None of the above - Any cyclists?

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

  1. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    been riding for years and years now, mostly as a commuter, but I race competitively, too. been wrenching (professionally) on and off for over 20 years now. AMAA - Anybody wanna start riding? Anybody want to ride more? What's not working on your bike?
     
  2. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    Yup, cycling nerd here. Mostly into self supported long distance off-road time trials but also sometimes do riding in circles type races (e.g wembo). I also enjoy researching new routes suitable for time trialling. Oh, and I'm 100% singlespeed (apart from road bikes). Currently working on coming back from some asthma issues that knocked recent plans on the head (EWE last year and Tour Divide this year).
     
  3. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    I work in Amsterdam. The bicycle often beats public transport...
     
  4. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Former cyclist here. Trying to get back into it. My knees are starting to feel my age so I cant just get on and ride all day like I used to in my 20's. Right now I'm trying to drop a few pounds in the gym over the Winter so I can have an easier time getting back on the bike in May. I found a riding buddy so that will help motivate.

    I want to build a cruiser. But that's been my issue over the past decade or so...I want to tinker around with maintaining mine and friends bikes more than I ride.

    I still have a 1991 Cannondale Criterion Roadbike and 1993 Cannondale Delta V suspension mountain bike. Both of which I bought new back in the day. They're like part of the family with all the good memories.

    I've never raced except that I did a couple of small triathlons a few years back. When I lived in No. Cal, I took the roadbike down a small mountain straight road and broke 57mph. That was a bucket list thing and scared the crap out of me. 57mph on a bike feels similar to 130mph on a motorcycle.
     
  5. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    Nice, I really lusted after the Delta V and the Super V that followed but couldn't afford them at the time. Once I could afford one, well, suspension designs had moved on quite a bit. I've gone full circle now & do most of my training & racing on a rigid hardtail, occasionally with suspension forks depending on the trail.
     
  6. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    Checking in. I have been riding near daily non-competitive for 10 years. I have been building (and tinkering and rebuilding) for the last 7. The tinkering is when things got more interesting. Glad someone made a tiny corner for the the pedallers here.

    @crazychile, I actually got into cycling to lose weight so I could run without f'ing up my knees. I liked it so much that it became my primary mode of cardio exercise. I dread the idea that I will someday need to shed pounds to cycle without hurting my knees.

    I am sure I know less than most, but I have a decent amount of experience with winter riding. For a four year period I commuted by bicycle everyday in Wisconsin, through rain, ice, and snow. If anyone has questions about that I am happy to answer as well.

    The bike I love the most is my cx bike self-built around a blue norcross frame. I was just getting into 'cross racing, which is pretty massive in Madison, and then my son was born. Life just kept happening, so I never got all the way into formal racing, but I love the f**k-it attitude of an almost anywhere, almost anything road racer. I have to maintain it more than my fixed gear, and can't be as idiotic as on my mountain bike, but I know it can take whatever I put it through (which so far, is a lot).
     
  7. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    year round in wisconsin is 100% HTFU. getting through winter in any place that drops and stays below freezing is the second biggest hurdle in transitioning to bike-as-transport.

    and i just finished my second cross season and can concur. way different attitude, but it's just as hard, in a different way. it's a good break from road season, which can get pretty serious... as my teammates like to say, "never forget we're all AMATEUR bike racers."
     
  8. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Getting back into cycling this year and have decided to register for a local Gran Fondo here in Alberta. Also just picked up a Tacx Neo for Zwift to get my ass in gear!
     
  9. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    Another cyclist here! Italian carbon fibre is my weakness, and Wilier the brand closest to my heart.
    Have never considered competing nor participating in any race. Early morning long tours before daily family father duties and work madness starts is my routine.
     
  10. nonverbal

    nonverbal New

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    Cyclist here!Although it's been almost 3 month since my last ride(I have some problem with my knees when riding,so decided rest for a while)
    My roadbike:
    [​IMG]
     
  11. fishski13

    fishski13 Friend

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    Thank you nonverbal for a some proper bike p0rn. To the other tossers in this thread: bike threads are supposed to read like picture books, with real pics, not nebulous prose. I'm sure I'm a poseur compared to some in this thread :bow:, but where's the pics? I mean people nerd out of a pic of of a glass envelope vacuum tube. The bike is a miraculous invention, not much older than a dumb toob.

    Strava sez I racked up just shy of 1,500mi last year. Not really impressive, but I live in Minnesota where the winters are long and cold.

    I'm a roadie and ride a freewheel singlespeed. Don't laugh porkers. There's not a lot a lot of elevation here. Without worrying about what gear you need to be in, you can instead just ride. Sure, I'm spinning out on the flats with a 46/16t, but I'm attacking the hills like a kid on a BMX. I can just focus on my pedal cadence and technique, enjoying the ride without gears. It's just your legs and a single gear. You can feel the power from your legs to the wheel more easily with a direct drive single speed vs a geared bike with a slack offset derailleur.i love my rollers in the man cave when winter comes.

    I love watching cycling and have a VPN strictly for routing geo-restricted cycling feeds. I'm hoping Boonen wins Paris-Roubaix, Contador wins the Tour (not going to happen), and Peter Sagan wins another Green jersey and the Worlds. I'm going to Italy to watch a stage of the Giro this year, but don't have a favorite yet. I hate Sky.

    My ride is a basic steel Wabi Classic. The seat post and bars are Nitto, with a Selle San Marco Rolls saddle. The rear wheel is a flip-flop hub for fixed, but I only freewheel. SPD pedals, but I'm going to transition to SPD-SL and different shoes this year.

    My ride it dirty. I need to tear it down and re-grease everything. That is my prized didgeridoo in the background behind the bike in the man cave and next to the fireplace. The abacus, moose antler, and Spanish velvet painting are all heirlooms as well.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2017
  12. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    No, I don't own these bibs...

    [​IMG]
     
  13. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    Kudos to fishski for calling it like it is. I was too nervous to launch directly to bike porn, we only just outed ourselves! But, if the helmets are truly off...

    This is my sexy cross bike, next to many beaters I can't get rid of:
    IMG_20170115_100854.jpg
    And this is my commuter, currently on the trainer in the basement:
    IMG_20170115_101157.jpg
    It's an odd angle, but I want to poke at fish a little bit... If you're already single speed, go fixed! I fully agree about getting to focus on cadence and form with either, but fixed makes your pedal motion as fluid as possible. Any drag as you make your rotation is immediately felt. Fixed is what finally got me to understand and let go of the piston pedal motion. Also, if you are doing any winter riding fixed lets you know right away that you have lost traction.
     
  14. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Did you ever get a proper fitting with your bike? It may help alleviate your issues with your knees.
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Pics for Cliks!!!

    The race machine:

    [​IMG]

    The commuter in snow-fighter mode.

    [​IMG]

    and the Cross Boss:

    [​IMG]

    And on Friday I ordered up this for the 2017 season:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2017
  16. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    It's too dang cold right now to go out to the shed and take pictures of all my bikes. If this thread is still going in the spring I may snap a few photos
     
  17. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    Shit, now I need to go get proper head shots.
     
  18. lac29

    lac29 Acquaintance

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    I recently got back into it after riding a fixed/ss IRO Mark V in college for commuting purposes. Once I got my first job one of my first big purchases was a Surly Crosscheck. I'm prepping a long term build of a Surly Crosscheck frame to build up into a separate light CX/commuter ... most likely single speed.
     
  19. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I love my Crosscheck - i'm currently at about 17k miles on mine. You really can't get a better deal for a bombproof do-it-all bike.
     
  20. lac29

    lac29 Acquaintance

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    Yeah, the flexibility of the Crosscheck is the main reason why I got it. I paid a pretty penny for a brand new one (which in retrospect I should have gone used), but I'm eager for the weather to get warmer so I can get some miles in. I've mainly been trying out the whole bike trainer thing for the winter (first timer ... it's fun). You have any experience with bike trainers or the riding visualization software that some people use? I've just been doing short 30 min sessions on the trainer. It can get somewhat boring and even with a fluid trainer it can be hard to watch something on tv at a loud enough volume.
     

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