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I wub cycling.


Cataduanes

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For as long as I can remember I have been nutz about cycling. Being a city boy I was naturally crazy about BMX's but once I hit my teens I got the mountain bike vibe pretty strong. My first decent off road rig was a Gary Fisher 1991 Super Calibre, which at the time was awesome...in hindsight the design has not aged well but hey when I was riding that rig I did not have a care in the world.

I pretty much rode the Gary Fisher for nigh on 8 years before cracking the frame, Not being particularly flushed with funds at the time i had to wait and save up before getting a new rig. My next choice was a Kona Cinder Cone 2000, a truly awesome hardtail bike that cemented my appreciation for one of the greatest Bike manufacturers out there (thank you Canada ;) ).

2002_Kona_Cinder_Cone-bikes.jpg

^ An example of a Cinder Cone 2000 (mine was Orange).

That bike served me well allowing me to rip up trials just outside of London, i got into dirt jumping on that rig which was awesome. But the Kona paid the price and I cracked the frame good and proper while jumping in late 2002...fracturing an ankle in the process :(. Having spent over a decade maintaining and riding the Kona I mourned its passing.

So off to the shop I went again and this opted for a Cannondale Chase 2. A purpose built jump bike that tore up the dirt and flew like an eagle. This rig gave me hours upon hours of biking fun alternating between trail riding, jumping and every monday it was refit for a week of commuting across the city (Thinner rims and tires).

2000_1300_8FSDJ2_bbq.jpg

^ Modern version of the Chase 2.

But as I got older my working hours got longer, and opportunities to hit the woodlands, hills and other rural settings at the weekends got fewer and fewer. To the point that riding a heavy mountain bike for across the city to commute to work became the mainstay of my time on the bike, which kind of shot down the benefits of using the mountain bike regularly (they are not after all designed for speedy journeys on tarmac). So I decided to buy a second rig, this time a hybrid design which combines Mtn Bike relative toughness and durability with less weight and increased speed.

konaforweb.jpg

^ Dew Deluxe in Brown..I got it in Black.

For this I went back to Canada's finest Kona Bikes, purchasing their Dew Deluxe Hybrid design earlier this week. It is a total city bike and zips around so much quicker than my Cannondale but still has that inherent Mtn Bike feel. I love this bike! and my journey time to and from work has had a good 15 minutes or so shaved off the total time :).

So anyone else nutz about bikes?

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I was totally cured from my wub for cycling when my parents told me to bike to school when I was around nine-ish.

Not only was it around 5.7 KM to school but I had to do it twice a day in every type of weather year round. From rainy days that felt more like god deliberately emptying a Olympic swimming pool above your head, to days of record colds and everything frozen together whit badly maintained biking-lanes.

If that wasn't worse enough we had to take books whit us that felt like entire libraries so you think to be smart and put the right one in your bag the night before. Of course you would take the wrong one with you or forget one, so you can do the entire trip again after school time that's 22,8 KM on a day. That was 17,1 KM without a second to rest for a bit, with the above weather conditions.

Not even beginning about my bike that after the years existed for like 90% out of duct-ape, or the cops doing mass controls to just grab a quick buck. And I have the navigation skills like a fish on LSD and psychedelic mushrooms.

No thank you.

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I am very nuts for bikes. Just picked up a Vanilla Speedvagen CX bike for these season.

Nice rig ;), how do you find it?

-snip-

Sounds like you need a top of the range/well maintained bike :v:

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I have recently caught the cycling bug as well. I moved to a different part of town and my walk to work increased from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, something I definitely don't like to do in the rain. I talked to a few guys in my alliance who I know are pretty knowledgeable about bikes and bike maintenance and got a pretty good idea of what to buy (as well as some tips from my dad who is a pretty serious mountain biker). The bike I ended up with is a 1980s steel road bike that I have fallen completely in love with and can't keep from riding whenever I get the chance.

I would love to start a general cycling discussion channel on coldfront if anyone else would be interested; I often run into good deals on ebay or on the internet which I could share, plus it would be great to get tips on some of the mechanical stuff. Maybe #cycling would work?

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I would love to start a general cycling discussion channel on coldfront if anyone else would be interested; I often run into good deals on ebay or on the internet which I could share, plus it would be great to get tips on some of the mechanical stuff. Maybe #cycling would work?

If we could get enough people I would be up for it :)

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