Ultimate Bike Thread....

[herr_oberst]

I love that Nishiki. Great color. Great logos.

[intakexhaust]

Tandems-
Could just about say 'one should throw everything you know about bike riding out the window'.

They are weird, can be incredibly frustrating OR so awesome with the right teammate. Usually its male / female thing but honestly, if you ever get the gunso for a man date, two strong riders make these machines fly. Shame ours isn't ridden enough but I do welcome others to use it.

Haven't done yet but a LBS owner recently acquired a high zoot tandem (not the T.R. above... that's another shop owner's) and wants to meet for a Sat. ride. Four male bonding er' battling on tandem shootout. Should be a hoot. I'll have to swap to the SPD's. Was thinking of at least a no holds bar 100miler and maybe a half way saloon stop. LOL

[look 171]

Two strong men on a tandem is definitely something to fear on the flats or slight rolling hills.

There were these two guys that were cat 2 track riders that come out with their tandem on our training ride. They have always put the fear of God on us due to their power. They can stay above 30 on the flats, easy. Once the road starts going up, then we hammer them all the way to the finish. Because they are both very experience and strong riders, we can't always drop them all that fast on the hills because they put up a hell of a fight. They just keep coming.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

At least they didn't wreck the bike; it's just incomplete.

(Pet peeve - all that attention to detail, and they can't clock the stems with the labels?)

Good point. At least they are being well-cared for. Not much chance for abuse riding back and forth to Starbucks. Eventually, when the fixie fad fades, it will be easy to return these type bikes to their former glory

Pour up a tall glass of mind bleach ... you'll need it after viewing these:

Vitus:


Colnago:


Battaglin:


Benotto:

[intakexhaust]

c'mon Curt.... what are you hinting of? You have some wicked stealthy velodromio machine in the werks?

I personally don't understand it either. That said, I'm going to try one and see what the fuss us. Plus wouldn't mind a little Winter training with a fixed gear, slow going, just focus on smoothness. Not after a coaster. Recently picked up a cheapo but rather interesting steel Japanese bike-boon 70's bike. No glory or pedigree. Plans are to trim the weight off of it, pack the components away and fix the cog.

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by look 171

Two strong men on a tandem is definitely something to fear on the flats or slight rolling hills.

There were these two guys that were cat 2 track riders that come out with their tandem on our training ride. They have always put the fear of God on us due to their power. They can stay above 30 on the flats, easy. Once the road starts going up, then we hammer them all the way to the finish. Because they are both very experience and strong riders, we can't always drop them all that fast on the hills because they put up a hell of a fight. They just keep coming.

^ha, that's what I'm talking about!

Ascents are like a steam locomotive. Working and communication is crucial. One would think with two it would be an easier climb but never seems to be. Our set-up is prepped for steeps that spins like a hamster cage. We get there but definitely slower.

And then comes the downhill..... carving and picking the line during switchbacks. You need more of the tarmac. Different handling with a longer wheelbase, smoothness is crucial, hopefully not upset anything. This means the stoker can't be whipping their head out trying to look over but have complete trust in the captain. They've got to remain neutral but have strong smooth pedaling. You can't make quick last second maneuvers as with riding solo.

Then its about the mass and its effect on brakes. Schmokin' hot. I do have a rear drum 'drag' brake thats operated with a separate lever. Any heat is kept away from the rims / tires. Newer disc set-ups make good sense. I like letting it loose with gravity having its way. However my lovely stoker gets a little wheezy and sometimes hear her yelling something or other. Could be she's screaming 'faster, faster' but what do I know?!

Thoughts of selling it have been discussed but its just so neat to ride on those special days and its always a nice change of pace. Not going to leave the stable yet.

[look 171]

^ sounds like a lot of fun. Tell you the truth, I hated when those guys show up with that tandem. It was a world of hurt from the start (about 30 mph) for just right under an hour until the hilly sections. They ride a 54 big ring. Thankfully, they don't come out anymore. have you ever taken a spill on a tandem before? I think that would be an ugly crash. My little boys show little interest in cycling. I hope they like serious riding as they age, then off to get a tandem and mixed it up on the group ride to get some payback. Being selfish, one of them has to be the stoker for a long time. I need some young big muscle back there. Too bad, they are only 7 and 9.

What's crazy are the folks that ride tandems in the dirt or some of those technical single tracks. Talking about climbing a tree in granny gears? Todd, you reading this?

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

....I like letting it loose with gravity having its way. However my lovely stoker gets a little wheezy and sometimes hear her yelling something or other. Could be she's screaming 'faster, faster' but what do I know?!

...

heh heh!

[rwest]

I don't remember the company and I don't know if they still are making them, but they made a triple bike- imagine 3 dudes who knew how to ride on that thing, you would be hitting the speed limit all day- FYI I wouldn't have the guts!

I once rode on the back of a track tandem on the velodrome in Blaine MN. I leaned so hard uptrack in fear that I was surprised the frame didn't twist.

[look 171]

Talk about trust issues

[rwest]

Guilty as charged, I'm fine in automobiles and planes, but turn into a chicken on the back of motorcycles or bikes.

[Joe Bob]

http://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/28/concept-1865-electric-bike-by-ding3000/

[jyl]

Sounds pretty good. Are you going to fender it? You may remember my struggles with the Crud Roadracer fenders, but they are fitted and working well now, and weigh pretty much nothing.

Quote de CurtEgerer

I'd be interested to hear your impressions after the first ride or 2!

I haven't had a chance to give it the beans until today, so here's an update.



After an hour long bed-in ride, I can tell you that I need to work on fine tuning the cockpit. I think I may even go 20mm shorter on the stem...



The thing accelerates like nothing I've ever ridden, even with somewhat heavy wheels. Really, this thing eats up miles....



The shifters aren't as smooth as DooRahChe' - they sort of clunk into gear, especially when downshifting, plus, they aren't that intuitive yet. I'm still trying to downshift with the long lever, not the button. I'll get used to it, and I'll fine tune the barrel adjustment as time goes by. Brifters are always better than downtube shifters, as far as I am concerned, so these aren't bad, just not jewels.



I'll give it a 7, 7.5 out of ten for now. With some fine tuning in the cockpit and the shifting, I think I can make this budget bike a solid 8, 8.5 out of ten, so that's not bad. Plus, I don't have to use the Basso as a slop bike, so that is a "win" right there!

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by jyl

Sounds pretty good. Are you going to fender it? You may remember my struggles with the Crud Roadracer fenders, but they are fitted and working well now, and weigh pretty much nothing.

I will have to fender it, probably end up with these...:



Not very elegant, but my backside was soaked today after I took it out for a couple of hours and got stuck in a rainstorm that I didn't think was coming until later.....

[85eurocarrera]

Originally Posted by rwest

I don't remember the company and I don't know if they still are making them, but they made a triple bike- imagine 3 dudes who knew how to ride on that thing, you would be hitting the speed limit all day- FYI I wouldn't have the guts!

Here you go:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152568159627815&set=pcb.350383391808342&type=1&theater

[85eurocarrera]

Originally Posted by look 171

What's crazy are the folks that ride tandems in the dirt or some of those technical single tracks. Talking about climbing a tree in granny gears? Todd, you reading this?

At the Chequamegon fat tire this year, the husband and wife team (Eppens) won their 13th in a row Chequamegon 40, tandem class. It was said by Brian Matter (winner) that they were taking their pull at the front on some forrest road and they were reaching 40mph!

They also went down hard during the race. If not for that, some say they may have had a chance at the overall victory.

[jyl]

Those look nice. I didn't get out for a ride this weekend, except for a couple of errands. Getting soft.

Quote de jyl

Sounds pretty good. Are you going to fender it? You may remember my struggles with the Crud Roadracer fenders, but they are fitted and working well now, and weigh pretty much nothing.

I will have to fender it, probably end up with these...:







Not very elegant, but my backside was soaked today after I took it out for a couple of hours and got stuck in a rainstorm that I didn't think was coming until later.....

[look 171]

Originally Posted by 85eurocarrera

At the Chequamegon fat tire this year, the husband and wife team (Eppens) won their 13th in a row Chequamegon 40, tandem class. It was said by Brian Matter (winner) that they were taking their pull at the front on some forrest road and they were reaching 40mph!

They also went down hard during the race. If not for that, some say they may have had a chance at the overall victory.

40 off road? freaks of nature.

We have a female rider here, I think she's our regional TT champ some time ago, can take a pull for two to three miles holding the pace at just right above 30mph. She's a tall, not slender by any means, person. When she gets going, the fierce pace is scary. She suffers a little on the hills, but still put a lot of young men to shame on those rollies. Have her and someone really strong on a tandem and just watch other's fade away. There is no way I can take do tempo up front at that speed. Taking a long pull, no problem, but anything over 1/2 mile I am done for.

[intakexhaust]

On topic, what type of paceline rotation do you pro-Pelican racers do? I'm an idiot because sometimes can't figure out why or who makes the call in some group rides.

I've been in them where they vary and there's no consistancy. Sometimes its the hokey-pokey spin yo-self a round, a clockwise or counterclockwise rotation? There's one particular small core group that I feel we all are close in our ability, work well together but don't have any consistent manor of lead changes. Maybe one guy will drag the entire time but at least he hangs with us, so no biggie plus I feel safe with them. In another group, faster and that are tougher for me, I inquired about the line rotation. Some Joe tree-stumps just said not to concern about it. Is that how you guys and gals ride?

Also, for training and just keeping smooth cadence, HR on range, I thought the idea was everyone gets their lead time and keep the group tempo intact.... not breakaway, even if they could. Its a cooperative, team effort covering the ground efficiently with focus on conserving energy.

[look 171]

there's really no rule. Things just fall into place on their own. The ride I like is on Staurday mornings and those bastards, every single one of them is out for blood pushing the pace all the time. Their goal is to keep it between 25-30 mph for the entire 55 mile ride. I am getting too old for that siht, and not enough time and miles to stir up the pace up front, so I suck wheels most of the time but will do my turn when it comes up. Usually I try and stay up near the front (top ten places) to avoid the less experience riders so they don't cause me to break my collar bone. I really like the smooth rotation where the guys go up and do their turn of 15-20 pedal strokes. Some may do it for a bit longer, but at that pace, everyone's trying to save themselves for the return trip home in the hilly sections. The trick is to not burn yourself out and get dropped. No fun. I would say, 30 seconds to 60 seconds is acceptable for me. most guys, myself included, don't care if you go up and take a pull or not. They are out for a good workout or fun fast ride. There's always someone willing to do the donkey work up front.