Bicycles, what are you all riding?

[gb6491]

I've had a renewed interest in cycling (used to ride a lot in Japan). I could hit some cycling forums, but I'm not really of that crowd, so I was wondering what folks here might be riding. I know CJB posted a fine machine a while back, so maybe some other folks would post theirs (wouldn't mind seeing CJB's again).
As for myself, I have a Raleigh hybrid hanging in the garage. I've had that bike about 22 years. Good bike for me when I bought it...did some upgrades and such, but my butt has grown distant from it.
Most any riding I've done in the past couple of years has been on this Huffy cruiser:

Damn thing tried to kill me a few months back when the front inner tube blew out...sounded like a shotgun blast and blew the tire off the rim. Only my superior piloting skills allowed....OK, only dumb luck kept me from being hurt more seriously than I was.

So that brings me to the bike that has renewed my interest in cycling again. A couple of weeks back, while in town and out of the blue, I decided to stop by a local bike shop. They had a used recumbent (Sun EZ-1 SX Classic) on the floor, so I took it for a test ride. I liked it and my my butt liked it, so it went home with me.
It's a different experience riding bent, but I'm digging it, except for the four dogs that have chased me


For firearm content, my bike gun:

Fortunately, the bike accelerates quick enough that I haven't had to use it against any wheel chasing mutts

Regards,
Greg

[ltxi]

Short version, without pics...

I'm a cyclist...now primarily a rec/fitness rider. Current road bikes are a new this year BMC GF02 and a 2013 Cannondale Synapse, both full Ultegra. An Electra 21d Townie cruiser for shopping and bad/winter weather riding. And a '95 Trek 930 MTB.

That AZ desert shot brings back memories. I first took up adult cycling in Tucson in 1980. Lotta miles I done put on thereabouts

[CJB]

I have no idea where this is... someplace closer to Ponce Inlet than Daytona. I saw the concession and dived in for a lemonade.


Great little hole in the wall for locals in Daytona.



And a bit of firearms relevance for the post....



The fatbike is not quite configured like that any more. The riser extension is gone, and I've put some Jones H-Bar Loop bars on it. Brakes have been increased in diameter from 160/140mm to 200/180mm (front rear) as well as changed to the excellent BB7 mechanical calipers. Note the Serbu Super Shorty mount up front. Almost forgot, there's a Made in England Lion Bellworks bell on it as well. Notable because it is a REAL bell, loud, clear, and piercing, made of bell brass and stainless the old fashioned way in the UK.

Tires outer diameter is just shy of 32 inches, and 4-1/4 inches wide. Pretty much goes through anything. There's a shot there of Daytona Beach - during a break.

No PeeWee Herman aspirations of the Tour de France, I can assure you!

[ltxi]

As before...that's a nice fat tire, CJB

[b4uqzme]

Good thread Greg. I recently started trail riding again (getting a little thick in the middle). So I cleaned up my old Kona. The Rockshox front fork was blown out so I put the original rigid fork back on plus a set of trail tires. Entered a 25 mile charity ride a couple of weeks ago and had some fun. This thing was my hardcore off road bike years ago and most everything has been upgraded or swapped out from original.

[b4uqzme]

I'll probably start riding off road again soon so I need to get this old Porsche running again. It was a trade in at the local dealership. Really.

[CJB]

Its rainin', so I got off my duff and took two quick snaps of the current config.

The bags are "musette" bags I got online for a few bucks each. They were olive and really stiff. Well... I washed 'em and they came out that color. Go figure. There's a 1/2 inch PVC conduit behind each bag so they can't flop into the spokes. Notice the lights front and rear (not needed on the beach but riding home at night... helps for safety). And the H-Bar Loop bars from Jones. Pricey, but I find them way more comfy than a mountain bike bar, for my own riding, which is mostly back roads, levees and beaches. And the bell!

Those with a keen eye will also notice that the right brake lever has been routed to the front brake, while the left lever is on the rear brake. Right/front is the same as m/c's... and backward from the bicycle world, but it works for me.

Weird color there. Garage door is open, and the sky is a nice deep puplish pink, with the sun in the west, sinking under the edge of the clouds for that interesting color.

[yqtszhj]

Can you do the water bottle and the Serbu Shorty?

[Barth]

Stopped owning bicycles before high school.
Last one was some German 10 speed with a racing cluster.
Just wasn't cool in So Cal in the 70s to ride a bicycle.
Walked until 15 and then bought a 72 Triumph 650 Tiger.
At 16, with a car license, bought a 67 Camaro SS.
Only bikes i ride these days are recumbent bikes in the gym 5 days a week for cardio - LOL

[DavidWJ]

I still have a Giant 20 speed mountain bike. Used to ride it a lot when in grad school, in a liberal tree-hugging town with lots of bike paths. Quit when I moved to the foothills because it's unsafe on these roads and I have to travel to find a bike path. Now I hike the hills. Pretty easy to find a path with an 800 foot elevation change in a mile.

[gb6491]

Short version, without pics...

I'm a cyclist...now primarily a rec/fitness rider. Current road bikes are a new this year BMC GF02 and a 2013 Cannondale Synapse, both full Ultegra. An Electra 21d Townie cruiser for shopping and bad/winter weather riding. And a '95 Trek 930 MTB.

That AZ desert shot brings back memories. I first took up adult cycling in Tucson in 1980. Lotta miles I done put on thereabouts

I really like that Swiss bike.
Speaking of Tucson and bicycles, I miss TucsonMTB's contributions to the forums.

Good thread Greg. I recently started trail riding again (getting a little thick in the middle). So I cleaned up my old Kona. The Rockshox front fork was blown out so I put the original rigid fork back on plus a set of trail tires. Entered a 25 mile charity ride a couple of weeks ago and had some fun. This thing was my hardcore off road bike years ago and most everything has been upgraded or swapped out from original.

Nice! I really like the colors on that bike. As a kid, I had a Murray English three speed that was a similar shade of gold....rode the hell outa that bike.

You are a bad influence....just ordered myself one of those bells.

Regards,
Greg

[b4uqzme]

Nice! I really like the colors on that bike. As a kid, I had a Murray English three speed that was a similar shade of gold....rode the hell outa that bike.

Regards,
Greg

Thanks Greg. I think this one's been to Hades and back a couple of times. We were young and really abused our bikes back then...crashed a lot...even hit a barbed-wire fence once. Fortunately I cleared the fence as I cleared the bars. I never did get the hang of bunny-hopping either. So I stuck the chainrings in a log or two. More endos.

Most of the parts that are swapped out were to replace stuff that simply wore out: chains, bottom brackets, etc. I knew a small shop owner who would sell me the parts and any special tools required then teach me how to fix it for free. Those were good times.

[CJB]

Mine is engraved "The Dogs Bollocks"!

[gb6491]

Mine is engraved "The Dogs Bollocks"!

LOL....mine is not so...decorative.

Well to revisit my new to me recumbent bicycle:
I had a "short fuse" in my youth. I like to think that the burn rate of that fuse has slowed some as I've aged, but it can still flare at times. I also have what I like to think of as a "fine eye for detail". My wife probably better describes my condition as anal. Well, I didn't like that tape put on the frame to protect the paint from the seat was messed up. I thought to myself that it wouldn't be that big of a job to replace that tape....here fellas, hold my beer. I got the tape off, but glue residue remained. Cleaning this off, revealed some damage to the top coat. I should've stopped right there and just put new tape in place or, as I know just enough about paint to get in trouble, consulted a professional. I did neither, opting instead to get into trouble. Let me just say, I now know a lot more about painting than when I started and even own an airbrush.
Anyway, I screwed up my first attempt at fixing the top coat, which led to me screwing up my first attempt at color matching...and so it went. With flies buzzing my head and sweat dripping down my face, I was lovingly sanding down the messed up paint when the old short fuse flared. Screw this color matching, cracked paint SOB, I ordered some VHT Strip Fast and took that b..witch down to bare metal. By this point, even though I'd already had my new airbrush and much more knowledge about paint (thank you youtube), I decided to forego two part paints. I wanted something that I could touch up as needed without much fuss. Rust-Oleum flat black enamel and matte enamel clear coat from rattle cans would be my choices. I didn't care (and don't care now) if they will not be as durable as the two part stuff. Anyway, after hanging out over my patio for a week, the recumbent went back together yesterday. I liked the blue bike, but I'm not disappointed with it's new look.
Just hanging out

Ready for a test spin

Matte black and new decals

New head badge should be here this weekend
UPDATE: the head badge I intended to use (left, below) just didn't have the right look to me once I had it in hand. I ended up going with a die cut vinyl decal instead and like the look.

Already have my new bell

From this morning's ride

Regards,
Greg

[Ed M]

Looks pretty good to me!

Needs some blue cable ends - I'd be happy to send you some.