None of the above - Any cyclists?

Discussion in 'Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes Talk' started by yotacowboy, Jan 2, 2017.

  1. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    I must say though, I am rather weary of riding on the steeets these days especially since COVID noticed drivers are more aggressive than ever

    also only used to commute during fair weather days in summer

    winter and early spring, late fall is like Russian roulette on surface streets on the westside with shorter , cold wet darker days
     
  2. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    If I wanted to bike around casually and mostly for fun and NOT on any public road that goes over 50mph (thank you horrible socal drivers), what's the easiest way to get started? Is it just to have a budget in mind and try different bikes within my budget range? Or should I try a well known beginners bike first kind of like how a lot of people will say to try a HD650 first or whatever. Does the type of bike matter that much when you start out?

    If it matters 1) don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't see myself ever really getting into bicycles and don't plan on having any kind of super setup, etc. 2) rode motorcycles for a little bit, but again, bad socal drivers really amplified the whole "it's not a matter of if but when you get in an accident".
     
  3. Erroneous

    Erroneous Friend

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    @penguins I think it's easy to get a starter hybrid (or hardtail) Trek or Specialized (cheapish but not Walmart crap) just to see if you'll actually take to cycling. If you do end up liking it and actually getting on the bike time after time, you'll already have an adequate bike to ride while you dig a little deeper into what kind of bike your next ride will be.

    If you're keeping it on-road then a Specialized Sirrus is an easy, cost-efficient and decent place to start in my opinion.
     
  4. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Be forewarned that covid-19 did a number to the bicycle retail industry. Things took off for dealers around late March of last year, then things went into overdrive through the summer, with 30% growth YoY in sales industry wide. That's not a problem, though. What is a problem is in September/October, when things typically slow down and the bulk of the manufacturing for MY21 bikes and components starts up, retailers fell back to mid-March sales levels. On top of new sales exploding, retailers were also bombarded with old bike service blowing through components. So, manufacturers of the components (specifically Shimano, but pretty much every OCM with either Taiwanese or Chinese or Malaysian manufacturing plants was squeezed) were starting to get squeezed, and the wholesalers weren't able to restock warehouses. Most wholesalers have been looking at bare shelves for two months now, and the component manufacturers are only now beginning to promise some MY21 components for delivery in 2022.

    Short story is it'd be best to call your local retailer and see what they actually have in stock, then go from there. Specifically, most MY21 Specialized Sirrus are showing as oversold (i.e., Specialized has an order placed with their OEM Merrida, that hasn't begun because Merrida is still filling the prior order). Some MY21 bikes are showing July delivery at the earliest, most are showing Sept/Oct 2021 delivery.
     
  5. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    The type matters a lot. It comes down to what kind of riding you eventually aspire to. If never riding for much over an hour and at an easy pace (think brisk walk vs. running), a flat handlebar bike is probably the way to go. Cheaper, better line of vision, the only body adaptation is getting used to the saddle. On any bike you'll almost certainly end up trying different saddles to find one that ultimately works after the adaptation process.
    If you look further into this style, I'd strongly advise to stay away from suspension forks; they add a ton of weight and on cheaper bikes give a really weird feel to steering because they're too soft.

    If you see yourself going out for several hours and challenging yourself at times by doing big climbs or riding with sportiv riders, there is way more body adaptation but a flat bar bike is going to show its limitations and you're gonna want drop bars. You have more weight on the saddle with flat bars and only one hand position. For longer rides, that gets pretty uncomfortable. For harder riding, leaning forward and closing up your hip angle is a more powerful position. You can kinda get there with a flat bar, but again stuck with one hand position. Over a few hours, it's so nice to be able to move hands around to relieve pressure points.

    Either way, fit is more important than the bike unless it's just for short rides around the neighborhood. Some bike shops will have a person or two who can figure out the right frame size for you and maybe even adjust saddle and handlebar position to be close to right. But don't expect much if you're going in and are looking at low-end bikes. They just wanna sell what's in stock, figuring they'll never see you again.

    You could browse through this site. They have a bunch of inexpensive bikes, and I see there are even some in stock, which wasn't the case some months ago. My son is still waiting on one he ordered in late November. Each product page has a guide for fit, it you're not excessively long or short legged.
     
  6. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    well looks like my first race is coming up in less than a month.
    DOes, ANyone else got racing on their horizon for the year?

    While there is supposed to be plenty of precautions being taken to run this race, part of me is still hesitant to take part being this close to a vaccine.

    Besides, I feel woefully unprepared for it. Wish i hadn't let go after labor day.

    I've gotten back into a training program since beginning of March and putting more volume in my training but likely not enough to be able to race the 100 miler version of the Gorge Gravel grinder.

    My training's been mostly indoor.. bit too wimpy with the cold dark weather. and the drivers in portland are f'ing idiots of the first order. Atleast i get to catch up on the Moto2 and Moto3 races from last year.

    paincave.JPG
    If I do go through with it, am going to likely switch my registration to the medium grinder. Still a stout 74 miles with 45 miles of it being gravel and almost 6000 ft of climbing. The weather is the real wildcard. Last time they had to collect riders off of the course with the sag wagon as it got icy cold , windy and rainy.

    Most likely will use my gravel bike instead of the cross bike (Giant TCX 1x) as there are some downhill sections that you can put some serious speed into on the way back into town.

    Bought my gravel bike last year. Had it re done for 2x Di2 GRX controls.
    gravel_race_bike.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2021
  7. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I don't see any USAC racing becoming a reality for me until CX season at the earliest, if at all. My GF is a USAC ref and there has been zero discussion of sanctioning races in our region due to State and County limits on outdoor event participant numbers. There have been a few TTs and gravel events, but nothing that would net me any upgrade points if I were to get on the podium, so, pretty pointless given the risk. Even still, last year I decided I wasn't going to really pursue getting to CAT2, so racing was going to be more for fun than anything else. Just checked BikeReg and the only permitted USAC "real live" race isn't until June (Armed Forces Cycling Classic) and even then, that race is usually a complete shit show.

    I'm mostly pissed that I came into the 2020 season sitting on some of the best fitness I've ever managed to build. I was sitting on about 70 CTL in late February, and about 4.5 w/kg FTP. And then Covid... I managed to mostly maintain fitness through the spring and summer without doing much structure, just a bunch of SST and Z2. Did a 20 minute test in October and still had 4.2w/kg left in the legs. I decided to take most of this past winter base season completely off the bike so right now my fitness is 100% garbage, so I don't mind that there's no real racing. I've already resigned to use 2021 as a significant reset and try to do some bikepacking. I'm more looking forward to just being able to bike to the office M-F at this point.
     
  8. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    Damn! At what weight/height?
     
  9. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    5' 10" - I had gotten down to 155lbs (by not drinking hardly any beer for a month), and pulled off a 317w 20 minute test. I was super stoked.
     
  10. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    I'll bet, that's a really good performance
     
  11. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    And here I am with a 2.1w/kg on an FTP test on Zwift, lol. Been on Zwift the past few weeks and starting to get my bike on.
     
  12. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Stick with it! Stress, rest, adaptation, repeat!
     
  13. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    damn brah!! that's a massive W/kg!!
    Am same height but got 80lbs on ya at my current heavy weight.
    THink the last time i was 155lbs I was in 8th grade :p

    Did a ramp FTP test that put me at 258, but train at 250 right now. Or about 2.5W/kg.

    I'd like to get down to 90Kg or 200lbs and with an FTP of 280 (20min tests) which I've had at end of SPring training block in the past.

    What's CTL by the way?
     
  14. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    we need a SBAF zwift ride! find me on there can search for "C-velo/FFN (EFT)" Same avatar as here
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    One of my old teammates pulled off 425w at 85kg for 5.05w/kg in a true 60 minute test. And I have the "privilege" of racing against guys like this:

    https://trainright.com/increasing-ftp-60minute-power-dj-brew-adam-pulford/

    How DJ pulls off 15+ hour training weeks is just not possible for me, so knowing I needed to break above 4w/kg just to keep from getting shitted out the back of the 1/2/3 races was huge for me for 2020. DJ is an awesome dude, and there are lots of other locals that are fast as all get out. I was really, really excited to have the fitness to mix it up with 1/2/3's, so the disappointment when all racing got cancelled was pretty massive.

    CTL is Chronic Training Load, and it's a measure of how much Training Stress (TSS, or training stress score) you've accumulated. 100 TSS is equal to 60 minutes at threshold, and 100 TSS in one 24 hour period will net you +1 CTL. Most guys I race with start their seasons anywhere from 40 to 100+ CTL depending on how they're planning their season. Some folks do a "peak then taper" and use the races themselves as how they stay fit, without much weekly training, so, lots of rest between races. Others, like me, try to plan for a late spring peak with a good amount of high stress structured work during the week on top of racing, shooting for a CTL ramp rate of 4-10 CTL per week. This shit gets nerdy real quick, and please don't take this as any kind of training advice - I'm not a coach!

    shit, I tried grabbing a Kickr back in October, and f**k me, ERG mode and I DO NOT get along. Just sold it last week. I've never gotten along much with indoor training. Just sucked it up and got used to being cold for 3-4 hours each day on the weekend. This year I just said f**k it, there's no racing, I'll just drink beer and get fat over the winter.
     
  16. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    Had my first big year on the bike last year but am sidelined after rolling my ankle as it starts to get warm again. Can't wait to get back on her and pretend I'm half as fast as yotacowboy.


    [​IMG]
     
  17. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    'Like' for putting Campagnolo on an Italian frame. Drives me nuts to see Pinarellos, etc., with Shimano or SRAM
     
  18. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Nothing against doing a swift ride but I'm just above "I totally suck" level right now, and I'd just be an anchor to any ride, lol.
     
  19. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Well, I'm glad i've decided to be a total Fred for this season. Checked out the first big race since COVID restrictions were lifted and it was a total shit show. My target race would've been the M3/4 and jeebus there were like 6 big pile ups in the same 90 degree right hander at the end of a 35-ish mph straight. It almost like no one has been riding at race pace in a large group and trying to go around corners at 25+mph... and guys, you're literally racing for socks and $50; #sendit into every corner = ambulance rides, you idiots. The Pros couldn't even get it right either, MP/1 had two big pileups and a third smaller one. The pits were a nightmare. Today's races were a bit smoother, but still a couple dustups early in the P/1.
     
  20. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    This is a big reason why i haven't taken part in any mass start races. Folks are rusty and its showing even in the professional peloton.. What a crazy crashfest of a first few stages of Le Tour this year! Pogac was unbelievable on Stage 5. Commanding position after that ITT performance.
     

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