HC Bike/Cycling Thread

[raffy]

Good deal, Nate. Just curious, any reason why you're looking into other saddles?

[n_maher]

The one that came on it is horrible and not of my choosing, that is the only reason.

[Pars]

I hadn't initially intended to go on this, but got a wild hair and went ahead and did it. I've commuted to work once so far this year, so 9 miles was the furthest I had ridden this year. The 2nd half was back into the wind, and not exactly "flat as a pancake" as advertised I found out that fat boy doesn't like climbing so well. Time to knock off some pounds...

[boomana]

I'm with you, Chris re poundage.  I've been riding on a trainer during the week, but got out on the actual with John today for the first time in months.  It felt good to be out again, but damb.......

[justin]

https://www.cvillebikeclub.org/schedule.php

 

I think these used to be 8am or 9am, 10am seems doable. thats about the time we rolled out for the lake house rides. or, could be done at another time but follow one of their routes.

 

https://www.cvillebikeclub.org/maps/Bacon_Hollow.pdf

haven't done this one, it heads up to the border of the shenandoah national park then turns around when the pavement runs out. 2,310ft over 33 miles

 

Ben/Chris/anyone else that's up for a central VA ride...potential riding area

 

[Nebby]

I'm interested. When were you thinking of doing it and do you have a route in mind?

[justin]

yes, i linked a potential route above but the site is down right now. " it heads up to the border of the shenandoah national park then turns around when the pavement runs out. 2,310ft over 33 miles"

 

if you're interested in trying something weird for MTB (i'm not) see Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Reserve on that map. http://www.strava.com/segments/4148844

 

k no thx. well i'll do it as long as we only go up. but i'm not sure if i can MTB a 19% grade and not end up falling backwards.

Edited April 20, 2014 by justin

[justin]

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/129165361/

 

someone put it on map my ride, just ignore the part that crosses over Seminole Trail as it's going to the person's house

[Nebby]

Ahh, didn't realize you were talking about the ride you linked a while back. I just saw the funky map and was wondering what you were pointing at

 

That doesn't look like too bad a ride! I think I'm actually riding around Shenandoah on the 27th and a flat century ride on the 3rd, but any other time I'd be up for that ride.

[aerius]

 

Lapierre Spicy 727, with the fancy electronically controlled rear suspension.  It is really freakin' cool, it adjusts the settings of the shock in real time based on feedback from various sensors on the bike, and it works seamlessly.  I tried to fool it by doing all kinds of things like manualling the front wheel over roots to see if the rear wheel would stay locked out on a climb (it didn't), pedaling in mid-air after going off a drop, doing gratuitous wheelies, and every time the suspension knew where to set the rear shock for best performance.  You don't notice how well it works until you turn off the electronics and put it on a manual setting, then it's like "man, what happened?"  It still rides well but doesn't have that extra zip and the bike bobs more and is slower.

 

Wheelie pic

[justin]

Throwing stuff out...any idea what these things are?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[grawk]

that looks like a spoke wrench

[Dreadhead]

Yeah and a wheel magnet

[nikongod]

Nechama at the end of the ~20mile ride to her brother's house for Passover.

You cant tell from the photo, but this is after riding into a 30+MPH headwind for 4 miles, over water. It was brutal.

Last year it was cold and rained the whole time. I liked it better in the rain.

[justin]

just charged my bike up for the first time. not sure if it needed it, but its been 7 months. 

 

would it be embarrassing to ask the LBS to put on new bar wraps? i dont think i can do it the first time without fucking it up or not getting the hoods to fit properly again

[aerius]

just charged my bike up for the first time. not sure if it needed it, but its been 7 months. 

 

would it be embarrassing to ask the LBS to put on new bar wraps? i dont think i can do it the first time without fucking it up or not getting the hoods to fit properly again

 

Doing bar tape is easier than it looks as long as you have the other side for reference.  Watch a few videos on youtube, pay attention to how the bar tape fits on the bars when you take it off, and you should have no problem putting the new ones on.  It may take a good 20-30 minutes to do your first set and the figure-8 crossover at the hoods can be a bit tricky to line up, but overall it's not that hard and it's a good skill to have.

[CD44hi]

Second that, take your time and do it. That way you will learn to do it the way you like it. (i.e. level of overlap=padding; also where you want the more padding, usually at the flat/hood, etc)

You can check the batt level by holding down one shifter button for a few secs. The "brain" will flash with a color indicating charge level. Green, orange, or red.

[Nebby]

Nechama at the end of the ~20mile ride to her brother's house for Passover.

You cant tell from the photo, but this is after riding into a 30+MPH headwind for 4 miles, over water. It was brutal.

Last year it was cold and rained the whole time. I liked it better in the rain.

 

Holy crap, I can't imagine riding into a headwind for that long! I've ridden in winds that gusted that high, but never for extended periods like that. Ouch!

[n_maher]

The entire commute in this morning was into a steady 15mph wind with gusts over 20.  It sucked.  In spots where I normally average ~20 I was well under 15.  The good news is that if the winds hold I should have a ripping ride home.

[justin]

Does anyone think a hard tail or 27.5 is more or less 'safe' for a newb as far as losing control, going over the handlebars etc. the stuff i like to ride is pretty smooth, and i wish there was more of it. i've certainly used all the rear suspension travel, but i dont know if i really needed it

[aerius]

It's "safer" in the sense that you won't go as fast so falls & crashes will generally do less damage.  But you may end up taking more falls since a hardtail isn't as forgiving of mistakes as a full suspension bike, and things that you currently get away with on a full suspension bike may get you splatted on a hardtail.

 

Best way of riding safely is improving your skills while knowing where your limits are at a given time.  Mastering Mountain Bike Skills is a great resource for leaning new techniques and improving your skill base

[justin]

i plan to put on a bunch of road miles before attempting the MTB again. it's hard to get out though

 

 

niner adds a black color and Di2 to their gravel bike. looks cool..

[Mister X]

$5500 though...

 

I would settle for the Warbird 2.

 

[justin]

They are making the black one with shimano 105 which i think is 2k retail -- no idea how that compares

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nebby]

I'm actually in the process of getting the Industry Grey RLT9 frameset built up. I saw the black color scheme pop up yesterday, but it would've cost $300 between shipping and restock fees to swap out the colors so I stuck with what I had. I also just noticed that they updated the 105 build to the new 11 speed 105. That's a pretty decent price for a 11speed shimano bike with mid cage RD and 11-32 cassette.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Nebby