The biking thread

[Shaun]

The Tarmac, I was going to take a look at. Then I found this: http://www.2dehands.be/fietsen/fietsen/racefiets/granville-sonic-team-edition-231914856.html

Looks like a good buy Bram. 👍
Ad says group (nice campy stuff btw) is two years old and ridden recreationally.
By the sounds of it not a lot of km's would have been covered. Give it a look for sure.

@W3HS if they are only little cracks I wouldn't be too stressed but if they have done 10k+ they have probably reached their use by date. I'd be more concerned about the front tyre and maybe just replace that one first?
My rear has had a large cut down to the kevlar belt for the couple of thousand km's and it doesn't bother me. If it was on the front different story though it would be changed quick smart.

Do your tyres have wear marks on them? I know mine do so you know when it's time to replace them.
As for rubbing anything into them, I wouldn't rub anything on them especially something slippery like vaseline on the road contact patch.

If you can post up a pic of them. 👍

 

[W3H5]

They don't seem to have wear marks, @Shaun, here's the wear/cracks I mentioned:

They go most of the way round the contact area.

What I was thinking with the Vaseline is that if I apply a layer and bake it in the sun it might soften the rubber a bit and prevent further cracking. It's what my old man used to do with his Dr.Martins.

They're 28mm by the way, so should be pretty durable compared to, say, 23s or 25s.

 

[Shaun]

@W3HS.
Yeah they are pretty dried out for sure but they don't look that bad.
It it were me I'd just ride them and perhaps be a little cautious on a fast downhill descent.
As for the Vaseline, honestly I don't know but I wouldn't be keen on putting anything slippery on the contact surface.

For reference here's a pic of the cut I mentioned on my rear tyre.

If you peel it back the kevlar can actually be seen. That happened when the tyre was only about 1000km old and it's now done around 4000km I think and it's only punctured once since that wasn't in that spot anyway. If it were the front I would swap it to the back. As these tyres are $50 each I don't really want to buy another until I have to. I now buy one at a time when the rear is worn and put the new one on the front and keep swapping them that way until it's time for a new rear again.
Always have your best tyre on the front.

 

[W3H5]

I rarely top 50kph these days anyway and that's only if I'm on a dash to make the light. Poking around the city I ride only ~25kph on average. I will swap the front and rear when I get a minute.

As for the split you've got there, I don't think any of my splits are bad enough to go down to the inner laminate but I certainly have a lot. Most look like slash marks from sharp stones or glass/road debris but they're not causing any I'll effects so far.

I kind of ruined the First stage of Basque Country for myself today. Switched on at 70km to go and wanted to know what teams had been invited to I went to wiki for info and as I scrolled down I saw the results, not knowing that the coverage I had wasn't live.
Oh well, still another week on that tour and then my favourite monument of the year this coming Sunday. So excited for P-R.

 

[Shaun]

Yeah can't wait for PR this week, you'll need to change your avatar at the end of the week.
As we don't have pay TV sadly only the big races are live here (thankfully the monuments and tours) which means at this time of the year youtube cops a pounding keeping up with other races.

 

[W3H5]

I just happened to be really lucky that my new place also has Eurosport which have really good coverage of all of the UCI pro racing.

To be honest some I just leave on in the background if they don't get me really excited, the recent Volta was background viewing.

I think for most cycling fans the Tour de France is the highlight of the calendar. I do believe I'll be working through most of it but no doubt Eurosport will have replays for when I get home and I can get a commentary stream on my computer at work.

I really have utmost admiration for the guys that can do it. I don't see how any one sports event could be tougher; weeks of suffering almost day in day out, 21 stages, 9 mountain finishes this year and more than 3'000km. Amazing.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I may pick up the Granville on Sunday, if not, then next week.

When I saw Compagnolo Chorus complete groups going for 1,000 euros I pretty much decided I was going for it. I've received many detailed images from the seller, he answers to everything I ask him very swiftly, he even climbed the Ventoux with it, and it has been in for maintenance and it's carrying new parts!

I'm exited to own my first complete carbon bike. Finally a frame that actually fits me, maybe long journeys will be more comfortable now.

 

[Michael88]

Just gut my Scott bike back from service, unfortunately they forgot to lube / replace the ball bearings so I just did that.

Though one thing always bothers me when I dis-and reassemble my bicycle - tiny parts, small screws, minuscule front axle bearing surfaces, brakes held by two screws. I often do in excess of 105kmh / 70mph downhill on certain parts of my favorite track and I always have to think about how fragile the bike actually is.
That I weigh 100kg /220lbs doesn't help either. It amazes me that the bike can actually handle all the stress.

Gives me an uneasy feeling.

 

[W3H5]

I sometimes get that same feeling. Flying along and thinking "mmm, I have only 16 or so tiny strips of metal keeping this rim rolling around the axle in a regular way, if they were to break...".
I try not to think about it whenever possible.

And since I'm stuck at the in-laws' I might not find a TV for the race today.

 

[Pseudopod]

I like how people call tires "slicks" on their bikes as well .

It is an amazing difference though, going from offroad tires to that.

I used to be an all-year cyclist until I got my car last year. Now I only bike when the weather is nice and the roads are bare.

Coincidencially, I've also gotten fatter. Probably completely unrelated.

My bike wasn't expensive. 500-600 euros perhaps. 28" wheels, "hybrid" tires so that I don't lose too grip every time i take a shortcut . You know the type, slick in the middle, groovy at the edges. I find them a pretty good compromise.

 

[Michael88]

I too have thin rims with some profile on them but mainly because of their performance in wet weather. I often find myself cycling in wet weather, rain showers etc, I would be too afraid of continuing my tour with pure slicks.

Oh, and here is my ride. Nothing specially but its my trusty steed and I love it, we've been though a lot together.
4000 kilometers and counting.

 

[W3H5]

I've ridden with slicks through monsoon rains and they've held well. Never had an unnerving moment yet.

My wife's company might be selling off their whole collection of bikes that used to rent out to tourists. Most of them are hardly use.
From what I can tell they're regular Mongoose hard tail mountain bikes which are almost new apart and from the crappy tyres need no work doing to them. Depending on the price I might pick up a couple, but if they're going to get greedy I'll only take the one.
If the mattresses we bought from them for 2% of the original price are anything to go by the bike should be a steal.

 

[Shaun]

And since I'm stuck at the in-laws' I might not find a TV for the race today.

Nooooooooo
Can't you feign some illness that requires being at home in front of the tele?

 

[W3H5]

Nooooooooo
Can't you feign some illness that requires being at home in front of the tele?

I've demanded that I'm not required at 3pm (Bangkok time) unless it's an emergency.
I'm well out of the modern world at the in-laws but I've found a stream for my phone which means I have at least audio commentary.

Worst comes to worst I'll have to watch a replay online once I get back from the countryside.

The stream I have lined up starts at 5:45 but according to my calculation the race starts at 3:30, which is in ten minutes time.

 

[Michael88]

I've ridden with slicks through monsoon rains and they've held well. Never had an unnerving moment yet.

A year ago I was almost run over by a bus when I had slicks on my bike, the road was wet from a rain shower, I was doing about 70kmh downhill and when I approached a crossing I could barely engage the brake because I had no traction whatsoever! I had to decide between looking up the wheels and crashing or going over the crossing and praying no cars run me over. Unfortunately there was a big bus that had to hit the brakes really hard not to kill me, he missed me by mere centimeters.

Under these conditions my braking distance was ridiculously long with slicks. Now I have some profile on my tires which helps to ''part'' the water on the surface a little bit which definitely helps under braking.

 

[W3H5]

I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I'm doing 70kph in the wet and have to brake hard.
As a cyclist with no bounds I've come off of ~50kph hard on the brakes to a stop and never felt I was in danger. Slicks made no difference to me.

As a concerned citizen I would say you shouldn't be doing that sort if speed with a junction impending, but as a rouge cyclist I'm just gonna say that you should probably carry a donor card.

 

[Michael88]

You are right, but I knew the roads and knew I was coming to a junction, I just simply didn't expect my bike to have a braking distance of several hundred meters downhill. It's like I was floating on the water (I probably was).

And in Austria you're automatically a donor, need no card for that! You need to register as non-donor if you want to keep your internal organs.

As a cyclist with no bounds....

Now I want a sticker on my bike that says ''Cyclist with no bounds''.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Picked it up this morning. It's amazing how light this bike is, feels nearly like a cheap bit of plastic!

Will have to wait for tomorrow before I can take it for a ride as my current shoes don't fit the pedals. The seller gave me 2 sets of cleats for free, which was very nice, so tomorrow I'll go find a new pair of Shimano shoes. 👍

 

[Shaun]

Excellent stuff Bram. 👍

 

[Bram Turismo]

Looks great, doesn't it?

Can't wait to ride it tomorrow. It's going to be a long day at work. Weather's going to be very sunny all week long as well!

 

[Pseudopod]

Picked it up this morning. It's amazing how light this bike is, feels nearly like a cheap bit of plastic!

does it have dat carbon fiber?

-edit- looking more closely at the pictures, probably yes.

 

[W3H5]

Nice ride, Bram.
Looks like it has the same tyres as Shaun's bike pictured above.

I'm just wondering how long you can keep that white bar tape clean for...

 

[Bram Turismo]

Got home from work, stopped by the bikestore for some Northwave shoes.

First thoughts about the bike:

When I started out it felt very strange. The smaller frame, as well as the more aerodynamic position of my upper body on it was completely different from the old Ridley. It felt much better, though. The guy I bought it from is nearly exactly my length, and he got it custom made for his length so naturally the frame and the position of the saddle and handgrips felt pretty much perfect.

I think I rode it for 10 minutes until I was completely blown away by it. The longer I rode it, the better it felt. The lesser weight is noticeable, but not as noticeable as the power loss that seems to be gone. It feels like I'm putting less energy into the fame to ride harder than with the Ridley.

The gearing will take some time to get used to. Overall the Compagnolo gearing feels much better than the Shimano gearing, but the only downside I've found is that when I grip the lower handgrips, I can no longer reach for the upshifts.

I think to put it short, this bike feels like driving a new car. It looks better, it's more comfortable, it's faster, and in a sort of way more economical.

 

[Michael88]

Been cycling for the first time in months (Winter break) and I think I've finally become too heavy for going up mountains really fast. I gained 5 kilograms of muscle mass and now that I weigh 220lbs / 100kg I really start to feel the weight. I hope its just some endurance I lost in the winter months but I sure as hell feel heavy when doing 15-20% inclines.

 

[W3H5]

That's got me worried then, I haven't done any climbing since I've gained roughly 5kg the past few months. I wonder how that will affect my mountain rides (which I've neglected for a long time). My overall fitness has increased a lot now that I swim as well as ride, but my gut fat has also increased thanks to the extra grub I eat.

 

[Moglet]

Apologies in advance, I know everybody asks this question from my time lurking this thread..

I've been looking get to a MTB for a while now, nothing crazy just pretty bog standard I guess. It'll be used mainly on dirt/gravel paths and country lane type roads every now and then.

Budget is around £350. Have been looking at this bike for a while Jamis Trial X Sport. Then found a few FELT bikes in the same price range FELT Nine 80. Here's the page with the other similar options.

Are any better than the other for what I'd be using for? I assume in this price bracket they're all fairly similar. The 29er seems quite big, the last time I rode was when I was like 12 so I think I'd prefer a 26er or the 27.5 but appreciate any advice, cheers.

If you're only doing basic cross country then either should be fine but be aware that the Suntour XC range are pretty abysmal at anything but basic gravel tracks. I've got the XCMs on my Scott and they barely work when you pick up some speed, the fork seems to bend to absorb the bumps instead of letting the suspension do the work. I know they're designed to flex slightly but it's still a bit unnerving when you can see it so clearly!

 

[NINE_HUNDRED]

If you're only doing basic cross country then either should be fine but be aware that the Suntour XC range are pretty abysmal at anything but basic gravel tracks. I've got the XCMs on my Scott and they barely work when you pick up some speed, the fork seems to bend to absorb the bumps instead of letting the suspension do the work. I know they're designed to flex slightly but it's still a bit unnerving when you can see it so clearly!

Yeah I've read a little about the forks and pretty much every bike in this price range had the XC ones, but hopefully they'll be fine for what I'll be doing. I actually went with one of the Felts, it got delivered this morning. Was like a kid unpacking it all

Will take it for a longer ride tomorrow in this lovely weather and see how it goes!

 

[Moglet]

Yeah I've read a little about the forks and pretty much every bike in this price range had the XC ones, but hopefully they'll be fine for what I'll be doing. I actually went with one of the Felts, it got delivered this morning. Was like a kid unpacking it all

Will take it for a longer ride tomorrow in this lovely weather and see how it goes!

Enjoy your new bike! For cross country the Suntours will be more than adequate. 👍

I'm torn between 2 bikes for my next ride. So far my choices are down to:

Bird Aeris (except in matte black with gloss stickers)

Merida One Forty 7 700

Both have everything I want and both have a good build spec, but the Merida is cheaper as standard. The Bird, on the other hand, can be customised quite a bit and would have a lifetime transferable warranty which is always nice. I have to say though, I prefer the way the Merida looks.

Then there's the shocks, I'm told the Pike is absolutely superb and works well with the slacker geometry of the Bird, whereas although Fox has fixed the old Float 32 issues from a few years back it does still worry me a little.

 

[Sprite]

I saw these on a famous pic sharing platform...

And I was wondering if anyone here drinks them.

 

[Greycap]

As it seems just about everyone is having a new bike or at least planning to get one I guess I can join the fun too. Bought in January, slowly (and quite lightly) customized over the next two months, first ride in late March. The saddle was changed after the photo, no way I'm going to sit on that one for any more than half an hour at a time.