Bicycle age

Was at Bikepark Wales again today. Was fantastic right up until I got massive cramp in both of my legs. Given what happened to me last time (DVT), it's scared the shit out of me. Think I had a bit of a mental "episode" in the cafe afterwards as I went from talking to just staring into space. Took me a minute to remember where I was etc... still not feeling quite right.

Not great. =/
 
Psychotext said:
Follow the Dog?
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Yeh, you local? I did half the monkey as well...I know a shortcut so you can just do upper and lower cliff. I got lost and ended up in Stile Cop but chickened out and some dh riders pointed me in the right direction for Upper Cliff!

I'm thinking of getting a dropper post for my bike...if only to just bling it up, is it overkill on a hardtail?
 
No, my missus is from that neck of the woods and I know the area.

As for the dropper... probably overkill, but in reality it comes down to how much you'll actually use it. I wouldn't argue with one for varied trails.
 
Psychotext said:
Was at Bikepark Wales again today. Was fantastic right up until I got massive cramp in both of my legs. Given what happened to me last time (DVT), it's scared the shit out of me. Think I had a bit of a mental "episode" in the cafe afterwards as I went from talking to just staring into space. Took me a minute to remember where I was etc... still not feeling quite right.

Not great. =/
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Oof - could it have been dehydration or a mineral deficiency? Feeling OK now?

Here's a couple of shots from the weekend. Very disappointed in the jump pictures - this was the best of a very bad lot (all from phone cameras, so were never going to be great). I hit this one at about 40mph (estimated!) and flew like a bird, but it looks pathetic..! The blurred bike in the background is a '96 Cannondale Super V bought the same day as my old Trek Y-11, and it's still going strong.

jump1edit_zpsfa8359a3.png


And this particular descent, though fairly rock-free, has a 3-foot vertical drop at the very top which accelerates you like a slingshot, so it's still a good fight for control and speed-scrubbing before you get to a rocky section later down. But once again, it looks pathetic in the photo..! Lol.

quarry2edit_zpsdb4c05f8.png


Great fun though. Fantastic weekend.
 
Mascot said:
Oof - could it have been dehydration or a mineral deficiency? Feeling OK now?
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Probably a bit of both. I've been working my arse off so not really been sleeping enough, not eating enough either. I realised that I didn't have my usual food stops today either as I just wanted to get as much riding in as possible.

Stupid, but I'm not entirely sure I'll ever learn to not push myself too hard.
 
I know a friend of mine was bidding on this Carbon GT STS. I hope he didn't stop bidding at £330. Somebody got a bit of a bargain.

GT STS

$(KGrHqF,!p8FIMs!+y+lBSGSHJD3)w~~60_12.JPG


Edit: Idiot! He went out and didn't raise his minimum bid. I'd have paid a lot more just to hang it on the wall in my lounge.
 
Psychotext said:
Sucks for the seller. I reckon SmokyDave will be weeping when he sees it.
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I was thinking the same..!

I remember someone finding an STS frame and fork in a skip once, but this is a close second. Looks immaculate from the photos, and full XTR as well. Damn...
 
performancebike.com is having a huge sale right now through September. I really want this Camelbak LOBO pack and this blue handlebar grip tape. I HATE that they don't offer free shipping, it's like a deal breaker for me.
 
Curious: is roadbikecity.com a good place to get bikes from?

I have a vintage Schwinn Letour that I use to commute to work to, and my wife is looking to get a simple bike for herself. I found a cheap single speed commuter bike on roadbikecity at the cheap price of $200 - 250 and I'm wondering if it's worth it?
 
DigitalRicket said:
Curious: is roadbikecity.com a good place to get bikes from?

I have a vintage Schwinn Letour that I use to commute to work to, and my wife is looking to get a simple bike for herself. I found a cheap single speed commuter bike on roadbikecity at the cheap price of $200 - 250 and I'm wondering if it's worth it?
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These bikes are very low end. They're made out of high tensile steel (cheap, heavy) with no-name components. You aren't really getting a deal by buying a bike like this for $200-$250. There's similar bikes available at big box stores, amazon, etc. Target even sells a fixed/single speed bike for $99 which is roughly the same thing as what you're looking at.

Buying a decent older road bike would be preferable to department store quality bikes.
 
ameratsu said:
These bikes are very low end. They're made out of high tensile steel (cheap, heavy) with no-name components. You aren't really getting a deal by buying a bike like this for $200-$250. There's similar bikes available at big box stores, amazon, etc. Target even sells a fixed/single speed bike for $99 which is roughly the same thing as what you're looking at.

Buying a decent older road bike would be preferable to department store quality bikes.
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I see. I've gone to Amazon and department stores but haven't found anything that I like as much as those found on roadbikecity in terms of the look of the body and handlebars for the price (target doesn't have $99 bikes, and amazon has disgusting colors for $99 bikes).

We commute only 2 miles each way to work (4 miles total a day and ride on a dedicated bike trail) and was assuming these were cheap bikes but would I be able to upgrade it once it starts to break down?
 
DigitalRicket said:
I see. I've gone to Amazon and department stores but haven't found anything that I like as much as those found on roadbikecity in terms of the look of the body and handlebars for the price (target doesn't have $99 bikes, and amazon has disgusting colors for $99 bikes).

We commute only 2 miles each way to work (4 miles total a day and ride on a dedicated bike trail) and was assuming these were cheap bikes but would I be able to upgrade it once it starts to break down?
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Bikes like this aren't worth upgrading. You could, and probably will have to replace bits and pieces that break. I definitely wouldn't pay a $50-$100 premium (vs amazon's low end single speed) on a low end bike just to get shitty deep-v wheels with painted braking surfaces that matched the handlebar grips.

If you do decide to go for this sort of bike, I would highly recommend taking it to a reputable bike shop to make sure it is mechanically sound and safe to ride.
 
Mascot said:
SmokyDave - did you see the final episode of The Cycle Show this week? Gee and Rachel Atherton were guesting so there was a wee bit of GT porn for you.

Great series, this. Gonna miss it.
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It's sitting on my TiVo, but I haven't watched it yet!

Loving those jump pictures further up :)

Psychotext said:
Sucks for the seller. I reckon SmokyDave will be weeping when he sees it.
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I had my eye on it and did indeed weep when it sold. 3 months ago I'd have had that without thinking, but circumstances have changed. The only money I can allocate to biking has to go on restoring the RTS :(

I will have an STS one day though. An LTS too. Also a Lobo. Goddamn I love the look of GT full sussers. That one was an absolute bargain.
 
Really not happy with the fork I put on my Avalanche. Thinking I might shell out a much bigger amount of cash and keep the bike for a while longer.

Reckon I'll go for a Manitou Minute Expert as it's one of the few good air forks that still works with v brakes.
 
SmokyDave said:
......I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want to know.
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Smoky: stop reading now!

So it seems the seller of the STS was new to eBay, and wanted a minimum of £600. He had revised the listing with a small note at the very end to this effect, but didn't put a reserve price on because he didn't know how. He refused to honour the £335 selling price and fell out with the winning bidder. He then contacted my mate (as second bidder) and said he was going to relist it, but would accept £400 cash outside of eBay, including all the bits and bobs, the spare wheels and original fork etc. Mate went to view it (it was only a couple of miles away) and did the deal on the spot. Says it's immaculate. I'll be heading over in a couple of weeks to check it out and for a good blast around Leigh Woods, so I'll take some photos for you Dave (I know you're reading this!).

Still a good bargain at £400 I reckon, and the best thing is, he'll be bored of it within six months and IT SHALL BE MINE! Muwahahahahaaaa..!
 
Bought a bike today! Haven't cycled in 15 years or so, so I'm pretty excited :-) Got a good deal on this one:

415830001

Diamant Zenith 40

If it says anything to you people, it has an RST Aerial fork, Shimano Deore gears and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes.

Will mostly use it on forest/gravel roads and perhaps some more difficult mountain paths. The main reason for buying it is that I've signed up for a cycling tour around Sicily next year, and want something to train on before that, and just get used to sitting on a bike for long periods. The cycling tour will be with racing cycles, though.
 
Oops. Went to bed at 3am and now I'm up at 6am to go biking around the Forest of Dean with a fitness-freak neighbour. Hope you can read this - I'm typing it with my eyes closed because I'm still asleep.
 
Mascot said:
Oops. Went to bed at 3am and now I'm up at 6am to go biking around the Forest of Dean with a fitness-freak neighbour. Hope you can read this - I'm typing it with my eyes closed because I'm still asleep.
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Would be interested in knowing where you go. I've done quite a few rides in the area.
 
Sora components are crap (IMHO), and you really don't want mechanical disc brakes if you can avoid it.

That aside, if you really want that sort of bike then Surly or Salsa is a much better port of call.
 
sora is crap it's true : /

OTOH surly LHT is 1100£, no racks, no mudguards, sora mech, bar-end shifters. OK bomb-proof, tried & tested frame but not sure it's specced as well OTP

salsa vargo is £1600 and out of my price range & nudging into thorn price bracket

cross-check would've been an option if I could get a discounted 2013 model
 
Psychotext said:
Would be interested in knowing where you go. I've done quite a few rides in the area.
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It was the Cannop Cycle Centre, and it was utterly brilliant. We started riding around 7:30am and had the whole place to ourselves at that time. It had rained fairly hard during the night but we rode in clear blue skies with no breeze whatsoever, so the ground was slippy underfoot in places but conditions were pretty damn perfect. The trails are hard packed so drain really quickly. There was still mist swirling around the bases of the tree trunks for the first hour - it was magical, like something from Lord Of The Rings.

We did the Freeminer and Verderers' Trails a couple of times each, with slight variations each time. Pedal power all the way, although the uplifts were tempting..! Christ, it's changed a lot since I was last there (many years ago), and more trails are currently being cut. The berms and roller-coaster jumps were just awesome - the trails flowed beautifully. When we left a few hours later the car park was filling up with some very serious hardware and mad armour-plated bastards so it was a good idea getting out early.

I need to get up there more often - it's only 20 mins from home. Couple of pics:

Misty mountain:
IMG_20130907_083758_zpsdec88e86.jpg
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Pre-mud:
IMG_20130907_212333_zps903a6569.jpg
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I like the place, but I don't go there on weekends any more. As soon as you get to about 10am it starts to get ridiculous. Midday onward and you can barely move for people on the trail (on sunny days anyway).

Also, I hate the switchback climb (oh god, so tedious)... but the descents are fantastic. So much flow.

Edit - There are some amazing trails out in the forest btw. These guys do a fantastic job:

http://dtvfod.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deantv/

Dowies is a great little bit of single track out in the forest, and there's many others too.
 
Psychotext said:
I like the place, but I don't go there on weekends any more. As soon as you get to about 10am it starts to get ridiculous. Midday onward and you can barely move for people on the trail (on sunny days anyway).
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Yeah, I've heard the weekends get really busy there. It's one of the reasons we went so early. The car park was already filling up at 10:30 when we left. So many beautiful machines to ogle, though. Apart from the bikes to drool over, one rider turned up in what looked (and sounded) like a genuine ex-McRae/Gris Telefonica Movistar Ford Focus.

Psychotext said:
Also, I hate the switchback climb (oh god, so tedious)... but the descents are fantastic. So much flow.
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I was very glad of the switchback climbs. Nice and gentle at that time of the morning..!

Psychotext said:
Dowies is a great little bit of single track out in the forest, and there's many others too.
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We'd planned to do Dowies and the Rollercoaster next weekend, but it all depends on the weather really. I've heard from a few sources that it's pretty unrideable after any kind of rainfall.
 
I wouldn't say unridable, but it can get a bit swampy in places.

Is Rollercoaster open at the moment? Was closed last couple of times I was there.
 
Psychotext said:
Is Rollercoaster open at the moment? Was closed last couple of times I was there.
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Ooh, not sure. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll try to find out if we do decide to go.

I was getting an awful lot of Strada kudos after yesterday's ride and checked my account to see that I'd smashed a whole bunch of records and was KOTM all over the place. After a moment of God-like pride I quickly realised it was because I'd not stopped recording before the drive home - no wonder I was hitting 50mph on some uphill sprints..! Oops.

A hasty edit of the route and all is now back to normality.
 
Psychotext said:
It doesn't count if you don't post a picture of the bike perched up against some rocks or standing next to a lake somewhere. Go go!
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Your wish is my command. Perched up against the biggest rock I could find, AND next to a lake!

JCTx2PJAo7sOkHiHccOIzW8Z.jpg


This was my first cycling trip in 15 years. But when I first got my ass onto the seat it was as if I had never stopped. Great fun! Cycled 12 kilometers. Mostly on shitty paved roads, but also some gravel roads and a couple of kilometers on a forest trail.

Also, this might sound stupid, but I was surprised at how hard it was to cycle up steep hills on the trail. For some reason I had pictured it as pretty easy, and had actually planned to do a 4 kilometer trip up a mountain road soon. Yeah, nope. Might carry the bike up, though, and ride it down again :-)

Edit: And I think I need a good set of bike glasses. Probably ate 100 mosquitoes along the way, not counting the ones that disappeared up my nose.
 
Good job that man. Top shot. :)

Yeah, hills can be particularly tricky, especially the technical ones... and yeah, glasses are pretty much a requirement when you're going quickly.
 
cozo said:
woof

amazing finish in the vuelta today
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It sure was. Looks like the old (old old) man might have a good chance of winning it all

The youngster Barguil has been impressive, but like all french talents, he will surely fade away soon after being declared "the next french hope"
 
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