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I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like
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Phil H
Feb 21, 2012, 7:35:47 PM2/21/12
to
Been riding my new bike around town a bit lately. It's a Giant Suede
City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy to
ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
"tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
stuff down.
If I was going to complain about anything, it would be about the
plastic mud guards and front suspension. However, this bike was the
best fit to my requirements without spending more than one large on
something like a Gazelle.
Also annoying was the fact that in this country, city bikes tend to
get lumped into the "cruiser" category, as if we're all going to drive
them to a cycle path in our cars and tool around among the walkers and
rubberneckers. God forbid that we'd use them as daily transport.
Anyway, it's a very nice bike. And being able to change gears when
stopped... god, how on earth did I survive with derailleurs?
So that's it. If you see a bald, middle-aged, sweaty, fat guy on a
blue city bike around the Ultimo/Glebe/Pyrmont area, give him a wave.
It might be me.
-- Phil
City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy to
ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
"tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
stuff down.
If I was going to complain about anything, it would be about the
plastic mud guards and front suspension. However, this bike was the
best fit to my requirements without spending more than one large on
something like a Gazelle.
Also annoying was the fact that in this country, city bikes tend to
get lumped into the "cruiser" category, as if we're all going to drive
them to a cycle path in our cars and tool around among the walkers and
rubberneckers. God forbid that we'd use them as daily transport.
Anyway, it's a very nice bike. And being able to change gears when
stopped... god, how on earth did I survive with derailleurs?
So that's it. If you see a bald, middle-aged, sweaty, fat guy on a
blue city bike around the Ultimo/Glebe/Pyrmont area, give him a wave.
It might be me.
-- Phil
Zebee Johnstone
Feb 21, 2012, 9:02:44 PM2/21/12
to
In aus.bicycle on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:35:47 -0800 (PST)
The more people riding sensible commuters the better. THe more of
them there are, the more chance of there being good bikes to use for
the job.
Since I got the Brom with hub gears I've been pondering putting them
on the 'bent. The ability to change at a stop is great!
Slightly more fiddly when fixing a flat but that's what Marathon
Pluses are about...
Zebee
Phil H <phil_h...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> Been riding my new bike around town a bit lately. It's a Giant Suede
> City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy to
> ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
> "tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
> rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
> stuff down.
Way to go!
> Been riding my new bike around town a bit lately. It's a Giant Suede
> City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy to
> ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
> "tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
> rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
> stuff down.
The more people riding sensible commuters the better. THe more of
them there are, the more chance of there being good bikes to use for
the job.
Since I got the Brom with hub gears I've been pondering putting them
on the 'bent. The ability to change at a stop is great!
Slightly more fiddly when fixing a flat but that's what Marathon
Pluses are about...
Zebee
Tomasso
Feb 21, 2012, 9:07:54 PM2/21/12
to
"Phil H" <phil_h...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:0b2d6186-d997-42e9...@kk16g2000pbb.googlegroups.com...
T.
Theo Bekkers
Feb 21, 2012, 9:31:59 PM2/21/12
to
"Phil H" wrote
> Been riding my new bike around town a bit lately. It's a Giant Suede
> City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy
> to
> ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
> "tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
> rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
> stuff down.
Looks nice Phil. How are the gears and what overall ratios do they
give?
Theo
> Been riding my new bike around town a bit lately. It's a Giant Suede
> City. I was looking for a typical city bike: low-maintenance, easy
> to
> ride in street clothes, and some carrying capacity. The Suede has a
> "tractor seat" saddle, pedals well forward, a 7-speed hub, and nifty
> rubber straps on the rack that do a surprisingly good job of holding
> stuff down.
give?
Theo
Rob
Feb 22, 2012, 12:55:57 AM2/22/12
to
Was up at the fish markets on Saturday and a couple of interesting
cycles were locked up against the rail.
One was I think Dutch with the top tube going right through and had
lights both ends inside the tube (head and tail)
I'm not sure how you get around with all the traffic.
r
Zebee Johnstone
Feb 22, 2012, 2:20:53 AM2/22/12
to
In aus.bicycle on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:55:57 +1100
You become part of it.
When I was riding from Campsie to North Sydney, I'd take Pyrmont
Bridge road all the way from Paramatta Rd. Cross Glebe Point Rd, down
that fast hill then into the mess where it meets Wattle St and the
entrance to the Anzac Bridge.
Nick up between cars which were all going slowly, take the lane when I
had to and move over to let them pass when I could.
As long as you are predictable and polite it's fine.
I have more trouble from cars in areas where they get some speed up
than I have in congested areas.
Zebee
You become part of it.
When I was riding from Campsie to North Sydney, I'd take Pyrmont
Bridge road all the way from Paramatta Rd. Cross Glebe Point Rd, down
that fast hill then into the mess where it meets Wattle St and the
entrance to the Anzac Bridge.
Nick up between cars which were all going slowly, take the lane when I
had to and move over to let them pass when I could.
As long as you are predictable and polite it's fine.
I have more trouble from cars in areas where they get some speed up
than I have in congested areas.
Zebee
Rob
Feb 22, 2012, 7:15:24 AM2/22/12
to
Must have been cleaned up by cars when they did silly tricks with out
warning - cutting in front of moving cars.
r
Dr Sir John Howard, AC, WSCMoF
Feb 22, 2012, 10:13:22 AM2/22/12
to
some metal tabs in my coat pockets to teach them a lesson if I catch them.
--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ipvdBnU8F8
- KRudd at his finest.
"The Labour Party is corrupt beyond redemption!"
- Labour hasbeen Mark Latham in a moment of honest clarity.
"This is the recession we had to have!"
- Paul Keating explaining why he gave Australia another Labour recession.
"Silly old bugger!"
- Well known ACTU pisspot and sometime Labour prime minister Bob Hawke
responding to a pensioner who dared ask for more.
"By 1990, no child will live in poverty"
- Bob Hawke again, desperate to win another election.
"A billion trees ..."
- Borke, pissed as a newt again.
"Well may we say 'God save the Queen' because nothing will save the governor
general!"
- Egotistical shithead and pompous fuckwit E.G. Whitlam whining about his
appointee for Governor General John Kerr.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU DUMB CUNT!"
- FlangesBum on learning the truth about Labour's economic capabilities.
"I don't care what you fuckers think!"
- KRudd the KRude Rat at his finest again.
"We'll just change it all when we get in."
- Garrett the carrott
"There will be no carbon tax."
- Juliar Dullard
Phil H
Feb 22, 2012, 5:35:29 PM2/22/12
to
On Feb 22, 1:31 pm, "Theo Bekkers" <theodo...@bigpond.com.au> wrote:
> Looks nice Phil. How are the gears and what overall ratios do they
> give?
The ratios are fine, but then again, I'm no expert. The steps between
> Looks nice Phil. How are the gears and what overall ratios do they
> give?
them are very even, and I believe the overall difference between 1st
and 7th is around 250%, which is plenty for what I do. Overall the
bike is geared fairly low, which I suppose is in keeping with they
"city" label - you ain't going anywhere fast. Even so, I don't use 7th
much. All the gears except for 3rd tick as you pedal, which I've read
bothers some people, but which I don't regard as an issue at all. I've
also read comments by people who said that they felt some roughness or
drag, but I can't say I've noticed that at all. The damned thing just
works.
Lastly, it lacks a granny gear. I'm not sure this matters in my case,
because Ultimo's steepest streets are beyond mere mortals like me,
regardless of available gearing.
-- Phil
Tomasso
Feb 22, 2012, 8:20:41 PM2/22/12
to
Strangely enough, Mountain St is just about as flat as they come.
T.
Zebee Johnstone
Feb 23, 2012, 2:10:11 AM2/23/12
to
In aus.bicycle on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:15:24 +1100
Wasn't cars as killed them off, it was email.
Zebee
Rob <mesa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> What I haven't noticed lately is those courier bikes around the city.
> Must have been cleaned up by cars when they did silly tricks with out
> warning - cutting in front of moving cars.
>
Don't believe they had a high casualty rate, got any stats to say so?
>
> What I haven't noticed lately is those courier bikes around the city.
> Must have been cleaned up by cars when they did silly tricks with out
> warning - cutting in front of moving cars.
>
Wasn't cars as killed them off, it was email.
Zebee
Phil H
Feb 23, 2012, 5:18:55 PM2/23/12
to
On Feb 23, 12:20 pm, "Tomasso" <t...@sso.com.au> wrote:
> Ah, Quarry St, Ultimo.
Quarry's a beast, but William Henry St isn't far behind. I've seen
cars and trucks stall on that one.
I actually saw a guy ride up William Henry a few months back... I
assume he was *very* fit.
-- Phil
> Ah, Quarry St, Ultimo.
Quarry's a beast, but William Henry St isn't far behind. I've seen
cars and trucks stall on that one.
I actually saw a guy ride up William Henry a few months back... I
assume he was *very* fit.
-- Phil
Tomasso
Feb 23, 2012, 6:12:31 PM2/23/12
to
Phil H wrote:
> On Feb 23, 12:20 pm, "Tomasso" <t...@sso.com.au> wrote:
>
>> Ah, Quarry St, Ultimo.
>
> Quarry's a beast, but William Henry St isn't far behind. I've seen
> cars and trucks stall on that one.
Going down Quarry St is really scary, too.
> On Feb 23, 12:20 pm, "Tomasso" <t...@sso.com.au> wrote:
>
>> Ah, Quarry St, Ultimo.
>
> Quarry's a beast, but William Henry St isn't far behind. I've seen
> cars and trucks stall on that one.
Maybe OK on your new steed, where the handlebars are much higher than
the seat, but riding down that hill "bum up" feels like almost doing handstands
on the bars.
> I actually saw a guy ride up William Henry a few months back... I
> assume he was *very* fit.
> -- Phil
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