Cycling Thread

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Apart from Kijiji, what is a good place to buy used/2011 model bikes in town? Need to find something for my wife...ideally under $500. We mostly stick to pathways these days, so just looking for a decent hybrid.

Kijiji is where it is at in my opinion, I would also try pinkbike, but I find there is a lot of stale dated ads on there.

Also, do yourself a favour, and check out Lifesport. They specialize in good quality city/hybrids. It is where I bought my commuter, and they were great. You should be able to find something REALLY nice in the 5-700 range there. The Brodie and Devinci stuff is really nice.

[Table 5]

Dammit, i was just at Ridleys in Kensington.....totally forgot about Lifesport down the street.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Dammit, i was just at Ridleys in Kensington.....totally forgot about Lifesport down the street.

I buy all my high performance stuff at Ridleys they are awesome there. However, they carry all the tier 1 brands, and Trek and Giant Hybrids tend to be way to pricey for a bomb around bike.

Lifesport is more into the every day stuff, and deal the lesser known stuff, which I think is cool, as they don't have the "Panache" of Specialized Cannondale, Trek, Giant etc... when it comes to theft appeal. The Devinci Oslo SL I bought was 850 out the door (With a 10% discount), and the closest Trek was the 7.7 I think, which was $1400, and actually a little worse equipped. Absolutely love the thing, as it was one of the only Compact doubles I could find in a Hybrid. Everyone was trying to flog triples, which I only like in Mountain bikes.

[#22]

Originally Posted by pylon

So I went on my first "real" ride on my all Carbon 5.1. Banged out 65kms on Sunday.

My god, I can never go back to aluminum. Everything was better. Bump absorption, feel, power delivery, AVG speed is up 3 KPH. Man, if anyone thinks carbon is just for vanity, it changes the whole ride.

Love it!

Shut up, I can't afford one (yet) and I want to keep pretending that it really isn't that big a difference

[KTrain]

Has anyone done the Tour de Calgary yet? 100k around the city via the pathways?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...e-Calgary-100K

[Nandric]

I was doing a modified one this winter that was pretty similar and ended up being around 85-90. Definitely have to check that loops out for sure as it has a different NW section than the one I used.

[Bill Bumface]

I just got back from a week in Moab. It was my first time going and for anyone scared off by the 16-19 hour drive.. don't be... after one day of riding that drive was worth it. Probably the best time I've ever had on a bike in my life.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by #22

Shut up, I can't afford one (yet) and I want to keep pretending that it really isn't that big a difference

I kinda fell into mine. I was on the Trek website at the end of November, and Trek had a factory rebate on the 2011 5.1 Rival which brought it down from $3599 to $2599, and Ridleys gave me another $200 off. So baiscally I got into the second top tier with Trek, for a few hundred more than a 3.1.

The guys at Ridley's didn't even know about the deal, and a couple guys that worked there apparently ordered the bike at that price, as it was such a smoking deal for a 5 series.

Absolutely love SRAM double tap. In fact given the choice, I would take Rival over Ultegra, as it is so much smoother to use, and you don't push in your brake levers to shift.

So just save your pennies and check the Trek websute every few days near the end of the season.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Has anyone done the Tour de Calgary yet? 100k around the city via the pathways?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...e-Calgary-100K

Nope, but I will this Sunday, thanks!

[KTrain]

Let me know how it goes. I know some paths were under construction last year and those might be in this route.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Dammit, i was just at Ridleys in Kensington.....totally forgot about Lifesport down the street.

I was in there last night, and this is the two that caught my eye for your wife.

$459
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_19#19_62_181

$659
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_19#19_62_187

Both were women specific designs. The Devinci frames are as nice as you will find at this price point. And a big plus they are a Canadian company.

[macker]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Has anyone done the Tour de Calgary yet? 100k around the city via the pathways?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...e-Calgary-100K

I did that in August 2010 and at the time thought I would make it an annual but haven't gotten back to it yet. Hope to take my son on it this year. It worked out to 100.5kms and took me 5:15.03 of riding time but I was on a mountain bike. I was basically gone from 3:30pm to 10pm and took some nice breaks along the way as I skirted around a fairly big hail storm. Gives you a great perspective of how big Calgary is! Also the North end of the city has a fair amount of climbing which is about 1/2 way through the ride. If you are taking kids maybe have your bailout plan for somewhere around Edgemont

[JonDuke]

Can anyone tell me what a total beginner mountain biker should expect for time and distance when starting out and what I should be aiming for?

My first day, I went 8km in 45 minutes,
Day 2 was 12km in 75 minutes
Today I went 9km in 40 minutes.
Every one of these rides consisted of 3-4 water breaks.
I realize those are probably pathetic distances for the time, but for me, it's a start.

I am trying to set a semi realistic goal by summers end, but don't know what "semi realistic" should be for someone who is not extremely active, and a smoker who is riding in the hill riddled Rocky Ridge/Bearspaw area.

Any advice for a goal to set? I would really like to do this daily and am hoping to use it as motivation to help me quit smoking too. Also, any recommendations for a distance time tracking app? I'm currently using the lite version of Roadbike, but am wondering if there is something better I can buy?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I just got back from a week in Moab. It was my first time going and for anyone scared off by the 16-19 hour drive.. don't be... after one day of riding that drive was worth it. Probably the best time I've ever had on a bike in my life.

I spent 2 weeks there a decade ago, could have stayed a whole month. Unbelievable stuff. An overhyped place that EXCEEDS the hype.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

Can anyone tell me what a total beginner mountain biker should expect for time and distance when starting out and what I should be aiming for?

My first day, I went 8km in 45 minutes,
Day 2 was 12km in 75 minutes
Today I went 9km in 40 minutes.
Every one of these rides consisted of 3-4 water breaks.
I realize those are probably pathetic distances for the time, but for me, it's a start.

I am trying to set a semi realistic goal by summers end, but don't know what "semi realistic" should be for someone who is not extremely active, and a smoker who is riding in the hill riddled Rocky Ridge/Bearspaw area.

Any advice for a goal to set? I would really like to do this daily and am hoping to use it as motivation to help me quit smoking too. Also, any recommendations for a distance time tracking app? I'm currently using the lite version of Roadbike, but am wondering if there is something better I can buy?

Great motivation, it was a big factor in myself quitting.

There are a lot of variables, but on my road bikes I try and average out about 32-35 KPH factoring in hills etc.

On my mountain about 25 KPH.

I work 20.4 kms from home, on the days I ride in, I usually get here in about 42-45 mins on my road bike, and it it a steady incline the whole way with a couple big hills. Also don't avoid hills or dismount, tackle them, and suffer if you have to.

Get a good computer. I nice wireless Bontrager will run about 60 bucks, and it will track your speed, elapsed time, and averages. Unless you are on something really high end, don't worry about cadence. I would shoot for an average speed between 15-18 KPH. That is a pretty decent clip for a beginner.

edit: If you have an iPhone, you can also just buy the cyclemeter app for 5 bucks, it is awesome. It will even trace your path on google maps and keep all your stats for you.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

Can anyone tell me what a total beginner mountain biker should expect for time and distance when starting out and what I should be aiming for?

My first day, I went 8km in 45 minutes,
Day 2 was 12km in 75 minutes
Today I went 9km in 40 minutes.
Every one of these rides consisted of 3-4 water breaks.
I realize those are probably pathetic distances for the time, but for me, it's a start.

I am trying to set a semi realistic goal by summers end, but don't know what "semi realistic" should be for someone who is not extremely active, and a smoker who is riding in the hill riddled Rocky Ridge/Bearspaw area.

Any advice for a goal to set? I would really like to do this daily and am hoping to use it as motivation to help me quit smoking too. Also, any recommendations for a distance time tracking app? I'm currently using the lite version of Roadbike, but am wondering if there is something better I can buy?

What are you riding on?

This:



is going to have you covering a lot more distance than this:



I would definitely judge yourself more on duration than distance. If you can go out and do a 3 hour right that is challenging you you'll be getting great exercise even if you aren't going far. If you cruising on easy stuff just keep your speed up to a point where you are working hard, and same thing, just go for a nice long ride. How beat you are that evening and the next morning will tell you if you're working hard enough.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by habernac

I spent 2 weeks there a decade ago, could have stayed a whole month. Unbelievable stuff. An overhyped place that EXCEEDS the hype.

I completely agree. Luckily I read a bunch about how Slickrock is totally overrated etc before going, so I was skeptical and it extra-exceeded my expectations.

[pylon]

^^^Fair enough, I am always on the road, or in light gravel paths. And that is what I based my numbers on.

[Magnum PEI]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Has anyone done the Tour de Calgary yet? 100k around the city via the pathways?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...e-Calgary-100K

I might try this this summer, minus the illegal detour through Heritage Park:


There's no pathway through there, you have to cut through Eagle Ridge. Plus its fenced off with barbed wire, even if you wanted to go that way it would be difficult with a bike.

Its 99.6 km to Chestermere and back, and 99.1 km to Bragg Creek and back for me, so I like to do those routes. Unfortunately I've grown a couple inches since I bought my bike so its a bit small now. Maybe next March I'll get a new one. Dont really have the moolah right now.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I completely agree. Luckily I read a bunch about how Slickrock is totally overrated etc before going, so I was skeptical and it extra-exceeded my expectations.

Moab is awesome. I've been there 6 times now and it never gets old. Something we've done twice now is go to Fruita for a couple of days. It's only 1.5 hrs away. More awesome riding, and they have the best Mexican restaurant.