A few months back I had a mishap when the bolt that secures the handlebars in place on my little folder popped. The folding bicycle was about two months old at the time. As it happened, a big city bus was accelerating right behind me when the handlebars went all floppy. It was kind of exciting for a couple seconds there, but I hobbled it over to the curb okay and the bus passed.
But it made me think. I ride a bicycle to and from work daily, and maybe I should have a proper bike? I ended up getting a MASI for around NT$15000. Rides like a dream, even after I loaded it down with kickstand, mudguards, front basket, rear luggage rack, and chainguard. I made the chainguard myself out of a cookie tin.
I am really happy with the bike, but I’d be really UNhappy if anyone nicked it. That’s where uglification comes in. I worked the whole thing over with black and brown spray paint, plus the special effect, fake rust. This is an old Hollywood trick: while the paint is still wet, dust in chocolate powder. Hit it with some clear spray to kind of hold it in place, and presto. With the fake rust and a sturdy combination lock I don’t worry much at all. So far so good anyway.
One friend said that it was good that the police did not see me altering the color of my new bike. That’s against the rules. Odd, I thought. They don’t object if it rusts naturally, do they? I can see some logic behind such a rule. We don’t want thieves changing the colors of stolen vehicles. On the other hand, my view is that by uglifying my bike I am helping the police. One less stolen vehicle.
[quote=“Nuit”]It’s a beautiful (or should that be ugly?) job, but I’m still not sure I could do that to a bike I loved.
Loving the look is part of the ride, no?
ps can you pick the chocolate bits off and snack on them if you get peckish?[/quote]
Maybe not for some Taiwanese where the look is the most important part for many.
Must…buy…tacky shorts…and…branded…sweat scarf. For someone who wants to get from A to B less so…
[quote=“headhonchoII”][quote=“Nuit”]It’s a beautiful (or should that be ugly?) job, but I’m still not sure I could do that to a bike I loved.
Loving the look is part of the ride, no?
ps can you pick the chocolate bits off and snack on them if you get peckish?[/quote]
Maybe not for some Taiwanese where the look is the most important part for many.
Must…buy…tacky shorts…and…branded…sweat scarf. For someone who wants to get from A to B less so…[/quote]
jesus, yeah, i saw a fred yesterday in full lycra with all the accoutrements and he was riding a really old, no-name beater. i mean i’ve seen freds riding MTB’s and foldies in HTC pro kits but to put all the gear on and then ride the sort of bike a granny would ride to the market is insane.
[quote=“Nuit”]It’s a beautiful (or should that be ugly?) job, but I’m still not sure I could do that to a bike I loved.
Loving the look is part of the ride, no?
ps can you pick the chocolate bits off and snack on them if you get peckish?[/quote]
It takes guts to make a beautiful vehicle ugly, especially the first time. But I’ve had two motorcycles and one bicycle stolen here in greater Taipei. So a vehicle that stays around where I can ride it has a certain kind of beauty too, even if it’s ugly as sin. I started out uglifying motorcycles. Progressed to scooters and bicycles.
One could, I suppose, pick off bits of chocolate and eat them if one didn’t mind the paint. But I’d be afraid it might wreck that rusty look.
What is the difference though between buying an expensive bike and making it look ugly, and just buying a series of cheap old bikes? I think what you have done is very creative and I take my hat off to you, but if the bike is just for functionality why not just buy a piece of shit in the first place? I suppose there will be some maintenance issues…but it looks like you are the sort of chap who is very good at fixing stuff.
I saw a number of foreigners who used/use uglification on their faces, stomachs and general attire, but they still seem to attract gold diggers and thieves…
The difference is in the ride. In general a new bike rides better. And a high-end bike rides much better. I guess that engineering refinements give more efficient transfer of muscle power to street motion. As I said, the new MASI rides like a dream; riding it is a great pleasure. But now that it’s all “rusty”, show-off factor is pretty much nil. I sort of hate to wheel it through the lobby at work every day.
And the other difference, of course, is that with the expensive bike you get to make a considerably bigger contribution to the economy.
Two slight down sides to the new MASI: 1) The clearance between the back of the front wheel and the forward arc of the pedals is very small. It’s near impossible to avoid hitting the front mudguard with a foot if you pedal and turn at the same time. 2) Those hard, thin tires move great on the road, but it’s easy to crash if you happen to be taking a turn on, say, a rain-slick ceramic sidewalk. (Who would ever pave a sidewalk with ceramic tiles?)
Hey you wouldn’t be angling for Jeffrey Mindich’s job would you? How’s your hair stylist .
It seems you are a long lost cousin of mine from your surname, just you guys messed up the spelling somewhere along the line :no-no: .
BTW, the bike was not exactly pretty to start with, so do you think they were going to be queuing up to steal? Actually I have had numerous bikes stolen in my hometown so I know exactly why one would get a perverse sense of pleasure out of doing this.
[quote=“Super Hans”]I like to see the guys in all the gear and the extremely pro bike, pushing it up a hill.
What’s a “fred?”[/quote]
A fred is the derogatory name given by road nazis (competitive road cyclists) to people who ride bikes purely for recreation and who refuse to follow the rules: velominati.com/the-rules/
However a fred is also someone who buys all the gear incl. the carbon road bike but never manages to figure out how to ride the damn thing more than 20 km/h.
I refuse to uglify my bike. it’s just too beautiful.
I used to not leave it out of sight often, or too long.
But I’ve come to a place where I’m testing the locals thieves - I park it outside my building, in a complex, and see how long it lasts. I want a 29er, so I won’t cry if it goes, but I want to see how long…
[quote=“the bear”][quote=“Super Hans”]I like to see the guys in all the gear and the extremely pro bike, pushing it up a hill.
What’s a “fred?”[/quote]
A fred is the derogatory name given by road nazis (competitive road cyclists) to people who ride bikes purely for recreation and who refuse to follow the rules: velominati.com/the-rules/
However a fred is also someone who buys all the gear incl. the carbon road bike but never manages to figure out how to ride the damn thing more than 20 km/h.
Sometimes the line can be blurred.[/quote]
Fred rules! Would rather be known as a Fred than a boring roadie. Oh wait i’m a boring roadie, no I’m a Fred… what am I? Man, that blurry line…
To the OP;
It’s your bike, do what you want. Just don’t help me fix mine ok?
[quote=“Baas Babelaas”]I refuse to uglify my bike. it’s just too beautiful.
I used to not leave it out of sight often, or too long.
But I’ve come to a place where I’m testing the locals thieves - I park it outside my building, in a complex, and see how long it lasts. I want a 29er, so I won’t cry if it goes, but I want to see how long…[/quote]
Obviously my problem is that I just don’t have a very good attitude toward thieves.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]
BTW, the bike was not exactly pretty to start with, so do you think they were going to be queuing up to steal?[/quote]
Well, I thought it was pretty.
And as I mentioned, I’ve had two motorcycles and one bicycle stolen here in Taipei, so I am sensitized.
Like a couple weeks ago, I fell while riding my bike down the ramp to the parking garage below my building. I’d previously navigated that same ramp roughly 2000 times without mishap, but that particular evening it was raining hard, the ramp was all wet, and I was on my new MASI (had to work that in), with the hard, thin tires. Down I went, and it hurt. So now, being sensitized, I am careful on that ramp.
.
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