[BeeBop]

I'm going back next year for three weeks to Germany for World Cup 06 with one of my best friend who I met in Madrid in 84. This time around I'm going to rent one of those small motorcycles everyone rides over there and cruise the back roads of Germany and Switzerland in between games.

Sounds terrific. Not sure what you are planning for accommodation, but the Hostelling International site might be useful.

[eric the red]

I like the idea of just wandering around and looking for the small signs that indicate a campground is somewhere in the vicinity like we did last time. Last time my living expenses were under $500.00 for three months.  Bread cheese and tomato, cheap local wine and sleeping in cow pastures is living the good life for me

[Bemopti123]

Eric, prices have gone up considerably since you were last in Europe.  Last time I was in Europe, I spend around 1 Month packing around, staying in low end hostels...cost me around 1.5K...Back in 2000.  That was when the dollars was considerably higher valued than now... 88 cent for around 1 Euro.  Now, it is around $1.29 for 1 Euro.  I cannot believe how ridiculous the policies of the government have punched a huge hole on the value of the dollar in just 4-5 years.  Germany is the most expensive country I was at....France seemed cheap to me.  Spain is the most affordable, as I used to go there every Summer between 1997-2000 and once again in 2002.  Be on the look out for pick pocket galore in Rome and also in Barcelona, and Madrid.  Amsterdam, I also heard was a little iffy.  Look big and mean....an American Holligan look? hehehe.  Wish I could go to the World Cup in Germany.  Love futbol=Soccer.

[eric the red]

Last time one of my friends was in Barcelona  he was using a public bathroom and when he came back outside, two guys whacked him in the mouth with a piece of pipe and took his wallet. The cheapest ticket for WC 06 is 220 Euros We averaged about 12 bucks a game back in 82

[Bemopti123]

Eric,

When I was in Spain, specifically Barcelona, back in 2000, I was touring one of the houses that Gaudi built, off the Ramblas with my mother.  I spoke to a couple from Portugal...they told me that they were pick pocketed by a group of older "women"  10 days before.  They told me to be careful.  I was making some jokes about that with my mom, when we headed to the bus station that would take us back to the Airport.  There, out of nowhere about 4 "women"  older ones, encroached my mother as we were about to step into the bus.  Some people told us to be careful...When I saw them, they were man, disguised in old rags.  I did not try to go crazy on them, simply could not believe the situation.  It was rather pathetic and hilarious.  They were harmless.  Now, another friend I knew went to Spain and in the first afternoon in Madrid, two Moroccans mugged her and took her Nikon F4?  Camera.  Ouch.  Now, if I continue the stories I have lived.  But, your friend with the piped mouth, that is something else.  One needs to have some guts and some smarts in order to travel around Spain and Europe in General.

[BeeBop]

I've always had bad luck in London for some reason, going way back to 1970. Travelled there a number of times on business and for pleasure. Never been mugged but cheated, robbed (camera, wallet), overcharged many times. Being clobbered with a pipe - man, that's tough.

[eric the red]

Oh yeah;  and when he finally got to Heathrow to go home, he left his ticket in one of the airport bathrooms accidently and somebody took it. Had to buy another ticket home    Not his favorite vacation needless to say...

[BeeBop]

Oh jeez. No doubt he was distracted by the pain in his mouth.

Just found this site with tour maps of Europe for bicycle types.

[BikeWNC]

My bikes:

Road
Independent Fabrication Ti Crown Jewel w/Dura Ace triple 9sp
Calfee Luna Pro w/Dura Ace 10sp

Mountain
Independent Fabrication steel Deluxe hardtail
Bridgestone MB-4 rigid

Height 6'3" Weight 175#

Andy

Andy...you have impeccable taste in bikes!  Love the Independent Fabrications stuff...  The IF guys were the builders at Fat Chance before Chris C sold the company to Serotta (and left his builders without jobs).  If I were to ever dump my Fat Chance, the IF Deluxe would be the replacement...

Thanks, Phil.  I love all my bikes.  Each has its own special purpose.  I know several guys that replaced their old Fat Chance bikes with IF Deluxe.  For a hardtail I wouldn't have anything else.

Andy

[Rocket]

Hi,

I recently purchased a learsport ride bike in australia and it was realy good value.  It has shimano 105 drive train and i am really impressed with the feel of the bike.

I have arthritis in my knee and i can no longer run and the cycling helps to stabilise it.

Regards

Rod

[beat]

I just recieved a demo bike from a new friend of mine who runs a local bike shop. It is a turner frame totally decked out with all the new gadgets. He informed me that I really should hang onto my klein as it is quite collectable now. I am having a hard time switching to full suspension but I think I need to own a second bike..may as well be suspended! I'm now looking at the ellsworths and titus and maybe still yeti. I didn't realize how much yeti has changed since I was back in the consumer world in the early nineties. I guess the ARC is still highly regarded but I don't think it is quite the same machine as back then.

[brj]

I am having a hard time switching to full suspension but I think I need to own a second bike..may as well be suspended! I'm now looking at the ellsworths and titus and maybe still yeti. I didn't realize how much yeti has changed since I was back in the consumer world in the early nineties. I guess the ARC is still highly regarded but I don't think it is quite the same machine as back then.

My local bike shop carries Yeti, Ventana, Titus, and Santa Cruz as their performance offerings.  I know at least one, and I think both, of the mechanics ride the Yeti AS-R (same geometry as my Kokopelli, but lighter, laterally stiffer and more expensive).  The shop owner rides a Ventana, but is currently building out an exessive Titus ExoGrid "just because he can."  I think at that level of bike, you need to decide how much travel you want, and then try frames to see what fits you best (which I suspect you already know).

My cumulative mtb experience is still aspiring to a grand total of two years, but I tried dozens of different bikes before going with the Yeti Kokopelli.  To pilfer one of the audio phrases I've seen around here lately, the performance and handling improvement of the Koko over everything else I'd tried "wasn't subtle."  (A Titus wasn't available for me to try at that point and would have eating into my audio budget anyway! )  With all of the other bikes I tried, I kept waiting for something to leap out at me, and I was getting frustrated that nothing was.  The Koko made it obvious, even just bumping around the parking lot.

That said, I was amazed at how little it takes to hide the benefits of a given geometry.  When KJ picked up his Titus Racer-X 100, I rode it around the parking lot just to see how it felt.  I was feeling really bad for him initially, as I felt my less expensive Kokopelli had substantially better handling.  Then we realized that the shop had built it up with a high-rise handle bad instead of the low-rise that he had asked for, and that made all the difference.  Choosing a bike is definitely easier than building up your perfect stereo system, but that doesn't mean its simple!

Beat, I only became aware of Yeti a couple of years ago... how have they changed since the 90's?

[beat]

Beat, I only became aware of Yeti a couple of years ago... how have they changed since the 90's?

Thanks for the tip on the Yeti. I still consider it a contender especially since he has one on clearance..700 for the frame alone.    Apparently they were bought and rebought a couple times and now are owned by schwinn or something..I don't know if that means anything as far as quality goes but I heard they were farming some of the framing out to overseas. As I know from audio that could mean nothing or everything. I happen to like my chinese gear I have. I just got back from a chilly ride in our foothills on that Turner..damn that thing is nice. I am sold on full suspension now. I don't know why I didn't take my bad back into consideration. I could have went another few hours before my back started feelin it. I have dammaged lumbar. Right now I'm going to trade this in for the 4" maverick demo he has down there. http://www.maverickamerican.com/products/frames/ml8.aspx

[KJ]

I am having a hard time switching to full suspension but I think I need to own a second bike..may as well be suspended!

Make sure you consider what type of terrain you intend to ride most often when switching to full suspension.  I used to ride a hard tail, but chose a 100mm/3.8" shock setup over the 80mm/3" simply because I don't race.  I opted for a little more cushion over pure speed and handling because I bike some of AZ's more technical trails on a frequent basis.  However, I didn't want so much absorption that climbing and turn carving was significantly impacted.  The Racer-X (80mm) that I demoed went like a train on rails, but offered less forgiveness when bombing down rocky descents.  The Switchblade made rocks feel like you were rolling over pillows in comparison, but you had to exert more energy when climbing and turning.  Titus has a nice little write up on types of suspension that might help you out with your selection process.  The Yetis are another oustanding choice as brj can attest to.  Nonetheless, I'd try to demo your favorites if at all possible prior to making a decision.  It doesn't take much (read brj's handlebar comment) to change the entire feeling of the bike.

-KJ

[brj]

Thanks for the tip on the Yeti. I still consider it a contender especially since he has one on clearance..700 for the frame alone.  

Which frame?

Apparently they were bought and rebought a couple times and now are owned by schwinn or something..I don't know if that means anything as far as quality goes

Yeti was owned by Schwinn from 1995 to 1999, where they basically acted as something of an R&D and special manufacturing lab.  I don't think they were really impacted much in terms of their own (Yeti) product line, but I'm only going on what I've read online.  Their own versioin of their history is here.

but I heard they were farming some of the framing out to overseas. As I know from audio that could mean nothing or everything.  I happen to like my chinese gear I have.

They have moved production of 2 full-suspension models overseas, of which the 575 (5.75 inches of travel) was the first and most popular.  They document where the bikes are made here.  I can say that my local bike shop owner has been a big fan of Yeti and their designs for quite a while, but was really hesitant about the 575 simply because it was their first overseas model.  This was actually the reason I jumped on one of the last Kokopellis (3.75" travel) instead of going for the more plush 575.  Since then, he apears to have come around completely, as he now enthusiastically recommends the 575.

I just got back from a chilly ride in our foothills on that Turner..damn that thing is nice. I am sold on full suspension now. I don't know why I didn't take my bad back into consideration. I could have went another few hours before my back started feelin it. I have dammaged lumbar. Right now I'm going to trade this in for the 4" maverick demo he has down there.

I've read a little bit about the Maverick, but never found one to demo.

There are lots of good options out there.  I would do some demoing to test geometries that work for you, and then do some reading to evaluate forks and shocks.  The latest dual chamber shock options (Fox Pro-pedal/Manitou SPV/etc.) really are advancing rapidly and making a big difference in ride comfort and efficiency.

Have fun!

[beat]

Thanks again guys,
I was looking at the asr-sl the lighter weight/less travel frame. So reading from the yeti website it seems they are closer to back where they started from really. Still making bikes in CO. That is nice. The guy down here may be getting out of selling them because of a couple warranty issues he had to deal with and they were apparently less than helpful. I don't think that has any bearing on whether I would still love one..he admitted to me he would still love an ARC! I don't know, I'm going to ride this maverick tomorrow. I think I am going to dig it. It seems ALOT less plush but it still has plenty of travel for me. Apparently it is built to feel like a hardtail when really pushing but becomes soft when needed. It has some sort of a smart Fox fork on it too that can tell the difference between just weight on the handlebars (you) and jolts from below. Anyway, thanks for the tips,
beat

Edit/addendum

Dang, and it rode like a hardtail too. Not that that is a bad thing as it felt really fast/efficient but I figure since I'm keeping the Klein why would I not want something alittle more plush? It didnt seem like it moved fluidly as though it wasnt lubed or something. I'm gonna keep searching. It is going to be hard to beat that Turner though!

[jermmd]

Is anyone familiar with Fezzari bikes?  Costco sells them now at under $1000. Here's the link:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?prodid=11042400&whse=&topnav=&cat=&s=1

Joe M.

[beat]

The abajo peak seems like it is set up really nice for the price. I am going to have to go check them out. If it is set up the same as on the website:  http://fezzari.com/abajopeak.htm  : That price would be good just for the components! The 4bar linkage is a really good way to go in my opinion. Thanks for the tip.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Are you mostly referring to hybrid bikes?

Do you have any url's for bike shops which sell competitively priced road/racing bikes?

Thanks

Rod

[jermmd]

Hi Guys,

Are you mostly referring to hybrid bikes?

Do you have any url's for bike shops which sell competitively priced road/racing bikes?

Thanks

Rod

I'm not sure if you're referring to the Costco bikes linked above but I don't think these are Hybrids.  There are two off road bikes and one road/racing bike.

Joe M.