Ultimate Bike Thread....

[Racerbvd]

Anyone know the weight capacity for the SoftRide??

[herr_oberst]

Best I could do is get you the phone number of one of the inventors. Give James Allsop a jingle, he would probably be able to give you all kinds of facts and information on your new toy!

Softride is still in bidness, but they no longer make bike.

https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Softride,-Inc.-360-647-7420

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Anyone know the weight capacity for the SoftRide??

Internet seems to give a range of 200- 240 lbs for on road use.

["A"]

Does that Softride have 650 wheels?

Ultegra 600 is workhorse group, lighter brakes than DuraAce of same vintage.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Anyone know the weight capacity for the SoftRide??...

The beams are rated for a certain weight. You should be able to find this printed on the beam somewhere. There's more info online about this but this may be a good start. Softride Owners Club on Faceplant: https://www.facebook.com/groups/36519069043

An Army buddy gave this to me recently. It was cluttering up his garage and he needed it gone. I haven't done anything with it yet but I'm thinking of rebuilding it as a Gravel Bike. (1x gearing, Wider tires, flared drop bars Etc.)

[herr_oberst]

http://cyclingindependent.com/a-curious-and-mostly-true-legend-of-the-****bike/

[fanaudical]

Link doesn't work but did introduce me to the "Cycling Independent" - new rabbit hole for tomorrow.

Peter - Be sure to check the tire clearances on that SoftRide frame before moving forward with gravel bike conversion. Odds are you'll want some 38mm+ wide soft cushy tires (plus clearance for gravel) and the frame clearance may not be there.

[herr_oberst]

I guess the link doesn't work because there's a bad word in the title. Try copy/paste into your browser and replace the asterisks with a word that rhymes with grit.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Link doesn't work but did introduce me to the "Cycling Independent" - new rabbit hole for tomorrow.

Peter - Be sure to check the tire clearances on that SoftRide frame before moving forward with gravel bike conversion. Odds are you'll want some 38mm+ wide soft cushy tires (plus clearance for gravel) and the frame clearance may not be there.

Thanks but I've got a pair of 700c Cyclocross wheels with "sewups" (glue on singles) and they fit the frame. The tires are 32mm.
I've also got some old Dia-Compe brakes sitting in a box somewhere that should work.

Like these. (photo from Google)

[look 171]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Thanks but I've got a pair of 700c Cyclocross wheels with "sewups" (glue on singles) and they fit the frame. The tires are 32mm.
I've also got some old Dia-Compe brakes sitting in a box somewhere that should work.

Like these. (photo from Google)

I HATE those brakes. Had them on my Puch, starter bike. Took me a long time to get em' adjusted properly, still a good wack at times to get em' to center again was a must.

[fanaudical]

And quite the rabbit hole it is - I've been reading old articles most of the morning. Interesting story on that bike.

If I remember correctly, the secret to making those Diacompes work well is to keep them clean, well-lubed, and have a floating hanger (with lots of grease to let it slide on the straddle cable) and then Diacompe came out with the roller hanger (which is still available):

https://velo-orange.com/products/gran-compe-straddle-cable-hanger

Peter - I built my first "gravel bike" last year from an older cyclocross frame. I selected 35mm tires thinking those would have to be plenty soft and find myself wishing for wider on gravel around here. Maybe your paths are better packed than those I try to ride and that beam will surely take the edge off. Am interested to hear how that all works out for you.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

And quite the rabbit hole it is - I've been reading old articles most of the morning. Interesting story on that bike.

If I remember correctly, the secret to making those Diacompes work well is to keep them clean, well-lubed, and have a floating hanger (with lots of grease to let it slide on the straddle cable) and then Diacompe came out with the roller hanger (which is still available):

https://velo-orange.com/products/gran-compe-straddle-cable-hanger

Peter - I built my first "gravel bike" last year from an older cyclocross frame. I selected 35mm tires thinking those would have to be plenty soft and find myself wishing for wider on gravel around here. Maybe your paths are better packed than those I try to ride and that beam will surely take the edge off. Am interested to hear how that all works out for you.

That is clever. V brakes is what I would install in my cross bike, if not, disc. Far superior but not we are talking about new frame or adapters. Its only money.

[Baz]

My new scooter......18.5 lbs.......

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by Baz

My new scooter......18.5 lbs.......

That thing looks fast. Sent me over to their website-pretty nice pricing for what they are.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by greglepore

That thing looks fast. Sent me over to their website-pretty nice pricing for what they are.

Thanks, Greg - I agree. I ordered directly from their website. The entire purchase process went very well, FWIW.

Here are the details in case it's of interest:

• Ordered on Jan. 14.
• Built - packed - and then shipped from factory in China on Jan. 26.
• Arrived in N.Y. on Feb. 7.
• Delivered to my home on Feb. 11.
• Total time from placing the order to delivery to my door = 28 days (4 weeks).
• Total time to unbox and assemble = 45 minutes.
• Total Cost= $2,699.00 (no tax and no delivery charge!)

On the website they have a page for US Warehouse Clearance Sale page too and some really nice discounts. Just have to pay attention to the frame sizes when looking at those.

Not sure if you'll be charged sales tax or not if it comes from their US Warehouse.

[herr_oberst]

Cool looking bike, Baz! Good price, too for an ultegra hydraulic gruppo. What size did you end up with? I see they don't have a 58, but the size chart is kind of unusual, they list a 56 as Xlarge which is for riders 6'3" and over.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Cool looking bike, Baz! Good price, too for an ultegra hydraulic gruppo. What size did you end up with? I see they don't have a 58, but the size chart is kind of unusual, they list a 56 as Xlarge which is for riders 6'3" and over.

I got the 54 CM.

I wanted a little smaller than my last one which was a 56.

So far it seems about right but I need to get some miles on it before really getting a handle on everything.

Thanks!

[billybek]

New pair of shoulder season dance shoes.
My Sidis are too cold spring and fall and my 49NRTH boots are too bulky and warm.
Found some NorthWave Celsius XC Artic GTX shoes on Pinkbike and grabbed them yesterday. They fit me well and after a few rides these will become my new cool weather friends...
Brand new in the box with tags still attached. The fella I bought them from was a really nice guy to boot.

[rockfan4]

Spring. When an old man's mind turns to BICYCLES!

I think I want to find an old Schwinn.
My first bike was a 26" Schwinn. I couldn't straddle the frame and touch the ground, but I could get on it from the back step of the house, and ride it around the house. I eventually got a 20" Schwinn, then a fastback 5 speed, but I think I'd like to find another 26", because I'd just look silly riding a 20" bike. Mine looked a lot like this one, except it had a chainguard.



I remember no fenders, I don't remember if my dad got it with dented up fenders and removed them, or if it came without fenders. It certainly wasn't new, it probably came from an auction.

Looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, there seems to be a lot of women's bikes, and very few men's bikes. I don't know if the other boys were like me and ended up destroying them, or what, but there isn't many out there. Maybe when it gets warmer more will show up.

Lots of men's bikes have bent forks. The one above might even be bent a bit.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

Spring. When an old man's mind turns to BICYCLES!

I think I want to find an old Schwinn.
My first bike was a 26" Schwinn. I couldn't straddle the frame and touch the ground, but I could get on it from the back step of the house, and ride it around the house. I eventually got a 20" Schwinn, then a fastback 5 speed, but I think I'd like to find another 26", because I'd just look silly riding a 20" bike. Mine looked a lot like this one, except it had a chainguard.



I remember no fenders, I don't remember if my dad got it with dented up fenders and removed them, or if it came without fenders. It certainly wasn't new, it probably came from an auction.

Looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, there seems to be a lot of women's bikes, and very few men's bikes. I don't know if the other boys were like me and ended up destroying them, or what, but there isn't many out there. Maybe when it gets warmer more will show up.

Lots of men's bikes have bent forks. The one above might even be bent a bit.

I just let a 1954 Schwinn 26" go. It went to a home that was ready to give her the attention she deserves and appreciate her, there is a line of builds that were ahead of her.