The bicycle thread

[Kadzo]

3 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Interesting, I found I could get what I believe is good pad alignment with a combination of the "loosen caliper bolts, clamp the brake lever, tighten caliper bolts" along with just kinda eyeballing it.

 

I was considering hydraulics but on my bike it would've been significantly more work to install, a lot more work to maintain, and overall significantly more expensive for little to no benefit.

Depends who you ask, for me a good hydraulics brake is a lot better then any mechanical. Modulation and control settings are exponentially higher.  

[kelvinhall05]

Just now, Kadzo said:

Depends who you ask, for me a good hydraulics brake is a lot better then any mechanical. Modulation and control settings are exponentially higher.  

Very fair points. My conclusion of "not worth it" comes from more than just actual performance. Upfront cost, installation, maintenance, etc all factor into that. And when all that is considered, hydraulics don't make sense for me.

[Kadzo]

35 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Very fair points. My conclusion of "not worth it" comes from more than just actual performance. Upfront cost, installation, maintenance, etc all factor into that. And when all that is considered, hydraulics don't make sense for me.

If you have a bike from point A to point B that u use to commute i totally agree with you on that, my brakes are on my MTB where it usually means difference between stopping when and how i want or a face full of dirt (or worse)  

[kelvinhall05]

Just now, Kadzo said:

If you have a bike from point A to point B that u use to commute i totally agree with you on that, my brakes are on my MTB where it usually means difference between stopping when and how i want or a face full of dirt (or worse)  

But even with the trail riding I do, I find the BB7s have enough modulation and more than enough power.

[YellowJersey]

Only 45km today. I feel totally drained of energy. I'm either still wiped from my overnight hiking trip last week or I'm not eating enough.

Total this year: 217km

[12345678]

I needed an xl bike

but no stocks can be found

someone that I knew, had a bike, that I do think that was an S, or smaller 

she let me grab it, and when I got to ride it... jesus christ it was tiring as fuck and diffucult to use, too small for me

 

[Kadzo]

13 hours ago, 12345678 said:

I needed an xl bike

but no stocks can be found

someone that I knew, had a bike, that I do think that was an S, or smaller 

she let me grab it, and when I got to ride it... jesus christ it was tiring as fuck and diffucult to use, too small for me

 

Dude the lowest you can go is one maybe 2 sizes then your normal one, what you are saying looks like this to me

[12345678]

3 hours ago, Kadzo said:

Dude the lowest you can go is one maybe 2 sizes then your normal one, what you are saying looks like this to me

almost

 

I could ride it, but I needed to put a huge amount of power and costrain my movement to do few meters

 

it was tiring as fuck

[YellowJersey]

101km today! Did in 5 hours 20 minutes. The first half of the ride was brutal, but the second half I was on fire, which is weird because the second half was mostly uphill and into a headwind. I'm not sure what happened there.

 

Total this year: 318km

[YellowJersey]

100km today in 5 hours and 7 minutes. Same thing as last time happened: I was struggling on the first half and on fire on the second half. Hoping to get out again on Friday.

 

Total this year: 418km

[YellowJersey]

I feel like I'm finally getting into form: 114km today in 5 hours 47 minutes. I hit the wall around 105km; those last 9km were brutal. I have to keep tweaking my derailleur, though, as it won't let me use my first gear on my rear cassette; it just flicks down to second. I've tweaked it multiple times, but it just won't stick.

 

Total this year: 532km

[sub68]

My dad's converted ebike cockpit.

 

[YellowJersey]

62km today. Had a doctor's appointment and the gf has the car today for work, so I biked the 13km to the doctor's office. Took a very roundabout way home. I don't recall what my ride time was, though. Stopped at my favourite Japanese place for some chicken curry and gyoza to bring home for dinner.

Total this year: 594km

[Derkoli]

Been having some lovely weather recently.

 

 

Also, finally fairly happy with the bike.

 

 

Black, silver, then purple drivetrain/valve stems/grips.

 

Ideally, I would have a set of Trickstuff Piccola HD brakes, but lead times are 12-15 months.  So yeah.

[Derkoli]

Managed a metric century yesterday. On a trail bike. Over moorland. In 25C heat.

 

Essentially climbed from my workplace to Princetown (bout 1300 feet above my workplace), down a few valleys, then back.

 

[YellowJersey]

100km today in 5 hours and 8 minutes. A bit smokey, but the air quality report said it was fine. I think the smoke is higher up in the atmosphere. Also coming off a sprained wrist.

 

Total this year: 694km

[Sarra]

I've been thinking about getting a belt drive bicycle. Can anyone recommend a 4 speed or 3 speed bicycle for casual riding? I'm too fat for anything overly extreme, plus my joints and POTS would kill me if I tried a mountain climb.

[Kadzo]

2 minutes ago, Sarra said:

I've been thinking about getting a belt drive bicycle. Can anyone recommend a 4 speed or 3 speed bicycle for casual riding? I'm too fat for anything overly extreme, plus my joints and POTS would kill me if I tried a mountain climb.

Can i ask why belt drive specifically? Did you consider some other e bike type?

If you plan on also working on your health and weight maybe some other option? 

[Sarra]

8 minutes ago, Kadzo said:

Can i ask why belt drive specifically? Did you consider some other e bike type?

If you plan on also working on your health and weight maybe some other option? 

I'd actually prefer a non-ebike. Just a straight up foot powered unit.

 

Mostly for weight loss. Well, personal enjoyment primarily, weight loss would just be a bonus. Riding a bicycle is much easier on my joints, my knees tend to fall to pieces if I do anything more strenuous than brisk walking (this is from impact, which isn't an issue on a bicycle, hopefully).

 

Last time I was on a bicycle, I yelled 'fat lives matter!' as I nearly splattered myself on the side of a tree... It was really cold, raining, and I was on a rented mountain bike, trying to keep up on a paved trail with two very, very fit bicyclists on road bikes. Very unfair. I just want to ride by myself, easy terrain, easy rides, at least to start out with.

 

Belt drive because I like how they sound when they hum, and I'm lazy, so low maintenance is appealing. Well, the lack of grease, I know the belt still needs to be cleaned.

[Kadzo]

6 minutes ago, Sarra said:

I'd actually prefer a non-ebike. Just a straight up foot powered unit.

 

Mostly for weight loss. Well, personal enjoyment primarily, weight loss would just be a bonus. Riding a bicycle is much easier on my joints, my knees tend to fall to pieces if I do anything more strenuous than brisk walking (this is from impact, which isn't an issue on a bicycle, hopefully).

 

Last time I was on a bicycle, I yelled 'fat lives matter!' as I nearly splattered myself on the side of a tree... It was really cold, raining, and I was on a rented mountain bike, trying to keep up on a paved trail with two very, very fit bicyclists on road bikes. Very unfair. I just want to ride by myself, easy terrain, easy rides, at least to start out with.

 

Belt drive because I like how they sound when they hum, and I'm lazy, so low maintenance is appealing. Well, the lack of grease, I know the belt still needs to be cleaned.

My bad i thought when you said belt drive, you meant belt drive a small e bike engine with a belt that is pressing the front or rear wheel. 

I tried belt drive but didn`t like the gear chaining mechanism and some really good ones are super expensive (at least in my country). 

 

Not sure that you will get the necessary boost from a belt drive (in terms of starting to ride) and maybe a larger range of gears would help you in the longer run.

 

[Sarra]

8 hours ago, Kadzo said:

My bad i thought when you said belt drive, you meant belt drive a small e bike engine with a belt that is pressing the front or rear wheel. 

I tried belt drive but didn`t like the gear chaining mechanism and some really good ones are super expensive (at least in my country). 

 

Not sure that you will get the necessary boost from a belt drive (in terms of starting to ride) and maybe a larger range of gears would help you in the longer run.

 

I've had 21 speed bicycles in the past, and I would only use like 4 gears on them, but they were spread out, so I was constantly skipping gears. I also didn't like dealing with the chain... And, I'd like to try something  new.

[YellowJersey]

70km today in 3 hours and 31 minutes. I was feeling pretty good until the 50km mark (my usual halfway point where I refill my water at my brother's house), but decided to be lazy on the way home; just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to ride the Icefields Parkway this summer, but the smoke doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

 I think I'm going to have a smaller small front chain ring installed for next year. I'm only on the small front ring for steep climbs, but it doesn't give me quite enough.

 

Total this year: 764km.

[YellowJersey]

104km in 5 hours and 12 minutes today. I was 4 seconds off a 20kmph average when I clicked over 100km. Today was the first day in a bit without smoke.

 

Total this year: 868km.

[adarw]

13 minutes ago, YellowJersey said:

104km in 5 hours and 12 minutes today. I was 4 seconds off a 20kmph average when I clicked over 100km. Today was the first day in a bit without smoke.

 

Total this year: 868km.

what kind of bike you got?

[YellowJersey]

1 hour ago, adarw said:

what kind of bike you got?

Giant TCX-1 from 2011, which took over from my 1999 Giant OCR-1.