I don't suppose anyone has experience pressing in internal headset cups and/or Pressfit30 bottom brackets? My new frame and parts all arrived earlier than expected, and I'm too excited to wait till next week to get my mechanic to press them in.

Quote :

" http://www.coolhunting.com/tech/hovding-invisible-bicycle-helmet.php"

No way I'd every trust my head to that



[Edited on July 14, 2012 at 12:54 PM. Reason : new page]

7/14/2012 12:52:40 PM

Just finished Lake Norman ride in Charlotte. Damn it's humid out.

7/14/2012 1:25:12 PM

Did a 60 miler this morning and got attacked by dogs twice! The first was literally 20+ all puppies about 4-5 months old. The second was one I've filed a dangerous dog complaint. I think I might carpet bomb the news or county commissioners about it. That ought to be good.

7/14/2012 1:47:49 PM

Just led a bunch of newbs up to Mapleview Ice Cream from the co-op on a 40 miler. Took my running friend out, she's turning into a speedy little thing.

Nothing is more comical than old men in cotton T shirts who think they know everything about bikes, trying to tighten up a friend's handlebars, when it's actually her headset that's loose. I was like, "dude, it's the headset", and he ignored me for a few minutes, then after I fixed it he goes "yeah I guess it is". Duh.

7/14/2012 2:55:01 PM

50 miles to Apex yesterday, 40 miles today to Hillsborough. My legs were not impressed with more hills today, neither with the pace set by the Cat 3 dude I was riding with. He has a different definition of 'easy' I suppose.
I also convinced myself I need to either go to a triple on front, or switch out my cassette for something more climbing-friendly.

It was cooler today, but like biking through a rainforest. Swamp-butt!

7/21/2012 12:57:51 PM

A triple for central nc?

7/21/2012 11:10:02 PM

I have a 30/42/52 triple up front and 11-23 in the rear. I pretty much never use my small chainring ever, but I'm a pretty strong climber. There's some nice hills in the Raleigh area, like downtown and around Lake Jordan. I used to have 12-25 on there, and that 25 obviously made it a bit easier to do a slow climb.


I finished the new Niner build last night, so it's time to go ride before the sky opens up again!

7/22/2012 11:16:26 AM

Yes, potentially a triple. In past experience, I never use it on my Surly, except up humongous hills (Franklin St. up to UNC) under load or with our trailer, or when my legs are just toast.

I also prefer to spin up hills more than the average person, and not mash and stand up in a too-big gear. Not interested in putting pressure on my knees, either.

7/22/2012 11:30:45 AM

^why not just go compact? to me triples are reserved for the elderly, touring, and for utility cycling. unless you've got some knee issues or something I'm not thinking about, 50/34 with a 28 or 29 in back should give you plenty I would think?

7/22/2012 2:51:00 PM

A couple cool things over the last month:

Signed up for Copper Triangle again this year, it's a "78-mile loop cresting three Colorado Mountain passes - Fremont Pass (elevation 11,318’), Tennessee Pass (elevation 10,424’) and Vail Pass (elevation 10,666’). The total elevation gain for the course is 5,981 ft." coming up in 2-weeks.

For bike to work day (I bike to work everyday on a single-speed, year round) I won the grand prize for the building in a drawing (28/29 floors in the WTC in Denver) and got $250 at a local bike shop. The owner of the WTC towers organized a small breakfast for all the tenants and probably had about 70-80 people bike and entered in the drawing.

As for today, did 42 miles, 3,000 vertical today, felt great, got a little hot though, it was 105'F today in Denver. (4x Cat 2, 1x Cat 3 climbs)

Out here in Colorado I ride 52/39/30T on the front and 10 Speed 11-28T in the rear. Works great for climbing and high-speed flats/downhills. (road biking at least).

[Edited on July 22, 2012 at 10:59 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2012 10:53:15 PM

Holy shit, 105F at 1mi above sea level? I know about continentality, but that is just crazy. Maybe I don't want to move to the Denver area any more....

7/22/2012 11:35:36 PM

not normally this warm, this we typically have <40 days above 90... and we've probably already had that and it's mid-July.

7/23/2012 12:16:20 AM

completed mt. diablo challenge (SF bay area). 11.4 miles straight uphill. brutal doesn't behind to describe it...legs still shaking

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/9583808

[Edited on July 23, 2012 at 2:30 AM. Reason : l]

7/23/2012 2:22:00 AM

^speaking of mapping any other Strava users in here? Anyone want to start the TDub Cycling Club on Stava. I need more people to track, I'm so lonely...

7/23/2012 12:27:36 PM

I'm on strava. Haven't been very active in the last month or so and I am in Fayetteville so probably not much fun to add me, but here is my profile

http://app.strava.com/athletes/380289

7/23/2012 2:25:06 PM

My Strava profile.

http://app.strava.com/athletes/631541

7/23/2012 2:55:21 PM

I'm on Strava but don't upload all my rides, typically just my weekend rides. Depends on if I ride with my wife or not as to how well I ride
http://app.strava.com/athletes/472501

7/23/2012 3:40:06 PM

Is this normal? This is a brand new bike. The teeth appear to be different sizes/worn down.

7/23/2012 6:57:12 PM

my guess is wrong size chain, not normal, but not really sure.

do you shift while climbing under full power? i've only seen that when chains pop off or chains are under too much torque (shifting during climbing)... typically i shift before climbing but in instance where i have to shift mid-climb i let off the power a little before/during shift as to not put so much torque on the chain.


[Edited on July 23, 2012 at 7:06 PM. Reason : .]

7/23/2012 7:02:12 PM

actually I did a little work on google

apparently it's designed by FSA, to aid in shifting. Interesting.

7/23/2012 7:13:57 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/books/review/just-ride-by-grant-petersen.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

8/1/2012 1:17:45 PM

completely massacred my face today on campus in front of SAS, went to ride the bike off a curb...still not sure what happened but i ate some asphalt. about a dozen stitches on my lip and 2 on my forehead. Also chipped a tooth. Havent really seen the bike yet but probably gonna need a new front tire and fork. (both of which i have).

Just converted it to an e-bike and was just pedaling aroung campus (the motor is to big to use except on the road) trying to get used to the extra weight. Guess I slowed down too much or something on the fork didnt hold up when i landed.

My student insurance just kicked in today though <-my new face

8/1/2012 6:04:38 PM

Had a nice little incident today myself. Was riding at night (probably too fast) and I'm not sure if I hit something or what, but the wheel went squirrely and down I went. Slid down the road a good ways at 20 MPH. Face, arms, knee and pretty shoulder looking pretty awesome right now.

8/2/2012 2:06:45 AM

^ Pics or it didn't happen! .

Naw, I feel for y'all. Road rash sucks, especially when it requires a trip to urgent care or you have to pick tiny little gravel bits out of your knees for 30 minutes. That was not a fun accident.

8/2/2012 10:08:19 AM

Face is the least of the damage, but the most dramatic. Right arm took the brunt of the road rash, all the way down it. Left arm and both hands torn up as well plus my shoulder and knee. Fortunate overall, though. Helmet prevented what would have been a pretty nasty concussion.

8/2/2012 10:58:40 AM

dayum.

nice job dude

8/2/2012 11:04:35 AM

^Ill post mine in my gallery in a few minutes when it gets from the phone to the computer, dont want to gore the thread up. Seriously thinking about a full helmet after that though. The speed I as at when this happened was probably 20% or less of what the bike is capable. You cant see the worst part, my chipped tooth. My other teeth are killing me too. I can barely feel all that other stuff.

[Edited on August 2, 2012 at 11:39 AM. Reason : ^^ I think i prefer the cuts and stitches to a good road rashing though]

8/2/2012 11:34:55 AM

Dang dude, glad nothing's broken at least.

I took a spill on July 4th on a bike path where someone who wasn't paying attention crossed the yellow line while riding side-by-side in a group, while I'm coming down a hill, slammed on brakes to miss him, ran out of pavement, front tire in a ditch and me over the handlebars. Got a nice graphic image I put in my gallery . Again I was just glad no broken bones or shattered elbow, and my bike was ok, so I counted myself lucky.

[Edited on August 2, 2012 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

8/2/2012 1:32:40 PM

Dang, some of you guys have more injuries on a road bike then I've ever gotten on my mtn bike Glad to hear no one's too banged up.

I went on my first road in two months this morning. A nice ~30mi through south Raleigh/Cary. Some of the guys I rode with haven't been on a bike at all in the last two months, and they were feeling it at times. I'm glad I've been mtn biking, because that made the hills a breeze.

8/4/2012 1:04:27 PM

This is my usual Saturday group ride. It was my first time back on the bike in about a month, so I was pretty pooped! The heat was really bad.

Check out the elevation profile, (at the bottom) it might make you Piedmont folks LOL

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206537946

8/4/2012 2:13:17 PM

Copper Triangle, a little opposite when it comes to elevation, but a ride you might know being former Coloradan

http://app.strava.com/rides/16744529
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/207149073

Started having symptoms of dehydration after mile 55, body shut down, some fluid in lungs. Feel better now, but made it hard to finish on a Cat 1 climb, literally took me 45-minutes longer than normal.

[Edited on August 5, 2012 at 7:36 PM. Reason : ,]

8/5/2012 7:28:38 PM

Do you live out there? I never cycled in Colorado but I can imagine it's pretty rough! I spent one summer working on Mt. Massive (near Leadville) and I think my puny NC lungs never really got used to living at 11,000 ft.

Just think of how hoss you'll be at sea level ... you should come ride with us in Charleston, where the only hill is a small bridge over the Inter-coastal Waterway PS ... gg on getting up to 48 mph

8/6/2012 5:17:47 PM

Yea, whether it's snowboarding or cycling, I have a built-in speed-limiter of 46-48mph

I live in Denver

8/6/2012 8:42:29 PM

I know you've all seen this article by now about an amateur rider doping, but for those that haven't:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/08/news/in-search-of-relevance-a-cat-3-turns-to-epo-and-hgh_232611

Ridiculous for so many reasons:

1) Improvements take time. I want to improve too, but I'd rather get there the old-fashioned way through blood, sweat and gears and proper nutrition. I personally think it takes years to build a proper base for any endurance sport, especially if you want to compete in it in consecutive seasons without injuries.

2) His age is early 40s. Of course he's going to be whomped by younger riders who recover better than he does. This is why they make Masters and age group categories- cyclocross, triathlon, road runners and swimmers have these, doesn't normal road racing?

3) He's an amateur who's presumably making little to no money on this sport. Why run the risk of destroying your body?

8/8/2012 8:53:47 PM

Anyone know anything about Stradalli bikes? One of the guys I ride with has one, but I'm having a hard time finding reviews on their different frames. Their website, http://www.carbonroadbikebicyclecycling.com , has the geometry for each frame, but not much else.

8/23/2012 10:30:11 PM

recommend a lock for me

8/23/2012 10:37:40 PM

^^^they do break out age groups for road cycling but you would be amazed how some of these glory hounds behave in road racing to the point of causing massive wrecks and sacrificing their bodies on the pavement so they can have a chance to be the bumfuck nc road race 40+ champion. It doesn't surprise me at all.

^^never seen the bikes but a friend of mine had a pair of the deep dish carbon wheels from ebay and he was as pleased with them as his zipps. Probably similar to the no-name Chinese carbon frames you can get on eBay for 4-500 bucks. My dad has one of those he built up into a single speed. Damn thing weighs 13lbs and he loves it.

8/24/2012 6:24:17 AM

http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/spectacular-new-floating-cycle-roundabout/

8/24/2012 1:26:21 PM

I don't really do any cycling for sport, but this is my daily driver:



I've gotten an ass-ton of compliments on it

8/24/2012 1:36:42 PM

Look at that seat. You would

8/24/2012 3:26:03 PM

Bought a new Sunday Bike last night, it was an alcohol induced purchase but it's one I've been looking at for a while now. It's the Felt F6 http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2012/Road/F-Series/F6.aspx. I'll immediately get rid of the yellow hoods and change the saddle so hopefully it won't look that bad.

It's my first carbon bike and I didn't want to spend to much. Also got a killer deal on eBay, (we'll he had it listed and on eBay and bought it outside of eBay).

8/26/2012 8:49:40 AM

^lol ... friends don't let friends go online shopping under the influence!!

New Belgium was having a fundraising event for the local bike co-op. They were selling swag and they raffled off a Fat Tire cruiser, etc. There was also a stationary bike race to win a Fat Tire jersey. The race was track bikes on rollers, so it was basically how fast can you spin your legs for 16 seconds - not what I'm used to at all! But I won the women's race! Sweeeet!

8/26/2012 9:22:11 AM

Drunken bicycle purchases are better than other drunken purchases. The only thing I get to buy right now
are textbooks. Lame.

^ Nice on the roller race. The New Belgium guys are pretty rad, my co-op was one of the beneficiaries of their
stop in Durham this summer. They're as bike obsessed as we are.

In other news- going out for a ride in a bit- should be fun after running 12 miles yesterday.

8/26/2012 9:37:46 AM

Quote :

"Bought a new Sunday Bike last night, it was an alcohol induced purchase but it's one I've been looking at for a while now. It's the Felt F6 http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2012/Road/F-Series/F6.aspx. I'll immediately get rid of the yellow hoods and change the saddle so hopefully it won't look that bad. It's my first carbon bike and I didn't want to spend to much. Also got a killer deal on eBay, (we'll he had it listed and on eBay and bought it outside of eBay)."

Nice. I had never heard of Felt before we did the Coastal Land Trust's Goin' Coastal ride earlier this year. A Felt demo truck was there, and they let people do the ride on Felt bikes, include a couple of F1 Di2s (http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2012/Road/F-Series/F1-Di2.aspx).



I'm supposed to do a 30mi group ride today, but I just feel like shit. Someone convince me to ride.

8/26/2012 1:43:54 PM

Go ride at least half, and you'll feel better.

My rear tire was feeling pretty low, even after I fished some glass out of it and pumped it up, so I came back after 20. I've blown out a tire completely once on a road ride, and would like to avoid it again.

I'm also buying Kevlar belted tires for that bike, extra 3 grams be damned.

8/26/2012 1:58:13 PM

no chances to ride in the past 9 days

maybe I can make it out for a quick 20 after these 2 classes today

8/26/2012 2:42:35 PM

I've decided to skip the ride. With the way I feel and the guys that are going to be riding I don't think it would end up very fun. I'm going to take care of some bike maintenance, including getting that RIP9 frame ready to sell. Gotta put this new bike stand to good use.

8/26/2012 3:01:14 PM

Final stage 7 of the US Pro Cycling Challenge was 11 blocks from my house, so wife and I strolled down to watch the time trial in downtown Denver, got to see VandeVelde, Garderen, Leipheimer, Danielson, Voigt, Hincapie (last race) what a great ride!

http://usaprocyclingchallenge.com/stages/2012/stage-7

Levi

Christian

Tejay


[Edited on August 26, 2012 at 7:30 PM. Reason : .]

8/26/2012 7:03:37 PM

tsk tsk... tejay's rear skewer is so not aero. Great pictures! I'm jealous

8/26/2012 8:30:24 PM

Fantastic pictures, I'm jealous too. Definitely going to get to the Tour of California next year.

8/26/2012 9:30:38 PM