samurai 0 Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 My wife and I are looking for road bikes. We need a new hobby. Trail running is getting old. And why not spend money on toys? Any websites in Japan that we should check out before dropping cash/ordering at the local shop? Link to post Share on other sites
I'm Sexy 0 Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 I have just normal mountain bike but I enjoy it especially in good weather and up in hill with camera. Link to post Share on other sites
longboardsk8man 0 Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 check out http://www.kakaku.com for some cheap deals on bikes.. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Road riding ain't like road riding in other places.. very bike UN friendly.. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 I don't know much about websites, but you can get good cheap bikes these days in any big bike or sports store as you've seen no doubt. I used to do a lot of touring. --ALL over Shikoku, and once up in Hokkaido. Haven't done much in the last few years though. I miss it. Bike touring's great in Japan once you get well away from the cities. Traffic's not too bad, the scenery is excellent, you can pitch a tent anywhere, and there's always a vending machine or kisaten when you need one. Plus you can always stick your bike on a train to get a head start out of town. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Ive raced on Kleins, Cannodales, and Treks. My favorite road bike is the 5500 Trek = Carbon frame and fork, extremely light. More than what Im sure youre looking for but really enjoy the above bikes. I think the biggest problem with bikes put together in Japan is they use semi-decent frames with really cheap parts, or really good frames plus average parts which would cost a lot less Stateside... Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted June 11, 2007 Author Share Posted June 11, 2007 Cheers CB. We're going to go sit on frames tonight... Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 do you know how to measure the frame samurai? Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Treks or Cannondales are very cool. Mine is Felt F60, Carbon folk + Shimano ULTEGRA. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Originally Posted By: slow Treks or Cannondales are very cool. Mine is Felt F60, Carbon folk + Shimano ULTEGRA. I got my Trek for free Also got a disc wheel and a tri-spoke too Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Me too CB. Doesn't the whooosh of a carbon disc just do it for you! I was given a HED disc wheel. then 2 x 4 spoke Korima's. They were the bombs. I'm looking into getting a bike again once I get home next year.. Had a look at the prices the other day Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 that is a sexy sound indo Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 We learned a bit about frames. But we need heeps more ride time to learn more. We'll probably just get a decent aluminum ride to start us off then venture into the world of carbon frames in the future. With a decent aluminum frame, we can upgrade a bit and learn more over the course of the next year. One shop down and we found some Giants with carbon forks. I assume carbon forks are standard. I told my wife that if she is still hard core next year, she can have the bike of her choice. Then we went to lunch. The owner flashed his million yen ride. prick. Like I'm going to drop 2 million yen on two rides. sure... I told her she can have the ride of her choice, but there is no way in hell that I'm going to hook her up alone. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 You've already talked yourself into it samurai! Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 dude, talk to Joe. do you know him? i call him the bike whisperer. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Just so you know, to chose a frame stradle it and pick it off the ground. It (the wheels) should be about 2-3 inches off the ground. Just make sure youre getting some decent components on it otherwise its not worth shite. I cracked my 600 Ultegra spindle (a piece around the crank) and then decided to go fully with Durace...which was the shiznit at the time...dunno anymore whats bomber or not. Saw a sexy Trek over the weekend, actually my old bike 5500 but with POS components. Why bother Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 I think we've been sized up pretty well. But it also seems that Shimano pretty much comes stock on any decent ride these days. Any components we should avoid? Any specific components we should request? thanks for all the insights, guys. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 I used to ride Shimano Ultegra 600 by choice. I had the choice to ride Durace but at the time it was much heavier than Ultegra and not really worth the extra cost in my opinion. If you are just touring you don't need to go out and get 1,000,000 yen bikes. Start out and if you like it, work your way up. Shimano 105 is a very sturdy component set that will most probably do the job well enough for you. I've never had any problems with Shimano products from 105 - Durace besides damage from stacks which was my or other peoples fault, not equipment failure. For your lady you could get a pretty damn good bike for 200,000 anything over that would be crazy, spesh if it's her first bike. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Dont wanna put peeps of, I love Shimano, but Ive cracked 105 stuff after a few months - used to have that much power in my riding. Could do 40K TTs well within pro rider times. Guess after a while you just want the best, strongest, lightest gear out there...ah the days of getting it for free...seems like a lifetime ago Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Yes CB but I don't think these guys will be putting on the pressure like pro cyclists and triathletes would! I used to have the fastest 40KTT time in ma state and was in the cycling institute and alot of guys used go through all different stuff from 105-durace and campag. bound to happen just as car parts fail when under immense pressure. If you're going to be giving it a whopping get the best you can afford! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 depends on also how big, strong they are in the legs...Like Toque Id never recommend him to get something like 105 cuz he's just too strong in the legs for those components...just advice is all Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Have done lots of long-distance touring in the past. Still got the old bike, which was purchased in the late 80's and is still in good repair. 1st you need to decide what you want to do e.g. pure touring (carrying full panniers), recreational touring/commuting, off-road riding or general road commuting/scenic riding. The standard 'racer' design is best for long distance touring because you can rest arms and back by using the different grip positions. Was on a ride where two of us had pure touring bikes (not skinny tyres), and the other two had mountain bikes (road tyres, not chunkies). At the end of each day on a four day ride (each day approximately 100+km), the two riding mountain bikes were an average of 5km behind, due to the combined effects of extra bike weight, tyre friction, gearing, etc = fatigue. Mountain bikes are good for their intended purpose and for city cycling. Not good for long hauls. Also, importantly, if you want to save lots of cash in the long haul, buy ALL the tools for changing the hubs, etc - the bike companies routinely change tooling just to make life difficult and expensive. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Avoid going below Shimano 105 for road bikes (I think the next step down is Tiagra or Viagra or something like that...). Ultegra has more cold forged bits and is therefore lighter and stronger, but it comes at a price. Look out on a lot of the "big name" brands, because they'll throw a nice set of derailleurs on it to catch your eye, but downgrade the shifters and hide some generic brake calipers and cranks on it. Giant, Cannondale and most all do it - it's getting harder to find a bike with a full matching Shimano parts set nowadays. If at all possible, stay away from "Truvativ" brand cranksets - they are not as easily serviced as Shimano, generally have a poorer chainline (crank spacing is wide) and the chainrings (gears) shift poorly (okay, crappy). Insist on genuine Shimano for the cranks! Anchor/Bridgestone makes some really nice yet affordable home-grown bikes for the JDM. BTW, FYI I've worked as a mechanic at an independent bike retailler for over 10 years. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I used to be sponsored by McCully's bike store on Oahu Ezo Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Gee... small world. Ben at McBike hooked me up with a Gary Fisher that I used to take second in the State MTB Dual Slalom championships "way back when"! Sorry, some of the young'uns out there might know D/S as "mountaincross" or "4-cross"... Not unlike the snow sport versions. Link to post Share on other sites
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