Where are you in this photo?
No, joking aside - where are you? The flora looks kind of tropical. California?
Jesus wept, I just zoomed in on your hands.
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Bicycle age
- Thread starter elrechazado
- Start date
Where are you in this photo?
Jesus wept, I just zoomed in on your hands.
2002whitegt
Member
The Anthills in Houston, that little section has those type of plants, looks different than the rest of the trail.
I'm definitely enjoying it, it's just been a bit of an adjustment from riding a very upright feeling hybrid with a really soft seat for the past 15 years or so.
2002whitegt
Member
At 45 seconds into the video is where I fell, I was coming the other way, the descent has eroded a bit, and is definitely more technical now.
It's a nice trail, probably the best in Houston, since 2015 there has also been quite a few jumps, and berms added to the trail, the trail steward is doing a great job of adding features for both beginners and advanced riders.
Psychotext
Member
That does look good. Nice.
Parts of it reminded me of my own local trails. I must try to shoot a highlights reel one of these weekends to give a good idea of the variety on tap. It'll involve Gorillapodding the S6E to trees and doing fly-bys so might take a while to shoot and edit. Not got a good helmet mount or chest mount but the video camera is bloody good - 1080p/60.
Psychotext
Member
On road bikes? Complete madness.
I know a lot of mountain bikers who have them but never use them, just like front fork lock-outs.
Psychotext
Member
I'm always on and off the lock out. But then I know how to climb hills efficiently. 
As for the dropper... depends on the terrain. There are some trail centres where they're a no brainer, but for most riding it's a bit of a waste.
As for the dropper... depends on the terrain. There are some trail centres where they're a no brainer, but for most riding it's a bit of a waste.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Cool, another thing for weekend warriors to drop money on and never use.
On a descent the last thing I want to think about is fiddling with a seat.
On a descent the last thing I want to think about is fiddling with a seat.
jakonovski
Member
Dropper posts are incredible on the mtb, my descent speed has gone up significantly and the bike feels a lot more stable.
In other news, my latest aero bike candidate is this. http://www.stevensbikes.de/2016/index.php?bik_id=264&cou=FI&lang=en_US
The traditional option is this in black. https://www.stevensbikes.de/2014/index.php?bik_id=13&cou=BE&lang=en_US
Cool or not?
In other news, my latest aero bike candidate is this. http://www.stevensbikes.de/2016/index.php?bik_id=264&cou=FI&lang=en_US
The traditional option is this in black. https://www.stevensbikes.de/2014/index.php?bik_id=13&cou=BE&lang=en_US
Cool or not?
I'm always on and off the lock out. But then I know how to climb hills efficiently.
I've got a handlebar-mounted fork lock-out on the hardtail and used to use it for steady smooth climbing but once the novelty wore off I found it didn't really seem to make much difference. For rocky, technical climbs I actively prefer the shock to be working to help keep the front wheel grounded for better control (ie not bouncing off the rocks).
Yeah, for uplifts and pure descents at trail centres I can understand the use, but to me that's not real mountain biking. That's BMX for grown-up Power Rangers. I like to pedal on my bicycle.
I just slide off the back of the saddle and hang my arse over the back wheel with the saddle pressed into my stomach, lowering and shifting back my CoG.
*shrugs*
I guess if you have a long top tube, short arms, a long stem, or a slightly oversized bike (or any combo of the above) then it might be hard to do this, but for me it's always been a breeze on any of the 10+ mountain bikes I've owned over the past 30-odd years. For me the added weight, complexity, maintenance and expense of a dropper post isn't at all necessary.
And if riders can't slide off the back of the saddle quickly and easily, then how do they cope with a sudden drop-off on a flat trail like this?
Surely they don't activate the dropper every time they anticipate a drop-off? I dunno, maybe they do. Seems like a lot of faff to me.
Psychotext
Member
Your fork should be working for technical climbs. As for novelty, if you get out of the saddle on climbs, you're going to lose a lot of what you're putting in with the fork bobbing around.
Oh, and if you have the saddle set up at your perfect pedalling height, you probably wont be able to do that whole slide back thing properly (depends on geometry obviously). You need it about an inch off that height to be able to get away with it and not risk crashing if you bike takes a hit. Common sense says you do give yourself that extra amount of room, but if I'm doing an long distance event I'll prioritise efficient pedalling over potentially dealing with any drops.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
The problem I'm having as a morning rider is the sun is rising a little later each day again. Sun rises are now around 5:40-5:50am whereas they used to be closer to 5am. Hello darkness my old friend
The problem I'm having as a morning rider is the sun is rising a little later each day again. Sun rises are now around 5:40-5:50am whereas they used to be closer to 5am. Hello darkness my old friend
I'm quite lucky that I don't have to leave my house till 7:45am, so it's still light, infact, it stays light for me in the morning right until the depths of winter.
The ride home is different though, dark from when the clocks go back, wish they'd leave them at BST all year round.....
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I have to leave for a train at 7:00 so I have to be out by 4:15/4:30 to provide me a comfortable amount of time.
Oh, I know all that. I only really climb out of the saddle on technical ascents. If I ever do leave the saddle on smother climbs it'll only be for a few strokes to air my plums.
My pedal height is correct but I do set my saddle forward slightly on the rails (just for feels, not for dismounting or anything). I'm in contact with the saddle for the whole time I'm sliding off the back of it so there's not a lot of margin for error (a baggy crotch would snag, for example) but I have no issue being able to do it.
Different strokes for different folks, and all that. Maybe I'm just lucky in not feeling the need for a dropper post, or maybe if i got one I'd wonder how I managed without it,
I'd vote for Trump and Pol Pot's lovechild if this was his main campaign promise.
Psychotext
Member
Fuuuuuuck that.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I'm trying to get to working from home two days a week. This would alleviate those 4am rides. The biggest benefit is complete silence an d empty roads.
I used to start work at 7, which meant leaving at 5:15-5:30 and that was bad enough.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I would ride indoors after work but I also would like to keep my sanity
Since crashes are this week's theme...
This fallen tree normally provides a nice little rideable obstacle on one of the trails, and if attacked with sufficient speed you can normally use your momentum to get over it without any problems.
You have to be careful because the back of the bike gets kicked up just as the nose is dropping, so you have to really keep the weight back and pull to keep the front up and avoid an endo.
Which I obviously got a bit wrong yesterday...
Bruised shoulder and torn palm on some newish gloves and no damage to the bike (it's a hard landing), but man did I feel silly.
This fallen tree normally provides a nice little rideable obstacle on one of the trails, and if attacked with sufficient speed you can normally use your momentum to get over it without any problems.
You have to be careful because the back of the bike gets kicked up just as the nose is dropping, so you have to really keep the weight back and pull to keep the front up and avoid an endo.
Which I obviously got a bit wrong yesterday...
Bruised shoulder and torn palm on some newish gloves and no damage to the bike (it's a hard landing), but man did I feel silly.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
What's the general feeling on trail obstacles? I've been on a few rides where a seemingly smooth, flowing trail has a man made object thrown in beit a small dirt bump or logs piling 4 feet tall as a cone.
I love them, as long as they are obstacles and not obstructions. Ideally there'd be a route around them for people who aren't up to the task, but they do add challenge and variety. Fallen trees like the one I showed above are normally cleared pretty quickly by the forestry commission, but this one seems to have been ignored (thankfully!).
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I was meaning more when people build stuff like this into a flowly section when there's been nothing else like it throughout the entire trail
Psychotext
Member
Down to the builders really, I'm of the belief that anything hard should have a chicken option (unless you're on a black trail obviously), but other than that it's fair game.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Guess I'm just too much of a n00b rider
Anyone know of a proper bike rack that will actually fit on a Hyundai Veloster? I've looked at tons of different bike racks and all of them have had issues with the big hatchback door on the back of the Veloster. Some will fit but they're pushing the limits on things. Any recommendations? The only other thing I've looked into is paying several hundred dollars for getting a trailer hitch installed but I'd like to avoid that if possible.
Psychotext
Member
The ones you're thinking of are shit. From looking at the car you wont be able to / wont want to fit roof bars, so your only real option for a decent rack is a tow bar / trailer hitch one.
Yeah that's what the guys at the bike shop I go to were saying. They did some research for me and they had basically the same response. I've gone on some Hyundai forums to see what members there did and a few of them jury rigged some of the rear door mounted bike racks but a lot of them warned against it as it could damage the glass and was not recommended at all by the bike rack makers.
Well guess a hitch it is, didn't want to have to spend the money but I guess I might as well splurge.
2002whitegt
Member
I also have a hatchback,Fiesta ST, and tried the roof rack option and hated it looked at a couple of racks with straps to tie to the back, but I decided to go with a hitch, and while expensive, I much prefer it for ease and I like not having to remove the front tire.
This is probably he route I'm going to go but was just seeing if there might be anything cheaper as an option.
YMMV but I have heard very good things about the Saris Bone rack.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/saris-bones-2-bike-rack/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/saris-bones-2-bike-rack/
As Prince's ghost might say, you sexy motherfucker.Taken just after the first shakedown ride:
If the weather stays reasonable this evening, I am going to attempt my first race in over a year, I'm not trained, but I miss it, so want to see if I can get back into it, I managed to squeeze into my speedsuit this morning, so that's a plus............
Hope my race bike still works!
Hope my race bike still works!
How do you manage to chunk up with your long daily cycle commute? I'd have thought you'd remain 5% body fat all year round..!
I have no problem!!!, I spent a large part of my life morbidly obese (peaked about 25 stone), lost about 11 stone ten years ago and leveled out, but my metabolism is fucked.
I can sympathise with that. This was me last year:
No it fucking isn't.
Fair play to the guy in the pic for doing it, it's not easy once you've gone past a certain point.
Took me years, and I will suffer the affects for the rest of my life.
I just hope my performance tonight (If I go!) isn't too woeful, my usual 10 power is about 320-340w, so I might try to aim well down on this!!!
Definately, I'm the same, getting old(er) sucks!
I did manage to film some video of my local trails yesterday - enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dJArmKJEg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dJArmKJEg
jakonovski
Member
For weight loss, variation seems to be the thing. Swimming would be a great complementing activity for cyclists.
Nah, I hate having a rusty chain.
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