noob questions

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.

i would steer clear of hybrids - their suspension is usually not really great quality. if you're just going on gravel paths you'd both be fine with no suspension and fatter tyres to compensate.

giants are usually well-specced for their price point, maybe investigate a CRX flat-bar for yrself? not sure what's good in ladybike land tbh!

Nick, get Emma some cute-as-chips dutch-style number, and get yourself a cyclocross bike.

Specialized Sirrus(M)/Vita(F) look good in this regard. Wholeheartedly agree with haitch on the suspension thing. Giant Rapid series looks nice and I liked the Giant I test rode.

Also on that list, if they do Orbea's fitness range the Orbea Aos and Bios look great.

On the weekend I went for a 20-mile ride on pretty rocky towpaths by the Thames. One of our party rode a 23mm-wheel fixie, and while he was bumped around a fair bit he didn't fall off or puncture.

noob qn: what is it with the rims on some bikes, e.g. the moots psychlo-x on the bike lust thread? do they add rigidity? are they for aerodynamic reasons?

you are talking about the Mavic Carbone series...

well #1 they are carbon: very light composite material
#2 they have a deep 50-60mm rim flange which is more aero... can be faster in certain situations (low-wind, high speed)

they are not necessarily stronger or more rigid... their true benefit is in the weight savings and the aero benefit.

i think most deeps are more rigid which may help with lower spoke counts

if you can afford to burn through a bunch of 'em, all carbon deep tubies are supposedly good for cx/mud performance.

back in the days of spinergy revx i had some teammates who loved them for cx because they were actually very soft radially (basically 4 spokes) and absorbed shock pretty well.

also heard that deep profile sheds mud better than box profile

Got a quote on a £400 Marin Larkspur, whatever that means. I rode it and it was good, though. Emma got a quote on a Trek Allant which is very cute.

Why do you want such a heavy bike with all those hills?

And I guess you don't want his and hers bikes, but the Trek Allant for chaps is very pretty and has a handy rack if you're set on getting a hybrid.

really tempted to trade up my town bike for something lighter and sexier

Mine was way lighter than the Allant for boys, I thought!

Instead of my usual routine of riding a consistent but difficult pace (I'd say 85% of max effort) on my 15 mile commute home, last few days I've been spinning easier on the flats and then doing max effort sprints up the climbs (5 locations along PCH where it rises about 150 feet over 1/2 mile), not for any strict reason, just for fun, to switch up the routine. Anyway, I find that going up the slight hills while out of the saddle like that I skip out my rear wheel quite a bit. I'm mostly on the hoods, and leaned over pretty far over the bars. I'm guessing this is the reason? If I want to sprint like this should I stand straighter up? Could it be a bike geometery issue? I'm 6'1" and ride a size ML Giant TCR (effective top tube 57cm). I put a 130mm stem on recently to put myself into a little more leaned-over position, so I'm hanging a little further over the front wheel than I was before.

Anyway, is this a common thing? What to do to avoid it?

Used to do this on loose-surface mtb climbs, solution is basically don't lean so far forward.

It does just sound like a weight distribution thing to me, assuming your rear tyre is in good condition and the road surface hasn't been wet. Seems it could also be quite dangerous to have the front wheel so loaded as you'd wipe out completely if you hit an oil spill or nasty pothole.

Also, I wonder if your pedal stroke is in part the issue? If you are pushing down on one pedal or other 100% of the time, you should have enough downforce for the back wheel not to skip. If you're effectively unweighting the pedals during your stroke, then that will also help the back end skip. Maybe.

how do you keep your water cold on warm days?

wrap in a wet towel -> evaporation -> inside = cold

perhaps a sock wd be better?

doesn't sound like it'd look PRO tho