noob questions

iv) when to join club and what are the benefits? I'd like riding partners, I know that
v) I need clipless pedals don't I?

good qs

i) this is hard. some say to test before you buy, but unless you've broken in a saddle and given your body to get used to it as well, there's no real way perfect way to choose one. i like fizik, generally. i don't like selle italia. that's all i've tried.

ii) how do you know you can smoke them? if the guy looks back at you to see if you are chasing him, you better try and smoke them back.

iii) don't do it at the same time. do the rear derailleur first.

iv) benefits are new riding partners, friends, dates?, community, etc

v) yes

given your body *time to get used to it as well

i) mine is a selle italia, I think, and I've done 100 miles in it w/bibs and my sitbones are sore after each ride, don't know if that's because the rides are 2+ hours or just because it's a bad fit. will look into another

ii) some old dude smoked me cos I was sauntering along at a nice leisurely pace enjoying the sunshine so I rode on his wheel for a few miles and cd've easily smoked him bt I thought tht might be perceived as petty so I pulled in and took a break

iii) noted

iv) ok, got to find one then, there are a few round here

v) guh

Oh god, not only did you get scalped by and old dude, but you then drafted him and didn't even get by. Hang your head in shame young man.

I cd've took him, old man

cd've shd've wd've

ddn't

http://www.mid-lifecycle.com/graphics/grandpa.jpg

:*(

anyway - new qn - commuting by bike: c or d? and how far is too far? (I appreciate tht is a difficult question and depends on yr fitness etc)

c, and over 10 miles is getting a bit far.

16 miles in a nice straight line. sounds like that'd be ok for the occasional but not the everyday

Classic. I do 365 days a year basically, five miles each way.

Sixteen would be a pain in the winter, but I imagine the UK would be much more tolerable

you commute to work on christmas? new year's eve? thanksgiving?!

i meant new years day duhrrrr

u know what I mean u horrible Nazi

also I don't have a job!!!

yeah u don't commute on weekends either i'm sure!@ LIES!

biking to work

this is really interesting I thought
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/when-the-paceline-stalls/

but I only half understand - can someone explain why it's easier to ride behind someone/as part of a group than to lead the pack? it can't only be less wind resistance is it?

I found a club btw, going to go along to their next sunday ride

it's less wind resistance

Less wind resistance by a massive margin, too.

interesting, thanks

OK um lol how do u even clip into spds?! practice?

Yeah, that's it basically. You'll fall over a couple of times. I think setting the tension on the pedal as low as possible helps, but I'm starting to think this might make it worse because there's more movement before it unclips. Anyway I find unclipping a lot harder and stressful than clipping in.

Also this thread Clipless pedals question(s)

ha figured as much; stood the bike up in the kitchen and tried to clip in - couldn't even get one foot in. just as well really; if I'd got in I'd probably never have got out and that'd have ruined my NYE

Clipping in should be pretty straightforward though, you just feel where the clip is and press down and it should clip in. But yeah, practice is it really.

Don't do what I did and try clipping in with the cleat not totally secure in the shoe because that's a complete pain to sort out.

clipping in took me forever to do the 1st time; clipping out was pretty intuitive (just twist your heel). once you're in, it's not difficult to pop back out - it's figuring out how to center your cleat over the jaws on the pedal and then push down/forward at the right angle that can be tricky.

i just got my first bike since highschool (15+yrs) for xmas. 3speed internal hub. only concern is the coaster break which is just a lil weird. but hasn't been that much of a prob. been riding a bunch around town. pretty stoked.
http://www.swobo.com/catalog/product_info_b.php?cPath=201_207

no real question, just i'm a noob. sup

er, brake. i've got a few friends that work for the company, so felt nice contributing somehow

SUP NOOB!

ONE OF US

hey, uh, I'm trying to buy a bike & I just got a line on a frame in my size made by Torelli (2005 Cortona) partially outfitted w/ an Ultegra r. der. & some other decent-sounding stuff. Now I need to figure out if this would be worth the investment, given that I would have to come up w/ several parts on my own. This is going to require some research.

Anyone have any thoughts on Torelli frames? Since I wouldn't be able to test ride it before I buy it, I would prob just use it for a few months & then resell it & get something else, so if they are not particularly sought after or something, that would be nice to know.

Also, the bike is set up to be ridden as a nine-speed, tho I could buy a few different things & switch it to a ten-speed from the outset. If I end up buying it, I'd prefer to keep it as a nine-speed for the season & worry about other possibilities later on. Since I'll just be concentrating on general distance/endurance riding this year, will keeping this as a nine-speed limit me in any significant way?

I would prob just use it for a few months & then resell it - I mean that I would do this if I don't end up liking it for whatever reason, tho chances are it will be fine for my immediate needs & I'll just end up using it.

Not sure what your geographical sitch is but buying a frame that you haven't ridden is pretty @_@, I tested over a dozen frames (10-50 miles per test) before choosing my current ride.

Jussayin/one rider's opinion.

I'm in Toledo, OH currently & have been observing the rust-belt used markets. I just did a bit of research & found out that there is a Torelli dealer in Dayton, so maybe i could take an afternoon & test-ride something, if they have a similar version of the frame.

In general, buying a used bike is turning out to be quite a hassle, tho at least the research involved has been educational.

i thot i posted an answer to this query before, but anyway-- 9 is fine.

torellis rep is ok, those frames look like std mid level alu. they are sorta steep geometry wise, like 74 deg s/t all sizes from what i could tell.

I take it it's easy enough to change the handlebars on a bike from one type to another?

threadless stem: yeah
threaded: lol

beware bar/stem diameter differences.

"old" (~pre-2002) road bars and stems- 26 mm (except for really old cinelli which were 26.4 i think)
"old" mountain bars/stems- 25.4 mm
new standard- 31.8? i think

also if you put mountain bars on a road bike you will usually need about 2 or 3 cm longer stem and vice versa

also beware differences in gear and brake lever clamps.

and if you're changing from a flat bar to a riser bar on a mountain bike, you may need longer brake/shift cables.

noob answer: changing anything on a bike is never easy enough.

I started riding my bike (part way) to work this month - most of my ride is along a paved bike trail, but 1/3rd is on a busy road. I think I need a rear view mirror. Helmet mount? I don't know. The ones that go in the ends of the handlebars have some kind of familiarity factor so I am leaning toward those.

Just as long as you don't let a mirror become and excuse for not shoulder checking when you should!

The guys who signed me up for this challenge looked very skeptical that I would need one, said I should just practice looking back w/o veering.

yeah, mirrors don't seem that useful to me, tbh---they shake and vibrate like mad, and aren't nearly as reliable as just turning your head.

Emma and I are thinking about getting bikes via the Cyclescheme thing (while we still can). We would be riding to work sometimes, which is about 2-3 miles, mainly along roads, pretty flat. But we also live near a glorious, many mile long towpath that goes alongside a beautiful canal / river. And we're in Devon, which may not have the biggest or steepest hills ever, but which has a LOT of hills, so we'd need geared bikes.

From what I know, which isn't much, I'm thinking we want hybrid bikes. Emma wants something that looks like Mary Poppins would ride it, I suspect. I would like something more modern. I don't want a big heavy sturdy mountain bike, but i don't want a skinny terrifying fastasfuck road bike either.

This place - http://www.bikesheduk.com/ - is very close by, and reputedly very good indeed. We had a nose round at the weekend and it certainly looked impressive.

I'd be willing to go maybe £800 between us, especially through the Cyclescheme (salary exchange thing through working at the uni).

Advice very welcome!

Pootling along the river to eat picnics and take photographs is the ideal use for these bikes, to be brutally honest.

Something with a basket on the front to put Cosmo in, maybe.