Have your cycling interests/purchases taken a turn?

[woolly]

Have your cycling interests/purchases taken a turn? Mine have, at least for this year. Instead of the sexy new carbon doo-dad, my eye has turned to bikes that have fatter tires, are more "practical" (primarily meaning racks & fenders), and decidedly cheaper.

Part of this may be the fact I've been priced out of the upper-end road bike market. I just can't bring myself to justify $10k for a bike (and I know that's an extreme example).

Another part may be that I'm pretty satisfied with the road bikes I currently have. It's been several years since I took delivery of my custom steel Anvil Chisel, and from that moment on my roadbike "gotta have" tendencies were severely squelched. Next week I'll have all the parts needed to build up my new-to-me Csi. Jimcav's absolutely gorgeous Kirk had me tempted at times, but I was already committed to the list below & had run out of budget, for now anyway.

So, here's what I've already blown my 2008 cycling purchase budget on:

* Ibis Mojo - to be built up single-speed with a set of White Industries ENO-hub'ed wheels I got a good deal on. One size larger than I normally ride, but it's the old-school steel hardtail one with a slightly shorter top-tube, complete with the handjob rear brake cable hanger. This will sport 1.25-1.5" street slicks. Sort of a zippy, neighborhood-cafe-racer, "takin'-the-movies-back-to-blockbuster", coffee-chaser type of urban cruiser/bomber. Really too nice to serve as a pub-crawl bike, but that's probably what it'll get used for too. I think all I need is a rigid fork & the tires to build this - maybe this weekend.
* Rawland Sogn 650B (www.rawlandcycles.com) - This is going to get built up with most of the parts from my current Surly Pacer 650B conversion, but with a new/used genuine Jeff Jones H-Bar. Has been ordered for a while, but won't arrive until later in the spring some time. Eventually it'll wear fenders & a rack, but maybe not right away if it arrives after the rainy season ends. I'm reallllllllly excited about this one. That fork is especially cool, and Sean has been just a really neat guy to do business with - I hope this is just the start of much success for him.
* Surly Big Dummy - This should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. I was lucky enough to get on the pre-order list with the Xtracycle folks (another great group of folks), and have been confirmed for one of the 18" models. From what I read on the Surly blog, they can only do these in small batches (like 350), and they all sold out extremely quickly. Next ones won't be available until August, which really means December the way their lead-times seem to go. I've been planning this one for a while, and have slowly built up all the parts necessary ('cept for maybe a tandem cable or two) to build it up when it arrives on the doorstep. Really looking forward to this one too.

So, considering the parts that I've accumulated in anticipation, and those that will be scavenged from donor bikes, I'll have spent definitely less than $3K and will have three completely new bikes.

If I can finalize a deal with one of my friends on one of my other frames (selling), then the Swobo Del Norte will be a reality too. That's $700 shipped, and I'll get around $500 for the frame I'm selling, so I'm still under $3K (net) with four new bikes - all that I'm really excited about.

So, do I want any new road bikes? Yes, specifically a Kirk and a Crumpton. But those will have to wait while I satisfy this current craving for fun, lower-end bikes with fatter tires.

[rwsaunders]

Wooly...the Rawland frame/fork combo seems like a fair deal when you compare it to a Poprad or some of the Kona and Surley products. It's a leading question, but for that money, how's the build quality and the ride? I think a lot of us have found our favorite higher end rides and that a lower cost "fun" bike is a bit of a challenge.

[davids]

More of an evolution.

I just bought a new mountain bike - nothing fancy at all (at least in relation to my road bikes, and most of what we see here.) I was planning on replacing my '01 Klein Adept over a year ago, but decided to buy a Team Nerac-scheme Love #3 when offered the opportunity on late '06. So, the mountain bike purchase got deferred until last weekend, when I picked up a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR. It was interesting (and I had a blast) riding a lot of different mountain bikes. They're as different from each other as chalk and cheese, nothing like the subtle difference between top-end road bikes. I hope to keep this bike for the next 5+ years, just like the last one.

Anyways.

As far as the next bike, I'm thinking either a "Club Racer" style road bike (racy geo, but with room for fenders and wider tires) or maybe persuading my wife to try a tandem. In either case, that purchase won't happen a couple of years, probably early 2010.

In the interim, there's a few things I want to explore - I'm curious to check out some high-end carbon tubular wheels. I want to try the SRAM Red gruppo - That's a potential upgrade for either the Nove or the Love #3. And I might finally make arrangements to get the Nove refinished next winter.

All these plans could change in a moment, though. Waddya got?

[woolly]

Wooly...the Rawland frame/fork combo seems like a fair deal when you compare it to a Poprad or some of the Kona and Surley products. It's a leading question, but for that money, how's the build quality and the ride? I think a lot of us have found our favorite higher end rides and that a lower cost "fun" bike is a bit of a challenge.

I'll let you know when it gets here in (hopefully) April. ;)

Keep in mind that the Rawland is 650B specific, so you may find it to be more of a "chalk & cheese" situation (love that phrase). The frames are built by the same group that does the Surly frames, IIRC. So, I don't expect it to be exceptionally light, I do expect it to be nice & sturdy, and I also do expect it to ride like a nice steel frame with big cushy tires. I already know that it's wicked cool. :D

[maunahaole]

Doesn't seem like you have anything there that is really "low end". A buddhist friend of mine once put it as living a step below the chaos level, where the still functional but no longer shiny and new stuff goes...or something like that.

I think that you are at a place where you appreciate the high zoot expensive stuff, but at the same time realize that there is still value and enjoyment in high quality good stuff - you are doing this because the bikes bring enjoyment to you for what they are rather than the statement that they make to people.

[Frankwurst]

I'm currently in the process of changing the fenders and tires on my Atlantis.
Went to Schwalbe Big Apples and they are BIG. Berthoud 60's on the fenders and the Schwalbes are 50's. Never mind a townline sprint let's take the fire trail. Smallest I have on anything is 28's. So yeah my interests any cycling habits have changed. For me it's been buy'em, ride'em, sell'em but I'm fairly content with what I have for right now and I need to bank some cash. :beer:

[AgilisMerlin]

cying interest turning:

i would like to try this: :)

p.s. - dude needs to smile

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3419160.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=6D80FA23B50A7A149F785EA5CE96DE6AA55A1E4F32AD3138

[csm]

I am putting disc brakes on my Klein Palamino and replacing the pivot to the turner one on same.
looking at sram force/red for my legend. the campy on that will go on my giordana steel bike because..... well because I have it hanging in the garage. thinking of another set of tubulars also to go with the sram stuff.

[woolly]

Doesn't seem like you have anything there that is really "low end".

Well, in this age of $400 handlebars, $7K frames, and $1K cranksets, it sure seems "lower-end", if not fully low-end.

As far as your other comments go, I take it as a compliment - thanks.

[Frankwurst]

I do have to admit I find the Big Dummy and Rawlands bikes attractive and wouldn't mind giving either a try. But I must exercise control. :beer:

[pdxmech13]

Let that Mojo loose and put some gears on it.
single speeds are so 2004 :D

[ericspin]

* Surly Big Dummy - This should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. I was lucky enough to get on the pre-order list with the Xtracycle folks (another great group of folks), and have been confirmed for one of the 18" models. From what I read on the Surly blog, they can only do these in small batches (like 350), and they all sold out extremely quickly. Next ones won't be available until August, which really means December the way their lead-times seem to go. I've been planning this one for a while, and have slowly built up all the parts necessary ('cept for maybe a tandem cable or two) to build it up when it arrives on the doorstep. Really looking forward to this one too.




Now this I an interested in. I did a little search of my own posts and about a year and a half ago I posted some nonsense about wanting an xtracycle. Still very interested. I will be monitoring your posts for info on this project. I also identify with the whole evolution of tastes and interests. I am a guy that likes to shake things up from time to time and I tend to _wear out_ on stuff and need to move on. Good for you that your willing to try something totally different.

Eric

[Ti Designs]

My cycling purchases have mostly been turned off. I invest in the rider these days...

[bigbill]

I find that functional overcomes flashy these days. I commute three days a week on a fendered bike with a rack and panniers. It probably weighs around 35 pounds rolling out the garage in the morning. I get the majority of my miles on that bike.

My Pegoretti road bike has 03 Chorus brakes, Centaur alloy UT crankset, 03 Record RD/FD, and 06 Centaur ergo levers. It all works well and that is what matters most. I haven't lusted in a while, maybe I am developing an aversion to carbon.

[sevencyclist]

I have lost interests in looking at bicycles. I have focus more on riding than thinking about the bikes. This has happened since I got my bike from Richard Sachs. Once I threw my leg over his bike, I realized all other bikes that I have ridden seems to have paled in comparison. I even did not pay much attention to the NAHMBS this year because I realized what is important to me is in the ride, and not how does the bike look.

Maybe someday I will update my mountain bike or get a randonneur, but until then, I have stopped lusting after every new gig that come along.

[woolly]

Let that Mojo loose and put some gears on it.
single speeds are so 2004 :D

Nah, my mountain bike is a geared Ti Mojo, made in the last couple of years of the "old Ibis". Not sure who actually made it, but I'm pretty sure it was after Scott exited stage left. This is my only geared MTB, and that suits me just fine. I do have an original Ibis single-speed from their run of 26 (allegedly one for each letter of the alphabet - mine is "Augie", but I really think they ended up cranking out close to twice that amount). This one is set up rigid, but full off-road, and it geared to match a few of the flatter local trails perfectly. I scored it probably 7-8 years ago for a paltry $900 (full bike). It's part bike & part collector's item, and I'll never sell it.

The Ti Mojo came to be 2-3 years ago when my local LBS finally made me an offer I just could not refuse. He'd had it in inventory for a loooong time, and every time I went in there I'd drool but eventually move on. He also carries Moots, and all the customers looking for upper-end Ti always walked past the Ibis to the couple of Moots he had on display. Once Ibis finally folded, I guess he just wanted to be rid of it. That frame replaced a different steel Mojo (a Medium, not a Large like the one I'm building up street-bomber style). It's also older-school, built for shorter-travel suspension, has the hand-job as well, and is painted just a gorgeous shade of "Black Lilac". I bought this one brand spankin' new over 10 years ago, not too long before I got married, and I've never been able to bring myself to sell it. We'll see.

So, I'm playin' the "one bike enters, one bike leaves" spousal-enforced rule pretty fast & loose. The Csi replaced the Landshark (or will - it'll be on the block later in the spring). The Rawland Sogn will replace the Surly Pacer. The Big Dummy will replace a Kona Smoke that I just never could get to fit & feel quite right - think I bought one size too small. And the Mojo? Well, it sorta replaces the Karate Monkey or Crosscheck that I sold last year, but that's kind of a fib & I'm sorta ending up in a "+1" situation. We'll see how the IOU's & working the "float" go for me at home. ;)

[woolly]

I have lost interests in looking at bicycles. I have focus more on riding than thinking about the bikes. This has happened since I got my bike from Richard Sachs. Once I threw my leg over his bike, I realized all other bikes that I have ridden seems to have paled in comparison. I even did not pay much attention to the NAHMBS this year because I realized what is important to me is in the ride, and not how does the bike look.

This is similar to what happened to me when I got my Anvil Chisel. In a way it was sort of bittersweet - total satisfaction, but also a bit of a let down when you realize the chase has come to an end.

[xjoex]

I am putting disc brakes on my Klein Palamino and replacing the pivot to the turner one on same.
looking at sram force/red for my legend. the campy on that will go on my giordana steel bike because..... well because I have it hanging in the garage. thinking of another set of tubulars also to go with the sram stuff.

I put the palomino upgrade from maverick on last winter. I can't say if it rides any better. But it definitely is much more durable. I used to have to replace the bushings every 6 months, haven't had to do it since I installed it. Very easy to install: http://www.instructables.com/id/Install-a-Maverick-Upgrade-Kit-for-a-Klein-Palomin/

The palomino is a great bike.

-Joe

[gdw]

and only spend money on maintaining them; chains, cables, casings, tubes, etc. My major purchase this year will be li ion batteries and chargers for the LED lights I'm building for night rides and races.

[Ti Designs]

I find that functional overcomes flashy these days. I commute three days a week on a fendered bike with a rack and panniers. It probably weighs around 35 pounds rolling out the garage in the morning. I get the majority of my miles on that bike.

My Pegoretti road bike has 03 Chorus brakes, Centaur alloy UT crankset, 03 Record RD/FD, and 06 Centaur ergo levers. It all works well and that is what matters most. I haven't lusted in a while, maybe I am developing an aversion to carbon.

I have lost interests in looking at bicycles. I have focus more on riding than thinking about the bikes. This has happened since I got my bike from Richard Sachs. Once I threw my leg over his bike, I realized all other bikes that I have ridden seems to have paled in comparison. I even did not pay much attention to the NAHMBS this year because I realized what is important to me is in the ride, and not how does the bike look.

Maybe someday I will update my mountain bike or get a randonneur, but until then, I have stopped lusting after every new gig that come along.

Keep this going!!! Someday we may even have more interest in a bike ride than a bike show...

[Frankwurst]

So, I'm playin' the "one bike enters, one bike leaves" spousal-enforced rule pretty fast & loose.

Ahhh...The to many bikes in the house makes for bad MoJo game. Fortunately my wife has thrown in the towel. :beer:

[SponsorsWanted]

Big '08 purchase will hopefully be a new frame to replace the Allez, looking to spend less than $800. Any suggestions?

[97CSI]

Big '08 purchase will hopefully be a new frame to replace the Allez, looking to spend less than $800. Any suggestions?You should be able to pick up a great, used, triple-banana Serotta :banana: :banana: :banana: frame or frameset for $800, or so.

Used to not pay too much attention to the source of the gear I bought. These days I pay close attention to where they are made. Nothing out of Asia if I can avoid it. Can't say more. Too political.

[rwsaunders]

Wooly....did your frame ever land?

[beeatnik]

woolly, I like your visionary style

[cadence90]

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[oldpotatoe]

woolly, I like your visionary style

even 8 years ago...:D

[cadence90]

.... ..
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[fuzzalow]

I'd have liked to have responded when this first was posed. Just to see what was goin' on then versus what's rattling in my brain about cycling now.

Eight years...can feel like a blink of an eye and yet can put one's self a lifetime away in the process.

P.S. Looking back eight years, I see the entire bigger-tire-cross-section movement taking a greater profile (ahem!) and priority over back then and for the way I ride and the roads I now ride, none of the cushy tire movement has any interest for me. For me, even back then, I'd solved some of my fit & position issues and frankly, the way the average bloke postures on a bike it is no wonder back, shoulders and hands take a beating on bad roads.

Nothing makes me sadder than hearing somebody say that "they can't ride the drop they used to" and need a higher position. Not because of the superficiality of riding EuroPro which would be ridiculous. But because saying that infers to me that the rider has destroyed his back or body in the process of riding a bike that was likely always incorrectly fit. Along these same lines is how I see the desire for more comfort in a tire an outgrowth of a lifelong of bad positioning on a dropbar sporting bicycle. Equipment fixes now for things that were better fixed correctly a long time ago that involved the rider.

So I agree with Ti Designs statement from way back in time but posted to this thread memorial - invest in knowledge and skills. Get on the learning curve. Not to be fast - fast is often a byproduct of youth and free time. Ride smart so you can ride the rest of your life. I always saw truth to the mythical imagery of the elderly Italian gentleman riding the same dropbar bike he raced as a younger man in absolute ease and comfort as a septuagenarian.

[oldpotatoe]

I'd have liked to have responded when this first was posed. Just to see what was goin' on then versus what's rattling in my brain about cycling now.

Eight years...can feel like a blink of an eye and yet can put one's self a lifetime away in the process.

Yup, he could have ordered a Vanilla or RSachs and it would be brand new now...:p

Now...time weighs on my mind now, lack thereof, nothing bike or gear or equipment, just time..I just hate to not ride something, somewhere on a nice weather day...like runway behind you, or altitude above you, can't get it back. But life gets in the way..

[cadence90]

.... ..
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[Tickdoc]

Yes!

Two years ago I was all carbon, trying to be light and fast.

Then this came along.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Handgod/8B12157B-C5F4-4C9E-B88B-0AAA8D4E3A3B_zpsl05kfrwy.jpg

Ruined me forever, I'm afraid. It was like the bike I always wanted when I was young but could never afford.

All campy, all Italian(almost), very cheap, but incredibly satisfying to ride. Bulletproof, mechanically smooth and whisper quiet. It allowed me to rediscover tubulars. Heavy like I thought I would never ride again, it proved to me that lightness is certainly not everything.

Most importantly, It changed my whole perception of what a joy it is to just enjoy the ride. Hmm, where have I heard that before?

Guilty pleasures. I love climbing with bikes that weigh almost half as much, and I hate to admit, but I love the way anyone riding next to me can't keep their eyes off of it.

[fuzzalow]

Yup, he could have ordered a Vanilla or RSachs and it would be brand new now...:p

Now...time weighs on my mind now, lack thereof, nothing bike or gear or equipment, just time..I just hate to not ride something, somewhere on a nice weather day...like runway behind you, or altitude above you, can't get it back. But life gets in the way..

Time weighs on all of us. You sound like you are in a very good place in life now. Enjoy this. But we have both been around long enough to already know this - man the kinda stuff that doesn't need to get figured out because it was in front of your face the whole time and all we hadda do is see it!

[jr59]

Yup, he could have ordered a Vanilla or RSachs and it would be brand new now...:p

Now...time weighs on my mind now, lack thereof, nothing bike or gear or equipment, just time..I just hate to not ride something, somewhere on a nice weather day...like runway behind you, or altitude above you, can't get it back. But life gets in the way..

Very true. But time weighs on all of us and moves on no matter what.

As the late Warren Zevon said on his last interview; Enjoy every sandwich!
I seem to use that advice a lot these days!

[bbobway]

Tickdoc - that's a beautiful bike! :)

[Mzilliox]

8 years ago i may or may not have been commuting on an old beater in portland that didn't fit well. I didn't know anything about cycling, only that people in portland rode bikes to get places and i like to be active. fast forward 7 years and i am too injured/beat up to do much active things besides cycling. So now i look at cycling as fitness, lifestyle, freedom, and health.

i never thought id wear tight fitting clothes like a roadie, but times change and so do we.

fun thread revival

[beeatnik]

^
Necro ne plus ultra right here.​



i never thought id wear tight fitting clothes like a roadie, but times change and so do we.

fun thread revival

while considering woolly's hampsten, i noticed his location as dallas. figured that was the reason he hadn't been posting regularly and decided to check out his posts to see if he had mentioned a move. well, turns out there's a dallas woolly and a newport beach wooly

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=187755

[denapista]

I think this is the natural progression of cycling. You start off riding road bikes, then trying to hang with the Jones with the flashy fast carbon bike and lastly you just want a bike to ride with ultimate comfort.

I have a flashy Carbon bike for the hills where I live (Base of Angeles Forest) and it's great for all of the climbing I do. I want a 29er rigid (English) to act as a large CX bike, where I can do dirt trails in Angeles Forest, etc. I also have my steel Speedvagen which I just love riding for the steel comfort and I can't sell it for how much I paid for it, and not willing to take that much of a loss. hahaha I'm looking for a 650b rack/fender bike for LA commuting if you will. On weekends, my car sits in the driveway because driving around LA can be daunting. I like going to galleries and art shows and having a bike like the Rawland would be like my daily driver.

I'm sure once I get the rigid 29er and 650b fat tire commuter bike, I'm sure those (2) will see all of my yearly miles. The road bikes will be brought out for fast hill climbs and fitness. Fat tire bikes appeal more to me than the new flash carbon stuff.

[Vera J. Hogue]

yahh, i have interest about it.

[Wakatel_Luum]

I have lost interests in looking at bicycles. I have focus more on riding than thinking about the bikes. This has happened since I got my bike from Richard Sachs. Once I threw my leg over his bike, I realized all other bikes that I have ridden seems to have paled in comparison. I even did not pay much attention to the NAHMBS this year because I realized what is important to me is in the ride, and not how does the bike look.

Maybe someday I will update my mountain bike or get a randonneur, but until then, I have stopped lusting after every new gig that come along.
This +1

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

[Wakatel_Luum]

I tend to ride my Surly Troll (Rohloff drivetrain) more these days over my road bikes (Merlin Ti's & Tommasini's). Love the whole bikepacking thing and touring...

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

[paredown]

I'd have liked to have responded when this first was posted. ....I always saw truth to the mythical imagery of the elderly Italian gentleman riding the same dropbar bike he raced as a younger man in absolute ease and comfort as a septuagenarian.
This.

There is indeed such a gentleman who I spoke with a couple of times in Prospect Park, riding an immaculate early 1970s Masi--in that perfect Masi pale gold--he was not going fast, but he was still going, and enjoying the ride.

I really liked a post on the CR list a while back--someone was helping a friend sell his road bike collection, since the elderly gentleman was in his nineties, and no longer felt comfortable riding on the road.

May we all be so lucky.:beer:

[oldpotatoe]

I have lost interests in looking at bicycles. I have focus more on riding than thinking about the bikes. This has happened since I got my bike from Richard Sachs. Once I threw my leg over his bike, I realized all other bikes that I have ridden seems to have paled in comparison. I even did not pay much attention to the NAHMBS this year because I realized what is important to me is in the ride, and not how does the bike look.
.

Same...I enjoy my somewhat beat up, MXLeader so much, the only 'new' bike I would even consider is a 'spare' MXLeader, just in case. In fact, I go round and round about keeping or selling my Moots Vamoots cuz I hardly ever ride it. Ride is nice but the Merckx, well, it's special.

I care not if the tires and bar tape match or anything...:)

[weisan]

Two things happened over the last couple of years that totally changes my purchasing habits.

1) got a custom bike that fits like a glove, meets my highest wants and needs. It totally killed my bike lust. Every now and then, when a really special bike come along on the classifieds, i would look up...and in less than 0.5 second, regain my senses, lower my head again and continue reading my papers :D

2) discovered my local bike co-op, which has just about anything I ever want or need to maintain or upgrade my fleet, and along the way, save a ton!

Maybe I should mention a third thing...

Ever since kind folks like Ergott, and Old pals and many others on this forum who have helped me along the way in starting to build my own wheels, I am pretty much self sufficient in all I need. Did I mention my local co-op save me a lot of money, including rims, hubs, even spokes and nipples, everything I need to build a set of quality wheels and I have built several.

Some folks may look at this as regressive.... I pretty much stuck with 9-speed shimano on all my bikes, which for me, was all I ever want or need, and I have a closet full of spare parts that will keep me going for quite a while. I've got two complete set of 10- and 11- speed gruppo sitting in my drawer and I won't even look at 'em. :D

[El Chaba]

The "industry" has largely left me. As the sport has peaked in its number of participants and is beginning to contract, the industry has turned its focus to a dizzying pace of new product introductions-euphemistically referred to as "innovations"- in attempt to maintain sales levels. For quality and function of components, I believe that the peak was reached in the "9 speed era" with the 10 speed parts not far behind. For frames, the peak was roughly in the same time period....Roughly the c40-c50 era. It was before everything got uber-oversized and unthreaded ultra-stiff...The focus was actually on the RIDE of the bike as opposed to some metric-weight or other- that is convenient to pin a number on and use in ad copy.