Cycling Thread

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by worth

I'm going to be doing some touring this summer (500km trip). I did a 2000km trip in Vietnam on a mountain bike and I don't really want to do that again, I want to make my life a little bit easier. I'd also use this bike as my main bike.

Budget is about $1500, any suggestions for shops or bikes themselves?

I haven't bought a bike since 2004 and it was a Trek 4500, so I think it's time to move on from that. Don't really want to take the Trek touring. Thanks.

I ride a Surly Long Haul Trucker. I find it very, very comfortable and it would fly through a 500km trip without the slightest issue. I did a short tour at the end of last summer with it from Shanghai out into one of the neighbouring provinces fully loaded up with everything except front fork bags and it was great. Gearing was good for going up quite steep mountains fully loaded and for cruising at a good speed on flat land.

Mine was around $1,800 new, so I would guess you could get a second hand one in your price range.

[worth]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

No bike recommendations, but I have purchased 5 bikes from Cyclepath on Macleod. I have found them fine to deal with, although there have been a couple of time where they annoyed me.

What kind of biking do you plan to do after the 500k tour?

I purchased my Trek from them. I will probably stop in to see what they have.

I plan to do a short tour every year with this bike and outside of that I would use it as my main bike for a bit of commuting, and a daily rider in the summertime. I live downtown so i'm often hopping on the Trek for short rides to one place or another, so this is likely what I would be using it for mostly.

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

I ride a Surly Long Haul Trucker. I find it very, very comfortable and it would fly through a 500km trip without the slightest issue. I did a short tour at the end of last summer with it from Shanghai out into one of the neighbouring provinces fully loaded up with everything except front fork bags and it was great. Gearing was good for going up quite steep mountains fully loaded and for cruising at a good speed on flat land.

Mine was around $1,800 new, so I would guess you could get a second hand one in your price range.

Last night I ran across Surly bikes again. I was totally looking at the LHT a couple years ago, so funny you brought this up.

I did a bit of reading on the LHT last night and I can't find a review of someone who doesn't like it. I saw that Bow cycle and Campione Cycles carry surly in Calgary, neither of which i'm super jazzed about. Where did you get yours? Internet or buy it when you were back in Canada? I think they would be hard to find in China.

When did you buy yours? Is it the disc brake version or the rim brake and 26" or 700c? Bow cycle has the Disc brake version for $2,000. I guess the issue with that is I will have to add on fenders, rear rack, pedals, panniers

[Baron von Kriterium]

Originally Posted by worth

Last night I ran across Surly bikes again. I was totally looking at the LHT a couple years ago, so funny you brought this up.

I did a bit of reading on the LHT last night and I can't find a review of someone who doesn't like it. I saw that Bow cycle and Campione Cycles carry surly in Calgary, neither of which i'm super jazzed about.

Speak to Dan at Cafe Roubaix in Cochrane. He should be able to order a Surly for you.

[Khel]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Has anyone done a Gran Fondo before? I was thinking about tackling one this year. Since it's my first, I was thinking the Badlands in June would be a good entry point. It's supposedly the easiest in terms of difficulty rating.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the Alberta Fondos?

I did the Badlands last year, and it was great. Yes it can be windy, but it was a very scenic ride, and the whole ride was well supported. Rest stops were great, lots of good food and drink.

Also did the Highwood pass Gran Fondo, which was a lot of fun as well, but since it's so easy to ride that on your own, not sure if I'd sign up for that again.

But Badlands was excellent!

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by worth

I purchased my Trek from them. I will probably stop in to see what they have.

I plan to do a short tour every year with this bike and outside of that I would use it as my main bike for a bit of commuting, and a daily rider in the summertime. I live downtown so i'm often hopping on the Trek for short rides to one place or another, so this is likely what I would be using it for mostly.



Last night I ran across Surly bikes again. I was totally looking at the LHT a couple years ago, so funny you brought this up.

I did a bit of reading on the LHT last night and I can't find a review of someone who doesn't like it. I saw that Bow cycle and Campione Cycles carry surly in Calgary, neither of which i'm super jazzed about. Where did you get yours? Internet or buy it when you were back in Canada? I think they would be hard to find in China.

When did you buy yours? Is it the disc brake version or the rim brake and 26" or 700c? Bow cycle has the Disc brake version for $2,000. I guess the issue with that is I will have to add on fenders, rear rack, pedals, panniers

I got mine in Vancouver at Dream Cycles and brought it back with me. It's pretty much impossible to find a Surly here in a larger size. I chose not to go for the disk brakes because there are plenty of fun places to ride over here where help and parts could potentially be found for fixing callipers but not for disk brakes and I don't see disk brakes as having a significant advantage for touring.

Adding the fenders and all is definitely an added cost. For racks and bags I've got LKLM which is a Chinese brand that is less expensive but really good quality and I've been very satisfied with them.

Actually, that makes me think that LKLM makes a touring bike which is extremely good value. If I'd known about it before buying the Surly I probably would have bought it instead and saved myself a bunch. Don't know if they sell in Canada or not though.

[peter12]

My brother rode a Surly Long Haul from Singapore to Calcutta, then he flew to Australia, and biked across the entire continent. The bike is true to its name!

[Fuzz]

Just ate it pretty hard on my ride home. Coming off the path through Sunnyside that joins to 10th street before the LRT bridge there is a fairly sharp turn to get to the bike lane. It is full of loose gravel, and I guess with my studded tires there was a friction failure. I hit the deck pretty hard, acquired some road rash. Fortunately my helmet saved my head. Will need to check it for damage, but I didn't hit it that hard. Now to dig some gravel out of the back of my hand...And beer. Beer earned.

[Hevishot]

I need a price check on a 2000 Specialized Fatboy Vegas. My parents were nice enough to bring it to my house since it has been taking up space in their basement storage since I moved out. Unfortunately I have grown considerably and when I ride the bike I look like a gorilla humping a watermelon. Any help would be great as its pretty mint and should go to a great home instead of sit in my basement.

[Fuzz]

So, turns out I hit my head a bit harder than I thought. Saw some double vision last night, and headaches today. So went to see the doc, just to be safe(and this wonderful economy affords me Fridays off!) and she thinks I have a mild concussion, so I've been told to not exercise or do anything that uses my brain, whatever that means.... Sit on the patio with a beer is my closest guess...

[worth]

Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium

Speak to Dan at Cafe Roubaix in Cochrane. He should be able to order a Surly for you.

Talked with Dan, he said he can only order Surly parts, not frames or complete bikes, but he suggested I look into a couple other bicycles. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Flames0910]

Curious to hear if anybody rides with a camera on their bike? Had an incident the other day with a crazy aggressive driver on the 8th street underpass (by MEC) that has me thinking some kind of handlebar-mounted camera might be a good insurance policy.

Also was reading about anti-harassment laws for cyclists in LA and now I wish we had something similar in Calgary.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Curious to hear if anybody rides with a camera on their bike? Had an incident the other day with a crazy aggressive driver on the 8th street underpass (by MEC) that has me thinking some kind of handlebar-mounted camera might be a good insurance policy.

Also was reading about anti-harassment laws for cyclists in LA and now I wish we had something similar in Calgary.

I commute daily with a camera. If nothing happens, then I just wipe the recording, but I have it incase there's something interesting.

Mine is mounted to my handle bar. I'm doubtful how useful it will be for catching collisions though as I find that the collisions I've had tend to come from the side, which the camera wouldn't catch. The collisions it would be most useful for I think are left-turners and people who run red lights. A helmet-mounted camera might be better for a broader range of collisions.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Hevishot

I need a price check on a 2000 Specialized Fatboy Vegas. My parents were nice enough to bring it to my house since it has been taking up space in their basement storage since I moved out. Unfortunately I have grown considerably and when I ride the bike I look like a gorilla humping a watermelon. Any help would be great as its pretty mint and should go to a great home instead of sit in my basement.

I'd guess $150 max. this beast is now a teenager, and chalk full of antique hardware and specs

Edit, I was wtong - you can get $50 for it if it is new....

http://www.bicyclebluebook.com/searc....aspx?id=45780

[worth]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Curious to hear if anybody rides with a camera on their bike? Had an incident the other day with a crazy aggressive driver on the 8th street underpass (by MEC) that has me thinking some kind of handlebar-mounted camera might be a good insurance policy.

Also was reading about anti-harassment laws for cyclists in LA and now I wish we had something similar in Calgary.

Was it a guy in a black pick up that tried to swerve into you on like wednesday or thursday and you turned west on 10th?

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by worth

Was it a guy in a black pick up that tried to swerve into you on like wednesday or thursday and you turned west on 10th?

Nah although I'm sure that underpass is a hotspot for close calls. I've had a few myself, but never with such malice as this one — mostly people who aren't clear on the rules or not paying attention.

In this case it was a white BMW honking and revving the engine. Tailgating because I was going too slow, then ignoring an empty lane to pass right next to me. I'm sure she would have loved to have driven me right off the road, but that might have scratched her passenger side mirror.

[Bill Bumface]

Wipe out roll call. That ice was insane today.

I for one, traveled down the hill in front of Langevin School on 1st Ave in Bridgeland fully on my butt. I had no idea how icy it was until I got up to speed (it's a 30 zone) to cross through traffic to make a left turn, and when starting to brake realized none of this was happening as planned. I probably slid for 15 or 20m on my rear before I could get enough traction to stand up. Zero equipment or body damage, so pretty lucky.

[Fuzz]

Fortunate! I rode in today and took it really slow due to my previous fall so I didn't actually notice the ice very much. I get in to work and everyone is telling me how treacherous it is walking around, so maybe I was safer on my bike, as my shoes aren't studded and my tires are!

[Bill Bumface]

Today made me lose a lot of confidence in the studs. Granted, it was like curling ice, but it was a shocking lack of traction.

[phaneuf_train]

Just a heads up Bow Cycle has their March sale going this week. Picked myself up a Kona Process 134

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Today made me lose a lot of confidence in the studs. Granted, it was like curling ice, but it was a shocking lack of traction.

I rode for many years on semi slicks in the winter. TBQH, I don't think the Schwalbe Marathon Plus studded ones I have do any better for me.