Ultimate Bike Thread....

[CurtEgerer]

Look ma, I climbed Alp D'Heuz just as fast as Tadej!

[CurtEgerer]

[rwest]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Amen brother!

Once they can figure how to stop that god awful wet weather squealing, I won’t be so anti disc, but lordy that is annoying.

For my normal casual riding, rim brakes are plenty good as I hardly use them anyways. Discs were great to have on my commuter bike as the dirt, snow and heavy traffic made my rim brakes ineffective in short order.

[herr_oberst]

I got my first bike with hydraulic disc brakes this year. What a game changer. I've had mechanical discs for years, and yeah, they're most likely better in the wet than rim brakes, but in the dry a good rim brake setup is just as effective as a cable disc setup.

But hydraulic brakes are so confidence inspiring that I'm able to ride downhill much faster and have more fun than I have in years - I'm not young and I'm not that brave, but just knowing I can slow down quickly and safely makes the higher speeds so much easier - wet or dry.

(But I love the tee shirt. That's a good one.)

[ZAMIRZ]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Interesting e-motorcycle from Specialized. I think e-motorcycles are great for people with some type of issue that prevents them from riding a bicycle. But the rational described for this $11,000 e-motorcycle is, well, it reeks of wearing a fake Rolex watch

I laughed, but was skeptical so I fact-checked it with my friend who works for Specialized and that description does not appear to be from them. Although, the description is still pretty cheesy..."It's lightweight, smooth, capable, and lively—all with the power to flatten mountains, laugh at headwinds, and go farther than you ever thought possible. It's you, only faster." They know who's buying these and how to market to them.

Here's a link to the bike: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-works-turbo-creo-sl/p/170237?color=261000-170237

It's a cool bike though, I'd love to try it out.

[ZAMIRZ]

I googled and found it. Appears to be from an article on bikeradar.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/electric-bikes/specialized-s-works-turbo-creo-sl-review/

[CurtEgerer]

Now that we've solved the brake dilemma, let's talk derailleurs.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Now that we've solved the brake dilemma, let's talk derailleurs.

^^^^^Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about!!! ^^^^

I bought my gravel bike in 2018. Front derailleur wasn't shifting so hot last week. I told a guy in the ride "I think my cable's fraying in the hood, if I suddenly start riding little ring- leave me for dead."

His reply "You should join the 21st century and upgrade to DiII (or whatever)"
My response "Dude, I'm old school. I'll spend $8 bucks on a new cable and go for 5 more years"

The cable turned out fine, the bar wrap was interfering with the shifter mechanism in the hood. If I ever lose shifting on a ride again, I will emphatically state "Don't make me get all Henri Desgrange on yo' arse!!! " "You won't like me when I'm Henri Desgrange!" They will look at me like WTF?!?!

Im already practicing- https://www.pronouncekiwi.com/Henri%20Desgrange

[herr_oberst]

I'm sure Henri's grandfather was appalled at Henri's easy adaptation to the use of pneumatic tires.

[look 171]

Who will come up with a save the friction shifter or better yet, save the toe clips.

I was one of those bone heads that refused to change over to clipless. It took me three more years before I bought my first pair of Look pedals. I had those Cinelli Death Traps where you must release the lever to get feet out just like clips. My shoe came apart with those Cinelli pedals but so did my first pair of Sidi on Look pedals. Yep, it took me some time to finally get down tube indexed shifters or clickers. 27 or 28 tooth large cogs? That only happened for the past 3-4 years. I did have to change out to a 27 for those long rides to Crystal Lake. 26 miles straight up and 26 back ball buster.

I like my disc brakes but have no issues with rim brakes but like West said, who the heck use their brakes anyway. I do mostly group rides and rarely touch 'em.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

https://www.bikemag.com/pavedmag/5-reasons-why-he-was-henri-desgrange-and-you-couldnt-have-been

p.s.-I like the rim brake T-shirt btw....

And for pleasure trips, I've changed back to platform pedals on 3 bikes and toe clips on one.

For business trips though- strictly clipped in.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

https://www.bikemag.com/pavedmag/5-reasons-why-he-was-henri-desgrange-and-you-couldnt-have-been

p.s.-I like the rim brake T-shirt btw....

And for pleasure trips, I've changed back to platform pedals on 3 bikes and toe clips on one.

For business trips though- strictly clipped in.

I was jsut being a smart azz

I still have tow clips on my old Casati. Trouble is, I can't seem to find any show that will work. I have an old pair Sidi retrofitted with 10 speed drive's slotted cleats. the turn buckles keep getting in the way of the clip. I can't ride if the strip isn't tightened.

You guys will have fun with the old cranks that meet up once a month at the RoseBowl with their old bikes. They are all decked out in their 50-70s outfits along the the itchy wool jerseys and wood shorts. I remember those hard chamois after washing. Rub a ton of chamois cream to get it to soften up in the winter months.

I don't do much pleasure ride but once every year or two. We hop on the old mtb that has platform pedals and do the fun ride. I still have mtb clipless on my bike, but the Shimano mtb shoes are falling apart after 20 years of sitting in the same old box.

[look 171]

When I first learned about radios in pro races, I was thinking riders no longer had to think. Slowly racing become boring as attacks points were planned with coaches yelling at their every step. I remember see many of the old film, even as late as the mid -late 90s where riders read a race and attack accordingly. No more crazy attacks like they did in the old days which made for exciting racing. Times and tech marches on, I suppose. Yes, I think Henri will turn on his grave upon learning about the way bike racing had become.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

If I ever lose shifting on a ride again, I will emphatically state "Don't make me get all Henri Desgrange on yo' arse!!! " "You won't like me when I'm Henri Desgrange!"

[/url]

LMAO Inspired by Henri, I'm leaving the gravelmonster a single-speed for now (although I'm not tough enough for fixed gear gravel work!). I salvaged a 17T cog off of an old cassette and replaced the 18T - made a world of difference actually. Got the drops installed and a new carbon saddle and seatpost. Set it up as close to my road bikes as possible and it is exactly what I hoped this bike would be.

This is a gravelmonster on a budget. Looked for 2 months for a donor frame of some sort to build this without luck. Definitely needed at least 2.25 tires for the roads here - 40-50mm 700C gravel tires would be useless in the soft areas - so that narrowed it down to a MTB frame. Decided to give BikesDirect a look and found the Gravity single-speed 29er here for $329 and it was on my doorstep in 3 days Frame and component-wise, it is identical or better than the name brand entry-level stuff that are +3X the cost. 6061 aluminum frame is stout with beautiful welds, tapered headtube and heavy duty gusseted rear dropouts (probably comes out of the same Chinese factory as Trek and Specialized). Powdercoated in matte titanium. Non-brifter brake levers were tough to find. Needed long-throw levers for the mechanical discs. Got the Tektro 520s that are made for the Tektro discs. Would have cost far more to convert a used bike.

[CurtEgerer]

and finally, Henri Desgrange himself

[CurtEgerer]

["A"]

Marco's TT bike..

[LEAKYSEALS951]

We've got a pantini ride coming up this feb locally or something... -brutal!!!!

Tonights sexy (In my own mind) pannier pics-
Indian fleabay motorcycle panniers, stripped of extra pockets for weight, rubbed under a wire brush in acetone and carb cleaner to strip the finish for effect, and adding green cotton ribbing for straps, dyed in cordovan leather. I will add more leather dye to the straps, and try to get darker clasp.
Who the eff' does this ****e? I do!!!!!

[NutmegCarrera]

Cool visit / tour at trek last weekend. Standout was access to the race shop. Looks tip top and ideas flowing both directions under guise of marketing and advertising while creating exclusivity.
Totally green with envy.
There are sonnderwusch opportunities.
All just really cool. Maybe I can find a hand me down somehow someday….

[CurtEgerer]

^^^ that sounds interesting. Were you able to get any pics? I know they don't make frames there anymore, but are most Trek models painted and assembled there? Or are full bikes being sourced from Asia now?