New arrival.......to celebrate an exam pass or something...

daniel_b

So today I had the day off to take the first exam in my course, had to take the car into the garage first thing, and afterwards walked into town and past my LBS, to see this in the shop window (I was like a kid looking into a sweetstore) which I had asked them to get in:


Didn't want to go in, as I thought it might bring bad luck and distract me for the exam.

Scraped through the exam, with a 51% pass (That'll do for me!) and reached the LBS at about 5pm.

Wasn't 100% decided on the bike, but she looks soooooooo lovely in the metal, much better than in the picture, and I thought it looked gorgeous in the piccie!

She's called Delta by the way, and anyone who can tell me why gets a smug feeling of satisfaction

So anyway, as I've named her, that means she is at home :oops: (Partly due to your help on making the decision from the thread I posted earlier in the week) and has made herself at home in the dining room.

They had it in fixed mode for me when I got there (I took it for a ride and found it a bit weird), but I chickened out and they swapped it over to freewheel for me (What's the trick to riding fixed?), and I also got them to flip the stem, as it was a bit too far down for my liking.

I have de-belled and de-reflectored her, and she looks very sweet and uncluttered.

I'm ranting, anyway, that's my news for the day 8)

Dan

el_presidente

Daniel B wrote:

(What's the trick to riding fixed?)

DON'T STOP PEDALLING

daniel_b

el_presidente wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

(What's the trick to riding fixed?)

DON'T STOP PEDALLING

What about when you need/want to stop??!

don_don

What about when you need/want to stop??!

Use the brakes!

moonio

that a beautiful bike, so pleased you got it!!

daniel_b

don_don wrote:

What about when you need/want to stop??!

Use the brakes!

Well I know that bit

The bit I was struggling with (Granted I only tried it for 3 minutes) was the fact that on a freewheel bike, you can hold the pedal in one position, brake and put your foot down, where as on the fixie your foot keeps on going round, so the foot that I hoped would be at 6 oclock, is now at 3, or 12 etc etc

It will take some practice me thinks.

Chap in the LBS said one of the guys in there had got up to around 35mph on a fixie, cracking on at a cadence of 160 (!) before the chain came off :shock:

Thankyou Moonio, I'm glad too - I peeked in through the window this morning, and spied her, and couldn't wait to see her in the metal last night.

So does no one want to venture as to why she I called Delta?

I think she is the first bike I have properly named too!

Dan

linsen

A name for a bike... how weird are you?

linsen

Congratulations by the way......

ansbaradigeidfran

Daniel B wrote:

So does no one want to venture as to why she I called Delta?

Well, these should be a few triangles in the frame. Is that the reason?

daniel_b

linsen wrote:

A name for a bike... how weird are you?

Cheeky! (Mine has relevance!)

And thankyou!

Why on earth were you up at such a ridiculous time as myself?

I was up cos I couldn't sleep, still buzzing from the exam pass me thinks.

ans (I'm not going to type your full name!) no nout to do with that, and clearly no petrol heads have read my thread :roll:



Lancia Delta Integrale - a very effecive Rally weapon in the 80's 8)

Dan

linsen

Dan you've given the game away far too early - my grey matter was just getting going on it.

I'd come up with Delta Goodrem - blonde, doubtless brilliant ex-neighbours actress or similar.... (where's the "sarcasm" emoticon when you need it?)

And all my bikes are named with a great deal of relevance, actually

And I was up from 3.30 to take friends to the airport.

So I must be nice or insane, or both

FixedNewbie

Nice Bike and VERY nice Car

biondino

I got the Delta thing but you definitely gave it away way too easily! There's a yellow Delta Integrale I see round Putney quite a lot (actually, I haven't seen it for a while - perhaps the owner has moved away) and although it's a bit boxy, I know what goes on under that bonnet, mmmm...

linsen

It's official

I have bike envy.

Will try my best not to buy a bike this evening while OH is out at a gig.....

don_don

Daniel B wrote:

don_don wrote:

What about when you need/want to stop??!

Use the brakes!

Well I know that bit

The bit I was struggling with (Granted I only tried it for 3 minutes) was the fact that on a freewheel bike, you can hold the pedal in one position, brake and put your foot down, where as on the fixie your foot keeps on going round, so the foot that I hoped would be at 6 oclock, is now at 3, or 12 etc etc

It will take some practice me thinks.

Right, sorry I see what you mean Its just a matter of approaching a stop slowly and timing it so that your top-most foot is in the right position to push off again. Then unclip the other foot quickly and step down. I don't get it right every time, but with fixed it doesn't matter too much. Just step off and put the front brake on. Then push the bars forward so the back wheel comes up a bit and pedal the crank round until its in the right position

I'm still working on the trackstand, which so-say is easier on a fixed wheel, but I've only managed it so far on a mountainbike while slightly drunk :oops:

linsen

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0269845041

if this link works tell me what you think......

tardington

linsen wrote:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=290269845041

if this link works tell me what you think......

It looks V nice - but where do you pick it up from? If its from shetland, a bad deal. Unless you live in shetland, of course.

linsen

Fairly academic TBH as I have already bought two new bikes this year.....

daniel_b

linsen wrote:

Dan you've given the game away far too early - my grey matter was just getting going on it.

Apologies, I thought no one would get the link, and yes I thought someone might come up with the Goodrem connection ;-)

Sorry Linsen for the slur on your naming convention, what makes him a Frank on this occasion then?

Biondino, Yellow integrale, that sounds like an Evo 2 or 3, very very nice cars, well known for only being LHD, and having pretty plasticky interiors, but who cares!

Can't remember the last time I saw one on the road, they are a very rare beast.

I get what your saying don don, but I think it will take a fair bit of practice before I am proficient, and maybe a few falls....

I can kind of ish do a trackstand, but it's not reliable enough to, errm, rely on it.

That Langster looks nice, its exactly the same colour as the 58 one I test rode, and I think you can get them new for around £350, as they are last years model now.

I do like the look of this years model though, the silver one:


but not as much as Delta though, as that would just be insane!

Dan

linsen

Frank. I've always liked that name. Bit camp (no offence to any heterosexual Franks out there), but a bit businesslike too.

daniel_b

Tis Frank and to the point one might say?

P.S did you buy a bike?

linsen

No.

The number of gifts I can demand from my OH's wage packet for giving up my life to raise his children is surely limited....

Hang on a minute.....

daniel_b

Yeh but a bike is a tangible asset, therefore you are bringing an asset into the household.

It's all good. It's not a gift really.

8)

linsen

I'll introduce you to the holder of the pursestrings sometime and you can thrash it out.....

Put it this way - if you had a £700 road bike and an an old BSO, would you like your wife to have Frank, Joanne, Gladys AND Tim?

daniel_b

lol, from that I assume you mean he has 2 bikes, and you have 3, or potentially 4?

I'm not exactly the right person to ask, I now (since yesterday) have 6 bikes, my gf has 3, so errrr........I will stay well out of that potential discussion.

linsen

Hooray for bikes!

When the chidlren stop costing so much money I shall have one for every day of the week!

daniel_b

linsen wrote:

Hooray for bikes!

Amen to that Linsen, amen to that 8)

So is it 9.33 or 10.33?

linsen

ooh you just reminded me - clocks go back tonight, so it's actually 8.33! (well, sort of)
That's good news, since I've been up since 3.30 this morning

daniel_b

Technically it changes at something like 2 in the morning, but yes your right...

I was awake since about 4, feeling remarkably awake despite a cheeky bottle of red.

tardington

Was it very cheeky? In the Guardian they were reviewing the £2.99 bottles of Lidl wine.

pigeon42

It was (and still is!!) not Lidl-cheeky (and I'm told it has healing powers for tired legs too...)