What transforming changes have you made to your bike

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by De Sisti »

cycle tramp wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 11:28am Surely it makes more sense to have 'variances on a theme'. So while all bikes share the same basic components, one bike might have sensible tyres, racks and a lighting system for general duties, another may have nothing except the most minimal of mudguards
One bike has a hub dynamo and mudguards. Another one has mudguards. The third has no mudguards or hub dynamo.
GideonReade » 24 Sep 2022, 7:58am
....but, but, but.... If they're all the same, why do you need more than, well, two?
Is it an edge case to prove N = N + 1, or whatever the number of bikes equation is?
You appear to be questioning the number of bikes I have. Why? :roll: You could easily start a poll, and once you have the results, pose the same question to respondents who have many.
jois
Posts: 334
Joined: 22 Sep 2022, 12:29pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by jois »

cycle tramp wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 1:45pm
jois wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 12:40pm The thing with having more than one available bicycle is you don't need to stock many if any spares. Just use the other bike and pick up what ever you need. Bikes don't tend to break in my exsperiance, rather wear out at predictable rate that ussualy allows replacement before failure. A few cables and a spare inner tube or two is more than sufficient. Though I've never managed to snap a cable so I'm not sure if they are strictly necessary
I think pre-covid, I would have agreed with you. During covid things like even freewheels and sprockets were hard to get. Post covid, I'm making sure that i've got one new chain, one new freewheel and a spare set of wheels in the shed. The thing is covid demonstrated just how fragile our supply chains are. The recent events in Ukraine demonstrated how weak our global food chain is. Even more recently commercial shipping around Taiwan was held up for 4 to 6 days as China held military tests in the South seas. This had knock on effects. There is nothing to prevent China from taking the same sort of military action that Russia took against the Ukraine.
Certainly if that event happened we wouldn't be seeing any new bicycle parts being shipped from that country until the situation stabilised. Secondly the western world may freeze all imports from China, so we wouldn't necessarily get any new parts from there either.
The trouble is with modern day living it's given us a very short term view of the world, and also of the supply chains; food does come from shops, it come from farms, energy doesn't come from our wall sockets, it's got to be generated, water doesn't come from taps, it comes from reservoirs.. and like wise, bicycle parts don't magically appear, they are made miles away and have to be shipped or flown to us. And the infrastructure of manufacture and delivery isn't has strong as we'd like it to be. And we take it for granted at our own personal peril.
You have a point. But I'm not sure I'd take prepping for WW3 as far as stockpiling bicycle parts.it would seem to be way down the list of priorities. Having a cupboard full of baked beans would come first.

I managed to get through COVID with very little difficulty cycling or otherwise. The availability of Wilkinson's inner tubes was a bit variable and I did have a 700 tube in a 26" wheel for a while. In fact it may be still in there.

As an aside the huge " pound" shops seemed to have no issue with supply chains during COVID it was rather the high street shops that were not adaptable enough
GideonReade
Posts: 410
Joined: 4 Jul 2010, 10:46pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by GideonReade »

De Sisti wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 1:47pm
cycle tramp wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 11:28am Surely it makes more sense to have 'variances on a theme'. So while all bikes share the same basic components, one bike might have sensible tyres, racks and a lighting system for general duties, another may have nothing except the most minimal of mudguards
One bike has a hub dynamo and mudguards. Another one has mudguards. The third has no mudguards or hub dynamo.
GideonReade » 24 Sep 2022, 7:58am
....but, but, but.... If they're all the same, why do you need more than, well, two?
Is it an edge case to prove N = N + 1, or whatever the number of bikes equation is?
You appear to be questioning the number of bikes I have. Why? :roll: You could easily start a poll, and once you have the results, pose the same question to respondents who have many.
Well, I think another poster has managed to nudge N for identical running geared bikes to 4. And I think you wrote that permutating guards and lights you've 3. No fourth in for fettling (isn't that what the RN does with SSBNs?). And clearly one might to ride with lights when it's definitely not raining, needing the fourth perm of guards and lights, so we reach N=5.

But I suppose what I was really wondering about is identical cassettes/chainsets, I guess giving the bikes identical gearing. I'd struggle to make all my different riding experiences work with the same gears. Or handlebars. We're all different tho.

Today tried riding my old 28mm tyred speedy tourer, now retired from touring so sans racks, with friends on road bikes. Got thrashed. I'm definitely seeing merit in this bike being de-standardised from our touring configuration :D .
LuckyLuke
Posts: 374
Joined: 10 Jun 2010, 11:54am

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by LuckyLuke »

Hi,
-This forum; informs, educates and entertains.
-cycle.travel for route planning. Especially now with the addition of Ordinance Survey mapping.
-Top notch tyres, especially fatter tyres. Panaracer, Grand Bois, Compass/Rene Herse tyres. The latter are very expensive but last well, are comfy and roll very well.
-Hub dynamos and LED lights.
-SA front drum brake Dynamo hubs.
-Nexus 8 hub gears.
The latter two especially for commuting. They have hugely reduced maintenance and cleaning, while functioning well. So reliable.
Best wishes,
Luke
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by drossall »

I don't think anything has made as noticeable a difference as when, soon after starting club riding 45 years ago, I tried alloy rims instead of steel. Switching back to the bike with steel, it seemed to have endless momentum (but was harder to get going).

Then there was the first time I tried good (sidepull) brakes instead of Weinmanns. Nearly went over the bars.

Since then I've traded clips and straps for clipless, and friction gears for indexed Ergos or STIs. None make anything like the same difference, and indeed I occasionally go back to the earlier ones just for the fun of riding an older bike.
Carlton green
Posts: 3645
Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Carlton green »

Please keep the posts rolling in.

I recall one of my earlier bikes didn’t have a rear rack fitted to it and that made shifting stuff on my bike rather difficult. All my bikes now have racks and they’ve sort of become cargo bikes rather than just (limited to) personal transportation. As a young man the (added) rack on my bike allowed me to carry a week’s shopping, my sports gear and even - if over multiple trips - all my personal possessions when moving from one set of ‘digs’ to the next. Not strictly a ‘transformation’, but still a very useful change that made a big difference to me.
drossall wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 4:57pm
Then there was the first time I tried good (sidepull) brakes instead of Weinmanns. Nearly went over the bars.
I’m curious, please, what side-pulls brakes did you use? I like the Weinmann centre-pull brakes on my old touring bike and, via some ‘optimisation’ here and there, have improved the Weinmann side pull brakes on my utility bike to be sufficiently powerful for my use - I don’t ride fast and do apply the brakes early, ‘cause otherwise there might be a mishap.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by drossall »

Carlton green wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 7:42pm
drossall wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 4:57pm Then there was the first time I tried good (sidepull) brakes instead of Weinmanns. Nearly went over the bars.
I’m curious, please, what side-pulls brakes did you use?
I had had Weinmann 500s and then, in fact, the rather better Universals (68s I think). A club mate built up a bike, gave up, and sold it as parts. That way, on student finances, I managed to acquire some barely-used Mark II Dura Ace brakes. It was them that caught me out by being so much better than what I was used to.

Curiously, those same brakes ended up on my Audax bike and seemed, by the end of their service life, rather poor to me. I couldn't work out whether it was because I'd since had dual pivots, or they'd genuinely deteriorated, or I'd got heavier and therefore placed more demands on them.
grufty
Posts: 135
Joined: 26 Sep 2017, 2:24pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by grufty »

Hub dynamo and shorter cranks for the bike, and for the rider, modern warm and quick-drying outdoor clothing, allowing for the non-mamil look.
cyclist55
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Sep 2022, 10:01am

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by cyclist55 »

A number of multi use routes near me have barriers and 'squeezes' to prevent motorbikes etc meaning that you either have to lift your bike through where horses go or try to twist through a gap narrower than your bars. The solution is to cut down the bars. Mine are now 55cm so I can ride straight through and bar ends add just a bit more protection if I get it slightly wrong.
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Vantage
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Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Vantage »

As others, going hub dynamo and lights. My brooks saddle. Comfiest thing I've ever sat on.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
cycle tramp
Posts: 3532
Joined: 5 Aug 2009, 7:22pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by cycle tramp »

De Sisti wrote: 24 Sep 2022, 1:47pm
GideonReade » 24 Sep 2022, 7:58am
....but, but, but.... If they're all the same, why do you need more than, well, two?
Is it an edge case to prove N = N + 1, or whatever the number of bikes equation is?
You appear to be questioning the number of bikes I have. Why? :roll: You could easily start a poll, and once you have the results, pose the same question to respondents who have many.
Er.. hello, I'm cycletramp and I've just looked and I have 5 Thorn frames (all for 26 inch wheels) in various sheds and garages... three were bought second hand... i just.. I just can't stop buying them... i feel so ashamed at my lack of self control >sob< ...I like riding them so much... and second hand you can pick them up quite cheaply... and they suit the way I ride... but I just can't stop myself.. >sob< I daren't even tell my partner how many I've got, and i'm repainting them all red so my partner thinks they're all the same bike...... Don't look at me... I'm a monster....
Motorhead: god was never on your sidehttps://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=m ... +your+side
crossy
Posts: 389
Joined: 9 Aug 2011, 6:48pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by crossy »

I was in my local bike shop the other day the owner was telling me about a customer who got his bikes sprayed the same colour to fool his wife. The wife came into his shop and said I don’t know why he sprays them as I know when a new one arrives :D
ICE Adventure E51, Van Nic Amazon E40, NWT Bike Friday E17, Orange Rohloff, Total E58
Ayseven
Posts: 116
Joined: 31 Jul 2021, 4:15am

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Ayseven »

3 things transformed my bike: 1. I built up some carbon wheels - way better acceleration not to mention faster 2. Did not measure my shoulder width correctly, bought narrow bars, had shoulder width measured properly, went back to wider bars: WAY more comfortable, and stable. 3. Bought a carbon seat, just for fun (weighs nothing)... much preferred my OEM Norco one, that doesn't look like anything, and has no channel

The wheels were fun to build, but made a much bigger difference than I imagined they would
Carlton green
Posts: 3645
Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Carlton green »

Just a courtesy post to thank all of you that contributed to my thread, the thread seems to have come to an end now.

I’ve found the responses very interesting and I hope that other people have - and will - to. There are lots of ways to end up with a bike that suits your needs and over the years I’ve done forms of nearly all of the changes suggested, so I can confirm how transformative they are … and how unfit for purpose some supplied bikes are. Maybe I should list all of the changes suggested but least I miss some change, detail or nuance I’d instead encourage people to read through the thread.

It’s neither possible or sensible to list changes in order of importance. On the other hand I have painful memories of a particular saddle on a hire bike and have changed a few saddles over the decades to very good effect. We forget such experiences and - though we shouldn’t - we quickly take comfort for granted; but in my experience discomfort, pain even, is particularly limiting …
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
gregoryoftours
Posts: 2234
Joined: 22 May 2011, 7:14pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by gregoryoftours »

My most recent one was replacing the bar and stem on my Fort Cross bike. Off came the 1" quill stem and old deep drop ergo bars, on a more ugly quill converter, 1/18" ahead stem and modern compact bars (kind of FSA wing bar style but something cheaper). It does not look as nice for sure but my God it's transformed the bike for me. Before that it was fitting full length v-brakes to use with old campag ergo levers on the same bike.
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