Alpha's new bike

[tt_four]

That bike is pretty intense. I've seen a couple guys around here with bikes with motors on them. How fast will that get you moving?? reminds me of one of my other rides, which my wife brought home for my to fix up last summer...


Anyway, yeah I'm actually on now to put this one on craigslist. That's the only reason I even remembered I posted in this thread a week or two ago. I'm gonna see if anyone will give me $1000 for it local so I don't have to deal with shipping it. Not sure what you were looking to spend, but if you're interested I'll give you first dibs. Otherwise I'll just toss it on ebay, along with a million random parts I have that I know I'm never going to use now that I started getting back into motorcycles. I'm hoping to gross $2k so buy a crashed buell xb, 03/04 636r, or pretty much any year gsxr750, or else just to start off my saving for one of those in good condition for a little more.

How tall are you? The top tube is 53cm, seat tube is 55 center to top, Rolf vector comp wheels, fizik aliante seat, Sram rival all around, with truvativ cranks(same company, different name)some easton bars, comes ready to go. The computer, shifters, derailleurs, D-A chain, seat, bar tape, chainrings and bottom bracket all have 447 miles on them, the rest is more used, but it's in pretty good shape! Smooth as can be.



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[yamahonkawazuki]

im 5'10" with shoes on, i have a trade offer for my trek , the offer is an older scott waimea

[tt_four]

I'm 5'8, an obviously the post is in a lower position for me to sit on it. It would fit you find if you wanted it. The scott sounds like a good deal though. I can't find any pictures of a waimea online, but they make some pretty good stuff.

[yamahonkawazuki]

TT, if i wasnt as broke as a whore in a convent id offer you somethignfor that cannondale [/drooling] lol am prolly going for that scott, since i no longer have a DL, a bike is my main mode of transportation. the lighter the better. since, twice a month ive got a doctors appt. 15 miles out ( and back) and if i have no ride, i bike it. have done it twice now.  once for a test, and once by law. 

[Alphamazing]

I went back and forth on it for a little while, not sure if I wanted to let it go, but I think I decided I'm gonna sell my road bike. It's the blue and white one I posted above. Saving up for another motorcycle hasn't been as productive as I thought, and now that I work 1.7 miles from home it's usually not worth pulling out my road bike, let alone taking the time to put on some clipless shoes in hopes of actually saving some time getting to work. I browsed ebay to see what cannondales with Rival were going for, and I was decently surprised. I'm hoping I can get about $1000 out of it, plus a couple hundred out of the rest of the bike clutter sitting in my basement that I'm tired of seeing so I can get a jumpstart on saving. I'm tired of seeing some crazy deals go through craigslist lately and not having any money to jump on them.

That'll leave me with the fixed gear/single speed, the cyclocross bike with riser bars and slick tires that I usually ride, and the winter mountain bike. Someday if I work farther away from home I'll consider another road bike, but in the mean time it's just hanging out, and I'd really rather have a gsxr, buell, or 636r just hanging out instead. What do you guys think?? Alpha's profile says he hasn't been on since February, I wonder where he's been.

Sorry, I've been racing! Road season finally ended. Got in 6 race weekends over the semester, plus a dev class and two days of track racing. I have track races every week for the next two months or more (depending on if I want to make the drive to Frisco, TX), and then more track racing weekly until mountain and cyclocross season start up. When I'm not racing, I'm trying to get in at least one ride a week and managing time dealing with classes and research.

You can get away with a 'cross bike as a road bike. I've seen a guy haul ass on a 'cross bike in road rides, but he sorta spun himself out in the final sprints in races. I'm looking at 'cross bikes now, but just for funsies, as I don't have any decent 'cross racing near me to justify one. I have got some new additions to the stable, which will be mentioned later. As for the 'cross bike, just toss some road slicks on it and it's just as capable as any road bike when you're commuting.

If you are goin' to use the GSX-R, then go for it. Like I said, for most applications you can get away with the 'cross bike as a road bike. As for me, I haven't had the chance to touch my poor DR-Z in months, and I am going to sell it as soon as I can.

He comes and gos.  He's busy off learning how to be an engineer or some such sillyness.

Yeah, I'm a bit flaky on forums these days. Sorry about that. I'm debating whether I want to switch into the doctoral program, or to simply get out with my Master's and head somewhere else for the PhD.

Hey tt want to sell one of those road bikes?

this is my current ride. going to try and scrape togethr enough and get a road bike, and transplant this engine to it.

As someone who loves motorcycles, this thing makes me hurt on the inside.

god u could get a real bike, vrooom, for the price of one of those people power pusher 

Every motorcycle I have purchased has been more than any of my bicycles, even my fancy new mountain bike. My first motorcycle was a '92 GS500E, which I got for $1000 plus registration, etc. I have never paid more for a bicycle than that, and I have a fancy carbon fiber framed road bicycle as well (see: post #1 of this thread).

im 5'10" with shoes on, i have a trade offer for my trek , the offer is an older scott waimea

Those aerobars look RIDICULOUSLY long. I have a set of bullhorn (aerobar base bars) on my commuter, and they look to be about half that length.

Now... on to my new rides...

Road season is now over, and the Fuji served me well. During this time though I got to take part in the wonder that is track racing. I sold the Langster, and bought myself a proper track bike. Dura-Ace Track cranks, Deda cockpit, the works. Proper track geometry. And it's a Motobecane!





Got a race this Friday, and then every Friday until late June.

The next addition to my stable of bikes is a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp, which I was lucky enough to get on our team discount (since we are sponsored by Specialized). It hasn't come in yet, but I've got a mountain biking class (!) next semester, so I'll definitely get a ride in weekly on her. Our team discount is RIDICULOUS, and I could not pass up such a deal, especially with mountain racing season coming up.

One advantage of the whole cycling thing is that I'm now in, by far, the best shape I've ever been in, despite weighing more than I ever have (I'm sitting in at ~160 now, whereas when I joined the forums here I was a spindly 130), and despite having a higher body fat percentage than I ever have. Still working on cutting down the excess body fat percentage, but still feelin' good.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Damn i am envious. if my body starts working again, going to get back into riding, ( without using the engine assist) at this point i doubt it will lol, even so, im not going through car withdrawal, am enjoying teh bikes more and more as time goes on. in all honesty i could care less if i ever drive again

[tt_four]

Look who's back!

yeah I put my road bike on craigslist on Sunday, and I'm gonna move it to ebay this weekend if no one takes it by then. Then I'm just gonna work on listing all my parts. It's going to take forever. I also have that cheap paypal account that only lets you transfer $500 a month to your bank account, so it's going to take my months to actually get my money. Hopefully I don't find the perfect bike, have the money, but have no access to in because I have to wait another month to transfer money from paypal.

I can only see the second picture because I'm at work, but I do see that Cannondale Major Taylor frame. That's definitely the frame I'd love to have someday. I almost bought one of those with full dura ace on it once. It was the lightest thing I've ever felt. Is yours the white bike I'm guessing? Looks good.

My cyclocross bike already had road slicks on it. I bought it with full intentions of just using it on the street. I'm pretty happy with it, but the geometry isn't the best for riding over 15mph or so. It rides ok but it doesn't have that solid planted feel that most road bikes have at speed, but I'm sure it makes up for it when I'm moving around at slow speed. The only reason I wonder how well it would do on a longer commute is that massive aluminum fork, which is my favorite part of the bike, but it might provide a pretty rough ride if I'm going more than 4 miles.

I've never paid more for a bicycle than a motorcycle either. That carbon Six13 with full Dura Ace I had only cost me about $700-800, but I sold it for a good price too. The blue and white cannondale only cost me $300-350, and over time riding/building bikes is definitely a habit that pays for itself if you keep on top of it. I used to buy things, ride them, and then sell them for more in the end. I'm sure you could do that with motorcycles too, but it's all a bit more complicated.

I'm also in the best shape I've ever been now that I'm riding everywhere. I was in better shape a couple years ago when I was in college, but I'm not all that far behind that now. That's one of the main reasons I fear moving out of the city and commuting by motorcycle/bus/car. I hate actually exercising, so I really like that I do it now without even trying to. I've never owned a car so I've never missed having one. I think I might be buying a truck in a couple weeks though. Mostly for the hauling capabilities, and to save it for when I do move out of the city, which I know is coming. I'd rather get this one from a friend rather than make a mistake buying one off some guy on craigslist that ripped me off.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Link said paypal acct to your bank acount, then get a paypal debit card. ( i got one. no credit needed. it draws from paypal balance. and anythign further, draws from linked bank. OR you can request a check, and they send you one. in amount of your choosing. its a paypal DEBIT card, not paypal CREDIT

p.s. you can shop online using the card. i have. its like ANY standard CC debit card. its tagged as a mastercard. has the 16 digits  the cvv2 code. so it works. and is QUITE useful

[tt_four]

That's awesome! No limit for how much you can withdrawal in a month? I'll definitely look into getting of those those then. I was thinking of trying to split stuff people paid for evenly between my account and my wifes, so it would cut the time in half, but still the card sounds better.

[yamahonkawazuki]

That's awesome! No limit for how much you can withdrawal in a month? I'll definitely look into getting of those those then. I was thinking of trying to split stuff people paid for evenly between my account and my wifes, so it would cut the time in half, but still the card sounds better.

i had moved beyond a thousand in a months time

[Alphamazing]

Damn i am envious. if my body starts working again, going to get back into riding, ( without using the engine assist) at this point i doubt it will lol, even so, im not going through car withdrawal, am enjoying teh bikes more and more as time goes on. in all honesty i could care less if i ever drive again

I rarely drive these days, typically just to get groceries one a week or so. I will end up driving more over the summer since I'll have to go to the weekly track races an hour and a half from here. I had the DR-Z with me down here, thinking I would ride it around when I needed to go somewhere, but it ended up sitting, untouched for months. I found out I actually don't go anywhere, as my time is consumed with school.

yeah I put my road bike on craigslist on Sunday, and I'm gonna move it to ebay this weekend if no one takes it by then. Then I'm just gonna work on listing all my parts. It's going to take forever. I also have that cheap paypal account that only lets you transfer $500 a month to your bank account, so it's going to take my months to actually get my money. Hopefully I don't find the perfect bike, have the money, but have no access to in because I have to wait another month to transfer money from paypal.

Good luck with that. The SRAM and Rolfs and the Thompson seatpost on there will definitely help the sale, but I fear you're only going to get ~$800 out of it. This is based on the cheapy buyers I have experienced, so YMMV. I wish you luck. You may actually get your price out of it by removing some of the slightly nicer components and selling them separately. The Thompson seatpost can sell, easily, for $50 on eBay, but probably won't increase the bike cost significantly.

I can only see the second picture because I'm at work, but I do see that Cannondale Major Taylor frame. That's definitely the frame I'd love to have someday. I almost bought one of those with full dura ace on it once. It was the lightest thing I've ever felt. Is yours the white bike I'm guessing? Looks good.

Good eye on the frame! There's another kid on a Capo out there, who had an unfortunate accident a few weeks ago when someone crashed in front of him. Nice kid, but he got a separated shoulder, among other injuries. Shame.

Mine is the white bike, correct. Came stock with Dura Ace cranks, hand built Vuelta wheels, Deda stem, seat post, and track drops. The frame is, essentially, the same frame as the old Fuji Track Pro, the current Fuji Track Comp, and (I think) the Masi Coltello. Carbon fiber fork drilled for brakes, which lets me run it as my commuter as well. Our track race today got rained out, unfortunately. Next week, I hope we are not so unlucky.

Here are the specs.

My team's Specialized order came in, and the Stumpjumper is now taking up what little room I had left in my apartment. The Fox fork that came on it is WONDERFUL. I feel downright spoiled with how responsive it is. If only it were a 29er...

Link said paypal acct to your bank acount, then get a paypal debit card. ( i got one. no credit needed. it draws from paypal balance. and anythign further, draws from linked bank. OR you can request a check, and they send you one. in amount of your choosing. its a paypal DEBIT card, not paypal CREDIT

I simply linked my PayPal to my bank account, no need for the debit card if you don't want.

[yamahonkawazuki]

True. alpha, BUT debit allows instantaneous usage of your paypal balance if needed/wanted plus paypal can be used in places where paypal ISNT an option BUT debit/credit is. so that was why i had both set up. the bank link PLUS teh debit card

[yamahonkawazuki]

I got teh waimea. been riding it to work and home = 

[tt_four]

My road bike sold on ebay tonight, $930. I was hoping for at least $1000, but I'll take it. Paypal raped me for $30 with their charges, but you'll have that. I got a couple emails from the kid who bought it before the auction was over, and he was super into the bike, so at least I'll know it's going to a good home, and on the plus side, I'm $930 on my way to a Buell  

I've got some other things listed now. Over the next two weeks I'm gonna try to unleash my entire stockpile of bicycle stuff I don't need, as well as a couple moped things on the internet and hope to pull at least another $1000 out of it all. Then I just have to wait until July, which is a 3 pay month, so I can hopefully re-route my spare paycheck, and then the hunt will be on! The hunt will actually be on as soon as I sell all the stuff in my basement, as my ideal situation would be finding one that's been laid down for closer the $2000 and fixing it up, but they're not that common as it is, and it's even less common for people to crash them compared to normal sportbikes since it's somewhat of a different crowd.

Once I find something hopefully Heather will have her permit again, I can lower the GS and we can do some riding together. After going out a couple times now I was thinking about retaking the MSF class again too. I do ok, but I think my cornering wouldn't mind a refresher course. I know you have to look through the turn, and I have been, but it's a really unnatural feeling if you're not used to it, and I need an overweight bald Harley guy yelling it at me again to let it sink in. Plus it'd be cool to take the course with my wife since she needs to retake it anyway. She passed it last time, but was only 18 at the time and hadn't had her permit for 6 months, so it didn't count.

Ooh, and as far as paypal, I verified my social security number and it just got rid of the $500 monthly limit. That was awesome news. I was gonna apply for the debit card, but this was much easier. I'm headed down to the basement to make a little wooden box that just has a slot cut out of the top. I plan to stick all the money in it so there's no way to get it out until I'm ready to break the box, since I have a habit of spending little bits of my savings at a time until it's all done. This way it'll be locked up and out of sight.

Here are the last pictures ever taken of it....



and just to make myself feel better, hopefully this will be it's replacement  

[yamahonkawazuki]

TT get the debit anyways. that way you can use paypal where paypal isnt accepted. that is if you dont already ahve a debit card, id do it anyways. that way you can touch your money from either your paypal acct OR your bank. BTW have any spare parts to sell? if so let me know. odds are i could use them the waimea is my only source of transportation for the time being. as soon as i sell my computer. going to buy another engine kit, and install it on the scott. going to try and do that before june5 ( tour de cure charity ride) ive either ridden in it or volunteered since 1995. and rode VERY briefly alongside lance armstrong one time. ( was using that as a practice/trainer )  that year i got almost 58 mph out of a MTB outside of chattanooga

[tt_four]

58 mph?? that's pretty intense on a mountain bike. I may look into it eventually. At the moment having access to that money is the last thing I want. It's going straight from paypal to my bank account, and from my bank account to a little wooden box that I'm going to make and keep in my basement that just has a slot big enough to slide a couple bills in. That way I'll just stick my money in it, and not have a way to get it out until I'm ready to smash the box.

What kinda parts are you looking for? I've got a bit of everything, and anything I have is going on ebay. I had a bit of a hoarding thing going on, but it was cool when I was super into bikes because I could fix or build anything at any point in time. Ever since that last shop I worked in came within inches of making me hate bikes all together, I'm not too upset to see it go for the basement space, as well as the cash. Depending on the size and interest I'm gonna be listing all of it on ebay or craigslist, I've only got 4 things listed at the moment, but I've been busy the past 2 nights. By this weekend I should have a bunch of things on there....
http://shop.ebay.com/tt_four/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

I'm thinking that seat would look pretty slick on your bike though.

I also have some old GS junk I need to get rid of too, I think I've got a front brake/line/cylinder, a seat, and a tail light all boxed up somewhere. Gotta remember to move that stuff along too.

[yamahonkawazuki]

was on the verge of going out of control so i rode it out. went down first hill, up second down second, up third and down third. befoerr gravity slowed me down.  then i got passed by lance armstrong ( seriosuly ) thi=s was before i knew who he was.) from what i heard, he and a few others were using the ride as a trainer. hte hill was mont eagle  the tires were IRC metro duro kevlar. and the bike was a giant yukon. that thign was a pig. a nice pig but a pig nonetheless. if my body cooperates, am pulling an all day volunteer gig at tour de cure in roane county tn. this june 5. am contempalting selling my gaming pc to purchase anothre bike engine kit for my scott.  leg/back/kidney problems make pedaling rather iffy . bike tbh isnt that uncomforatble. btw am watchign the saddle. will wait until near clsoe and see if i cna swing it. if not ill have ot let it go away. will keep an eye on your listings though and see whats up. currently my scott has a can creek headset on it, and shimano 105 brakes and derraileurs on it, and finally got the cateye working. so as soon as i mtorise this thing. going to see how fast i can get her. tires are continental gatorskin. almsot new too. piece by piece  i think i did pretty good on this trade.

[tt_four]

Sounds like a good deal. You can get some amazing deals on bicycle stuff if you know what you're looking for. When they were my main hobby it used to literally pay for itself. I spend enough time on ebay, craigslist and at bikeswaps that I'd practically build bikes, ride them for a year, then still sell them for more than I paid for them and move on. I could do with a pair of gatorskins. I swear I get a flat tire every single time it rides here. I'm cheap with tires though. In the couple years that I worked in bike shops I collected so many used tires that still had plenty of life on them that I've only bought maybe 3-4 new tires over the past 6 years, 2 of which are still new and hanging in my basement. Someday I'll convince myself it's worth it to buy some nice thick tires so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'd like to just find some tuffy liners, but I'm not sure if they make them for skinny tires.

[yamahonkawazuki]

the scott will absotively fly when i get her motorised. am applying for a part time sales job at a nearby bicycle shop. called biketopia. as teh crow flies itws about 14 miles away from my home

[tt_four]

I've worked at 2 different shops. The first one was awesome, and I had a blast the entire time I worked there. The second was a life sucking venture that almost made me hate bikes. I quit before I got to that point, but my enthusiasm has severely diminished, which kinda sucks. Luckily enough we still had the GS stored away in a shed so it encouraged me to get back into riding.