penningtron wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 11:32 am

benadrian wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:34 am Milwaukee steel frame and fork, the house brand of Ben's Cycles in Milwaukee, WI.

Oh cool! That's a great shop, and I know a few people with those frames. Looks great!

Yeah, the frame is super cool! It was made by Waterford Cycles in Waterford, WI. I've always wanted a Waterford, and now I kind of have one. I can't wait to get some bigger tires on this.

eephus wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2024 9:32 am

Barbo wrote: Sat Oct 05, 2024 1:46 pm

eephus wrote: Two bike things:

1. Looking for a mountain bike. Full suspension. My friend Howard told me about this new thing called "downcountry" that is basically exactly what I want, but I'm used to riding bikes with zero shocks on trails so anything squishier will seem good to me probably.

Not midlife-crisis-level of spend, but something in the last few years, aluminum or carbon, L or XL fit for 6-foot-tall rider. If anyone has anything they want to unload or sees something cool, please fee free to let me know.

2. Selling my 2015 Kona Humuhumu, which is a very cool sort of klunker/cruiser/giant BMX thing. Single speed, 29" wheels. Has a rack and decent flat pedals and a water bottle holder. LMK if you are interested.

I am really curious what you end up getting. I recently went from a 30 year old Barracuda with no shocks to a low mid line Kona with front suspension. It makes a huge difference on all of the roots on the trails here in northern Florida. We also just ended up buying an old but barely used full suspension bike that we converted to a 1x12 for my wife. I have to say I do enjoy the luxurious feel of it. But I do not like its 26’ wheels and older geometry. I had not heard of downciuntry bikes but am now going to read as much as I can.

Jon

Did you get a Honzo? I just test rode one, and I liked it.

I'm sorta split between the Honzo/Big Honzo kind of lightish-hardtail thing and a full suspension bike that is good for crosscountry as well.

Among the latter bikes that seem most in tune with what i want are the Kona Hei Hei and Trek Top Fuel--the latter coming in like 10000000 different varieties that sort of baffle me.

I'm told that "have you broken your collarbone yet" is the question for old men who are wanting to ride a mountain bike more in their dotage, same as "have you broken a wrist yet" is the question to ask anyone over the age of 40 who gets back into skateboarding.

Unfortunately I did not get a Honzo. There was not one available locally. I ended up with a Lava Done which I guess is more low end than mid range. For the cost I think it is great. Took a couple of rides to get used to the posture and wheel size but I absolutely prefer it now. I also like the hard tail aspect for the most part but plan on adding a dropper post one day to allow for a bit more flexibility.

I did a bit of research before making a purchase decision but got antsy and settled on one of the limited options in the area. I am looking forward to a continuation of desire for something better. There is a place called Santos about 45 minutes south of here that I plan to check out soon and will likely take both mine and my wife’s full suspension to really determine my preferred level of comfort. You should come down and hang out and we can break bones together.

Jon

Barbo wrote: Sat Oct 19, 2024 11:02 am

eephus wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2024 9:32 am

Barbo wrote: Sat Oct 05, 2024 1:46 pm

I am really curious what you end up getting. I recently went from a 30 year old Barracuda with no shocks to a low mid line Kona with front suspension. It makes a huge difference on all of the roots on the trails here in northern Florida. We also just ended up buying an old but barely used full suspension bike that we converted to a 1x12 for my wife. I have to say I do enjoy the luxurious feel of it. But I do not like its 26’ wheels and older geometry. I had not heard of downciuntry bikes but am now going to read as much as I can.

Jon

Did you get a Honzo? I just test rode one, and I liked it.

I'm sorta split between the Honzo/Big Honzo kind of lightish-hardtail thing and a full suspension bike that is good for crosscountry as well.

Among the latter bikes that seem most in tune with what i want are the Kona Hei Hei and Trek Top Fuel--the latter coming in like 10000000 different varieties that sort of baffle me.

I'm told that "have you broken your collarbone yet" is the question for old men who are wanting to ride a mountain bike more in their dotage, same as "have you broken a wrist yet" is the question to ask anyone over the age of 40 who gets back into skateboarding.

Unfortunately I did not get a Honzo. There was not one available locally. I ended up with a Lava Done which I guess is more low end than mid range. For the cost I think it is great. Took a couple of rides to get used to the posture and wheel size but I absolutely prefer it now. I also like the hard tail aspect for the most part but plan on adding a dropper post one day to allow for a bit more flexibility.

I did a bit of research before making a purchase decision but got antsy and settled on one of the limited options in the area. I am looking forward to a continuation of desire for something better. There is a place called Santos about 45 minutes south of here that I plan to check out soon and will likely take both mine and my wife’s full suspension to really determine my preferred level of comfort. You should come down and hang out and we can break bones together.

Jon

I obtained more bike than i need--a Kona Hei Hei from a few years ago, for a really good price. Some good upgrades. Guy was getting a new fancy Trek and wanted to move it. I slopped it together and it rides great, but figured i should have a shop check it over before pushing it at all.

Just in time for it to get cold! might have a few weeks of dorking around if i can get outta flat-ass Chicago with it...

Anyone have experience with those Polygon bikes they’re pushing hard on social media? The reviews are great and the prices are reasonable. If I can ever justify owning a dual suspension trail bike it’s definitely something to consider.
Also gonna be selling my road bike because I’d rather ride my steel touring bike 100% of the time. It’s a cannondale six13. Carbon tubes with aluminum joints. Full dura ace. 58cm. Hit me up if you’re interested and in Chicago.

jeff fox wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:32 pm Anyone have experience with those Polygon bikes they’re pushing hard on social media? The reviews are great and the prices are reasonable. If I can ever justify owning a dual suspension trail bike it’s definitely something to consider.
Also gonna be selling my road bike because I’d rather ride my steel touring bike 100% of the time. It’s a cannondale six13. Carbon tubes with aluminum joints. Full dura ace. 58cm. Hit me up if you’re interested and in Chicago.

I don't follow social media but I bought two Polygons for the kids during the 'rona as there was nothing else to be had and they were at peak bike/kid moment. They were about $400-500 each, small mountain frames with a front shock. I found them to be good quality entry level MTBs and excellent value. Came with Microshift derailleurs as Shimano was having a shortage, and these too have functioned flawlessly. Disc brakes. Packaging was top shelf - I believe shipped from Indonesia? Not shilling, but I would have no hesitation about ordering from them again in the same situation. Personally I like to buy from a shop but I get that can't work for all.

Cycling technology pushes forward, whether or not we like it. One of the perks of this is that I can find great deals on top of the line parts that aren't really that old. So on this week's episode of "Ben fucks with shit on his bike", I'll install a 5 year old Ultegra electronic on my steel frame road bike.

When I got my Milwaukee, I was very insistent on keeping everything mechanical. I know how to work on all of that stuff, and I can do it quickly and easily. Plus it's very inexpensive on the used market. Then a guy on a bike forum that I know was selling a rim break Shimano Ultegra Di2 group for a very low price. I have SRAM electronic shifting on my gravel bike and it's great. The word on the street is that Shimano electronic is even better. I couldn't help myself.

After I bought it, I had a pretty dumb realization. Shimano Di2 is a wired electronic groupset. This means that the shifters, the two derailleurs, and the battery all have to be strung together with wires. Current carbon and aluminum bikes, and even modern steel and titanium are all designed to internally route these wires and mount the battery inside the frame. Old steel frames have no way to get inside to route cables. Who the hell would do that?

I've heard of people drilling their steel frames, but I really don't want to do that unless I know I really want to stick with this setup. So, what now? The solution I came up with was pretty straighforward; zip tire the wires to the frame, and then put the battery, junction bok, and all the excess cabling into an old water bottle on the seat tube. Surprisingly, this works great and set up super quickly. It's pretty ugly, and one of my bottle cages is in use, so it's not going to be permanent. It's just to test it out.

So, i've only done a couple rides, but holy shit, the performance is fantastic. I think I like it more than my electronic SRAM on my gravel bike. To be fair, the gravel bike is a 1x bike, which means a large rear cassette, and the larger the cassette, the worse the shifting. The Ultegra 2x on the road bike just feels fast and precise, moreso than any other shifting group that I've used.

So, the next step is to find a small case or bag where I can shove all the wires, and then mount it to the bike in an attractive way. This will probably be under the downtube or in the lower cornet of the main frame triangle, under the water bottles. Then I'll just ride. After a while it will just become normal, or I'll miss the direct functionality of cable shifting and switch to something else. But damn, it seems nice now.

A large front rack should arrive tomorrow or Friday. The plan is to attach a bag to it for binoculars and snacks and a birding guide. I'm not a very knowledgeable bird person, but we have levee trails by the SF Bay here and there are lots of egrets and pelicans and ducks and things to see. My favorites may be the various raptors that hover and dive after their food.

Been alternating gravel and MTB for the last year and a half. Also riding the indoor fake bike (Nordic s22i "Poor Man's Pelotón") during the week.

The MTB is a Giant Trance II, full suspension thing. It's like riding a tractor. There's a set of particularly brutal trails really close to the house. Many a collarbone has gone to the gods there. The main loop is about nine miles with just under 900 ft of climbing. It's rooted, rocky, and rutted. It doesn't flow. No jumps. The whole trail system was cut in like 1993, before people understood that trail riding could be fun.

I've probably ridden there 400 times, not exaggerating. It's just really close to the house.

After doing a bunch of interval rides this week on the Fake Bike, I did the big loop yesterday. My legs were already gassed before the third climb and a smart man would've bailed. I just slowed down and grinded through it. At times I was climbing so slowly that I occasionally stalled out on a root as thick as my thigh. Mostly it's was the rear shock going "ffft" instead of "boing." I kind of miss the responsiveness of the hardtail, I think.

I'm wondering if I should sell the Trance and get a used hardtail or get a hardtail frame and move all the components over from the Trance. Will the frame geometry line up?

Many questions.

eephus wrote: Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:13 am Selling my 2015 Kona Humuhumu, which is a very cool sort of klunker/cruiser/giant BMX thing. Single speed, 29" wheels. Has a rack and decent flat pedals and a water bottle holder. LMK if you are interested.

$400 now, fyi. It's a 20" (large). This guy.