Cycling Thread

[SuperFlyinMonke]

Nice. Cycling cities are pretty much mandatory for any move these days. Being able to commute without fearing for my life is essential.

I just looked at my strava for the year and I've ridden 1,078 km so far. That doesn't count the times where I've forgotten my phone or had malfunctions too, so that's pretty sweet.

[Zozobra]

I want a touring bike.

[itchyfingers]

Is it possible to have Cycling GAS?

I may have just endured a bout of it, lol. Been riding with a group of racers that are just too fast for me to keep up with on my cross bike. I considered changing quite a few things to make it more of a road bike, but in the end, rather than put lipstick on a pig, I just started scouring craigslist for a decent road bike. I picked up this Cervelo Soloist last night for about $500. It needs a tune up, some clipless pedals, new tape, and a few accessories, but its a good platform for me to get into an actual road bike. It weighs less than 18 lbs, the stance is hyper aggressive compared to the cross bike, and it feels squirelly and fast as hell!

I'll post up some more pics when I get it back from the LBS.

[andvari7]

Excellent. I do like a Cervelo.

Anyway, I got out on the Roubaix last weekend, and I can tell I'm not in shape. I was slow, but my cadence was good, and I didn't bonk out. Had to learn a new city. Oh, darn. If I had started my ride at 10a, rather than 2p, I'd have covered so much more of Saint Paul, and maybe touched into Minneapolis.

Judging by the number of road cyclists out there, at no time did I feel out of place.

It was the best crap ride I have ever had.

[itchyfingers]

That's gotta be fun, exploring the new city from a bike!

Dropped the Cervelo off at my shop, and the bike was in a bit worse condition that I had originally thought. Getting a full tuneup, new tape, plus a new chain, new tires, new brake pads, and a new bottle cage. Hopefully they don't find any other issues when they open it up! I opted to leave the pedals, as I discovered they have platforms on one side and then SPD clips on the other, which work with my shoes. Thinking we might take my father in law out on a ride when he's here, and he can ride this without worrying about clipping in. Anyway, I might change those out down the road, but for now I am just looking forward to getting this back and putting in some miles.

[PurpleTrails]

Is it possible to have Cycling GAS?

I may have just endured a bout of it, lol. Been riding with a group of racers that are just too fast for me to keep up with on my cross bike. I considered changing quite a few things to make it more of a road bike, but in the end, rather than put lipstick on a pig, I just started scouring craigslist for a decent road bike. I picked up this Cervelo Soloist last night for about $500. It needs a tune up, some clipless pedals, new tape, and a few accessories, but its a good platform for me to get into an actual road bike. It weighs less than 18 lbs, the stance is hyper aggressive compared to the cross bike, and it feels squirelly and fast as hell!

I'll post up some more pics when I get it back from the LBS.

It's not only possible to have cycling GAS, I'm firmly of the belief that it can be much worse than guitar GAS. I can't tell you how many saddles, handlebars, stems, tires, wheels, jerseys, bibshorts, jackets, sleeves, tights, etc. I've accumulated over the years. Not to mention that you need a climbing bike, a flats bike, a cyclocross one, maybe a beater for commuting or going places where you have to leave your bike parked and locked...and that's not considering that you probably need 2-3 different offroad bikes as well.

Nice looking cervelo. Quality bikes, I wish the geometry fit me better.

[CrunchBerries]

For cyclists here, other than the obvious helmet wearing, please get studded tires if you are going to cycle in icy weather. I just took a nasty fall and stupid me, no helmet and no studded tires. Ive been paying for several days with a headache and wobbly balance, hazy alertness.. no fun.

[clipless bumper]

For cyclists here, other than the obvious helmet wearing, please get studded tires if you are going to cycle in icy weather. I just took a nasty fall and stupid me, no helmet and no studded tires. Ive been paying for several days with a headache and wobbly balance, hazy alertness.. no fun.

Oh no - your NFL career is over!!

Seriously though, hope you recover fully with no ill effects.

[CrunchBerries]

For cyclists here, other than the obvious helmet wearing, please get studded tires if you are going to cycle in icy weather. I just took a nasty fall and stupid me, no helmet and no studded tires. Ive been paying for several days with a headache and wobbly balance, hazy alertness.. no fun.

Oh no - your NFL career is over!!

Seriously though, hope you recover fully with no ill effects.

Thank you!

[PurpleTrails]

For cyclists here, other than the obvious helmet wearing, please get studded tires if you are going to cycle in icy weather. I just took a nasty fall and stupid me, no helmet and no studded tires. Ive been paying for several days with a headache and wobbly balance, hazy alertness.. no fun.

Oh no - your NFL career is over!!

Seriously though, hope you recover fully with no ill effects.

Thank you!

Hope you've had this checked out medically. Concussions are kind of serious, and with a head injury you could have bigger issues than that without there being any external damage.

[andvari7]

Ow. I hope you make a full and speedy recovery.

Anyway, shortly before moving to Minnesota, I won an eBay auction for a pair of new wool cycling bibs in my fat size. I have since added to the closet, with both another pair of the short bibs (2016 edition, as opposed to 2015), and a pair of 3/4 length bib knickers, both from the same brand as the original pair. All three of these bottoms are of the same brand as my 2012 wool short-sleeve jersey, which is my absolute favorite bike jersey.

[itchyfingers]

Nice looking cervelo. Quality bikes, I wish the geometry fit me better.

Thanks man, it is definitely "aggressive", but super responsive, quick transfer of power.

I have since added to the closet, with both another pair of the short bibs (2016 edition, as opposed to 2015), and a pair of 3/4 length bib knickers, both from the same brand as the original pair. All three of these bottoms are of the same brand as my 2012 wool short-sleeve jersey, which is my absolute favorite bike jersey.

What brand of bibs are you rocking, andvari?

Got my "new" bike all dialed in around Thanksgiving, and according to Strava, I completed my goal of riding over 1000 miles in 2016. I need a wider seat for sure, this one pinches me right in the taint, but since I am about to leave the country for the rest of the year, it will have to wait til January.

I also registered for my first Gran Fondo, the Belgian Wafer Race in May. 68 miles of on and off road hell. Sounds like fun!

[andvari7]

Ibex. They make other great Merino wool products, as well.

[Tortuga]

That Cervelo looks pretty choice, Greg

All Ultegra components on a good frame for $500 sounds like a steal!

+1 on the Selle Italia. I have one like this on both my road bikes, and my plumbing continues to work as advertised.

Way back when I was getting started, I tried several different saddles, because I was getting pressure on the perinium (or taint, as you said above), and certain parts would go numb 30 miles into any ride. I'm talking parts that you absolutely do not want to go numb, if you get my drift. I believe bike fit played a part in the problems I was having with that numbness and in my knee, neck, etc.

There was a lot of info coming out around that time about this particular design (the cutout) allowing the blood to flow where it needed to without pressure from the saddle cutting off circulation. I bought a Serrota-branded Selle Italia Flite with my Serrota that was totally custom fitted to me, and I put somewhere between 10-12k hard miles on that without any difficulty. Have a similar saddle on my prior road bike, which I mistakenly bought one size too small, and was able to comfortably put over 20k miles on that after I was fitted properly (including the long, extended handlebar stem that allows me to stretch out).

[itchyfingers]

Finished my first gran fondo last weekend - 100 km / 62 miles. Tried to do all the climbing in the first half of the ride, got about 3000 vertical ft. And I was still walking that night!

I'll probably get in another 2 long rides like this before my race at the end of May, which is about 60 miles itself. As long as I can keep an average of over 15mph, should have no problem finishing in about 4 hours. How do you guys combat cramping? So far I'm using Skratch in my water bottles and GU every 45 minutes, which kinda keeps me on the verge of cramping up, but its still sort of an issue. In the meantime, I'm averaging about 100 miles a week, and seeking hills instead of avoiding them. I'm also down from 245 to 219 lbs this year.



How are you guys getting on with your rides this spring?

[Zozobra]

I bought a Genesis Croix de Fer 10 CX/Adventure bike for light touring. It is a ton of fun to ride and doubles nicely as my everyday machine.

Also I'm gonna try out a seat with a taint gap as I sometimes have issues on longer rides.

[TurboPablo]

I just found out my friend and longtime mechanic passed away yesterday. I feel so fucked right now. He was such a awesome guy and nobody took care of my wheels better than him.

I'm heading out for a spin after work in his honor.


RIP Paul "Pike" McKenna.

[andvari7]

I went on my first ride of the season last Saturday, and I'm going tomorrow, weather permitting. One of the pads for my aerobars broke, but other than that, no mechanical issues. I still need to find a good wrencher in my neighborhood.

I'm out of shape, and it showed. If I can get a routine down, maybe I'll be alright, but I am in no condition to do a charity ride right now.

[SuperFlyinMonke]

I have been doing my damnedest to stay on the saddle over the winter, but I never get more than 40 minutes in on the trainer. I've been trying out a new Specialized seat and I'm not satisfied with it, so I'll exchange it sometime soon.

[TurboPablo]

Just ordered a set of these....

[TurboPablo]

This is the first person in my life that showed and proved to me that a disability does not have to hold you back. Back in the day, this man launched airs higher than most of his friends. He is also one of the first two people I ever saw riding a Mountain Bike.

Damn I am bummed.


RIP Pike my friend.

[itchyfingers]

The Cervelo Belgian Waffle Race is one of the greatest single day bike races in the US - 130 miles of every possible terrain - road, dirt, gravel, sand and everything in between with LOTS of climbing. I did the "mini" version, known as the Wafer: 68 miles, about 5k feet of elevation, and way more technical off-road stuff than I was expecting. I rode my cyclocross bike with 700x28 slicks. I felt great for the first 30 miles or so, but cramped for the last 40, which sucked bad. It was so damn hot and I am just no good at eating while expending that kinda energy. Not gonna lie, I had to dismount a few sketchy sections and was uh, forced to dismount as I was flying through the air upside down (one of my best crashes in any sport to date). I'm proud that I just kept going and never gave up - despite everything my body was telling me. I finished in about 6.5 hours, & placed 212th out of ~350 people, but honestly I was just stoked to finish! The guy who won the Belgian Waffle (60 additional miles of hell) just barely beat my time... This was the first race I've ever entered, but probably not the last. Everyone was super cool and supportive all day. I managed to drop 40 lbs while training for this race, and the training is definitely helping with my recovery this week. A few pics of the day...

I beat the sunrise to the expo.

Its not called the Belgian Waffle for nuthin'!

Waiting for the 7:00am start time.

The elevation map of the course, just a little bit of climbing. Ugh.

A view from the top of the final and most brutal climb - the infamous Double Peak, averaging about 19% incline.

After 3 weeks of no alcohol and no caffeine, these Cokes tasted like heaven, me with my trainer at the top of Double Peak.

Evidence of my finish!
[video]http://vid190.photobucket.com/albums/z17/gcerra22/Family/Finish%20Line%20Greg_zpsozs3iyzm.mp4[/video]
I earned it...

[Zozobra]

Wow man, that's a pretty awesome achievement. I'm doing my first organised charity ride next month but it's nothing on that!

[itchyfingers]

Thanks Zozobra! Have a great time in your group ride - what charity are you raising money for?

[SuperFlyinMonke]

Alright guys, I need some insight.

I have a 2015 Norco Tactic SL bike frame developed a crack in the bottom bracket area and it's been assessed as a warranty replacement. The problem is, they don't have my frame in stock from the manufacturer. It's a high-modulus frame that has since been phased out and now they only make a high-mod disc brake model, a mid-modulus and an ultra-high modulus. They have none of these frames in stock either, except for the mid-modulus frame.

I'm being told that the mid-modulus frame is stiffer and lighter than the high-mod that I had previously and is built in a better factory and whatnot. If I refuse to accept this as equivalent, I have no other option but to wait until August for them to get another shipment from Taiwan or wherever they're from. I personally think that they should did-assemble an SLR and provide me that frame, but that's seeming like a large ask, considering they're about $800 more for that frameset than what mine was 2 years ago.

I have asked them to provide me with some technical data to prove that this frame is equivalent in performance and modulus and see where to go from there. The option they're presenting is also silver/grey instead of the rad bright orange and black one I had. They have offered to repair the frame, but I don't really think that's a great option either since who knows if that comes with a warranty and good-bye resale value.

What would you do? I don't really consider replacing a high-mod frame with a mid-mod of a later year, regardless of technical data. Also, fuck waiting in summer. Part of me wants to just tell them to stop being assholes and make them get a higher mod frame. Another part of me wants to just buy a different bike for the summer and wait for the frame to come in.

I've been 3 weeks without a bike in a city with only about 5 months of realistic riding weather. In other words, I'm not impressed.

Here's the bike I had: