Cycling Thread

[Fuzz]

Yup, no bell by either of them, though the gaser was loud enough to not need one. I rotated my bell to be under the bar, so it is always withing reach of my thumb. I'm a real dinger.

As for lights, the only time strobe is appropriate is if you are on a busy road. If you are on the 2 way cycle tracks or paths, PLEASE no strobe! Nothing says safety like being totally blinded moments before a head on pass... Ugh.

If you have one of those super high powered lights, try to cover it with your hand if a cyclist is coming towards you, and make sure it is aimed properly. Blinding lights on pathways are a pet peeve of mine. Personally, I use 2 of these:
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5028-1...ED-Front-Light
One on my handle bars, and one strapped to my helmet. The silicone band fits nicely through a helmet vent. They are cheap but I think provide more than enough light, even riding through the park where there is no ambient light. Having a helmet mounted light is one of the best upgrades. I allows you to see where you are looking(not where your bike is pointed) and to aim it at inattentive drivers.

[habernac]

Strobe on the roads only. Pathway, just use it regular.

And announce your pass, people. The only ones I don't do that for are the morons who are on the wrong side of the path.

[Bigtime]

I got this light a couple of weeks ago (http://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-bc30r-led-bike-light/), I've only had to go up to brightness level 2 so far in the morning and the burst mode (activated by a button mounted to your handlebar) at 1600 lumens is insane.

[worth]

Yeah, strobe/burst on the lamp I have is too bright at night for me. It actually reflects light back and makes it hard for me to see, so I can only imagine what it's like for a pedestrian as i'm approaching them.

My front lamp has a sort of "flutter" mode, but a steady medium mode would works as well. I usually have my rear lamp on strobe as well.

Regardless of what mode you run your lamps on, the biggest tip I have is to aim both the front and rear lamps down. They are so powerful nowadays, it is not necessary to have them parallel to the road. I angle mine down almost to 45 degrees. This prevents the lights from blinding people but still gives off plenty of light for people to see me.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by worth

Regardless of what mode you run your lamps on, the biggest tip I have is to aim both the front and rear lamps down. They are so powerful nowadays, it is not necessary to have them parallel to the road. I angle mine down almost to 45 degrees. This prevents the lights from blinding people but still gives off plenty of light for people to see me.

Yeah, rear red light on strobe, front light pointed down towards road.

If you're riding at night, a backpack with florescent strips, or a reflective vest, is a good idea too.

[Northendzone]

lol at calgarians - worst bicycle pilots ever!!!

[Bill Bumface]

Darkness means one of my biggest pet peeves will be activated on the paths again. Guys with ultra bright headlamps. You aren't doing night laps at West Bragg. A bar light is just fine. You're blinding everyone for no good reason. You are the bike equivalent of this, but if he was doing it on city streets:

[Bigtime]

Two people with no lights this morning, you can barely see them, and a guy with a red flashing light on the front. Get it together people.

[Fuzz]

Fall is the worst for that. Every year.

[Northendzone]

My plan is to ride the high Rockies trail tomorrow. I have be waiting for this since I read about the trail

[KTrain]

I did the Baker Hughes Gran Fondo today in Bragg Creek. It's a small ride (100ish people) but it was well organized. It was my first time riding in Bragg Creek/Priddis. Beautiful views out there.

I can see why the neighbours are annoyed with cyclists though. There are some small shoulders and a lot of double yellow lines. It doesn't help that some riders ride side-by-side when they should be single file.

[Northendzone]

A few weeks ago I was caught in the ride to conquer cancer and there were a number of times where rides were two and three abreast.

I thought about giving a little horn action, but I felt awkward as I was going home from riding at WBC

[Magnum PEI]

I find google maps suggested routes completely useless for cycling. I did a 60 km trip today that I knocked off almost 2 km and 10 mins and lost 30 m in elevation gain by plugging my own route in. It seems like it leans toward keeping you on the city bike routes.

[Coys1882]

If you get a chance - take your young ones down to the new skills park in Fish Creek. They've done an amazing job down there and while it was packed everyone was having a fun time which made the atmosphere great.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

a quick look at all three bikes suggests that the Norco bigfoot 6.2 and the Farley 5 look very similar and seemed priced around $1,800. The trek has a 2x drivetrain - while the Norco looks like a 1x (decided for yourself which si better)

the Farley 7 ($2,400) seems to be two lbs lighter and is better equipped.

This weather is quickly making getting a fat bike go from theory to serious contemplation...

Now internal debate is should I get one with front suspension...

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by cral12

This weather is quickly making getting a fat bike go from theory to serious contemplation...

Now internal debate is should I get one with front suspension...

after riding a rigid fork for a one winter, I personally can't see the need for FS; however, it is possible that if I had FS I'd tell you that it is a must.

I guess it depends where you ride. I went to fish creek park a lot and the trails were somewhat packed down, with very little drops - but maybe I was not riding in the right spots.

I recently purchased a dropper post to install in my fatty, so I will likely be doing that this weekend.

[worth]

Isn't getting a fat bike with suspension kinda redundant?

[cral12]

Aye, just found this which confirms what you guys are saying:

"You do not need front suspension in the winter. Its a nice to have for the few bumps, but it adds weight and may cause issues in really cold weather. A carbon fork would be a better option for the powder. A suspension fork is definitely a welcome addition when ditching your mountain bike during the summer, and you can always add it later. Just make sure the frame is suspension corrected."

[tete]

Hey folks, my husband's bike was stolen from our condo parkade in Beltline, we had it locked up but they cut the cable (we had a Ulock and cable, but the cable was what was holding it to the rack - we recognize we were idiots here). We don't know when it went missing - I haven't used my bike in 2 1/2 weeks and somehow I spotted the gap between my bike and others this morning. We've reported it to the police, but I thought I'd just put it out here as well incase you guys happen to spot it. It's a 2015 Rocky Mountain Whistler, sorry for the crappy photo but apparently we never took photos of it and this is all we have.



Let's just say my bike is much more secure this afternoon since I suspect they'd be coming back for mine after getting husbands.

[Northendzone]

^ crappy news for sure. Based on what I have seen on FaceBook, it seems as if there is an increase in bike thefts recently.

Hope you recover it.

As a reminder, those of you that have expensive rigs should make sure you have insurance coverage specifically on your bikes, makes replacing it less painful.