Bicycle advice (I'm a newbie!)

[eiswoman]

Hello soon to be fellow burners!

I'm a newb, and I'm struggling with the bike situation. I found a pretty rad one (link to pic below), but I've come to find out that the tires may be too thin. I realize that the playa conditions are unpredictable, therefore thicker tires are probably more prudent in the event of shitty conditions, but I'm wondering if realistically, in all your years of playa experience and wisdom, do you think I'd be ok with this one? I'm getting conflicting advice from people - some say I'll be just fine, others say they'd never take this bike out there.

The tires are thicker than 10-speed tires, but not near as thick as cruiser/mtb tires.

Thanks in advance!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5 ... =fbx_album

[phil]

LInk is to facebook which requires an account and looging in.

[eiswoman]

Sorry...

http://picasaweb.google.com/116136663433681130853/Bike#

[lucky420]

that is a sweet schwinn, don't know enough about tires/bikes to advise you, but that is a sweet bike

[Ugly Dougly]

LInk is to facebook which requires an account and looging in.

You mean you aren't on Facebook, Phil??????

You'll be fine, Tara.

[eiswoman]

LInk is to facebook which requires an account and looging in.

You mean you aren't on Facebook, Phil??????

Hehe, I was going to say...wait a sec, there are people who don't have Facebook accounts? Thought it might be too early in my ePlaya career to throw down the sarcasm, but since you started it...



And thank you for the response!

[theCryptofishist]

LInk is to facebook which requires an account and looging in.

You mean you aren't on Facebook, Phil??????

Hehe, I was going to say...wait a sec, there are people who don't have Facebook accounts? Thought it might be too early in my ePlaya career to throw down the sarcasm, but since you started it...

;) ;)

And thank you for the response!

Some of us are never going to walk into that charnal house that is Facebook and offer ourselves up to the butchers that will harvest our identities.
Personal choice, and all.

[eiswoman]

[quote="theCryptofishist"][quote="eiswoman"][quote="Ugly Dougly"][quote="phil"]LInk is to facebook which requires an account and looging in.[/quote]

You mean you aren't on Facebook, Phil??????[/quote]

Hehe, I was going to say...wait a sec, there are people who don't have Facebook accounts? Thought it might be too early in my ePlaya career to throw down the sarcasm, but since you started it...

;) ;)

And thank you for the response![/quote]
Some of us are never going to walk into that charnal house that is Facebook and offer ourselves up to the butchers that will harvest our identities.
Personal choice, and all.[/quote]

Totally understand :)

[Eric]

eiswoman- go to your profile and enable "bbs". That will get your quotes & stuff showing up right!

[LeChatNoir]

That bike will roll just fine out there. I'd suggest a cable lock, though... especially for an old Schwinn.

[LeChatNoir]

*Delete Double Post*

[turtlebird]

My exgirlfriend used that same bike on the playa a few years ago and she was fine for the most part. If you're nervous about the tire size you could take the fenders off and try and fit some fatter tires on it (if it has a coaster brake on the rear wheel id get rid of the front brake as well).

[turtlebird]

My exgirlfriend used that same bike on the playa a few years ago and she was fine for the most part. If you're nervous about the tire size you could take the fenders off and try and fit some fatter tires on it (if it has a coaster brake on the rear wheel id get rid of the front brake as well).

[junglesmacks]

Hello soon to be fellow burners!

I'm a newb, and I'm struggling with the bike situation. I found a pretty rad one (link to pic below), but I've come to find out that the tires may be too thin. I realize that the playa conditions are unpredictable, therefore thicker tires are probably more prudent in the event of shitty conditions, but I'm wondering if realistically, in all your years of playa experience and wisdom, do you think I'd be ok with this one? I'm getting conflicting advice from people - some say I'll be just fine, others say they'd never take this bike out there.

The tires are thicker than 10-speed tires, but not near as thick as cruiser/mtb tires.

Thanks in advance!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5 ... =fbx_album

Just FYI, if you would like to post or share FB pictures without posting a FB link, just right click the photo and choose "copy image location". Then just press cntrl + v to paste it wherever you want. That gives a direct link to the .jpg on the FB server, instead of a link to your page. You can also shapre picture links with someone else through IM or email, or even show people pictures that you can see that others can't see. There are no "permissions" on the image links, unlike facebook page links.

Like this:

[Psycho]

What about a mountain bike, multi-speed thing with suspension and such... Is that overkill, or are they decent for the playa too? Not planning any racing or anything, but I was thinking that I might like the suspension while riding, and a little more speed options than a normal cruiser might come in handy...

[jpstiffin]

Go for sturdy, simple and reliable - forget about rad - leave the ego at the gate.

[journey]

Go for sturdy, simple and reliable - forget about rad - leave the ego at the gate.

I agree about the sturdy, simple and reliable..but you should never forget the rad. Something can be rad without the ego--and that bike has rad all over it.

[eiswoman]

Sweet, thanks everyone!

[eiswoman]

Go for sturdy, simple and reliable - forget about rad - leave the ego at the gate.

I agree about the sturdy, simple and reliable..but you should never forget the rad. Something can be rad without the ego--and that bike has rad all over it.

Thank you, my sentiments exactly. Burning Man is about self expression after all, right?

[eiswoman]

What about a mountain bike, multi-speed thing with suspension and such... Is that overkill, or are they decent for the playa too? Not planning any racing or anything, but I was thinking that I might like the suspension while riding, and a little more speed options than a normal cruiser might come in handy...

No idea if this is true, but I've been specifically advised against bringing a bike with exposed gears due to the alkaline dust (apparently it f*cks shit up).

[Nitevenus]

All I can say is, and from experience, is if you're not used to riding a bike, make sure you pad that seat. Otherwise you will not be looking forward to sitting on it at all toward the end of the week.

[Psycho]

What about a mountain bike, multi-speed thing with suspension and such... Is that overkill, or are they decent for the playa too? Not planning any racing or anything, but I was thinking that I might like the suspension while riding, and a little more speed options than a normal cruiser might come in handy...

No idea if this is true, but I've been specifically advised against bringing a bike with exposed gears due to the alkaline dust (apparently it f*cks shit up).

Don't all bikes have exposed gears? Or do you mean the shifting gears? I only care about the survival of the bike for 8 days, if it will last that long, I'm good... Even if the shifting stuff does get hosed, if it gets stuck in a usable gear, I can live with that. The bike I'm looking at is going to cost $80, so I'm not that worried about it, as long as it will remain usable for the week...

I'm told that any bike one the playa is going to suffer. 8)

[Elliot]

If this is a vintage bike, you may want to consider the condition of the tires. Look for cracking in the side-walls. In my experience with Playa bicycle repair, old tire sidewalls rupture alarmingly often.

If you get them replaced, ask the shop to install the widest that will fit (with street/cruiser tread, not knobbies).

[Eric]

What about a mountain bike, multi-speed thing with suspension and such... Is that overkill, or are they decent for the playa too? Not planning any racing or anything, but I was thinking that I might like the suspension while riding, and a little more speed options than a normal cruiser might come in handy...

Thats what I just got- 18 speeds, lots of suspension.....$50. Whoohoo!

I'm sure the multi-speeds are pretty useless, I'm going to figure out the comfortable gear the first day & stick with it.

[journey]

If this is a vintage bike, you may want to consider the condition of the tires. Look for cracking in the side-walls. In my experience with Playa bicycle repair, old tire sidewalls rupture alarmingly often.

If you get them replaced, ask the shop to install the widest that will fit (with street/cruiser tread, not knobbies).

I prefer the knobbies, personally. Here is my 57 schwinn...

[Clar-i-ty]

As long as the tires are at least 1.75" you'll be fine. For this model that's the standard. My guess is those are 26" x 1.75" tires.

[eiswoman]

As long as the tires are at least 1.75" you'll be fine. For this model that's the standard. My guess is those are 26" x 1.75" tires.

Dang. They're 1.375. :( I've asked three bike shops (one specializing in Schwinns) if I can get thicker tires on there, and apparently it's not possible. Ah well...

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

[Clar-i-ty]

Honestly I think you'll be fine. My second year I rode a standard Schwinn Breeze out there no problem. Even with my Hollywood Cruiser last year it was pointless to ride by Saturday anyway. You'll be fine.

[dragonpilot]

Make sure it has a kickstand...you'll be glad. Laying it down and picking it up 500 times becomes a drag. You can get one at your local bike store and attach it yourself if you don't have one.

Get an old tennis ball to put on the end to keep the stand from punching thru the playa.

[Eric]

Get an old tennis ball to put on the end to keep the stand from punching thru the playa.

*doh*

I was getting ready to forge myself a plate for my kickstand- never thought about the easy route.

You've just taken a bunch of work off my plate!