What does your bike tell us about you?

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D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
My recently acquired Flier Fixed Commuter and me on my Sunday best Verenti.

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Dave, Myton Hospice 60 MileCycle Challenge 2021.jpg
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
What an interesting thread. See what you make of these two:

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Is this you?:whistle: :
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OP
OP
anothersam

anothersam

SMIDSMe
Location
Far East Sussex
@dave r – Given your fondness for fixed, I'll devote most of my attention to your recent acquisition.

First, I note that it is unable to trackstand on its own. We can blame the disbalancing effect of luggage on the rear rack for that and move on to the toeclips. There is no shame implied in my typograhical treatment; as you can see in the OP I use them myself. Still: TOECLIPS.

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It's a well known tactic amongst those in the brain bothering biz to try to provoke a reaction by challenging core {{TOECLIPS}} beliefs, to see where you land on the continuum from "Essentially normal" to "Cancel all my afternoon appointments, this one is going to take a while." Or at least it was in the classes I audited.

If you have maintained your equilibrium, I adjudge you to be fundamentally sound. This is further evidenced by your unflappable good cheer even whilst being attacked by a badger.

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D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
@dave r – Given your fondness for fixed, I'll devote most of my attention to your recent acquisition.

First, I note that it is unable to trackstand on its own. We can blame the disbalancing effect of luggage on the rear rack for that and move on to the toeclips. There is no shame implied in my typograhical treatment; as you can see in the OP I use them myself. Still: TOECLIPS.

It's a well known tactic amongst those in the brain bothering biz to try to provoke a reaction by challenging core {{TOECLIPS}} beliefs, to see where you land on the continuum from "essentially normal" to "Cancel all my afternoon appointments, this one is going to take a while". Or at least it was in the classes I audited.

If you have maintained your equilibrium, I adjudge you to be fundamentally sound. This is further evidenced by your unflappable good cheer even whilst being attacked by a badger.

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The many years I have been cycling means that I was weaned on clips and straps, because of this I'm no lover of this new fangled clipless nonsense, having said that my long standing commuting habit of riding in work clothes and steel toe capped shoes means that I use clips and straps or have no foot retention, if I start using the new clipless I'm wasting time changing footwear when I could be enjoying my morning coffee. As for that Badger, where the @@@ did he come from? I don't remember him, he must have missed.^_^^_^
 
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mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
If you saw my cx commuter, you'd see me as a practical guy who doesn't have time for silly things like cleaning and I don't care what anyone thinks.

The MTB will tell you I just want to have some simple fun in the woods with a low end but good quality bike. Not an expert mtber and neither does he prentend to be.

Road bike: he's a bit fat to ride that isn't he?
 
OP
OP
anothersam

anothersam

SMIDSMe
Location
Far East Sussex
@Rickshaw Phil – Your no nonsense bell
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and resolute Brooks saddle tell me you don't mess about, as do the formidable environments you routinely conquer. Scary hills and the bleak chilled surface of what appears to the untravelled eye to be Clacton in springtime hold no terrors. Plus you use a kickstand. There's nothing like a kickstand to announce to the world here is where I make my stand. However, I suspect your panniers are not stuffed with ample provisions; you are capable of foraging and surviving on whatever the landscape provides, from acorn scratchings to hill monkeys to snow-worms. Those bags are filled with rocks, for stone soup with the natives or dead weight for building character.

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OP
OP
anothersam

anothersam

SMIDSMe
Location
Far East Sussex
@RedRider, you maintain your rear mudguard stays of a length sufficient to discourage squirrels from sleeping on them. Your Carradice, like most Carradie, has lasted forever and will continue to last forever, or at least until you replace it with that pre-stressed Carradice you've had your eye on. It holds a few tools and mementos, but mostly twine and acorns [yes acorns again – it's a recurring theme in psychological investigations]. There is also an overdue library book in the side pocket, Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Most people ignore the subtitle: An Inquiry into Values, because they're looking for a basic repair manual. Even bookstore clerks often get it wrong. You, however, know that Pirsig sought to explore the metaphysics of quality. You were trying to impress a girl when you checked it out.

That chain is so tight it's about to snap – everything OK at work?

I hate to have to ask if that's fixed or free, it can be a fraught question, so I won't, we're all entitled to follow our muse even if it puts us with the wrong crowd. That does however look like it could be a White Industries freewheel. Those are loud, almost loud as a motorcycle. Sometimes you grip and twist the bars, which is satisfying as your fingers wallow in the plush psychological boost of new bar tape.

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Even a simple image search for twine offers food for thought.

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Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
Anyone want to do the honours for the OP?

An internet frame purchase, that turned out to be a little bit too big. Breaking convention with the singlespeed and toe clips - I hope you have the track standing ability to back those clips up. I cannot tell if you deliberately photographed the bike from the 'incorrect' side because you are unconventional, or was it just because you wanted a neutral background and could not prop the bike up using its front wheel. What confuses me most is the too short rear brake cable causing frame rub, which you don't seem to care about.
 
OP
OP
anothersam

anothersam

SMIDSMe
Location
Far East Sussex
I'm intrigued by @classic33's as yet unspent enthusiasm. Meanwhile @Milkfloat, in the order in which you opined:
Custom build; fits like a glove.
• Am only interested in trackstanding if I can do it no-handed.
• Could not prop bike or take picture another way in the time I had alloted to the task.
• The cable can rub till eternity without bothering the frame or me.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
I'm intrigued by @classic33's as yet unspent enthusiasm. Meanwhile @Milkfloat, in the order in which you opined:
Custom build; fits like a glove.
• Am only interested in trackstanding if I can do it no-handed.
• Could not prop bike or take picture another way in the time I had alloted to the task.
• The cable can rub till eternity without bothering the frame or me.
How do you know its unspent?
 
OP
OP
anothersam

anothersam

SMIDSMe
Location
Far East Sussex
It looks as if I'm going to have to do the honours myself.

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We begin with the lack of decals. Who has a bike without decals? The pretentious, that's who. People who think they're too good to be labelled by the labels they keep. I'm surprised the OP didn't try to tape over the provenance of the tyres – Conti GP4000s, the choice of sheep easily influenced by Wiggle reviews.

The fact that it's singlespeed freewheel would suggest a slavish devotion to fashion if that had ever been in fashion in the first place. Titanium? As it's already an admitted custom build, this means the OP is serious about his fetishes. Well, we already knew that, given the toeclips.

The admission of not caring about the rear brake cable rubbing on the head tube was slightly too offhand, suggesting a lack of awareness of the situation. What else is he unaware of? Turning on the infrared again didn't yield answers, but a photographic negative did:

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This is either hard evidence of an innocently active imagination, or classic symptoms of a Harvey Complex with overcompensation (the clue is what isn't there – a rabbit). Watch those snakebite punctures.
 
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