Bicycles!

Getting very close to buying a fucking expensive bike... :D

My ideas: cyclocross - i.e. road-racing bike with offroad tires and disc brakes to have fun in the grits
- ultegra group
- hydraulic disc brakes

result: found two bikes that are not ridiculously priced... still expensive.
first, my favourite of the two: http://www.rosebikes.de/bike/rose-pro-dx-cross-3000-hydraulic/ (in black ffs)
second, don't like the colour and glossy finish: http://www.cube.eu/en/bikes/road-race/cross-race/cube-cross-race-disc-pro-rednblack-2015/

might just order that first one and test it out, they do offer 30 day no questions asked return policy :dunno:
 
That's always the problem.

I made a short visit to the local, newly-opened branch of BOC today and they also had cyclocross bikes on display. I really like the concept... because being limited to paved roads is sometimes getting on my nerves when doing my rounds.
 
was at one of the largest and more popular bike shops in town today as well, and their selection just sucks donkeyballs. millions upon millions of touring / trekking bikes and pedelecs, some mountain bikes and a total of maybe 5 models of road bikes...

cyclocross is way too niche-market to appear in anything local over here i think, but i'll be sure to check out some more shops. we do have a BOC as well, so i might just swing by to take a look... even if i would probably never think of buying a bike there. so, thanks for the tip :)
 
That's a very interesting concept.

I would like a road bike very much, but all the cobblestone roads around me disagree with that and the lack of suspension in those would annoy me.
 
we do have a BOC as well, so i might just swing by to take a look... even if i would probably never think of buying a bike there.
Me neither. Mainly because their online shop product range just screamed "cheap prices, cheap quality" since forever.
 
I would like a road bike very much, but all the cobblestone roads around me disagree with that and the lack of suspension in those would annoy me.

yeah, it's just the wheels and brakes that are different from a road bike really... so all the suspension-work gets passed on right onto your legs and arms. count it as additional workout or something :D

Me neither. Mainly because their online shop product range just screamed "cheap prices, cheap quality" since forever.

indeed, it's one of those bicycle supermarkets every respectable bike mechanic will always warn you against :D ... might be their own interest speaking, but still.
 
A cyclocross has always struck me as a poor compromise. They aren't up to much off road so really you're just getting a compromised road bike. Much prefer a hardtail mountain bike with a spare set of wheels with slick tyres on.
My mate had a Kona Jake the Snake about 10 years ago but he sold it within about 6 months. I guess a modern one with disc brakes will be something of an improvement.
 
So a few weeks ago, my bike decided that there were too many things for me to adjust; and that losing one of those things was a good idea.

So upon adjusting my preload this happened:
15a110e1-f88d-479d-85b0-358d24e9cf14_zpssohxaedn.jpg~original




Finally I got off my arse and decided to get some spare parts...



This happened:
CRorder_zpsor5rkpbr.jpg



LOL; damn sales!


edit:

It's currently waiting for two large boxes of parts and looks like this:
IMG_5868_zpsgocrwm7d.jpg~original
 
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Good choice of brand and color. :D
 
It's a 2008 frame, so not doing too bad for its age.

One thing that this rebuild has highlighted so far, is what components add the weight to this bike.
 
During my recent vacation, I had the opportunity to ride a Gazelle bike of some kind. It was surprisingly comfortable with the upright seating position, and the 7 gears were very much enough for the Dutch dunes. Also, a bell integrated into the handlebar - perfect solution, really.
BUT: Drum brakes. The braking performance was scaringly poor. :-o
 
Don't get fainted, but there's my little horror on the Vyazov street.

wm31j0jcqkl4.jpg


It began it's life as a Forward Sevilla. - russian copy of Stels folding frame, with unsurprisingly fragile "reinforcement".

Frame had a hull breach after ~800 km, independantly of "100kgs" written in max specs, so i had to do some surgical welding to put it back into one piece + added two Zinc-coated sideplates to prevent "the indestructable" design to fold in again.

Then i've had enough with driven star, constantly trying to throw chain off itself, like a wild ass.
So i installed Shimano's 39-52 teeth track double-switch, changing rear star assembly on 34-14 teeth mega-pull.
kckzwjnqiqsw.jpg


Leaving the pants-saver cover on. (with minor editing of switcher spot.)
ridl0h3msths.jpg



Little improvisation with drill, and here we have cord-stopping point for front switcher.
u3p5jt9jfd57.jpg

d3tbcsjzq758.jpg



...cause frame obviously wasn't designed for it...
gjfmo1enicx1.jpg



Now it can handle everything i throw under it's wheels, which is what i use it for: cross-touring.

213029497.jpg


93w3dl4s6jvy.jpg
 
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Also, here's a little footage of latter Moscow Cycle Parade thru the night, (enclosed roads, over 10'000 participants) where yours trully tried to crash at all costs, holding the camera in most awkward settings :mrgreen:

([WARNUNG!] ??????? language )
https://vimeo.com/133258262
 
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:lol:
Cool build!
 
Getting very close to buying a fucking expensive bike... :D

My ideas: cyclocross - i.e. road-racing bike with offroad tires and disc brakes to have fun in the grits
- ultegra group
- hydraulic disc brakes

result: found two bikes that are not ridiculously priced... still expensive.
first, my favourite of the two: http://www.rosebikes.de/bike/rose-pro-dx-cross-3000-hydraulic/ (in black ffs)
second, don't like the colour and glossy finish: http://www.cube.eu/en/bikes/road-race/cross-race/cube-cross-race-disc-pro-rednblack-2015/

might just order that first one and test it out, they do offer 30 day no questions asked return policy :dunno:

well, picking this up again... waiting three months hasn't changed anything.
since i now have a new job lined up, i'm again in the mood to treat myself to something... rose of course promptly raised their price by ~200? back in may. so currently, that cube bike is the only one still fitting the bill :| however, i've since come to like the paintjob a lot more than i used to. i've just emailed a huge store in bonn to see whether i can possibly check out that cube bike "in person", maybe even give it a quick ride around their testtrack. i have friends living over there, so i might as well go visit them again and combine the opportunities there. if they're being difficult about providing the bike or letting me test it out, i'll just order the damn thing online and make use of the friggin 30 day return policy, no harm done :dunno:
 
Hurrah!

That Cube does look nice. Not to mention that I've always had a soft spot for cyclocross bikes.
 
from new purchases:
new job, new toy. sounds like utterly sound reasoning to me!
S61quwU.jpg


GhQwl2J.gif


now i have a few days to decide on what pedals to get and i'm mostly thinking shimano SPD A530's or something. basically click-pedals but with a usable pedal body on the other side, so the bike is still rideable with "normal" shoes. any thoughts?
 
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