Big Blue Huddle

I have been a cycling enthusiast since I was a kid.  The way I figure it a bike will last at least 10-15 years and by then I will be too old to purchase one.

I didn't intend to purchase a new bicycle, but the last one broke, and I learned the folly (but you will see the lesson didn't take) of going with an exotic shaft drive bicycle.  The thing broke, and the company that I purchased it from went out of business, so there are no parts or service centers.  I liked the shaft drive because there was no messy greasy chain, no trying to figure out the gearing and you didn't need to be peddling to shift gears.

Well, it seems the shaft drive bicycles were a passing fad.  However, I did find a similar technology that allows for pretty much all the advantages described-  carbon fiber belt drive.

The box arrived yesterday, and I will be assembling it tomorrow.  I can't wait to try it out


https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/ltrain

 

Very timely, Rich. My wife and I were just talking about organizing my side of the garage. We have four mountain bikes (two belong to our adult sons who have moved out and no longer ride) that I need to do something with. Ours sons' bikes will be given away and she doesn't like hers anymore. She wants a road bike that's a little more comfortable for her. I'll take a look at these and probably get her one for Mother's Day.

Quote from: T200 on April 06, 2023, 11:00:55 AMVery timely, Rich. My wife and I were just talking about organizing my side of the garage. We have four mountain bikes (two belong to our adult sons who have moved out and no longer ride) that I need to do something with. Ours sons' bikes will be given away and she doesn't like hers anymore. She wants a road bike that's a little more comfortable for her. I'll take a look at these and probably get her one for Mother's Day.

Tim,

I will qualify that from my research the carbon fiber cycles are a little less efficient than the traditional chains (oddly enough it reverses for the serious athletic riders).

The real benefits are the ones I mentioned, plus they are pretty much maintenance-free other than filling up the tires.  The belts are also supposed to last much longer than chains so they should not wear out for the life of the bike for casual riders.

I will say the ability to shift while stopped is huge if you ride in areas where you need to stop for traffic lights and the like.  Even as an enthusiast I lost count of the number of times I forgot to downshift before stopping and having to do the push-off dance to try and get the thing downshifted after the light turned green.  Plus, unlike the traditional chain bikes where you have to set the front and rear derailer to set the gear you want, these shifters are straightforward forward low to high in however many gears you choose (like a car).

Biking is a great way to get exercise. I went through a phase back in my 30s and started jogging a few miles a day. After a year or so, I started having a knee problem, and I assumed it was from the daily pounding on pavement that was making my right knee to give me fits. So I went out and spent over a thousand dollars on a high-end bike. It didn't solve my problem though because my knee was already damaged and the peddling just made it worse. Really made me upset because I enjoyed biking. I put it in the garage for a year to let my knee heal, and as soon as I got back into riding the bike, my knee flared up. Kept this routine for several years and finally sold it 

I still bike all the time, but my bike has a motor on it, and it doesn't screw up my knee. Interestingly, since it's a Harley, it also uses a carbon fiber belt drive (pretty sure Harley's are the only motorcycle that uses that) and it's smoother than chain drives on other bikes

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 06, 2023, 11:21:16 AMBiking is a great way to get exercise. I went through a phase back in my 30s and started jogging a few miles a day. After a year or so, I started having a knee problem, and I assumed it was from the daily pounding on pavement that was making my right knee to give me fits. So I went out and spent over a thousand dollars on a high-end bike. It didn't solve my problem though because my knee was already damaged and the peddling just made it worse. Really made me upset because I enjoyed biking. I put it in the garage for a year to let my knee heal, and as soon as I got back into riding the bike, my knee flared up. Kept this routine for several years and finally sold it 

I still bike all the time, but my bike has a motor on it, and it doesn't screw up my knee. Interestingly, since it's a Harley, it also uses a carbon fiber belt drive (pretty sure Harley's are the only motorcycle that uses that) and it's smoother than chain drives on other bikes

Ric,

The thing with cycling is how you run the gears.  When I was a young man, I was a lugger.  I had strong legs but I wasn't always as aerobically fit as I wanted to be. I would have the thing shifted up high so I peddled slowly but against a strong force.   As my knees started to fail, I changed my style keeping it shifted in lower gears which reduces the pressure I need to apply at the price of having to peddle more and faster. 

Of course since then, I learned the rule

if your legs tire- downshift

if your out of breath- upshift

if your both- slow down

I looked at this post out of curiosity. I haven't been on a bike in 40 years. I clicked on the link to see the ad because I had never heard of that bike and returned to the front page. A while later I turned my TV on and opened YouTube to watch some Giants stuff. Went to Pat Triana's site and the first ad to come up was for priority bikes.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!

Bill

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 06, 2023, 11:25:03 AMRic,

The thing with cycling is how you run the gears.  When I was a young man, I was a lugger.  I had strong legs but I wasn't always as aerobically fit as I wanted to be. I would have the thing shifted up high so I peddled slowly but against a strong force.  As my knees started to fail, I changed my style keeping it shifted in lower gears which reduces the pressure I need to apply at the price of having to peddle more and faster. 

Of course since then, I learned the rule

if your legs tire- downshift

if your out of breath- upshift

if your both- slow down

My problem was my knee. The pressure of pushing the pedal down and the subsequent flex up overworked my knee, and it actually exasperated the problem compared to running. My only real option was swimming, but I couldn't afford a swimming pool...lol

Regarding your bike, it appears to be a hybrid (off-road handlebars, slightly sturdier road tires), very similar to the bike I had. I didn't want to ride exclusively on the road, but I wasn't exactly a trail biker either, so I went with the hybrid, so I could ride the road, but also get on dirt roads or a little riding around camp sites when the ski club I belonged to would canoe/kayak the Delaware River every summer or our annual campout in the Thousand Islands

Anyway, looks like a nice bike. I like the idea of the belt vs. chain and the luxury of shifting at a stand still. Nice!

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 06, 2023, 11:56:19 AMMy problem was my knee. The pressure of pushing the pedal down and the subsequent flex up overworked my knee, and it actually exasperated the problem compared to running. My only real option was swimming, but I couldn't afford a swimming pool...lol

Regarding your bike, it appears to be a hybrid (off-road handlebars, slightly sturdier road tires), very similar to the bike I had. I didn't want to ride exclusively on the road, but I wasn't exactly a trail biker either, so I went with the hybrid, so I could ride the road, but also get on dirt roads or a little riding around camp sites when the ski club I belonged to would canoe/kayak the Delaware River every summer or our annual campout in the Thousand Islands

Anyway, looks like a nice bike. I like the idea of the belt vs. chain and the luxury of shifting at a stand still. Nice!

It's sort of odd.  Ric, I have had bad knees since HS that have gotten progressively worse over the years.  The stationary bike was often the warmup exercise of choice when I was doing rehab for various problems or recovering from surgery.

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 06, 2023, 11:14:53 AMTim,

I will qualify that from my research the carbon fiber cycles are a little less efficient than the traditional chains (oddly enough it reverses for the serious athletic riders).

The real benefits are the ones I mentioned, plus they are pretty much maintenance-free other than filling up the tires.  The belts are also supposed to last much longer than chains so they should not wear out for the life of the bike for casual riders.

I will say the ability to shift while stopped is huge if you ride in areas where you need to stop for traffic lights and the like.  Even as an enthusiast I lost count of the number of times I forgot to downshift before stopping and having to do the push-off dance to try and get the thing downshifted after the light turned green.  Plus, unlike the traditional chain bikes where you have to set the front and rear derailer to set the gear you want, these shifters are straightforward forward low to high in however many gears you choose (like a car).

Thanks for the info, Rich. I'll look around to see if there's a dealer that carries them and take it on a test ride.

Quote from: T200 on April 06, 2023, 11:59:10 AMThanks for the info, Rich. I'll look around to see if there's a dealer that carries them and take it on a test ride.

Take note, I just listed one brand; there are other companies making carbon fiber belt drive bikes as well.   Although, right now, you are seeing e-bikes really dominating.  Even some of them come with belt drives.  I didn't go e-bike because it defeated my exercise reason for riding, plus I didn't want to burn my house down charging the battery.

Quote from: Bill Brown on April 06, 2023, 11:39:41 AMI looked at this post out of curiosity. I haven't been on a bike in 40 years. I clicked on the link to see the ad because I had never heard of that bike and returned to the front page. A while later I turned my TV on and opened YouTube to watch some Giants stuff. Went to Pat Triana's site and the first ad to come up was for priority bikes.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!

Bill

Scary stuff   

I also clicked the link, but have yet to get an ad for Priority Bikes. Of course, I use a VPN on this computer, plus have three ad blockers on my browser (Firefox, which I feel is superior to Chrome for privacy...as is DuckDuckGo over Google)

It probably doesn't matter, though, somewhere out there in the world is a complete dossier on me from the day I was born. They know what I like, what I don't like, where I've been, who I associate with, my political and religious ideals, and probably facial identification that could pick me out of a crowd of a million in under a minute

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 06, 2023, 12:25:24 PMScary stuff   

I also clicked the link, but have yet to get an ad for Priority Bikes. Of course, I use a VPN on this computer, plus have three ad blockers on my browser (Firefox, which I feel is superior to Chrome for privacy...as is DuckDuckGo over Google)

It probably doesn't matter, though, somewhere out there in the world is a complete dossier on me from the day I was born. They know what I like, what I don't like, where I've been, who I associate with, my political and religious ideals, and probably facial identification that could pick me out of a crowd of a million in under a minute

I like the facial recognition on the phone for Apple Pay etc. but it comes with a privacy price and I'm sure BB has a file for everyone. Also had to get fingerprinted several times. For a Business License, for purchase permits, and once for my carry permit. Last time they couldn't get a clean print which was odd.

Always liked Harleys. Especially the sound so I could tell how far back behind me they were when I was called out to race my Sewing Machine.  

Quote from: Ed Vette on April 06, 2023, 01:30:54 PMAlways liked Harleys. Especially the sound so I could tell how far back behind me they were when I was called out to race my Sewing Machine.  

Granted, your rice burner would beat an ordinary Harley. I rode my buddies Kawasaki ZX this past summer and it actually scared the crap out of me. Cruising at 70 MPH with about a quarter throttle, I twisted the gas and the friggin front end came off the ground and practically took off without me. Never had that feeling with any of my past Harley's. If I had a bike like that when I was young and crazy, I wouldn't be here talking about it because they would have buried my carcass 40 or more years ago

This is his bike

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 06, 2023, 01:53:54 PM

Granted, your rice burner would beat an ordinary Harley. I rode my buddies Kawasaki ZX this past summer and it actually scared the crap out of me. Cruising at 70 MPH with about a quarter throttle, I twisted the gas and the friggin front end came off the ground and practically took off without me. Never had that feeling with any of my past Harley's. If I had a bike like that when I was young and crazy, I wouldn't be here talking about it because they would have buried my carcass 40 or more years ago

This is his bike

Yes, that's a Bike where you have to lean when getting mean. lol Also a reason I sold my Bike years ago. Street Racing cars was safer. Riding a Bike gives you the feeling you and the Bike are one.

jolly blue just curious. im not seeing a windsheild on the red bike. do you ride like that.