Cycling

[hunter_le five]

Cycling... sounds suspiciously like work to me.

I'm currently in the market for a motorcycle specifically so I DON'T have to pedal...

 

[jglazer]

Haha homebrewing sounds like work to me as well, I could always go to a homebrewing friends house to get some homemade beer, but I still homebrew...

 

[beaksnbeer]

Biking helps keep the 30 inch waistline and still drink and eat as I want to.

 

[JonM]

They say a 50-mile hard ride burns about 2,000 calories - that's a lot of homebrew and BBQ.

 

[RoadKing]

I ride 25-40 miles a day, 5 days a week to offset my drinking habits. (I drink a lot)

 

[Beernik]

30" waist? I haven't seen that since 9th grade. It might be nice to see a 34" one again.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I ride 25-40 miles a day, 5 days a week to offset my drinking habits. (I drink a lot)

Really I only use 1 glass per day (free refills)

 

[psubrewer]

I ride 25-40 miles a day, 5 days a week to offset my drinking habits. (I drink a lot)

Yep, me too. Strava is a pretty strong motivator for me if your into that sort of thing.

 

[julioardz]

Biking helps keep the 30 inch waistline and still drink and eat as I want to.

That's was me, before I had a child. Since he enjoys biking as much as I do, he's been riding with me since he turned 1, so my pace is a lot slower and my distances are a lot shorter. It was nice when I needed a daily diet of 3,500 calories to maintain my weight. I ate and drank what I wanted. I still ate healthy and drank in moderation, but it was nice not having to worry about overindulging and a waistline. The good thing is, as he grows, so does our riding and activity level.

 

[exhumedatbirth]

Really I only use 1 glass per day (free refills)

View attachment 137372

Off topic, but did you build that Keezer? I've been toying with a coffin box for the past year...The SWMBO is trying to get me to move into her place, and well a coffin box may be allowed in the house..a beat up keezer with a half assed collar, covered in stickers...welllllllll love and homebrew will only get me so far.

 

[exhumedatbirth]

Picked up a button down "jersey" at REI today, along with a pair of liners...nothing says "look at this idiot" than riding downtown for a bite to eat and a beer than being in full kit.

 

[RoadKing]

Yep, me too. Strava is a pretty strong motivator for me if your into that sort of thing.

I use Strava too. Here's a link to todays ride.. I'm drinking home brew right now putting those calories back in.

http://app.strava.com/activities/69937251

 

[beaksnbeer]

Off topic, but did you build that Keezer? I've been toying with a coffin box for the past year...The SWMBO is trying to get me to move into her place, and well a coffin box may be allowed in the house..a beat up keezer with a half assed collar, covered in stickers...welllllllll love and homebrew will only get me so far.

Yep, when my six tap failed after 11 years, I was going to just replace it and the wife says "Maybe we should go bigger,what do you think?" The original plan was 10 taps but MicroMatic just north of here had a closeout on some shanks when we got there they made a better deal then I could pass up if I'd take all 12. So the Fates cast the die on how many and a 20 cu.ft. chest freezer later, she holds 14 five gallon kegs and 2 three gallon kegs on the hump ready for travel or emergencies

 

[psubrewer]

I use Strava too. Here's a link to todays ride.. I'm drinking home brew right now putting those calories back in.

That's a fast ride man. Good job!

I'm off for a 85mi 8k elevation ride tomorrow at 5AM. Only a couple homebrews for me tonight!

 

[Greyhound]

I use Strava too. Here's a link to todays ride.. I'm drinking home brew right now putting those calories back in.

http://app.strava.com/activities/69937251

I started using Strava recently. I didn't think I'd like it at first because I figured it was more for the younger, faster riders (I'm 52), but I'm loving it. Here's my ride from yesterday. Not as fast as you, but much faster than I was a year ago.

http://app.strava.com/activities/70165418

 

[Beernik]

I've been using Cyclemeter to track my rides. My brother recommended Strava to me a year ago and I forgot about it. Back then I was just doing small 3 mile rides to work from the end of the light rail line. Now light rail has extended to my office and I'm doing longer recreational rides.

I may make the switch if for no other reason than the iPhone app requires half the memory space of Cyclemeter.

 

[RoadKing]

I started using Strava recently. I didn't think I'd like it at first because I figured it was more for the younger, faster riders (I'm 52), but I'm loving it. Here's my ride from yesterday. Not as fast as you, but much faster than I was a year ago.

http://app.strava.com/activities/70165418

That looks like a nice loop and seems pretty fast to me, especially with your elevation. I live at sea level with some hills but A LOT of wind especially by the bay.
You hit 40 mph? that had to suck getting up that hill..

 

[Greyhound]

That looks like a nice loop and seems pretty fast to me, especially with your elevation. I live at sea level with some hills but A LOT of wind especially by the bay.
You hit 40 mph? that had to suck getting up that hill..

That's one of my favorite loops. We have a lot of rolling hills around here, but nothing too steep or long. I'm not sure if I actually hit 40 mph on yesterday's ride; I thought I maxed out somewhere around 38 mph according to my Cateye. I question some of Strava's numbers, especially its peak power estimates, but overall I think it's pretty accurate.

 

[psubrewer]

That's one of my favorite loops. We have a lot of rolling hills around here, but nothing too steep or long. I'm not sure if I actually hit 40 mph on yesterday's ride; I thought I maxed out somewhere around 38 mph according to my Cateye. I question some of Strava's numbers, especially its peak power estimates, but overall I think it's pretty accurate.

Greyhound, you are in my neck of the woods more or less. You're right about strava's power numbers. they only take into consideration grade, weight and speed. wind speed/direction, drag coefficient and group riding throw off these numbers big time.

Here is my ride from yesterday:

http://app.strava.com/activities/70167954

 

[Greyhound]

Greyhound, you are in my neck of the woods more or less. You're right about strava's power numbers. they only take into consideration grade, weight and speed. wind speed/direction, drag coefficient and group riding throw off these numbers big time.

Here is my ride from yesterday:

http://app.strava.com/activities/70167954

That's impressive. I occasionally (OK, rarely) do a 40 mile ride up Wachusett Mountain, but not 86 miles and definitely not at that pace. Nice ride!

 

[RoadKing]

Greyhound, you are in my neck of the woods more or less. You're right about strava's power numbers. they only take into consideration grade, weight and speed. wind speed/direction, drag coefficient and group riding throw off these numbers big time.

Here is my ride from yesterday:

http://app.strava.com/activities/70167954

Nice ride!! You definitely earned a few (quite a few) cold ones!!

 

[Beernik]

I must officially be a nutcase now for hauling my bike 500 miles so I can ride it first thing in the morning while I'm on vacation. If the link works, here's my ride before the family woke up.

http://cyclemeter.com/c6ab15494f5c3e79/Cycle-20130802-0755?r=s

If it doesn't work, it was 2.3 miles each way with 500 feet of elevation gain.

I was getting frustrated with my performance going up. It wasn't until coming down and barely peddling at all that I realized how steep it was.

 

[BrewerBear]

The link is working. I would take a bike with me on vacation too,if it was a vacation I was able to.

 

[Beernik]

Thought I'd revive this thread instead of starting a new one.

I'm pulling my old Bianchi out of storage tomorrow. It hasn't been ridden for about 25 years. So I figure I probably need to apply some chain and gear lube before I start riding it.

While my brother is an avid cyclist, he's not much help in the DIY department. What would be some good gear and chain lube for me to get?

 

[RoadKing]

Personally I like the Rock N Roll gold. It keeps the chain clean and lubed. This is it
25 years?? Bike technology and geometry has changed ALOT since then.
Ya might even find parts hard to find.

 

[Greyhound]

Thought I'd revive this thread instead of starting a new one.

I'm pulling my old Bianchi out of storage tomorrow. It hasn't been ridden for about 25 years. So I figure I probably need to apply some chain and gear lube before I start riding it.

While my brother is an avid cyclist, he's not much help in the DIY department. What would be some good gear and chain lube for me to get?

Use some cycling-specific lube. There are lots of good ones out there. I'd just go to your nearest bike shop and ask what they recommend. Be prepared for them to recommend a complete tune-up, though (time & money). You should definitely check the tires for cracking before riding. If you have the tools and know-how, you'll probably want to repack the bearings (hubs, headset, bottom bracket). If not, this would be part of the major tune-up that your shop is going to recommend.

 

[JonM]

Check the chain for stretch too. Might be best to just put a new chain on there, which isn't too much $.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Id get new tires, tubes, chain...and check cables.

 

[kenmcchord]

Use some cycling-specific lube. There are lots of good ones out there. I'd just go to your nearest bike shop and ask what they recommend. Be prepared for them to recommend a complete tune-up, though (time & money). You should definitely check the tires for cracking before riding. If you have the tools and know-how, you'll probably want to repack the bearings (hubs, headset, bottom bracket). If not, this would be part of the major tune-up that your shop is going to recommend.

+1

If you've got the scratch I'll be worth the expense to have this tune up done. There is way more than chain lube that needs attention on a 25+ year old bike. I ride a lot, and I maintain my own bikes. You could have issues in the headset, bottom bracket, brake issues not to mention the tires, chain and lube.

Considering it's your life and body on the line here I would say it's probably worth the expense.

 

[Beernik]

Thanks for the advice.

It looks like I'm picking it up Wednesday now. Mostly I want an alternate for my Cannondale if it decides to develop a spongy rear break (like Thursday) or a flat tire (like today).

Besides, while I like that I can beat the hell out of the Cannondale and nothing really hurts it, it sucks on those long hills. Sometimes I'd like to ride something lighter.

If I can get it on good working order on my own, I'll try it out on some flats before I take it down the hill I live at the top of. If I can't, next month when my wife asks me what I want for my birthday, I'll tell her I want the tune up.

EDIT: I just watched a couple videos on overhauling a bottom bracket. That's a lot of specialty tools to buy. I think I'll pay the bike shop to do that for me.

 

[Beernik]

Almost everything looks like it is still in great condition. Most of the prep work is going to be in lubricating and minor adjustments.

Tires hold pressure. Gears shift. Breaks work. Hubs, bottom bracket, and head set are not grimmed up and turn without resistance.

The one exception: it has a broken spoke on the rear wheel. So I'll need to replace it and true the wheel first. Then I can start working on everything else.

It will take me a while to get used to the body position for this type of bike instead of the more heads-up position of a mountain bike.

I'm guessing the 7.A stamp on the frame means manufactured in 1987. That sounds about right since I moved from Germany to Utah in 1988 and I had it for about a year or two before the move.

 

[JonM]

Re: the body position, it might be worthwhile to have a professional fitting. For years, I rode with a DIY fitting and I never understood why it was so easy for others to use their hands to wave, signal, etc. Then I got a professional fitting and I was so much more comfortable - no more numbness in the fingers, easy to let go of the bars to signal, and much more comfortable for the back and sitter.

 

[Beernik]

It more not having rode a bike with drop handle bars for 20 years.

I called the bike shop about the spoke and truing the wheel. It's $20 for the spoke and wheel or $50 for a tuneup, which includes the truing plus about $10 for the spoke. So I think I'll just pay the $60 and have it all done.

It may need a new rear inner tube too. It didn't hold pressure over a couple days nearly as well as the front.

In other news, I figured out a little 5 mile circuit I can ride in 30 minutes while my daughter is at tumbling class. So I did that this morning. It was good. It would have been better if they hadn't decided to grind the asphalt off the road today.

 

[Beernik]

Just got her back from the shop today. I think I'll have to retape the handlebars before too long.

Now that I can ride it, I can tell that the frame fits me a little bit better than the Cannondale I've been riding does.

 

[psubrewer]

That's a beautiful bike!

Classic steel frame that will ride smooth and fast(depending on the engine ). I might lose the wheel reflectors....but that's just me.

 

[Beernik]

Thanks!

I'm leaving the reflectors on. I know they aren't stylish, but I live on the east slope of a mountain range. I've been known to misjudge nightfall because I can't see the sunsetting and ended up riding 30 minutes in the dark.

I just took it out for a quick spin: 5.5 miles, 400 feet of elevation. Only took 26 minutes. I shouldn't have because now I don't have an excuse for not doing it every night.

It's quick and fun. Although, I kind of wish the crankset had a third gear.

I need to adjust the saddle towards the back and point it a little more down.

It requires a lot more breaking distance than my mountain bike. The breaks engage but they aren't as "grippy" as I'm used to. Should I take it back for adjusting or is that how road bikes are supposed to be?

 

[JonM]

Steel frames are awesome - solid as heck.

How are your tires? (I don't remember if it was mentioned earlier in the thread) Your braking distance might be because of worn tires. If they're slippy now, they'll be a beeyatch when rainy out. If the tires are good, you can probably adjust the tension on the braking cables.

Remember: Rear brakes are to scrub speed. Front brakes are to stop. (But throw your @ss back over the rear tire if you have to do an emergency stop on a downhill!)

 

[Beernik]

Both breaks feel like they have been adjusted to scrub speed.

I started looking them over. They adjusted the breaks with the quick release levers open instead of closed. If I try to close the quick releases, they clamp the wheels in place.

The wheels should still spin when they are closed.

I'm taking it back.

 

[RoadKing]

Are they new brake pads? If they're old the could have become hard. Also clean the braking surface of the rim, try simple green (or another mild solvent), then wipe 'em off with alcohol to get rid of residual solvent.

 

[broadbill]

Thanks!

I'm leaving the reflectors on. I know they aren't stylish, but I live on the east slope of a mountain range. I've been known to misjudge nightfall because I can't see the sunsetting and ended up riding 30 minutes in the dark.

I just took it out for a quick spin: 5.5 miles, 400 feet of elevation. Only took 26 minutes. I shouldn't have because now I don't have an excuse for not doing it every night.

It's quick and fun. Although, I kind of wish the crankset had a third gear.

I need to adjust the saddle towards the back and point it a little more down.

It requires a lot more breaking distance than my mountain bike. The breaks engage but they aren't as "grippy" as I'm used to. Should I take it back for adjusting or is that how road bikes are supposed to be?

those reflectors don't do much when the traffic is approaching you from the front or the back...that is why most people get rid of them. I don't like reflectors in general; by the time the light hits them the car is already too close to me .

LED blink lights are the way to go if you are finding yourself in the dark.