Biking: Catch-all

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Recycled (ha!) thread. This started off with me showing some new blingy bits but had a lot of other posts too. With the frequent interest in biking in various threads this became a catch-all.

Regardless of style or experience, anyone pedaling on wheels or wanting to get into it is welcome!

[Old post]
Time to get wrenchin'. Unfortunately, thanks to a shipping snafu from another company my new crankset won't be in until Monday.

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/IMG_0731.jpg)

I don't get it those wheels look WAY to small for a bike, unless it is a clown bike!

In case you're serious (yeah, right), those silver discs are the rotors for my new disc brakes.

Wait, those are wheels? My bad, I thought they were spinners to help attract the ladies.

That said, I do appreciate the shine factor 11 that they possess. Now please forgive my lack of knowledge, what exactly are those? Disc Brakes?

*Edit* Question answered while I was posting =)

I'm guessing by the number of spokes on those wheels and the disc brakes that we're talking mountain biking here. So you lost me, I'm a roadie. Still, nice swag. Are those brifters SRAM red?

Yup, it's MTB stuff. They're just brake levers, not combos. I recently upgraded to XTR shifters already. But yeah, they are Avid (SRAM) Elixir CR hydraulic brakes. The wheelset is Mavic CrossMAX ST. I broke my freehub the other day and decided to finally upgrade my v-brakes to disc.

Oh you will love your disks. I have a Fisher 29er hardtail with disks, and they, plus the 29s, completely changed how I think about riding. I am SOOOOO much more relaxed on the bike now.

I have a GT MTB with discs. I am considering upgrading to hydraulics, not because for wanting of better performance, but because preriodically restretching cables is an annoying chore.

Disks are for pussies. Real men do their cyclin' with old-fashioned V-brakes.
As for assembling all those things by yourself: way to go! I've pieced my first road bike few months ago, and while it wasn't all perfect, I'm very happy with final effect. Also, it's the best way to learn how your bike works and how to take care of it later.

Here's my beauty:
IMAGE(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9036/dsc00831h.jpg)
It's nothing too fancy or expensive but it's still a great bike. Best speed so far: around 40 miles/h.

Minarchist wrote:

I'm guessing by the number of spokes on those wheels and the disc brakes that we're talking mountain biking here. So you lost me, I'm a roadie. :)

Hooray, now I don't have to feel like a creep!

UCRC wrote:

Disks are for pussies. Real men do their cyclin' with old-fashioned V-brakes.

Those look like side-pull caliper brakes on your ride; no thanks, I like to stop. I loved my v-brakes back in Austin, but out here I've been getting brake fade and forearm pump. That's a nice looking ride though. I bet you can top 40 if you put some pedals on it.

I'm planning on building a bigger "all mountain" bike hopefully this winter but it's not in the budget just yet so these are "hold me over" upgrades.

Disc brakes are definitely the way to go on a MTB. My old MTB has the oldschool friction brakes, and if I don't remember to pump them a few times after coming out of a mud puddle to clean off the rims they're no better than if I just shouted "stop! stop!" Sweet setup. I've heard you' re supposed to be really careful not to get body oils on the discs. I guess the suggestion is to wear gloves when installing them or something?

Nice frame, UCRC.

complexmath wrote:

Disc brakes are definitely the way to go on a MTB. My old MTB has the oldschool friction brakes, and if I don't remember to pump them a few times after coming out of a mud puddle to clean off the rims they're no better than if I just shouted "stop! stop!" Sweet setup. I've heard you' re supposed to be really careful not to get body oils on the discs. I guess the suggestion is to wear gloves when installing them or something?

Or just clean them off with rubbing alcohol once in a while.

LiquidMantis wrote:
UCRC wrote:

Disks are for pussies. Real men do their cyclin' with old-fashioned V-brakes.

Those look like side-pull caliper brakes on your ride; no thanks, I like to stop. :D

Yeah, thing is, I never even thought about buying some decent brakes cause, as a roadie, I just don't stop And of course, I was just joking earlier: if I were to buy MTB right now, I wouldn't even dare to think about buying it with side-pulls.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I bet you can top 40 if you put some pedals on it.

I'm yet to buy some real clipless pedals, so yes, I could probably top that. However, I'm not sure I want to, it's helluva speed.

Nice timing for a bike thread. I just got my first new bike since before I could drive, over 15 years ago. I picked it up last night and can't wait to go riding this weekend. I got a Specialized Rockhopper, which seems like a decent entry level bike. I got the base model, so no disk brakes or anything particularly fancy yet. I figured I'll wait until I know that I'm actually using it regularly before I start spending more than I should on components

UCRC wrote:
LiquidMantis wrote:

I bet you can top 40 if you put some pedals on it.

I'm yet to buy some real clipless pedals, so yes, I could probably top that. However, I'm not sure I want to, it's helluva speed.

The Tennessee Valley is pretty mountainous, and there are several hills long and steep enough to hit at 42-43mph without pedaling; quite a few more where you can hit 40 on the cranks. It's really scary at first, and you feel like you don't have control of your bike, but you get used to it. I'd like to push mine faster sometimes, but I have a compact (due to said hills) so it's rather difficult without pedaling at a cadence of 180.

Speaking of... Pleasant to look at biking imagery. Me and the missus went biking in Pennsylvania last April:

IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3344/3477804795_3bfdee1c76.jpg?v=0)

Minarchist wrote:
UCRC wrote:
LiquidMantis wrote:

I bet you can top 40 if you put some pedals on it.

I'm yet to buy some real clipless pedals, so yes, I could probably top that. However, I'm not sure I want to, it's helluva speed.

The Tennessee Valley is pretty mountainous, and there are several hills long and steep enough to hit at 42-43mph without pedaling.

Yeah, I live in southern Poland (and most of southern border are Carpathian Mountains) so I know the feeling. Road bikes are amazing on such slopes, it just feels like flying. Main problem with such speeds is that roads in Poland are one of worst in whole Europe, to the point where they're one of main running jokes about us So, it's quite risky to speed up on road you're not familiar with.

Since this seems to be the latest bike thread - can anyone recommend to me a hitch mounted rack for 5 bikes (2 adults, 3 kids)? I know I'll probably have to buy some cross bar adapters for the kid's bikes and my wife's.

Yakima and Thule are the big names, but as far as I know four bikes is the top.

I just got new pedals, with clips on one side, platforms on the other, and need to get new shoes. I'm just curious, are all bike shoes universal? Do I just screw the plates that came on the pedals onto the bottom of any bike shoe? Also, what's the difference between mountain shoes and road shoes? The mountain shoes just seem to have more rugged looking soles from the catalog pictures I've seen.

Yellow5 wrote:

I just got new pedals, with clips on one side, platforms on the other, and need to get new shoes. I'm just curious, are all bike shoes universal? Do I just screw the plates that came on the pedals onto the bottom of any bike shoe? Also, what's the difference between mountain shoes and road shoes? The mountain shoes just seem to have more rugged looking soles from the catalog pictures I've seen.

Most shoes will fit most cleats, but I think there are a few exceptions. It should be pretty easy to determine, though, as if they aren't universal it should be listed on the box. As far as the difference between mountain bike shoes and road shoes, mountain bike shoes typically have a recessed cleat and rubber sole underneath a (hopefully) carbon fiber sole plate. They're made for actually walking around. Road shoes eschew the sole and recessed cleat for weight concerns; they are just a carbon-fiber sole with cleats screwed into the bottom. You shouldn't ever have to walk around much in road shoes. I would avoid any shoe (mountain or road) that doesn't have carbon-fiber or fiberglass soles...molded plastic bend too much and don't distribute weight evenly across your foot.

Minarchist wrote:

You shouldn't ever have to walk around much in road shoes. I would avoid any shoe (mountain or road) that doesn't have carbon-fiber or fiberglass soles...molded plastic bend too much and don't distribute weight evenly across your foot.

Most mountain bike shoes are going to have a plastic or rubber outsole but there's an insert in them to make them rigid. I highly recommend Sidi shoes. My Dominators have lasted me six or seven years and countless creek crossings. The lugs are wearing off but the uppers are still in great shape.

I'd recommend getting a bike shoe with a buckle across the instep. The cheaper all-velcro ones are nearly impossible to secure properly. I have a pair of Sidi Dominators as well and they were worth every penny. Oh... Sidi makes a "mesh" version of the Dominator that may be worth looking around for if you're in a warm climate. They don't really have that much mesh, but a little bit is still better than none.

Just take the cleats with you when you look for bike shoes. It's easy enough to compare the bolt patterns on the shoe bottom to the cleats.

As long as you don't have anything too exotic, you should be fine. I'm guessing your pedals use SPD cleats (this guy), which are nearly universal for mountain bikes. If that's the case, you can buy any mountain shoe.

trowan wrote:

Since this seems to be the latest bike thread - can anyone recommend to me a hitch mounted rack for 5 bikes (2 adults, 3 kids)? I know I'll probably have to buy some cross bar adapters for the kid's bikes and my wife's.

Personally I think 5 bikes on a hitch-mounted rack may be pushing it. Even though the products exist. Here's one from Saris. I have no experience with this particular model, but I have a trunk-mounted Saris Bones 3 rack which I am absolutely happy with.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:
trowan wrote:

Since this seems to be the latest bike thread - can anyone recommend to me a hitch mounted rack for 5 bikes (2 adults, 3 kids)? I know I'll probably have to buy some cross bar adapters for the kid's bikes and my wife's.

Personally I think 5 bikes on a hitch-mounted rack may be pushing it. Even though the products exist. Here's one from Saris. I have no experience with this particular model, but I have a trunk-mounted Saris Bones 3 rack which I am absolutely happy with.

I ended up ordering a Yakima. I'll only need it for 4 bikes until my son gets a little older, his can fit in the trunk for now.

Crankset and bashguard arrived yesterday. I just finished getting those mounted now. Pics are a dash on the dark side as I haven't reinstalled Photoshop after installing Win7 so I had to use MSPaint (blech) to resize them but can't tweak levels.

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/IMG_0734.jpg)

New crankset and a peek at the bottom bracket mounted bashguard:
IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/IMG_0735.jpg)

Rear brake:
IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/IMG_0736.jpg)

Better shot of the bashguard:
IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/IMG_0737.jpg)

Nice job!!

By the way, are those Ergon grips you're running? Do the make a difference? I was thinking about getting them on my wife's bike -- she complains about sore wrists after long rides.

P.S. IMHO chainstay "protectors" are tacky.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

Nice job!!

By the way, are those Ergon grips you're running? Do the make a difference? I was thinking about getting them on my wife's bike -- she complains about sore wrists after long rides.

P.S. IMHO chainstay "protectors" are tacky. :P

Yup, those are Ergon GP1s. I like them a lot although I may give the GX1s a shot too. I've had wrist issues for a while and after moving up here and being on extended downhills my wrists were getting demolished. The Ergons do a great job of minimizing the palm nerve pinch as well as supporting the wrists.

The protectors might be tacky but it's insanely better than the incessant noise of chain slap, as well as the damage it does to the chainstay. I cut my old tube wrap off when I took my last frame in for the warranty replacement and threw out my spent tubes when I moved so I had to actually buy a protector.

Ordered small GP1's for the missus. Me, I'm rocking Topeak Mirror Bars -- each one has a nice fold-out mirror right in the handle. Very useful on the streets and busy park trails.

IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2957324440_c0ff301086.jpg?v=0)

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