The bicycle thread

[RockSolid1106]

3 hours ago, RollyShed said:

Backpack? I never use a backpack.

I ride the bike to my school so I need the backpack.

[RollyShed]

55 minutes ago, RockSolid1106 said:

I ride the bike to my school so I need the backpack.

Then put it on the rack / carrier.

 

One a bit like this -

I made my own from stainless steel tubing but you would have to buy one as you won't have the tools or skill to make one.

 

[YellowJersey]

1 hour ago, RollyShed said:

Then put it on the rack / carrier.

 

One a bit like this -

I made my own from stainless steel tubing but you would have to buy one as you won't have the tools or skill to make one.

 

Dude... I should send you my seat to fix!

 

[RollyShed]

3 hours ago, YellowJersey said:

Dude... I should send you my seat to fix!

 

I could possibly do it. I use leather Brooks type saddles so the main thing is possibly bigger headed rivets sometimes.

[YellowJersey]

106km today in 4 hours 49 minutes. It was a nice day. I saw a cat.

 

Total this year: 745km

[LogicalDrm]

I was gonna participate, but seeing this is for fitness riders mainly.

 

 

Just joking. I'll get back with full backstory. My goal is to ride 100km weekly for the summer season (May-Sept). Not really getting there yet, it means 3 days full length to work and back (18km in one direction). Also riding Ebike, otherwise it would take too long.

 

So I'm at 400km now, after changing to summer tire some 2 months ago. 2 weeks without riding because travelling and catching covid. Winter season (late-Nov to end of March) was 565km.

[LogicalDrm]

So (knowing this is double).

 

I ride ebike currently. Bought it finally, after pondering for 5+ years about it. Even thought I might get crafty and do after-install on my current. But since its with hub gears, would have been on front wheel and so required more learning than one with pedals.

Kalkhoff Endeavour 1.B Move DI 13 with Bosch motor and Shimano gears/breaks.

 

I ride all year around. Don't have car, so using public transport and cycle are my main means of getting around. Here, I can get pretty much everywhere with cycle+train combo. This winter didn't even have to have break because of roads being too bad. Last year I hurt my wrists trying to ride with wet snow/ crappy ice combo. So around 25km per week for winter season (which means more trains and less cycling). With minimum commute to work being 5km of cycling per direction. Plus 4km when I go to hobbies. I have lived in couple of towns where public transport meant bus to bigger town only. Which meant that in one winter I rode every work day apart from 2 when the snowing was too much and they could get even roads clean that early.

 

This Tunturi ParkCafe 2004 was my ride for 18 years. Apart from body and pedal shafts, every part has been changed. It still has winter tire since I have last rode it on December and haven't had time to do maintenance since spring hit. I'm keeping it around to go to vacation place once we get one. Its one size too small for me, which hits differently now that I'm riding the right size body. Feels like riding with kids bike. And going back to foot brake now that I'm used to disk brakes is also too much to deal with.

 

With the muscle-cycle, while I rode about as many days, distances weren't great. I used to think that 8km trip was max. Thats about 30mins with my speed. So if I must, I could have done 15km, luckily never got to that kind of spot. Most I've ever rode in short period was cycling tour in Åland main island. That was about 300km within one week. And the preparation for that trip. And couple of summers when I was doing cleaning work on cruise ships. 2 shifts 6 days a week. 7km to one direction. I lost about 10kg that summer and got note from doctor that it was bit too much.

[RollyShed]

3 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

Most I've ever rode in short period was cycling tour in Åland main island. That was about 300km within one week.

In my 40s I used to ride 400 km (4 days) to stay for a few days with my parents. I'd also go off sea kayaking for a week or so while there before riding 400 km home again. Not a flat route either, a number of passes to go over. The big trip was the 3500 km up the Californian coast and back to San Francisco. As for weight loss, a month of eating a lot to make up for the big trip's weight loss. And I'm skinny to start with !!!

 

RockSolid1106, note LogicalDrm's panniers and the rack that they are mounted on. A good set up. Most of the groceries would fit in those panniers.

[YellowJersey]

131km today in 5 hours 51 minutes. It was a good ride, despite the fact that I was (and still am) in a pretty foul mood.

Total this year: 876km

[YellowJersey]

Big day for me today! I did my first century ride of the year: 164km in 7 hours. I got home just as the sun was setting. My rear derailleur needs some adjusting as I was skipping gears a bit today, but that can wait for tomorrow. I picked up two foot long subs on the way home and promptly inhaled both of them.

Total this year: 1,040km

*Edit: June 6  

 Did 102km on the bike today! It was a good ride.

Total this yea4r: 1,142km.

[8tg]

Nothing crazy today, an hour of messing around in the trails near me

there was another 5 miles or so of just riding around town doing errands 

I went down the stairs and jabbed myself in the taint with the seat

[YellowJersey]

164km again today, but it took longer. 7 hours and 31 minutes. I think it was the wicked headwind. Hit 66km going down the big hill.

Total this year: 1,306km

[8tg]

11 miles of trails, about 3 miles of other nonsense 

I did the other parts of this trail, that long section of the northwest and the little loop through the bog to the south. The bog part was super nice and chill, the northwest part was absolute hell, the entire thing was an uphill climb but a rideable uphill climb. 
I damaged my gearing jumping down roots and now it shifts hard and I gotta figure out what’s out of alignment.

Here’s what the northeastern section looks like, it’s what I can actually record because it’s not as rough.

 

[ToboRobot]

I mostly go for 20-30km rides around my city, trying to stay on paths instead of roads as much as possible.

[YellowJersey]

Finally got out again today. 131km in 5 hours and 50 minutes, not bad considering it started out nice and sunny, around 34C, and around the 40km mark the temperature had dropped to 17C and it was pouring rain and hail. But I rode through it all; didn't stop for anything. All the other cyclists out there were taking shelter and I'm just like, "LET'S GOOOOOO!" I need to adjust my rear derailleur something fierce. 

Total this year: 1,437km

[8tg]

Went to imagination glen, which has proper mountain bike trails in it, and I properly suffered climbing up sand 

though I will be going back to do more, I only did one blue trail, which was pretty good besides the climbing up sand part, involved some fast downhill on sand as well and some wooden slat sections

this is mostly rider maintained from what I was told so I’m gonna swing by ace hardware and get some bench slats and screws to replace some broken stuff, I think I can shove my cordless drill and a few slats in a backpack 

there was a mom out here with like 7 kids going ham with an off-road equipped stroller down the trail and I admire the sheer level of mom power they have 

[8tg]

It’s getting easier every day to do this

The first day I got the cannondale I rode it back one mile from the bike shop and was exhausted 

Now my limitation is my legs are tired but that’s just muscle training over time to resolve that 

 

[YellowJersey]

@8tg

[JammeyUK]

Seeing all of you out and about makes me want to get a new bike hit some trails.

 

My bike is a little outdated now and could benefit from a little longer travel in the forks.

 

[8tg]

Not as far today, it rained hard last night so most of where I wanted to ride was under water.

As well it’s humid as shit so 71° feels like 80+ in the sunlight which just burned me out climbing.

made it about that far on the calumet trail before the puddles turned into a lake

I made it through the first few fine albeit with soaked shoes and shins, but the last few were closing in on knee deep and I couldn’t judge the depth further on to even attempt that shit 

this trail is in the Indiana dunes National lakeshore, so this whole area is usually a bog

[YellowJersey]

101km today in 4 hours 29 minutes. Hit a bit of rain and some dumbasses jogging on the bike paths; was in a pretty foul mood by the end of it, which is unusual since riding is my stress relief.

Total this year, 1,538km

June 29: 130km today in 5 hours 44 minutes. Rode from Calgary to Canmore. Off to Radium today!

Total this year: 1,668km

[YellowJersey]

Okay, back from my doomed voyage to do a loop around the southern portion of Canada's Rockies.

Day 1) Calgary to Canmore. 130km. Had a mechanical problem around the 20km mark that meant having to limp my way to a bike shop. The dude did the best he could, but I could tell something was still wrong. The wifey picked me up in Canmore and we drove home.

Day 2) Canmore to Radium. 162km in 7 hours 50 minutes with 1,225m of vertical. Wifey dropped me off in Canmore. I had initially wanted to spend the night there, but hotels/motels were all too expensive due to Canada Day weekend. I love her to bits, but FFS, trying to get her out the door on time is a nightmare if not outright impossible. I didn't get on the bike until 12:30 in the afternoon. Had another mechanical breakdown almost immediately, but managed to limp my way to Banff. The issue that had been plaguing me the past couple of days turned out to be two issues. First, my barrel adjuster for my rear derailleur is completely stripped and therefore useless. The guy in Banff managed to adjust the tension on the cable to get it working, but advised me not to try and use the barrel adjuster. The second issue was that I had a broken link in my chain (that's what was still wrong the previous day after the first bike shop visit). So, after an hour or so and one shiny new chain, fresh from the wrapper, I set off towards Radium.

 It took me nearly two hours to do the 30km(ish) from Banff to Castle Junction where I'd pickup the road to Kootenay National Park, so I didn't make it until five o'clock in the afternoon. I still had 100km left in the day with two major climbs ahead of me. The plan then was to just boot it. Thankfully, from the summit of the pass leading from Banff to Kootenay (the first of the two climbs) it's a long shallow descent until the base of the second climb that leads from Kootenay into Radium, so I made really good time between the two. The climb to the second summit started as the sun was beginning to set and I was losing light fast. I estimated that it would be about 300m of vertical, and I wasn't far off, as it was 330m of vertical, according to my bike computer. After about 2/3 of the climb, there's a nice little scenic viewpoint where I stopped to eat a few granola bars. I found a family having cake and tea. Turns out, it was the dad's birthday, so they offered me some tea and cake, which I happily accepted as I was absolutely starving and badly needed the energy. Nice people. I finished off the climb and then did the steep and windy descent into Radium, BC as it was getting dark. I rolled up to the only place in town that was still serving food: a pizza place. I got myself an extra-large pizza and then hobbled my way to my motel. Sadly, the office had closed an hour and a half before (it was now 10:30 at night). After half an hour of trying the emergency number of the motel over and over again, I finally managed to get through and got the key to my room. Sadly, the room was on the second floor, so I had to haul my bike up the stairs. I inhaled most of the pizza, showered, and went to bed. At my derailleur problems were over... or at least I thought they were.

Day 3) Radium to Cranbrook. 148km with 846m of vertical in 8 hours. Today was another bad day due to a severe headwind and I began having more derailleur issues. I lost the use of my lowest three gears on my rear cassette, which made the climbs a nightmare. But the real issue was the wind. I couldn't manage anything over 19kmph. It was like every time I felt I was making progress, the wind would come up and smack me right down. I was pretty demoralised by the whole thing. It's the kind of headwind that starts messing with your head and you start taking it personally, like nature is doing this just to mess with you. I'll confess that I screamed "would you just fuck off already?!" more than once up into the sky. I got into Cranbrook just after the sun had set but managed to find a burger place that was still open for food. The trip wasn't going so well. I also went through 10L of water as it was over 30C. 

Day 4) Cranbrook to Blairmore. 183km in 8 hours with 1,290m of vertical. The day got off to a great start (sarcasm) when my rear derailleur shat itself inside out after riding a mere 200m from the motel. I figured out what the problem was, and why I'd lost the use of some of my gears beforehand. The cable had come completely loose. I managed to yank the cable as tight as I could and then screw it down (not an easy feat given the average number of hands a human being normally possesses), which had the added benefit of restoring the use of all but my lowest gear. Thankfully, I didn't have to adjust anything after that since my barrel adjuster was shot. I also noticed that my rear wheel was rubbing quite hard against one of the brake pads. Yes, I did the entire previous day with my brakes partially engaged. FFS!

 But, I was actually in a fairly decent mood as I made it to the top of the first climb out of Cranbrook. It didn't last, however, because as I reached the bottom of the descent, I found that the road I was planning on taking was closed due to a major crash up the road, which meant having to go back up the climb and then do a 23km detour that added about 540m of additional climbing. By this point, I was in a pretty foul mood. Every day of the trip, something had gone wrong, meaning I hadn't been able to enjoy the ride at all. Once I completed the detour (which meant backtracking part of the previous day's route), I carried on. Thankfully, I had a nice tailwind that was slowly blowing me up the shallow climb towards Fernie. I probably gained a few hundred meters of vertical without really working for it due to that tail wind. I stopped in Fernie to get some calories in me before starting the last major leg towards Crowsnest Pass, the highest point of the day. I eventually reached the summit just as the sun was setting. "At least it's all downhill from here," I thought, not realising that I still had a lot of climbing to do. I suppose I was right, it was all downhill, only in the metaphorical sense. Yes, lots of rolling hills all the way to Blairmore. I didn't get into my hotel until after 10:00 PM. The last 20km of the ride were into yet another headwind and it was cold, only 15C. I was shivering when I got to the hotel.

 By this point, I was tired beyond exhausted, frustrated, and just not having a good time. A quick look at the weather forecast showed cold and rain for the next day, and that's when I decided I'd had enough. I called the wifey and she agreed to pick me up from Blairmore (about 200km south of Calgary). I had wanted to complete the loop, but this was beyond ridiculous at this point. Thankfully, the hotel let me stay in my room until 2:00 PM, so at least I got to sleep in, and I found a lovely little cafe that served delicious breakfast crepes. But that was the end of my trip.

 

 I did not enjoy myself much. I was either fighting my bike with mechanical issues, fighting the clock by trying to get to my accommodations before dark, fighting with the wind, fighting with highway closures. It was just one disaster after the next. My butt's also raw from my saddle, which usually doesn't give me issues. I attached a screencap of my route.

Total trip distance: 623km

Total distance this year so far: 2,291km

[8tg]

I fucked up my entire drivetrain, it shifts like ass, I sent it a bit too hard and bent the front chainring(s), trying to force front shifts while in 6-8 in the back caused some chainstick and tore up my frame

i am upset, I want to replace the entire drivetrain because this just doesn’t hold up to what I’m trying to do 

[YellowJersey]

1 hour ago, 8tg said:

I fucked up my entire drivetrain, it shifts like ass, I sent it a bit too hard and bent the front chainring(s), trying to force front shifts while in 6-8 in the back caused some chainstick and tore up my frame

i am upset, I want to replace the entire drivetrain because this just doesn’t hold up to what I’m trying to do

OOF! Sorry to hear that.

[8tg]

the title is only half the problem, I basically can’t put down serious torque, if I stand and pedal it skips multiple teeth on the cassette each stroke

There’s like, maybe 200 miles on this bike? And it’s not just the drivetrain being damaged from being beaten into roots and stuff, it’s worn heavily, a lot of my chain shows heavy scoring and some bent links, the gear teeth on the rear cassette and front chainrings are excessively worn to the point they’re being reshaped.

Not impressed cannondale, this isn’t the fanciest bike but this wasn’t a cheap bike either