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[Pinkuss]

Help! I've just got my new Cube GTC Pro and it's lovely. However once every revolution or so of me pedalling I hear a click. So far I've ruled out:

• No cables hitting the drive train (they are mostly enclosed in the frame)
• Pedals are lubed/tight (and brand new)
• Headset is on properly
• Seatpost is lubed and the clamp is tight
• The chain doesn't appear to be hitting anything (it happens on lower cogs too and I can only replicate it at speed)

Any ideas?

 

[Psychotext]

What bike was it that got nicked?

Was it insured?

Heavily upgraded GT Avalanche. Probably worth about a grand (GBP) all told.

Not insured. He'd just moved house and didn't have contents insurance yet. I'm not even handing the next bike over until he can show me a valid insurance policy.

 

[Final Boss]

Bike thieves are thundercunts of the highest calibre. Many years ago one followed a mate of mine down his garden path, into his house and nicked his bike from the kitchen. He swears it was out of his sight for seconds.

What bike was it that got nicked?

Was it insured?

You can insure a stolen bike? Like get a complete money back?

I just dropped $600 on a bike + additions

 

[Psychotext]

Can't speak for the US, but most people in the UK insure their bikes on their home contents insurance. There are loads of bike specific policies available though.

 

[Mascot]

Bike thieves should be hanged, which segues nicely into this hangage piccy from tonight which features a tree over the local castle moat where, legend has it, thieves and traitors were hanged in the 12th Century.

TLDR: fuck bike thieves.

If you look closely to the bottom left of my front wheel you can see a medieval bark carving of a dick and bollocks, which was obviously a satirical dig at the local squire.

 

[WedgeX]

Help! I've just got my new Cube GTC Pro and it's lovely. However once every revolution or so of me pedalling I hear a click. So far I've ruled out:

• No cables hitting the drive train (they are mostly enclosed in the frame)
• Pedals are lubed/tight (and brand new)
• Headset is on properly
• Seatpost is lubed and the clamp is tight
• The chain doesn't appear to be hitting anything (it happens on lower cogs too and I can only replicate it at speed)

Any ideas?

My bike was making a (what in my head is) similar click prior to my chain snapping. But your bike is new....

 

[opticalmace]

Major intersection was blocked off today.

Checked the news later, a 19yo female cyclist died.

 

[Stinkles]

Heavily upgraded GT Avalanche. Probably worth about a grand (GBP) all told.

Not insured. He'd just moved house and didn't have contents insurance yet. I'm not even handing the next bike over until he can show me a valid insurance policy.

GT was the first mtb I owned and I still think they're the best value out there. Speaking of which, any US gafers recommend a front shock mtb for fast trail riding? Nothing mental.

 

[ameratsu]

Major intersection was blocked off today.

Checked the news later, a 19yo female cyclist died.

That's really sad, RIP.

Went for a 50k ride today and found a large red chair

 

[Mascot]

GT was the first mtb I owned

Me too, a Richter 8.0

Went for a 50k ride today and found a large red chair

Nicely hangaged, but what was wrong with the more impressive opportunity on the chair back?

Major intersection was blocked off today.

Checked the news later, a 19yo female cyclist died.

Always a tragedy.

I was almost hit by cars two days running this week.
First was when some Julie pulled out in front of me at a T-junction without looking. In her defence though she was hot and had big bangers, so I forgave her.
Second one was a similar story on a roundabout. This one was some semi-human tattood sasquatch with a mustache, so she was yelled at.

Man, I really hate it when I have to ride on roads.

 

[Ecto311]

Anyone have preference on grips? I have been searching a bit and narrowed it down to ESI Chunky, ODI lock on or the ODI longneck. Right now my grips are the ones that bow out on the ends for ergonomics but are falling apart and sticky to the touch.


Also since I am newer to this I am trying to take my backpack with me on rides and not sure how to wear it. Should it be tighter up higher on your torso or hang a bit lower? Have yet to be on a long ride with the backpack and higher seems like it would be better over time.

 

[thomaser]

Also since I am newer to this I am trying to take my backpack with me on rides and not sure how to wear it. Should it be tighter up higher on your torso or hang a bit lower? Have yet to be on a long ride with the backpack and higher seems like it would be better over time.

Not sure which height is best, but I definitely prefer backpacks that fit snugly, so they don't move around. One that you can tighten over your breast as well as around the shoulders.

 

[Ecto311]

Not sure which height is best, but I definitely prefer backpacks that fit snugly, so they don't move around. One that you can tighten over your breast as well as around the shoulders.

I have been toying with the idea of putting on a sternum strap or waist strap but the length and height of that is hard to gauge. If I pull down the straps on the bottom the pack rides higher and seems snug but also feels like it would put a lot of upper shoulder stress on me on a longer ride.

 

[waypoetic]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I average 15mph when I'm commuting, meaning that I'm mostly going 20+ but there are some hills I have to deal with. My highest average at the end of a ride has been 18mph and that was me taking my rack off and gunning it as hard as I could for the duration of the ride. Still have to up a pretty long/steep hill to get to my house though so that always drags my average down. Just need to get better at climbing.

 

[ameratsu]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

30-32kph solo over flat terrain without a strong headwind. A bit slower when commuting just because of traffic and stuff.

 

[Psychotext]

Not sure which height is best, but I definitely prefer backpacks that fit snugly, so they don't move around. One that you can tighten over your breast as well as around the shoulders.

Scientifically speaking, the lower on your back the better. I love the camelbaks with the hip bladder. They're excellent for trail riding with.

 

[bucknuticus]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

Im usually anywhere from 15-19mph when im riding.

 

[Mascot]

Nice little playground for Danny MacAskill here. Getting down is fun. Getting back up? Not so much. The tidal flow up and down the Severn Estuary is extremely fast and powerful so you wouldn't want to get stranded down there.

 

[NetMapel]

Don't know if people can see this image. But it's basically a car parked inside the separated bike lane. Hmmmmmm...

 

[Psychotext]

Nice. =/

 

[waypoetic]

I'm at 30 kmh on average as well. Some dudes do 40 and I can't help to feel slow when I look at the leaderboards on Strava

 

[Mascot]

Oh dear. Broken wrist & concussion. Not me I hasten to add, but it did cut our ride short. Awesome terrain though. Huge jumps. Will post pics later. Just sparking up the bbq.

Edit :no hangage.

 

[Psychotext]

Ugh. Sounds bad. I'd say buy them a beer, but with a concussion that might not be the smartest move!

 

[Aiustis]

Don't know if people can see this image. But it's basically a car parked inside the separated bike lane. Hmmmmmm...

Here part of the bike lane is open to for cars to park at certain times of the day.

 

[ameratsu]

I'm at 30 kmh on average as well. Some dudes do 40 and I can't help to feel slow when I look at the leaderboards on Strava

I think if they are averaging 40 without a TT bike, they are riding in groups, putting themselves at a speed advantage against any lone riders.

 

[waypoetic]

I think if they are averaging 40 without a TT bike, they are riding in groups, putting themselves at a speed advantage against any lone riders.

Maybe they are, I don't know. The guy who's on top; his Strava profile picture shows him on a SS in a velodrome with massive thighs - not as massive as ze German Robert Forstermann's though haha..

 

[Stinkles]

Fantastic ride this morning. Perfect weather, tailwind on the way there, swam in Lake Washington to cool off, wind direction changed and I had a tailwind on the way back.

 

[Quote]

Anyone have preference on grips? I have been searching a bit and narrowed it down to ESI Chunky, ODI lock on or the ODI longneck. Right now my grips are the ones that bow out on the ends for ergonomics but are falling apart and sticky to the touch.


Also since I am newer to this I am trying to take my backpack with me on rides and not sure how to wear it. Should it be tighter up higher on your torso or hang a bit lower? Have yet to be on a long ride with the backpack and higher seems like it would be better over time.

Either the Erogn GP1 or GS1. I personally have the GS1. Previously I only purchased ESI, but I had to replace them pretty often because if they catch on a tree or you scrape them, the end up splitting and they're not exactly cheap for just being foam. I'll swear by the Ergon's though, I don't think i'll ever use anything else. I have yet to replace them in a year and they've gone through a lot. They'll also change your gripping technique of the better because you can't really death squeeze them like you would naturally.

I'm thinking about picking up one of their saddles soon as I've heard just as great things about them.

 

[Mascot]

Shit. Almost all of the photos from yesterday are useless because HDR was activated, and the two videos I took seem to have deleted themselves. Anyway, this place (Ashton Hill in Bristol) is amazing.

This is one of the medium-sized jumps, just caught the landing.

This is one of the larger jumps. Take off on the left, landing on the right. That is one scary gap..!

Big-ass ramp.

Big crash. Nasty head bump. Helmet destroyed. Concussion. Broken wrist.

 

[Psychotext]

Just imagine it without a helmet.

 

[Mascot]

Just imagine it without a helmet.

Doesn't bear thinking about. Split melon at the very least.

Edit: This is the place. Known locally as Belmont Woods, apparently. Some nice clips of a few of the jumps here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64kvn9NZuGo

 

[purg3]

How did you crash? Did you case one of those jumps or go over the bars?

We have a freeride/mini downhill course at the park by my house that has similar sized jumps with a rock garden and some other cool features, but I would never hit that stuff without wearing a full face helmet. You're pretty lucky, hopefully you have a speedy recovery!

 

[PjotrStroganov]

I also want to know at what point he crashed. Did he go to slow?

 

[waypoetic]

Man, I'd love to ride at a place like that.

 

[condompickle]

started riding again. i need a new bike.

 

[Mascot]

How did you crash? Did you case one of those jumps or go over the bars?

We have a freeride/mini downhill course at the park by my house that has similar sized jumps with a rock garden and some other cool features, but I would never hit that stuff without wearing a full face helmet. You're pretty lucky, hopefully you have a speedy recovery!

It wasn't me who crashed, it was a friend of mine, but thanks for the good thoughts.

I also want to know at what point he crashed. Did he go to slow?

Nah, it wasn't on the jumps, we were on a winding descent with high-speed berms. He hit a small jump slightly off-centre (and maybe a little too fast) and didn't see a shoebox-sized rock on the edge of the track in front of the landing position. He hit that, went flying over the bars and had a territorial dispute with a tree. Lucky not to bust a shoulder, too.

I was surprised the rock hadn't been moved out of the way when the tracks were formed, actually. It was in a pretty dangerous position. I pulled it out afterwards and filled the hole with dirt and packed it down to avoid it happening again.

 

[thomaser]

45 kilometers in the terrain today - rode the whole route of the mtb-event that's taking place next week. I did it in 2 hours 47 minutes, exactly 1 hour and ten minutes behind last year's winner... It's humbling, but then again I'm still only a bumbling beginner. My goal is to not come last.

I fell once, by the way. There's a part in the woods where the path becomes very narrow and climbs steeply up around 30 meters, with a creek running along the climb on the right side. I lost speed, faltered and fell, and landed right in the creek. Sprained a wrist and got a nice long bruise on a forearm, but otherwise no harm.

Any tips for biking in muddy marshes? There's a marsh after a long technical climb, and when I get there I'm so tired that I don't have the strength to speed up and power through. So I end up either spinning wheels in a very low gear, or simply get off the bike and walk. It's miserable.

 

[purg3]

It wasn't me who crashed, it was a friend of mine, but thanks for the good thoughts.



Nah, it wasn't on the jumps, we were on a winding descent with high-speed berms. He hit a small jump slightly off-centre (and maybe a little too fast) and didn't see a shoebox-sized rock on the edge of the track in front of the landing position. He hit that, went flying over the bars and had a territorial dispute with a tree. Lucky not to bust a shoulder, too.

I was surprised the rock hadn't been moved out of the way when the tracks were formed, actually. It was in a pretty dangerous position. I pulled it out afterwards and filled the hole with dirt and packed it down to avoid it happening again.

Ahh misread that. I had a similar style crash, except it was a small tree stump that was fully ground down. Hit that and went shoulder/face first into a tree. I got lucky with just some cuts and a bruised shoulder/collar bone.


Here's one of the trails about 15 minutes from where I live, not my video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mDf1yz3dQ

and the dirt jump section
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Tdgc30CmM

It's a pretty fun place to ride, also has a ton of more laid back trails and singletrack sections.

 

[waypoetic]

started riding again. i need a new bike.

You should get this year's version of the Demo 8.

... I know I would if I had ~6.500 bucks laying around

 

[Mascot]

Ahh misread that. I had a similar style crash, except it was a small tree stump that was fully ground down. Hit that and went shoulder/face first into a tree. I got lucky with just some cuts and a bruised shoulder/collar bone.


Here's one of the trails about 15 minutes from where I live, not my video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mDf1yz3dQ

and the dirt jump section
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Tdgc30CmM

It's a pretty fun place to ride, also has a ton of more laid back trails and singletrack sections.

Wow - fantastic!

 

[Stinkles]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

Not really a road biker, since I mostly ride a Gary Fisher Mendota hybrid, but I average 15-21mph.

 

[Norfair]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

According to Strava I average overall about 15 MPH

 

[MikeOfTheLivingDead]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

I'm no road biker but I average 15 mph in rush hour city traffic on a 3 speed with 20 inch wheels

 

[thomaser]

Road bikers of NeoGAF, what's your average speed?

Around 25 km/h. Up around 30 km/h if I try actively to go fast, on flatter routes.

 

[condompickle]

You should get this year's version of the Demo 8.

... I know I would if I had ~6.500 bucks laying around

yeah i felt weird the other day. saw my one friend riding the trails, he and his friends had the bikes with rear suspensions, and i wondered if it was worth it. trails around here are very rocky. idk. i got a 29er thinking it would be ok, but now i'm thinking i should get a new bike.

 

[Psychotext]

You don't need a full suspension bike to deal with rocky trails, unless you absolutely have to do them quickly. What you may need is some training.

 

[Jobiensis]

Don't worry or get discouraged about people being faster than you, there will always be someone faster than you. But, average speed is a meaningless metric on the leaderboards (and to a large extent overall). Someone doing 200+ miles/week with 15+k of climbing will have a slower average speed than someone doing 60 miles of flat.

 

[condompickle]

You don't need a full suspension bike to deal with rocky trails, unless you absolutely have to do them quickly. What you may need is some training.

love you. really thanks.

 

[Psychotext]

I just did a two day course and my confidence has increased massively. Obstacles that looked world ending when I arrived seemed fairly trivial by the end.