NEW BAR ENDS

[BADGER.BRAD]

Hello All ,
I thought I would post these pics. My original intention was to mount the brakes on the bar ends and then try and get the gear change near enough so that all could operate from the bar ends , I tend to ride with hands on the bar ends at all times, this is bit of a pain in the arse on my hack bike as the brakes are not good enough to be operated with my finger tips and I cannot mount them on the bars ends as gear change and brakes are in one piece. I thought the cable lengths may be a problem on my Revolution courier if I mounted the brakes on the bars, this was the case so I thought I would try it as it is in the pics. The gears can be operated just by a twist of the wrist without taking my hands off the bars. As you can see I had to leave the grip off the right bar in order to get the gear change near enough. All I need now are some mudguards !

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Get that loaf of Warburtons sealed up - it'll be stale in no time!

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Your right, every time I go for any bread the kids have left it open and the first two rounds end up dog food, dog does well out of it though !!

 

[fossyant]

Looks good, one issue...it's got a BELL

 

[bonj2]

take the bell off
take the seat post reflector off
take the spoke reflectors off
(i'm assuming you don't ride that bike at night as you haven't got any sign of lights)
take your spoke protector plastic disc thing off! now!
don't store your lock on your handlebars - in your bag is better than on the bike
get a better lock anyway
and close your bin lid


the problem of not being able to operate the brakes from the bar ends has already been solved - sounds like you need a bike with drop bars.

 

[Arch]

shut up bonj, there's nothing wrong with bells or any reflectors. Some lights can be fitted and taken off with no trace, anyway. And drop bars are not the same as bars with bar ends.

Badger.brad - you should get mudguards

My boss has a set up with everything mounted on bar ends - I'll have to see if I can find a picture...

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Pictures would be nice Arch ! My last commuter had everything mounted on bar ends which for me was really comfortable ( sorry no pics!). I personally don't like drops and prefer the head up position of flat bars or similar. Mudguards are soon to follow and as you quite rightly pointed out the lights get swapped from the Revolution to my main winter hack when needed. The bell well that was there when I had the thing ,legal requirement as far as I am aware ! ( not that I'm really worried about that) as were the spoke reflectors. I understand where the others are coming from Courier style bike should be cut down to the bear minimum of parts ,even the gears maybe too much !

My main Hack ( a recycled Hawk Trak attack) is fitted with some special mudguards the rear being a recycled MTB mudguard and the front frame mounted one being made from a 4 pint plastic milk bottle ( it could do with being a little longer) But all my Hacks tend to be recycled or built up from junk bits, just to cover the part of me that thinks cycling should be cheap and also leave me with smaller worrys about them getting nicked or vandalised when I leave them around town. It also means when I give them to friend or friend of a friend at there end of useful life with me I don't lose much on them !

Anyway back to the plot The courier with bar ends feels great and I can operate gears and brakes without any problems, with mudguards it will provide me with an ideal commuter when the local council stop putting salt on the roads and the warm sun comes out. Until then the old Hawk will have to suffer ! Oh yes the lock on the bars , was given to me by a MTB friend who had it free with a MAG sometime ago, It just sits there, there has been the odd occasion when I have gone out without my bag locally and have forgotten the lock/locks leaving me with the option of collecting no beer on the way home or running the risk of someone simply riding off on the thing as I've left it unlocked.

The bin lid is the kids fault or the dogs anybody but mine !!!!

 

[bonj2]

there's nothing wrong with bells or any reflectors.

no, course not. not if you want to look like a novice, which a lot of people, obviously none more so than your good self arch, do.

you can't really claim you're not vain enough to care what you look like if you post your own new thread in photo gallery... bemuses me...oh well

anyhow nice bike and all that badger.brad. it obviously pleases you

 

[bonj2]

Pictures would be nice Arch !

they wouldn't, trust me

 

[Arch]

you can't really claim you're not vain enough to care what you look like if you post your own new thread in photo gallery... bemuses me...oh well

I'm not quite sure what this sentence means. You think someone is vain if they post a pic? Or vain if they don't?

What's vanity got to do with going to a section called Gallery, and posting a picture of your bike? That's what the section is for!

Badger, I can't find a picture at the moment, I need to scan one in and the scanner is at the office and the office is closed while the boss is away. I'll try and remember when I next go in....

BTW, my boss has been editing a cycling magazine for 8 years, and worked on another before that, and builds his own trailers and stuff, and has no car and cycles everywhere. But he has a bell and reflectors, so he must only be a novice...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

no, course not. not if you want to look like a novice, which a lot of people, obviously none more so than your good self arch, do.

you can't really claim you're not vain enough to care what you look like if you post your own new thread in photo gallery... bemuses me...oh well

anyhow nice bike and all that badger.brad. it obviously pleases you

hey, new boy ... watch your mouth.

Good to have you back, Bonj.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Pictures would be nice Arch !

they wouldn't, trust me

that's just not on

 

[bonj2]

I'm not quite sure what this sentence means. You think someone is vain if they post a pic? Or vain if they don't?

vain if they do. but not in a bad way, more just proud of their bike.

this section is for pics but also opinions and criticisms from others, otherwise it would be single-post threads (locked) like reviews section.
is a fundamental point of posting pics that they be of bikes that are personalised??
there's no point buying a bike and then taking a picture of it without having done anything to it from stock,as that doesn't say anything about you, you might aswell just post a pic out of a catalogue.

imo bells and reflectors aren't a bad thing in themselves, but taking spoke reflectors and ping-type bells off is one of the very first and most obvious way of personalizing a bike from stock, to such an extent that most people who want to personalize their bike do this as soon as they get home.
that's why people (not just me!, you'll notice...) always say 'take your spoke reflectors off'.

as an example:
if you were to have LOTS of, let's say, red and white spoke reflectors all round the wheel, instead of just the one orange one, that's more personal than simply having none, and therefore (although it's not something i would do) if you posted a pic of a bike like that on here it would probably get lots of compliments - and (arguably) justifiably, rather than cries of 'take your spoke reflectors off'.

you get my point?

BTW, my boss has been editing a cycling magazine for 8 years, and worked on another before that, and builds his own trailers and stuff, and has no car and cycles everywhere. But he has a bell and reflectors, so he must only be a novice...

yebbut does he have them on there becuase he simply hasn't bothered to take them off from stock - or because he's made a conscious decision to put them on there, and made his own mind up as to the type, fitting and position of them?

as far as i see it, it's not bells and reflectors that mark you out as a novice, it's not bothering to personalize your bike that marks you out as a novice.

 

[Arch]

vain if they do. but not in a bad way, more just proud of their bike.

I see. Just bear in mind that 'vain' is a value laden word, and suggests a trait people tend to dislike... Pride is better.

there's no point buying a bike and then taking a picture of it without having done anything to it from stock,as that doesn't say anything about you, you might aswell just post a pic out of a catalogue.

That's not how I see it. If you have a bike, and you're pleased with it because it's new, you post a pic. Or maybe you just have a bike you love, so you post a pic. Or maybe you just want to say "here are all my bikes". None of these have to be personalised

imo bells and reflectors aren't a bad thing in themselves, but taking spoke reflectors and ping-type bells off is one of the very first and most obvious way of personalizing a bike from stock, to such an extent that most people who want to personalize their bike do this as soon as they get home.
that's why people (not just me!, you'll notice...) always say 'take your spoke reflectors off'.

I'd suggest that the spoke reflector thing is often from people who've had one twist and jam in the spokes, and is therefore a safety thing, not to do with personalising. Personally, I have no trouble with mine on my hack, and wouldn't tell anyone to take them off on style grounds. I'd suggest people ensure they are properly and well fitted and take them off of they don't seem to fit well. As for the bell... what about if I buy a bike, and swap the bell from an ordinary one, to a design I've chosen? That's personalising it.

as an example:
if you were to have LOTS of, let's say, red and white spoke reflectors all round the wheel, instead of just the one orange one, that's more personal than simply having none, and therefore (although it's not something i would do) if you posted a pic of a bike like that on here it would probably get lots of compliments - and (arguably) justifiably, rather than cries of 'take your spoke reflectors off'.

you get my point?

Yes, but I dispute it. What if I choose to have a single orange one? (actually, I have three). All my bikes have been heavily changed, or built from parts, so it's been choice all the way...

yebbut does he have them on there becuase he simply hasn't bothered to take them off from stock - or because he's made a conscious decision to put them on there, and made his own mind up as to the type, fitting and position of them?

He's chosen them, all the way. That bike has been in constant use as a review platform for years, so it's had many new wheels, bars, bar ends, drive chains etc. The frame is probably the only original part, and even that has had bosses welded on to take discs etc. It's probably the most personalised bike I know.

as far as i see it, it's not bells and reflectors that mark you out as a novice, it's not bothering to personalize your bike that marks you out as a novice.

What if you buy a bike and think "There, that's just how I want it!". It is possible to buy something that is just what you want, and therefore personal to you....

Also of course, a bike can be personalised, and not yet 'perfect' for you. Or your taste changes. Or you just fancy something different.

 

[bonj2]

I'd suggest that the spoke reflector thing is often from people who've had one twist and jam in the spokes, and is therefore a safety thing

oh, i've never heard of such a thing, i'm intrigued... are you saying they can be dangerous then?
i'm curious as to how "twist and jam in the spokes" can happen, please elaborate as to how this can be a safety thing?

Yes, but I dispute it. What if I choose to have a single orange one?

well, what if - maybe I might wonder WHY you've "chosen" to have a single orange one, and find it difficult to imagine that it might be purely a coincidence that the configuration you've chosen just happens to be the same as the state it gets shipped out the factory in...

...but that might not be, and probably shouldn't be, a problem to you.

What if you buy a bike and think "There, that's just how I want it!". It is possible to buy something that is just what you want, and therefore personal to you....

it's perfectly possible, and probably does happen. but is it the case most of the time?
What i dispute is that thinking 'that's just how i want it', having looked at the bike more than skin deep, is the reason a bike is left stock in the majority of bike purchase cases.

a bike that is totally stock is personal to you in the sense that it's your bike and it's the only one that's been with you on your rides and wherever you've ridden it, but the only way that it is not personal to you is in the sense that it's likely that someone else somewhere in the world has got one EXACTLY the same. I can guarantee that no-one in the world has got a bike exactly the same as either of my 3 bikes.