Does anyone use a single-speed as their main cruiser?
07-21-23, 04:40 PM
#76
Rhapsodic Laviathan
Their distribution center is a five minute walk from me. They're in the old Coke-Cola building. They need a store inside. I'm hardpressed to order from a place I could walk to. There's a small bmx/skate park in there, too.
Likes For scared_cyclist:
06-06-24, 05:53 AM
#78
Newbie
An an old guy who was pretty into road bikes in the 70's, I find riding an old single speed far more enjoyable than my old road bikes.
I'm heavier now too, not by much but I was never a little guy even in my prime.
I've got a few old balloon tire bikes from the 30's and 40's here, two have been in my family since new.
Those are on my to-do list to get them back into daily riding condition if I can find some decent tires and a seat that's actually comfortable enough to ride on. The original seats were good but 80 years of use has made them more or less just wall hangers now.
I tried a few modern seats but they're horrible to ride for more than a block or two.
My most ridden bike is a 70's model Schwinn Speedster with a Bendix coaster brake, its not pretty, it came to me out of an old barn about ten years ago for $5. The paint is poor at best but all I did to it was clean it really well, polish up what paint it still had, pounded the fenders straight enough to fit again, patched the old tubes, trued the wheels and with lots of fresh grease I put it back together. It rides as good as new and the 24" frame fits me well. Everything on it is original, saddle, tires, and likely even the tubes. I did give the frame a coat of clear paint to prevent any worn areas from re-rusting. I heavily polished and waxed the chrome fenders too so they're as presentable as they can be.
The only down side to it all is I likely have far more time into it than it'll ever be worth. If I count my time, the time just cleaning everything and getting it ready to re-assemble took me hours every night for a week. The only good part is that it didn't need any parts. I'd have put new tires on it if I had them, I just wasn't going to spend $60 on two tires, plus shipping, for what amounts to two cheap low end Kenda tires. Plus, the new tires I've seen for the S5 rims are too narrow compared to the original rubber these were sold with when new. I actually tried to sell it a few years ago and didn't get a single reply at $250.
Bikes in general here don't sell, CL and FB are always loaded with cheap bikes in all sorts of condition, rarely are any truly ready to ride, if any at all but even the better deals just sit for years unsold till their owners give up trying to sell them.
I'm heavier now too, not by much but I was never a little guy even in my prime.
I've got a few old balloon tire bikes from the 30's and 40's here, two have been in my family since new.
Those are on my to-do list to get them back into daily riding condition if I can find some decent tires and a seat that's actually comfortable enough to ride on. The original seats were good but 80 years of use has made them more or less just wall hangers now.
I tried a few modern seats but they're horrible to ride for more than a block or two.
My most ridden bike is a 70's model Schwinn Speedster with a Bendix coaster brake, its not pretty, it came to me out of an old barn about ten years ago for $5. The paint is poor at best but all I did to it was clean it really well, polish up what paint it still had, pounded the fenders straight enough to fit again, patched the old tubes, trued the wheels and with lots of fresh grease I put it back together. It rides as good as new and the 24" frame fits me well. Everything on it is original, saddle, tires, and likely even the tubes. I did give the frame a coat of clear paint to prevent any worn areas from re-rusting. I heavily polished and waxed the chrome fenders too so they're as presentable as they can be.
The only down side to it all is I likely have far more time into it than it'll ever be worth. If I count my time, the time just cleaning everything and getting it ready to re-assemble took me hours every night for a week. The only good part is that it didn't need any parts. I'd have put new tires on it if I had them, I just wasn't going to spend $60 on two tires, plus shipping, for what amounts to two cheap low end Kenda tires. Plus, the new tires I've seen for the S5 rims are too narrow compared to the original rubber these were sold with when new. I actually tried to sell it a few years ago and didn't get a single reply at $250.
Bikes in general here don't sell, CL and FB are always loaded with cheap bikes in all sorts of condition, rarely are any truly ready to ride, if any at all but even the better deals just sit for years unsold till their owners give up trying to sell them.
Likes For junkpile:
06-06-24, 06:38 PM
#79
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 14,001
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 56 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4521 Post(s)
Liked 4,220 Times
in
2,824 Posts
