Quantifying a "fun" bicycle

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teddysaur
Posts: 119
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:28 am

by teddysaur

Someone was telling me how "fun" it is to drive this car (a mini) even though it's not a high performance racing car. At the back of my mind, "fun" is pretty vague and how does this apply to riding our bicycles without all the gizmo numbers?

The only things I can start with are handling & sprinting responsiveness and comfortable fitting. What else will you add?

It will be nice if there should be a similar program, Top Gear, for bicycles. :D

by Weenie


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theremery
Posts: 2658
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:56 am
Location: New Zealand

by theremery

Descends like a bullet, comfortable, always feels safe and just makes you smile. I have an R1 addict that I'll put under 4kg this year....it's an absolute weapon.... but my fun bike????....it's a cheap as chips fm028 Dengfu with all the OLD gear from my addict on it. It makes me smile and you can back it around a ridiculously tight corner by feel alone. He who has the most fun wins. iT DOESN'T SPRINT SUPER WELL......it descends mind bogglingly well (surely it shouldn't!!).
Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!
Edit: 2015: darn near won the best South Island series (got second in age
-group)..woo hoo Racy Theremery is back!!

weeracerweenie
Posts: 500
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:48 am

by weeracerweenie

Simple, you find yourself rolling into the garage after a ride smiling.... Doesnt matter if the bike cost you $100 or $10,000, its yours, and no one can take away the adventures you'll have with it. :beerchug:
I guess there's worse hobbies than making a bike light? Right?

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bobbyOCR
Posts: 1831
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:55 pm
Location: Western Australia

by bobbyOCR

I have the most fun on bikes that feel reliable.

I love my BMC, but I'm building up a cheap chinese frame too that I'm sure will become my most ridden bike.
Cyclist turned music producer

Visiting South West Australia? Visit Crank n' Cycles!

SpinnerTim
Posts: 170
Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:36 am

by SpinnerTim

Three wheels, one of them Big.

Either that, or use this highly refined mathematical model: % fluo green - (red%+white%+black%) = Fun Factor.

-Tim

topflightpro
Posts: 829
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:35 am

by topflightpro

I think it is hard to directly relate the idea of a "fun" car to a bicycle simply because so much of the bike ride is determined by you the rider.

I think something like the Surley Pugsley or Moonlander ( http://surlybikes.com/bikes/) are probably the best description of a "fun" bikes for your purposes, and that's due to the ridiculously sized tires.

teddysaur
Posts: 119
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:28 am

by teddysaur

Sounds like it is when you want the bike to perform to your expectation. Engine aside, I will like it to perform the following:

Late braking into a corner with great confident braking (disc?)
Early acceleration (tight cornering and move according to the corner line I visualized)
Do not whine when I stomped on the pedals. Effortless acceleration or climbing.
Do not cobble me like the roubaix yet firm on the road.
Auto shift gear within a range of torque.
Great sound from deep disc or campy shifting. (like revving engine and clutch sound?)
Bling (retro racing design)

Now how do I built such a bike?

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elviento
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by elviento

Frankly, all my bikes are fun bikes. My commuter is a subway train, so I guess that wasn't too hard to decide.
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NWSAlpine
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 7:11 pm
Location: FL

by NWSAlpine

I love my road bike but I would have to say my SS Trek Sawyer 29er is fun. I don't ride it much but it's my cruise around town bike.

artray
Posts: 1347
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:08 pm

by artray

I have a cold/flu right now so riding my bike is not so much fun . When your in good shape and can ride and climb easy .Put the power down at will then riding is fun .Staying in shape is not always easy and I don't enjoy the first few weeks it takes to feel strong on my bike again after a bout of ill health .
Having said that, it's nice to ride a cool light bike .

cyclenutnz
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Location: Cambridge, New Zealand
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by cyclenutnz

For me my TT bike is fun - flying down the road makes me happy - I like the reward of speed for pain. Also I like being intimidating with P5/1080/disc.

And my road bike is fun and my MTB too...

In the sense of having a bike just for fun - my classic steel (Merckx MXL) is a pure indulgence and I think there needs to be an element of that in a 'fun' bike.

audiophilitis
Posts: 479
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:49 am

by audiophilitis

In my opinion, a "fun" bike not only should perform well -- it should look uber cool as well.

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

Almost all of my bikes are really fun to ride, and I look forward to riding them even when I glance over to them from my desk.

With one exception. My "lockable" (aka my commuter bike). It looks gorgeous. Operates perfectly fine ("it's like Dura-Ace 4 years ago!"), and totally lockable of a bike... but god almighty is it a tank. 25lbs of meh. To be honest: I don't look forward to riding it, but I ride it because I know I can lock it up and it is most likely never going to get stolen when I go out for commutes/social/errands/cross-training and if it does, it won't hurt me as much because it only cost $350US shipped. Looks gorgeous though. :roll:
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BobSantini
Posts: 292
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:03 am

by BobSantini

Anything but a stationary trainer.
They all have their charms but comfortable, light, responsive, stops well, steers well, are important attributes.
Stiffness not at all, well, to a point.
I've never tried any trick riding but trials bikes look like fun.
Image
Or maybe one with a seat that you can ride down the road.
r o y g b i v

metal
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:37 pm

by metal

My most fun bike was a piece of crap steel bike with the rear derailleur all out of whack, and half working brakes... 8)

It was fun because me and my friends use to ride around our house trying to knock each other off, leaning against someone til you shoved them into a bush, or flinging an elbow and showing them that locked elbows are very bad, or smashing into their rear gears with your front wheel and hopefully riding off their rear wheel without falling off, or just 'going for the corner' with no regard for actually making the corner... :P

It was called the cain game :D And it was friggen awesome fun :)

Nothing better for learning bike control.

:beerchug: ,
Ian

by Weenie


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