that cannondale is hot. thats exactly what i'm looking for right now

5/14/2010 8:46:57 AM

just wanted to do a bit of self-promotion here....

but wheel build #309 is in the books

lemme know if you're lookin for a custom wheelset

5/14/2010 3:59:38 PM

Did 30 miles around 18mph around Sharron Harris. It was sticky hot. Need your opinions on aero bars, worth the investment? I don't see myself doing a half or full iron man anytime soon. But I do 50+ mile bike rides. Or should I just bite the bullet and trade my road bike in for a Tri bike?

5/15/2010 2:52:21 PM

I'd stick with the road bike and try aero bars - but that's just my opinion.


I finally bit the bullet and got bike shoes... Now I just need to get clips and pedals

5/15/2010 4:19:36 PM

^^Unless you were doing a bunch of Ironmans/half IMs, I would stick with aero bars on a modern road bike. The advantage of a tri bike is it puts you into a position to save your running muscles for the run portion, but the geometry is less efficient than a regular road bike for cycling. SInce most triathletes are logging 70 miles or less on a bike during a race, they can afford to sacrifice some comfort/efficiency for their running.

^ Shoes and clipless pedals will definitely help your cadence and make you more efficient at spinning. Just make sure you practice before hitting a lot of traffic- I saw some guys obviously new to the concept out on the road last week, and they almost killed themselves when they stopped.

5/15/2010 7:05:28 PM

I want to buy a $1000 bike.

But I also want to ride it to campus.

And I don't want it to get stolen.

Is there any hope for me?

5/15/2010 10:20:19 PM

Common sense and a bike lock.

5/15/2010 11:06:32 PM

Three bike locks.

5/15/2010 11:41:30 PM

^Boston University is considered to be a wicked "urban" college, as it's spread out all over North Boston along the Charles. I have never seen so many bikes locked to bike racks that only have the body intact. I walked by the main English building and saw bikes entirely intact; the next day they were missing seats, tires, and handlebars.

5/15/2010 11:44:16 PM

I wouldn't leave my commuter bike unattended for more than two hours, let alone a ~$1000 ride. Anything quick release needs to be locked down, including seat tube/saddle, you need to check on it periodically etc etc.....common sense. If you can't commit to that, it's better to leave it at home.

I've seen some pretty nice bikes by Jordan and they haven't gotten jacked, as far as I know.

5/16/2010 10:54:14 AM

The Cricket: if your bike fits you correctly, you are going to be sacrificing fit to put aero bars on it. Yes, it will work, but not the best idea.

50 mile rides should not present any pain/discomfort issues. If you are considering aero bars to fix a fit issue, the bike is sized/set up incorrectly.

And buying a tri bike just for 50+rides is only going to cause more issues

5/16/2010 12:35:04 PM

Good to know, my road bike fits fine so no fit issues there. Ideally I'd like to get fitted for a Tri bike and utilize the different riding positions, however I can't justify the purchase yet.

5/16/2010 2:55:46 PM

What size is your road bike? How tall are you?

I have two new Kuotas that I am trying to get rid of....cheap (for the build outs)

5/16/2010 6:36:05 PM

My rear tube exploded on the way home this evening. Light rain, 35ish mph, medium traffic, I hit this sonofabitch of a bump that I hit every day. Luckily I'm tuff as hell and came to a safe stop on the side of the road. The 1.5 mile walk home in the rain kind of blew, though.

5/17/2010 8:23:33 PM

^^^ Invest in a brooks saddle.

5/17/2010 8:58:31 PM

^ My friend is obsessed with his Brooks saddle. The thing looks really uncomfortable, and he can't/won't ride without bike shorts. I've got a Selle Italia on my road bike, and IMO it's awesome. I never wear bike shorts. What's so special about Brooks?

5/17/2010 11:13:26 PM

Absolutely nothing. overpriced IMO. My saddle from performance works just fine.

5/18/2010 8:43:31 AM

Anyone have a Saris bike rack? Saw one on a car next to me at the gym and it looks a lot more convenient than dealing with straps and what not.

5/19/2010 7:26:34 PM

Ive had/used almost every Saris product made

The roof racks are nothing special, but their hitch mount stuff is some of the best you can buy...for the price.

$ being no issue, I would still go with Thule, but for avg recreational cyclist, you cant go wrong with Saris.

My current personal favorite of theirs is the Thelma. Great design, lightweight, folds up, etc.

5/19/2010 7:35:02 PM

Sorry, should have specified that I have an Altima so I would want a trunk rack, not a hitch rack.

5/19/2010 7:36:17 PM

Oh, well in that case either of the Bones 2 or 3 models are great.

These are far better than the Bones RS, Guardian, or Sentinel. The Bones are the clear winner as far as simplicity goes. Plus with the six-direction straps, the rack/bikes are pretty rock solid. They did a good job of actually having position-specific claws/hooks/clips that fit quite well in their intended spot.

Keep in mind though, if its a trunk (strap on) rack, regardless of mfg or price, its still a trunk rack.

5/20/2010 12:02:21 AM

im looking for this music/speaker set up i saw during the ms150

it is a small black device like a hockey puck but smaller and it mounts onto your handle bar area. it has the control panel like that of a click wheel ipod and the sound is really good!

it seemed as if the music was coming out of the device. ive been doing a lot of googling but cant find it!

5/20/2010 6:08:40 PM

that was probably just a cyclocomputer



if an object like that did exist, I imagine it would annoy all of the other riders

5/20/2010 6:25:49 PM

no, it was actually a music player, not a computer

and it wasn't annoying, you could only hear it when they were passing you

5/20/2010 6:27:42 PM

Well they sell iPod handlebar mounts online

5/20/2010 10:30:22 PM

nope i dont think thats it either

5/20/2010 10:39:24 PM

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&safe=off&q=bike+mp3+player

5/20/2010 10:40:27 PM

Quote :

"like a hockey puck but smaller"

i'll ask my riding group this weekend and report back, its killing me!

5/20/2010 10:56:13 PM

Quote :

"The advantage of a tri bike is it puts you into a position to save your running muscles for the run portion, but the geometry is less efficient than a regular road bike for cycling. SInce most triathletes are logging 70 miles or less on a bike during a race, they can afford to sacrifice some comfort/efficiency for their running."

The geometry of a tri bike in no way "saves your muscles for running" more and any other road frame. And in fact tri bike are MORE efficient than the average road bike(thats the point of using a tri bike over a road frame) due to the emphasis on aerodynamics(very similar to TT bikes). I believe you may have gotten them mixed up?

5/24/2010 2:34:56 AM

just got this helmet

and a pair of Ironman sunglasses. They were only $30 and seem to be pretty durable.

5/24/2010 7:56:39 AM

Nice.

I always buy cheap shades for cycling because I sweat on them and they occasionally fall out of a pocket or something. A while back a fellow rider suggested this site and I have been pleased with the glasses. I got a few pairs of these http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/ztec.html. They are comfortable, don't have a rim (handy when you are in aero position and looking through the top of the glasses), and if I lose them or break them, they were only $4.

5/24/2010 9:40:08 AM

^Where you get that helmet?

5/24/2010 9:40:38 AM

Dick's Sporting Goods - had a gift card

5/24/2010 1:05:48 PM

I have long legs and so i guess a relatively short torso. much like a fine woman...

Anyway, i've been looking for a cross bike and couldnt quite find the right fit. Untill i found this amazing Ridley! They just have goofy super tall geometries w/ standard top tubes that fit me like a glove. Its a nice bike, nicer than i need, but its a beaut.

I took it on some local fireroads and easier single track and it did awesome. It climbs rough stuff like a champ. Going down sketchy parts requires more thought about choosing the right line, but its damn fun and more capable than i'd thought. 700cs just ride really nice on rough stuff.

Then i threw slicks on it and its pretty damn fast. Definitely the fastest bike i've ever had (i've never had a nice road bike, only old steelies). I'm going riding w/ the roadies at work tomorrow so we'll see how i hang.

This bike is awesome. i see very little need for a mountain or road bike now. Plus i'll be commuting 24 miles each way on this (not every day) and i'll ride on comfy 28mms and it can take a rack and fenders. can't beat it.

http://www.ridley-bikes.com/pd/us/en-gb/4/109/cyclocross/Crossbow

The shop custom built it from a frameset, but its similar to those specs. SRAM Rival group with FSA Gossamer cranks, Shimano RS20 wheels. pretty hot.

[Edited on May 24, 2010 at 11:44 PM. Reason : ll]

5/24/2010 11:42:16 PM

Sweet bike. Ridley frames are awesome.

5/25/2010 2:14:12 PM

did 11 miles last night and hope i have time for 18-20 tonight

5/25/2010 6:49:47 PM

I am such a slow rider. I think I'm pretty strong but dude's are just passing me left and right.

My dad is a big cyclist and put my bike together for me, but I think I need to go by a store and get an unbiased person to fit me and make sure I'm riding it correctly. My lower back kills me after about 15 miles.

5/25/2010 9:10:44 PM

^def get fitted. its everything.

i hung w/ the work roadies today on a hilly 15 mile loop. i don't think they were fully dropping it, but it was a decent clip by my standards. we dropped a few people, so i'm just glad i wasnt one of them.

I got a topeak rack and DXP bag that work together nice. the trunk slides into the rack and clicks into place. the bag itself has lots of storage and zip out pannies.

Now i just need to go for the 50 mile round trip commute... i've done it one way on my old single speed.. never both ways. but now i have a lighter better fitting bike, gears, and a rack w/ trunk instead of a messenger bag. i think i'm going to go for it on Friday.

5/25/2010 9:27:09 PM

i only did 12 miles tonight. i didnt feel very strong on the bike tonight. my heart rate was higher than normal but the traffic was terrible. i felt like i was frogger out there. still got in a good 44 minutes of riding. i count my warm up in my time and my distance. i do not count the cool down. it was just a shade of 16.3 mph avg. this sounds slow but even last summer my best would have only been about 18mph. so i am not too far off.

5/25/2010 10:10:55 PM

tried my new speedplays for the first time tonight... turtled in the first 5 seconds, then the rest was fine.

not fun

5/25/2010 10:17:59 PM

ha, one of my SPD cleat screws fell out. I learned that means that you can't clip out. so i rode the whole roadie ride today with one foot locked in. i had to take my foot out of the shoe to get off my bike.

5/25/2010 10:24:51 PM

yea once i got used to them it was okay - i'm just having a hard time realizing when i'm in. like i hear a small click and i think i'm in... nope just a random clicking noise.

the reason i fell was because i thought i wasn't clipped on the left so i started to lean over to the left as i was picking my foot up, then realized i was clipped in and by then it was too late

5/25/2010 10:33:22 PM

SPDs have the best click engagement, imo. I used SPDs, then eggbeaters for a good while and now i'm happy w/ my SPDs again. real positive engagement

5/25/2010 10:36:26 PM

I finally talked my dad into shipping his 1980 Coventry Falcon to me across the country. I'm going to be assembling it when it arrives.

5/25/2010 10:36:33 PM

^^ yea i was going to try egg beaters, but then i had already bought road shoes... so they wouldn't work together.

i like the speedplays... just have to get used to it

5/25/2010 10:38:54 PM

I like my SPD's.

5/25/2010 10:39:20 PM

^^SPD shoes are compatible with eggbeaters generally. The new pedals come w/ the proper new cleats for the shoes. I used all my pedals/cleats w/ the same pair of shoes.

5/25/2010 11:51:41 PM

i was inspired by this thread and ordered a mount for my ipod. thanks for the idea!

5/26/2010 9:18:41 PM

Rode Assault on Mount Mitchell on Monday. 103 miles, over 11,000 feet of elevation gain with more than half of that coming in the final quarter of the distance. Would highly recommend. Starts in Spartanburg, SC.

5/28/2010 9:44:29 PM

wont be riding this weekend but as of last weekend, i have officially logged 550mi on my bike since jan 23, 2010! very proud

5/28/2010 9:51:27 PM