Biking: Catch-all

Orange is always nice and flashy, but first I'd ask if you have any pieces of kit that you wear every day that are strongly colored? Red helmet, blue gloves, etc. etc.

I've always been partial to raw or red leather on a black frame.

Went mountain biking at Curt Gowdy state park with my roommate today and had a blast. Pushed my limits a bit and came away unscathed! (Only had to bail off my bike once... it's not important)

#selfie
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#actualselfie
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We have the best bridges...
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After my typical ride of just over 7 miles, I took on a 24 mile round trip group ride with the plan of cutting it short and soon about 16 or so.

Due to a misunderstanding of the starting point (thought it was a mile from my house so I rode to it, but it was actually 12 miles away) I ended up doing a full 23 miles and none of the actual group ride route.

It was enjoyable, but now that it's the next day, it looks like my stretching wasn't enough to not pull a muscle. I'm pretty sore in one leg and a bit queasy. Still, for over 3x my typical route and more miles than I planned, I think I came away better than expected.

I rode just around 100km over the last two days. I think it's nap time.

WipEout wrote:
gore wrote:

The Pacer weighs ~6 lbs with fork and a carbon fiber frame would be somewhere around 3 pounds. It's a difference that's totally meaningless for a normal rider. If I really need to save 3 pounds I'll just lay off the beer for a while.

Oh man... I'm getting to a point where my normal biking routine isn't keeping off the pounds anymore (granted, I don't ride much more than 10 miles at a time, though). I've all but quit with the beer but the gut still hasn't gone away :(

The gut won't go away with cycling alone. Cycling doesn't develop strength and flexibility much overall in the first place.

Recommend cross-training. Weights training with an emphasis on core muscles and global strength development will tone your abdominals and at least tighten up the midsection even if it doesn't do much about the volume. On a ride, this can help with wrist and back soreness, as improved core strength will allow you to use your core muscles to shift your weight around effectively without changing your posture.

I highly recommend against doing a full weights routine on the same days as a long ride, though. Not good.

So my wife got a Pacer, and it is super awesome!

It's quite an upgrade over her ~8 year old ill fitting Trek 1000. The shifting on 11 speed 105 is so smooth, she really digs it.

So we hammered out a couple 100kms together over the last month, and she's doing really great for somebody who doesn't ride long distances much. We're set to do a 100 mile supported charity ride in August - it'll be the longest ever ride for her, and I'm excited about it (and really glad she's got the Pacer to do it with).

Joined a local club, with my increased ride frequency I realized I needed more kit (I ony had one set that I was washing after every ride). Club kit was a good deal, I feel so fancy now that I match everyone else

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Did a charity night ride the other day with the fam, it was fun!

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You can see my wife's Pacer there, and my daughter acting as Stoker. We even had a moment where I pulled up beside another dad towing his kid in a similar contraption, and we had a dad race - I won

Now that I'm biking to work (~10-18 miles depending on route), this will come real handy for the dark winters.

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Any thoughts on folding bikes? My current bike takes up a lot of space in my apartment so I was thinking of getting something more compact. Most of the places I go don't have hills.

Also how much does it usually cost to have a bike that sat around for 10 years collecting dust serviced? Both tires wont hold air for long. Can't get the brakes to work.

I have a Doppelganger - entry level Japanese foldies. They're very handy for reducing space requirements. Doppels and Dahons don't fold as neatly as Bromptons, but the 20' wheels conserve momentum better, are less twitchy, and less prone to spills on potholes. Hills are not an issue for foldies. The smaller wheel sizes means that they generally have more forgiving gear ratios for the same size drivetrains, so it's actually easier to pedal up hills with a foldie. They're pretty sucky for long distance riding, though. They do not hold momentum very well unless you're getting a 26 incher. Anything within 50 km is alright. Once you're hitting 70km, you want bigger wheels or just a normal bike.

Tires not holding air could just be interior tubes, if you're not tubeless. Should be cheap to just outright replace.

Thanks for the info.

My wife finished her first century! Only the second long ride on her pacer, she did great. We managed just over 17mph, I pulled nearly the whole way, trying to precisely match her pace.

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Renji wrote:

Went mountain biking at Curt Gowdy state park with my roommate today and had a blast.

I keep meaning to get up there for a camping trip. It's a one-stop location for biking, kayaking, and archery!

Revolights is having a 20% off sale including the Eclipse+! I was able to snag it for $175 when it's $220 so now I'm super happy and can't wait to bike at night. http://queue.social/TlMwCgU

I'm going to ask a really 'basic' question, which should give you some indication of my level of bicycle enthusiast, but here goes.

What is the main reason to ride a 'fat tyre' bike over a regular tyred bike? I know regular is a subjective term, so apologies in that regard.

Is it just a "more fun ride", greater versatility in respect to surfaces you can ride on (greater surface area), or a more comfortable ride?

Is it harder to pedal with the larger wheels?

Sorry for the stupid, but I figured you guys would be "kind" in dealing with that

My understanding is the original use for fat tire bikes was for very loose surfaces like sand and snow.

Fatter tires will generate more rolling resistance which would, in theory, make it more difficult to pedal when compared to thinner tires (main reason that road bikes have narrow tires).

billybob476 has the right of it. They're made to be "all-terrain" but have gained popularity for (in my opinion) the novelty. "Haha! Look at that dude take that fat tire bike over those jumps! Silly!"

And technically they are harder to push because of the massive rolling resistance and excess weight, but that's why the generally come with a much smaller gear ratio-- they're all torque and no top end.

That's not to say they aren't fun to ride or there's no use for them, but I find it hilariously wasteful when I see people riding them down the street in the middle of a Chicago summer. Especially because come winter, I'm still out on my fixie with cyclo-cross tires, and those schmucks are nowhere to be found.

I'd definitely be the "interested for the novelty" purchaser. I saw one reduced from $300 to $150 at a department store. My other bike, that is quite serviceable, is my wife's hot pink mountain bike.

It's a borderline impulse buy to accompany my kids with when we start cycling to school again as the warmer months arrive. If it's a chore to ride, that could double as some decent cardio... I have an aluminium framed mountain bike in pieces that I rescued from our local recycling center. Maybe i should invest the $150 into that instead?

I might drop by the store again in the morning and see if I really want to get in trouble over bringing it home with me...

One thing to watch out for with fat bikes is how you're going to transport them. They may not fit well on standard bike racks, due to the large tires and (likely) wider tubes.

If you have racks on the fronts of buses where you are, they likely will not fit on those racks either.

So, on closer inspection...

No gear setup, just straight pedal to back wheel, which would limit usability I'm guessing.

No disc brake setup, which I've read it's important on fat wheels.

Generally unfavorable reviews online for what I'm judging is a comparative bike in other markets.

So, I'll avoid this one for now, and make a less impulsive decision once I've looked at this light alloy frame I've got. Thanks for indulging me as I lowered the standard of bike chatter, I realised in my searching that some people have spent more on seats than I was looking at for the whole bike.

I'm sure it's been talked about in this thread but searching is for fools. FOOLS. I'm going to tinker with more early morning/evening riding to work with my schedule. As it's getting darker, I'm probably going to want to get some decent forward lighting. I have a conventional light with always-on and strobe functions, but it feels rather more like something to alert others than to illuminate the road. (I also have a tail light, and will insure I'm reflective, so covered there.)

Does anyone have particular experiences with a good set?

There are plenty of good choices, but I'm partial to the NiteRider Lumina series myself. Been using them for years and they're reliable and very bright. Also have a walk setting so you can use the light off your bike as well. There are cheaper options, but if you want a decent headlight (as opposed to a safety light) you are gonna have to shell out a bit more.

I'm using the Volt 700 and 1200. Brilliant lights.

Serengeti wrote:

There are plenty of good choices, but I'm partial to the NiteRider Lumina series myself. Been using them for years and they're reliable and very bright. Also have a walk setting so you can use the light off your bike as well. There are cheaper options, but if you want a decent headlight (as opposed to a safety light) you are gonna have to shell out a bit more.

Thanks. The NiteRider Lumina 750 looks just about right, all around.

Taking my fiance to the High Trestle Trail this weekend. Her first time. It's pretty spectacular at night!

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And during the day as well!

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Duuuuuuude.

That's badass!!

Hahaha, that makes High Bridge Trail look so antiquated.