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Bicycle age

Fair enough, clearly I don't know the difference. :p

What I don't get, is if that way of doing it is so much better, why aren't other fork manufacturers doing it? (Not the left hand only bit, but the actual bearings)
 

Teggy

Member
That is definitely a design that defies how you normally think forces work. Pretty crazy.

And what if I want a righty fork? This is PC gone wild!
 

Laekon

Member
Fair enough, clearly I don't know the difference. :p

What I don't get, is if that way of doing it is so much better, why aren't other fork manufacturers doing it? (Not the left hand only bit, but the actual bearings)

Who knows but probably because they take up a lot of space and add weight and cost. Cannonade did use bearings in a double sided fork for awhile. I don't remember the name but it had a dual crown and just huge in size. Also while the lefty has been lighter then a lot of comparable forks it hasn't been by much. Adding an additional bearing set and the plates they run on would probably weight a lot.

That is definitely a design that defies how you normally think forces work. Pretty crazy.

And what if I want a righty fork? This is PC gone wild!
Your car wheels are only attached on 1 side. I'm not a moto guy but haven't single sided rear ends been used frequently there as well?
 
While we argue over Lefties let's reflect back on the state of mountain biking in the 90s when it hit XTREME mode thanks to a rapid ramp in popularity. Look at this friggin thing:

shaun-palmer-intense-team-2014-01.jpg
 
So I am looking for a bike that's I can easily ride on the road and every once in a while can handle some pot holes or off the road riding. Friend told me to get a cyclo-cross bike but dose not seem to fit my budget of around $200-$250. Hybrids seem to be in a better price range. Below are bikes I have found after reading reviews on amazon.


Bike

Bike 2

Bike 3
 

Teggy

Member
Your car wheels are only attached on 1 side. I'm not a moto guy but haven't single sided rear ends been used frequently there as well?

Hm, forgot about independent suspension. Of course it's a lot easier to put force on you bike tire at a 45 degree angle than your car tire :)
 

Laekon

Member
So I am looking for a bike that's I can easily ride on the road and every once in a while can handle some pot holes or off the road riding. Friend told me to get a cyclo-cross bike but dose not seem to fit my budget of around $200-$250. Hybrids seem to be in a better price range. Below are bikes I have found after reading reviews on amazon.

I'd highly recommend saving another $110(or more w/ tax) and buying one of these

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/escape.3/22180/83981/

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/revel.2/22215/84076/

The first one is the better option. A shop will find the right size, let you try it out, assemble it correctly, and include a free break in tune up. With a lifetime warranty on the frame and a year warranty on all the parts it's totally worth $360.

Or look around on Craigslists for a similar bike (Giant Escape, Trek FX, Cannonade Quick) that doesn't look like the person ever rode it.
 
So I went for a 200km brevet today, had to pull out at 60km because I was feeling super bad, everything hurting and no power coming to the pedals. Coming home, I have 38.1C of fever.

Can you get a fever from bonking or is this just a flu coming in?
 

Teggy

Member
So I went out and drove around today, rode a bunch of bikes and wound up with something that wasn't on my list due to a sale. Here is my new ride (had to special order to get the color so I don't have it yet): Specialized Roubaix SL4 Sport:

 

HTupolev

Member
So the wheel is basically not worth saving. Bizarre spoke tension across the board, even if it had a new spoke and got adjusted who knows how screwed up everything is. And to begin with, it's basically just an okay stock wheel from the 80s.

So... time for an upgrade. :D

(Hopefully 126mm-spaced 27" wheels haven't become stupidly exotic yet.)

Some sexy new bikes up in here.
I'll probably make a contribution in a week or two. Track bike exists and is in my hands, but it needs some figuring out.
 

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
Did my new longest ride today, 34 miles with 2400ft of elevation gain. My previous long was 25 miles so it was a pretty big jump.

It was a nice ride too.

Training for a 72 mile ride in June.
 

robox

Member
on the other hand, maintaining my 8 year old road bike these past couple months has been a pita.

first the chain snapped on me, causing me to replace that
that exposed the wear on the cassette, which also got replaced
spent a few rides dialling down the indexing due to the changes (low cog went from 25 to 27)
which led me to discover my deraileur hanger was bent
attempted to bash it straight but it was already cracked and my attempt to put it back together snapped it all together
oh yeah, chainrings prob need a replacement too, since they're similarly worn

bike's been a workhorse over the years, and iwas beatin' up on carbon fools in group rides
so while i'd like to get a new bike, i don't need a new bike.... just need to keep things going
i like the idea of going from 9sp to new 105 11sp but i'd need new wheels. not willing yet to replace them Made In France Mavics


meanwhile my new track bike is sitting in need of wheels to get rolling but i've been waffling between cheaping out or getting what i really want and be done with
 

Teggy

Member
Shifters...tri / tt bikes don't have brifters unlike road bikes, unless you go Di2, in which case you can get brake / shifters for the bullhorns (they might also be attachble to aerobar ends...dunno)

That's quite the reach to shift then if you're not on the aero bars.

"Brifters"? So that's what they call those? I hadn't bought a bike in probably 16 years until today and the sales guy had to show me how they worked lol. My hybrid has grip shifters and I dont know what they were using on road bikes back then.
 

HTupolev

Member
That's quite the reach to shift then if you're not on the aero bars.
Yeah, but the idea with TT bikes is that in their intended use case you're almost always on the aero bars. Also, time trialing and triathloning isn't usually a group ride activity where a bunch of people are constantly trolling you with attacks, so having some latency on your shifts (due to having to move your hand to the shifter) should hardly matter.

"Brifters"? So that's what they call those? I hadn't bought a bike in probably 16 years until today and the sales guy had to show me how they worked lol. My hybrid has grip shifters and I dont know what they were using on road bikes back then.
Shimano has been making brifters since 1990. For bikes that don't use brifters, the most common configurations (that anyone out there is still using) are probably bar-end shifters...

wQsupke.jpg


...and downtube shifters.

IgYSfWz.jpg


And once you get the hang of a given configuration, shift latency with such things ain't all that bad.
 

Mascot

Member
New bike in the mix: a mate has a Saracen Ariel 14x build he's willing to part with for £400. I think it's a 2013 frame, Fox shocks f/r, pretty decent components. Very similar to this one:

p4pb11477313.jpg


Thoughts?
 
For £400? I'll buy it off him if you don't. lol, not even joking.

Even if you had to get the fork and shock fully serviced it would still be worth it.
 

Mascot

Member
Yeah, figured it was a good buy, even for a 26er. Don't know too much about the 14x but a ~3-yo FS for £400 can't be sniffed at. I've asked for a full spec and sizing, but he's the same height as me. Don't think there's a dropper on it, but I believe the frame is ready for stealth routing.
 
Pretty sure I need to get a new saddle. I have a Fizik Aliante which is set up for people who aren't flexible. This means if I drop down in anyway it's like I have a golf ball under my junk. I wonder if I should try the Antares or the Toupe. The Antares it he moderate flexibility seat from Fizik, but people swear up and down by the Toupe for a non-racing seat.
 
You probably wont. Cyclists come in full on t-rex form more often than not (I'm not really any different, I don't do a lot of arm work as there's really no point).
 
We only judge each other on our calves and thighs here bruh. ;)

But you should love the stupidly tight clothing. Not only does tighter mean more aerodynamic, but you'll also have bulges in all the right places!
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
We only judge each other on our calves and thighs here bruh. ;)

But you should love the stupidly tight clothing. Not only does tighter mean more aerodynamic, but you'll also have bulges in all the right places!

If I wear white Lycra and glasses I look like the Michelin Man.
 
glol

Lol no, I am not the hulk or anything even close. Just feeling a bit too snug on the bicep almost like it is cutting circulation. I ordered another type that is a little more relaxed cut and I'll compare.

You could go with mountain biking gear, but it tends to be looser all over.
 

teepo

Member
Pretty sure I need to get a new saddle. I have a Fizik Aliante which is set up for people who aren't flexible. This means if I drop down in anyway it's like I have a golf ball under my junk. I wonder if I should try the Antares or the Toupe. The Antares it he moderate flexibility seat from Fizik, but people swear up and down by the Toupe for a non-racing seat.

the Aliante had been working great for me up until recently. after several hours, the seat does become slightly unbearable where as before i had literally no issues. i am slightly more flexible now and i think maybe a year or two more i'll be able to touch my toes, something i haven't been able to do since a car accident herniated a disc or two which significantly tightened my hamstrings.

my LBS did let me try out the Toupe last year for a few weeks and it honestly at the time didn't feel any different than my Aliante but I've been considering giving it another go now that i'm more flexible. it's either that or the Antares.
 

Teggy

Member
Here's a question - I see most people with two bottle cages these days instead of a mounted pump. Is this because they are using little co2 pumps instead?
 

HTupolev

Member
Here's a question - I see most people with two bottle cages these days instead of a mounted pump. Is this because they are using little co2 pumps instead?
Or they've got a mini-pump in their pocket or saddle bag.

Also, you can stick a bottle cage over a mini-pump mounting bracket. Sometimes there's a geometry conflict, but usually it works out.

Also also, you can sometimes mount a pump along the top tube, which was done quite often in the glory days of the full-size frame pump.
 

snaffles

Member
Here's a question - I see most people with two bottle cages these days instead of a mounted pump. Is this because they are using little co2 pumps instead?

I have always just chanced it that I won't need one, has ended poorly on a couple of occasions.
 
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