I am autistically paranoid about leaving my bike out in public, to the point where I will never leave it overnight in the city, I won't even leave it locked in a culturally enriched area during the day. I live in a N. European city, and it's relatively safe, but bike theft is a thing. It's not awful, but you hear about people getting their shit stolen.
I have a thick u-lock, and store my bike in the apartment basement bicycle room that has it's own card-access. But I still walk by and check if everything is ok regularly. I don't keep it in the apartment, seems impractical.

I don't even have that much of an "eye-catching" bike, but anyone with any knowledge of components would know there is some shit worth stealing.

Anyone else have this paranoia?

>>2079063
I have that paranoia as well and I don't even have anything really nice. I got a couple 90s meme bike and a steel specialized crossover with shiny parts that I refuse to leave locked anywhere that's not an indoor garage. I ended up building an ugly shit bike for that reason.

>>2079063
I once left my bike unattended outside of a convenience store for thirty seconds to buy a gatorade. Gone.

It's not paranoia if there are really people just wandering around with angle grinders all day

>>2079063
No only when I visit friends who live in the city. I even once saw it almost happen.
>leave bar
>hang out outside of bar before parting
>culture appears
>nigwalk.exe
>straight to the bike stands and my bike
>probably the lock but perhaps clipless caused neuron activation
>nigwalk.exe
>next bike
>pulls it from the stand and takes off
>terrible fit
the valued guest either initially confused my bike for theirs and after realising the mistake proceeded to take theirs
or wasnt too fond of having to deal with a lock
I don't even think any of this was for personal gain. Much rather just a convenient was to stop nigwalk and ride instead to wherever and ditch the bike. So not a bicycle person (who would have thought lefties and their pets don't ride bikes unless it's within city limits and obly to obstruct traffic and signal) and thus no risk of components being sacrificed on the altair of culture.
But I know it does happen. Especially in cities but some travelling people even go around in vans and volunteer to clean the countryside from bicycles.
So what can you do:
- Bike shouldn't look fancy. If I take my fancier bikes to town I really stress about it.
- Put it next to better loot. I hate 'e-bikes' and their users with a passion but they have this nice effect of diverting unwanted attention from the bike next to it. Contemporary lowlifes know to spot a Bosch motor but not a De Rosa.
- Lock it and as much of the components as you can. Some. will even pop the front wheel out and lock it with the rear and frame. Do not rely on locks, the battery angle grinder is the meta.
- Well lit and popular area.
- Tracking device like airpod or anything in frame.
- Do not rely on registering frame numbers with police. Police are part of the motorist conspiracy, they care about stolen or vandalized cars, never bicycles.

>>2079064
>>2079065

Pisses me off reading this. I know for a fact if you live in a culturally enriched suburb, you just can't have anything nice. But I know the more remote areas where [spoiler]it's 100% white[/spoiler], people leave their shit unlocked. Literally thisiswhywecan'thavenicethings.mov

>>2079069
>- Put it next to better loot. I hate 'e-bikes' and their users with a passion but they have this nice effect of diverting unwanted attention from the bike next to it. Contemporary lowlifes know to spot a Bosch motor but not a De Rosa.

Solid advice.

>- Tracking device like airpod or anything in frame.
Always makes me wonder where to put it, because if you place it under a seat it seems like an easy place to rip it off, and inside the frame shields it from other devices.

>- Do not rely on registering frame numbers with police. Police are part of the motorist conspiracy, they care about stolen or vandalized cars, never bicycles.

The police my country do give a shit, even heard of bicycle recovery months later according to friends. But everyone here buys insurance which gives pretty good coverage. people buy mid-tier bikes > they get stolen >bikecuck.jpg >receipt sent in >insurance payout >buy new bike >repeat.

If you build or design from parts or if its something exotic, then good luck getting any money back.

reposting since old thread is kill
should I get a trek checkpoint alr 3 or surly preamble(the one with Shimano parts)

>>2079078
shrek

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>>2079069
>battery angle grinder is the meta.

that's the old meta
new meta is to pre-vandalize bike racks and then disguise the damage with, for example, stickers

>>2079075
>insurance
It is a personal issue. I am. a verx peaceful guy. But I wont have anyone take my bike and get away with it. I don't care about insurance. You just don't take my bike.
>Good luck with getting any
Probably this. Got a recent receipt? There's your money.
What your 90s MTB was stolen :) KEK those are like 25 bucks a pop!

>>2079092
This is 15 year old information but the insurance Kryptonite offered with their looks you either needed a receipt or an appraisal from a bike shop for the bike. If you go have a bike shop that caters to the alt cycling scene they good probably give you a fair appraisal for a 90s mtb.

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Anons, i need help
I bought a 9 speed mtb with alivio rd and put a new chain and cheap cassette on it. It was skipping before swaping parts but i concluded it was because they were very worn out parts, so i expected that changing them would fix it. It helped a bit but shifting was still kinda bad and the first gear jumped under load. So after trying to adjust the derailleur screws and failing to get a decent perfomance i decided to change the hanger, that seemed to do the trick far better and now it shifts decently from the second smallest cog to the largest one. However the first, smallest cog (a 11) still stutters badly under load or even from regular pedalling sometimes.
I searched a lot and found that some people had that problem because of a upside down power link, but that's not my case because the KMC chain i'm using has a symmetrical power link so there's no one correct side. Then i tried to change rd because that Alivio spring might just be a little tired, that also didn't do the trick.
Now i got no idea what to do. Could it be the frame itself? I tried the old cassette again and aside from the wear-derived skipping it also has this first gear stuttering under load.
Note: the bike was originally 2x but the last owner converted to 1x, i dont think that's the problem because a lot o people have done this conversion on this bike but i might be wrong. Help please, thank you

>>2079098
it could be the frame but that would be quite strange. just from that photo the cable housing loop looks a little bit sus.

I'm not sure you should be putting any money in to a sagged-out alivio bike....

need a recommendation for a good cheap pair of 700x35c tires? keep getting sidewall bubbling due to hopping curbs. urban + gravel environment primarily

>>2079100
what are your rims like? putting good tires on 17-inner-width rims won't do you any good

>cheap

oh
you can forget it entirely
paselas are as good as you'll get

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>>2079101
im not even aware of how inner width effects performance :(

>>2079063
i have a fatass art2+ chain that i just leave on the rack, only using it when i lock up the bike overnight. i loop it through the frame and front wheel, technically they could steal my rear wheel but i don't see that happening quite as often. helps that i live on a street with a lot of foot traffic, eyes on the street.

>>2079098
turn the barrel adjuster

>>2079094
Well not in my area. I knoe a friend who had this happen to a classic car, it just wasnt a fucking 300 mercedes or some like that. So they were essentially 'uh old car got totalled' (for a car it actually was a really nice classic I have to admit it) it took a court and two expert opinions to appraise the car based on images after the fact and he got more than pop.

>>2079062
This might be the wrong thread for this question but I don’t think it deserves its own thread
>I’ve recently got into night riding
>live in a safe area so danger from other people isn’t really a concern
>got my helmet, rear light, and head light. A few reflectors and another LED on back of helmet
Is there anything else that’s worth having specifically for night rides? Maybe I’m overthinking it but it just feels entirely different that day riding and I wonder if I’m missing something I’d need later.
Bonus question: any of you guys do anything cool or interesting while you’re out at night? I like spotting wildlife.

>>2079152
helmet light e.g. outbound hangover. more applicable to night MTB than city cruising and not always strictly necessary.

clear lens glasses to protect your eyes from mach 2 insect divebombs

some means of giving succor to small animals that you will inevitably run over. I've never had to do this but a friend of mine ran over a baby raccoon right in front of me, breaking it's spine. he was in shock, I was standing there training my high-beam on the mother raccoon giving us the eye from a nearby tree. some random dude rode up and made some lamentful comment while dispatching the poor critter with a pocket knife... never been quite sure if that was an avatar of death, I had other things to think about at the time.

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>>2079154
i wear conventional glasses and still get divebombed by insects, the struggle is real. nice story btw

>>2079098
Spin the cranks and look at the area between the two derailleur pulleys to see if there is a tight link. A link that's too tight is not gonna engage with the cassette properly. If it's just worn out you can replace the individual cog

>>2079154
when I was in high school, I was riding home with a full book bag on the rear rack, a squirrel crossed in front of me so I turned to go behind him, but right when I got close, he freaked out and 180'd, ran directly under my front wheel, then the back wheel with me and my books bumped over him. I looked back and he was spasming out of control.

always give squirrels a wide berth.

>>2079154
Noted on the lenses. Hasn’t happened to me yet but only a matter of time. Likewise with small animals. That actually would be a concern in my area. I’m not sure if I’d want to do it with a knife, though. I wouldn’t want blood going back in my bag. I guess I could git gud at chiburi

>>2079188
I've taken out a couple of squirrels while mountain biking. Nothing you can really do to avoid it unfortunately, if they run under your wheels that's on them.

the one that haunts me a bit is a perfectly nice little snek that was sunning itself on an isolated patch of concrete. I just didn't see it in time and I'm not entirely sure I hit it but feelsbadman.

>>2079190
Not that anon but my animal ethics come from
>would that animal do the same thing to me?
For that reason, I sort of feel bad for eating cows but do not at all feel bad for eating octopus, since the octopus would rip me apart without question if it could.
The snake wouldn’t have lost any sleep for killing you in the process of locomotion so it’s all good, morally speaking. Killing a beautiful thing is never worth it, though. You did what you could.

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Spending hours trying to adjust my shifter. Never done this before. What does the back screw do? Already figured out the two close to each other. My shifter makes me mad

>>2079190
>snek strike

Was touring through France along their canals. I'm going at speed, see what looks like a stick, but when I hit it, it contorts and twists unnaturally, and is flung into the air. Realise it was snek, feel really bad, going too fast to stop and give it a proper looking at.
Think about snek weekly... :(

>>2079209
The "B" screw adjusts the distance of the derailleur from the cassette. You can easily find thousands of videos explaining this better than any post on 4chan.

>>2079209
if your cable tension is wrong, any adjustment of the RD is not going to matter.
go to OP, click the park tool link, type "rear derailleur"

the shifter is the lever, not the mech

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has anyone tried seat post suspension? thinking about trying picrel

>>2079248
that will do absolutely nothing. newton's 3rd?
for suspension to do anything it needs to involve some sort of damping mechanism.

>>2079209
your hanger is bent

>>2079250
not him but what about leaf springs on a car axle?
anons have reported good results from sprung saddles but maybe the coil itself is a damper?
not saying I'm right, I'm just asking

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>>2079266
>not him but what about leaf springs on a car axle?

I have no idea. I would guess that there is somewhat more in the way of engineering going on there than >>2079248
either the springs are non-linear rate or there is some other damping mechanism involved.

what I do know is that the crappy old up-and-down suspension seatposts do nothing. thudbuster style linkage seatposts enjoy a slightly better reputation but you shouldn't be soaking hits with your ass anyway, you should be off the saddle and rowing/unrowing the bike over bumps to maintain and build speed and control.

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>>2079266

>>2079269
meaning there's also a shock absober?
ok but leaf springs were invented in the 1700s for horse carriages, and were an upgrade from suspending the axles with leather straps.
coil sprung saddles go back to the early days of bicycles.

>>2079273
>coil sprung saddles go back to the early days of bicycles.

they do
we call them "pogo sticks"

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>>2079276
the posts?
I'm talking about pic related. everyone hates the pogo stick posts, but people like the saddles

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>>2079267
agreed legs make the best suspension. saddle is mainly a crutch. i do tend to misuse it as a chair when i tire tho :/

>>2079279
oh yeah those are alright I think
it has been a long, long time since I tried one though

>>2079279
exactly, i think i'll test the contraption and report back. seems like a modern more modular rendition. i only really worry about failure due to poor construction

>>2079282
yeah, your pic seems like a way to take any saddle that you like and make it into a sprung saddle, and at a much lighter weight. but I've never heard any anons report using that thing. although surely someone has reported using them somewhere on another forum.

as for damping, it seems like getting e.g. one elastomer thing from an old sus fork kit, cutting it down and shoving it between the saddle and post with wire or zip ties could be easily done if you felt like it was necessary.

are 28mm tires suitable for light offroad/gravel trails? bike im looking at is limited to that if i want to have fenders. should i look for something with a bit more clearance to accommodate a wider tire? i'll be mostly on pavement but it would be nice to have the capability to handle other surfaces

>>2079287
>are 28mm tires suitable for light offroad/gravel trails?

not really
there are plenty of dudes that have crushed parix-roubaix on worse but given the option of finding something more modern and suitable you should

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>>2079062
bros help me decide
Cannondale Quick 5
https://www.cannondale.com/en/bikes/active/fitness/quick/quick-5
Giant Escape Disc 4
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-disc-4-2025
>Specialized Sirrus X 1.0
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/sirrus-x-10/p/4278560?color=5444605-4278560
Trek FX 1 (kinda looks like shit with that sloping top tube)
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/active-fitness-bikes/fx/f/F421/fx-1/57134/5336622
any proprietary shit i should watch out for?

>>2079289
well they all have mech discs which... simply are not worth considering. given a choice I would choose the giant because they are invariably a better value with higher quality minutiae than cannondale, trek, or spesh.

>>2079288
about what i figured. what would you consider to be the minimum width i should be looking for?

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>>2079290
>fluids in a bike (bicycle)

>>2079291
it really depends on your needs. ~32c semi-slick is fine for smooth hardpack. 40c semi-slick gets you to smooth gravel without braking bumps or washout-zones. after that you probably want clearance for low-profile knobbies of choice; fast traks, aspens, that sort of thing.

>>2079287
>>2079293
What he said..if your bike fits 28's that's that, chances are good it can fit 32's which is better... but you say you'll "mostly" be on pavement, I guess I would add it partially depends on what that means, since you can grind through a lot with what you have if you're just bridging from point A to point B, but once you're trying to ride plenty of gravel roads and enjoy it sub 30 blooowwss man.

>>2079188
I had one come out of a ditch and run along side my car then dart under a wheel. Its like it was waiting all day to die.

>>2079292
Air is a fluid dummy

>>2079350
you have pneumatic brakes?

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>>2079289 (ME)
also consider this absolutely beautiful Polygon Path 2 (look at the blue/black gradient on the fork)
https://www.polygonbikes.com/2026-path-2-city-bike/

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>>2079290
mt200s are like under $50 shipped from chyna

>>2079356
so why the fuck aren't they stock spec?

>>2079357
Profit margins

>>2079352
I have pneumatic tires

did 90's mtb frames even exist for people that are 200cm tall? 26" wheels are kind of crap for someone this length but it seems really hard to find frames bigger than 21" which i guess is waay too small

>>2079376
I have a few 24" 26er frames. Once saw something that looked like a 26" frame. It was ridiculous.

>>2079376
>26ers are not for tall people
Wheels are not part of the ergonomics of the bike nor do they constrain general dynamics of the bike. You can arrive at identical motion equations in the dynamic model through geometry changes - regardless of wheelsize.
So the idea of a proportional bicycle, while generally valid, does not apply to such things as wheel size.
Everyone has seen 2m+ guys on 20" bikes and very likely even smaller wheels.
Lastly a well fitting frame size makes the bike look neat but an acceptable fit can be achieved with many frame sizes.

>>2079391
You're right but also wrong, wheel size has a baseline minimum stand over limit at the smaller end due to wheel axle height and the limit of how far the bb can drop from the axle height. I'm a small human and 29er mtbs feel oversized for me even in small while 27.5 frames fit me really well

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>>2079393
>at the lower end
you mean at the upper end?
anyways
You're right but also wrong
You're bringing several preconceptions into this.
>standover
Practical. But not needed to satisfy 'bicycle with equal vehicle dynamics'. You're probably also assuming diamond frames and horizontal top tubes.
>limit how far the BB can drop
Again: Do you mean at the upper end, like large wheel - > high axle?
AFAIK your only limit to dropping the BB below the axle is pedal strike clearance, no limit to going above so again small wheels do just fine. If I am right in my interpretation WYM here then I would rather call it 'limit on BB height' as the vertical relation BB - axle is really arbitraty.
>small human 29ers feel oversized
I fully agreee. But my point was primarily picking up on what >>2079376 claims and that small wheels large human is a non issue. I too feel unwell when I see kids theese days who probably don't know better, on a so called 29er their equally clueless parent's gave them. Industry just tries to cut costs and fit everyone on 3 frame sizes that build on 1 wheel size. Gone are the times when smaller people could simply get 650C front and back.
I still maintain: Provided terrain allows it you can make a bike that handles like their other bike for an arbitrarily large human using arbitrarily small wheels. Not necessarily the other way round, at least you'll run into practical issues and end up with an experimental bike to prove a point

>>2079363
yeah, there's also air at atmospheric pressure inside all my frame tubes, but that's not really "fluids on a bike," now is it?

>>2079376
They are around for sure, definitely not quite as common as the taller road frames. I was able to find a mid 90's trek mtb for my friend who's maybe 6'3" that fits well. I think everybody kind of just relaxed about fit around mountain bikes, that's when you started seeing 350mm seatposts and shit, not a bad thing to have nut clearance anyway. 21 in would definitely look insanely comical though you should at least be able to find 23 frames which is a bit more than a hair better I would say

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>>2079376
to add to other anons, the smaller the wheel, the stronger it is, that plus the lower gear-inches means your effective gearing is lower for the same gear ratios i.e. easier to spin, better for rough terrain; this was why they thought 26 was a better standard for MTB in the first place. and they hadn't figured out those dinner plate cassettes that modern MTB uses, so they were probably right to do so. this is all to say: however they LOOK, they're actually to your favor (at least somewhat). the frame builders know what to do. mini velos and folding bikes have wheels smaller than BMX but are for adult riders.
pic related is the 26" bike Cannondale made for Shaq. but now he rides a 36” wheel bike made by the company Dirty Sixer. since you're NBA-player sized, you might want to check those out, but no sweet used market like 26.

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>>2079403
the Dirty Sixer

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>>2078869
>>2078870
>argyle
>>2078872
>non-gradient transition
>>2078877s
asymmetrical chainstays
Interesting, interesting. Will probably post finished bike in /pybt/ later, thanks for suggestions.

How can I replace my front suspension fork for a rigid one? I can't seen to find just a rigid fork to buy in the first place

>>2079412
>argyle
he actually did it, the absolute madman
well played, anon. well played.

>>2079414
the search term is "suspension corrected fork"

>>2079417
oh thanks, Have been trying to switch out the front fork on my rockricker from decathlon to go touring but feels like this shit bike frame is going to crack the moment it goes through some rough terrain

>>2079412
Legend.

>>2079412
dope

y no /pybt/

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>>2079062
1. there's a clicking noise i hear only on 9th (top) gear, but i only hear it when pedaling by foot not by hand. what could it be?
2. barrel indexing adjuster is set to its maximum clockwise position and the bike shifts nicely in all gears with exceptance of the aforementioned noise in 9th. is it okay for the shift cable to be at maximum tension? i'm assuming the barrel adjuster adjust the cable tension?
picrel unrelated.

>>2079487
it must have fallen off the board.
make one.

>>2079499
possibly needs to have the limit screw on that end loosened slightly?

>>2079501
or maybe tightened. what I suspect is that either the limit is too tight, preventing the chain from seating all the way on that cog. so loosen the limit. but maybe it's too loose and throwing the chain too far and not seating it that way, in which case tighten it. a quarter turn one way or the other ought to tell you if it's making it better or worse, or no effect. you can always put it back where you started.

so i'm trying to get back into cycling. probably haven't ridden in atleast 10 years. i'm looking at someones custom build for like $700. would it ever make sense to jump straight onto something like that or should i just look for some cheap beater bike?

>>2079512
if it fits you sure
$700 is a fine budget for a used bike, should suffice to get you something appropriate