Cycling Thread

[kermitology]

Yeah, both of my girls are in soccer. No need for a new bike, just a new rear derailleur and chain.

The trail-a-bike is okay. It has a wobble to it that throws off your balance especially at low speeds. My daughter was super upset we couldn’t finish our ride together. I was a little more upset that my bike was wrecked.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by metallicat

I have been biking to work for a little over a month now, and I have some questions about etiquette and procedure.

Say I'm on a two way, one lane each way, road and come to a red light with a car in my direction stopped. Do I pull up beside him along the curb, or do I get behind him? Does it change if there are more cars stopped? Like can I pass all of them along the side and wait at the front?

And what if there are no cars and I come to a red light. Sometimes I'll wait by the curb so that cars that come up behind me can pass and make a right hand turn on the red light. Buy should I be in the lane itself on this occassion?

Also, I know it is a contentious issue for many when cyclists run stop signs, but is it not fair to sometimes roll through or run a stop sign if you don't impede any traffic by just going through?

From a driver's perspective, two thoughts:

1. if you are at the head of the line at a red light, moving far enough left in the lane to allow right turns behind you is greatly appreciated.

2. on busier roads (4 lanes typically) it can be difficult to pass a cyclist. It is frustrating following one at 20-30 km/h, finally passing them only to have them filter past at the next light and hold everyone up again. If that is occurring then I would suggest not filtering and using the lane as a vehicle would. Hope that doesn't sound too whiny but it can be really frustrating when a cyclist continually does this over many blocks.

[Bigtime]

Saw a tweet the other day with the owner of Lifesport rolling around on solid bike tires. Anyone tried them or heard experiences with them?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Saw a tweet the other day with the owner of Lifesport rolling around on solid bike tires. Anyone tried them or heard experiences with them?

I haven't heard of these, but what would be the point, except to prevent flats?

[KTrain]

They'd be pretty heavy too you'd think. I've also heard they don't have the same "grip" a normal tire does so riding in adverse weather can be sketchy.

I'll take the occasional flat rather than dragging those up hills.

[Bigtime]

Apparently the weight is now equal or less than standard tires, but the grip thing in wet is still a factor.

[Wormius]

I guess the other alternative is the solid inner tube, I wonder if that would be any better?

[Northendzone]

I have seen these tires advertised on Facebook http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/pr...s-tyres-146970

However, I have yet to see them in a store. I’d consider them, if I could see them first and try going for s spin on a bike with them installed to get a feel for them.

Would be nice to ever have to worry about flats and not carry a pump and tube while commuting

[Bigtime]

I'm hoping to pop over to Lifesport soon to check them out.

[Hevishot]

I have been running a mousse setup on my dirt bike for years now they work great. I would assume it will work just as well on a bike. They have a dead feeling which some people like and some people hate. They also need some break in rides to get softer but after that traction is great.

[Kybosh]

After commuting downtown for a couple week now, I'm somewhat confused about the proper protocol for going through an intersection with a stop sign. My usual tactic is to approach the stop sign and slow down then look and go. I only stop fully when I see a car. The problem I've found is that I keep getting honked at in many different scenarios. For example, I approach the stop sign, slow down, look both ways, then go but a car suddenly appears as I'm slowly re-accelerating through the intersection. Alternatively, if I fully stop, I've had cars behind me honk as well because I believe I'm supposed to move to the left lane if I'm going straight through the intersection. What does everyone do here? I'm riding a single speed bike, so I don't accelerate the quickest with a full stop in some scenarios.

[Fuzz]

If you are doing a rolling stop and a car suddenly appears, well, I'm sorry to say that maybe you should do a full stop, or look around farther. I'm not sure how a car can appear so suddenly you wouldn't have time to see it. I only roll through if I don't see any cars anywhere and honestly, I don't do it downtown. To many cars/pedestrians.

If they are honking because they want to turn right and you are going straight, then you should maybe be farther left, though if someone is that impatient with you they should learn to calm down a little. Unfortunately you can't teach everyone that, so ya, get further left to make your intention clear. Just not so far left that someone going straight through will try to pass you on your right.

If you are so slow at accelerating that you are at a complete stop, then go, and the car behind has time to stop completely then go and you are not able to reach a reasonable speed in that time maybe try to get far enough right as soon as you can. In an ideal world you wouldn't have to worry about all this being considerate stuff, but it does help to keep you form being squished by jerks. And some times, no matter how considerate or rule following you are, you can still get on a run of bad luck interactions.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If you are doing a rolling stop and a car suddenly appears, well, I'm sorry to say that maybe you should do a full stop, or look around farther. I'm not sure how a car can appear so suddenly you wouldn't have time to see it. I only roll through if I don't see any cars anywhere and honestly, I don't do it downtown. To many cars/pedestrians.

If they are honking because they want to turn right and you are going straight, then you should maybe be farther left, though if someone is that impatient with you they should learn to calm down a little. Unfortunately you can't teach everyone that, so ya, get further left to make your intention clear. Just not so far left that someone going straight through will try to pass you on your right.

If you are so slow at accelerating that you are at a complete stop, then go, and the car behind has time to stop completely then go and you are not able to reach a reasonable speed in that time maybe try to get far enough right as soon as you can. In an ideal world you wouldn't have to worry about all this being considerate stuff, but it does help to keep you form being squished by jerks. And some times, no matter how considerate or rule following you are, you can still get on a run of bad luck interactions.

No, the honking behind me is when they're also going straight. I think those guys are just being jerks. I go straight and then move over right when I can.

Regarding the cars just appearing, I have no idea how either. Maybe they've popped out of an alley or around a corner. I also always do the full stops downtown, I'm referring mostly to stuff south of elbow river in my case. I'm not slow per se, but I'm definitely way slower than a vehicle. I wouldn't say these interactions have been common but as far as I can tell, I'm doing what everyone appears to be doing. I'm also not an experienced bike commuter so I'll own that if that's the problem.

[KTrain]

It's been a while since we've had any bikeporn.

Here's a German brand called Rose. Their X-Lite model is getting amazing reviews and is super light. 6.1kg (13.5lbs) for this model. I've almost ordered one but cooler heads have prevailed.



Here's a BMC Roadmaster X all-road bike. They're not calling it a gravel bike but it kind of looks like one.

[Northendzone]

^ what is that rig cost about $2,500* or so?


* wife price

[Table 5]

So a few months ago I put my name on the early bird list for a bike from Fairlight, a british company who makes really nice Reynolds steel bikes. The framesets are finally ready to go, but I need to decide between the two color ways. I keep going back and forth, and just wanted to get a quick opinion from people here.

Blue is a bit of a safer choice. Would probably work well with a nice brown Brooks seat.




Nice grey (which has been descriped as Audi nardo grey) with purple higlights.



I really like the grey aspect and the somewhat cleaner modern look, but not as convinced with the purple accent. Its never been my favorite color and I wonder if it starts looking a bit like a ladies bike.

A lookbook here if anyone cares.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v5lmwn7hk...GSJUh-1ia?dl=0

[Fuzz]

I'd go with the blue, but then I'm not a girl.

[KTrain]

Blue gets my vote. The gold/orange accents are great.

The grey is probably more unique, but take it from someone who has a light coloured sections on his bike, they're a pain to keep clean. That chain stay is going to constantly show grease on it. That's where Trek decided to make my bike white.

[Bigtime]

I vote for blue too.

[habernac]

Blue