Psychotext
Member
Kickstand, I love it.
What's that industrial looking thing on your seatpost?
What's that industrial looking thing on your seatpost?
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Bicycle age
- Thread starter elrechazado
- Start date
Psychotext
Member
Just looking at that pic of the bike near the lake / water and I started thinking. I don't know why, but almost all of my most memorable cross country rides have been ones that involve bodies of water. Maybe I should have been a sailor instead!
Is that water on the lens or funky depth of field? Nice pic either way
Etrian Oddity
Member
Well today at age 25, I finally learned how to ride a bicycle.
What can y'all recommend for headlights and taillights? It's a commuter bike, so I don't need over 300 lumens. Preferably USB rechargeable and under $50. Taillight doesn't need to be as fancy, it can be battery operated.
What can y'all recommend for headlights and taillights? It's a commuter bike, so I don't need over 300 lumens. Preferably USB rechargeable and under $50. Taillight doesn't need to be as fancy, it can be battery operated.
There might have been some water on the lens (it had just been pissing down) but the faux-DoF effect was a recent update to my phone camera (Nexus 4). You take the pic then move the camera up a few inches while keeping the main subject centred. Doesn't hold up to close scrutiny and is sometimes janky but it can occasionally give a nice effect.
PS: welcome to the new members of Bicycle-GAF! More power to your knees.
There might have been some water on the lens (it had just been pissing down) but the faux-DoF effect was a recent update to my phone camera (Nexus 4). You take the pic then move the camera up a few inches while keeping the main subject centred. Doesn't hold up to close scrutiny and is sometimes janky but it can occasionally give a nice effect.
PS: welcome to the new members of Bicycle-GAF! More power to your knees.
Was thinking I don't want to ride with my DSLR and 50mm lens! That's pretty neat
Psychotext
Member
I hate the new interface on the android camera, but if they've improved stuff like that it's pretty cool.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
There might have been some water on the lens (it had just been pissing down) but the faux-DoF effect was a recent update to my phone camera (Nexus 4). You take the pic then move the camera up a few inches while keeping the main subject centred. Doesn't hold up to close scrutiny and is sometimes janky but it can occasionally give a nice effect.
PS: welcome to the new members of Bicycle-GAF! More power to your knees.
Speaking of, at mile 83 of 114 Saturday my left knee gave out. No idea what happened, it just went from working to not being able to put any pressure on it. I made it to mile 90 on one leg, looked at the hill on my route, and called my wife. 14 miles from home, ugh. Took Sunday off and tried to ride to work yesterday morning, no deal.
Weird thing is that when I got home I went for a short jog and had no pain at all. Got on my bike, same pain. No idea what I did but I'm wheel-less for now.
My mtb has been sulking since I've used the new racer so much the last few days. So I decided to give it a treat. I live right next to a mountain that's very popular for hiking and biking. But I've shamefully only been up there three times in my 34 years here, and last time was 21 years ago. Time to go up again, this time with a bike!
It was short but hard. Here's the height profile:
And the veloviewer profile of the climb:
And here are some photos:
Gravel.
Typical Norwegian road.
Somebody built a really nice leanage-device at the top.
More leanage.
Leanin' in the evening sun.
This decline was ten times scarier than it looks.
Almost down!
Lessons learned: the road was very, very gravelly and not really suited for biking. I got up on the lightest gear, but I lost traction all the time due to the loose gravel, and had to walk most of the way. 50 meters biking, 100 meters walking and so on. Down? I think the bike actually groaned in disbelief as I started descending. Did it very carefully, but had to walk half the way. The bike took a lot of beating, especially the tires. Surprised there was no puncture. Fun, but I think I'll go up on the other side of the mountain next time. Much better roads elsewhere!
It was short but hard. Here's the height profile:
And the veloviewer profile of the climb:
And here are some photos:
Gravel.
Typical Norwegian road.
Somebody built a really nice leanage-device at the top.
More leanage.
Leanin' in the evening sun.
This decline was ten times scarier than it looks.
Almost down!
Lessons learned: the road was very, very gravelly and not really suited for biking. I got up on the lightest gear, but I lost traction all the time due to the loose gravel, and had to walk most of the way. 50 meters biking, 100 meters walking and so on. Down? I think the bike actually groaned in disbelief as I started descending. Did it very carefully, but had to walk half the way. The bike took a lot of beating, especially the tires. Surprised there was no puncture. Fun, but I think I'll go up on the other side of the mountain next time. Much better roads elsewhere!
I don't think experienced mountain bikers would think that that path was very difficult, but my view on mtb is mostly based on a few youtube vids, so I really have no idea. Climbing on loose gravel requires a certain technique (and according to forums, a several hour long heated debate on which tires to use)
True, they could probably zip down in no time. I was deathly afraid, and glad I came down without injuring myself, haha
This was actually the first time I've taken the mtb somewhere cars can't go, so I'm as far from an experienced mtber as it's possible to be. Going up wasn't so bad once I got into a rhythm, but every time I hesitated and lost speed I also lost traction and balance. The tires had fairly high pressure since I was on a longer road trip last I used that bike, so I guess letting out some air would make the ascent easier.
If nothing else, I could use this as stupid justification for buying a fatbike down the road...
Looks like heaven. Beautiful landscape!
Actually you would need an enduro bike for up-and-down trips, a full suspension for rougher trails, hard tail for not as hard trails, a rigid mtb for gravel trails with some rougher parts, a cx for pure hard gravel trails, a road bike for asphalt and a fatbike for sand dunes/snow and probably a couple more just in case
Yes, it's great as long as it's not raining, and it rains all the time here. I hope to go up there a lot this summer. There are supposedly lots of paths that can be ridden with bikes, but you have to go up at the other side of the mountain to get to them. This road just ends at that water, and you have to carry the bike a long way to meet the good paths. Here's a grainy video of some guys riding down one of the tops.
kottila said:
Shit, I think you're right. But my garage is already full...
Psychotext
Member
To be honest, there's nothing there that I wouldn't expect to see in a green. But we all start somewhere, and confidence will come with time.
You're right about climbing on loose gravel btw. Key is keeping the weight positioned as best as possible: http://www.bikejames.com/strength/everything-you-need-to-know-to-improve-your-standing-pedaling/
There's a lot to learn, that's for sure! I should join the local cycling club. They have mtb technique-classes now and then.
Any tips about going downhill smoothly? And how to brake well? If the gravel had been packed, it would have been quite nice. But the surface was all loose, sharp stones with little or no dirt between them.
Also, what do you guys do pedal-wise? I had clipless pedals, but ended up taking out the shoes and pedaling up with my heels because I kept losing my balance. Get a feeling that regular pedals would probably be a better and safer alternative on difficult terrain.
Any tips about going downhill smoothly? And how to brake well? If the gravel had been packed, it would have been quite nice. But the surface was all loose, sharp stones with little or no dirt between them.
Also, what do you guys do pedal-wise? I had clipless pedals, but ended up taking out the shoes and pedaling up with my heels because I kept losing my balance. Get a feeling that regular pedals would probably be a better and safer alternative on difficult terrain.
Psychotext
Member
Seat down, tyres running lower pressures (less than 30psi), regular pedals (they certainly give you more confidence in harder terrain), brake early and evenly (same as in a car, if you skid, ease off and then back on), most braking on front wheel as that's where physics is giving you most grip.
In reality though, you'll find yourself braking less and less on that sort of stuff as your confidence improves.
In reality though, you'll find yourself braking less and less on that sort of stuff as your confidence improves.
Too wet here today, but tomorrow is looking promising. I spotted an awesome drop-off into the castle moat the other day. Can't wait to ride it. Looks scary.Took another ride in the beautiful weather
Psychotext
Member
Purdy
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Recently converted from riding a cruiser to a road bike, a GMC Denali. I've never owned a bike with caliper brakes before but I'm getting the hang of it now. Further I've never owned one with gears before either and I'm feeling a bit lost. I've just kept it on 7 the whole time. Feel sort of like a dumbass.
I time my rides and pace with Runkeeper and oddly I seem to go faster on my cruiser then my road bike. On my cruiser at an average pace I go about 12.5 mph, so for on my road bike I'm averaging 10.5 mph. Is this me needing to learn how the different speeds work or just needing to get more used to the new seating position.
Sorry for the dumb newbie questions. As a kid I owned basic-ass cruisers and this is my first Road bike.
I time my rides and pace with Runkeeper and oddly I seem to go faster on my cruiser then my road bike. On my cruiser at an average pace I go about 12.5 mph, so for on my road bike I'm averaging 10.5 mph. Is this me needing to learn how the different speeds work or just needing to get more used to the new seating position.
Sorry for the dumb newbie questions. As a kid I owned basic-ass cruisers and this is my first Road bike.
If this is the bike I'm thinking of (<$200 on amazon), it's basically a department store bike with a solid front fork and drop bars. The shifters are awkwardly located near the stem and are of the grip-shift variety as opposed to STI (shifters integrated into the brake levers). It's a bit of a stretch to call that thing a road bike. It's also chock full of bottom of the barrel parts and weighs in the neighborhood of 30 pounds.
That said, you generally want to maintain 80-100 rpm when riding which you would attain by changing gears. You should be in a gear that's not too easy (legs spinning like crazy) or too hard (very difficult to maintain a comfortable rpm). It shouldn't be hard on your knees.
Tried to go up the mountain near me by another path. Was even worse than the last one. I brought a Gopro and filmed most of it, but I'm not sure it's interesting to see a bike being carried around a forest for 40 minutes.
The back brake has started to screech a lot. There's a loud metallic groaning/screeching sound, and the whole bike vibrates. I thought maybe the brake pads were gone, but they're still fine. Any way to fix this?
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Thanks for the info. Yeah, I picked it up for less then 100 since I had some credit and wanted to try one. I'll look into this gear business!
Psychotext
Member
Screeching is oil on the pad / disc. Very hard to get off I'm afraid. You can buy disc brake cleaner but the key is not getting it on in the first place.
Vibration is likely that your rear brake caliper or disc is loose. Get a torque wrench from somewhere and tighten all the bots to the right torque. Maybe consider putting threadlock on them as they'll loosen again at some point. If that doesn't do it, it could be that your disc has warped, but that's pretty unusual unless you've massively overheated it / it's crap / you had a crash.
Thanks! It's strange, since it was just on service and checking the brakes/tightening screws and so on was on their checklist. The brakes started screeching a month ago or so. One thing they didn't do was clean anything. And the rotor probably has oil on it.
I'll print out some guides and look over everything.
Some shots from today's gentle bimble. Got to the woods and a lot of the trails were a tad too wheel-spinningly muddy, so I headed back to the castle and had a play in the grounds. The Welsh Perry & Cider Festival is on there at the moment and I accidentally might have sampled a few snifters before doing a few more miles on the coastal path. Not a good idea.
The castle itself. So lucky to have this right next door to where I live and work. It's beautiful. I spend most lunchtimes there when the weather is good.
A fun little drop-off into the moat. Looks a lot tamer in these photos than it does when you're flying off the top of it:
There are loads of these steep little paths leading down from the battlements. Great fun to mess about on:
Right: quick shower then back to the Ciderfest - on foot this time...
The castle itself. So lucky to have this right next door to where I live and work. It's beautiful. I spend most lunchtimes there when the weather is good.
A fun little drop-off into the moat. Looks a lot tamer in these photos than it does when you're flying off the top of it:
There are loads of these steep little paths leading down from the battlements. Great fun to mess about on:
Right: quick shower then back to the Ciderfest - on foot this time...
Psychotext
Member
You rode down that?
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Wow, Mascot. You are incredibly lucky!
Frustrated_me
Member
Very cool!
Riding down it wasn't the difficult part - getting up there in the first place was..!
Psychotext
Member
Might just be the camera angle, but that looks basically vertical.
Ethics Gradient
Member
Stolen in the West LA / Santa Monica area...
Psychotext
Member
Cunts.
outunderthestars
Banned
Stolen in the West LA / Santa Monica area...
There is a special place in hell for bike thieves, and I hope it burns a little hotter since they stole a Surly.
Went on an 80 km ride today, in the ever-so-surprisingly-good weather we currently have. Longest I've ever gone by myself. Beautiful nature, good feelings!
The chain jumped off no less than four times, though. Doesn't seem normal. Three times it was when changing from the big to the small sprocket on the start of an incline. The fourth time it was when doing the opposite. The bike is new. Is something wrong, or am I just that bad at changing gears?
The chain jumped off no less than four times, though. Doesn't seem normal. Three times it was when changing from the big to the small sprocket on the start of an incline. The fourth time it was when doing the opposite. The bike is new. Is something wrong, or am I just that bad at changing gears?
GillaTheGorilla
Member
How long have you had the bike? New bike usually need the cable tension adjusting once the cables have stretched usually the shop offers a 6 week check up to sort it.
I've had it almost three weeks. Thanks for the answer, this makes me less concerned.
Nice!Went on an 80 km ride today, in the ever-so-surprisingly-good weather we currently have. Longest I've ever gone by myself. Beautiful nature, good feelings!
Chain coming off at the foot of a hill is the most annoying thing! Assuming the tension is still ok to get you into the big ring, all you should need to do is adjust the low limit screw for the front derailleur to, as the name implies, limit the distance the derailleur can move, to make it impossible to pull the chain off the small ring.
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