Cycling Thread

[Northendzone]

My plan this afternoon involved a casual commute home; however, favourable winds, timely traffic lights and high motivation due to tahe dark clouds rolling in made for my fastest ride home - somewhere betWeen 35 and 38 minutes by my garmin - I wish I had turned on my strava......as for the most part my speedo was in the 30's......

Now if only the rain would stop

[DownhillGoat]

Anyone heading out to Kicking Horse for opening weekend?

[Bigtime]

Kept an eye on the radar yesterday afternoon, made a break for it when it looked like there was a gap in cells coming through the city. Rode fast and hard, ended up completely soaked, even the rain booties were no match for the rain and they soaked right through too.

[Northendzone]

What a miserable day.....woke up this morning disappointed that it was raining. According to the weather network it was not raining in Banff, but did not want to risk driving a couple of hrs for nothing.

Seems that the wife's bike has a bad caliper as the brakes are forever howling, dropped the bike off at the LBS......seems that my cherry busting ride on the Thunderbolt will have to wait until later this week hopefully.

[KTrain]

Did the Badlands Gran Fondo today. We didn't get any rain which was great. The wind however was brutal. We had a tailwind all day for the first 110km then we turned around and the cycling Gods had their wraith. It took me almost as long to ride the 50km going back as it did to do the starting 110km.

[cam_wmh]

Fellas
Which LBS do you recommend, as I'm looking to patronize one long term? I went to the Bike Shop, as it's the nearest, but the service was awful.

[Northendzone]

^ I like cyclepath south - ask for callum

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

^ I like cyclepath south - ask for callum

Thanks mate. I actually got a text from a friend on here, that recommended Pedalhead in Canyon Meadows. Just spoke with Alex, and dropped off both my bikes to him. Wonderful first introduction, that far surpasses any other shop experience in town I've had.

[Ironhorse]

Gear grinder: the lack of selection for road bikes in the sub $2500 category that do not have disk brakes. I do not want to buy a bottom end bike with bottom of the barrel components, and I'm not about to plop down $4-5k for an aero TT bike.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Gear grinder: the lack of selection for road bikes in the sub $2500 category that do not have disk brakes. I do not want to buy a bottom end bike with bottom of the barrel components, and I'm not about to plop down $4-5k for an aero TT bike.

I haven't bought a new road bike in a few years, so I didn't think this was a problem. After 10 minutes of searching online, I see what you're talking about. Almost all of Kona's bikes have disc brakes. Many of the Trek ones do too. There are Specialized and Cervelo bikes with V brakes, but most, as you said, are over $2,500. When did this happen?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Gear grinder: the lack of selection for road bikes in the sub $2500 category that do not have disk brakes. I do not want to buy a bottom end bike with bottom of the barrel components, and I'm not about to plop down $4-5k for an aero TT bike.

https://www.bowcycle.com/bicycle/2016-cervelo-r2-105/

[Ironhorse]

I know there are a couple, but choice is pretty limited for V brakes.

[Coys1882]

Sorry noob question - how come you guys don't like the disc brakes?

[blackgold]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

Sorry noob question - how come you guys don't like the disc brakes?

As of now you can't race ABA road races with discs, but I expect that may change for next year.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

Sorry noob question - how come you guys don't like the disc brakes?

Not legal in triathlons. It doesn't sound like that is changing anytime soon either.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by blackgold

As of now you can't race ABA road races with discs, but I expect that may change for next year.

This rule is so ridiculous. The pro road tour lifted the ban, reinstated it after a crash in the Roubaix, then rescinded it again when they found the racer's injury was caused by a chainring instead of a disc.

[Northendzone]

so to compete in the road races you need to be able to ride fast, but the governing bodies don't want you to slow down quickly and in all conditions?

seems like an odd position to take on something that is meant to slow you down.

[KTrain]

I find it hard to go back to non-disc brakes for commuting. The stopping power is noticeably different and just feels much safer.

[Northendzone]

and if I recall, aren't disc setups generally heavier than v or canti-lever brakes?

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

and if I recall, aren't disc setups generally heavier than v or canti-lever brakes?

They are. They also force the braking action through the center of the hub, forcing the energy through the spokes and ultimately the rim and tires. This is fine on a sturdy mountain bike, but not ideal on lightweight aluminum or carbon wheels. And ultimately, your stopping ability is limited by the tire on the road.

Yes, you can stop better and easier in rain / long descents on disc, but I think that's about it. Disks came from the downhill world of mountain biking, and for road racing applications it seems more of a solution looking for a problem than the other way around.