Cycling thread - been a while since the last one
 

Now that I've bought a road bike (second hand 2000 Giant TCR2 with std 105 components but 12-23 cassette, and Open Pro wheels with titanium front hub and XTR rear - the wheels are the coolest part of the bike), to supplement my reasonably nice new mountain bike (NZ brand - 2004 Avanti Aggressor), I'm all excited about cycling :D

It's summer here, so I've been getting out quite a bit. I enjoyed my first group ride a couple of weeks ago (only four people, but as the least fit, I got to ride at the back :)), plus rode up into the local ranges (400+m rise) last weekend. Most cars were polite to me :D.

And tomorrow I'm going mountain biking in a forest with more singletrack than I can ride in 1/2 a day. This week, twice I rode up a 400m high, 6km long, "mountain" (unfortunately on mountain bike, so I was slow).

Oh yeah, and I'm on holiday 'till Sunday, and have been all week (in the sunny Hawkes Bay).

So life's pretty good. On holiday, feeling really, really fit.

Rant over, I've bored anyone reading this enough...

It being winter in the northeast U.S. I can only day dream about my next ride, enjoy!!

I'm feeling really fat and can't wait to get back on the road. Running and skiing don't do it for me, I like some fun to accompany the pain.

I got back on my Trek for a short road ride this past weekend and I felt very squish-able. Some dude in a lowered pickemup almost took me out with his mirror (there are bike lanes 36"+ wide where I ride and the law requires giving cyclists >60" clearance).

I think I'm gonna stick to playing with edged weapons.

It would likely be safer:( I don't know what's worse, cars or other users of the bike paths:confused:

I got in a slow, long (1hr 45min) ride today. The weather was windy and overcast, with temps just above freezing. I like riding during the afternoon, because there's less traffic to fight.

Got a heart rate monitor a couple weeks ago. I tend to push a little too hard. On my first ride, I hit a max heart rate of 185, and I wasn't really pushing hard. I usually feel spent after hard rides, though. On my ride today, I burned over 1500 calories.

My favorite part about riding in cold weather is the shower afterwards. It feels so good to go from freezing temps to a steaming hot shower. That, with the slight runner's high is absolutely marvelous. Getting to sleep at night after a good ride... well, piece of cake. :)

jurgen

Went for my first ride of the season today (actually, the first since I broke my neck last May!). Took the Stumpjumper instead of the ONCE, b/c some of the roads around here remain snotty. Felt great to get out again -- and it's a great incentive to cut back on the smokes.

The thing about LI, though, is that there are no freaking hills! I used to ride from Brooklyn, through Manhattan, over the GWB to Tarrytown and back -- no such epic rides out here.

JP

I hate to say this, but I've ridden all winter. :D

I sidestepped my new LeMond for my 20-year-old Colnago. 20 years between bicycles, technologically, is like night and day. The LeMond, stock, weighs 18 pounds, and it's a steel-framed bike. The Colnago, also steel, is seven pounds heavier, and it's wearing 12-23 gears on a 48/53 chainwheel, no STS either; you change gears via the bottom tube levers.

Anyway, like old Porsches, it's a work of art and super tough. The ride is like butter, too. I took it out only because it was quite windy today, and I thought I'd have a better chance of staying atop the wheels and not getting blown over on a heavier bike.

Tomorrow is the LeMond because, if I'm up for it, I'll climb some hills. :)

Man you guys are cycle geeks. ;) I don't even know what model # my Trek is, heck I wouldn't even know it was a Trek if it weren't for the big letters on one of the tubes. I think it has more than 7 speeds but I never use the shifter on the left side....

Man you guys are cycle geeks.

But this is part of the "why" :D :D

I have titanium hubs... like a 935 (I think). If you built a whole Porsche like a high end road bike, it would weigh about 1500lb :D

The mountain biking was at least as good as expected - 2.5 hours on well constructed trails and pretty dry. I ditched the wife (her first time out, and she did really well) with about an hour to go and rode up the fire road to the top of the forest, then a 10 minute blast back down to the flat with my hands cramping up from braking. A high speed run back through one of the easy trails (twisty but flat singletrack) and we were off home.

Bikes are a tech geeks best shot at owning state of the art materials and construction They are works of art as well.

I'll never own an all Ti/C/Al car but my bike will do.:)

Bill has let my secret out of the bag!!! I've been into bikes since I was 12 or 13. As much for the tech aspects as riding them. My latest is a K2/ProFlex mountain bike I built up a few years back. Mostly carbon and titanium components. Kevlar spokes, carbon hubs, carbon swing arm, etc. etc. Even has active suspension! The front and rear shocks have electronic dampening via sensors and 9 volt batteries :D . Ahhh ..... F1 technology at 1/100th of the cost ........

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286673.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286690.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286713.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286731.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286802.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076286825.jpg

Here's the full shot. And, yes, I road 15 miles today - on the wind trainer ...... :rolleyes:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076287311.jpg

Holy crap. Lookitt all the carbon :D

That reminds me how much I want to get a carbon seatpost, because I can't see the carbon in my fork...

Wind trainer? Get rollers! At least there's some peril involved.

JP

Yeah, I flattened a coffee table once on rollers. It's amazing how much forward momentum is generated when that rear tire hits the floor ...... :D

The bike shop owner where I got the ONCE suggested pointing myself at plate glass windows while I was getting used to the rollers.

They are great for developing "spin" technique -- learning to pull up as well as push down on a stroke.

JP

too much plastic for my taste. I prefer this:
http://bender.annenberg.edu/tar/psychlo/dropout.jpg
http://bender.annenberg.edu/tar/psychlo/welds.jpg
http://bender.annenberg.edu/tar/psychlo/bb.jpg
or maybe a Seven
http://bender.annenberg.edu/tar/seven/seat1.jpg

Whoever welded that is a true artist!!!

Cegerer: that machine is gorgeous. But I'm more into Nostatic's welds. Ah, Ti...

Rollers. Talk about stuff for a real man. I once had rollers, and rolled right off 'em into the side of our house and cracked the exterior wall. Rollers are only for the very balanced cyclist it seems. :eek:

That's a beauty Todd! No doubt. My last road frame was a custom built by <a href="http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Assenmacher.htm"> Assenmacher</a>. Talk about an artist. I watched him build the frame over a 4-5 month period of time. Incredible. It was a criterium design and constructed of Columbus "KL" tubing. At the time, only a handful of sets of this ultra-light tubing were in the country. I'll have to look for a photo.

As for the mtn bike, I'm already thinking of building a new one - being the tech geek that I am, I need something with disc brakes front and rear!! :)

Nostatic,
Is that a Moots ?

Nice to see that cycling & Porsches are not just my passions.
Here are a few links to my bikes, sorry no pics to post.
I outfitted the Scalpel w/ Easton bars, Sram XO rear der., and the new Time pedals (268 gms)http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/03/cusa/model-3VP3.html

2003 S-works road bike http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5878&JServSessionIdroot=qbi2lk shfx.j27005

Speaking of Rollers, every January here in Durango we have a winter carnival called Snowdown. One of the traditions of Snowdown is the Roller races......2 cyclists go head to head, all out for 15 minutes on rollers. The all-time record was broken this year,
something like 10.6 miles, avg of almost 41 mph for 15 minutes !

I have been doing my fair share of indoor training this winter...looking fwd to nicer weather....1st mtb race is only 7 weeks away !

being the tech geek that I am, I need something with disc brakes front and rear!!

That was the primary deciding factor on how much I spent on my bike - I just kept going up the range until I got to the first on with hydraulic discs... :D

Discs are awesome. I was planning on mounting a set of German Magura hydraulic rim brakes on mine (they're supposed to be incredible) but they still don't have the cool factor of the discs!!! Hmmmm ... have to get on the Supergo website tonight and see what they've got on clearance in the frame section ..... ;)

I still haven't seen them on road race bikes yet. Hmmm...unless I've missed something. Any idea if discs are made for road race bikes? And if so, their weight?

Don't think road bikes need disc brakes. Not like you can't lock up the tires already. I don't ride mountain bikes any longer. Too many crashes. Being ugly already, I don't need to mess up my face any further.

Colorado Cyclist catalog in today. It's going to take major willpower to keep it closed. It stares at me, and I hear voices.

Can't wait for good weather to hit. I predict 5000 miles this year. What about you guys?

The usual 50,000 for me. :D

yes, the top pics are a Moots (Psycho-X Ybbeat...I currently have a YBBeat mtn I bought in '98). The bottom picture is of a Seven that I had for awhile.

Curt, I'm a fan of Asenmacher...one of a small group of great builders...Eisentraut, Sachs, etc. Lugs good.

Cool, Todd! I wasn't sure how many outside the midwest knew of him. He apprenticed with Bob Jackson. He actually built the Olympic frames for Sue Nuvara (splg?) way back when, although they were painted and labeled as Schwinns!! He's a great guy and I stop in to chat every once in awhile. Unfortunately, the mountain bike revolution and some of the newer road frame technologies have left some of the small custom builders like him without much demand. I don't think he's even building frames anymore :(

I think this is the only photo I've got of the trusty Assenmacher (kind of a bizarre photo!). Had the bike for about 15 years. All Campy Super Record components .....

Shortly after this photo I had him repaint the frame red with black fork and black accents.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1076373282.jpg

Mmm, more bike porn.

Road bikes don't need brakes because the worst they ride in is wet (not muddy), because the tyres are little and narrow and because I suspect that the weight would be an issue (discs and calipers prob weigh more, in total, plus a heavier hub and the fork needs to be strong enough for mounting lugs. Also, it would probably be a nightmare for either Shimano or Campy to work a hydraulic system into their shifters.

Discs are cool though - I got mine so hot they smelled like a hard-driven car the other day. Awesome...

Jurgen - 5,000 miles. What's that - 8,000km. Or 100miles/160km a week. I could probably manage that, at a major stretch. I am more likely to only manage 100km/week because of winter. I dunno - it never gets colder than about 8 deg C here so I should be able to ride year round no problem...

Really? Then I have some t-boned car doors and fenders I'd like to introduce you to. (yes, the narrow, but deep indentation is from a road bike).

Ooops. Baaaaad typo. "don't need disc brakes". Need some sorta brakes :D

I've only ridden about 250km on the road bike and already had some fool decide that leaving a driveway and turning across my lane to go the other way was ok even with me in the lane --> basically I was doing about 20mph straight towards him, we eyeballed each other and he just kept creeping out until he (completely) blocked my lane of a four lane road. Slammed on the brakes wth room to spare, but not much. How am I supposed to anticipate that if someone sees me, they just don't give a ****?

You anticipate it by telling yourself ad naseum "They just don't give a ****!"

Cam, welcome to road cycling. Avoid the busiest roads, if you can. Be careful. Most importantly, watch out for oldies {cough cough Moses cough cough} that drive 3.6-powered SCs with fiberglass bumpers. ;)

Thanks Jurgen. I'm immediately about to break the advice: Avoid the busiest roads, if you can. by going home and riding before dinner. I live in the middle of the city and it is 5.30pm :(

dd74-

You can get disc brakes on a cross bike.....Cannondale puts Avid
mechanical disc brakes on their cross bikes. UCI banned them this year...probably because the european racers were not running them. http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/cusa/model-4XR1.html

Saw on Velonews.com Michelin is working on tubeless tires for
road bikes. Always something new...

Do what ya gotta do. Driving cars isn't exactly safe, either, but we do it anyway...

Put me down for 30.3 miles/48.8km today. The days are getting longer, and the sun is shining stronger. Happy days are almost here. :D

Damn, man! Didn't you go to work today? :D

I was short on time (or is that speed?) - I ended up with slightly less than half what you did.

On my motorcycle I tell myself everyone's aiming for me. Unfortunately I don't have the speed/acceleration on the bicycle to maintain that philosophy. Very unsettling. :(