Psychotext
Member
I've only done it a few times, but even riding in a small group setup scares the shit out of me. You really need to trust that the people around you aren't idiots... and in my experience, everyone is an idiot.
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Bicycle age
- Thread starter elrechazado
- Start date
This is probably reason biggest reason why I'm so reluctant to participate in local group rides. Firstly, I'm too afraid of my own lack of skill regarding riding in a group, but once I factor in other people, it's enough to deter me completely. I know I'm likely missing out on a lot of good experiences, but for now I'm ok with my solo escape rides.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
You get good at keeping cadence with the group and not hard tapping the brakes.
I've done Cat 4 road races, and yeah, everyone is an idiot.
I don't mind riding in a group of people I know well, you need to be able to preempt situations, I prefer to ride on my own though........
Holy shit, I missed this from a few days ago. That is one expensive hardtail, PT. I'd be too scared to ride it! What made you go for this one? Last I knew you were looking at Canyon and YT full-sussers for around half of this price. The hardtail is for
And what's wrong with your old bike(s)?
Psychotext
Member
The full sussers I'm looking at are about the same price as that. I'm holding off on buying one as I want to see if I can try and demo a couple of 29er full suss bikes (I've seen a lot of people say they're better than 650b for the sort of stuff I ride).
My old bike badly needs a better fork to handle what I'm throwing at it lately, but because it's not a tapered headtube (and I can't use an external headset because it would make the head angle too slack), there's virtually nothing I can do about it (short of spending another £850 and importing one from the US). I've been watching ebay like a hawk for a Rockshox SID or a Fox 32 of appropriate spec, but no dice. To be honest though, upgrading it any further would be pointless... despite what Cotic have to say on the matter, 26 is dead.
..and yeah, to be honest I'm going to be terrified to ride it. But it'll realistically just be for ultra endurance stuff and races. Until I get the full suss I'll be using old faithful for gnarly trail duty.
My old bike badly needs a better fork to handle what I'm throwing at it lately, but because it's not a tapered headtube (and I can't use an external headset because it would make the head angle too slack), there's virtually nothing I can do about it (short of spending another £850 and importing one from the US). I've been watching ebay like a hawk for a Rockshox SID or a Fox 32 of appropriate spec, but no dice. To be honest though, upgrading it any further would be pointless... despite what Cotic have to say on the matter, 26 is dead.
..and yeah, to be honest I'm going to be terrified to ride it. But it'll realistically just be for ultra endurance stuff and races. Until I get the full suss I'll be using old faithful for gnarly trail duty.
Psychotext
Member
Cheers, but yeah... those are crazy money to be spending on a 10 year old bike.
Edit - Odd that they're all QR9 too. Some of the ones I've been looking at are QR15.
Edit - Odd that they're all QR9 too. Some of the ones I've been looking at are QR15.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Saw this posted on Reddit...there's a lot goign on in this picture that I can't fully comprehend
Psychotext
Member
Not sure what I'm missing. Looks like a bike.
jakonovski
Member
I must admit I'm a bit intrigued as I can't see anything weird either. Another one of those "once you see it you will pedal squares" things?
frontieruk
Member
Under the roadie rules he shouldn't have a pump or a saddle bag maybe?
TarpitCarnivore
Member
It's just the combination of everything: Cervelo R3 carbon frame, chinese carbon wheels, the huge chunk of spacers in the stack, and rounded out with a mini-floor pump strapped to the frame.
Maybe I'm being too harshly judgemental, but it just screams Fred.
Maybe I'm being too harshly judgemental, but it just screams Fred.
Wax Free Vanilla
Member
Looks like there's a crack on the front rim?
Psychotext
Member
Ehh, it's not the prettiest setup, but it still works. I'd personally pick a prettier saddle bag, and a decent black pump and a higher end set of lights.
Rims are ugly, but I bet they're still quick.
Rims are ugly, but I bet they're still quick.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Speaking of rims:
Would anyone here buy and trust chinese carbon rims? I get you can save cash and gains some serious WATTTTTS, but I'd be seriously uneasy bombing hills with an unknown brand with no reputation.
Would anyone here buy and trust chinese carbon rims? I get you can save cash and gains some serious WATTTTTS, but I'd be seriously uneasy bombing hills with an unknown brand with no reputation.
My Manitou fork came. Dropped bike off at LBS to install. 1 week turnaround time sucks but what can you do. I can do everything but install a new star nut so I figured I'd just have them do the whole thing.
Tempted to get this 2x10 SLX set. Only $300 CAD!
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-2-x-10-transmission-groupset-75067.html
Tempted to get this 2x10 SLX set. Only $300 CAD!
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-2-x-10-transmission-groupset-75067.html
I just bit the bullet on my first set of carbon rims and while I don't have a set of Lightbike rims, most everything I read about them seemed to suggest that the company was fairly easy to deal with and made a decent quality product. Most complaints that I saw were from a few years back.
I ended up ordering a set of NOBL rims, as they're hand built in Canada and I was able to get a DT Swiss build for a decent price. From what I understand, NOBL's rims are custom layups that are crafted by Lightbike exclusively for them. They also seem to have good reviews over the past 2 years or so, have been great at answering my questions along the way, and were only ~150 more than ordering direct from Lightbike.
Psychotext
Member
This makes me very sad: Bike Park Ireland - Re-surfacing the blue trail
The roadification of offroad trails, as predicted by Orwell. It's political correctness gone mad!
Psychotext
Member
It was actually a great little trail too. Sure, on the challenging side for a blue... but they've turned it into a green. All they needed to do was smooth out some of the rockier bits and improve the drainage a little.
Darth Pinche
Member
One week?! That is crazy my local shops will all do it in a day or so. The star nut is easy, the only tricky part is cutting the steerer.
Psychotext
Member
I can only assume that they wanted to make something the roadies can take their bikes on.
What does "Fred" mean? Please don't let it be derisive Roadbiker terminology for a wannabe. I already have enough issues with road bikes.
https://biskey7.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/bicycling-are-you-a-fred/
Yep, it's a derisive term used by cycling elitists. A shame.
Yep, it's a derisive term used by cycling elitists. A shame.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Saw this posted on Reddit...there's a lot goign on in this picture that I can't fully comprehend
Well, at first blush: There's the stem, there's the seat angle, and there's the terrible (I had the same one on my touring bike so I know) pump.
My commuter doesn't look that great but then it's my commuter so I don't give a shit as long it can get me to and from and I always have all I need to change a flat on the bike.
i got into a small argument with my brother about it. he would do it, i wouldn't.
my argument against unbranded wheels is basically being a brand whore. a wheel is an integral part of the bike, and besides frame the part i would fear failure the most. and having a brand means building up that brand and having a reputation, so of course they would provide more support for their product. many china carbon makers seem like fly by night operations. they'll sell you something on the cheap but may not be there in a few months if anything goes wrong. or even if they are around, they're still just an online ghost located overseas so it's harder to hold them accountable to begin with.
The biggest problem is, you have no idea what you are getting, you could be getting a pukker set of unbranded high end wheels out the side door of a Taiwanese factory, or you could be getting a set of wheels made using old moulds brought from a factory and made up using lower quality carbon, packed out with newspaper.
A lot of rebranded wheels and frames (Ribble, Planet X etc) are unbranded far eastern components, but they know where they are coming from, and are happy with the QC of said factory.
That said, you still take a chance, last year a racing friend of mine died when his forks failed on a branded frame, so I guess you take your chances whatever.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/faulty_c...f_top_sudbury_cyclist_inquest_hears_1_4559423
RIP Jon :-(
Jesus Christ, that's awful. 20mph. Carbon/metal bonding on bikes has always been a concern of mine after studying it at Uni as part of a module. You should repost this item in the 'I don't need to wear a helmet because daffodils and windmills' thread.
There's a quarter-mile 40mph downhill section I do whenever I ride my local trails and every single time I go down it I think how fucked I'd be if the front wheel collapsed or the rear brake failed (it terminates in a T-junction). Scary stuff.
It is awful, I mean it's an awful thing to happen to anyone, but he was a genuinely lovely bloke.
It's made me more aware of things, the other day I had a huge stone flick up and hit the down tube on my carbon frame with a big thwack, I had to stop, get off and make sure that it hadn't caused any damage, because it doesn't take much of an impact to delaminate carbon.
Can cause catastrophic circumstances if something like that fails at any kind of speed, be safe people.
Psychotext
Member
I passed one the other day that had been reclaimed by nature. It felt very post apocalyptic.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Heh, yeah. I generally hate using the term but it's the first thing that came to mind when I saw this.
That's exactly the reason why I'd not buy carbon off ebay like so many are doing. No way of knowing the QC of what's coming out of those sales.
That story also just made me even more hesitant to invest in a carbon fork for my steel.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Anyone have tips for long distance bike transport? We have a solid trunk rack from Thule and I plan to cable the bikes together, but I've never driven more than an hour with it and I have an 8-10 hour trip planned.
Put them in the car?, I mean I understand it depends on what car you have, and whether you have 4 people in the car, but that is my preferred method of transport.
We've been to France and Belgium with the bikes and even in a reasonable sized hatchback there is enough space for two bikes in the back with luggage and two people, also saves the hassle of someone having to stay with the car and bikes if you need to fill up or stop for a bite to eat / whatever.
Otherwise, depends on your rack, my goto if I am taking more people or more bikes is a towbar mounted Thule rack, it's rock solid, and I've driven to Derby with it (6hr round trip)
Psychotext
Member
I don't do anything different. I'd cable tie them to the rack just in case though, and obviously check the rack carefully.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I'd put them in the car, but the back seats are going to be in use. I thought about going for the tow rack instead, but it'd be a costly investment for a single purpose trip.
The ONLY thing I thought about doing, and it might be a dumb one, is to take the wheels off and put them into the car. This would take some weight off overall, but it'd also be a pretty dumb thing to do.
The ONLY thing I thought about doing, and it might be a dumb one, is to take the wheels off and put them into the car. This would take some weight off overall, but it'd also be a pretty dumb thing to do.
Favourite climbs, what are yours?
Mine are......
Horseshoe Pass - Not the steepest, but I love it.
https://www.strava.com/activities/85758334
Bwlch-y-groes - Holy shit, it was hard!, I am way too big to be a climber! (I am like 900 on the leaderboard), I should really stick to time trials!
https://www.strava.com/activities/85758329
Hirnant pass - Not quite as steep as the Bwlch, but it's a cracking climb, road surface is better, and the descent is awesome.
https://www.strava.com/activities/86638280
Mine are......
Horseshoe Pass - Not the steepest, but I love it.
https://www.strava.com/activities/85758334
Bwlch-y-groes - Holy shit, it was hard!, I am way too big to be a climber! (I am like 900 on the leaderboard), I should really stick to time trials!
https://www.strava.com/activities/85758329
Hirnant pass - Not quite as steep as the Bwlch, but it's a cracking climb, road surface is better, and the descent is awesome.
https://www.strava.com/activities/86638280
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Y'all should watch the final 1KM of todays stage at the TdF. Complete idiocy happened.
i so badly want to ride this
wish we had climbs like that in virginia, at least relatively close to the dc metro area
Psychotext
Member
I've done hundreds of miles journeys with my bikes on the car (both on the roof, and on a tow bar rack). It's really no issue as long as you have it all set up properly.
Try that one on a mountain bike covered in bikepacking gear whilst being roasted by stupidly hot temperatures.
I still managed to catch, pass and gap a roadie though.
Psychotext
Member
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