Biking: Catch-all

Sport legs might help, too. I used to sell them to triathletes (at the recommendation of a few triathletes and PTs) but I never tried them myself, as I've never ridden a century or triathlon or got dead legs. But always be sure to bring as much water as possible. If you're not an elitist road bike snob such as myself and many others, wear a CamelBak, as well as carry a bottle of water and (I recommend) a bottle of water with a Nuun tablet. Drop a tablet in a water bottle, and it's like sugar-free Gatorade-- energy, electrolytes, all that. I love the stuff.

I've become a pretty big fan of this stuff in the last couple of years, which can be had on Amazon for not much money. I feel like that little bit of protein helps with longer rides, as I feel much less fatigued later on. It could all be psychosomatic, of course, but I dunno...works for me.

WipEout wrote:

Sport legs might help, too. I used to sell them to triathletes (at the recommendation of a few triathletes and PTs) but I never tried them myself, as I've never ridden a century or triathlon or got dead legs. But always be sure to bring as much water as possible. If you're not an elitist road bike snob such as myself and many others, wear a CamelBak, as well as carry a bottle of water and (I recommend) a bottle of water with a Nuun tablet. Drop a tablet in a water bottle, and it's like sugar-free Gatorade-- energy, electrolytes, all that. I love the stuff.

Do Tracy and Lanny Barnes deliver the package to my door?

Do you really want those crazy eyes seeing where you live?

The only eyes you see on that page are crazy. I think I'll pass on the Sport Legs Kool-Aid, thanks.

Minarchist wrote:

I've become a pretty big fan of this stuff in the last couple of years, which can be had on Amazon for not much money. I feel like that little bit of protein helps with longer rides, as I feel much less fatigued later on. It could all be psychosomatic, of course, but I dunno...works for me.

FWIW, my experience with Accelerade is similar -- I get a lot less fatigue and muscle soreness after a ride if I've been drinking it than other sports drinks.

Cross-posting this from the questions thread, since it's bicycle-related

My bike team does a lot of long distance road rides and a lot of party rides as well, and obviously you need some good tunes to keep you going! I had a CycleSound for a few years, and it worked well, but the sound quality and volume wasn't anything to write home about (not surprising with 2 inch speakers), so this year I decided to build my own rack-mounted stereo.

What I came up with was this:

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/bike1.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/serengeti000/bike2.jpg)

On the rack is a length of 6" PVC pipe with the speakers attached to PVC end caps. The amplifier is velcro'd to the interior wall of the pipe. In order to take some of the weight off the back of the bike and redistribute it forward, the battery is hanging from the top tube via more velcro. I have a handlebar mount for my iPhone, and run cables back from my phone and the battery to the tube, where they meet the amp.

It actually sounds really good, and only adds 13.5 lbs of weight to the bike (6 for the battery, 7.5 for the tube). Got quite a lot of compliments on RAGBRAI this year, and a lot of people who want me to build them one.

Edit: If you're curious, here's the parts list.

Power
12v 9ah SLA battery - $25.50

Electronics
6.5" Infinity 4Ohm marine speakers - $72.71
Sure 2x15W 4Ohm digital amp - $22

Parts
6" PVC pipe - $20
6" PVC cap x2 - $22
Various wires - $20
Screws, u-bolts, PVC cement, velcro, paint - $25

Total Cost: ~$210.

I probably could have gotten cheaper speakers and saved some money, but I really like those Infinity marine speakers, and I don't have to worry about riding in the rain.

Dude that's intense! And thanks for not wearing headphones when you ride. I would love to listen to music on a ride, but I'm not so dumb as to cut off awareness of my surrounding by sticking earplugs in my ears.

WipEout wrote:

Dude that's intense! And thanks for not wearing headphones when you ride. I would love to listen to music on a ride, but I'm not so dumb as to cut off awareness of my surrounding by sticking earplugs in my ears.

+1 for importance.

I've been riding my MTB on several (solo) road rides lately, so I decided to go ahead and get a road bike. I found a good deal on a 2011 Specialized Allez Elite with Shimano Tiagra group set. I did my first group ride on it today and I'm very happy with it so far. This is the first time I've ever had clipless pedals and that was more of a learning curve than I'd expected. I laid it over a couple of times on my first ride earlier in the week due to not clipping out soon enough. I practiced quite a bit today and I've got it down now. I was extra careful during the group ride so as to not cause any wrecks. Everything went very smoothly even though we had rain.

I really enjoyed the group ride and I can see myself getting into cycling more seriously. For those of you who are more in the know, when I start wanting to add more of the higher-end components, will the aluminum frame of the Allez Elite be good enough to keep and just upgrade the group set to 105 or Ultegra, or will a carbon fiber frame make more of a difference?

Serengeti, that's a sweet setup you have there!

It has carbon seat stays, right?If so, I'd say it'd be a good frame to upgrade to 105 or Ultegra if you really wanted to. You may also want to consider upgrading the wheelset for something a little lighter once you're trying to eek out performance-- perhaps the Mavic Ksyrium Equipe, or Easton EA70 Aero wheelsets. You'd be amazed at the difference a wheelset can make. But definitely get off the Tiagra drivetrain first.

Rolling weight is the worst because you have to move it so damn much.

Lawdog wrote:

For those of you who are more in the know, when I start wanting to add more of the higher-end components, will the aluminum frame of the Allez Elite be good enough to keep and just upgrade the group set to 105 or Ultegra, or will a carbon fiber frame make more of a difference?

What a lot of us do is upgrade parts, then when you feel the frame is holding you back just buy a frameset and transfer your nic components over to that.

Tip: 3M makes some new (at least I think they're new) safety glasses called FlexForce that work great as cycling glasses, and only cost $20 at Lowes.

Just finished some modifications to my stereo. After doing some tests I determined that the battery I was using would give me enough juice to run for about 32 hours at full volume. I figured that I'd never need that much juice in one go, so I picked up a 5ah battery that's much smaller. I was able to fit the new battery inside the PVC between the speakers, so now I no longer have a big battery hanging from my crossbar. The new battery should give me about 18 hours of play and cut 4.5 lbs off the weight to boot. I'd post some new pics, but the stereo looks exactly the same externally, with the exception that there's now a power switch above the other 2 inputs.

Now to take it out for a test ride...

My husband just went and put himself on the list for a Pelican. We really do have to plan and execute a whole-family bike tour. And possibly sell one of the bikes currently in the garage.

IMAGE(http://www.cyclezine.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bdbpelican2.jpg)

In other news, we're starting to have warm enough days that I may overcome my irrational (?) fear of biking in the cold and take myself out for a spin sometime soon. (It helps that we've had a very mild winter this year, and I won't have snow, slush and ice to contend with.)

Any good helmet recommendations for single track trail and mountain riding, nothing to extreme yet, just getting back into riding but got the itch and figure should do it right this time around.

Spend a bit of money, it'll pay off massively. Bell and Gyro are both good. The main thing is to get one with the ratcheting strap system so that it shapes to your head rather than one that just has pads on the foam liner. More money gets you more vents and better features, like removable/adjustable visor, cam lock strap adjustments, etc. You want more vents.

Sorry should have included this the first time,
http://www.giro.com/us_en/products/c...

This was a recommendation I got from a dude in the office, but he is an idiot on most things practical so yeah.

At that price point I'd go for the Phase. If you can though, get into a shop and try them on. You don't want pressure points on something that's going to be on your head for hours at a time.

Where is the diminishing return point on $$$ for helmets? Basically what point am i spending money for things that dont matter to my novice ass? I don't mind dropping cash if it enhances protection/comfort, performance isn't a huge for me yet.

I want to sort out what I am looking for before I head in to the bike shop, last time I was there the dude saw me coming and soaked me for all i was worth when i bought this bike. I over bought and didn't get nearly the quality I could have for the money i spent.

It's hard for me to say, honestly. I splurge at "interface" points for biking as typically you get a lot of bang for the buck and those are your comfor-dependent points. I also have an oblong head and always have trouble getting helmets and hats that fit well. So for me a $130 helmet is a (*ahem*) no-brainer. I also really like well-ventilated helmets.

However, all helmets are required to have a safety rating, so there's no functional improvement in the base purpose of a helmet, it's all about fit and features. For me, required features are the aforementioned ventilation, a ratcheting adjustment band, replaceable pads (I'll go through a couple of sets of pads in a season), comfortable strap system, and a visor. The way I look at it, I typically use a helmet for two active seasons, then get a new one and use my old one as a spare and my light-mount helmet for night-riding. But there's no reason you can't get four seasons out of a helmet, so for me the cost difference between a $75 mid-level helmet and a $135 high-end isn't even a consideration, that's like $2/mo over the life of the helmet and for my needs I get huge return for the upgrade. Now if you've got an average shaped head then you can most likely get the same comfort out of mid-tier helmet and put the savings into a CamelBak.

If you can't trust your LBS, find a different one. If you can, try REI as they'll have a good selection and staff that cares. Small bike shops are hit or miss, I'm lucky to be within a few miles of several. But that's also because the reason we moved here is because it's a mountain biking mecca.

TL, DR: what you want is the ratcheting headband and the more vents the better. Find the helmet that fits best in your price range.

WiredAsylum wrote:

Where is the diminishing return point on $$$ for helmets? Basically what point am i spending money for things that dont matter to my novice ass? I don't mind dropping cash if it enhances protection/comfort, performance isn't a huge for me yet.

I want to sort out what I am looking for before I head in to the bike shop, last time I was there the dude saw me coming and soaked me for all i was worth when i bought this bike. I over bought and didn't get nearly the quality I could have for the money i spent.

Been a couple years since I worked in a bike shop, but if I recall, $75 in a good ceiling for a novice rider. Anything more than that gets you more aerodynamics, lighter materials (read: less material), race helmets you might see pros wear on TV, etc. For a novice looking to save some cash, more than $75 isn't going to get you a better-quality helmet necessarily. Although, like Mantis points out, a higher-priced helmet might fit you better/more comfortably, you'll still need to try them on to be sure. In other words, don't spend extra cash on a helmet for the sole purpose of being more expensive than the rest.

Also, the ratcheting head brace and vents are definitely things you want in a helmet.

LiquidMantis wrote:

It's hard for me to say, honestly. I splurge at "interface" points for biking as typically you get a lot of bang for the buck and those are your comfor-dependent points. I also have an oblong head and always have trouble getting helmets and hats that fit well. So for me a $130 helmet is a (*ahem*) no-brainer. I also really like well-ventilated helmets.

Same here. And it's super-imortant to try helmets at a store to make sure the one you're getting fits your head. It's possible to do pretty well with sales too, if you aren't terribly picky about the color scheme you want. I got this helmet for around $100 because the store was unloading the red/white/blue color scheme which I gather wasn't terribly popular.

To go back to the earlier "wear biking shoes" discussion, I wore my running shoes while biking, because I have a crappy right ankle and wear them everywhere because they have really good arch support. Except, of course, the toe clip on the left rubbed against my foot so much that months later I'm still dealing with really annoying tendinitis in my LEFT foot. Back to the podiatrist tomorrow, it may be time to start a few rounds of cortisone shots.

@#$!!!!

Buy biking shoes.

Also, soft-soled shoes (e.g. anything not specifically made for cycling) will actually allow your foot to wrap around the pedal some, giving you hot-spots and possibly hurting your foot pretty badly. Carbon-fiber soled shoes that distribute the downward pressure evenly across your foot are basically mandatory for any significant riding.

And while your down there, might as well go clipless...

I'm going clipless; I just wish I'd listened because this damn tendinitis has been going on for a couple months. Really sick of it.

Helmet-wise: I too really want to stress ventilation. This is perhaps the biggest thing besides fit if you're not concerned with aerodynamics or counting grams. $120 retail (the present sweet spot before costs increase dramatically for race-performance-benefit-only returns) may seem like a lot for something purchased to take damage, but the increase in comfort is dramatic. Much the same as one may scoff at the notion of "those stupid shorts" and then be blown away by their contribution to your butt not hurting and seams not digging into your nethers once you've tried them, not having hair swamp run-off makes riding better. Caveat to the sale talk: remember that the foam in helmets contain a lot of air pockets, and over time (not use!), this material will lose its effectiveness. Most helmets will have the manufacturing date printed on a label on the inside. Anything much older than a year out should be weighed against new helmets in terms of savings - they should be swapped out every three or four years anyway.

As for shoes: yes, stiffer soles are by far the way to go. Carbon fiber soles are best, but a lot of manufacturers will do glass-reinforced plastic in the better entry-level shoes, and it still beats flexible rubber or plastic by a long shot. The trickier part by far is getting a good fit, particularly if you have wide feet, so shop around. Cleat positioning is the other big deal. Even if you're riding for recreation, don't hesitate to visit your nearest high-end shop (the one that routinely moves carbon racing wheels and other exorbitant luxuries) and bug them about cleat positioning. If you didn't get the shoes or pedals from them, ask them what they'd charge you to get them setup without doing a full-on bike fit. Avoiding the discouragement of pain is a pretty big deal.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I'm going clipless; I just wish I'd listened because this damn tendinitis has been going on for a couple months. Really sick of it.

What pedals are you considering? Disclaimer: I am a shop mechanic and have numerous thoughts on the subject. But note that I'm not advertising; rather, I have opinions and observations which may be of some value to you.

ianunderhill wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I'm going clipless; I just wish I'd listened because this damn tendinitis has been going on for a couple months. Really sick of it.

What pedals are you considering? Disclaimer: I am a shop mechanic and have numerous thoughts on the subject. But note that I'm not advertising; rather, I have opinions and observations which may be of some value to you.

I'm considering . . . clipless pedals of some sort that will theoretically go on a bike.

Haven't looked. It's early March in Minnesota, so I have some time to worry about it. Willing to take advice. I would prefer shoes that would have some decent arch support, because my ankles suck.