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Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

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Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#231

Post by marincounty »

david-given wrote: post #190
johnny99 wrote: post #119

I used to be a bike mechanic, and have gotten to work 90% by bicycle for the past two decades, so I'll take a stab at some of the questions: - Belt drives are great. They're sturdier than chains, cleaner, and something I love, quieter. The angle of the belt doesn't change, the way a chain does, which means you can add a chain guard, as this bike does. Which keeps it yet cleaner. You can ride to work without worrying…

My elder brother used to build bicycles out of bits he pulled out of a river. Like, literally. He once built a bicycle that was so awful that it lasted him a complete undergraduate session at university, then a complete postgraduate session at a different university, and then I got it and it lasted me a complete (four-year) undergraduate session at a third university, and didn't get stolen once . I only managed to ge…

Yea, there's something liberating about having a bike that looks so terrible, even despirate thiefs, won't take it.

"Desperate thiefs"? In my world, they haven't been desperate--just stole out of habit. Behavioral?

The times in my life where I had a new expensive bike, I didn't put many miles on it. For no real reason?

The points where I just had a beater bike, I put miles on it weekly? Not related to income? Maybe chilhood memories? I had the worst bike as a kid, although I thought it was special. It was an old English bike, with metal brake calipers, and a metal bar that run from the handlebars to the tire.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#232

Post by analog31 »

protomyth wrote: post #184
johnny99 wrote: post #119

I used to be a bike mechanic, and have gotten to work 90% by bicycle for the past two decades, so I'll take a stab at some of the questions: - Belt drives are great. They're sturdier than chains, cleaner, and something I love, quieter. The angle of the belt doesn't change, the way a chain does, which means you can add a chain guard, as this bike does. Which keeps it yet cleaner. You can ride to work without worrying…

I just have a tough time believing a belt is better than a chain, when I've had two cars with timing belts break before the suggested replacement mileage, but never had the problem with a timing chain. It seems like the same would be true of a bicycle.

Just to be the contrarian, the timing chain failed on my Saturn at 70k miles, and the engine was destroyed.

If a bike chain breaks, the bike isn't destroyed, though it could be hazardous if you're honking up a hill when it happens. But for the most part, chains wear out and you replace them.

In my view, the benefit of the belt is not lifetime, but the lack of oil, making it cleaner. With that said, I don't have a belt drive bike, but would consider it if I ever get a new bike.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#233

Post by peller »

dpark wrote: post #225
valueprop wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a demand, so there's a market. The problem is other people buy stolen bikes. I would also call those thieves, even if they don't do the stealing by themselves. As long as one buys something without original papers, they support the guys who do the stealing itself. PS: 2 of my bikes were stolen.

I have no papers for the bike I bought brand new at full retail from a bike shop. Who keeps "papers" for a bike?

They probably just mean proof of purchase. The other important bit is the serial number (analogous to a car's VIN), often found under the bottom bracket.[0] You can (and should) register it with the local police, and there are a few online registries too. It's not an effective deterrent[1], but it's better than nothing. (I've had a bike returned to me because I registered it. That was before I learned to always use Kryptonite U-locks.)

[0] https://bikeindex.org/serials

[1] Wrapping your bike in tape, or otherwise making it look like a POS, is the way to go if you live in a theft-heavy location.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#234

Post by revelation »

dpark wrote: post #225
valueprop wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a demand, so there's a market. The problem is other people buy stolen bikes. I would also call those thieves, even if they don't do the stealing by themselves. As long as one buys something without original papers, they support the guys who do the stealing itself. PS: 2 of my bikes were stolen.

I have no papers for the bike I bought brand new at full retail from a bike shop. Who keeps "papers" for a bike?

Well, not you? The receipt typically has the frame number and it's your proof of ownership.

You should keep it just so you can get your money back from insurance if it is stolen..

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#235

Post by analog31 »

awqrre wrote: post #186
johnny99 wrote: post #119

I used to be a bike mechanic, and have gotten to work 90% by bicycle for the past two decades, so I'll take a stab at some of the questions: - Belt drives are great. They're sturdier than chains, cleaner, and something I love, quieter. The angle of the belt doesn't change, the way a chain does, which means you can add a chain guard, as this bike does. Which keeps it yet cleaner. You can ride to work without worrying…

Usually belts don't require grease... and to tell you the truth I don't see why they put that white belt guard on top...

In addition to keeping your pants clean, the chainguard also helps keep your pant cuff from getting caught in the chain.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#236

Post by stusmall »

collyw wrote: post #98
bluedino wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must not ride it much. Chains and gears are wear items on bicycles. They should be cleaned and lubricated regularly.

The gears and chain generally wear at the same rate. If you put a new chain on a worn out old set of gears they will likely slip.

The chain wears out muuccchhh faster than gears when properly maintained. If you let your chain stretch too much, then you'll wear out gears quickly. This isn't them wearing out at the same rate, it's a worn out chain ruining your cassette and chainrings.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#237

Post by tehwalrus »

Symbiote wrote: post #226
tehwalrus wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to work in Halfords in the UK and they sold adult bikes in the apollo range for £75. They do still have one for £80 on their website. The apollo outrider (as it was then called) was always pretty shoddy, but mostly just for the look and feel of the components, a bit heavy etc. We didn't get that many of them back in for repair.

> We didn't get that many of them back in for repair. But you don't know if they're actually used. My mum and sister have cheap bikes from Halfords. They see less than 50km of use per year . I used something similar (maybe Asda or Tesco's version?) and it was ruined with 1000km or so of use -- every bearing worn out, the wheel rims worn ... it was miserable to ride it.

Sure, I thought that point had been made elsewhere in the thread.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#238

Post by EvanClarke »

agumonkey wrote: post #162
johnny99 wrote: post #119

I used to be a bike mechanic, and have gotten to work 90% by bicycle for the past two decades, so I'll take a stab at some of the questions: - Belt drives are great. They're sturdier than chains, cleaner, and something I love, quieter. The angle of the belt doesn't change, the way a chain does, which means you can add a chain guard, as this bike does. Which keeps it yet cleaner. You can ride to work without worrying…

Good point on the belt. I wonder if people paired that to a NuVinci CVT system: https://youtu.be/GHYGOIttuVM - no noise - no grease - no shift shock - no fixed gear I'd love to try a bike like this. ...

They exist - I have one; and very nice. Mine is made by Lekker.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#239

Post by analog31 »

woodruffw wrote: post #53
david-given wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disc brake --- the rear brake is a back-pedal job, unfortunately, which makes it a write-off from my perspective; years of cycling ordinary bicycles mean that I tend to automatically move the pedals backwards while coasting to a comfortable position, and doing this with a back-pedal brake leads to unhappy experiences. I'm impressed by the add-on bicycle trailer, obvious being sold as a first-class citizen. A lot of I…

Coaster brakes are somewhat common on city cruisers, but it is a little odd that they've chosen to go with the combination of the two. I reset my pedals when I'm coasting as well, and it's probably fair to say that we're not the target market. My guess is that it'll be popular among (shorter-distance) city commuters and college students who would've bought a Huffy or something equally shoddy instead.

Of course everything depends on your riding conditions. It's hard to get sufficient stopping power from the rear brake when going downhill, especially if it's wet out. I had a situation once, where I slid into traffic, because I applied the coaster brake on a very steep grade. That day, I installed a front brake.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#240

Post by MagnumOpus »

peller wrote: post #233
dpark wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no papers for the bike I bought brand new at full retail from a bike shop. Who keeps "papers" for a bike?

They probably just mean proof of purchase. The other important bit is the serial number (analogous to a car's VIN), often found under the bottom bracket.[0] You can (and should) register it with the local police, and there are a few online registries too. It's not an effective deterrent[1], but it's better than nothing. (I've had a bike returned to me because I registered it. That was before I learned to always use K…

> always use Kryptonite U-locks

Don't. My bike was stolen by rapidly sawing (dremeling?) through a Kryptolok in broad daylight in a place with some of the most heavy law enforcement presence in Europe. Their locks are much weaker than their marketing.

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