The Official MS Bike Talk Thread - motors need not apply

Where were you? It actually turned out to be a great ride. Good pace, little rain, but then it cleared up. Skeeters were pretty bad and the roots & bridges were a bit greasy... I took a thump on a bridge when the rear wheel slid out. Took a tree in the shoulder too.
Explored some other trails off Canco Rd. Nice little loop there w/ a bunch of skinny bridges.
I bailed due to thunder Tues, got stuck at work Wednesday. Rode the rollers. Ugh.

 
Mellow Friday ride of longer duration posted at the Rage site. Departs from Payson park tonight (Fri 5/7) at 5:30pm- meet in the Ocean Ave lot.

 
so i scored a road bike today, but alas, i know nothing about road machines. it's a bianchi tangent, half decent shape, all suntour xc components. 18 speed. i got it for dirt cheap money, and the guy at rainbow said as it sat (at the time, flat tires, rusty chain that wouldn't move and no pedals) that it was worth around 150-200. i have since tuned it, bathed it in industrial chain lube, and put about 5 miles on. anyone know if she's a good rig and worth putting money into?

 
If the pedals turn and it fits... it's a good rig. Whether it's worth putting more money into... that's your call. What are you looking to do to it? The Tangent is a steel frame w/ steel fork if i'm not mistaken. If you want to upgrade stuff... you're looking at some coin.

used carbon fork: $50

Headset: $30

Wheels: $200 for decent but cheap

I'm a fan of steel... the Tangent would probably be a sweet ride w/ a carbon fork and a new wheelset.

 
i don't know about the fit, as i think i saw someone say the road bikes are very fit specific. it isn't uncomfortable, and i did 9 miles today no problem. yes it is all steel, some small rust spots but i was going to sand it all down and do it flat black since the red/white/lime green isn't doing it for me. I'm not really looking to upgrade anything, since it's all decent looking stuff that functions well and all says it was made in japan. but i am slowly replacing the stuff that either didn't work or bothers me. yesterday was replace pedals, inflate tires and lube chain since it was all kinked. today i had to repack the rear wheel bearing and decided to buy a chain. other than that i just plan on re wrapping the handle bars, replacing the weather cracked tires, and getting my $40 worth out of it. so if i can pay @ 60 for the small stuff i want to replace, i'll only have a hundred invested, and that's half as much as the brand new mongoose road bike i saw at wal*mart (shudders) i was just hoping for a bit of input on the component quality and such. and yes, carbon stuff sounds nice because lighter is better, but this rig doesn't weigh much more than my all aluminum ironhorse maverick hardtail

 
Well, I did a little research on your bike. First off, the Italians know bikes and have been making some of the sexiest frames (Pinarello anyone?) for a long time. Steel frames are old school and some folks swear by them becase of their durability...however the ride is unforgiving compared to carbon or aluminum bikes which tend to soak up some of the bumps on un-even pavement. I couldn't find the specs as far as component groups for the stock bike because it looks like it came in a touring package and a cyclocross package...both with the same frame. This tells me that the frame is made more or less for comfort, with a more up-right riding position compared to a racing bike. This geometry can be played around with a little by addressing the stem length/headtube but something tells me (beacuse its a steel frame) that it isn't a standard 1 1/8" tube that's easily adujustable with spacers above or below the stem...meaning the stem is essentially a part of the head tube leading down to your fork. This also means that finding a carbon fiber fork might be a little difficult if you want to head in that direction....but I might be wrong with the measurements.

As far as upgrading components go, give it good ride over the weekend and see where it is left wanting. A good chain and a quality cables leading to a good rear derailleur will be the most useful upgrade because that's where a lot of the performance is judged. Suntour gear is alright, but its staying power is pretty low. I went through a stock suntour crankset on my first road bike in about three months, totally killed it because of the quality of aluminum they used...just too weak.

I hope you enjoy the bike, roadies are a special breed. I wish I still had my road bike! Let me know if I can help out with anything else.

 
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The Tangent sounds like fun. If you really enjoy it, think about hitting eBay or sites like the Pros Closet or the Gear Movement to pick up something a bit more recent. Upgrading your ride could get expensive fast- you might be happier with a totally new rig if you catch the roadie bug. Suntor used different rear gear system mated to a proprietary free-hub design. Between that and the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find a 7 speed rear cassette to match the shifter, you're probably on borrowed time- although that could be a pretty long time.

Post up if you want to ride some road in the Portland area- I'd be happy to join you. Ride it like you stole it!

 
Steel frames are old school and some folks swear by them becase of their durability...however the ride is unforgiving compared to carbon or aluminum bikes which tend to soak up some of the bumps on un-even pavement.
I disagree... Steel isn't old school. I think Aluminum is one of the harshest rides you can get. Steel has some flex to soak up bumps but at a weight penalty. The main benefits to aluminum are weight & cost. You can get an Al frame that weighs in less than carbon for cheap... thing is, you may lose the fillings in your teeth. I've ridden Al for years on the road... then switched to a Specialized road frame made of Columbus steel tubing... it was WAAAAAAY better than the Specialized M4 Aluminum. But... carbon is the best unless you're a high roller like ShagginWagon and you can afford titanium.
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Same goes for the MTB... did steel for years then switched to aluminum for the weight savings. Regretted it... then switched to titanium which is by far the best... but for the new mtb couldn't afford the Ti so i'm back on steel. Steel is real!
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I was referring to the fact that steel frames have been around forever. I have always riden a Trek ZR frame, but in racing weight is more important than comfort. Personally, I have never riden a steel frame, so I just know what I've heard from those who have.

 
so far i have a good idea of how it goes, and i definately think i'll want to have a good designated road bike, but i'm not sure about this one. I repacked the wheel bearing in the rear, and the rear cassette has a millimeter or so of side to side play (as the wheel is sitting horizontally in my lap) the chain is bad and the tires are weathercracked. if the cassette can be fixed with a spacer like the shop said over the phone, i might fix it up, otherwise i may look at a low end new bike

uppdate: went to rainbow today, rear cassette was given a clean bill of health. I left with a brandy new chain and new bar tape, just cuz it's all i can afford this week. i plan to get new tires next week, and later in the summer i think i'll strip it down and paint it red fading to black. so now i can go on rides with people
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SW, sorry I missed you after the ride. Pup was beat, and so was I...plus some guy yelled at me for having my dog with me, so I headed home.

This "rage bucket" concept fascinates me, though
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SW, sorry I missed you after the ride. Pup was beat, and so was I...plus some guy yelled at me for having my dog with me, so I headed home.
This "rage bucket" concept fascinates me, though
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Hey Jim!

Good to see you and the pooch last night. Sorry some d-bag yelled about the dog- so weak. There was an insane number of riders on the trial. Luckily we all broke up. I didn't get back to the lot until ~740. Great night to ride.

Tuesday night rides usually have the bucket. I think Brian/NEMBA usually brings some beverages to the beginner rides on SAT too.

 
I live too far south, but the Rage club does have some guys in the Bath area. You could check in with them through Yahoo groups/ Rage on Portland.

 
I just got certified as a bike tech so if you guys need any help fixing something or have a question let me know and I will see what I can do!
You'll be inundated shortly, I'm sure. I need to learn how to fix my own stuff in a serious way. My bike is the least-complicated mechanical device I own, and it's completely foreign to me. I put on my own clipless pedals, I've changed a tire, and I shortened up my brake cables a bit this year to account for my increased mass
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, but other than that, I'm lost.

I think I need to have my derailleurs adjusted, as she slips out of the high gears.

 
I live too far south, but the Rage club does have some guys in the Bath area. You could check in with them through Yahoo groups/ Rage on Portland.
I was just curious because my step dad rides with them every week. The owners of Bath Cycle are my cousins

 
I just got certified as a bike tech so if you guys need any help fixing something or have a question let me know and I will see what I can do!
How about a little learning session on how to build wheels?
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I'll bring beer.

 
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