HC Bike/Cycling Thread

[Craig Sawyers]

Just seen Carole's uncle Stan on the BBC 10pm main news. He's now 87 and is being treated for wet macular degeneration - which is what the news segment was about, and different drug treatments.

But back in the day he used to cycle for England, 60-odd years ago. A fiendish climber, he is the typical light weight small built bloke. This was well before professional cycling, but he would have been a dead cert had he been in his early 20's now. He used to do 24 hour endurance races at a weekend while working.

When he had kids and got to a normal work life, he didn't cycle again until he retired at just over 60, having not been on a bike for nearly 35 years. Then he got back to 300 miles a week, and in his mid 60's got his hour distance back to greater than 25 miles.

His miles have dropped off a lot because of age, and eyesight - but he still gets on his competition bike most days.

[Pars]

3 hours ago, Craig Sawyers said:

Just seen Carole's uncle Stan on the BBC 10pm main news. He's now 87 and is being treated for wet macular degeneration - which is what the news segment was about, and different drug treatments.

But back in the day he used to cycle for England, 60-odd years ago. A fiendish climber, he is the typical light weight small built bloke. This was well before professional cycling, but he would have been a dead cert had he been in his early 20's now. He used to do 24 hour endurance races at a weekend while working.

When he had kids and got to a normal work life, he didn't cycle again until he retired at just over 60, having not been on a bike for nearly 35 years. Then he got back to 300 miles a week, and in his mid 60's got his hour distance back to greater than 25 miles.

His miles have dropped off a lot because of age, and eyesight - but he still gets on his competition bike most days.

There was definitely professional cycling back then (guessing in the '50s?). And well before that. Fausto Coppi, Jacque Anquetil, Gino Bartoli, Alfredo Binda. Legends. Lots of them.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Pars

[Craig Sawyers]

Yes you are right. But working men in the North East of England at that time did exactly that - work their socks off. So the idea of becoming a professional bike rider would have been laughable. Stan was a painter and decorator. A contemporary of Stan's in North Yorkshire, Brian Trippett said in an interview "I didn’t race in the Tour de France for the same reason. I was asked to twice, in 1959 and 1960. But it would have meant using up all my annual holiday." You get the drift.

But now the world is different, and many of the excellent British riders who rode superbly back in the day would have a host of different opportunities now, particularly with the dominance of British riders in track cycling and grand tours.

Opportunities have dropped temporarily since the UCI reduced the team size from 9 to 8 in an attempt to reduce the number of crashes. It has actually had no effect in that regard, so lets hope they increase the team size back to 9 and get more pro riders on the grand tours.

[Hopstretch]

Be warned.

https://road.cc/content/news/248798-cyclist-who-had-five-bikes-stolen-says-thieves-are-looking-quick-times-strava

[n_maher]

Not fast, don't have to worry.

[jose]

I'm thinking about changing the brake discs on my bike and going back to the XTR.

Dura-Ace discs are giving me a lot of problems. They are quite soft and deform quickly. I do not know if the type of alloy is different or they have eliminated steel and making the aluminum core thicker.

I use 160mm discs on both wheels with resin brake pads, my weight is 69/70kgs and although I live in a place with large drops and I usually do very hard braking this is no reason for the discs to be constantly deformed.

I had never had any problems with the XTRs either on my road bike or on the mountain bike.

A big disappointment.

[n_maher]

I think the MTB may be shagged.  Checked the air in the front fork the other night, was down 35psi.  No wonder it felt sloppy.  Aired it back up but it was already feeling soft on the ride this morning.  Pretty sure the back suspension is getting there too, which isn't surprising after hauling my fat ass around for the last 6+ seasons of not so gentle riding.  Still, it was a great morning for a romp through the woods.

 

[guzziguy]

Sound like you need a new fork and shock, preferable mounted on a new frame.

Me, I had a 3mph over the bars fall last Wednesday.  Landed hard, but fortunately nothing broken.  However, my right shoulder is so sore and painful to use that I'll be off my bike for a week or two minimum.

[n_maher]

Ouch, Ken, sounds painful.  Had a couple near crashes this morning but nothing serious thankfully.

[MexicanDragon]

I'm sure a rebuild would be enough, Nate. That said, new bikes are great!

Get well soon, Ken!

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

[n_maher]

7 hours ago, MexicanDragon said:

I'm sure a rebuild would be enough, Nate. That said, new bikes are great!
 

I may see how much my local guy would charge to do that - i couldn't tell you the last time it was serviced.

[n_maher]

First estimate in, minimum $300 to service/upgrade the fork, not including shipping it to the nearest service center in NY.  My mechanic also recommended servicing the rear shock, which is at least another $200.  Plus I need a new chain, front sprocket, and cassette.  All in, I'm probably looking at $700 + some labor to reassemble it, all to be riding pretty outdated tech.  I don't like that math, but I'm not sure I dislike any more than $3k+ to replace it. #firstworldproblems

[MexicanDragon]

If only you were into DIY, you could just rebuild yourself

If you get me the years/model #s, I can look around to see what's out there as far as parts/rebuild/instructions/difficulty.

26" wheels, right? Do you still have your connection for C'Dale?

[n_maher]

Connection w/ Cannondale is gone - she was a clothing designer for them and they canned/outsourced the entire department 5 years ago.

2012 Cannondale Jekyll 3 - fork is a Fox Talas 32, rear shock is a Dyad RT2.  Replacement options are insanely limited and expensive if replacement is required.  Stupid non-standard fork diameter and pull shock for the rear.  I looked at replacements and the fork alone for anything close to what's on there now is $600 to $1000.  Rear shock appears to be $1000.  Woof.

[MexicanDragon]

OK, so... yeah.

Want some help shopping? Edit: (for a new bike)

Edited October 3, 2018 by MexicanDragon

[n_maher]

48 minutes ago, MexicanDragon said:

OK, so... yeah.

Want some help shopping?

Yeah, I knew it was a whore when I bought it, but at least it was a cheap whore (relatively speaking).  

I know what I want, I can't afford what I want.  (Scott Genius) 

[MexicanDragon]

Genius looks like a great bike; just do it! (Well, I mean, 2018s should be blown out soon, no?)

Were I in the market, I'd probably give a big look at this Canyon.

That is SO much bike for the $, and GX Eagle is probably the way to go for MOST people. I dig my XT M8000, but I find myself wishing I had a big cog in the back.. I love the KS LEV Integra on my hardtail; this one has a different model of the KS LEV, but it definitely adds a lot to a bike if you haven't ridden with one.

I kinda regret getting Xavier a dual suspension bike. I should have gotten him a 500$ hardtail and me a nice D/S bike, so I'd have ANY chance of keeping up with him in the dirt

[jose]

My new Di2 with new battery model, Dura Ace chain and d-fly.

[guzziguy]

Finally finished upgrading my 2014 Trek Fuel Ex 5.  Upgrades include new Sram NX Eagle drive train, Brand-X Ascend II dropper post, Ergon GA3  grips and cheapo Sunlite platform pedals.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

 

Edited October 27, 2018 by guzziguy

[n_maher]

Very nice, Ken.  I'm currently making do by adding air to my suspension every week or two.  The fork doesn't seem to take much, if any, the rear definitely seems to be bleeding some.  The possible replacement remains a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

[MexicanDragon]

Looking forward to see what you get! Maybe one day we can have another mtb Meetup. Dibs on borrowing Ken's ebike

Nate, glad the rear shock is at least holding air for a ride. I had no idea they were such a pain to repair/replace. Hope the next one is a bit more standard replacement wise 

[VPI]

I am told the suspension on these bikes is pretty great.

[guzziguy]

On 10/2/2018 at 6:39 PM, MexicanDragon said:

... GX Eagle is probably the way to go for MOST people.

The NX Eagle is the best shifting drive train I've ever ridden.  Reviews say that all levels of Eagle shift pretty much the same so it's mostly a consideration of weight vs. cost when choosing a level.  Of course the NX runs on a Shimano free hub unlike the other levels.

@Nate, can't you find someone to overhaul your shock or, even better, do it yourself?

35 minutes ago, VPI said:

I am told the suspension on these bikes is pretty great.

Yes, but the weight penalty is incredible.

Edited October 27, 2018 by guzziguy

[n_maher]

1 hour ago, guzziguy said:

@Nate, can't you find someone to overhaul your shock or, even better, do it yourself?

It's possible, but really impractical to get someone to do it.  The cheapest way is to send it back to Fox for refurbishment as their are multiple specialized tools required to do the job (see link Brent posted previously) and in the end to bring the bike back to life would take the better part, if not more than, a grand which seems like a horrible investment in what's essentially 10yr old bike tech.  Trail bikes have come leaps and bounds in just the last few years, not to mention the last 10.

[guzziguy]

Sorry, Nate.  I didn't realize that the shock was so "special".  Cannondale make some interesting design choices on your bike.   It does sound like a new bike is your best bet.  As Brent said, the bike blowout sales start soon and there are a lot of new, exciting trail bike models.  Good luck in finding an appropriate replacement bike.

My upgrade was around $600, just about what the bike is worth these days.  I viewed it more as an opportunity to learn a lot about bike maintenance.  The upgrade does fix the two big issues I had, those being a 3x drive train and the lack of a dropper post.