Nostradoomus
Well-known member
I have an e bike for commuting so I’m not really a recreational cyclist, it is kick ass though. After owning it for 5 months I realized it has a throttle and I don’t have to actually pedal all the time. 
Any cyclists out there?
- Thread starter jwyles90
- Start date
Yeah eBikes. I cycle for work each day . EBikes are all around here. Nobody asked my opinion on it but I think a flag should be mandatory:I have an e bike for commuting so I’m not really a recreational cyclist, it is kick ass though. After owning it for 5 months I realized it has a throttle and I don’t have to actually pedal all the time.
Nostradoomus
Well-known member
good luck with that
I used to ride a lot - not in a serious training way or anything but as a form of transport and a way to get in some exercise on the weekend. These days 99% of my bike riding is on my Triumph Bonneville which I have made my own! I'm not as comfortable on a pushbike as I used to be and feel it a lot on my wrists and, um, other bits, which get extremely numb after a 1/2 hour ride...
My son got into riding quite seriously there for a while and had a very expensive carbon fibre bike which he bought used and loved until another cyclist rode into him and he had to get it repaired. The other guy paid but the eye-watering cost made hime think of selling it to buy a more conventional bike. It's funny: he was big time into longboarding for a while until it dawned on him how dangerous it was to ride at 60kmh down hills. Then he stopped quite abruptly. I think the same thing has happened with his cycling. So now he is into running! Oh, he surfs too. I guess that will stop the first time he sees a shark!
My son got into riding quite seriously there for a while and had a very expensive carbon fibre bike which he bought used and loved until another cyclist rode into him and he had to get it repaired. The other guy paid but the eye-watering cost made hime think of selling it to buy a more conventional bike. It's funny: he was big time into longboarding for a while until it dawned on him how dangerous it was to ride at 60kmh down hills. Then he stopped quite abruptly. I think the same thing has happened with his cycling. So now he is into running! Oh, he surfs too. I guess that will stop the first time he sees a shark!
Well, without rampant diabetes and mass shootings, something has to thin the herd. (Joke)
Silver Blues
Well-known member
You guys made a fucking mistake letting me see this thread because now you're gonna get a wall of text 
The bike industry has classically always been driven by the professional racing scene, and all the top tech is just whatever the factory team is riding, which is a double-edged sword. Racers chase marginal gains, which are extremely expensive for minimal improvement for the average rider. Thankfully, the bike industry has come to realize that most people aren't professional racers, and have started making bikes to cater to real riders. As such, there is a big movement of classic-styled but modernly-appointed steel-framed road bikes on the market these days that I am a huge fan of. I had one put together myself recently, Soma Fog Cutter v2, and I am adoring the ride:
![IMG_20250425_160300_273[1].jpg](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='2000' height='1125' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1125'%2F%3E "IMG_20250425_160300_273[1].jpg")
and wholeheartedly recommend the brand, but they come frame-only and would have to be built up from parts, perhaps in conjunction with your local bike shop, which is another layer of complexity that you may not want to take on. (It's the best way to get EXACTLY what you want in a bike, the tradeoff being a somewhat higher cost; this build was about $4200 CAD.)
This type of bike still accepts downtube shifters if that is something that you like (and people definitely do). Someone else posted a Black Mountain Cycles, which are also awesome, but you don't have to spend that much to get a nice bike. This is something else nice about the industry right now - it's actually really difficult to get a bad bike if you spend a reasonable amount of money (i.e. don't go to a department store and buy a """bike""" there).
The disc brake vs rim brake is still a hotly contested issue. The gap narrows at the high end (and the makers of these neo-retro types of frames I am describing have become very good at making a very nice rim brake frame) but I am in camp "disc brakes forever for any reason" and would recommend you look for a bike that has them. "Gravel" is a super broadly-defined term that encompasses everything from a road bike with fat tires ("all-road", like mine) to drop-bar mountain bikes to relaxed-geometry flat-bar touring bikes ("all-terrain bikes"), but this segment is the one that probably contains the right bike for most people, so is a good place to start looking.
Factor in the cost of potentially replacing the saddle and stem and getting pedals on a prebuilt bike - these are highly personal items for which the stock choices on many prebuilt bikes are immediately swapped out. Some shops will do this swap on site for free or for a discount. Also consider your choice of tire for the terrain you are riding, you will save some money if you buy the bike with the tires you want already on it.
EDIT also, the most important thing is that the bike fits you properly. A $900 bike that fits you is better than a $10k bike that doesn't.
The bike industry has classically always been driven by the professional racing scene, and all the top tech is just whatever the factory team is riding, which is a double-edged sword. Racers chase marginal gains, which are extremely expensive for minimal improvement for the average rider. Thankfully, the bike industry has come to realize that most people aren't professional racers, and have started making bikes to cater to real riders. As such, there is a big movement of classic-styled but modernly-appointed steel-framed road bikes on the market these days that I am a huge fan of. I had one put together myself recently, Soma Fog Cutter v2, and I am adoring the ride:
![IMG_20250425_160300_273[1].jpg](https://pedalpcb-forum.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/attachments/95/95880-f01192d13056c74136c62739a7150cd7.jpg?hash=l6PSa_LbEI "IMG_20250425_160300_273[1].jpg")
and wholeheartedly recommend the brand, but they come frame-only and would have to be built up from parts, perhaps in conjunction with your local bike shop, which is another layer of complexity that you may not want to take on. (It's the best way to get EXACTLY what you want in a bike, the tradeoff being a somewhat higher cost; this build was about $4200 CAD.)
This type of bike still accepts downtube shifters if that is something that you like (and people definitely do). Someone else posted a Black Mountain Cycles, which are also awesome, but you don't have to spend that much to get a nice bike. This is something else nice about the industry right now - it's actually really difficult to get a bad bike if you spend a reasonable amount of money (i.e. don't go to a department store and buy a """bike""" there).
The disc brake vs rim brake is still a hotly contested issue. The gap narrows at the high end (and the makers of these neo-retro types of frames I am describing have become very good at making a very nice rim brake frame) but I am in camp "disc brakes forever for any reason" and would recommend you look for a bike that has them. "Gravel" is a super broadly-defined term that encompasses everything from a road bike with fat tires ("all-road", like mine) to drop-bar mountain bikes to relaxed-geometry flat-bar touring bikes ("all-terrain bikes"), but this segment is the one that probably contains the right bike for most people, so is a good place to start looking.
Yep, this is what they're calling "all-road" these days, and is a really versatile setup. Renegade S3 is a pretty nice spec and that price is really not bad at all. Midnight Special is a cult classic in this segment (and the Midnight Special frame was actually on my shortlist when I made my own bike decision) though Surlys don't tend to build up very lightweight (you will absolutely notice the benefit of a lighter-weight bike, and any steel-framed bike will never be as lightweight as an all-carbon race rig, but for riders like us, this does not matter as much as the industry wants us to believe. The difference between a 35-40lb department-store bike and a 26-27lb reasonably priced decent bike is much more than the difference between my 23lb Fog Cutter and my 18lb Felt F5 wannabe race rig.)
The selling points of the 1x setup are 1) simplified shifting logic (you only have to worry about one derailleur, and the more robust one to boot, and the options are "up" and "down"), 2) fewer moving parts and cables, which means 3) lighter and 4) easier to maintain. You lose on range (because fewer chainrings) which is compensated for with bigger cassettes, but there is no free lunch, because fitting a 400% gearing range on a single cassette means larger gaps between gears, which is not so good for road riding (where you want to be able to respond to grade changes with subtle adjustments). But, many people prefer the 1x for the aforementioned reasons. There are some old-school riders that swear 3x9 is the best drivetrain, and I see the argument - 9-speed components are extremely robust and (even still) widely available and you get an excellent gearing range without going to massive cassettes or tiny chainrings. But, triple cranks are heavy as shit, there are many duplicate or nearly-duplicate gearing ratios, and cross-chaining (unreasonable lateral bending of the chain in gear combinations on opposite ends of the crank and cassette) is a much bigger issue. Modern wisdom says mountain and rough gravel go 1x and pure-road or all-road go 2x. A useful gearing range for most "real" riders is a 1:1 or less low gear and at most a 4:1 high gear; unless you are a very strong rider, bias downwards given the choice (realistically you aren't going to be pedaling at 45 or 50 kph, but you might hit an ass-kicking climb with little notice).
Factor in the cost of potentially replacing the saddle and stem and getting pedals on a prebuilt bike - these are highly personal items for which the stock choices on many prebuilt bikes are immediately swapped out. Some shops will do this swap on site for free or for a discount. Also consider your choice of tire for the terrain you are riding, you will save some money if you buy the bike with the tires you want already on it.
EDIT also, the most important thing is that the bike fits you properly. A $900 bike that fits you is better than a $10k bike that doesn't.
jwyles90
Well-known member
I fully intend on responding to individuals parts of this post in more detail later, but this is incredible and I am 100% here for the wall of text.You guys made a fucking mistake letting me see this thread because now you're gonna get a wall of text
Also, I saw that my local shop has a Soma Fog Cutter for $1300. Definitely piqued my interest prior to your post, gonna go try it out when I’ve got free time!
Silver Blues
Well-known member
$1300??? For the whole bike? Holy shit, I paid 90% of that for the frame and fork alone. I'd jump on it, I daresay you'll not want to give it back once you try it!
jwyles90
Well-known member
Yea it's for the whole bike, I'll post a picture of it below. It looks super clean, although I think it might be set up as more of a "commuter" type ride than a recreational/exercise-y type bike (tbh it probably won't make that much of a difference though), and I'm not sure how I feel about the shifters being those lever style ones at the end of the handlebar. Either way though I'm going to give it a test ride soon and see how I like it.
jwyles90
Well-known member
First off, this is a BEAUTIFUL bike and I'm very jealous. That all blue frame is doing something to me.
The bike I have currently (a beat up but still reliable 2010ish Raleigh Revenio) has rim brakes. Seems like most bikes I've been looking at are in the disc brake category, so I'm leaning towards something with that as well. Seems like the benefits of disc brakes are a little more apparent than those of rim brakes. I remember when I was shopping for that bike back in the day and was put off by the gear shifters being attached to the handbrake section of the handlebar. I was so used to my old Schwinn shifters that were levers attached to the frame of my bike that anything other than that felt odd. I get the sense that most of the upgrades between my current bike and any new one I test ride will feel similarly strange, but are well worth getting used to.
I have a 3x9 set up currently and find myself sitting on the biggest gear on the chainring and making smaller adjustments to the rear gears. 90% of the time that works for me, and then the other 10% I'll plop it down to the smallest gear set if I'm going up a steep hill. Will probably be looking for some kind of 2x setup since I like having that versatility and while most of my riding is on flat roads, there are some hills that I encounter on a regular basis.
What size tire do you use? And what kind of riding do you do primarily? I think the all-road setup appeals to me but worry that it'll feel way more sluggish than my road bike. Although to be honest, the 650b setup of that Midnight Special seemed like it would be a lot of fun to tool around on.
Feral Feline
Well-known member
Einzeln's Lekker is heel lekker!
Keevohn's beautiful fixed gear would fit me
... my SS-forum handle is Knee-hell.
Where's @Pauleo1214 ? He's been fixin' 'm & rippin' 'm up!
@peccary, too, has some very sweet bikes.
TLDR at bottom of post... or ...
Quote for truth and while there was a LOT of great advice in Silver Blues' post, @jwyles90, I've boiled it down to the most important one, IMO, Fit.
Couple of other strong opinions ...
Online-based brands such as the ubiquitous rhymes-with-carbanion-companion tend to undersize the frame (so the customer never gets a bike too big, but also rarely — if you follow the website's online sizing formula — do you get a bike that is the correct size. So I'm happy to see you are shopping brick and mortar. Not all bike shops are great at fittings, though. Some are just as bad as online-orders, they just want to sell you the bike.
Get a basic fitting (should be included in the purchase price of a bike) or if you have any back problems or other concerns (longer arms or long legs, for example), consider getting a more in-depth fitting (which you may be charged extra dosh for).
I doubt I need to say it in this thread, but just in case there is somebody new-to-cycling that reads the thread... GET PROPER LEG EXTENSION!
I see wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many people riding with saddles too low, bent knees, building up copious lactic-acid and not taking advantage of the mechanical advantage (less lactic-acid build-up) of having their saddles at the correct h eight for them. Should be part of your bike fitting. Newb — if you're rocking side to side on your saddle it's too high; if you're bouncing up and down on your saddle as you pedal high RPM then it's too low. Yeah, FIT as in BIKE-FIT. It's f*cking important, more so than driving your 2-ton cage.
Okay, fit about fitting is over.
Portland you say? Wet coast. Fenders still optional, but appropriate tires for the tarmac and terrain and rain — don't cheap out on crappy tires.
Tyres are what keep your shiny-disposition side up and dirty side down. Fatter tires on your gravel-city-cyclocross-roadwarrior steely steed won't slow you down as much as you think. A PHAT-TYRE bike, on the other hand... are great for the snow and beach where even a 38c can struggle.
Mind, as much as it rains, the physics of a bike vs a car means the sipes on a bike-tyre aren't as critical as a car-tire. Tires wear out (duh), but that's a great excuse to try different ones until you find what works best for you and your type of riding. For the amount of gravel I'd encounter on my daily-rider, I found having side-little-knobbies to be of no real benefit and preferred a smoother shoulder to the tire for fast paved (and gravel) cornering.
Suspension: based on your riding regimen — lower the PSI a couple notches if needed. No need for heavy forks or even a heavier seat-boingy-post.
Discs: Definitely preferred over rim-brakes for the Wet Coast — stick with discs.
I've had just about everything including Magura hyrdaulic rim-brakes.
My preferred stopper-operator are MECHANICAL disc-brakes. Hydraulics are more fiddly and expensive without enough gain in performance for my riding and lazy maintenance regimen. I do recommend getting mechanical-discs that the "fixed" pad can be adjusted, if you can find them. Last I checked, my particular brand changed the spec-level on my particular model's "fixed" pad to be NON-ADJUSTABLE. PITA to dial in.
YMMV; better shade-tree bike-mechanics may have no problemmo getting their discs set up — I prefer adjustable pads.
Old Bikes are fun. I'd keep the old bike and slowly fix it up over time, if not spend the dosh to revamp it outright and not bother with a new bike.
It's sad to see so many cool bikes get sidelined because it's cheaper to buy a new bike than shell out for parts individually...
On that note — anybody got NOS 7-speed XT cassettes to sell me? Getting harder to find...
I found the new-bike-buying-experience to be similar to that of buying a new computer. Don't get a Cray super-computer, even if you can afford it, and back to bikes just need a super commuter. Do spend more than you think you should. That upgrade in component levels will likely get you in the sweet spot. For example: Last MTB I bought the shop didn't have my size in my price range. Going cheaper meant shitty-shitty-bang-bang parts and going up a level meant hydraulic disc-brakes. So I went up a level and was happy with the better overall component performance and new-to-me disc-stopping-experience despite the hydraulics themselves being a PITA to maintain (didn't work right from new).
Yes, that was nearly ...two three decades ago. 
TLDR
- FIT — to get fit on your bike make sure your bike fits you, including saddle height!
- Suspension — use your built-in suspension over the big bumps by raising your ass off the saddle.
- Discs — can't beat'm in the wet, mechanical ie cable-actuated preferred over hydraulic dribbles.
- Brick&Mortar — don't buy online (yer in Portland!)
- get the most bike you can afford (within reason and purpose)*
- no to electric shifting, just... no.
*If you have bottomless pockets and want to get fancy...
Keevohn's beautiful fixed gear would fit me
... my SS-forum handle is Knee-hell.Where's @Pauleo1214 ? He's been fixin' 'm & rippin' 'm up!
@peccary, too, has some very sweet bikes.
TLDR at bottom of post... or ...
Quote for truth and while there was a LOT of great advice in Silver Blues' post, @jwyles90, I've boiled it down to the most important one, IMO, Fit.
Couple of other strong opinions ...
Online-based brands such as the ubiquitous rhymes-with-carbanion-companion tend to undersize the frame (so the customer never gets a bike too big, but also rarely — if you follow the website's online sizing formula — do you get a bike that is the correct size. So I'm happy to see you are shopping brick and mortar. Not all bike shops are great at fittings, though. Some are just as bad as online-orders, they just want to sell you the bike.
Get a basic fitting (should be included in the purchase price of a bike) or if you have any back problems or other concerns (longer arms or long legs, for example), consider getting a more in-depth fitting (which you may be charged extra dosh for).
I doubt I need to say it in this thread, but just in case there is somebody new-to-cycling that reads the thread... GET PROPER LEG EXTENSION!
I see wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many people riding with saddles too low, bent knees, building up copious lactic-acid and not taking advantage of the mechanical advantage (less lactic-acid build-up) of having their saddles at the correct h eight for them. Should be part of your bike fitting. Newb — if you're rocking side to side on your saddle it's too high; if you're bouncing up and down on your saddle as you pedal high RPM then it's too low. Yeah, FIT as in BIKE-FIT. It's f*cking important, more so than driving your 2-ton cage.
Okay, fit about fitting is over.
Portland you say? Wet coast. Fenders still optional, but appropriate tires for the tarmac and terrain and rain — don't cheap out on crappy tires.
Tyres are what keep your shiny-disposition side up and dirty side down. Fatter tires on your gravel-city-cyclocross-roadwarrior steely steed won't slow you down as much as you think. A PHAT-TYRE bike, on the other hand... are great for the snow and beach where even a 38c can struggle.
Mind, as much as it rains, the physics of a bike vs a car means the sipes on a bike-tyre aren't as critical as a car-tire. Tires wear out (duh), but that's a great excuse to try different ones until you find what works best for you and your type of riding. For the amount of gravel I'd encounter on my daily-rider, I found having side-little-knobbies to be of no real benefit and preferred a smoother shoulder to the tire for fast paved (and gravel) cornering.
Suspension: based on your riding regimen — lower the PSI a couple notches if needed. No need for heavy forks or even a heavier seat-boingy-post.
Discs: Definitely preferred over rim-brakes for the Wet Coast — stick with discs.
I've had just about everything including Magura hyrdaulic rim-brakes.
My preferred stopper-operator are MECHANICAL disc-brakes. Hydraulics are more fiddly and expensive without enough gain in performance for my riding and lazy maintenance regimen. I do recommend getting mechanical-discs that the "fixed" pad can be adjusted, if you can find them. Last I checked, my particular brand changed the spec-level on my particular model's "fixed" pad to be NON-ADJUSTABLE. PITA to dial in.
YMMV; better shade-tree bike-mechanics may have no problemmo getting their discs set up — I prefer adjustable pads.
Old Bikes are fun. I'd keep the old bike and slowly fix it up over time, if not spend the dosh to revamp it outright and not bother with a new bike.
It's sad to see so many cool bikes get sidelined because it's cheaper to buy a new bike than shell out for parts individually...
On that note — anybody got NOS 7-speed XT cassettes to sell me? Getting harder to find...
I found the new-bike-buying-experience to be similar to that of buying a new computer. Don't get a Cray super-computer, even if you can afford it, and back to bikes just need a super commuter. Do spend more than you think you should. That upgrade in component levels will likely get you in the sweet spot. For example: Last MTB I bought the shop didn't have my size in my price range. Going cheaper meant shitty-shitty-bang-bang parts and going up a level meant hydraulic disc-brakes. So I went up a level and was happy with the better overall component performance and new-to-me disc-stopping-experience despite the hydraulics themselves being a PITA to maintain (didn't work right from new).
Yes, that was nearly ...
TLDR
- FIT — to get fit on your bike make sure your bike fits you, including saddle height!
- Suspension — use your built-in suspension over the big bumps by raising your ass off the saddle.
- Discs — can't beat'm in the wet, mechanical ie cable-actuated preferred over hydraulic dribbles.
- Brick&Mortar — don't buy online (yer in Portland!)
- get the most bike you can afford (within reason and purpose)*
- no to electric shifting, just... no.
*If you have bottomless pockets and want to get fancy...
Rohloff Speed Hub (internally geared 14 speeds) with belt drive connecting to a Schlumpf Mountain Drive 2-speed bottom-bracket — still not e-shift!
Custom Ti frame with
cable-discs (high-end)
Brooks' B17 "racer" saddle (titanium rails of course!)
This is just the opening salvo. Next up - Build Reports of our latest steeds. Troubleshooting threads on derailleur adjustment. Modification threads on sequential electronic shifting. Toolbox threads on bottom bracket "standards". Component Wishlist threads titled "ISO: Dura Ace 7400 gruppo". We're even taking over the "Vintage Pedals" thread...
The revolution will not be motorized.
Attachments
Last edited:
jwyles90
Well-known member
I love this. Lots of great points here! I think you're right on the money about keeping the old bike, even if I wind up being a new one at some point. I love the idea of having that one as a bike to practice mechanical stuff on, gradually upgrade over time, etc etc. I know next to nothing about bike maintenance and repair, so this feels like a good opportunity to get my hands a little more dirty than just the standard tube replacement. I've been going back and forth between buying a used bike in the like, $500-700 range and really shelling out for something between $1500-$2100. If/when i get a new bike I'll probably lean more towards the "most bike I can afford" approach that you mentioned. Buying something on the lower end, while not inherently a bad buy from the dollars-spent viewpoint, feels like I'm just putting money into something that is only marginally better than what my current bike offers after she's all cleaned up and repaired.
Erik S
Well-known member
I just finished rehabbing a set of SR SP100s that are vintage clones of those Campy 4021s you posted. Even set them up with some fresh NOS toe-clips.
Pauleo1214
Well-known member
L@Feral Feline mentioned me so here I am.
There are a lot of options out there on the market. Used and new, some great deals can be had for used.
@Silver Blues point on fit is important. I ride a 54cm frame and can handle a 80-90mm stem, and 420mm to 440mm handlebars.
Disc brakes are the new norm for road bikes. That doesn't mean rim brakes.are worse or less relevant.
Electronic shifting is also increasingly common. I have two bikes with the LTWOO eRX system and one with SRAM AXS eTap. Honestly the Chinese stuff is just as good as SRAM and more user friendly on set up.
I am a gym rat and always used the bikes for cardio since my teens. When I decided to stop running I took up outdoor cycling and looked into road bikes. Ignorantly I bought a eurobike from Amazon for $250.
It's a favorite now after the upgrades but was the bike worth it? Not really. The frame weighs 35 lbs. It had friction thumb shifters that your knees would hit on sprints.
Also it has a 7 speed 14-28 flywheel and a 44/28 chainring. That was a mountain bike drivetrain. I was sad to be going slower than a really old obsese guy.
I changed out the chainrings to a 50/34 set up and the flywheel to a 11/28 and installed Microshift 2x7 shifters and my times dramatically improved.
There are a lot of options out there on the market. Used and new, some great deals can be had for used.
@Silver Blues point on fit is important. I ride a 54cm frame and can handle a 80-90mm stem, and 420mm to 440mm handlebars.
Disc brakes are the new norm for road bikes. That doesn't mean rim brakes.are worse or less relevant.
Electronic shifting is also increasingly common. I have two bikes with the LTWOO eRX system and one with SRAM AXS eTap. Honestly the Chinese stuff is just as good as SRAM and more user friendly on set up.
I am a gym rat and always used the bikes for cardio since my teens. When I decided to stop running I took up outdoor cycling and looked into road bikes. Ignorantly I bought a eurobike from Amazon for $250.
It's a favorite now after the upgrades but was the bike worth it? Not really. The frame weighs 35 lbs. It had friction thumb shifters that your knees would hit on sprints.
Also it has a 7 speed 14-28 flywheel and a 44/28 chainring. That was a mountain bike drivetrain. I was sad to be going slower than a really old obsese guy.
I changed out the chainrings to a 50/34 set up and the flywheel to a 11/28 and installed Microshift 2x7 shifters and my times dramatically improved.
I run hydro brakes and prefer them over cable-actuated because they feel stronger, but they are a PITA to work on... lots of tools required to work on them and some run on mineral oil vs regular dot brake fluid, so if you run both type you need separate kits to bleed them yourself. But a good brake bled right can work for many years.
Pauleo1214
Well-known member
Feral Feline
Well-known member
Nic — Good to see someone weigh in on the pro-side of hydro.
Pauleo — Mentioned you because I've not been up-to-date on the latest kit for a few years now, knew you've been revamping bikes and would have a better handle on latest kit available.
On buying the appropriate bike (told this story before, maybe even on this forum):
Shop I worked at way back when, we sold a bike to this guy:
Yes, sold a bike to Sasq, the Sasquatch. Big Guy, taller than average as I recall but more importantly BiG.
The actor's agent-manager told him he had to lose some weight, at least that's what he told us. That version of Sasq at the time was played by Bill Reiter (as mentioned in the vid).
He wanted an entry-level bike at an entry-level price, but talking to him... he was going to be putting a LOT of miles commuting and training on it to get back some fitness and trim down (a BIG guy for his skeleton-size).
We tried to talk him into a better bike that could withstand his weight and intended pavement-pounding, but he would not be swayed from buying the entry-level bike at the entry-level price ($250 new at the time, he needed min a $500 bike).
SO we told him "don't say we didn't tell you so..." and away he went on his bike meant for very occasional light-duty rides.
Too long ago to remember exactly, might have been three days but at most two weeks and he was back ... he was upset at whatever first broke (bent seat-post?) ... grumbled as he shelled out dough for the repair, but after a few more return visits he kept saying "You told me, I should've listened, you told me, and I should've listened..."
Upgrades:
Wheels
Bottom-Bracket & crankset.
Crank Rings
Cog set.
Derailleurs
Shifters
saddle
...
Basically everything but the frame was upgraded, and every time he came back he bought better and better quality stuff, listening more and more to our advice. In the end, he had a great bike with a crappy low-end frame but we made him a happy cyclist albeit poorer one.
Probably spent up to $700 in a very short time, then as stuff stopped breaking or wearing out so often $1200–$1500 — DECADES AGO some objective comments may appear larger in the hind-sight mirror...
ASIDE: One of my favourite comedy shows was "Dr. Bundolo's Pandemonium Medicine Show", which I only just now realised also featured Bill Reiter.
Pauleo — Mentioned you because I've not been up-to-date on the latest kit for a few years now, knew you've been revamping bikes and would have a better handle on latest kit available.
On buying the appropriate bike (told this story before, maybe even on this forum):
Shop I worked at way back when, we sold a bike to this guy:
Yes, sold a bike to Sasq, the Sasquatch. Big Guy, taller than average as I recall but more importantly BiG.
The actor's agent-manager told him he had to lose some weight, at least that's what he told us. That version of Sasq at the time was played by Bill Reiter (as mentioned in the vid).
He wanted an entry-level bike at an entry-level price, but talking to him... he was going to be putting a LOT of miles commuting and training on it to get back some fitness and trim down (a BIG guy for his skeleton-size).
We tried to talk him into a better bike that could withstand his weight and intended pavement-pounding, but he would not be swayed from buying the entry-level bike at the entry-level price ($250 new at the time, he needed min a $500 bike).
SO we told him "don't say we didn't tell you so..." and away he went on his bike meant for very occasional light-duty rides.
Too long ago to remember exactly, might have been three days but at most two weeks and he was back ... he was upset at whatever first broke (bent seat-post?) ... grumbled as he shelled out dough for the repair, but after a few more return visits he kept saying "You told me, I should've listened, you told me, and I should've listened..."
Upgrades:
Wheels
Bottom-Bracket & crankset.
Crank Rings
Cog set.
Derailleurs
Shifters
saddle
...
Basically everything but the frame was upgraded, and every time he came back he bought better and better quality stuff, listening more and more to our advice. In the end, he had a great bike with a crappy low-end frame but we made him a happy cyclist albeit poorer one.
Probably spent up to $700 in a very short time, then as stuff stopped breaking or wearing out so often $1200–$1500 — DECADES AGO some objective comments may appear larger in the hind-sight mirror...
ASIDE: One of my favourite comedy shows was "Dr. Bundolo's Pandemonium Medicine Show", which I only just now realised also featured Bill Reiter.