Cycling Thread

[Wormius]

Question for the people buying bikes / parts online from the states via Jenson or Pricepoint - are they exempt from duty?

[Clarkey]

Is it safe to bike to Cochrane on 1A right now with all that construction going on?

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Question for the people buying bikes / parts online from the states via Jenson or Pricepoint - are they exempt from duty?

I have never had a duty bill from Jenson. But, ALWAYS select the UPS saver option, it includes all brokerage. If you are ordering from Jenson, lemme know, I need a few small things, and wouldn't mind piggy backing on your order, to save on / split the freight. I can email you the cash.

[Wormius]

I was looking at getting some stuff via Amazon (Niagara Cycle). Some good prices on SRAM parts.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I was looking at getting some stuff via Amazon (Niagara Cycle). Some good prices on SRAM parts.

No worries. I just wanted some pedals, but after I freight them up, I might as well just go LBS, as it is a wash with the freight charges. I just don't have much to add to the order at this point.

I will check out Niagra though. What SRAM stuff are you after? I am absolutely digging the double-tap. It seems to have a love hate camp attached to it, but once you get used to it, I find it superior to the Shimano stuff. Plus I love the look of SRAM cranks. They have a very industrial, no BS look to them.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by pylon

No worries. I just wanted some pedals, but after I freight them up, I might as well just go LBS, as it is a wash with the freight charges. I just don't have much to add to the order at this point.

I will check out Niagra though. What SRAM stuff are you after? I am absolutely digging the double-tap. It seems to have a love hate camp attached to it, but once you get used to it, I find it superior to the Shimano stuff. Plus I love the look of SRAM cranks. They have a very industrial, no BS look to them.

Sorry, I made a mistake about Niagara, I thought I had changed my Amazon order to use them (as I thought they were a Canadian company at the time and wouldn't have issues with duties, etc. The only thing I found through them was a non-suspension fork for my mountain bike.

Here is what I priced out though for a mountain bike build (I have an old RM Fusion from 2000) and wanted to give it new life. Replacing virtually everything aside from the seat, handlebars, brakes, and wheelset came to about $400.

SRAM S650 SQ Taper C3.0 175 483828 Crankset (Black) - SRAM
$38.98

Bottom Bracket SET SHIMANO BB-UN54 73X113-ENG SEALED - SHIMANO
$26.98

Surly 1x1 Fork; I.S. DISC Tab & Removable Canti Pivots - Surly
$86.00

SRAM X9 Mountain Bike Rear Derailleur (Long Cage) - SRAM
$72.15

SRAM X.9 3 x 10 Top Pull 31.8/34.9 Low-Clamp Derailleur - SRAM
$50.63

SRAM PG970 9 Speed Cassette (11-34T) - SRAM
$37.99

SRAM PC 971 P-Link Bicycle Chain (9-Speed, Grey) - SRAM
$22.76

SRAM X0 Bicycle Twist Shifter Set (9-Speed) - SRAM
$66.78

Cane Creek 10-Series External Cup Complete for 34mm Head-Tube (1-1/8-Inch Straight Steerer), Black - Cane Creek
$31.01

Don't laugh at the cheap bottom bracket - it's just what I know and don't see a reason to get
overly fancy with it (and I don't want to buy any new tools). The X9 was more because of my hate for the cheap Shimano shifters the bike originally came with. I miss the old style shifters where you basically dialed it in each time you shifted.

[pylon]

You should look at an external cup BB. They make everything sooooo much easier. Only thing is, you might need to buy a new crank too..lol.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Is it safe to bike to Cochrane on 1A right now with all that construction going on?

Sure, me and some friends ride that stretch somewhat regularly. We're going to ride from Rocky Ridge to Big Hill Springs road to Cochrane and back to Rocky Ridge along 1A this Sunday morning...

[Azure]

I need a water bottle holder.

Found this on ebay.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2012-New-Cycl...#ht_514wt_1170

Anyone bought one before? Seems cheap enough.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Wormius

SRAM X0 Bicycle Twist Shifter Set (9-Speed) - SRAM
$66.78

I think you may be the only person in the world that likes these. I have them on my commuter and I can't wait until the day I finally get fed up enough to put on a set of rapid fires.

[Julio]

Originally Posted by Azure

I need a water bottle holder.

Found this on ebay.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2012-New-Cycl...#ht_514wt_1170

Anyone bought one before? Seems cheap enough.

Seems good enough, but is it worth it for you to save 15 grams compared to just going to MEC and getting this: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cyclin...ottle-cage.jsp as opposed to ordering this one from China?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Julio

Seems good enough, but is it worth it for you to save 15 grams compared to just going to MEC and getting this: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cyclin...ottle-cage.jsp as opposed to ordering this one from China?

I would prefer one with a water bottle that comes with, but either way its not a big deal to me.

[Julio]

Originally Posted by Azure

I would prefer one with a water bottle that comes with, but either way its not a big deal to me.

That one doesn't seem to come with a bottle...part of why I was confused...

[Clarkey]

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

Sure, me and some friends ride that stretch somewhat regularly. We're going to ride from Rocky Ridge to Big Hill Springs road to Cochrane and back to Rocky Ridge along 1A this Sunday morning...

Would a guy be crazy to try to attempt the Calgary to Cochrane ride with a mountain bike?

[JonDuke]

I would love some advice please!

I still consider myself a very novice biker. I've been out less than a dozen times, but absolutely love biking and am trying to push myself. I'm riding a cheap downhill mountain bike that feels like it weighs 50 pounds, and would love to rent a better bike to to see how far I can push it and eventually buy one.

My first ride was just over a month ago, and I went 8k. I was embarrassed how gassed I was from such a small distance. 10 rides later, I'm up to 32k. Still not fantastic, and I'm sure many of you could do that without breaking a sweat, but I am content with the results. My goal over the next month and a half, realistically, is 75k, but I am going to try my hardest to push 100k.

So, a few questions...

I live in Rocky Ridge, and the hills around here are KILLING me. I know it's great for practice, but when I try for my distance goal, I would love some flatter land. Any suggestions on where to go for a better ride?

Also, where can you rent a decent road bike? I have heard the University rents them out, but haven't checked into it yet. Any suggestions on that end?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Would a guy be crazy to try to attempt the Calgary to Cochrane ride with a mountain bike?

I got suckered into 60km this weekend on a full suspension bike with 2.3" knobby tires on. You'll be able to do it, but you'll have to kill yourself to keep up with any friends on road bikes.

If possible put some city slick tires on your mountain bike and that'll make a huge difference. Headwinds will murder you because of the upright seating position makes you a sail.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

I live in Rocky Ridge, and the hills around here are KILLING me. I know it's great for practice, but when I try for my distance goal, I would love some flatter land. Any suggestions on where to go for a better ride?

If your bike is actually 50lbs (very possible for a DH bike) that will murder you up hills. Also not using clipless pedals (which that won't have) will also add to the murder.

For a flat ride there is a path from Calgary to Chestermere that follows the irrigation channel. Nice and flat.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Azure

I need a water bottle holder.

Found this on ebay.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2012-New-Cycl...#ht_514wt_1170

Anyone bought one before? Seems cheap enough.

Not sure why you'd be so worried about a $7 water bottle holder.
But if you think you're getting a good deal on a carbon bottle holder, at 44g, no way is that thing actually carbon.

But yeah, if you want to save $5 vs just going down to Bow Cycle, go for it.

[Northendzone]

i used to routinely do 100km rides with my mountain bike with knobby tires. my rides would typically have been a mix of trails and more open road riding. no serious hill climbs though, and my mountain bike was a hard tail.

i also used my mtn bike to commute from new brighton to downtown.

i used to think about buying a road bike, but in the end I always felt a mountain bike gave me the most bang for my cycling buck.

i used to be able to average about 27 kph on my mtn bike and i always wondered if I be able to get another 8 kph on a road bike - that would have cut my commute from an hour to about 45 minutes.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

If your bike is actually 50lbs (very possible for a DH bike) that will murder you up hills. Also not using clipless pedals (which that won't have) will also add to the murder.

I ride pretty much every day just in my sneakers jammed into old school cages. Should I really get some clips? It's a potential PITA to find them because I have size 14 feet and finding shoes that fit is always trouble, but maybe I'll start the hunt if it'll make a big difference.