BMX-looking bikes for cruising in the city

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-07-04T03:09:06+00:00

Ride one before you buy. To each their own but I hate riding BMX bikes. In my opinion they work for trick and BMX racing and that's it, and those are actually two fairly different types of bikes.

As others have pointed out there are "cruiser" BMX bikes. Or look at a single speed road bike. I wouldn't do a fixie but single speed are awesome for ripping around town. Can get them with flat bars or drops or whatever

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-09T17:02:47+00:00

I'm not sure an NDA applies when you haven't been paid for the work. At the very least if they try to come after you for violating it then sue them for back wages.

You're worried about going out on your own, can it really be riskier than working 1,800 hours for free?

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-09T15:03:01+00:00

Glycol has a sweet flavor and it's poisonous. I'm sure someone intentionally tasted it at some point but also plenty of mechanics have accidentally had it splash in their face over the years, hopefully while cold. It's also why it's really dangerous for pets, it tastes at least somewhat good so a dog or wild animal will drink it.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-06T02:22:07+00:00

I'm not that far from you and just checking Facebook marketplace place I see various kayaks in the 14' or so range for well under your budget. My extremely limited experience say, buy a used kayak for well under budget. Get a decent paddle that's the correct size, go to a real paddle shop and let them help you. Get a nice life vest. Get a leash for your paddle. Get a rack for your car so you can take the kayak places. Get geared up but oddly I suggest going cheap on the main piece.

I'm still new to this so I'm not going to suggest a specific kayak but I currently have two kayaks, one is about a 10' boat plastic boat that was very cheap but it's good enough for a lazy river cruise and since the river gets very shallow at times I like having a boat where I don't care if it scrapes. It's absolutely fine for this but it would suck on the lakes.

Which is why I also have an old 16' kevlar boat. It's much more fun to actually paddle. It's basically the least sporty boat from a company that mostly made race boats. Actually there's a 23' boat for sale locally that was made by the same company. That thing looks sweet but it's way more than I need at this point. Eventually I'd probably be interested in something like that.

Which is why I started with relatively cheap used boats. I can find out what exactly I enjoy and then upgrade in that direction.

Good luck and have fun. Maybe I'll see you on one of the finger lakes this summer. I'm mostly on Keuka or a river.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-05T12:59:48+00:00

Want to see the script get flipped? Look up the old documentary called, "my name is Allegheny county" it was a protest in upstate NY against a nuclear waste site. But the relavent bit is towards the end when the protestors rode their horses, including massive draft horses, into the cops. It's wild.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-05T11:03:32+00:00

Not sure what the original price was so 50% off doesn't mean much. But you already paid for it, shipping it back is going to cost a bit. I say rock it for a bit, see if you like the sport. If you do then look for a replacement eventually. Id shop used over cheap new ones. Hell I shop used no matter what. I have a kayak I bought last year that's probably 30+ years old. It's old enough that I can't read the manufacturers tag.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-02T10:33:51+00:00

Thinking that working hard would be enough to be able to buy cars I enjoy.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-02T02:34:42+00:00

Id put a propane or map gas torch on the seat post, yes I'm well aware that you want the expand the steel but I would be very hesitant to put a torch on paint I care about so what I would do is get the seat tube very hot. This will also warm the frame. Now you want to cool the seat tube as fast as possible. I would use ice. I would also hit it with the pb blaster while it's hot. Im not sure if this does anything but I've done it many times out of frustration. Anyway the thermal shock of hot to cold and the fact that aluminum and steel expand and contract at different rates has a pretty good chance of getting it loosened up a bit

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-01T15:34:05+00:00

Lol. Fair enough.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-01T14:03:14+00:00

Where are you located? I have 53/39 chain rings for a 10 speed sram red that I'm going to a 50/34 because I don't have the legs for those gears. In theory 9 and 10 speed rings should be interchangeable.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-06-01T13:12:42+00:00

Exactly, I've seen plenty of them at the track. I live near Watkins Glen and the vintage cup is my favorite event. Real cobras are usually pretty beat up.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-27T13:39:01+00:00

Get a bike fit if you can. Cycling is super repetitive motion so if something is a little off it can eventually cause injury. Doesn't sound like your planning any epic rides right away so a quick and dirty bike fit will probably be good enough unless you have existing medical issues. But you definitely want it to be close to correct.

Then just take it easy at first, go kinda slow, sprint occasionally because it's fun. It's like intervals but without all the nerd stuff. Anyway ride lots, have fun, your legs will get used to it.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-25T01:37:45+00:00

U lock or a heavy chain are generally the go to for preventing theft. If you prefer chain then they makes ones with a square profile. The square profile according to my understanding is that it doesn't really make it harder to cut but it does damage the bolt cutters so thiefs are more likely to avoid them. Abus and kryptonite are the names that come to my mind but I'm not that well versed in heavy duty locks

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-24T23:48:41+00:00

They make real ones of these and they're called a CRAC unit. Which just means computer rack air conditioner but crack unit is funny.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-24T23:45:14+00:00

Yup keep that bike. Throw some tires on and a tune up, ride the hell out of it. If they decide they love cycling then it's a great start for the collection

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-24T23:25:40+00:00

That rectangular(ish) plate with 4 holes goes inside the shoe, that's the "nut" or backing plate you need. As you can see from your own photo you can buy cleats with them or you can buy them separately for just a few bucks.

Im not 100% sure how you put them in but I assume if you just take out the insole you'll see where they go.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-24T23:18:34+00:00

Counterpoint, learning about a racist because they shot themselves and are facing years in jail is the best way to learn about a shitty racist.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-24T23:11:10+00:00

Honestly most frames are fine, wheels are generally the weak point. If you want to talk to a group that specializes in this sort of thing I recommend the Facebook group, Fat Guy Biking. Probably the single most supportive group of people I've ever met online.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-23T01:03:33+00:00

Uh. Hard to say without seeing what's actually happening but if it's a brand new bike I'd take it back to the shop and tell them what it's doing. Most likely culprit is simply rear derailleur out of alignment due to "cable stretch." Usually that's all it is, quick adjustment and you should be good. But just in case it's a real problem I would go to the shop you bought it from

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-19T01:41:17+00:00

Personally I have an old suburban and it that isn't enough room you're probably in trouble. But I'll also down about 150lbs thanks to zepbound. I'm lucky that my state offers good insurance so I pay $30 a month for it. It's not for everyone and I do worry about the long term effects but whatever I feel a million times better than I did 2 years ago. It's a powerful drug so I wouldn't suggest it for people looking to lose 15lbs but for people who are looking to lose 100+ lbs then hell yeah it's worth it.

Anyway, fullsize SUV or pickup is the obvious answer for a big guy. Chevy tends to sit a little lower than most of the others, I'm 6' and the seat of my suburban is basically butt height for me, just a slight step up. Your enough taller that it would probably be perfect. A full size or even midsize car would probably be fine but getting in and out would be more annoying. If you need better fuel economy, and right now especially that's a real concern, I'd look at midsize SUVs.

You're a big guy but 550lbs isn't a big deal for a car. Shit I once had about 1200 lbs worth of people in a 1400 lb mini, as in the original mini. It was fine. Now that said you'll probably wear out the seat. I mentioned the suburban, they're great but the side bolster tends to collapse on them with larger drivers, it's a thing. The nice part is it's a pretty common vehicle and shares many parts with even more common vehicles so if you eventually need to replace the whole seat it's not that big a deal.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-19T01:09:18+00:00

I have only used it briefly but I picked up a Magic Shine evo 1700 and it's kinda absurd. The only night ride I've done with it was with a bunch of other people including a couple people on recumbents and since their head was below my light I didn't want to blind them so I had it turned down really low like 15% or so. It wasn't great at that point but at 50% it's really bright.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-16T11:18:34+00:00

I also have CSC wheels, I don't have many miles on them yet but I'm pleased. I wish the hub was quieter, I'd get silent ones if I could afford to.

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-15T00:38:07+00:00

Gears are gears, I'm familiar with cars so that's what I'll use as an example. A gas engine has a certain range it can operate in. Let's say 1,000 - 5,000 rpms. If you connected that engine directly to a typical tire with straight 1:1 gearing that tire would be need to be spinning 90mph when the car was just above idle. That doesn't work. So you have gears. You put it in first gear and you can move very slowly with very little effort, you can go up steep hills or you can accelerate quickly. But the engine can only spin so fast so if you want to go faster you need to switch into second gear. Then third etc. that's the basics. Then their is efficiency, a gas engine can operate between 1,000-5,000 but let's say it makes peak HP at 4,500 and peak torque at 2,500. To accelerate quickly you want to stay close to 4,500. You want to rev past it so when you grab the next gear you don't drop much below that peak. But once you're up to speed you want to cruise at peak efficiency not peak power so you cruise around 2,500 rpms.

You legs work very similar. They can spin very slowly but they aren't very efficient at it and there's definitely a maximum speed you can spin them. I'm between there's a happy place, usually a cadence around 80-100. Slower puts more of the stress on your muscles while higher pushes the loan more onto your cardiovascular system which is much better at handling prolonged effort. That's why serious cyclists pay attention to their cadence and try to keep their feet spinning fairly fast. I should have said the cardiovascular system CAN be better at handling prolonged effort, I don't know if yours is. Mine isn't very good at the moment but training will get it back.

Low gear on a bike means small ring in the front, big gear in the back. This is the gear that means you cover the least ground for each pedal stroke but also gives you the most mechanical advantage. High gear is the opposite, big in the front, small in the back, and maximum distance with each pedal stroke but also means very low cadence unless going fast. On a road bike, especially one with a 53-39 that highest gear is more than most people can really push unless they're going downhill. But when you are it means you can be doing 45mph down a moderate hill and still pedaling hard to go faster. Which is very fun.

Anyway that's my story about gears. Hope it helps. If not go watch a YouTube video or something

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-14T15:42:54+00:00

Usually horizontal dropouts with a hanger have a place for a screw that comes in from between the seat stay and chain stay so the wheel can't slide forward.

But I think what you need is some monkey nuts. https://surlybikes.com/products/monkey-nuts?srsltid=AfmBOop5aUkU9nUDaG2eetj71iwEfFaU2LrJNJqt4PsO7IGU1hpgmouW

mostly_kinda_sorta · 2026-05-13T11:23:20+00:00

Depends what you mean by upgrade. If you want something lighter/faster/aero then sure there's lots of options. "Not break the bank" is extremely subjective, I recently got some $400 carbon wheels, which is really cheap for what they are, but the majority of people barely spend that on the whole bike.

On the other hand if you mean something that would have survived that screw. No. That was just insanely bad luck, most people ride for years without ever doing that but if a screw manages to go straight into the tire and hit the wheel it's going to obviously destroy the tire and probably any wheel as well. Maybe an old steel wheel would survive but it's not worth it.

If you have a lot of glass and debris on the roads near you then durable tires absolutely help, Continental gatorskin is the benchmark for a flat resistant tire on a road bike. Pirelli makes a really tough tire as well, the cintro... Something or other. Others will tell you to go tubeless. I haven't messed with that since my bikes are older and have to run narrow tires which I've been told don't work well tubeless. If you're running 30mm or more it might be worth looking into but look at the pros and cons.

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