# Pimping my ride



## mightyquin (5 Jun 2011)

I have a 2008 Kona Paddy Wagon, it's a light grey frame with some white, and yellow highlights around the graphics.

I've since added a grey saddle and now black/grey fizik bar tape. I was thinking of making it look at bit 'hipster' (I love some of the bikes I see about) but don't want it to end up looking silly!

I was thinking of fitting a pair of yellow Schwalbe blizzard tyres..........good or bad idea? I've done a bit of a search but can't find any pictures of bikes with them fitted, just the close up product shots.

Any advice/ideas welcome!


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## wheres_my_beard (5 Jun 2011)

Have you got a pic you could post of your progress so far?

They look like decent tyres to me. You may want to post in or browse the racing section to see what tyres are well regarded for road bikes. If it's for mostly urban use you may benefit from something with a bit more rubber on to help resist punctures.

Coloured tyre are _cool_, especially if they are a solid single colour (< for example). Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Your bike will only look silly if you think it looks silly; I recently took my bike into a LBS and the guy who worked there commented that my bike looked "cute" in a _really _patronising way; I wanted to tell him to go f*ck himself, but instead just said "thanks, I do too" in an equally patronising way. Funnily enough I haven't been back to that shop. 

I have my bike the way I have it because I love it and it makes me feel great when I ride it and when I am around it, not for anyone else's benefit. 

Do what you want with your bike, some people won't get it, but that's their problem.


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## mightyquin (5 Jun 2011)

Hi, thanks for the response. When you say 'more rubber' are you saying wider tyres? 

I just found a pic of a bike with yellow tyres fitted here https://www.cyclechat.net/

My bike is a lighter grey colour, will post a pic soon as I can.


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## smokeysmoo (5 Jun 2011)

[EDIT] Ah! just seen your latest post. Looking forward to the pic


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## Rob3rt (6 Jun 2011)

What you really need are deeper rims (or box section rims, these seem to be the new deep-V) and increasingly narrow riser bars so that your index finger and thumb scuff your stem!


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## jig-sore (6 Jun 2011)

yeah, thats my bike...











http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24611

can't go wrong at that price


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## mightyquin (6 Jun 2011)

OK a couple of pics - new saddle and bar tape. I like the yellow tyres, there's some yellow and red on the bike, but I think red tyres would be a tad too much. Any ideas/thoughts please?!


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## Ibbots (6 Jun 2011)

Nice looking bike as it is. I think yellow tyres will go with that frame, might be a bit of a problem if you ever ride it in the wet though. Have similar thing on my road bike, but with red Michellin Pro Race. Looked great, matching red highlights in the frame graphics and other components on the silver/grey frame. That is until I got caught ought in the rain on a couple of long rides and now stained with brake dust and road filth. 

Every now and again I fulfill my fetish for white tape. Always regret it after about two weeks when it starts to look grubby too. End up going back to black...then some months later, it's like it never happened and I wrapping white tape again. Just done it to my Pompino and it already looks awful. I need an intervention.

For the hipster look you need one aerospoke wheel, a mismatched coloured deep V (or apparently box section now it seems) and a bad beard. Espadrilles can't be ideal riding shoes either.


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## wheres_my_beard (7 Jun 2011)

Now this is a fixie 






Ibbots I think this is the kind of thing you are thinking of


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## Ibbots (7 Jun 2011)

I like the graffics on the big wheel. Other guy needs to try harder, more fakenger with hipster pretentions than true hipster.

Are there any unicycists on this forum? There's a chap I see sometimes when out on my mtb, he rides what can best be described as an offroad unicycle and always looks very pleased with himself. Not sure why, never seen him taking any big air or anything (not that you're likley to see me do that either, but I only look smug when passing fatties on climbs).


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## colinr (7 Jun 2011)

Yellow tyres will work.

Coloured hoods?
Fancier cranks and chainring?
Bling seatpost? (I like the Miche Supertype. Or Thompson Elite, can't go wrong with that)
Different coloured brake cables?

Though I'd say most of those things were for the hell of it, leave the Kona as is and just start planning your next bike


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## wheres_my_beard (7 Jun 2011)

Ibbots said:


> ... true hipster.




Have you visited latfh.com (not related to bikes)? I would say that this is not safe for work, but if you are at work... DO SOME WORK!!!!


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## Ibbots (7 Jun 2011)

wheres_my_beard said:


> ... DO SOME WORK!!!!



I am at work, but as a Social Media Analyst for several leisure organisations I'm billing for my time spent on here and looking at mildly offensive weblogs. Having just noticed your post rate since joining a couple of weeks ago I think I should be working harder.


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## brockers (7 Jun 2011)

Ibbots said:


> Every now and again I fulfill my fetish for white tape. Always regret it after about two weeks when it starts to look grubby too.



The Fizik white tape is pretty cleanable. Not particularly comfortable though, but you could wrap it over the black tape.




Ibbots said:


> Are there any unicycists on this forum?



Yay! I have my old unicycle hanging in my hallway. I rode it around campus back when I was a wacky student. Used to be able to off road on it to, but these days I'm unable to go more than a few feet without going into a death-wobble and having the thing fly from under me.


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## mightyquin (9 Jun 2011)

I've decided, I'm going to give the yellow tyres a go - easily reversed if I don't like 'em. 

But I would love a really hipster looking bike, I would! (I don't look very hipster though!).


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## colinr (9 Jun 2011)

> But I would love a really hipster looking bike, I would!



I just don't think a Kona is the place to start.
You definitely need your n+1.


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## wheres_my_beard (9 Jun 2011)

mightyquin said:


> I've decided, I'm going to give the yellow tyres a go - easily reversed if I don't like 'em.
> 
> But I would love a really hipster looking bike, I would! (I don't look very hipster though!).



Use google. Try and work our what it is about this style of bike that you really really like, and see what you can do to make your bike feel like you want it to feel.

Your bike is no longer a bike. It is a source of pleasure and pride, and you have ambitions for it now.... It can reflect your personality or juxtapose it. If it makes you feel good, be bold, be quirky and commit to it. 

Look at inspirational bikes and look at yours... spot the differences...


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## colinr (9 Jun 2011)

Nothing says "I paid my hipster tax" like a Mash.






I very nearly went for one of these but £700 for frame and fork was a bit steep.


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## wheres_my_beard (9 Jun 2011)

colinr said:


> Nothing says "I paid my hipster tax" like a Mash.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




If you can get everything else for under £300 you could get that on the cycle-to-work scheme


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## mightyquin (9 Jun 2011)

wheres_my_beard said:


> Your bike is no longer a bike. It is a source of pleasure and pride, and you have ambitions for it now.... It can reflect your personality or juxtapose it. If it makes you feel good, be bold, be quirky and commit to it.




I like that! Very inspirational  

Definately an n+1 project. I love the Kona though, and its more understated look, but it's never going to look hipster, but I'll try the yellow tyres as a stop gap (it's going to need new tyres soon anyway). 

Some of the off the peg bikes like the Plug are nice, but I'm thinking now of a more personal 'custom build'.


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## wheres_my_beard (10 Jun 2011)

mightyquin said:


> I like that! Very inspirational
> 
> Definately an n+1 project. I love the Kona though, and its more understated look, but it's never going to look hipster, but I'll try the yellow tyres as a stop gap (it's going to need new tyres soon anyway).
> 
> Some of the off the peg bikes like the Plug are nice, but I'm thinking now of a more personal 'custom build'.



I have a Plug Freestyler. It's a great bike. It seems virtually indestructible, especially with the deep sections wheels... man, they can take some punishing without a hint of flattening or going out of true.

This is my bike. This is my ride. There are others like it, but this one is mine:







You could start from the ground up and build your own with a little basic bike know how, and it would be a great way to get to know how to maintain your bike. Also it will be totally unique which would be cool.


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## Rob3rt (10 Jun 2011)

colinr said:


> Nothing says "I paid my hipster tax" like a Mash.
> 
> 
> I very nearly went for one of these but £700 for frame and fork was a bit steep.



Spot on Colin, very striking looking bike and overall a nice bike IMO, but I concede (as a Cinelli owner - although not a mash), that they dont have the attention to detail in the finishing that you would expect in a £700 frame & fork. The welds are too agricultural and the paint job is very much standard. They are light and very stiff though in my experience.

As far as the mash goes, the geometry doesnt provide any specialist features (it is NOT a lo-pro frame) to warrant the price hike - definatelly hipster tax. Combining hipster tax with italian brand prices and you have an almighty price tag!


You still riding that Leader?


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## colinr (10 Jun 2011)

Yep, still on the Leader. Not a bad word to say, looks great and rides great. Now onto sorting out a Pompino so I don't have to soil it with bad weather.


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## Gav2000 (29 Jun 2011)

What about contrasting seat post collar and headset as I have on my carbon bike? It now also has yellow Schwalbe Lugano tyres and a carbon all in 1 stem and bars.

Gav.


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## Tynan (3 Jul 2011)

blizzards are shoot, i fitted one once and stripped the rubber off it in two week s following two admittedly sharp stops

I've nothing nice to say about hipsters so I'll add nothing else


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