Cycling Thread

[MoneyGuy]

Who uses toe clips? I'm thinking of removing mine. I just cycle around town, not on the highway. Thoughts?

[Top Shelf]

What is better, tube or tubeless? Need to replace my tires and need some advice.

[terminator]

Well Guys, after playing with a hybrid I find myself wanting more speed and a road bike, however withtin a Budget. Sportchek has two bikes within my budget, the Jamis Ventura Comp 2012 and the GT Series 4 2014. The Jamis is onsale for 599 from 999 and the GT is onsale for 640 from 799, I further have a 20% coupon. At face value the Jamis does seem like a better deal since the discount is much larger.

I don't know much about bikes but the Jamis has thumb levers for shifting whereas the GT uses the microshift levers for boht directions.

Could someone chime in and suggest which bike is the better bike?

Thanks!
GT Series 4 2014:

http://www.sportchek.ca/product/inde...767829.3758109

or

Jamis Ventura Comp 2012

http://road-bikes.findthebest.com/l/...s-Ventura-Comp.

[bossy22]

The Jamis is a better bike all around.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

What is better, tube or tubeless? Need to replace my tires and need some advice.

For mountain biking? Tubeless. Do you have rims that will support a tubeless setup? You may need to confirm compability first. If you need a kit, just go with Stans

http://www.notubes.com/help/rimstripfinder.aspx

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

What is better, tube or tubeless? Need to replace my tires and need some advice.

I don't think one is better than the other, but that being said, I run tubes and doni't get a lot of flats.

Tubeless can be lighter, but you then have to deal with the goop to make them tubeless and from what I understand, mounting the tire can be a little tricky because of the sidewalks being stiffer. Once everything is setup, guys seem to rave about them as you can run lower pressure for more traction.

As an aside, the price of new tires (up to $100) seems ridiculous to me.

[terminator]

Originally Posted by bossy22

The Jamis is a better bike all around.

Thanks man! Could you kindly elaboriate?

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by terminator

Thanks man! Could you kindly elaboriate?

Better components - TIAGRA/SORA drivetrain. 9 speed vs 8 speed on GT
Ritchey seatpost, Ritchey stem and handlebar, better wheels (these aren't great, but still better than what is on the GT)

This is a bike, that if you enjoy road riding, you can upgrade some wheels and get some good rides out of it. The GT, you would be better off to upgrade the whole bike.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

I don't think one is better than the other, but that being said, I run tubes and doni't get a lot of flats.

Tubeless can be lighter, but you then have to deal with the goop to make them tubeless and from what I understand, mounting the tire can be a little tricky because of the sidewalks being stiffer. Once everything is setup, guys seem to rave about them as you can run lower pressure for more traction.

As an aside, the price of new tires (up to $100) seems ridiculous to me.

Tubeless is quite easy. Make sure you use a stans valve stem or a valve stem with a removable core. Get a core remover to remove the core from the stem. Get a stans 2 oz bottle along with the 1 litre bottle.

1) Put on tire, which is easier because there isn't a tube involved.
2) Pump it up to seat it properly
3) remove core from valve. Take your 2oz stans bottle full of stans. Insert into valve, and release all of the stans into tire.
4) install stans
5) install core into valve stem
6) pump up tire
7) go ride around to spread the stans around the tire.
8) if you are on a 29er, you will need more than 2 oz of stans.

A good set of Tubeless tires is the specialized ground control tire. $55
I used to run $100 Schwalbe Racing Ralphs because I'd get them at a big discount, but I find I like the Ground Control better.

I like tubeless because I ride everywhere. Extremely rocky, where you need low tire pressure, roots, etc. I've ridden in the desert and going through tubes because of thorns is a pain. With tubeless, the stans will seal the hole. With Tubes I have to run at 35 psi, or I get flats, with tubeless I run at 27psi.

[terminator]

Originally Posted by bossy22

Better components - TIAGRA/SORA drivetrain. 9 speed vs 8 speed on GT
Ritchey seatpost, Ritchey stem and handlebar, better wheels (these aren't great, but still better than what is on the GT)

This is a bike, that if you enjoy road riding, you can upgrade some wheels and get some good rides out of it. The GT, you would be better off to upgrade the whole bike.

do you for see any problems with the thumb shifter?

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by terminator

do you for see any problems with the thumb shifter?

They will work, but I'm not a fan. You need to be in the hoods to shift. So if you are flying downhill and in the drops and want to shift, you can't.

The issue with lower end bikes is they are 8 or 9 speed which really limits you. If you find a 10 speed, then upgrading individual parts is easy. Everything decent is 10 speed.

For a few hundred more, you get a lot more bike. Well, because it's 47% off.

http://www.jensonusa.com/Road-Bikes/...es-2-Bike-2013

[Hack&Lube]

When I was in Vancouver, I borrowed an old 59 cm aluminum Trek 1.5 Alpha bike

http://www.trekbikes.com/int/en/bike.../1_series/1_5/

It felt great for communiting/touring compared to my 53 cm carbon Ghost Race Lector 7000 because of the more relaxed position and it helped that it had a bigger frame too. It was much more comfortable to ride a long distance.

http://www.ghost-bikes.com/bikes-201...e-lector-7000/

I'm considering swapping and saving $1000+ since racing for speed is not really anything I want to do. Does anybody carry these in Calgary? Which LBS' carry Trek?

[-TC-]

just snagged one of these beauties and took it to the Okanagan to break it in... love it. The only upgrade I'm considering is the front suspension

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Which LBS' carry Trek?

99% sure Cyclepath on MacLeod does.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

99% sure Cyclepath on MacLeod does.

So does Calgary Cycle/Road/Pure Cycle/22x in Bragg Creek. All the same owner.

Derek also owns Outletbikes.ca

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by -TC-

just snagged one of these beauties and took it to the Okanagan to break it in... love it. The only upgrade I'm considering is the front suspension

How much did you pay for that? I'm noticing in some reading that if you buy a hardtail without a rockshox or fox front fork - you'll end up replacing it soon after. I'm not sure if it's people just bitching or if the shocks are that bad.

[macker]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Who uses toe clips? I'm thinking of removing mine. I just cycle around town, not on the highway. Thoughts?

Shimano makes some good pedals that are party on the front and business on the back errr platform on one side and clipless on the other side. I don't think you want to give up the efficiency and power transfer of clipless not to mention the greater bike control and security you get from being locked into your bike. You also don't want to be clipping in to go to the mailbox. So maybe hybrid pedals.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by macker

Shimano makes some good pedals that are party on the front and business on the back errr platform on one side and clipless on the other side. I don't think you want to give up the efficiency and power transfer of clipless not to mention the greater bike control and security you get from being locked into your bike. You also don't want to be clipping in to go to the mailbox. So maybe hybrid pedals.

I have these (Shimano A530) pedals and they work great. The bike I have them on used to be my only bike, so it was nice I could clip in and go for a long ride, or wear some sandals if I just wanted to go a few blocks. They are fairly slippery though, so I wouldn't wear dress shoes on them.

[KTrain]

I have the same set on one of my bikes. I love them for all the reasons stated above.

[Northendzone]

So I am currently in bend, or for vacation and today was the day I booked a guided full day cycling tour.

While I may not get the names of the trails correct, the ride itself was epic. We started at swampy lakes, made a punishing 4k climb up swede ridge and then once the price was paid we could enjoy some sweet downhill to tumalo falls, we then hit the skyline trail for some fast, flowy fun (the 3f's) riding.....the we had a gut busting climb that had me questioning my dedication to this sport, and after slogging thru some single track, we stopped for lunch at the trail head for the whoops trail in the Phil's area. And this trail is a whole load of fun, we then hit Phil's trail, thru the canyon and we then had one last uphill grunt which took us along a ridge.........

According to my garmin, the ride was:
- 45 kms
- 5.25 hrs
- avg speed (a measly) 9.2 kms
- top speed of 43 kph
- elevation gain of 677m
-elevation loss of almost 1,300m
-I drain 3l of water form my camelback - I was drained after the ride......

Total cost of the ride was $100 plus $15 tip for guide....ride was arranged thru cog wild. Would ride with a guide again - doubt I could have found these trails on my own.