Bicycles!

Bicycles* in general are expensive now, not just mountain bikes.

*the ones made of proper metal (not Chinesium) and with parts that should last more than a couple hundred kilometers.
 
After Maud forgot to lock her bike at the station one morning in March, we needed a new bike in the family. Since Marit goes to school by bus every day, she had little need for a "normal" bicycle. Add to that the fact that she had expressed interest in a sportier bicycle than the Decathlon Elops 400 she had. So it was decided that the Elops bike would go to Maud, for getting to the train station and back, and we would start looking at a sportier bike for Marit.
After looking online and at our preferred local bike shop (which happens to be in the same town as Marit's school), Marit settled on a Merida Big Seven 20 in frame size S that was in stock at the local bike shop, which we picked up a week later.
Now, the main reason Marit goes to school by bus and not by bike apart from distance (~10km door to door) is the difference in elevation on the shortest route from school to our house:
fzy9dsO.jpg

Nothing major for a seasoned rider, but not something you would want to do after school each day rain or shine.
So she got a nice taste of how to ride uphill right away.

It is now a couple weeks later, and nice cycling weather has become the norm again, so we started on some trails to get her to understand the bike and how to use it on trails.

img[


In two weeks' time, we're going on vacation, and bringing all our proper bikes (My mom's and Madelon's e-bikes, my MTB and Marit's MTB) and renting an MTB for Maud. Of course, some gear was needed to transport bikes, so a carrier (Buzzrack E-Hornet 3) was acquired, that has the necessary capacity both in terms of amount (3 bikes (Marit's MTB can fit in the back of the Clio)) and weight (60kg).
mdnXS0w.jpg

(Just image of it in storage, we only fitted it to a car once)
 
Last edited:
I really wish more US bike racks had lights like that. I had to add lights to mine.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    669.4 KB · Views: 58
Out with the old, in with the new!

I've replaced my 2005 custom-built Vinci road bike with something new from the Rose catalogue: A Rose Reveal 4 Disc 105.
As the name suggests, it has disc brakes and Shimano 105 components. What the name does not reveal is that it is a carbon bike weighing just over 8 kg (could be lighter, but I don't care), and that it rides beautifully. :)

Here are two pictures from after I made it ready to go:
20220410_174250.jpg
20220410_174511.jpg


  • Pedals are some Shimano SPD hyprid pedals because that's the system I prefer.
  • Bike computer is a Sigma Rox 12.0 that I have bought used earlier this year, combined with a Sigma R2 Duo combined speed and cadence sensor and a fitting heart rate sensor (not pictured).
  • Battery lights front (not pictured) and rear. The rear light is supposed to have a brake light function, but I suspect it is either broken already (first tests were successful, but nothing since then) or it only reacts to really hard decceleration.
  • Saddle bag might ruin the lines, but I do need something to hold wallet, mini-multitool, glasses, and some other stuff while riding.
  • The bottle holders have since been replaced by new ones more fitting the look of the bike. I thought I could just use my old ones, but I didn't like the looks. Unfortunately, my phone camera is broken, so no newer pictures.
As I already hinted at above, it's much fun to ride. Compared to my old bike, this one has a smaller frame, and that fits my diminishing fitness better than the rather big old one. It's also 1 kg lighter, not that that matters that much. The biggest difference is that this bike is new. All the cables are still running smoothly. The shifters are adjusted perfectly. Oh, and the brakes deserve that name. I will probably never use them to their full potential because that would mean flying over the handlebars. A stark contrast to aging rim brakes that were long past their prime...
Anyway, riding this is not only more fun, but also faster than my old bike - and not only in terms of average speed, but also top speed, because the highest gearing is longer. Today I've achieved >74 kph... :D

I've leased this bike via a "company bike" scheme, meaning a monthly rate will be decucted from my gross pay over the next three years, and then I can give back the bike, or buy it off the leasing company. I strongly tend towards the latter already. :)
 
So, when your bike is 10 months old and your employer announces a company bike leasing scheme (very comparable to @DanRoM's) in the midst of the worst bicycle stock situation in ages? Indeed. You go to your local bike shop to see if they have any road bikes in your budget and size in stock, not expecting to be riding anything new this year. And then it turns out they do, so less than two weeks later, you have your new bike at home and can start riding it.
IMG_6349.jpgIMG_6350.jpgIMG_6351.jpgIMG_6352.jpgIMG_6353.jpg
It's a Cube Attain SL in grey. Basically the bike I really wanted to find based on the research I did before heading out to gauge stock (albeit in the wrong colour. That red one <3). It's aluminium (I can achieve more weight gain by riding more than spending more, atm :p) and weights 9.7kg, so a fair bit lighter than my 15ish kg chonker of a hardtail MTB. Shimano 105 running gear. I asked the shop to please set the garbage Cube saddle on fire for me and mount a decent one instead, so they fitted a GES T3 for me. I got a set of red bottle cages with it, but I'm not really sure about how they look, I got them for a splash of colour but they feel a tad mismatched. I'm sure they'll look great on my bright red MTB though.

Speaking of MTB, that's gotten a bit of a slimming down, after I needed a new front wheel due to a crash, and couldn't find anything with a hub dynamo (damn you, stock situation!). Which meant that I could no longer use any of the lights that came with it, and then decided that I could just as well remove all road stuff.
camphoto_1804928587(13).jpg
So that's now 2kg lighter and rides like a completely different bike (all that extra weight was hanging off the rear, so balance is quite different.)
 
Last edited:
After what felt like a thousand years, I had a shop sort out the indexing and actually went for a ride for the first time in four months!

3A48079A-520C-46D4-913B-99EA5112ADD3.jpeg

48D29719-4E71-400B-8293-F307FCD14ABE.jpeg

DD7316D5-5E7D-430B-82D1-5A52C07370A8.jpeg
 
First ride on the Stumpjumper.

I need more air in the rear shock.
Full suspension is cool AF.
Dropper posts are sent from heaven itself.
Satan still makes the seats.
 
I'm a lazy bastard, so I bought myself an electric bike. I'm also a cheap bastard, so I went with the cheapest noname company that still reportedly had decent frames and components.
I bought it in 2019 for 1200€ iirc, added fenders, rear rack, supsension seat post and lights to make it more road friendly. Prime reason I went electric was to commute to work by bike without arriving drenched in sweat. And it did that quite well year around. It now has just under 6k km on it, most of those from 2019 and 2020 before I moved to working from home 99% of the time. Now I mostly use it for errands around town that are too far away for walking and the occasional ride through the countryside.

Quality has been surprisingly good so far. I had an issue with the battery after a while but that got replaced under warranty. And I eventually ripped out the mechanical disk brakes and swapped them out for hydraulics, because the mechanical brakes needed so. much. constant. adjustment. Hydraulics are definitely the way to go.

1vES0bd.jpg


bGkXOfi.jpg
 
That reflector at the seatpost is now rendered absolutely useless... :razz:

Yesterday on my way home from work (admittedly with a bit of a detour through the forests...) I suddenly heard a "crack" followed by "tick tick tick" - turns out a spoke of the rear wheel of my cargo bike broke, it lasted just two months. Well, today I went off to the shop which laced the wheel two months ago and they replaced the spoke right away. ^_^

Speiche abgerissen.jpg
 
That reflector at the seatpost is now rendered absolutely useless... :razz:

I'd say mostly useless. :geek:

But the clip on tail light I use has a reflector in it too, so that takes care of it when it's dark enough to really need a reflector.
 
So.... what the actual fuck.

While my bike was parked outside a friend's place in the inner city (backyard/parking lot of the apartment building, to be precise, not closed off but also not visible from the street), someone removed the axle from the front wheel hub:

20220507_015400.jpg

:censored:

Furthermore, the rear wheel axle was screwed loose as well, but not taken. The bike had/has quick releases on both wheels.

The bike was secured with two locks (one through the front wheel and frame and around a massive pole, the other through rear wheel and frame). So I cannot say whether this was an attempt to steal the front wheel for the hub dynamo, or simply sabotage for whatever reason. In the latter case it may have been done by one of the neighours from the house for whatever reason, but that is only speculation.

I noticed the loose front wheel when I was lifting and spinning it to test the lights before setting off for the ride home, so at least I didn't ride it with the inevitable outcome of an accident at the first bump in the road.

Two other bikes right next to mine were not damaged. One belongs to another friend who was with us, the other presumably belongs to a neighbour and hadn't been there when I arrived. He might have done it out of spite because I took "his" spot to park my bike, but as I said above, that is pure speculation.

Now, the fun of getting a replacement part...

Also, yes I have notified the police. There is of course only a slim chance of the culprit being caught, but this is potentially not only theft and property damage, but potential assault by sabotage of a vehicle (or whatever the correct legal definition might be). And a crime not reported is a crime not existing.
Besides, I hope to get the cost for the replacement part back from my theft insurance, and they of course require this.
 
Last edited:
Far easier, faster and cheaper than expected: Replacement part bought and installed, bike is home again.

The public transport tickets were more expensive than the part, actually.

Still, I want to meet the asshole who did this and feed him the part he stole.
 
The wife got a bike, somewhat unexpectedly!

23AF4B84-60C4-48F5-812E-268E8866E5DE.jpeg


2584F934-CD89-4B80-83EE-BCC131350DEE.jpeg
 
If she keeps riding, eventually she gets one of those two...


I'll see myself out.
 
Top