If you’re really that pressed about wearing a vest, I guess you could just buy some reflective tape in the States and slap it right onto your jacket without having to deal with bulky sleeves or whatever else. There are even those little reflective strips designed for your pant legs or sleeves that basically wrap themselves around so you don't have to mess with Velcro or any other annoying nonsense. You should probably grab a helmet too, just in case, since safety is supposed to be the priority, I suppose. And if you actually have a shower and all that gear set up—not that I know how big your workspace is—if the area is large enough, you might be able to wheel your bike inside and lock it with a U-lock, depending on what kind of work you're doing.
First off, you really ought to time your commute so you aren't showing up late; I suppose how you get back isn't quite as critical. You should probably carry a second set of clothes to change into—it’d be nice if you had a locker or a private room at the office where you could leave your damp gear to dry so it's ready for the ride home. Because of that extra weight, an e-bike might be a better bet, since you can just top off the battery while you're grinding through the workday. Make sure you grab some decent lighting and a solid lock, assuming you don't want to end up under a truck tire or have someone swipe your bike while you're busy; honestly, I wouldn't trust a company parking lot or an open driveway, as they're way too easy to access. For those quick fixes, there are those sealant sprays that plug a puncture instantly, though that's really just a temporary patch until you can get a fresh inner tube. If you actually bothered to pass your driver's test, you should probably stick to the rules, though I guess how reckless you choose to ride is entirely up to you.
Edward Long2 said:People were saying any kind of custom setup would end up looking pretty hideous, but I guess I got lucky because it doesn't look too bad. 🙂
The bikes look great, so you should probably tell us where you live before someone swipes them off your balcony. 😵 😵 😵
Nobody was actually talking about it being ugly, it was more about whether it makes sense financially, and specifically how using that fork on a standard frame might just be a waste of money. I was actually thinking about putting a 120mm fork on mine once, but the guys over at the specialized mountain bike forums basically tore me apart. They wouldn't even explain why it was a bad idea, and when I insisted they give me a straight answer, I ended up getting downvoted, lost some reputation points, and eventually got hit with a permanent ban after I talked back to them. It feels like they just make up nonsense to shut down anyone who doesn't share their exact opinion, and if you try to stand your ground, the moderators just pull the axe and kick you out. Honestly, it was only here that I actually got some real answers regarding that fork, which is why I eventually decided against it.
Edward Long2, I don't know where you've wandered off to, but maybe take a look at this link and give it some thought.
I suppose this could be a pretty solid deal if he moves fast, though I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the frame is actually worth the hype, because it looks like a killer setup to me.
Or maybe this one
If the guy were based in Chicago instead, it probably would've ended up in my garage by now, but he isn't.
frame 150 wheelset 300-$200 drivetrain + bottom bracket (probably better to just grab a new one that fits) 200-$100 8-speed cassette + chain 250 new - I guess buying used isn't really worth the headache pedals $33, lights should be next on the list, reflectors for the wheels $20 total, tires $67 both inner and outer sets,
I'm not sure if I've missed anything else, I guess
It really just comes down to how much cash they’re willing to sink into this. The wheels are the real headache here; you can find some for $167, but when it comes to finding ones that actually work with disc brakes, you’re looking at $233. The real question is whether they actually want to drop that kind of money. I was trying to build a custom Giant CTX4 myself—I even tracked down a fork—but the wheels are absolutely killing me. You can't find anything decent for disc brakes until you hit $167, and if they actually fit a disc setup, you're looking at $700 minimum, maybe closer to $1,000. Honestly, I'm not about to drop that much.
At $700/$333, once you factor in the frame and the fork, I could probably just grab a complete used bike with disc brakes on Craigslist for basically the same price.
Look, this isn't just some minor thing you should be overthinking; honestly, I’d say just go for it. The only real headache might be if the wheels are 26-inch, but I have a feeling the guy didn't even bother leaving the headset intact—it looks like it's basically been shredded, with parts scattered everywhere.
quietskipper17 said:I wasn't really talking about some shady way of swindling people; I just meant that if you try to piece together three different bikes, you're probably going to end up with a mess that doesn't actually work. So, I guess if anyone on this forum actually has some experience with building custom bikes from scratch, I’m pretty much your only option. 🤣 Well, look, it isn't my money or my bikes, so I guess good luck with whatever you guys are trying to pull. 👍
I guess you're right about that, though I suppose two heads might be better than one. I mean, at the end of the day, he’s the one footing the bill, so I guess his word is final. We’re all just sitting here acting like our opinions actually matter. 😵.
I guess my Trek is just for messing around when the weather's actually decent and I've got some friends to ride with, whereas this SLX setup is more for the daily grind—handling whatever terrain or crappy weather comes my way.
Edward Long2 said:Well, that’s exactly why we’re all here, I suppose—to hash this stuff out. My ideas aren't set in stone or anything; I'm really just trying to weigh the pros and cons. Honestly, though, the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to like the idea of just picking up a brand-new frame and moving everything over from that cracked full suspension.
Thanks to everyone for the comments...
Morgan Moore37, my Trek is pretty much begging for a new cassette and chain at this point. When I first picked up the Trek, everyone kept telling me the brakes were subpar and that I should definitely upgrade them—specifically looking at some Tektro Auriga Comp setups—but now, out of nowhere, everyone is suddenly saying I should just leave them alone... I guess I can't win.
I guess someone should probably just go ahead and pick up a new chain and a cassette, since the gear spacing is pretty much shot. $83 I guess the Shimano version sits a bit higher up the food chain, maybe? I don't really follow what SRAM is doing lately, so quietskipper17, you'll have to weigh in on that one.
The brakes on my Trek are hydraulic, and I'm pretty sure this one uses hydraulics too, I guess. I don't really know much about the intricacies of hydraulic systems, but I suppose if it’s anything like how car or motorcycle brakes work, it doesn't actually matter which specific setup you have on there. The big things are just the pads and the rotor; the calipers aren't even that crucial, I guess. In my opinion, if you just swap out the pads and the disc, you've pretty much done all the upgrading you need to do for the brakes. I guess the only real difference between these brakes comes down to the piston size, since everything else seems to follow the exact same blueprint. If I'm not mistaken, a larger piston means you need less oil, which probably results in needing less lever effort to get things to bite. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one.
Question for Edward Long2. Why on earth are you trying to tear apart a brand new Trek?
I’d suggest leaving that bike alone until things actually start breaking down or you're forced to swap parts out; only then should you even think about (PLAN) investing money into the Trek.
Technically, you could move those parts over to your own ride, but you’d better be careful not to cause more trouble than you solve, because if you mess up your own setup, your buddy isn't going to pay you back for whatever you mounted onto his bike. If your current bike happens to be a Trek, forget about swapping parts; you're better off hunting for a new frame and moving everything onto that, while just staying out of your buddy's business since he won't have any spare parts left for himself.
Look, I guess the components on that custom build are better than what's on the Trek, but at the end of the day, the Trek is a brand new bike, and like I said, don't touch a thing until stuff starts going wrong—once repairs become necessary, then maybe you can take matters into your own hands and change whatever you want, but until then, just sit tight.
I mean, honestly, any LCD works fine for gaming. I'm really not sure where you're getting that kind of logic from. You can probably even snag a decent 20" LCD at $133 for a pretty good price, though I guess it just depends on how old the model is.
Honestly, you aren't getting anything remotely decent from the new card market at those prices, whereas if you look at the used market, you can find a massive pile of solid hardware. For instance, you could grab an old NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or something similar that still handles Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 in high definition without breaking a sweat, and I guess you can find plenty of them listed for $100 on Craigslist.
Look, it’s probably not just some random glitch in your PC; it’s likely the monitor itself. These things have an internal chip running firmware that usually requires a professional technician to flash or reset. Basically, every single component in a computer setup has its own controller and dedicated firmware chip—that's what dictates how the hardware actually behaves, while the controller handles the handshake with your motherboard. So, I guess my point stands: you really should take that monitor to a repair shop because this isn't something you can just DIY at home.
Honestly, just go grab a new LCD; you can find them everywhere from Best Buy to local shops around town now.
It's basically junk at this point. Honestly, you probably should have just dropped it off at a repair shop to see if they could flash the firmware back to its original state. But hey, maybe just sell it for pennies on the dollar and grab a 19" LCD instead; those things are practically dirt cheap these days, maybe even $67 .
I could use some advice—I'm currently running an Nvidia 8800 with 320MB and a 320-bit bus, and I'm looking for a GPU recommendation that’s significantly more powerful than this thing, especially since it still manages to run Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 without much stuttering. The main constraint here is my budget, so I'm definitely not looking for anything with an astronomical price tag given how tight things are right now. My monitor is a T200, and I'm running at a resolution of 1680x1050 with 32-bit color.
So, I finally kicked the bucket on my old Samsung T200 Star from early 2009. Honestly, who even knows when it was actually bought, maybe back in $150, but it worked perfectly fine until now. It even came with the original DVI and power cables included.
Good grief, how many liters could that thing actually hold? I guess when I had something similar, it was just filled with sneakers and some old jeans, so that was about it. Or maybe I just completely lost my sense of scale.
If you're talking about that bike pannier, everything just disappears inside. You've already got the kid's car seat, so all you really need is a solid duffel and some plastic sheeting to keep the rain out, and I guess you're set.
Instead of bringing the kid, you're just hauling a bag.