It's here it's here!

lost_in_thought

My new bike has arrived and been put together! Hurrah! I forgot to bring a pump (novice) but other than that it's all good to go!



It does need some SPDs and a couple of other bits, but yaaaaaay no more stinky piccadilly line!

And I'll be interested to see the difference that going from 92 to 88 makes...

As well as whether I'll be overstretched on the smaller frame...

And it's going to be weird as hell having a back brake that's not my legs! Also, the brakes are on the drops, so my fingers will have to get used to that...

Can you get brakes that are both on the horizontal bits and on the drops? I've seen them on some proper old bikes, but not on modern ones....

Littigator

yeah I used to have those dual brake levers on a Raleigh tourer I had...ah those were the days, with a fishing rod strapped to the top tube, bimbling down country lanes....

(wistful sigh)

Anyway back on subject, WAHEY on the new bike. Get daan yer LBS and get them to pump the buggas up then we want a full report on riding the new steel pony

HUZZAH!

Sorry everyone I think I may have drunk a leetle bit too much coffee this morning

ride_whenever

You can get interupters or cyclocross levers to put on the tops.

il_principe

Woooo ha! You don't need brakes on the horizontal - you'll soon get used to riding on the hoods. If you really do want then the LBS should be able to fit an Interrupter Brake, or just change bars and brakes completely...

Enjoy.

biondino

I had brakes on the horizontal on my Trek road bike (indeed I do still have them) and I love the fact they're there, even though that's partly because the hoods are significantly asymmetrical after a couple of prangs and the bike is a wee bit too big for me. If you want them, get them I reckon.

2wheelzgood

This topic needs pics.
yeah we knwo what a bowery looks like but we wanna see your ring.. ahem.

lost_in_thought

Well I'm now on a more girly 46/14, giving a paltry 88.9 inches... I will endeavour to get some photos up...

graham_g

A girly 88.9"?!! I had to go back to a 64 1/2" from a 68" earlier this week thanks to some time off the bike and some weight on the body.

dafruk

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well I'm now on a more girly 46/14, giving a paltry 88.9 inches... I will endeavour to get some photos up...

I thought it was a 46/17, or did you get them to change the spec?

I'm really tempted to add one of these to my collection because it's just so cheap!

pst88

How did you get your Bowery down to FCN 7? I have the same bike and i'm on FCN 3/4 (although it has been significantly tarted since I got it). I think someone's in FCN denial!

lost_in_thought

dafruk wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well I'm now on a more girly 46/14, giving a paltry 88.9 inches... I will endeavour to get some photos up...

I thought it was a 46/17, or did you get them to change the spec?

I'm really tempted to add one of these to my collection because it's just so cheap!

I did... I rang them up and asked if they could get me to around 90, they said either 88.9 or 95.5, so I bottled it and went for 88.9... And they only charged me for the parts!

lost_in_thought

pst88 wrote:

How did you get your Bowery down to FCN 7? I have the same bike and i'm on FCN 3/4 (although it has been significantly tarted since I got it). I think someone's in FCN denial!

The FCN7 was on the gollum bike, admittedly, but you should try citrusskies... that's where I got my FCN from.

It was related to my not wearing lycra unless it's under work clothes, my very, very stealthy clippy shoes, and mostly my 2 panniers!

I don't think the giant will change it much... I'll still have the panniers!

biondino

I've just calculated the gear inches for my neutral cruising gear and my respect for LiT continues to rise. 50/17 is probably what I'd normally use which is a piffling 77 inches.

Littigator

pst88 wrote:

How did you get your Bowery down to FCN 7? I have the same bike and i'm on FCN 3/4 (although it has been significantly tarted since I got it). I think someone's in FCN denial!

Oh dear confusion abounds, I calculated my Bowery gave me an FCN of 5??!! Although i think both LiT and I should get a bonus point for being nails enough to have proper gearing

Graham G you need to have some serious words with yourself unless your legs look like this

2wheelzgood

bwahaha, luckily I haven't yet taken a mouthful of this cuppa tea!!

I'm guessing 20cm thigh measurement.
Tops

il_principe

50T ring will be mine come Tuesday. I shall spend the weekend preparing myself to cope with 82.1 inches...

DonDaddyD

Someone explain T and inches to me please, so I can understand what your all talking about.... :oops:

I've just read the entire thread and you could all be talking about shoe sizes for all I know.

biondino

Seriously guys - how come decent male riders are being absolutely destroyed by this one woman (and I don't know what's up with my hormones today but I do keep wondering what *her* thighs must be like) in terms of gearing? Is LiT simply a complete lunatic? Or some kind of plant from the bikeradar secret service to encourage its forumites to try even harder on their bikes?

il_principe

T stands for the number of teeth on the cog. Gear inches are well explained here: http://bicycling.suite101.com/article.cfm/making_sense_of_gear_ratios

Assuming you have a geared bike there is a great calculator here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

2wheelzgood

if LIT is to The Game what Romero is to track cycling
then Graham G had better hope he's a good a sprinter as the real McHoy...cos I am betting you don't have the top end endurance

ride_whenever

I'm voting for game cyborg assassin...

DonDaddyD

Jash wrote:

T stands for the number of teeth on the cog. Gear inches are well explained here: http://bicycling.suite101.com/article.c ... ear_ratios

Assuming you have a geared bike there is a great calculator here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Thanks again Jash.

biondino wrote:

Seriously guys - how come decent male riders are being absolutely destroyed by this one woman (and I don't know what's up with my hormones today but I do keep wondering what *her* thighs must be like) in terms of gearing? Is LiT simply a complete lunatic? Or some kind of plant from the bikeradar secret service to encourage its forumites to try even harder on their bikes?

Biondino I've long since wondered whether LiT has superhuman strength and can leap tall buildings in a single bound....

BUICK

I'm on stock Langster gearing (42/16) and can happily spin in the 20's (mph) on the flat and I have kept the legs going up to 39.1 on a downhill, but some hills around by me take a HELLUVA lot of effort to get up and I can't imagine coping with a significantly bigger gear - but I thought one of the 'advantages' of a fixy was getting a smoother pedalling action at a higher cadence? Or am I in denial?

Should I just man-up and try to get a Hoy on?

:twisted:

BUICK

Congrats, by the way! I've been waiting about 8 months for my new bike - fingers crossed for next week