Bicycling Off-Road

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 06:18 pm »

Are you going to equip the Merlin to be a city assault ride or a full fledged MTB? I remember that most Merlins tend to be road bikes.

I got 2 bikes:

My 1996 Bianchi Eros in cherry red

and

My 1997 Kona Lava Dome steel frame, in metallic orange with a Manitou shock, forgot the model.

Nah, not much, NONE whatsoever time to ride them as I have to babysit during my spare time. Maybe when they get older.

What happened to your Litespeed MTB?

Levi · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 06:19 pm »

I like central park. Lots of happenings and normally closed for cars during the weekend. There is not much elevation but still a workout for some including myself with fat tyres.

My litespeed mtb circa 1995 is still around. My son has outgrown his 20" bike so it will be his bike soon. Lucky kid.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #22 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 06:24 pm »

I picked up this bike a few months ago from a bike messenger in NYC...upgraded the saddle and wheels, and got matching pedals and bottle cage:

The frame is a 2008 Fuji Track steel frame painted black. Drop handlebars were cut into a narrow flat bar to be able to squeeze between cars in the city. It's a fixed-gear bike (48T chainring, 15T rear cog) with a front brake added. Fun as heck to ride, but super-scary on the downhills...!

Levi · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 06:44 pm »

You finally got put it together.

Fixed gears are tough to ride without brakes specially downhill. That is unless you have strong legs, good technique and front brakes

PhilNYC · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 06:51 pm »

Quote from: Levi on 19 Aug 2009, 06:44 pm

You finally got put it together. Fixed gears are tough to ride without brakes specially downhill. That is unless you have strong legs, good technique and front brakes

When I bought the bike, there was a 13T rear cog...and even on the flats, it was really hard to stop the bike with just my legs. Putting on the 15T definitely made it more do-able, so unless it's a fairly steep downhill, I'm able to control my speed with just my legs pretty well.

I will also say that it's sometimes very hard to try to put a water bottle back in the cage while pedaling...

toobluvr · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 07:20 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC on 19 Aug 2009, 06:15 pm

Quote from: toobluvr on 19 Aug 2009, 04:26 pm

It's a perfect 6 mile loop, so it's easy to track the distance ridden. The hills in the north are challenging and will deplete even fit riders, especially on hot muggy days.

eh...the elevation in the Central Park loop is only about 100ft...

Maybe so. But there are a few in a row, and the climb is over a short distance.

I'm older (53) and a large rider (6'3" and 240 lbs), so lots of beef to lug up the hills......albeit low ones! And I'm not the fittest person in the world, but I was riding about 150 to 175 miles per week, averaging about 17 mph, so I was somewhat fit.

I'm sure Lance Armstrong would laugh at them, but they were fairly tough for me.....especially by the 4th and 5th loop, and particularly in muggy summer conditions. And from what I observed, it was the same for most riders there.

Levi · « **Reply #26 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 07:26 pm »

John you are still young. Now imagine going in the loop at Central Park in Fat Tyres.

toobluvr · « **Reply #27 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 07:33 pm »

Quote from: Levi on 19 Aug 2009, 07:26 pm

John you are still young. Now imagine going in the loop at Central Park in Fat Tyres.

Hell no! No way! Couldn't do it!

PhilNYC · « **Reply #28 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 08:50 pm »

John, that's pretty impressive mileage and speed! I only get in about 100 miles/week...maybe a little faster, but still about 40% less mileage...

toobluvr · « **Reply #29 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 09:12 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC on 19 Aug 2009, 08:50 pm

John, that's pretty impressive mileage and speed! I only get in about 100 miles/week...maybe a little faster, but still about 40% less mileage...

Thanks Phil, but most of the credit goes to my Litespeed Arenberg: titanium frame, nice componentry, light and fast.

And I was able to put in all the miles cause I wasn't working at the time.

Levi · « **Reply #30 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 09:44 pm »

Good frame and nice componentry sure makes biking more fun and allows you to go faster. You are definitely working those miles but not as hard. I call that efficient.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #31 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 09:56 pm »

I too have a nice titanium road bike with good components to help me go fast...!

Levi · « **Reply #32 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 11:04 pm »

Nice Ti road bike. I didn't know what Ti ride like until I rode one. It is actually like magic carpet ride!

PhilNYC · « **Reply #33 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 11:42 pm »

Quote from: Levi on 19 Aug 2009, 11:04 pm

Nice Ti road bike. I didn't know what Ti ride like until I rode one. It is actually like magic carpet ride!

I actually think that Ti is the ultimate mtn bike frame material. My current mountain bike is steel, and I love it, but if I was to get a new one, I'd definitely go Ti. I actually rode my brother's Merlin XLM last week in Oregon and it was fantastic...!

For road, as much as I enjoy my Ti Spectrum, I think steel represents the magic carpet for me.

I still have my Cinelli Supercorsa...

zacster · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Aug 2009, 11:45 pm »

Levi & all

This is the bike I crashed on Friday. No damage to the bike just to the rider. Ouch. Broken Pelvis.

A mix of old time Campy and modern 10speed wheels, new brakes, saddle, carbon seat post, old bars and stem, all on a custom built for me Davidson steel frame from 1981.

This is my other bike

All carbon.

Levi · « **Reply #35 on:** 20 Aug 2009, 12:01 am »

Sorry to hear about your crash Zac. Great bikes!

You guys have more than one road bikes! I am about to have my second bike built. Actually third. They are all Mountain Bikes!

Phil has the most bikes that I have seen in his garage.

Over 4 bikes maybe 6...

PhilNYC · « **Reply #36 on:** 20 Aug 2009, 12:13 am »

Quote from: Levi on 20 Aug 2009, 12:01 am

Phil has the most bikes that I have seen in his garage. Over 4 bikes maybe 6...

Are you including my kids' bikes...?

In my garage:
- Spectrum Titanium road bike
- Cinelli Supercorsa steel road bike
- Fat Chance Yo Eddy! steel mountain bike
- Bridgestone MB-4 steel mountain bike
- Fuji Track steel fixed gear
- Gary Fisher mountain bike (my wife's)
- Cannondale cruiser bike (my wife's)
- Mongoose 16" coaster bike (my daughter's)
- Mongoose 12" coaster bike (my other daughter's)

...and than in my basement, I have a Colnago Masterlight steel road bike...

[EDIT: I also have a steel Cinelli mountain bike frame that I'm building up into a single-speed...]

PhilNYC · « **Reply #37 on:** 20 Aug 2009, 12:16 am »

btw - whatever happened to that bicycles thread in the old Sports Bar circle...did it disappear with the Sports Bar? Or did it make it over to the Athlete's Circle?

zacster · « **Reply #38 on:** 20 Aug 2009, 02:13 am »

Those are just 2 of the bikes in my house! I also have a Trek mtb, a Cannondale road bike (wife), Specialized Dolce Vita road bike(daughter), Bianchi mtb (other daughter) and something called Zilioli, an Italian racer that went into the business in his hometown of Cuneo.

This bike is all original from 1982. Campy SR pantograph engraved, Engraved chrome fork crown, ultralight (for their time) wheels, Clement Criterium Seta sew ups (one still remains). The only thing I've changed is the bar tape and chain. Those things wear out. Those hidden cable levers were the first of their kind, and were a sensation at the time. The only problem is they didn't work all that well.

I've got a lot more bikes than audio gear.

Levi · « **Reply #39 on:** 20 Aug 2009, 03:57 am »

Nice bikes Zac. I only been to your house once. You have lots of space in your house to hide those bikes like Phil.