You laugh, but I'm seriously thinking about those cards with all of the looky-loo wanderers that have recently come out to enjoy the nice weather on the bike paths. Few of them have nice enough butts to stare at, so I think I'd appreciate it more if they just got out of the way. :P

I just bought a mountain bike for $5 at a yard sale. It is in fairly good condition and isn't wal-mart rubbish. Picture tomorrow. If I feel like it.

Feel like it. :) Want to see.

I tightened down the crank arm & worked the stiff links out of the chain on my beater today. That pretty much wraps it up - it's in 100% good working order, which is more than I could ever say about the 10 speed.

It's also a lot heavier (probably weighs 35+ lbs) than the old 10 speed, but I rationalize that by saying it's better exercise. And its 15 gears make it easier to use anyway, despite the additional weight. Plus the 10 speed was only ever a 5 spd, because the front derailleur never worked.

MetroMPG wrote:"...some minor problems (left crank arm keeps loosening..."

Let me know if the crank loosens up again, I know a few tricks that might help. It's common for a loose crank to keep loosening FYI.

If it loosened again, I was going to try loctite. Is that different from what you were thinking?

I'll report back if it does.

The classic side of the garage shot. The bike is a bit small for me, but I think I will have some fun with it on the dirt.

https://a162.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...3fab803b49.jpg

Do you think that maybe "Great Falls" is an inauspicious name for a MTB? :-)

Great Falls at Full Force is even more questionable!

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Kick: you inspired me to install my bike computer on the beater (12 km today after I got it working). Now we should hound Web Meister Matt to set up a feature so we can put them in the garage and log distances done via HPV rather than ICE.

PS - I'm betting your seat post is past the "max height line".

1) I have now clue what the brand "great falls" is, but it is 1990s low-end bike shop material. Cro-mo steel. Shimanio alivio components. 29lbs.

2) seat post is right at the max line :)

I forgot to mention the front wheel is slightly out of true and I needed to adjust the brakes.

This is just a goof off bike anyways.

Got bumped by a grand am today while riding my Puch :mad: . I was passing a gas station on a sidewalk when some young guy nose into me while getting set to enter the stopped traffic near the intersection. I was going slow and so was he and my pedal took most of the contact. The guy said "my bad", wasn't paying attention. I saw no damage so I rode off. No injury or wipeout but a block later I noticed my rear rim got a little tweeked:mad: . At least I had a spoke wrench in my little cargo pouch to true it up enough to ride back to my car.

That bites. But could have been worse!

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As reported further up the thread, I put my bike computer on the Pirate Bike (or Green Pearl - haven't decided yet) on Sunday, after having estimated that I was riding about 45 km a week. Well, with 1 day to go before the reset, I've already passed 90 km. I had no idea I was riding that far. No big rides, just lots of little trips, most of which I'd say are under 4 km one-way.

No, I have something else in mind.

Metro, I would try putting grease on the bottom bracket, the inside of the crank arm, and the bolt. That might work. or look on www.bikeforums.net I know the answer is in that site.

Here's a pic of my OLD (1988) Brike. Very rare up here, I don't know about other areas. She's just a single speed, but I've got a 3-speed rim I'm putting on it. I'll probably end up selling her as she's a bit small for me now.

Nice. I really like the simplicity of it without a bunch cables running everywhere and less than the 100' of chain typical of rear wheel driven recumbents. How do you like the handling of it?

1973 Paris Sport in the trunk of the Blue Box

https://www.gassavers.org/garage_imag...tmiknv9rft.jpg

It's not a commuter bike. I mainly ride on my lunch hours, evenings, and weekends for fun and fitness.

Although it has the same gearing as when I bought it during high school, plenty of parts have been replaced over the years.
https://www.striegels.com/alan/photo/ParisSport.jpg

Since you turn by leaning, it can be a bit of a hassle in tight confines, and she can be a bit unstable over 30 mph. Other than that, very comfy to ride! Not to mention all the looks and questions I get when I ride it around! :)

Yeah I really like that trike too. Its really nice and simple.

Here's my new baby:


https://xs216.xs.to/xs216/07246/IMG_0096.JPG
https://xs216.xs.to/xs216/07246/IMG_0098.JPG

I could only find the Brike for sale by one person on Ebay for $300. Looks like a real bargain. I don't have the money or space for it right now though.

Might be willing to sell you mine... when you have the space that is. I'll try digging it out of storage and putting the new front rim and tires on it.

I grossly underestimated the amount I am riding the pirate bike. I had guessed around 45 km/week. But I reset the computer yesterday at 120 km after 7.5 days.

Mind you, this was a week with almost no rain, so I was able to use it every day. Just lots of short trips, average 1-way length of maybe 3 km, max of about 6 km.

There are still a couple of stiff links in the chain that skip if I go top gear (big front ring, small back). It's not a lubricant issue - the chain is well lubed, but every time I work the stiff links loose, they seem to tighten up again.

It looks like fun, but I think I'm going to be building a SWB recumbent. I just picked up a Raleigh frame for free today to work with as well as a nice aluminum frame 16" Trek that needs a few parts and TLC for my youngest. The whole idea of building a bike has opened my eyes to the vast number of free bikes out there just waiting for my cutoff wheel and welder.

Excellent! I'm looking forward to all the bike-building threads.

What style of SWB bent? Can you point me to a pic of the style you're interested in?

Ha - just noticed that you can actually see one of the kinked links in the pirate bike's chain in the photo I posted.

Ultimately I want to build this 559 style, but my first attempt is going to be strictly Frankensteined. I'm not sure what plans I'll try to use, but the first go-around will be for fun and honing my building skill.

Hey snax, I see you are from Eugene. I always hear that Eugene is one of the most bike friendly cities around.

Do you have a lot of bike lanes/paths/etc? Are there a high % of commuters or something?

I honestly don't know if we have more bike commuters than most or not, but there are bike lanes along every major roadway with a great system of bike specific paths as well. I actually have a choice of either for my commute, usually opting for the slightly shorter roadside lane for the mornings when traffic is light, and returning on the riverside path to avoid all of the ICE fumes.

Anyway, I found this really cool wood design today. It has me considering some interesting options like sandwiched EPS foam and plywood construction similar to SIPs for home building.

I'll wait to post a picture that better reflects the DeRosa I've brought back out of mothballs. The phone's camera and the office lighting isn't flattering.
The bicycle is a 56 cm road bike built of Columbus SLX tubing. It has a full Campagnolo Super Record components group, mostly from 1978, with the exceptions of Speedplay Frog pedals (2007), Campy Syncro downtube shifters (1983?), newer Campy Record chrono rims (1982?), ttt bar and stem, Dia-compe hidden cable brake levers, Regina America 6 speed freewheel (1988?), a Shimano chain (2007), and a Selle Italia Regal red lizard skin saddle (1992). The saddle replaced the original steel railed Brooks Swallow saddle that bore me thousands of miles a year back when I trained and raced.
The bike sat for a number of years for any of number of excuses, but no real good reason. It's back out, on the road with not much more than a dusting and re-glueing the tires onto the rims.
I only wish I came back as well.

I disagree. Around here, a legitimate classic cruiser like that would sell for a good price. The same people that have classic gas scooter fetishes are the type that would snap one of those up. The new replicas just don't compare.

I started building a recumbent for myself this last weekend. It is very similar to the RWD bikes on this page, but is setup to run 26-27" road wheels on both ends. The goal is to keep parts cost under $100 and so far with a nearly complete frame I am up to $32 with a box of recycled parts I just obtained ready to finish it out. The only thing I am currently lacking is a satisfactory crankset, but it's just a matter of keeping a lookout for more junked/garage sale bikes.

I'll post some pictures eventually.

Wheeee! On a good downhill you could hit 60 mph, and it would feel like 120!

Please do! Feel like starting a new thread? I'd love to read about what you're doing.

Old school=Old's cool
https://www.gassavers.org/garage_imag...d37gzv6qfk.jpg
So far the 80 miles (four 20 mile commutes) since I resumed riding two weeks ago have saved 1.6 gallons of B100, $5.12 in fuel cost, and 4 kg of fossil CO2.

Very Nice. I like the look and ride of old road bikes better then modern road bikes.

Here's where my recumbent build stands today. Now that I look at it, I think it was an exaggeration to suggest the frame is nearly complete with all of the little brackets I still need to fit.

https://www.kipanderson.net/media/Meraudian1b.jpg

Anyway, it is based upon the Atomic Zombie Meridian DIY design. I'm looking forward to getting it done!

an update:
Will reach 300 miles this afternoon, another 80 degree / 80% rh day. My commute times have dropped by about 5 minutes for each 10.2 mile one-way trip. Also dropped about 8 lbs.
Energy savings and fuel cost savings are offset by the extra two showers a day (there's one at work down the hall from my cube), the extra laundry (daily work clothes and cycling gear), the the lack of practicality of 'brown-bagging' my lunch.
I still drive in when the weather is less favorable to bring a week's worth of clothes and a towel or two.

Navy showers! :thumbup:

My sprint machine. There is nothing better in the world than to get on this and put out some big watts. :D