTW, for helmets, check out SierraTradingPost.com. They usualy have Giro, Bell and other road and ATB helmets out of their model years but for very good prices.

RIDE ON!

 

[TheRobbStory]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif looks like a great climber. cannot make out the grouppo on your cinelli. i am on a centaur, but may eventually consider chorus, though i prefer the slightly tougher and heavier centaur for cyclocross

All Chorus with Record BB and chain (they were on sale :-D)

I did 150 miles this weekend in Eastern Maryland on an MS ride and it performed flawlessly. I'm definitely in love.

Here's Sophia about 20 minutes ago in front of the Capitol:

 

[iriverdude]

Nice bike but could do livening up, looks very grey. Maybe coloured tyres? Change grey bottles? Been impressed with my vento's.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice bike but could do livening up, looks very grey.

Are you kidding? Sophia's this young, lithe sexy Italian girl in the grey uniform with the big eyes. "Ride me!"

Very nice spoking job, BTW.

 

[JSTpt1022]

That bike is gorgeous. Kudos.

 

[TheRobbStory]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice bike but could do livening up, looks very grey. Maybe coloured tyres? Change grey bottles? Been impressed with my vento's.

To each his own. I prefer simple, understated and discreet. I might upgrade the $2 bottle cages to something a little more CF. The wheelset is actually the weakest part of the build. Even after tensioning, they handle like crap (especially in rain). They're leftover from the S-Works frame I was riding prior and will soon be upgraded to something stronger.

Apart from that, I'm completely content with this bicycle.

 

[immtbiker]

Santa Cruz Heckler Super Light!

 

[DanTheMiataMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRobbStory /img/forum/go_quote.gif To each his own. I prefer simple, understated and discreet. I might upgrade the $2 bottle cages to something a little more CF. The wheelset is actually the weakest part of the build. Even after tensioning, they handle like crap (especially in rain). They're leftover from the S-Works frame I was riding prior and will soon be upgraded to something stronger. Apart from that, I'm completely content with this bicycle.

X2 simpler = less stolen

 

[singular]

Acidtrip - fit is the most important thing - you want something which is snug yet comfortable for you. As iriver said, all helments need to pass safety tests to be sold in a certain market, so in terms of protection they are similar. Bell and Giro are the two largest brands, though a number of other companies also make excellent helmets. Go to some stores and try some on.

Dan, I agree with Old Pa. In your price bracket the 'no/lo name' brand give excellent value. At that level all the frames are going to be of a very similar quality. However how well they are put together will vary greatly. Proper assembly of a bike will be the biggest contributing factor to reliability given similar quality components. I couldn't recommend Campag components at that price point - in fact you'd probably be hard pressed to find anything which will give you that. They work great and are my preference at the higher end, but once you need to replace parts which wear (chains, cables, cassettes) they will be harder to find and more expensive. Stick with Shimano.

Robb - stick with the understated grey - very nice bike. Nothing worse than a beatiful bike ruined by gaudy tyres!

 

[DanTheMiataMan]

A Local bike shop has a 2007 Giant OCR Alliance 0 on Clearance for 1,199. Gonna go give it a try but the idea of mixing CF and Alum seems weird to me. Any opinions about Giant or the OCR series or the Alliance frame? Or Compact vs Non Compact Frames?

 

[Aptmunich]

Here's my commuter back when I picked it up in April:

It's a TSF-100 with a crmo (steel) frame and shimano nexus 8 hub gears. I wanted something reliable to keep me going sun, rain & snow. Hopefully the hub gears and lack of other moving parts (shocks!) will help keep maintenance costs down.

I really enjoy the bike, but sometimes wish it had a bit more speed in the high gears. The first 2 gears are far too "spinny" (what's the term I'm looking for?) and the 8th gear isn't quite as fast as my old derailleurs were on my old bike.

I don't know much about bikes, but I guess if I adjusted the cog ratio on the front or back axle, I could get a higher speed, right?

We also have an old vintage, rusty racing bike in the cellar that's dying to be restored. But I'm afraid I'd have to replace quite a bit of the brake & gearing on it, so that's a project for another year I think.