I like to Ride my Bicycle...

[whitev70r]

Jubilee Cycle ... seeing as how you are located in Burnaby.

Curious, what did you find in terms of a bike?

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

Jubilee Cycle ... seeing as how you are located in Burnaby.

Curious, what did you find in terms of a bike?

Thanks I'll check them out!

It was my uncle's coworker's Specialized Globe Sport Disk. Hybrid/commuter type. I only ride for fun with the wife max 30km round trip so nothing serious. Price was right to me (just over $100) and the bike has performed above expectations the few times I've ridden it this summer. That said, I'd prefer to have it tuned up before putting it away in the winter lol

[whitev70r]

Cool!

[bcrdukes]

Where in Burnaby are you?

Jubilee is good if you are not waiting for anything. They are a small shop. There's also Westwood Cycle on Kingsway.

An outlier bike shop in Burquitlam tucked away in a plaza called Kinetik Cycles is not bad. You deal with only the owner, Fabian. nice guy and good service, but just remember, he's a one-man operation. Could be good for some people, and could be bad for others. Good luck!

[ZN6]

Originally Posted by m3thods

Thanks I'll check them out!

It was my uncle's coworker's Specialized Globe Sport Disk. Hybrid/commuter type. I only ride for fun with the wife max 30km round trip so nothing serious. Price was right to me (just over $100) and the bike has performed above expectations the few times I've ridden it this summer. That said, I'd prefer to have it tuned up before putting it away in the winter lol

Personally, i'd tune at the beginning of the season rather than at the end for winter storage. Cables and stuff don't come out as fresh as when you put it in for storage, so why do it twice?

If you can keep it clean, bike mechanics will love you and also reduces the amount of wear and tear to your bike. It's difficult with living in a condo to clean a bike, but the most important part to keep clean, really, is your drive train and that takes 10 minutes, degreaser and a chain cleaning tool to keep it clean.

I do make sure my bike is squeaky clean before putting it away and with a bike cover (you can buy this at daiso or yokoyaya for $2). It makes taking it out for a quick rinse and tune up that much easier. That being said, I store by bike in my room and I sleep beside it so keeping it clean was never too much of an issue.

[ZN6]

about to do my 1000th km for the month. who's down for a boob meat: bike edition?

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Where in Burnaby are you?

Jubilee is good if you are not waiting for anything. They are a small shop. There's also Westwood Cycle on Kingsway.

An outlier bike shop in Burquitlam tucked away in a plaza called Kinetik Cycles is not bad. You deal with only the owner, Fabian. nice guy and good service, but just remember, he's a one-man operation. Could be good for some people, and could be bad for others. Good luck!

I'm actually in Coquitlam now but don't mind driving out with my bike on the rack if the service is top-notch.

I'm very close to the Caps on Westwood, as well as another bike place on Westwood south of Lougheed. They seem to review well but I dropped by the Caps a few weeks ago and they were backlogged a number of weeks.

[UFO]

I'm not a huge fan of cap's, they are like the Superstore of bike shops but no advantage with pricing. I frequent Kinetik myself on North Road and Austin. As mentioned they are a smaller operation, just the owner Fabian and a regular mechanic, maybe a couple seasonal staff at times. IMO much easier to build a good working relationship with a small shop esp if you live in the area.

+1 on keeping your drivetrain clean. It takes 2 minutes after a ride and you can do it in your bike storage area. And tech's much prefer working on cleanish drivetrains. I do simple maintenance for buddies out of my garage and I make sure they hear it if they give me their bike with a nasty drivetrain. If you're not in a rush I could help you out too

[unit]

i go to the caps in new west, and they're actually awesome. i bought my bike there like 3 years ago and they almost never charge me for anything when i go there. adjusting gears, truing a wheel, even changing a cable or two, never been charged.

[ZN6]

For bike cleaning, I stay far far FAR away from any finishline product. The degreaser left this milky residue on my old matte frame roubaix. I was never able to get it off and it doesn't clean well. It has this weird smell to it too. Hate that stuff with a passion.

The degreaser I like to use the most is the foaming wd40 stuff. spray it on, let it sit, brush it a bit and rinse off. no residue easy peasy.

derailleur comes out clean and shiny. Do the same for the cassette and take an old toothbrush to it.

Best of all, wd40 doesn't leave a residue. I haven't been able to find a trace of residue left behind.

Lately, I tried the specialist engine degreaser from WD40 on my matte finish fixie and i've been getting really good results and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the bicycle stuff. it's literally 1/3 the cost of the one meant for bicycles if you pick up a can from walmart. Hasn't damaged the paint at all after like a dozen washes and if it's safe enough for an engine, should be fine on a bicycle. Gonna go a little brave and wash my Giant with the specialist stuff.

[m3thods]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I've decided to pay for a simple tune up and clean the bike myself. I had a few questions though, and keep in mind space is at a premium being in a condo. I don't have a car wash bay and don't have regular access to a garage.

1. I see that there are a number of stand options for keeping the bike stable during maintenance jobs. Is there one that you guys like more than others? I'm really not looking to spend $100+. Some of the really cheap ones that hook onto chainstays seem to be pretty hit and miss. I'd prefer a stand to make things easier, but if you have tips on how to stabilize the bike without one I'm all ears.

2. Any lube (likely dry) suggestions?

[ZN6]

1) https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/...235954775.html this seems to do the job

I built myself this as a chain keeper and it does wonders when cleaning the chain. I posted a few pages back on what you need to put it together. It's also invaluable for transporting your bike. It cost less than $3 and took me all of 25 minutes to get to home depot to put it together and get home.

2) Stay far away from the wd40 chain lube. their degreaser is good, chain lube BAD. The ones that come in the grey bottle is supposed to be dry lube bit is more like a wet lube and gunks up your chain real bad. If you want to try it despite the warning, I'll give you the 4oz bottle. there's still over 90% of it left in there.

I suggest extreme purple. I love the stuff but it's pricy at $20/bottle but it works really well like a dry lube should. keeps the chain slick and it comes off easy with degreaser. Lowest attraction to dust and dirt i've ever used. You can pick this up at BSP.

[m3thods]

Thanks again!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the chain keeper for? Is it to keep the cassette together when you take the rear wheel off?

[ZN6]

Originally Posted by m3thods

Thanks again!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the chain keeper for? Is it to keep the cassette together when you take the rear wheel off?

It acts like a dummy hub so it takes the place of where the smallest cog is on the cassette, you do not want the chain to rub on your chain stay.

[ZN6]

Makes cleaning easier. Just something simple, makes my cleaning days easier.

[m3thods]

Thanks for the pics! I totally didn't expect it to be used like that.

[UFO]

I prefer Tri Flow Teflon based lube, got a huge bottle of it from MEC years ago. Its really thin so it penetrates into the moving parts of the chain real well, and the excess wipes off easy because its so thin. It doesn't last as long as some of the fancier stuff our nowadays but this just gives me am extra reason to pay my drivetrain more love. And it smells absolutely wonderful, second only to automotive paint in my books.

[BlackV62K2]

Anyone still doing long rides with the current smokey conditions?

[Expresso]

^Yes.

[whitev70r]

What do you all think about something like this for a carbon frame and higher end groupset bike? Is this a relatively good/fair buy, good value (if budget is <$2000)? I realize it is 10 year old technolcy but still looks like a set up with dura ace, sram, & ultegra.

2007 Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/...249144108.html

[Wormiez]

100% Pass ..

Why?
- Hard to find parts
- Wheels/parts not compatible with anything on the market
- Brake track looks scorched, wheels are dead
- Not a good deal - Over priced
- Carbon decays over time and gets soft

If your not in a hurry, wait til after the RBC Whistler Grand Fondo for used bikes deals, typically that's when people start selling their bikes.

[BlackV62K2]

Originally Posted by Expresso

^Yes.

I'm going to go ride for a few hours tomorrow morning. Hopefully the smoke doesnt bother me too much.

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

What do you all think about something like this for a carbon frame and higher end groupset bike? Is this a relatively good/fair buy, good value (if budget is <$2000)? I realize it is 10 year old technolcy but still looks like a set up with dura ace, sram, & ultegra.

2007 Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/...249144108.html

That is a complete mess of a build kit and totally overpriced. A complete Ultegra 11spd build kit is about $700 and has a lot of DNA from the old Dura Ace 7900 stuff for that money. When I see mis-matched derailleurs and levers, it immediately makes me think this person cheaped out.

Also on the frame, I agree that was a top shelf frame in 2007. However, Carbon fatigues and the technology has come a long way in 10 years. I believe strongly that a newer entry level carbon frame is a better way to go than a very old top level carbon frame.

Just my $0.02.

-Mark

[UFO]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

What do you all think about something like this for a carbon frame and higher end groupset bike? Is this a relatively good/fair buy, good value (if budget is <$2000)? I realize it is 10 year old technolcy but still looks like a set up with dura ace, sram, & ultegra.

Check pm

[ZN6]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

What do you all think about something like this for a carbon frame and higher end groupset bike? Is this a relatively good/fair buy, good value (if budget is <$2000)? I realize it is 10 year old technolcy but still looks like a set up with dura ace, sram, & ultegra.

2007 Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/...249144108.html

rear derailleur is like FML, kill me now.