Biking: Catch-all

So, broke my toe. Thought my tendon had separated from my toe, but it's just fractured and bruised. Been almost two weeks now.

My question: is it stupid to ride with a broken toe, or is it just a matter of dealing with discomfort? I'm perhaps overly cautious, but I also haven't had any physical exertion for a while and this unseasonably temperate winter is begging me to get out. Won't be running, and I'd rather be on my bike anyway.

I've learned to be conservative when returning from an injury. It sucks to not be patient and end up re-injuring leading to and even longer recovery.

I've been wanting to get a new rear wheel to use with my mag trainer during the cold times here. I don't want to wear out my road tire so I want to get a training tire that will last a long time. The hassle of changing out the tire would annoy the hell out of me so I was thinking of buying a new rear wheel as well. Then I figured it would need it's own cassette, I have an 8spd, but does switching from one cassette to another drastically alter the way the shifting will work even if they are both 8spd cassettes?

Nope. When I was running v-brakes I used to regularly swap wheelsets on my MTB between ones with commuting tires and one with my trail tires. I need to get another disc brake wheelset so I can do it again.

Liquid is right-- you'll be fine with a different ratio, as long as the 8spd cassette is compatible with your drivetrain. And definitely get an actual trainer tire-- not just a cheapo road tire. Trainers are made of a different compound so they don't come apart from the heat/friction. If you train regularly and heavily on a regular tire, worst case it'll peel the tread from the belt, best case it will bubble up causing a bump that's likely to pop as the tire wears down/weakens.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I've been wanting to get a new rear wheel to use with my mag trainer during the cold times here. I don't want to wear out my road tire so I want to get a training tire that will last a long time. The hassle of changing out the tire would annoy the hell out of me so I was thinking of buying a new rear wheel as well. Then I figured it would need it's own cassette, I have an 8spd, but does switching from one cassette to another drastically alter the way the shifting will work even if they are both 8spd cassettes?

same plan actually, just trying to decide on a trainer. I only have a single speed road bike, any recommendations on a trainer to use?

Also its christmas, we love bikes. Any one get any new gear? I've always wanted to try clipless pedals so got these to give it a shot next riding season:

IMAGE(http://images.mec.ca/fluid/customers/c822/5006-774/generated/5006-774_NOC02_view1_720x720.jpg)
IMAGE(http://content1.giantnerd.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/zoom_image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/2/2/229-147-2012-21911-black_1.jpg)

People keep recommending against going clipless, but I've been thinking about trying it for so long that I am going to have to give it a shot for a season and see for myself.

People that recommend against clipless haven't really tried clipless

WipEout wrote:

People that recommend against clipless haven't really tried clipless :D

Truth. I have never once in my entire life seen someone invest in clipless and then go back to the Old Ways.

Minarchist wrote:
WipEout wrote:

People that recommend against clipless haven't really tried clipless :D

Truth. I have never once in my entire life seen someone invest in clipless and then go back to the Old Ways.

Key word: "invest". There's a shallow learning curve, and some folks have an inexplicable fondness for reflexive hand-wringing.

There are also contexts where clipless doesn't make sense, but they're nowhere near as prevalent as Grant Petersen's desire to promote his brand would have you believe.

I've been surprised how easy switching to clipless has been, even for a cycling noob like me.

Do a lot of people fall when they try clip less?

I've only stumbled twice with them. Once was due to trying to anticipate a light change that didn't happen right as I hit the crosswalk. I was forced to stop and I barely got my foot out in time to stop myself from falling in the middle of the street.

The other time I nearly fell was because I put my foot down very close to my tires instead of putting it farther out to widen my base. I lost my balance a bit but I caught myself by hopping around with my bike attached to my left foot until I regained my balance. It was quite awkward.

Minarchist wrote:
WipEout wrote:

People that recommend against clipless haven't really tried clipless :D

Truth. I have never once in my entire life seen someone invest in clipless and then go back to the Old Ways.

Me, after 15 years of clipless.

Burn the heretic!

Actually, I meant to come back and point out that there are a few, slightly-obvious circumstances in which one shouldn't wear clipless-- certain types of MTB, for instance, or trials. Yup. That's about it. I can forgive you Liquid. This time. This time....

I snuck a question in earlier with the pictures about trainers, ill try again without the distracting pictures

Blotto The Clown wrote:

same plan actually, just trying to decide on a trainer. I only have a single speed road bike, any recommendations on a trainer to use?

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

Do a lot of people fall when they try clip less?

Yes. Twice seems to be the magic number anecdotally. Happened twice to me on the first couple of rides out with clipless before the muscle memory of unclipping bedded in. The good news is that "falling" is somewhat of a misnomer. It's more "toppling".

Blotto The Clown wrote:

I snuck a question in earlier with the pictures about trainers, ill try again without the distracting pictures

Blotto The Clown wrote:

same plan actually, just trying to decide on a trainer. I only have a single speed road bike, any recommendations on a trainer to use?

Sorry for the late response, Blotto. I was going to leave this one for those more versed in trainers than I am, but here's my $.02:

You should be fine with pretty much any trainer reasonably available to you, given your type of bike. That is to say, the bike is largely irrelevant, as far as what type of trainer your bike will fit into. That said, since your bike is a single-speed, you'd be better off with a trainer that has adjustable resistance. I've been eye-balling the Kinetic by Kurt Road Machine personally, but it's well out of my current budget at the moment. I know a few Goodjers have given it the thumbs-up, as well as a couple pro friends that prefer this one over something like the Blakcburn or even the CycleOps Fluid2.

Hope that helps.

WipEout wrote:
Blotto The Clown wrote:

I snuck a question in earlier with the pictures about trainers, ill try again without the distracting pictures

Blotto The Clown wrote:

same plan actually, just trying to decide on a trainer. I only have a single speed road bike, any recommendations on a trainer to use?

Sorry for the late response, Blotto. I was going to leave this one for those more versed in trainers than I am, but here's my $.02:

You should be fine with pretty much any trainer reasonably available to you, given your type of bike. That is to say, the bike is largely irrelevant, as far as what type of trainer your bike will fit into. That said, since your bike is a single-speed, you'd be better off with a trainer that has adjustable resistance. I've been eye-balling the Kinetic by Kurt Road Machine personally, but it's well out of my current budget at the moment. I know a few Goodjers have given it the thumbs-up, as well as a couple pro friends that prefer this one over something like the Blakcburn or even the CycleOps Fluid2.

Hope that helps.

I have that very one set up in my basement right now and have no complaints with it. Now to get down there and use it on a regular basis.

Jonman wrote:
Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

Do a lot of people fall when they try clip less?

Yes. Twice seems to be the magic number anecdotally. Happened twice to me on the first couple of rides out with clipless before the muscle memory of unclipping bedded in. The good news is that "falling" is somewhat of a misnomer. It's more "toppling".

Norfair wrote:
WipEout wrote:
Blotto The Clown wrote:

I snuck a question in earlier with the pictures about trainers, ill try again without the distracting pictures

Now with pictures!

IMAGE(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8075/8339426481_c119f55096_c.jpg)
Chrome midway pro by Daniel MacGibbon, on Flickr

IMAGE(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8079/8340482542_b9e35f2e82_c.jpg)
Chrome midway pro by Daniel MacGibbon, on Flickr

Well so far I've fallen once trying to balance in my living room does that count?(come on spring, I need a road to try these on)

Blotto The Clown wrote:

same plan actually, just trying to decide on a trainer. I only have a single speed road bike, any recommendations on a trainer to use?

Sorry for the late response, Blotto. I was going to leave this one for those more versed in trainers than I am, but here's my $.02:

You should be fine with pretty much any trainer reasonably available to you, given your type of bike. That is to say, the bike is largely irrelevant, as far as what type of trainer your bike will fit into. That said, since your bike is a single-speed, you'd be better off with a trainer that has adjustable resistance. I've been eye-balling the Kinetic by Kurt Road Machine personally, but it's well out of my current budget at the moment. I know a few Goodjers have given it the thumbs-up, as well as a couple pro friends that prefer this one over something like the Blakcburn or even the CycleOps Fluid2.

Hope that helps.

I have that very one set up in my basement right now and have no complaints with it. Now to get down there and use it on a regular basis.

That's what I've been eyeing up, a trainer with adjustable resistance. I'll see what my budget can afford after all the xmas bills come in.

edit: i buggered up some quote blocks up there and not sure how to fix...

ianunderhill wrote:

Don't confuse adjustable resistance with progressive resistance. A fluid trainer has the latter, wherein your wheel turns against a roller that ultimately results in whipping up silicon fluid in a sealed chamber; the harder you push, the more the fluid thickens up, which increases resistance. Adjustable resistance is what you'll find on many magnetic trainers - you click into a new setting and the resistance is constant at that setting; top out and it's time to hop to the next one.

The big difference is the way acceleration feels and what sort of workout you're looking for. Fluid trainers are awesome for everything from mantaining a given speed and cadence for a long time to high-intensity interval training, and not having a pronounced gap between settings is nice. However, if you don't need that sort of versatility, you can spend less on a magnetic trainer, just remember that as you get stronger, you may want resistance in between or beyond what the mag offers.

I'm a big fan of the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for design reasons I've covered upon read, but the CycleOps Fluid2 is just fine, too. Mag trainers vary based on pricepoint - if you find yourself possibly cracking the $200 barrier, consider just paying more and getting a fluid trainer to avoid reselling the mag at a loss when the time comes.

See also: remarks on trainer tires. And if you're running fixed gear, keep your fingers and clothes away from the drivetrain. I've seen people lose fingers in fixed gear bikes in the work stand, but add in the extra motion from roller coast-down and you're in for it all the worse. ;)

very good safty point, I'd also never heard of a fluid trainer. The ones I had been looking at were in the 200-300 $ range.

Don't confuse adjustable resistance with progressive resistance. A fluid trainer has the latter, wherein your wheel turns against a roller that ultimately results in whipping up silicon fluid in a sealed chamber; the harder you push, the more the fluid thickens up, which increases resistance. Adjustable resistance is what you'll find on many magnetic trainers - you click into a new setting and the resistance is constant at that setting; top out and it's time to hop to the next one.

The big difference is the way acceleration feels and what sort of workout you're looking for. Fluid trainers are awesome for everything from mantaining a given speed and cadence for a long time to high-intensity interval training, and not having a pronounced gap between settings is nice. However, if you don't need that sort of versatility, you can spend less on a magnetic trainer, just remember that as you get stronger, you may want resistance in between or beyond what the mag offers.

I'm a big fan of the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for design reasons I've covered upthread, but the CycleOps Fluid2 is just fine, too. Mag trainers vary based on pricepoint - if you find yourself possibly cracking the $200 barrier, consider just paying more and getting a fluid trainer to avoid reselling the mag at a loss when the time comes.

See also: remarks on trainer tires. And if you're running fixed gear, keep your fingers and clothes away from the drivetrain. I've seen people lose fingers in fixed gear bikes in the work stand, but add in the extra motion from roller coast-down and you're in for it all the worse.

I kind of wish I could put one of these under the house.

We don't have 200 bikes, of course, but think of the room it would free up in the garage!

Also -- ianunderhill, I see your custom icon has gone live. Cool!

7" of snow and -8°F? Sounds like the perfect time for a bike ride. Let me check my gear...

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/ididaride_zps54f5db31.jpg)

Yup, I'm ready!

I want a Pugsley.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/1Vyjyyl.jpg)

LiquidMantis wrote:

I want a Pugsley.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/1Vyjyyl.jpg)

I almost got one of those after everyone I knew in San Francisco went on about Chicago winters and how bad riding was, but then I found out that none of the people that claimed that ever rode in the winter. Aside from the below-zero weather just making for a crappy ride, it has yet to be so bad as to need a Pugsley. They're fun as hell to ride, though.

Yeah, there are about a half dozen people I ride with who own Pugsley's or Moonlanders, and they've never ridden in anything I couldn't handle with my Trucker.

That said, no way my Trucker would handle the trail in that pic. That looks like a blast!

The ride was awesome, but it was a bit cold:

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/812779_10151334221106723_1271546173_o_zpsdb587ef7.jpg)

Fortunately we found ways to keep warm:

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/793636_10151310972093731_1961785482_o_zpsd5f2db57.jpg)

And at the end of the day we partied pretty hard!

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/377586_10151232973860978_1500981844_n_zps140225d4.jpg)

How convenient this thread was at the top when I thought, "I wonder if there are Goojers that can help..."

I live in New York City, but I'm thinking about buying a bike when I visit back home around Detroit in a few weeks (probably cheaper to buy in the D than in NYC; haven't looked too in-depth yet).

Before I entertain that thought, has anyone boxed up and flown with their bike in the US recently? What's your experience? Should I FedEx/UPS it to my apartment instead? My primary concern is cost and cost effectiveness.

Before you buy the bike, visit the local bike shop and ask them how much it would cost to ship it.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

Do a lot of people fall when they try clip less?

yes, everyone