My ongoing Brooklyn Machine Works Gangsta project

Dude. You just managed to make it look as ugly as mine!

i know. new wheels + paintjob + pedals will sort it out though.

at the moment im just dealing with it. it works, gets me to work and back.

its a 70mm thomson x2. i think to be honest the frameset is a little bit big for me, hence why im considering custom frame in the near future..... man i need to stop spending money on bikes.

I think to be honest the frameset is a little bit big for me, hence why im considering custom frame in the near future......

Not you too...

Judging by the height of the seatpost, i wouldn't say it's too big for you.

I know it's a sloping top tube but still, the seatpost seems to extend far above the handlebars.

When you're riding, is the hub of the front wheel in front of or behind the handlebars as they enter the stem?

I'd recommend a bike fit personally.

^ Unless he's a t-rex.

When you're riding, is the hub of the front wheel in front of or behind the handlebars as they enter the stem?

I would not use that kind of measurement, it's pretty outdated and redundant, as it doesn't do anything about getting the right frame size.

Looks like I've been scobled.

I submit, Lord Scoble, to your clearly superior knowledge. I mean, after all, you work in a Bicycle Shop. Yes, I worked in one for about a year and a half, and dealt with sizing customers, and used this as a tool to do so, but clearly that time was wasted and I misinformed all of those people.

Thanks to you, I now know that that measurement is redundant. It definitely isn't an indication of being too far forward or far back on the bike. It's certainly no way to help decide on the length of stem you should use.

Does anyone have one i can have a go on? I've kinda decided to get one but really want to know how it feels. I can offer my Mash as a security deposit :)

^ Unless he's a t-rex.

i am. its awesome.

haha so much gold from scoble in this thread!

the hub is not visible, it is behind my handlbars if that makes sense...

@ hobo, presuming you're in london? you could try mine but itl be quite a trek!

the gangsta is without a doubt the most solid feeling bike ive ridden. super stiff.

I'd says as stiff as an alu bike, but still can be comfortable.

When you're riding, is the hub of the front wheel in front of or behind the handlebars as they enter the stem?

Should be just in front yes?

back wheel built.

also got some look keo 2 max pedals.

bike feels so much better already.

il upload an updated picture later....

Should be just in front yes?

Yeah, pretty much.

regarding hubs in front of bar myth;

In understanding frame size and bike fit, the first thing you must always keep in mind is that the size of the frame and fit of the bike must deal with the three basic contact points of the human body on the bike. These are the pedals, saddle, and handle bars. Nothing else matters.

The reason I say this is to destroy the first and one of the most common myths about frame size and bike fit. This myth has to do with looking for your hub in relation to your handlebars.

Since the head does not make contact with the bike (if yours does, you really got screwed), then the length of your neck, shape of your head, or position of your eyes in your head should in no way be a factor to determine frame size or bike fit.

If anyone sits you on a bike and tells you to look for the front hub or you are reading an article which tells you the same in a magazine, walk away from it right there because that person is telling you they know nothing about proper frame size or bike fit. I would not listen to another word they tell you.

http://www.coachcarl.com/training_articles/bike_fit.htm

Yes yes, very good. I'm not suggesting that it's good as the sole way of judging that a bike fits or not. Nor would I recommend it to someone while they were getting a bike fit.

However, I still think it's a pretty good rule of thumb when it comes to stems. It's always helped me, anyway.

If you're a giraffe, or that dude with no neck, then you may want to consider not using this, but just as human physiology falls under certain upper and lower limits when it comes to arm/leg/torso ratios, generally human necks are of an average length between two extremes, and I can't think of any situation where a standard road bike will fit if the hub is inches in front or behind the stem, when you look down at it.

It's a rule of extremes, rather than the preciseness of measuring the length of your arms/legs and adjusting things based on that.

And as such, I think it's a justifiable question to ask when you see a bike with that much saddle and that small a stem.

finally got round to taking some pictures....

this one shows what the paint really looks like -

one with risers -

one with drops (taken today). -

still waiting on the matching front wheel being built, got a mavic krysium on loan from a mate.

I love gangsta's with drops.