botto 

fredelicious 41 question, but this is the only place where i actually pay attention to (a few folks) opinions.

looking to get a cheap and cheerful bike to get around town. the so-called cycling routes are pathetic. poor surfaces, poorly marked, no ramps, etc.

thinking about getting one either a BD mercier kilo wt or a moto fantom uno.

both will require some modifications (i.e. saddle, possible bars...). leaning towards the latter.

thoughts? bd jabs?

hammy56

I know nothing about the mercier, but know more than one person who have cracked (newish) moto frames lately. Maybe for a cheerful jaunt around the village this may not apply...how fat have you gotten?

wanders

Since you mention the roads, I would go with the moto fantom uno because of the tire options available with the canti brakes.

topflightpro

I've been seriously considering the Moto Fantom Cross for my wife. A buddy of mine has one, and he is quite happy with it. Of course, while my buddy is quite a strong racer, he also is quite cheap.

botto 

muscle mass has decreased. weight is more or less the same.

biggest drawback for me in the cantilever brakes. hate 'em.

shovelhd

I used to hate the cantis on my Redline until I replaced the cables and adjusted them correctly. I don't think you could go wrong with either choice. However, if I were going to build up a cheerful around town fixed gear (not a fixie, you're no steekin' hipster), I would build one up from a classic bike frame, one that can handle 25c tires.

Ultraslide

Just won a PRS Tremonti SE guitar in a Facebook contest. Cool!

botto 

i hear you, but three things stop me from doing that: budget, roads, and crime.

Homebrew01

Sounds like you need to count to 10 before you start walking.

Sometimes when I wake up I notice my heart skips beats every now & then. If I'm at 60 bpm pace, there can be 3 or 4 "dead air" spots during the minute. beat ... beat ... beat ... "cricket" .... beat ..... beat ..... beat
Seems normal most of the time.

carpediemracing 

What of a Nexus type 3 or 7 speed rear coaster brake bike? Add a front brake and it should be pretty stealth. I'm thinking old beat up hybrid off of Craigslist kind of bike. Add bars/stem/saddle of your choice.

ADSW

Upgrade or buy a new bike?

Bought a Felt Z95 two years ago on an impulse and havn't used it until now for various reasons (school, work, etc). Now that I have absolutely fallen in live with cycling i'm going to get into racing in 2013.

I've already bought a Easton EA50 wheelset with conti 4000gps tires so that was my first upgrade. It was the easiest and cheapest thing to do thus far. I've looked into the pricing of upgrading to all shimano 105 parts and its going to cost around $700-800 which is about what I paid for the bike in the first place!

I have the money to buy a bike in the range of around $1900-2500 but i'm just wondering if I should keep my frame (Felt Endurance Road Superlight Custom Butted 6061 aluminum, machined threaded BB shell, DT cable routing, forged aluminum dropouts & forged replaceable rear derailleur hanger) and upgrade all the other parts...or obviously buy a racing inspired bike now (cheaper prices since the LBS's are trying to get rid of 2012 stock).

Right now, I can almost not stand the shifting mechanism when i'm in the drops because it is a thumb shifter and i have to move my hand onto the hoods in order for me to reach it (really really not practical).

All feedback would be wonderful and much appreciated!

johnybutts

If I were in your shoes, I'd sell your current setup and funnel that money into something new.

Rule of thumb (unless you have employee pricing hookup):
Bikes are cheap. Parts are expensive.


Also, you're at the point where your current setup will begin to depreciate dramatically - after about 2 years old.

ADSW

Nope, no employee pricing hookup, that would be sweet though. I like you're answer since it's sort of what i'm leaning towards anyways. It really is just the fact of me pulling the trigger and doing it (a lot of money to spend without knowing if i'll be successful in my endeavors come 2013)

johnybutts

Also, if you do your research, ask your shop buddies to look up specific 2012 clearance models on the manufacture's distribution sites to see what deals can be had there. You aren't limited to just what they have on the floor. The deal though, is to know what you want so you don't send the employee on a wild goose chase - and once you order it, it's yours.

Homebrew01

Looks like stopping power and choice of bell/horn are the most important factors.

Homebrew01

Sounds like you have Sora ? Is that 9 speed ?
You could buy better quality shifters (used or NOS) since that's the only problem with the bike. Race on it, then see if you really want to stick with it before blowing big bucks on a new bike.

Fat Boy

My mountain bike is a Moto. I've got no complaints after 3 years. It took about 1/2 an hour to get set up initially.

I would probably go for this. https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/bullseye.htm Put some smooth, wide, tough tires on it and be off. Like you, I hate canti's and long-reach calipers aren't great. The BB5 discs on this would be a lot better.

Good to see you're still in one piece. Hopefully Sandy was not too destructive for your family's place.

ericm979

I've learned how to function when my vision goes black like that. When I feel it coming on I reach out and touch something so I have a reference when I can't see and I'm dizzy. It passes pretty quick.

I try to remember to stand up in stages instead of leaping to my feet but I don't always do it.

Supposedly you can tense your leg muscles momentarily before standing and that will take care of it, but I can't remember that either.

shovelhd

I can't remember squat.

Creatre

If you bend over and touch your toes, or just act like your touching your toes the blood will rush to your head or whatever and it should pass. My dad is really good at pretending to tie his shoes when this happens. I usually try to act normal and continue walking and probably look drunk.

botto 

Will want something like that as well. Most likely bring my old trek mountain bike over.

This would be part town bike, part ride bike.

Racer Ex 

Buy a gun and take up jogging?

ADSW

Yup they are Sora shifters, 9 speed. I was under the impression that the better shifters are only compatible with 10 speed casettes (Does the crank set matter as well?).

botto 

interesting twist. thanks.

i was far away from sandy, but yeah. it was a huge relief that the 'compound' survived.

just discovered yesterday that something of mine, that was entrusted to a friend, was stored in a flooded storage space in chelsea. pretty pissed.

the first is tempting, and as far as the second - i'm still in pain from a run walk run 5K on sunday.

hammy56

so theyre building a new velodrome just north of Denver. Looks like one more bike I'll need to add to the stable...never ridden on the track but it looks like a real hoot.