Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke
Of course there's always a good reason to buy a new bike but chances are your fault is easily fixable by a bike shop. You might just need a new cable.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke
Of course there's always a good reason to buy a new bike but chances are your fault is easily fixable by a bike shop. You might just need a new cable.
Hmm... I was under the impression that the phone uses cellular data to triangulate position and reverts to GPS only where a cellular signal is not available. This is why the phone doesn’t have to take the time to “sync” or acquire a satellite signal prior to a run (unlike a GPS watch).Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
No, it’s not the cable. It’s definitely the shifter mechanism. Hard to explain the lever simply freewheels with no resistance at all. It’s like the internal ratchet mechanism is not engaging. I re-indexed the gears with no improvement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
The bike is simply old and needs other fixes, not the least of which is new tires. I no longer want to invest in fixes/upgrades to keep the thing road worthy :mark: .
Besides, as mentioned, my company will reimburse, at least a good portion, of the cost of a new bike :)
The phone uses Assisted GPS which uses a combination of cell tower positioning and downloading the current satellite position data in order to get the first fix. But this is literally only the very first position point. From that point on it's exclusively satellite reception based.Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke
If I worked for a company that would reimburse some of a bike, I'd have already made a choice and be riding new. That's really hard to beat.Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke
As for the shifter, I really don't mind fixing stuff myself. It's just that my bike is so old it won't take the abuse I give it. I actually have Shimano grip type shifters on my bike, and love them. I prefer them to thumb shifters as they are so seamless you don't have to even think about it. On the front rings the twist angle is more than should be needed, but for the rear gear selection it's great. They are also firm enough that I've never accidentally shifted due to grip position changing over obstacles or such, but when you want to shift it's instant.
I'm often amazed at how anyone other than a cycling maniac could possibly justify the cost of some components when the WalMart level cheap stuff works just fine even when 15-16 years old with probably at least a couple thousand miles of wear on it.
I'm still torn on what direction to go, though at the moment having other financial priorities is giving me more time, which is probably a good thing. I wish I had a way to test various frames with different wheel sizes.
If you've ever ridden top line kit you'll realise why it's better than a Walmart bike.
I'm not talking about the overall bike, but simply individual components that people go crazy over. Here in the US it's almost become trendy to overspend just to have bragging rights. Regardless of the budget I have available, I don't find paying 400 to 500% more for a component that works the same something to brag about. I've owned and ridden much better bikes than I have now, I'm just boggled at the trend of spending thousands for something that is no better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
In the case of the shifter I was speaking of, I've seen people spends hundreds and hundreds on rear derailleurs and various thumb shifters that just don't.... well... shift very well. These are simple devices, and people over complicate them thinking throwing money at it makes it better. Proper adjustments and simple parts keeps these things working great for a long time. There are trigger shifters that work well, but most simply aren't very ergonomic when you change grip position from sitting vs standing, which you do more frequently on a mountain bike. With a grip shifter, shifting is easy and natural regardless of grip position.
Don't get me wrong, as I understand that overall quality often costs some money. But for the bikes most buy, there are really only a few companies in the world making the majority of them. Often branding and minor component selection differences changes the prices to the extremes. One of the mountain bike forums I was using for some thoughts seems to have a crowd that thinks more cubic dollars will always buy better gear. Some of them were quite disappointed when they found out that their $1800-$2000 bikes were built by the same company that sells almost the exact bike under another name for $400 or so. There was one example where a "big name" bike had the exact same frame, and research showed it was designed by the parent company. This the "big name" had little at all to do with making the bike... they were just clicking order buttons.
I actually get a good laugh out of it when people spend huge money on the equipment hoping it will overcome their lack of fitness or ability. I often see people riding bikes in the thousands of dollars, that they drive in with specialty racks on their cars, only to ride at the levels of people that bike to the trail areas on much cheaper bikes. The same seems to hold true with many street riders in my area, and it's actually rare to see people riding hard, but they want to put on the impression that they somehow justify the money they spend. In reality I don't think half of them know the difference.
I also talk to a lot of people that can't do the most basic adjustments on their bikes. If you ride any decent amount, it only makes sense to be able to maintain your equipment.
The big difference comes from the 400$ walmart bike and the proper bike shop 700$ bike, after that the difference decreases. But there's no point comparing that 400$ to a 4000$ bike. They aren't meant for the same people.
My mtb would have cost around 4000Eur new(I bought it second hand) and my new "road" bike cost around 1600 Eur to build. I'm not really that fit or skinny, certainly compared to people who usually would ride them. But after riding mtb's and road bikes for 18 years I'm not going to buy a poorly performing or uncomfortable bike just to make the training harder. I value my pleasant time on the bike more. :)
Bike's are my money pit, I manage to justify the cost to myself and don't look back. ;)
I was looking for chairs on my apartment balcony today and was shocked at the prices, 70 Eur for a chair, 500 Eur for a table and four chairs. WTF? I'm sure some one else would think that's a small price to pay. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
With the direct sellers now, I find that often the bike shop bike comes with a much greater price, and local support. Not much more in a lot of cases. Naturally they have to make their living and local support is very important for some who don't do their own work, or those that do but might need parts support and not want to wait for an item to ship.
And in your case, just the posts I've seen on this thread indicate at least moderate use, in various conditions, and working on new bikes as well as obvious maintenance on your older bikes. I remember mentions of boulder fields, commuting, etc... actual use of the equipment you pay for. What I don't recall is any chest thumping over what your purchases were, only mentions when asked, where appropriate, etc. Many of us have money pit hobbies of some sort (ours tends to be concerts) but to me there is a huge difference between tossing money at something you actually enjoy, and those doing it just to say they did it.
The people I'm referencing are often spending this money based on what they heard, as none of them even rides enough to make their own decision. I see bikes for sale locally that advertise mileage of maybe a couple hundred, on bikes that are 4-5 years old. On top of that, they reduce the price only 5-10% over what they paid retail.
In a vain attempt to keep my bike roadworthy I dismantled the dodgy thumb shifter in hopes that I could find something obviously, and easily repairable, in the innards. All I saw was a multitude of tiny levers, screws and springs, not too dissimilar to a Swiss watch. Well, thinking myself somewhat mechanically apt, although by no means a watch maker, I proceeded to disassemble the bits for a thorough degreasing and lube, making sure I kept track of the reverse order for reassembly.
Well, that was the original plan :uhoh: . A couple of beers along the way may have somewhat hampered quality control...
To make a long story short, it’s debatable if the reconstructed shifter is now any better off… :erm: