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#21
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
On Nov 21, 9:02*pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article , * * * * " writes: On Nov 21, 2:17=A0pm, nmp wrote: wrote: On Nov 21, 6:48=A0am, nmp wrote: [..] The bike we are talking about is marketed as an "Urban Assault Vehicle", i.e. not a comfortable grocery getter. I think the name is quite silly, but it does give a hint of a sturdy bicycle that will be used for fast and agressive riding. snip That thing, urban assault? =A0When I think urban assault I think droppi= ng off walls, bombing down staircases, maybe stopping by the skate park.. = =A0I don't think that thing would last for 1 nigth of "urban assault". I had no idea that silly phrase had such a specific meaning to anyone. In my ears it is just a "cool" sounding marketing blurb. You know, that's what marketing people do. Perhaps I was associating the title with some sort of military vehicle. In the way one would expect the marketing people to describe a bicycle as a "Leopard tank" or something. Oh well. I first heard it at a bike shop, and it was not something they sold, it was something one of the shop guys had built. *He said something like "this is my urban assault bike" and I said something like "wait, your what?" *He then explained what he meant, and I said "oh. *I've got a bike that would kinda work for that stuff, but it sounds more like my city runs on the BMX". *He basically told me his was the adult equivalent of a BMX. *I've since met quite a few people with "urban assault" bikes, and they all have prettymuch the same definition. Depending on who I'm going out on an "urban assault" with, I grab my BMX or my hardtail MTB. *90% BMX, since I can=92t hurt that monster.. From what I can tell "urban assault" riding is, to everyone I know that uses the term, what "street riding" is for BMXers only toned down a couple notches and without the pegs. *Incidentally, the "urban assault" guys tend to be amazed by pretty trivial BMX stuff, like jumping 1/2 way down a flight of stairs and riding the rest out or peg stalls. *I've tried convincing many of them that the stair jump would be much easier with their bigger wheels, but as of yet nobody has said "oh, that makes sense" and gone for it. *Spending some time at skate parks and thinking back on the better kids I used to BMX with, I've yet to be impressed by anyone's "urban assault" riding. Come to think of it, "urban assault" might just be "riding street" for people who are no good on the 20", and don't care or don=92t have the ability to learn. *Not that I=92m very good on a 20=94, but I can certainly do a whole lot more than the =93urban assault=94 guys I know. Reflecting on the amount of stitches and broken bones I got acquiring my mediocre-at-best 20=94 street riding skill level, I suppose I can see why grown adults would prefer an =93urban assault=94 than the 20=94 street riding learning curve. The first time I heard (or rather, read) the phrase: "Urban Assault Vehicle" was around '96/'97, in a Trek catalog. *Words like "grind" or "shred" weren't used. *It was just implied the bike would do all that stuff for you, and all you've gotta do is buy the bike and look like the guy in the glossy photos. If you wanna see some really superb Street, look up Chris (Kris?) Holm, if you're not already aware of him -- chances are, you indeed are. But anyway, he's renowned for his off-road freeride antics, but his Street and Flatland stylings are simply astounding. And he does it all on a unicycle. *Maybe unicycles are the paradigm of Urban Assault Vehicles. cheers, * * * * Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - You're correct on all counts. I am familiar, and he is nasty. Some of that uni stuff is pretty sick. Personally I like bikes with 2 wheels, even if I'm only using 1 at a time. |
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#22
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
In article ,
Zoot Katz writes: On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:56 -0800, (Tom Keats) wrote: If you wanna see some really superb Street, look up Chris (Kris?) Holm, if you're not already aware of him -- chances are, you indeed are. Kris Holm is our local whacko who does, on one wheel, the crazy kinda **** our other local whacko, Ryan Leech, does on two. Heh heh heh! :-) :-) :-) I guess it's not all happening at The Zoo, after all. Some of it happens in other places. "I wish I was in Tiajuana eating barbqued iguana ..." Actually I'd rather be in Katmandu, eating something-or-other vindaloo. Or anything with masala gravy on it. Or be in Jakarta, sinking dark-&-stormies. Anything to escape the upcoming bleak months. I /so/ detest winter. cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#23
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
Chalo wrote:
Dane Buson wrote: nmp wrote: Dane Buson wrote: I'm assuming it's the Large Marge / Endomorph stuff from Surly: http://surlybikes.com/parts/largemar...m/pugsley.html Nope. Olli says the rims are by Rigida. They might be motorcycle parts; they sure look it and I'd not be surprised to find that 20" (ISO 507) is an available M/C rim size. I suppose that's what I get for only glancing at the page. The tires are 24 x 3" (75-507) Nokian Gazzaloddis-- I had my own custom MTB frame designed with the 26 x 3" size in mind, long before Endomorph was even a gleam in his obese daddy's eye. Gazzaloddis are _much_ knobbier, stiffer, and heavier than Endomorphs. They were designed for downhill MTB racing. They are a bitch to mount and frankly, a bitch to ride on too. Appropriately stupid-wide rims that make Large Marge look svelte are available he http://www.choppersus.com/store/cate.../71/Rims-Only/ So other than riding on sand and snow and riding straight *up* curbs, what's the appeal of the ludicrously wide tires? I mean, I'm sure some people are doing the things I mentioned, but is the rest a style thing? -- Dane Buson - If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. -- Freeman Dyson |
#24
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
Chalo wrote:
wrote: Too short cutsteer tube so the handlebars willbe too low. *$1000 for an urban cruiser? http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/ Then mentally add BMX bars, man. It would look much more badass that way anyway. I'd go fredlier and put butterfly touring bars or something. Though if I was going for badass I'd probably put on a pair of H-bars. They're functional, but look a bit different and kind of stand out. A quick search only shows Jonesbikes' version (at $500). I'm pretty sure I saw some elsewhere for *much* cheaper. -- Dane Buson - "Never hit a man with glasses; hit him with your fist." |
#25
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
On Nov 24, 2:39*pm, Dane Buson wrote:
Chalo wrote: Dane Buson wrote: nmp wrote: Dane Buson wrote: I'm assuming it's the Large Marge / Endomorph stuff from Surly: http://surlybikes.com/parts/largemar...urlybikes.com/.... Nope. *Olli says the rims are by Rigida. *They might be motorcycle parts; they sure look it and I'd not be surprised to find that 20" (ISO 507) is an available M/C rim size. I suppose that's what I get for only glancing at the page. *The tires are 24 x 3" (75-507) Nokian Gazzaloddis-- I had my own *custom MTB frame designed with the 26 x 3" size in mind, long before *Endomorph was even a gleam in his obese daddy's eye. *Gazzaloddis are *_much_ knobbier, stiffer, and heavier than Endomorphs. *They were *designed for downhill MTB racing. *They are a bitch to mount and *frankly, a bitch to ride on too. Appropriately stupid-wide rims that make Large Marge look svelte are available he http://www.choppersus.com/store/cate.../71/Rims-Only/ So other than riding on sand and snow and riding straight *up* curbs, what's the appeal of the ludicrously wide tires? *I mean, I'm sure some people are doing the things I mentioned, but is the rest a style thing? -- Dane Buson - If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. * * * * * * * * -- Freeman Dyson The only reasons I've heard people using them is for snow and sand. Since I spend quite a bit of time around both, I wouldn't mind one - but those are the only things I'd use it for. |
#26
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
Dane Buson wrote:
Chalo wrote: Appropriately stupid-wide rims that make Large Marge look svelte are available he http://www.choppersus.com/store/cate.../71/Rims-Only/ So other than riding on sand and snow and riding straight *up* curbs, what's the appeal of the ludicrously wide tires? * It's the simplest suspension ever. I use 26 x 3" tires on my MTB for that reason. Fat tires tolerate high weights better than narrower tires. Fat tires offer much better traction on any surface than narrower tires inflated to offer the same ride firmness. Fat tires have less rolling resistance at a given pressure than narrower tires of equal construction. (They also have a harder ride at the same pressure.) They don't sink into soft surfaces (as you point out), but they also are much gentler than narrow tires on damage-prone surfaces like grass. Fat tires are just plain fun and bouncy. I mean, I'm sure some people are doing the things I mentioned, but is the rest a style thing? At choppersus.com? I would expect so. Chalo |
#27
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
Tom Keats wrote:
In article , Zoot Katz writes: On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:56 -0800, (Tom Keats) wrote: If you wanna see some really superb Street, look up Chris (Kris?) Holm, if you're not already aware of him -- chances are, you indeed are. Kris Holm is our local whacko who does, on one wheel, the crazy kinda **** our other local whacko, Ryan Leech, does on two. Heh heh heh! :-) :-) :-) I guess it's not all happening at The Zoo, after all. Some of it happens in other places. "I wish I was in Tiajuana eating barbqued iguana ..." I've often wondered how that would taste... Actually I'd rather be in Katmandu, eating something-or-other vindaloo. Or anything with masala gravy on it. Or be in Jakarta, sinking dark-&-stormies. Anything to escape the upcoming bleak months. I /so/ detest winter. Awwww, the winter's not so bad. But it does cut into the picnic with a blanket sort of dates, which has been vexing me. Also, mmmmmm, vindaloo. -- Dane Buson - "The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them which we are missing." -Gamal Abdel Nasser |
#28
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
Luigi de Guzman wrote:
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:09:16 -0800, DennisTheBald wrote: I don't think the coffee cup is the big draw... It's the belt and the roller brakes. They just killed my two biggest maintenance tasks. I guess I'll spend the recovered time drinking coffee (or tea - does it really take a different cup?) The belt? really? Surely they could have gone a bit more conventional and used a regular chain with a full chaincase. Not so impressive, yeah, but I imagine cheaper. I really need to build/buy a bike with a full chain-case. Of course, I should get rid of some of the crud in my garage first. And finish a couple other bike projects... I'd just as soon get a Flying Pigeon and rebuild the rear wheel to take a sturmey-archer AWC 3-speed coaster-brake hub. For Seattle I'd probably substitute the SA 8 speed. It would probably make a suitable 'guest bike' then. -- Dane Buson - "The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race." -Don Marquis |
#29
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
On 2008-11-24, Dane Buson wrote:
Tom Keats wrote: "I wish I was in Tiajuana eating barbqued iguana ..." I've often wondered how that would taste... I've eaten it curried (that's what happens when you spend time in Mexico with people from the West Indies). It has a lot on bones but is pretty tasty. Dennis Ferguson |
#30
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Isn't this getting ridiculous?
On Nov 24, 5:59*pm, Dane Buson wrote:
Awwww, the winter's not so bad. *But it does cut into the picnic with a blanket sort of dates, which has been vexing me. * It doesn't have to. Many a woman will enjoy the hike through the snow to a scenic vista, a fire, a bottle of something nice to drink and a snack. It's yet to snow here this season, but I find that routine to be a relaxing escape from the norm, as have some of my dates. The hike, the clear skies of a winter night (seems there are more stars and you can see farther), the views from a nice overlook, scavenging for dry wood, and staying close by the fire - it all makes for quite the evening. Rivals summer in some ways, although I wouldn't trade summer for winter by any means. Bring trash bags to lay out under the blankets to keep them dry, and plan on a couple layers of blanket so the cold doesn't penetrate right through. One of those U-haul furniture moving blankets makes a good base layer over the trash bags, and is nice and compact to pack up. A soft warm blanket over that and you're set. Building the fire. Hard to tell but right past me is the drop off the side of the mountain. Killer view, but we couldn't get it with the camera. http://tinyurl.com/56b2q9 Fire http://tinyurl.com/64r3b8 More Fire http://tinyurl.com/5s3jnd |
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