do i buy a thing

Any idea how old that bike is?

Based on the paint job? 1989.

when did miami vice air?

i would buy it and call it the JAN HAMMER

And I am speaking as someone whose bike was teal with black and yellow details.

Based on the paint job? 1989.

Seeing as Bianchi is an Italian company, it could be far more recent than that.

when did miami vice air IN ITALY?

yeah, but do i buy this thing

secretly i'm not ready to drop even two hundred, but if it's quality then it's almost exactly what i'm looking for

I believe miami vice is still being made in Italy. Milano Vice anyone?

Volpe nowadays is a great bike and retails for around $900. Assuming it's in good condition, maybe offer $200?

gbx it is too bad you're not as tall as me:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/bik/462805383.html

NO! NO! NO!

are you telling me not to buy this y/n

I think he's saying no.

he is saying no, three times, once for each bike posted in this thread, also in caps

CAN WE CHANGE THE THREAD TO: DO I BURN A THING

teal with black and yellow details

yes!

aw but i want it!

This posting has been deleted by its author.

Does this mean you bought it?

i guess someone else did!

I PAID HIM $250 TO THROW IT INTO THE LAKE!!

SORRY BRO!

harsh

i bought a bike

??

used schwinn touring/road bike purchased here for $90. frame is in decent condition, specs are.....OK. it's functional, and it'll work for the build-a-bike class i'm taking. also, for winter! has hideous risers on it, but whatever.

may also serve as something CX-able, but that's a stretch

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/465875179.html

I don't need it, I just like it.

I would find out the year and model. It could be a totally junk frame and weigh a ton. Is it rusted, dented, chipped? Also, you should get a picture of the dropouts and drivetrain. Is it a good conversion or slapped together? What's stock and what's been upgraded? I would get more info.

It's says singlespeed, so it may have a freewheel instead of fixed gear. In that case, you'd probably want to put a rear brake on it.

How tall are you? How long is your inseam? That's a big bike. You don't want to buy a bike that doesn't fit right.

I am 6'5", it'll be ok :D

Dude selling it must make his living doing these things, he has 5 or 6 up on CL at any one time.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/1223214487.html

why because wheeee

yah go for it!

sooo tempted... I'd have to sell a guitar but it's... so shiny...

prob gonna buy a thing off ebay?/

http://i43.tinypic.com/30wqnhj.jpg

so many things to buy

so many things to repair :(

the other day the shoulder strap from my bikebureau went into my rear wheel and ripped my fender off (must replace fender, should replace strap). rear rack is giving up due to old age (replace). need to replace cables for shifter and brakes. missus rear wheel needs rebuild or complete retension, not sure which. her race disc needs new tire and glue-up for shakedown before next weekend race. my decrepit trail bike needs tires replaced.

thing: bought'd

thanks ILTRMB!

we're always here to enable you to spend money on bikes that you love to ride

do i buy a thing?

http://madison.craigslist.org/bik/1251267334.html

!!

the bike comes with aero bars, SPD pedals, a computer ?

computer or not that seems like a sweet deal @ 200

been looking at this thing:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/1607391807.html

always loved the looks of classic 3-speed town bikes. only obv. cons are the EZ-off seatpost and cottered cranks. is the price too high (esp. for a fmr. rental)?

Are the cranks rly that bad? It's not a high-performance machine, just tap 'em farther in if they get loose. My slight experience with them was that by the time the pins loosened up, something else needed to be done on the bike anyway so it was like a "time for service" reminder.

Cottered cranks aren't really a problem, as Laurel says, this is a bike for pootling. It looks pretty, complete and original. Stick a wicker basket on it and go to the shops or join a local tweed ride. Not a lot on it to go wrong really. Those SA 3 gear hubs are pretty bomb proof and even if they wear our replacements or spares are easy enough to come by, my local bike store has hundreds salvaged from old bikes.

just looked at the super enlarged photos and that looks like a pretty sweet ride. the worst you can point to is some dings in the paintwork and fewer than I'd expect on an ex-hire bike. I say check it out, see how tight everything is and offer $150.

http://www.ride-this.com/index.php/torelli-bormio-700c-shimsram-wheelset-fr-black.html

i just want lightish wheels for training rides in the hills. that seems rly cheap and i dont see too many bad things about these wheels.

i am going to purchase dura ace wh-7850-c24-tl tubeless clinchers for this season

What's a tubeless clincher, cutty?

a clincher wheel that can run tubeless clincher tires, as well as standard tires w/ tubes

Ok, so I have a butload of delta airmiles enough for a trip back to europe at a non- peak time. They have this shopping thing where you can trade miles for goods. Turns out I have enough miles for a free, and utterly frivolous, garmin 705 bike gps. I have no need for one, other than geeky lust and frivolous desire. Should I get it?

not if you have an iPhone!

Don't have an iPhone, but might in the summer, worth considering.

i have the garmin 305 and love it. though i got it wholesale for taking part in a beta test. the 705 is the one that has color maps and talks you through foreign routes?

come on, the iphone is not a great cycling computer

you're not going to attach it to your fricken stem

plus the battery will die on long rides

Hincapie coat WANT:

http://www.velogear.com/images/660HGC.jpg

hey, the outlier trousers arrived and they are great.

awesome! i was tempted but that's way too much cash for this guy atm

torelli wheels i ordered came. instead of the 1540g last year's model, they are the 1640g this year's model. seems like they upgraded the hubs from what i can tell. so instead of a light, bladed, semi deep clincher wheelset i got an ok bladed, semi deep wheelset. shouldnt make a dif for my purposes, they are v. true and round and well tensioned for factory jobs.

its pretty amazing how commoditized wheelsets seem to be now. williams, neuvation, etc.

omg these new-old stock 70s gloves = WANT

I can't rationalize the expenditure, but if u can here u go: http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-70S-JIM-REIDS-LEATHER-ROAD-BIKE-GLOVES-SIZE-M-/380227161546?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58874e0dca

Does anyone know of anyone making similar gloves nowadays? I really dig the look of the old school crochet-mesh, but from what I can tell, the only such gloves these days tend to be pretty el cheapo.

gotta love this:

*** 70'S JIM REID'S GENUINE LEATHER CYCLING GLOVES ***

MADE IN ITALY

FINEST QUALITY - AMERICAN MADE

LOL

I really dig the look of the old school crochet-mesh, but from what I can tell, the only such gloves these days tend to be pretty el cheapo.

i'm currently using a pair of my dad's crochet-mesh gloves from like the 80s but they've recently developed a rip in the (leather) palms. seriously considering trying out my first surgical procedure to repair them, i love them so much

u gotta get that shit stitched up!

Dromarti make some lovely ones for a mere £99, which is cheaper than rapha

http://www.dromarti.com/images/dromarti/medium/mitts_MED.jpg

http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15&products_id=27

they make lovely shoes too

http://www.dromarti.com/images/dromarti/medium/sportivo_MED.jpg

those shoes would be 1000x better without those white lugs

as you wish

http://www.dromarti.com/images/dromarti/medium/race_MED.jpg

but those are road only!

they look a bit STEEMPUNK

more

http://www.modernbike.com/images/Product_Images/main_IG2126175757.jpg

if you ask me

Rapha mitts were £75 last time I checked. Bontrager make some good black leather mitts for only £20. The Gore ones I have are old-school white leather (with knuckle holes etc) on the back with modern materials on the palm - rpretty good (and good-looking) as long as you keep the leather well moisturised (I haven't).

ha that shit is 0_o if u got gear fetish and $$$ might as well go balls out tho

so tempted to trade up my duffer for something nippier, lighter etc for gadding about town

I need to sell my Trek 1200...

do I buy a garmin 305

prefer garmin 500, cheaper, lighter, would have got it if I didn't get the 705 for free (airmiles)

These are interesting aswell

http://www.ibikesports.com/

like the idea of the ibike. seems like an affordable way to train w/ power, even if it has its quirks.

I have a feeling that power meters are going to start coming down in price over the next few years. Quarq is a bit of a game changer in this regard.

i have a 305 and it's great. i got it @ wholesale for beta-testing a site that's now my sponsor!

Ed OTM about power meters not only dropping in price but also will be radically changing in form in terms of technology. instead of being tied to a hub/wheel (power tap) or a crank (srm), there is a whole new movement to move power meters into more portable forms like pedals.

I have teammates who don't even look at speed (and more and more are ignoring HR!) in favor of rolling 3-second average power as a percent of max!!! nerds!

i think i saw something about a pedal-based system last year on another forum around interbike time. some people were dissing it though. are powermeter partisans more annoying than groupset partisans??

probably worse because in 5-10 years, all existing tech will be obsolete by the sounds of things...

hmm the 500 does look interesting

WHO WANTS TO BUY MY POWERTAP? ED? C'MON

^^^good deal imho^^^

Just in case this is of use to our American friends, I got this today:

http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/email_ads/July_2010/index.html

for londoners
http://www.onebelowzero.com/skin/frontend/default/SiDi/images/media/cycling.jpg

Thanks Cozy!

Where's Perivale? I have a feeling it's near Pinner.

do I buy a thing?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Colnago-Forever-Extreme-Power-Complete-Bike-52-CM-RARE/200495653138?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item2eae78e112#ht_739wt_881

too small, I think, oh well

Ed, and others:

http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bike-frames/road-bike-frames?brand=BMC&price_from=&price_to=&sort=&per_page=20&x=18&y=10&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=awin&promo=Content

Nice, don't need another.

cheap kit from china on ebay: y/n

also wearing mellow johnny's kit is tacit support of larald armsrong: y/n

mellow johnny's kit can be argued away as supporting our troops in the fight against cancer

watched CX race again today, kinda getting the itch... tax return comin thru this week... ?????

http://road.cc/sites/default/files/images/Genesis%20Day%20One%20Alfine%20-%20Full%20Bike.preview_500.jpg

No to Mellow Johnny's - nothing tacit about your lance-love!

srs? : (

Americans, Jenson have a Knog lights sale on if you're interested?

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/brand/?373&p=1

http://www.baltimorebicycleworks.com/upload/used/002.JPG

rapha butt cream y/n

is it going to be any better that Assos? really?

Have never tried embrocation - tempted to for upcoming night ride and winter commuting.

recovery tights? anyone use em?

aka compression tights? 2XU? Skinz? etc.

Have never tried embrocation

Me neither, but I'm curious to try it. The smell of embrocation in the changing rooms is one of the key things I remember about the races I did at Eastway way back in 89. It doesn't seem to be so commonly used nowadays.

J tried it once before a race in dreadful conditions (torrential downpour, high winds). Not bad, never got a chance to do it again.

J = I

Do you know what brand?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320604115230&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT

lol

mash on!

at a bike gear crossroads. i need to get either a new road bike, or makeover my current ancient bike. i really love my 97 dean ti frame, it's really basic but fits and rides the best of all bikes ive had. its components are 11 years old and way worn out. i also want the ability to bring my own bike conveniently when i travel (which is not v. often).

so, should i strip off the ancient team powdercoat, ship the frame to bilenky and have s&s couplers put on, and then install a full new sram force gruppo? i think cutty likes sram, right?

a thousand times yes

I want couplers so bad. def getting them on my next bike

youve probly seen the bilenky site? it's a pretty good deal compared to like, buying a ritchey break-away. ti couplers are .5 pound extra.

http://www.bilenky.com/Retrofits.html

wow:
http://www.sandsmachine.com/carvlugs.htm
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_boh_r8.jpg
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_boh_r9.jpg
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_er_r15.jpg

stunning. my steel lugged commuter bike has some dope fleur de lys lugging that are really subtle but this is just next level.^^^

some of that is ren faire nonsense

EXCALIBURRRRRR!!!

damn u know my steez-- not on my bike.

but my swords sure, and coordinated cloak pins.

also, penguins or kiwis or whatever those birds are-- that's almost dolphins w/ helmets level.

SRAM definitely the way to go IMO

sorta bummed about going 10spd tbh, but since i'd have to do it whether i stay shimano or not, its gonna be sram, the force stuff looks pretty good.

today's weather is making wish I had the resources to apply the thread q to a pugsley. f u snow

new lowest specced canyon comes w/SRAM apex for just a smidge under £800. tempting

i bought a $$ thing for ease of travel as discussed above :\ gotta ship frame out to bilenky. nearly buyer's remorse, but i sorta know its the right move long long term. i'll have this thing 5 or 6 years min, and will travel enough to make it break even.

should i go compact, or continue to fight it out on a 39/23 or 39/25? **superjames 39/23 trauma 7/10--never forget ;_;**

my next commuter bike will have an Alfine internal hub... well, that actually depends... can you have rear QR with an internal hub?

Should be possible if you use a chain tensioner, eccentric BB or somesuch.

Hunter, go compact - I'm riding my old trad-geared roadie at the moment and having that much less at the spinny end is doing my head in (disclaimer - I am weak and pathetic)

50/34 and 11/25 should sort you out, or even 11/23 if you like to mash.

unless things have changed, internals hubs have solid, nutted axles shasta. ed is right in that you may use vertical dropouts with a tensioner. i think you will have to buy special vertical dropout antispin washers, though.

i am a huuuge fan of my nexus 8spd internal. i just hit 12000 mi and had my first replacement of parts- the cog and chain. same shifter, same cables. i think i've had to adjust the cable tension on the barrel adjuster 3 times? durability is great i think, but i do not put the (massive) quantity of watts through it that you would~ no joke, i think it could be an issue if you hammered it hard enough.

anyway, the nutted axle is my biggest beef with the hub's commutability. if you rear flat, it is pretty shitty compared to having a qr. plus i have a loaded rack and fenders and track forkends. as a result i have made flat avoidance a priority and upped my tire quality wrt flat resistance. i'm using a vittoria randonneur 700x32-- it's been far superior to the supercheap performance gt2k's that i'd been using (they work ok on the front though).

Vittoria Pitstop latex goop aerosol is a pretty good get home solution

"Vittoria Pitstop latex goop aerosol" is a great text string

makes me wanna yell HUT HIKE!

probably going to buy this thing on saturday:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/prodimg/39863-99561_1_Zoom.jpg

force gruppo in box awaiting return of frame. nice alloy and plastic-y bits, but until i'm riding them, no magic, no magic at all.

did joygoat get a bicycle? is that rim drilling real? it looks like it skipped every 5th hole.

do i buy a 2009 garmin team TT frame/fork PLUS full DA7800 gruppo but lacking: saddle, cockpit, wheels, for $1300?

feels like a lotta bike for something that i probably won't ride more than 300 miles next year.

I did buy a bike - first complete bike that i've bought since 1992, which was the only other mountain bike i've ever had. The rims do skip every fifth hole, which might be a concern because I'm not a svelte person.

I've been really wanting to go mountain biking again even though it's been ages and I was never super hardcore about it. I think it hits the snowboard and skateboard-loving part of my brain that road biking never will, plus I can get to decent places to ride pretty easily.

On the one hand it would be kind of awesome; on the other hand argyle; you'd spend as much on wheels or at least feel compelled to; argyle; you'd paint a massive target on your back; also argyle, I really hate argyle patterns. (New Garmin Cervelo strip has a lot less of that shit)

shasta sounds like a good deal to me if you're gonna do a couple sr's and a tt series. i think you could always sell it for good $ if you decide you don't need it. because, triathletes lol.

joygoat, congrats.

I can get to decent places to ride pretty easily.

^^^this is key imo. i hate driving to go ride a mtb.

http://www.shopslipstreamsports.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/s/dsc_0278_1_1.jpg

Ed, not as PRO appearing as the DZ model which has the above plus the capt america USA graphics (for $200 more!)

If you're going to do it, get the DZ capt america model, might as well go the whole hog.

Argyle aside, its a pretty frame.

This is the fiscally-conscious ($:miles ridden) alternative:
http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd_ld-720tr.cfm

Clip on TT bars moreso.

I am not complaining, I got some satisfactory results in 2010 with clip-ons, but just looking at this next season, seeing what I can do to stay in the mix is mostly gonna be dialing into new gear.

Did I ever post my bugs bunny picture? Hunter you might LOL.

I don't recall them

Anyone know anything about C-4 wheels, not in the market yet, but need to solve the three frames 2sets of wheels thing before the spring.

http://www.c-4bicyclecomponents.com/site/CA-24-Road-Wheel-Set.html?st=menuJump

3 year comprehensive crash replacement warranty seems pretty decent

http://www.c-4bicyclecomponents.com/site/CA-24-Road-Wheel-Set.html?st=menuJump

what size road frame do you use shasta? (don't recall bugs bunny)

i'm 57/58 road depending on the geometry.

here's bugs crossing the finish line:
http://imgur.com/5EpRb.jpg

gree hee hee

paincave faces are like that sometimes

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/Chass3ur/lefatmantis.jpg

you can only sorta see it here but i end up sticking my tongue into my lower lip. ima call it fatmantisface.

Le Fattmantes

love it!

pagin Ed where are our jerseys dammit

OK, so my graphic designer friend turned out to be a real flake and is now in Brazil. I'm still up for this but can't really do anything about the artwork.

(off topic - Ed, you were in a dream I had last night, rescuing a woman from an attacker by a canal, and you had the physique of a bodybuilder. I have NO idea where that dream came from)

Not sure what to say to that other than state that I currently work in an office that supplies unlimited high quality chocolate and I have a physique to match that.

I am eating high quality chocolate as I read that and I understand entirely.

considering:

http://www.wheelbuilder.com/store/kinlin-xr-300-rim.html

+

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/au/cycleops-powertap-pro-plus-hub-only/

and maybe a garmin 500. is the powertap a smooth-rolling hub?

http://first-to-the-line.com/
http://www.hipsternascar.com/2010/12/first-to-line.html

looks pretty lol + awesome!

oh cool

my bro writes hipster NASCAR btw, he's great

can't tell you how many hours my siblings and I played Milles Bornes as kids. looks fun!

i just found vittoria evo cx IIs for $42, win. they're 21's, but that'll do.

Garmin Edge 800

I've always ridden with a Cateye computer, so I've always had speed/average speed/max speed/time/distance data. I like the idea of having a GPS unit so I can log rides - I've got an app on my iphone which does this, but it uses up all the battery after about 3 hours. Also the phone app isn't terribly reliable at the micro aspect of the data (i.e. it will give you the overall distance and time correctly, and if you analysed average speed over a distance of a mile or a minute or something it would be accurate, but over short sections it makes wild claims that I've suddenly accelerated up to 50mph on the flat when that obviously hasn't happened). I'd also like to have reliable data about climbing and I'm particularly keen on using it to analyse training/racing performance. Regarding the latter, there's no way I can afford a power meter, but I suppose I could try a heart rate monitor.

I really want the package for the 800 with the maps of Britain on so that I can effectively use it as a SatNav for a bike. This will be useful in July/August when I've got some time off and hope (if the weather's ever good enough) to go for some longer rides to places I don't know / ride right through London - it's a pain having to keep guessing where you're going or stopping repeatedly to look at a map.

On the other hand, it looks like it will cost >£400 and I'm struggling to justify that expense to myself. Probably >90% of the time I'm riding on roads I already know and don't need a map, especially when I just go out for 20-35 miles. Also I'm not convinced that HRM data will be that useful and I probably don't really need to know my cadence and I don't know whether the climbing data is particularly accurate.

Any advice?

Also think of the extra grams dude

I love the simplicity and accuracy and altimeter of edge 500, and if I need a map I just pull out my iPhone. I guess if your gonna be in the back of beyond u may not have phone service tho. But even if I had 800 it's not like I could leave the phone at home- I still have to carry it basically.

I would still carry my phone anyway - if there's some kind of emergency I need to be able to phone for help. But my phone is wrapped up in a little polythene bag and stuck in one of my back pockets. It's a pain having to stop, retrieve the phone and wait for an incredibly slow internet connection in the middle of nowhere to load my location.

I really like my edge 705, but I hardly ever use the mapping function. If I were buying now it would be the 500. The mapping truly sucks on the 705, it's meant to be better on the 800 but unless you want turn by turn directions, get the 500.

I want turn by turn directions. I've just ordered an 800. I may live to regret this.

It finally arrived yesterday and I've got the morning off work today. It took me a while to work out how things work and how to set everything up, but I think I've got it largely sorted now. I've just been on a brief ride to try it out (but forgot to wear the heart monitor):
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195932540

A couple of questions:
1) In Garmin connect, the data it provides is for the whole time I was out, including the numerous occasions when I came to a halt at traffic lights. It does give 'average moving speed' in addition to 'average speed', but all of the graphs are based on the whole time, rather than the moving time. This means that the 'average' lines drawn on those graphs aren't really in the right place in terms of what I want to know. Is there a way to change the graphs to ignore the times when speed or cadence were zero?
2) If I make a route (or course or track - I'm not sure of the terminology yet) in Garmin Basecamp, how do I transfer this onto the device? What about routes I've already made on ridewithgps.com?

Further question:
How can I analyse parts of my ride in garmin connect? i.e. I want to look at the hills I went up and analyse the gradient (and heart rate, once I remember to use it). And analyse heart rate zones, for that matter?

1) Not sure where it would be on the 800 but under settings-> setup there is an option to pause the device when stationary or under a certain speed.
2) you should be able to export a .gpx file from ridewithgps.com and then bring it in through Basecamp
3) Strava and mapmyride are much better for this than there is a plugin which allows you to import stuff from the garmin directly into web services

It blows my mind how varmint can make gps devices and also have the shittiest online support system possible.

I'm hoping this puts the wind up Garmin

http://corp.brytonsport.com/products/rider50?lang=en-gb

Not as nice hardware (basically a rip off of the last generation Edge) and no guarantee the software is any better but hopefully it puts the wind up Garmin

2) you should be able to export a .gpx file from ridewithgps.com and then bring it in through Basecamp

Yeah, I'm not having much joy with this. I have three routes which I exported from ridewithgps. The first two just won't import due to an 'unknown error'. The third one can be imported into base camp, but then I can't seem to get it onto the device. Or, rather, I can send it to the device but then the device doesn't seem to recognise that it's been sent there: it's not listed with the route I rode this morning (and saved as a route).

I have had these problems, I'm not entirely sure what it is. It may well be an issue where is a point is not on a road in Garmin land it has a hissy fit.

I haven't tried this but this looks like a way of bypassing Basecamp which may well be the root of the problem.

http://www.easterncapemountainbiking.co.za/index.php?page_name=page&menu_id=7&submenu_id=16

Hmmmm. Rather protracted this - it seems I can get routes on there by exporting them from ridewithgps, importing them into basecamp, immediately exporting them back to my computer, then uploading them into garmin connect and then finally sending them to the device.

you could have done a ride in that time amirite

I can just make routes in Garmin Connect and then send them to the device (this works - I've just tried it). So what on earth is the point of Basecamp???

To vex an frustrate the Garmin user

So today I rode exactly the same route, this time with the heart monitor on as well. The distance came out almost exactly the same (0.02 miles difference), but the total climbing was supposedly 456m yesterday and 474m today. That's quite a large discrepancy - how reliable is the altitude data? I have a minimum/maximum elevation of 3m/127m today and 16m/122m yesterday - obviously the land hasn't risen/fallen in the past 24 hours.

I've just been looking at various websites on how to calculate my maximum heart rate (and then use that to get different zones) and I've come across various different measurements that consistently give me 181-183 bpm. I deliberately chose a hilly route that took me up my club's hill climb course and I tried sprinting up the end of this (about 12% gradient) and my heart rate went up to 190bpm. Can you actually excede your 'maximum' or are these measurements just imprecise? This wasn't a one-off - on another hill (10% incline) I reached 185. I don't really know what to make of this. I also tried to do an interval of a minute or so at race pace on the flat - this got my bpm up to 178.

Info here: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/196402996. Split 3 is the hill climb and split 5 is the flat interval.

yep, GPS devices are not great at figuring out altitude

maybe because they use time differentials from different satellites to estimate position, and the horizontal distance between satellites is much larger than the vertical distance (all relative to you)

Your maximum heart rate is literally that: your maximum heart rate achieved. There is no formula that supersedes your physical results.

GPS altitude relies on so many factors: weather, wind, time of year*. The Garmin device provides a reasonable estimate... although Strava overlays their users' data with topography maps so they may be a bit more accurate.

*I once did a hilly ride in the middle of a storm and the altitude data showed almost a flat line.

800 should be better than the previous generation, It's go a barometer to make corrections but GPS is bad at altitude. Connect will attempt to correct but then you are at the mercy of baseman data.

See my recent log post a friend and I doing the same ride and him getting ~1250m and me getting ~1750m

Your maximum heart rate is literally that: your maximum heart rate achieved. There is no formula that supersedes your physical results.

I tried the same hill again today and really went for it, doing my second fastest time ever, and got a new maximum of 193 bpm. As bad as that made me feel, I reckon I've felt even worse a few times in races, so I suspect my maximum could be even higher than that. Apparently a better calculation is not to work out your maximum, but to work out what you average for a 30-minute all-out effort (e.g. time trial), but I've forgotten what you're supposed to do after finding that.

If you have a turbo trainer you can use the cadence sensor with an ANT+ USB stick and do the Trainerroad threshold test and this will give you you threshold heart rate.

I probably will not buy this, but I'm quite tempted by the Bikes Direct special on the Mercier Elle 3-spd laydeez bike. I've tried and tried to keep my old 3spd going but it's been in pieces for A YEAR and maybe it's time to let it go. And buy something RED that has never been scratched before.

Oh and a friend recently tried to buy a crappy 2-hand bike and the lowest prices at Recycle were in the $250 range! So for $400 you might as well??

Looks solid, go for it

yeah that looks pretty good to me. the rack looks a little dubious for durability, but you could replace that down the line easily if needed.

More Garmin questions:

1) I changed the settings so that it would automatically stop when I stopped moving and resume when I started moving again. This worked pretty well at first, but it seems to be getting worse - it has a tendency to turn off (and then almost immediately back on again) if I slow down for a junction but don't actually stop (i.e. drop from 20mph to 5mph and then accelerate away again). Worse still, it's started doing the same thing whenever I go up climbs, even if my speed is still quite reasonable (say 14mph). Any idea what's up with this?

2) Does there come a point where I should delete the rides which are stored on the device? I have no idea how much memory the device has and how much is taken up with the data from each ride.

1) This is odd, do you have the speed cadence sensor installed?

2) I've never deleted any rides

1) Yes

1 I usually don't use the speed/cadence sensor- I've not noticed that
2 deleting old rides greatly speeds up the varmint uploader utility

1) Hmm, speed/cadence normal solves problems with GPS signal crapping out. Check for a firmware update?

2) I did not know that and I should do it.

There is a firmware update available - if I get it, will it wipe my courses / settings ?

i sorta enjoy that autocorrect turns garmin into varmint

i don't think it will wipe them, but i'm not sure of that.

I tried moving the sensor closer to the spoke magnet and that seems to have eradicated the problem - it must have got moved when I stuck the bike on the back of the car.

I just officially ordered that Dutch-style 3-spd! First time ever for buying a new bike for myself so I am a little disbelieving that I put some numbers into a computer and someone delivers A WHOLE BIKE to my HOUSE. (Some assembly required obvs.)

Sneer patronizingly if you like but I am so looking forward to leisurely upright rides on wet fall & winter streets, with fenders and panniers and 3 whole speeds to choose from. And taking it on rides on various boardwalks without having my brain rattled in my skull.

Sneer patronizingly? Watch jealously imho

I like my sporty SS cross check right now, but once the weather turns I'm gonna want the full vicar. what kind is it again?

It's the cheapie at bikesdirect.com--this is to replace my latest 3-spd beater that I never did get the cranks out of. Wondering now if it's worth keeping it for parts or anything--the wheels and the hub are perfectly good, would sell or donate back to bike shop maybe?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/images/ellecityimg/elle_city_peacock_600.jpg

But in red!

I'm on my 4th free (to me) bike, for pete's sake, I can buy ONE new.

enh, i'd donate back. not-new bike parts are incredibly devalued, esp old ones from beaters (even if they're in good shape). trying to sell some old hubs/wheels to a shop would be like selling old CDs---yeah, you'll get SOME money, but not much. better to give to a friend/community workshop or something

OR do as so many other bike nerds do: HOARD THEM

also that is a v cuet bike!

now all u need is a handlebar bag for a pack of smokes and a budweiser tally

Yeah I mean it would just be a crime to toss a working 3-spd hub and stuff but I don't have room to store wheels or any srs parts! I'll ask who wants it.

I actually have a dumb "shopping bag"-style pannier that my parents bought me without realizing it can only be clipped onto a rack WHICH I DID NOT HAVE so I've never used it. Perhaps will use now, should be perfect for beer and take-out.

yay, laurel!

So I'm vaguely toying with the idea of commuting to work again. It's hardly worth it as my workplace is only a mile from my flat, but now that I have to drop off / pick up my daughter from school it could save me a few valuable minutes. Possibly. Probably not, actually, by the time I've locked up the bike and got changed, but I suppose it'll mean a bit more cycling. Anyway - I used to do this about 5 years ago when I had a heavy hybrid commuter bike thing with chainguard and stuff and I just wore my work clothes and rode in them. But that's not really possible now as I only have proper road bikes with no chainguard (and so would inevitably get oil over my trousers in next to no time). However, it would be completely crazy if I got fully lycra-ed up to ride a mile to work: I'd spend far more time getting changed at either end than I would on actually riding. So I was thinking I could try to get some commuter-friendly cycling trousers, maybe like this:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/altura-metro-cycling-trousers/
That way I wouldn't have to prance around in lycra tights at my daughter's school and could quickly get changed into proper (non oily) trousers when I arrived at work. Does this sound like a plan? Any trouser advice?

i ride 14 miles into work in my trousers- unless im wearing a good suit that day, then i'll wear gym shorts or wind pants. i use a slap on cuff holder to keep my trousers out of the chain. srsly it's no big deal man.

even now one-handed, i ride a mile each way to the rail station in my work clothes.

i do not ride home in my work trousers- always wind pants or street shorts. the ride home is longer due to very gradual 400 ft elev gain.

I've been doing one or two days a week into work, but I always have to wear a 2-pc outfit (ie not a dress) and take a clean shirt w me because SWEATY.

Some transatlantic translation issues here:

wind pants = had to google this, are they basically tracksuit bottoms?
a slap on cuff holder = cycle clips?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SvBr0MN8xxE/S1lqD4iOaCI/AAAAAAAAHhY/7MfjXNqdlmc/s400/cycle-clips-flo.png
I've got some of them somewhere, I think. I'm still pretty sure I could manage to get oil on my clothes. Maybe I should just wear a pair of old jeans.

yeah i mean we're talking < 5 minutes here, right? football shorts in the summer, old jeans in the winter.

yeah, wind pants = tracky bottoms ime. not pants for farting in, although the better wind pants do allow that.

Guys I see going to work in work clothes usu just roll up the right leg?

yeah, but unless you are scrupulous that eventually leads to dirty cuffs, at least on the inside

Re: 'pants' meaning 'trousers', when I was 9 we had a stand-in teacher from Newfoundland, Canada for a few weeks for some reason. He told the class that we had to do a play in assembly about the original colonists meeting the native americans (or whatever he called them in those days). He told me I was to be the leader of the latter group and that in the interests of authenticity that meant I couldn't wear any pants. I've been mentally scarred for life by the terror that order sent through me. I'm not sure how long it took before I found out he meant trousers.

wind pants perform same basic function as tracksuit bottom, but tracksuit bottoms are often soft and not wind resistant. i insist on my wind pants being lightweight unlined shell- otherwise i get too warm. ankle zips and at least one zip pocket are good. on cold windy days i will sometimes put these over my tights for xc skate skiing, or use just for warm up.

yeah cycle clips is same idea. i used to use velcro reflective fabric cuff straps, but the slap on things are like those kids bracelets--

http://media.performancebike.com/images/performance/products/medium/10-0649-NCL-FRONT.jpg

so, pants is like underwear in uk? i almost always wear pants then, highly recommended no matter how you get to work.

Yeah, these are pants:
http://www.bedazzledbedmats.com/images/TH_Web_MENS_Y_FRONTS.jpg
So basically a pair of them (made of wind resistant fabric) and some luminous yellow handcuffs round my ankles and I should be fine.

to normals in cars, that's basically the same as lycra u know

i started doing the basic lycra thing when i started to ride to work again, primarily due to the sweat, but once i had some base fitness after a few weeks i just went back to regular clothes. eventually i refined it to regular clothes plus a wool baselayer and a pair of the rapha trousers that i got during a sale. this was for a three and a bit mile commute. i ended up getting rid of the trouser clips i was using and just giving the leg a good roll-up, meant less stuff to remember.

i now avoid all this by not having a job, haw.

wife wants a new bike for commuting, canal path riding & maybe longer weekend rides up to 30 miles

looking at cross bikes. what's the best value on the market rn? genesis are nice but do feel you pay a premium for the styling

wish she'd go for a road bike and get the entry level canyon (£730 for full 105/apex) but no deal

couldn't justify buying a bike for me, so i finally replaced mrs. hunt3r's. giant avail in crabon. geometry for women (actually for everyone) has come a long way. so so much easier to fit.

once she gets it, i get to make sad eyes when i look at it, and start asking "do i buy a thing?"

Mmmm....crabon

I want to switch out my friction shifters on my steel concorde for some STIs

should I go second hand groupset or pick up something spiffy & new like SRAM apex

my experience is that second hand brifters are nearly always pants.

Buy new. SRAM Apex is an excellent choice btw. You'll probably want to do the whole drive train (derailleurs, chainrings, cassette, shifters); manufacturers are working there hardest to make mixing and matching an unsatisfying experience.

What do you currently have?

shimano 106 maybe

I take it I could fir sram apex to an old 90s steel frame easy enough?

It's an 8/9/10 rear spacing, right (130mm)? Shouldn't be a problem. A turn of he 90s frame might be 126mm, you might need the stays spread then.

worthwhile endeavour? cost effective? buy a new bike instead? yay nay?

The gruppo will certainly be cheaper as a part of a new bike but the whole new bike will undoubtedly be more expensive. It really comes down to how much you like the current frame and wheels.

u could try some retroshifters?

can't shift from the drops, but I don't think I have ever done that? nb I haven't tried the retroshifters, just think they're a neat idea

what’s a fair price for a 2005 full carbon focus cayo, w/full ultegra groupset & mavic krysium wheels

also what’s the best 1£k tourer? long-haul trucker?

lugging my anchor bike up a looooong vertical runup today and fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck i want to buy a new cx frameset. just got my bonus, so i _could_ justify spending a bit of it on a frameset, but frankly, i suck at cx and will i really race it next year? A POUND AND A HALF THO. i'd be mid 17 lbs with clinchers, i'd love that. gah.

i suppose i could save it for a new actually light road bike, but... i'm ok with my road bike, it's sort of a classic and handles amazingly well. if i got this cx frameset and put light clincher road wheels on it, it'd be half a pound lighter than my road bike or more.

I want a steel-framed single speed with drop bars. But I don't want a divorce.

buyyyyyyyyyyyy ittttttttt

what bike you thinking about?

i don't have a bike for dirt. want one. guess i could put knobby 25s on my roadie but.

Genesis Day One, or Kona Paddy Wagon, or Genesis Flyer, or On-One Pompino... Probably erring towards Genesis Day One, as I like the flexibility, and a mate has an Equilibrium which he swears is the best bike ever.

Basically I lust this - http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/urban-cross/day-one-disc

Cool bike. Pretty steep seat tube and short tt. I ride my steel sscx bike more than the rest of my bikes, its a great long haul utility bike but mine has gears. I rode it ss for a bit but for hauling gear the ih. Gears are useful.

I guess the tt isn't short really, id be a size up from my usual tho, on a 58. Does it have sliders on the back for the disc adjustments with chain wear?

Could you explain what all that means to someone who is basically an idiot? i.e. what effect would the seat tube and tt have? What do you mean by sliders and chain wear? I literally just ride and clean my bikes and trust LBS to service them regularly...

so many cool bikes in the genesis range.

hunt3r you should upgrade CX frame then just put on wide slicks when weather's nice. or become a gravel grind specialist!

i bought a thing: those TRP mini-v brakes for the crux. been on for two months or so now.

+ proper raw stopping power, god the difference is amazing
+ well-finished; probably nicest components on bike (drivetrain is tiagra 9-sp, deore lx mix). barrel adjuster included, some ti bolts in there I think, nice road-style pad holders, pads themselves are decent. big contrast to local conversions i've seen that have had to be re-machined to clear road forks, etc.

- setup seems finicky (got the shop to do this)
- bit of a pain to get open for wheel changes, much more difficult than proper Vs on my old flat-bar
- expensive, I guess

deal-breaker for many would be lever feel - it's a bit more indistinct than with cantis but I'll take the extra power every time. didn't really feel I took long to adjust to how they work.

all it means is that the rear disc caliper is set up so that it slides back and forward in tandem with the wheel itself, because the wheel will be moved periodically to adjust for chain wear on a ss. if the wheel gets moved back to adjust for chainslack and the disc caliper is static, the disc will hit the back of the caliper. i have to think genesis have it all figured out nicely to make easy adjustments.

yeah guys i bought the frame set, it's my reward for finishing fourth to last on the weekend, instead of actual last. like the scattante, it's a mailorder house brand frameset (sette), so nothing fancy, but it will convert easily as it has cantis and a 68mm english bb. i will move all my old gear onto it, and set up the scat as a single speed cx with antique parts I have in my bin (for example, a 1992 suntour xcpro microdrive crankset!). i think the only things i will need to find are a drop bar and a new chain. maybe i can sell it.

gravel races are cool but most of the interesting ones are long and i don't have that kind of free time. a woman i work with did kanzaa last year, that's 200 mi on shit dirt country tracks, i truly cant imagine. i've ridden all the way across usa, and even on that trip, i never did more than 130 miles- and that was definitely paved.

excellent buy i'm thinking about mini v for front. you can use them in colorado pretty reliably as there is not too much muck here. oth, when you do get mud, it is not greasy slippy mud, it is clay based adobe cement, and woe to him who finds it.

i like to use a fork crown cable stop, they almost never shudder with regular cantis, but this new frame has a headset hanger, which usually suck and shudder like hell. oth, the new frame as a 1.25/1.5 tapered headtube, which should be stiff.

because the wheel will be moved periodically to adjust for chain wear on a ss

Having never owned or properly ridden a ss, can you expand on this? Not realised this was an issue. Is it something one needs to do as a regular act of maintenance, like cleaning?

i've ridden all the way across usa

braggin

also: say whaaaaaaaaat

as the chain wears, it'll "stretch" (nb it does not actually stretch), and the rear wheel will need to be moved further back to keep the right amount of tension (which, on a geared bike, is maintained by the rear der)

every how many hundred miles on avg?

no clue. I am terrible man for the chain maintenance

it's not very often, i probly do this on my commuter like, every 500 or 600 miles? maybe less frequently than that?

i was not self contained on the trip, gbx, i worked for a cycle touring co for 12 weeks, anacortes, wa to belfast, me. i could just finish my morning chores and get on my bike and ride.

wd all these play nicely together and wd they go on my concorde OK. my new wheels are 10sp compatible

crankset - 50 - tiagra
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-4650-compact-10sp-chainset/rp-prod67233
shifters - 54 - tiagra
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-4600-double-10-speed-sti-lever/rp-prod69504
front derailleur - 18 - 10sp 105
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-105-5700-double-10sp-front-mech/rp-prod50487
rear derailleur - 29 - 10sp 105
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-105-5701-10-speed-rear-mech/rp-prod85966
bottom bracket - 11
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-4600-tiagra-bottom-bracket/rp-prod67221
chain - 13 - 10sp 105
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-105-5701-10-speed-chain/rp-prod50457
cassette - 15 - 10sp tiagra
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-4600-10-speed-road-cassette/rp-prod67228
brakes - 32
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-brake-caliper-4600/rp-prod67224

225£ for tiagra/105 mix seems p.good when sora is 210 online

Should do, if you I'd see about 105 shifters although that setup should be compatible.

been offered dura-ace shifters & mechs for the same price. second hand but tempted

not sure now - my concorde is columbus aelle, so fairly heavy. I guess if I upgraded the group on it, I cd transfer the parts to a better frame in time

think it's DA7800. and there's an offer of ultegra cranks too, which wd get me most of the way to a full group. just leaves the 'consumables'

hmmmm

I bought a groupset but

I think I might have bought the wrong threaded bb : /

So....

I got a turbo trainer a few weeks ago. I like it, but I fear it is wearing my rear tyre down quite quickly. Effectively, I only have one bike (my heavy 'winter' bike is now a heavy commuter bike, with carrier fitted and pedals that you can't clip into) and only one set of wheels. I know there are turbo-specific tyres that you can buy, but obviously I'm not going to change the tyre on my wheel every day as I alternate between riding on the turbo and riding on the road. So such a tyre would only be useful if I had another wheel.

So I face a choice: should I buy a cheap back wheel (and cassette), stick a turbo tyre on it and use this exclusively when I want to use the turbo? Or should I upgrade my wheels and use my old rear wheel as the turbo wheel?

My existing wheels are nothing special - Mavic Aksium. I was asking at my local bike shop and new ones of those cost something like £220, I think. To get a cheap new rear wheel, plus cassette, plus tyre, plus inner tube was something in the region of £150. To upgrade to the unpronounceable Mavic Ksyrium would be approx £400. The weight isn't hugely different, so I'm not convinced this would be worth it. I can't even remotely justify spending one or two grand on wheels to get the really good ones.

But....

At my cycling club last night someone was telling me that he got his frame from Velobuild. I don't fully understand it, but it appears to be some kind of forum that somehow acts as a bulk purchaser from China and so gets you products for about a third of what they ought to cost. He got a carbon frame this way and is very happy with it. He reckons I could get carbon wheels weighing just 1300g for only about £300-£400, when they should cost over a thousand. This sounds very tempting. Does anyone know anything about Velobuild?

Also, on a practical level, the velobuild wheels I was looking at earlier said they should be used with SwissStop yellow brake blocks. These are for carbon rims. I've been recommended SwissStop before as the best brake blocks available, and I currently ride with the black ones (for alloy rim, which is what I've got). Hypothetically, if I was doing a circuit race with carbon wheels and got a puncture and took a lap out to put my spare (alloy) wheel in, would these yellow brake pads work OK with the spare wheel?

I decided against it: the more I read about carbon wheels, the more I thought they might not be worth the risk/hassle (especially with the additional complication of trying to get into a group purchase of an unbranded product from China). I've just blown my budget massively and ordered some Fulcrum Racing 1s (lightweight aluminium). I can't really justify the expense, but I feel giddy with excitement.

I think you did right. If u are racing carbon brake tracks with carbon blocks and you sub in an alloy wheel, you really shouldn't use the blocks on carbon. Metal filings from the alloy get embedded in the block and then score your carbons to hell. Whether the carbon pads work on the alloy anyway is prolly dependent on the pad. I ended up on corks with alloy by accident once and it was veery bad.

Several yrs ago I bought some yushin 60mm deep tubular wheels direct from china for under $450 all in, out of curiosity. Cheap but adequate hubs, good tension, great truing, ride nicely. I use them for tt race only, so they've not been ridden much.

Would not buy a clincher carbon for general or racing use from anyone but a premier manufacturer with good rep and warranty tho.

Sorry it's "yushin". Looked at their current site it's much uh busier now and prices even lower lol. Somehow that's even sketchier to me, but still...my experience was fine. Man I now remember that I had to western union direct to I think maybe guongzhao or something, and thinking as I sent it that it was one of the dumbest things I had ever done.

Gah, it's YISHUN.

Right, Y-u-s-h-i-n, got ya

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b0/Levyashin01.jpg/332px-Levyashin01.jpg

GOAL

Totally agree on no-carbon clinchers except from reputable manufacturers. Also on the call not to get the mysterious chinese wheels. Not least because you can get no-name chinese wheels shipped direct for cheaper. Having a separate wheel for the Turbo definitely helped me use it a little more often.

Off work today and managed to dodge the rain for long enough to ride over to the Hog Hill circuit and do a little bit of trainig. A few laps in and my gears made a horrible crunching sound as I tried to change into the small ring on a short, steep ascent. Half a lap further on, at the next steep climb, I realised I couldn't change onto the small ring at all, even though my front mech was clearly shifting across. On further investigation I discovered that the crank was rubbing against the mech every revolution when it was in the big ring. I asked for assistance, but fiddling with the limiters had no real effect. Eventually the kindly bloke helping me out realised that my cage was far wider than it should have been (must have got distored during the horrible crunching incident) and after squeezing it back in with pliers everything was fixed. But what on earth happened in the first place and why?

Also, a confession: when I got home I decided to carry out a rare wash of the bike which involved taking both wheels off. The rear wheel was incredibly difficult to remove and impossible to put back in again. This was very odd. It seemed to be something to do with the metal skewer which I had put in there last month (supplied with the Cycleops turbo trainer I bought). I removed the skewer and realised that I had idiotically not noticed there were two little springs, and so, thinking there was only one, I had put both of them on the same side (opposite the quick release lever). I really don't know what I'm doing.

Never heard of that during a downshift. Did you by any chance try to force another upshift by accident first, or maybe you also hit the upshift lever by accident while hitting the downshift trigger? If you had very little clearance between the cage and crank arm and there was a little travel left before hitting the limit screw, I can sorta imagine that happening, but otherwise- weird.

Wrt the springs, the issue I usually see is putting the spring onto the skewer in wrong orientation, which causes surprisingly significant problems.

Re: wrong skewer orientation - you mean big-to-small instead of small-to-big (or vice-versa)?

yup yup

By the way, I set off for a ride yesterday and after just 4 miles I was changing gear when there was another horrible crunching sound and the front mech failed to shift again. On closer inspection it had actually split at the narrowest point of the cage, so the pliers trick isn't a permanent fix. I'm getting a new front mech on Friday (when my LBS is fitting my new chain and cassette to put the expensive new wheels into action), this is turning into a very costly month.

I'm too old for it and would look ridiculous, but this shirt is dope

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kid-N-Play-Start-T-Shirt-/140930985686?pt=US_Mens_Tshirts&var=&hash=item20d0242ed6

http://images.oldglory.com/product/066757MITSf.jpg

Def wanna be rollin w kid n play

omg the new Surly ice cream truck and the higher zoot all-city macho men are all I want right now

was playin on internet and saw the og of fat bikes hanebrink now has multiple electric assist bikes.

Want to sell the Tricross and get a steel all-rounder / cx / winter / commuter.

Recommendations circa £1k please...

So I had a snoop around some Exeter bike shops yesterday. Options available in town at the moment include:

Kona Honky Tonk
Genesis Equilibrium / Croix De Fer / CDF (latter two not on shop floor but orderable)
Charge Plug 3.5
Salsa Vaya
Salsa Fargo
Surly Crosscheck
Specialized AWOL

The Honky Tonk, Salsas, and AWOL are all available on CTW. Pretty sure the Genesis and Charge aren't.

The Fargo and AWOL are crazy options and not really what I'm after, but if I won the lottery, oh boy do they look like fun.

CDF / Honky Tonk / Crosscheck seem pretty comparable, except the latter two don't have disc brakes, which I think I'd like. Geometry on the Crosscheck is a touch old-fashioned, with the horizontal top tube.

Croix De Fer and Vaya seem reasonably comparable too, and are a step up from the CDF / Honky Tonk / Crosscheck (from circa £850 to circa £1200).

I can get approx £250 for my Tricross.

Sense tells me that CDF is the sensible option... But the Vaya is very nice. Small company, bit of exclusivity. I should test ride them all.

The other alternative is see if something secondhand comes up, I guess.

there was a 'honky inc' early stab at the disc roadie, think it's been retired in favour of the rove in the kona range; another all-roads bike with discs in the croix/crosscheck/plug mould. looks fetching in metal blue for this model year.

trek crossrip might be worth a look if you're not too wed to the steal is reel ethos too. I would maybe get one if I could get the work sitch sorted.

I think I definitely want steel; otherwise I could just upgrade all the mech on the Tricross. I also want to steer away from big brands, just out of snobbishness as much as anything else.

u reject their shiny expensive consumerist gear system

Living where it rains seems like a rly good argument for discs on that type of bike.

I'll rep for salsa if only to keep my bros employed

i almost bought a powertap last night (*drinky motion*), like i had the credit card info in place, then thankfully, i realized i TOTALLY DON'T NEED A FUCKING POWERTAP. AT ALL. it was like i was possessed or in a trance.

Was Yoda nearby?

i thought it was just you or some other mantis, shortwaving common sense to me.

i would like to borrow someone's powertap to test the accuracy of my inride's calibration though. some people claim they are +- a couple watts, others say no way, 20 watts off.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/53cm-FR-602-Full-Carbon-3K-Glossy-Cyclocross-Bike-BSA-Frame-Fork-Disc-Brake-/171108271255?pt=US_Bicycles_Frames&hash=item27d6d90497

how about this thing do i buy it

only if you know somebody who already has one, and will rep for it's soundness imo.

I assume you have good health insurance and I know you know some doctors, so sure, why not.

Sorta thought q was a jest that is not the frame of a soul rider like gbx

Review of the charge plug 4 here.

A lot of the negatives sound like positives for this kind of bike.

http://road.cc/content/review/112830-charge-plug-4-road-bike

that q was not in jest, i am A-OK w/carbon

ps - pretty sure that the frame in question is just an unbranded this: http://foundrycycles.com/bikes/auger

i think i stand on my previous, if you can find someone to vouch for it and/or be confident it's a gray-market leak of an identifiable brand, it could be a greatdeal.

i think i mentioned round here that i bought one of these framesets pretty cheap. it is a canti frameset, as it will be raced, and discs are really just extra weight (imo) in colorado most of the time (yes, i know discs are the way and truth). anyway, compare the foundry and the sette frames. they are really verry similar- afaict identical geometry (for a 56cm: 72.5/73 degrees, 65mm(!) bb drop, 42.5 cm chainstay, 155mm headtube), both have the weird double wishbone seatstay, same shape of the chainstay bridge, the weird routing and shape of the f. derailler cable stop. look at the rear derailler cable routing, both have full cable from the top tube to the rear derailler, which is- well maybe that's the norm now, but i'd never seen it til i built up the sette. the big dif is discs and rear brake cable routing.

same factory/mold? coincidence? dunno. i do not have the mileage on my bike that i hoped for, but it handles great so far, the front end is incredibly stable with the 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 tapered head tube and massive fork blades.

what is also funny is that both foundry and sette have four frame sizes, and the geometry is the same across ALL of them. it's gotta be the same frameset updated with discs. even if true though, the disc thing- discs stress frames/forks in very particular and afaik severe ways.

bike computers: go

i'm thinking about a garmin edge 500 since it seems to do p much everything i need, and the 510 doesn't have much to recommend the price (as i learned reading the exhaustive review at the literally incredible website dcrainmaker.com --- credit where credit is due, the guy does fantastic reviews and seems to have no problem whatsoever going out in public on a tri-bike that has something like 5-7 computers on it, along with several power meters)

i'm sorta hoping that maybe a lil investment in training stuff might actually spur me into getting back into shape since i am now v much a fat, fat mantis

yeah, that guy's site is o_0, i use it to keep abreast of tech matters.

i like my garmin 500, it's now almost 4 years old. it just keeps working. conditions here are good though, it hardly ever gets wet.

i think i'd rather have no computer on my bike than something other than my garmin, which is kinda crazy. but it's so tidy, no wires, no magnets, you just slap it on there and go.

I have the 705 and it has been pretty reliable for nearly 5 years. I had to replace the battery. Mapping function is useless, not much better on the 800/810 so not worth going higher than the 500. I'd probably buy a 500 if I were buying one now.

I guess I'm in the same boat as Hunt3r, I have no idea what I would have on my bike if I didn't have a garmin.

I've got the 800 and it's great.

sold

always buy a thing

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130822190447/seuss/images/8/82/Character_1and2.jpg

lol

had 500 for three years, never misses a beat.

I have arranged to test ride a thing weekend after next.

Specifically a CDF.

really fancy the idea of the CDF and related models, or something similar - maybe that raleigh gravel thing. neither brand distributed in aus - well raleigh is but they seem to focus on kids and cruiser bikes.

be keen to see what genesis do with the new shimano 105 hydro stuff, seems like they'd be all over that market.

Tested and ordered via CTW. Yum yum yum. Seemed like it would be a lot of fun.

yay new thing!

months ago i bought avid shorty ultimates, i finally have the rear set installed. they are jewel like, easy peasy to adjust, and work beautifully.

so i have new brakes that are state of the art, and obsolete (rim based).

And HR have approved my CTW application; just have to wait for the voucher now. Please come soon, please come soon.

I want my voucher so I can go and pick up my thing!

Finally got my bloody voucher! Pick up the new thing tomorrow.

omg fun

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4510094436.html

fits great. perfectly turned out.

i currently have zero bikes. should really buy a city bike and a proper road bike. trying to decide if this could be my road bike, or if it would end up being a sweet sweet toy.

it's a few pounds heavier than my late specialized. and the ride isn't quite as mellow as carbon.

but!

i mean, i can always sell it ...

got a few reasons, but i'd vote no. otoh, u can always sell it.

Huh, what are the reasons?

I mean I can imagine a few but maybe you have reasons I hasn't thought of

had not

i didn't scrutinize too closely, but that all looked like 1991 era 8 spd d/a- could you get the replacement chains and cassettes you want? iirc 8 spd dura ace has a weird cassette body, too? with expense, you could swap over to 9, as the cassette width should be the same. might need to get a newer derailler though? how committed are you to riding d/t shifters? if you're thinking of racing, that shifting is really not great, esp for crits. those decals are over the clearcoat, whoever the owner is did a good job keeping them from getting scraped up and trashed.

i guess i just sorta think it's not a very practical ride? i'm a mostly boring practical person. it is beautiful, noteworthy, and i assume it rides very nicely

xp - looks like it's deleted tho.

Yeah cuz I gave him a downpayment.

This will probably end up being unwise, but I saved the text and photos from the listing and I'll try to keep it pristine.

Ok back to being excited about it!

man, i am sure you will enjoy the hell out of it. to me that bike is sort of the high point of the classic columbus era (before some of the crazy shaped stuff like ms and el-os, and well before tig welding). slx was like sl but iirc had extra butting around the bottom bracket to make it stiffer while still being light. that bottom bracket looked beautiful, and the internal routing of the brake cable is pretty sick.

Thanks, yeah, looking forward to seeing what a good example of the form is like to really ride.

Won an unbuilt 2014 Felt AR frame for cheap ($800) on ebay...realized it's electronic only. There goes my plan to keep it cheap.

https://paddle8.com/auction/robin-williams/

coolest bike on that list would be a good poll.

yellow zipp

Funny I was thinkin that too, so fast. Kestrel with no SP another 90s tri icon.

As an iro owner, was quite surprised there.

I think if it was a bike for my riding, it would be the Merlin,tho that's a late-ish one.

oooh man so many

just spent £30 on a park tools cable cutter and it's made just about a ham-fisted shitty job as the random blunt tools i tried previously.

man, that's terrible. i wonder what changed, i've had one for cables, and one for housing, each for like 20+ years, they have always worked perfectly? The housing cutter is so strong I have misused it to cut spokes (not recommended for rim health or long-term cutter health. also can be dangerous to eye health if you have no rim strip).

Do you have to file the housing after cutting? It's so tough I find it hard to imagine you wouldn't but I had high hopes, maybe too high?

I mean it looks so mashed I think I'll be filing for hours.

spiral brake housing, or shifter housing? Yeah the soft spiral stuff tends to mash down a bit if I don't manipulate the cutting process a bit (I sort of bend the housing back, away from the core as I cut. But mine never mashes or messes up that tough shifter stuff. Boom, right through.

Brake housing. I've got plenty to play with so I'll give that a go, ta. I see the park tools website does say some filing will be necessary.