Showing posts with label make a bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label make a bike. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Best Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed 36h, Silver with Coaster Brake Deals

Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed 36h, Silver with Coaster Brake
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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The Strumey Archer S30 3 speed hub with coaster brake is with in the general class of 3 speed hubs as refined and perfect a internally geared hub as you can find anywhere. There are other 3 speed hubs available and in terms of build quality durability and function they may possibly be as good as the Strumey Archer, but none are superior in any respect, and in the realm of aesthetic they fall woefully short. You can thank Sunrace for maintaining continuity with the decades of innovation aesthetic refinement and build quality that made Sturmey Archer world renowned. The only appropriate hub for the restoration of my 62 year old Dutch Hartog 3 speed this hub has proven to be flawlessly smooth almost fluid in shifting and operation with a solid sturdy braking action that is not spongy like the original British made unit. Its so smooth in fact that at first it was difficult for me to tell what gear I was in. In direct comparison with a 1966 British made Sturmey Archer on my 47 year old Dunelt this new hub is certainly its equal and in smoothness superior. I would also be tempted to believe that the gear ratio is some how improved but on paper it is supposed to be the same so the greater speed and effortless hill climbing must simply be a product of it being new or perhaps the improved bearings. I would heartily recommend any product from Sturmey Archers impressive catalog, however you will see next to nothing of there products here in the USA because of short sighted target marketing in Europe and the painful imbecility of a US market dominated by over priced high volume Chinese product. It would be nice to see some one with a little innovation lead the crowd instead of follow. Maybe we can convince Trek to start making there own frames in the USA again and start putting some of the terrific Sturmy Archer hubs back on American roads.

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Sweet hub, super smooth shifting.

NOTE... This hub is really nice for cruisers since the 2nd gear is about the same gear ratio as a standard 1 speed hub so you end up with one gear lower and one gear higher with a standard one speed ratio in the middle. Comes with everything you need to install once you get spokes and a rim on it. I updated a 1954 Schwinn cruiser with this kit and it couldn't be better.

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I posted the pics the other day and it's time now to review this hub.

Shifting is way smooth. Very unlike an old school 3 speed.

I'm heavy which is why I need to get riding again and at 280 pounds the brake

was good. Not mind blowing but I blame my weight.

I'm gonna lower my front sprocket down to a 36 tooth till I start losing some

weight then move to a 40 then to my current 44 tooth because that 3rd gear

is a FAST gear and right now I need easier pedaling.

But that's what's great about 3 speed hubs. Just tailor the grearing by switching sprockets.

My hub came with an 18 tooth sprocket btw.

Really a good buy for the money and your gear shift cable reaches your ape hangers no problem.

Take a look at my pics.

THANKS NIAGRA!!

Honest reviews on Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed 36h, Silver with Coaster Brake

this hub is pretty awesome. i took the back wheel off, unlaced the spokes, and took the new hub and rim to a bike shop and they rebuilt it for me. all i had to do was set up the grip shifter, and connect the cables. easy peasy. it looks great on my old cruiser, and defiantly makes hills easier to climb. i live in a kinda hilly area, and i wasn't riding my cruiser much because it was a single speed and kind of a pain, but now that its a three speed i ride it all the time.

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I have three Sturmey Archer 3 speed bikes from the '60s and '70s that still shift well, but this new Sturmey Archer coaster brake 3 speed I installed on my cruiser tank bike shifts more seamlessly and easily. My only issue is that you have to stop pedaling to shift or it wont shift gears, but that is a small issue. It looks great on the my black Schwinn Cruiser. The cables going into the rear hub have a nice cover that lets it blend into the bike. Unless you looked at the handlebar gear selector, the bike would pass for a single speed look wise. The gearing works well for mild grade hills, and the overdrive 3rd gear is nice too.

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Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Reviews of Shimano Ultegra FC-6700-G Crankset

Shimano Ultegra FC-6700 10-speed Road Bicycle Race Double Crank Set
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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I have the FC-6750 172.5mm crankset that is part of this family. I bought it with an ultegra BB since I was converting over from an FSA SLK-Lite carbon crank that was a triple. This crank was super easy to install and fitment was perfect. Immediately noticeable was how smooth peddling was. Going with a double compact crank instead of the triple shaved weight, made peddling smoother and didn't sacrifice much at the low or top end. I did not even use the inner chainring anyways on the triple. This Ultegra crankset maybe a couple hundred grams heavier than the Dura Ace part but it really hits the pricing sweet spot. Not really a fan of the space-age look but I do like the color and finish. Highly recommended!

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I purchased a new Trek 4.5 Domane which is an awesome bike but one way manufacturers can cut costs is the crank. The 4.5 comes with a Shimano R565 which really isn't a bad crank. I suppose the Ultegra is a little lighter and supposedly it's stiffer but I can't tell any difference in pedaling power. It does look better on my bike with the rest of the Ultegra grey components though.

The bottom bracket didn't need to be replaced or upgraded because Trek uses BB90 press fit bottom bracket.

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Bought a bike with BB30 and a cheap FSA crank. I started hearing the BB30 annoying creak so I decided to use an adapter to convert back to a Shimano bottom bracket and upgrade to this crank. Crank is stiff and light weight. It immediately fixed an issue I was having with shifting. I think once the bottom bracket was converted it solved the problem I was having with the limiting screws on the front derailleur not adjusting far enough to compensate for the narrower BB30 setup. Now with this crank and the Ultergra bottom bracket all is silky smooth; no more missed shifts especially on climbs.

Honest reviews on Shimano Ultegra FC-6700-G Crankset

I recommend this crank. Its a great product. Makes a huge difference on climbs! Takes a lot of pressure from the legs on steep grades. What you lose in speed you gain in climbing power. I recommend this to anyone looking for something to accommodate their climbing strength!

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As a grandmother who tries to stay fit by riding, I found that this crank has been very helpful in helping my efforts by making the hills in central Texas a little less daunting. I appreciate Amazon having the product and Goodbye Cycle for sending it expeditiously. M. Allen

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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Reviews of Topeak Two Up TuneUp Bike Stand

Topeak Two Up TuneUp Bike Stand
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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I live in Japan. We have multiple earthquakes each day. I live on the 10th floor of an apartment building. In about a year this stand has never fallen. I trust it enough to keep my 4,000 dollar 5.5 Madone on the top hook. My MTB is kept on the lower hook. The only complaint I would have and the only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I can't rotate the pedals on the bottom hook when doing maintenance because my Gary Fisher 29er is too large for the crank shafts to spin freely. Other than that I couldn't be happier with the space savings and the fact that I can keep my bikes indoors and up off the floor.

**update** I still live in Japan on the 10th floor of my building. Japan was just hit by an 8.9 earthquake. The area I am in was only around a 5.0. However after I got back from a night in the shelter I came home to find my Topeak rack still standing with my Madone in the top cradle. Awesome product!

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Pros:

It is very sturdy and stable even with two bikes loaded.

It actually saves space. (I live in a small apartment.)

Your dirty bikes don't have to touch the floor.

Cons:

You are guaranteed quality with Topeak, and along with that quality a pretty high price tag to go along with it.

For some really stupid reason, this bike stand only comes with one "Topeak Handlebar Stablizer". This is what keeps a bike's front wheel from moving left or right while on the stand. I'd rather pay a little more upfront to have TWO Topeak Handlebar Stablizer for Bike Stands, as opposed to realizing that I need another one, and having to order it separately. So if you have two bikes to load on this stand do yourself a favor and order another one before you get annoyed.

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Product is well contructed and sturdy. I was able to put two bikes on it, one of which was a tandam and it didn't waver at all.

Honest reviews on Topeak Two Up TuneUp Bike Stand

This is a good bike stand.

Its clearly made out of quality parts, and some careful thought has been given to its design features.

For example, each leg on the tripod base has support links that run to the center member, making the stand more stable.

The center of the stand is not made out of just one round member. Actually a second member with a slightly smaller diameter, 'telescopes' or protrudes from the first (which is a good design in my opinion). And furthermore right where the member telescopes, they've thoughtfully provided clamps that can be tightened to ensure that the two members act as one solid beam.

All of the clamps are quick release, so the whole thing can be folded up and transported without too much trouble. It's also fairly light at maybe 15 pounds ~ lighter than your bikes probably. This is really the *PERFECT* solution to someone living in a rental apartment who may be moving every few years or so.

The bottom bike clamp is offset a little bit forward relative to the top clamp so that the bikes are not directly on top of each other.

The bike clamps themselves can rotate to accommodate different frame geometries.

And another really good feature, the handlebar holder keeps your front end in one position, preventing the front wheel from scuffing up your walls which is nice. Overall the stand does its job pretty well.

However I do have a few criticisms:

1) As many other reviewers noted, they only provide 1 handlebar holder. Huge oversight, but easily remedied by ordering an additional handlebar holder which Amazon sells. Not a big deal.

2) The stand is sturdy -as in its not going to topple over unless someone basically tackles it -but I have noticed that even slight vibrations will start shaking the entire stand a little. At the base, the stand doesn't shake too much, but at the top it will shake a little more. For example, if you are adjusting the position of your saddle on the bottom bike, you'll notice the top bike shake a fair amount.

I believe this has to do mostly with the telescoping design, and the fact that the bikes are not really clamped in, but rather are sitting in U shaped channels.

To dampen the vibrations a bit more they could have put 4 legs instead of 3. Seems nitpicky, but I think it would have made a difference.

3) Finally, I could have forgiven the other 2 criticisms, but the main reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that what holds the bike clamps against the base member are basically set screws. As in a screw tightens against the outer diameter of the base member, and the clamp is held in place by friction alone. This is a problem because if you press down on the bike too much while you're doing work, (maybe you are tightening something and you don't realize) you can cause the screw (and thus the bike clamp) to slip on the base member.

A really simple thing they could have done to have a MUCH sturdier frame, and make this MUCH more suitable for tune-ups would have been to drill holes up the center member and have the bike clamps actually screw or lock into the holes. This would have also helped a bit with the vibration problem as well and I don't think it would have added much in terms of cost. If they had done this and used an actual clamps to hold even just the bottom bike in place instead of U channels (and used 4 legs as I'd mentioned above), I'd have given this stand 5 stars, and easily shelled out another $50 bucks for this already expensive stand.

As such this is really more of a lightweight transportable bike stand, suitable for basic maintenance as opposed to a real tune-up stand. Without proper clamps holding your bike in place, I really wouldn't recommend this for any serious overhauls where you may have to apply a lot of force to take off or put on a part.

In the end, if all you are looking for is something to hold your bikes and have the luxury of a garage, you can probably go with something a little bit cheaper and heavier like the "Sportrack universal 2 bike stacker".

If you value a stand that is light, transportable, takes up not too much space perhaps, and can hold your front end in place (presumably for some light maintenance), then you won't be sorry shelling out the extra cash for this one.

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I regret to report that I'm returning this today after roughly 9 hours of use because its just not stable enough to handle two steel road bikes. The clamps that attach the hook mechanisms to the vertical pole are made of a hard plastic that slides or even "pops" out of place, making for a very tenuous situation. Both bikes are under though barely the 40/lb per bike recommended max weight.

I am still leaving 3 stars because for lighter bikes this would be great. Even if this was purely for storage in a garage or something, this could be acceptable for heavier bikes left alone, it seems reasonably solid. But because this would be stored in my living space where people will occasionally bump into it, and where I'll be using it daily, I simply can't risk a random collapse, and the cheap plastic connector parts here just don't exude confidence.

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Sunday, December 15, 2013

Huffy 16-Inch Boys Cars Bike (Black/Red) Review

Huffy 16-Inch Boys Cars Bike
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $79.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off
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It took little time setting it up since tools are not included. Once it was assembled, it was very good.

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The instructions were not the best because they send the same ones for multiple bike models. My son liked the bike and is learning how to ride despite my poor assembly skills LOL.

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The bike we but is the same that we saw in the amazon page; the service was fast and the bike arrived before the day they told us.

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