Cycling - Page 12

Clutch Munny · #**276** 08-24-2011, 03:22 AM

I'm thinking of signing up for this.

Part of what I'm considering is whether to try the 80 or the 160 km route. It's been a long time since 80 km was a distance to worry me, but this ride weaves you over the Niagara Escarpment multiple times. The 160 km version has over 6000 feet of climbing, the 80 km about half that.

I am not a good climber, so 160 might be more of a painfest than I'm up for.

Clutch Munny · #**277** 08-24-2011, 03:23 AM

Here's the profile of the 80 km route:

livius drusus · #**278** 08-24-2011, 03:24 AM

That looks pretty damned intimidating to me.

Clutch Munny · #**279** 08-24-2011, 03:26 AM

Looks like a fast finish, though, eh?

Qingdai · #**280** 08-24-2011, 03:49 AM

Fast collapse for me.

Clutch Munny · #**281** 03-26-2012, 07:09 PM

After months of not being able to run b/c of an Achilles problem (finally in physio now), plus back spasms, I got an email from my buddy on Sunday morning asking if I wanted to go for a ride in our unseasonably warm March weather, since he just got a fancy new carbon fibre bike. I got halfway through an email explaining why I was fat/injured. Then I read what I was writing, and thought, "Who the hell is this whinger?"

(It was me.)

So I deleted the email, and wrote "Yes" instead, and got my lovely Scott off the wall in the basement. Just riding to my friend's house was my longest ride of the year so far. Turns out my buddy had also invited a member of the local race team to ride with us. 75 km of exhilarating brutality ensued, as the racer guy dragged our sorry carcasses all over the north country. First I worried I would die, then I feared I wouldn't die, but eventually realized I was feeling better all the time. By the end I felt bulletproof. Thanked my friend profusely for getting me out and pedaling.

Great first ride, left me feeling like a dishrag, but ready for more. Bring on the warm weather!

Clutch Munny · #**282** 08-20-2012, 04:09 PM

Okay, after dithering until it was too late last year, this time I've signed up for the 80 km Centurion. (Where by '80' we apparently mean '86 and change'.) The elevation looks much the same as last year's route.

A little worried, here!

ceptimus · #**283** 08-20-2012, 05:11 PM

Are those feet or metres?

Clutch Munny · #**284** 08-20-2012, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceptimus

Are those feet or metres?

Metres.

ceptimus · #**285** 08-20-2012, 07:19 PM

Ouch!

Clutch Munny · #**286** 08-20-2012, 07:33 PM

Ensign Steve · #**287** 08-24-2012, 09:25 PM

Yikes! Bet it's fun on the downhills, though. :biggrin:

Clutch Munny · #**288** 08-25-2012, 11:55 PM

You know, I half expect it won't be. With my size, steep descents get real fast, real fast. If they're dead straight that's fine; I've had the bike up just over 80 kph with no hiccups. But any curves would be asking a lot of my rather limited high-speed bike handling skills.

Clutch Munny · #**289** 09-16-2012, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutch Munny

Okay, after dithering until it was too late last year, this time I've signed up for the 80 km Centurion. (Where by '80' we apparently mean '86 and change'.) The elevation looks much the same as last year's route.

A little worried, here!

Rode it, loved it, drained the can of awesome and crushed the empty on my forehead.

Waluigi · #**290** 09-17-2012, 01:53 PM

So, as it happens, I bought a bike a couple of weeks ago. Trek 7.2 FX. It's an entry level model (though still plenty expensive!)

Just tallied up my rides, and I've gone 78.8 miles so far. Two more rides should put me over the 100 mark.

The good news is the bike rides great and I'm very much enjoying it. The bad news is that it's more fun than running, but I'm signed up for the Army Ten Miler in D.C. next month and I need to spend a lot more time running than cycling.

:shakebike:

Clutch -- congrats on your ride!

Clutch Munny · #**291** 09-17-2012, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waluigi

Trek 7.2 FX.

That's a nice-looking bike. Entry-level components or not, you can tell from the geometry that it's not just for moseying around town.

I'd put bar-end grips on it (affordable, easy to install) to create another hand position, if I were riding it further than 10 km at a time.

Waluigi · #**292** 09-17-2012, 05:12 PM

There appear to be a number of bar-end grips available. Am I looking for something I can wrap my whole hand around, or just a few fingers? I may head back to the place I bought the bike to see what they have.

The only problem I've had so far is that the chain has popped off twice, both times when I was changing to the low chainring on a hill. This has caused me to basically be afraid of changing down to the lowest chainring.

Clutch Munny · #**293** 09-17-2012, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waluigi

There appear to be a number of bar-end grips available. Am I looking for something I can wrap my whole hand around, or just a few fingers? I may head back to the place I bought the bike to see what they have.

Good idea. For my part I would go for a longer bar end, one that extends up and then inward, to provide two extra hand (and back) positions. Like this:

But my wife has a set of much more conservative ones on her hybrid, which work great for her, and are just a small grip at the end of the bar. Like this:

Neither type is expensive, so it's entirely your preference.

Quote:

The only problem I've had so far is that the chain has popped off twice, both times when I was changing to the low chainring on a hill. This has caused me to basically be afraid of changing down to the lowest chainring.

The probable explanation is one that will respond to a very easy adjustment. You don't even need to adjust the gears per se; it's just a matter of the inner limit screw on the front derailleur. There are two small screws on top of the front derailleur; one of them (probably the inner one) controls how far inward the derailleur will move, while the other controls how far outward it will move. They don't really affect shifting in between those points -- just the limit positions. If you just bought your bike, your bike shop should adjust this for free.

If they won't do it for free, I would advise turning that inner screw a 1/4 clockwise turn (which should move the derailleur's furthest leftward position a wee bit to the right). If that stops the problem, great. If it stops the problem but initiates some chain rub, try turning it back counter-clockwise 1/8 of a turn. If it doesn't stop the problem, try another 1/4 turn clockwise. If it doesn't stop the problem and initiates some chain rub, pay your bike shop to do it, and never listen to me again.

Dragar · #**294** 10-04-2012, 03:32 PM

In Edinburgh, I learned to love whisky, hills, ceilidhs and traditional Scottish sang and dance (and of course, the music).

Now I've moved to Oxford, and am enduring a massive cultural shift. I need to adapt to survive. So last weekend, I bought a bike!

It cost me a few hundred pounds, making it dirt cheap by some of the standards in this thread. For me (especially having not had a salary before...) this represents the most expensive bike, indeed the most expensive transportation device, I have ever owned. It's also been a good 15-20 years since I've owned a bike. I have been learning a lot.

I also bought a good, light lock which mounts to the frame for carrying - and a heavier, really good lock for if I intend to park in town. Like anywere with large cycling populations, Oxford has a lot of bike theft. A lock won't stop a determined and prepared thief, but it might deter them. I don't think many would be prepared to try to open two locks in the middle of town.

Today, for the first time, I commuted to work with it. I biked down from the hill I live on, onto a cycle path through some university owned meadows, across Oxford town centre, and to the back of the train station where I can get directly onto the platform. A short train ride, bike along with me, and I'm a two minute cycle to my office building where I work.

I'm very pleased with how it went. I didn't feel even a tenth as at-risk as I thought I would (that's not to say I wasn't...), though I did deliberately pick a quiet route that avoids a particularly nasty roundabout. I am sure that when I know the route better, it will prove faster than my normal bus journey and it is certainly better at keeping me fit. Eventually I want to replace the train journey with the bike - but that more than doubles the time of my bike ride to an hour, and I'm nowhere near ready.

For now I just have to manage the return journey - and that one is uphill...

SR71 · #**295** 10-04-2012, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livius drusus

That looks pretty damned intimidating to me.

Yes. Yes it does.

Qingdai · #**296** 10-04-2012, 07:02 PM

Not everyone spends a ton on bikes, I got my latest one for free. It's a Cannondale Jamis, I'm not really sure what it's for (city? Off road) It's lighter than my last bike.

Waluigi · #**297** 03-31-2013, 12:00 PM

*bump*

I brought my bike in for its six-month checkup yesterday. Everything looked good, but my chain was grimy so he cleaned and oiled it. We talked a bit about proper chain maintenance, and I got to paraphrase one of my favorite Jeff Foxworthy lines -- "Let's see, the last time I oiled my chain... uh, you did it!"

On the subject of grips, which Clutch and I discussed last year: I'm still using the ones that came with it, but I really want new ones. I saw these at the store yesterday, and really like them. They're like $20 more in the store than they are online, but I'm not comfortable installing them myself w/o fucking it all up, so I'm waffling on whether to buy them cheaper online and bring them to the bike shop for installation, or just bite the bullet and spend the extra money knowing it's going to a small business that I like.