Cycling Thread 2 - Page 18 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Bigtime · 10-19-2018, 09:08 AM

Lime had two bikes and two reps at the Bike Calgary Gala a few weeks back, they said they will run them all through the winter too. With that home zone a lot of pathway/road/cycle track gets cleared pretty quickly after a snowfall so I don't think it will be very hard to ride them.

Northendzone · 10-19-2018, 09:24 AM

what could go wrong with riding an e-bike after the bar on a winter evening/early morning

KTrain · 10-19-2018, 09:39 AM

I was in Seattle over the summer and did not like what I saw from the scooters. They looked fun as hell but then we'd see them out of power and laying across the sidewalk. Looked like crap. I don't have faith in some users to treat these things properly and park them appropriately.

habernac · 10-19-2018, 09:46 AM

Chilly this morning, saw the porcupine again. Also saw a very bold coyote. First 5 day commute week in a long time. Lungs are crap, legs feel pretty good.

cracher · 10-20-2018, 10:42 PM

Spent the last 2 days riding that section of Mohave desert near-ish to Vegas. Some fantastic trails with fun loose over hardpack terrain. Amazing area... but I'm still pulling yuca cactus out of my legs and my hand is sore from clipping a joshua tree.

Johnny199r · 10-21-2018, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cracher

Spent the last 2 days riding that section of Mohave desert near-ish to Vegas. Some fantastic trails with fun loose over hardpack terrain. Amazing area... but I'm still pulling yuca cactus out of my legs and my hand is sore from clipping a joshua tree.

Was it a guided bike trip? Or self guided?

cracher · 10-22-2018, 12:17 AM

Guided for 1 of the 2 days. Went through a newer company called Bike Blast. Pick up/drop off from the strip, they provide everything from camelbaks to bikes. The guide was a DH racer formerly signed by Giant (regional team, not factory team). So very happy with the experience. I am much, much more scared of the big f'ing spiders native to that region than bears... so having someone who knows the fauna/flora/trails was fantastic.

Edit: Climbing around that area is definitely more tech than here. Found a YT of a fun, flow track I did (but the guy took all the chicken lines and his camera doesn't pick up the details of the terrain...): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEq9AexLo9k . It's a very nice variant on the usual Vegas experience. I'll do this again at my next conference.

#22 · 10-22-2018, 12:22 AM

Out in Kamloops visiting the in laws and brought the road bike along. Did some riding up and down Westsyde road along the North Shore. Beautiful riding, great scenery and not too much traffic. Most people were very courteous. Off course, one asshat in his black Dodge passes me, pulls over on to the shoulder, waits for me and then guns it, spraying gravel at me and covering me in a huge black cloud of diesel fumes. Momma must be proud, you pathetic piece of human garbage.

ken0042 · 10-23-2018, 07:23 AM

I'm bringing my car in for service Thursday and figured I'd ride my bike to and from the shop and my work. Because this is my first time doing this route, and it will be pitch dark out, figured I'd see if anybody has an suggestions.
Google Maps Link

I see the reservoir option avoids more roads, but adds hills.

Bigtime · 10-23-2018, 08:01 AM

Winter Cycling curious? Check out this event on November 15th to hear from a panel of winter riders and afterwards check out booths from many local shops/groups for all things biking:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/shift-in...01719?aff=eand

KTrain · 10-23-2018, 08:02 AM

If you're worried about roads, I would suggest taking the Reservoir route. That section of road behind Chinook Centre is sketchy in the dark. The hills are more gradual on the Res one.

Kybosh · 10-23-2018, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

I'm bringing my car in for service Thursday and figured I'd ride my bike to and from the shop and my work. Because this is my first time doing this route, and it will be pitch dark out, figured I'd see if anybody has an suggestions.
Google Maps Link

I see the reservoir option avoids more roads, but adds hills.

That's my commute, but I start around Heritage station. The recommended route is well mapped and easy to follow with not a ton of traffic. Basically keep getting back onto 5th St. and you'll be golden. The only change I make is I take another street to get down to Elbow river because the recommended route has a very steep hill which is hard for me to pedal up on the single speed. The reservoir route is ok too but it is longer and hillier (~3-4km longer I believe).

Edit: There is a bike path combined with the quiet road beside 5th St. that runs along behind Chinook. Take that and then transfer onto 5th St. at 58th Ave. until you hit the river and you won't come across much traffic.

ken0042 · 10-23-2018, 08:33 AM

I see that bypass now, down Meadowview Rd. Thanks- I would have totally missed that.

I assume the steep hill you avoid is coming back home. Do you recall what street you detour down?

habernac · 10-23-2018, 08:36 AM

4A street is the big hill. I think pushing up the hill is shorter than any detour would be.

Kybosh · 10-23-2018, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by habernac

4A street is the big hill. I think pushing up the hill is shorter than any detour would be.

The google recommended route is to take 5th St to Brunswick Ave to 4a St. I just take the road beside it, which is marginally longer but less of a steep grade for the single speed (5th St to Crescent Blvd to 4a St. and reverse for the way home).

Johnny199r · 10-23-2018, 01:52 PM

Any recommendations for indoor bike trainers?

KTrain · 10-23-2018, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Any recommendations for indoor bike trainers?

I love my Kickr Snap but they're not cheap. It's heavy, which I take as positive because till feels sturdy when you're really pushing it.

bossy22 · 10-23-2018, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Any recommendations for indoor bike trainers?

Depends if you want smart or not. For non smart, I like a fluid trainer. Lots of brands make them. Cycleops has been around forever and make a quality product.

For smart, I have a Kickr snap. For wheel on trainers I think it's the best. I had a Tacx vortex before and it was frustating to use because it would lose connection frequently. My only complaint with the snap is that you have to calibrate every ride, so when I just want to do 30 minutes on zwift, it's really only 15-20 minutes, because you have to warm up the trainer for 10 minutes before you do your calibration. Direct drive trainers are better for this.

Trainers have gone up substantially the past couple of years. The Wahoo kickr used to be $1300, now it's $1900. They just came out with the Kickr core, which I think will be popular. The Core is $1200 I believe.
The Tacx neo is regarded as one of the best trainers out there. It's quiet. You never have to calibrate it...it's also $1900. Tacx just came out with the flux 2 which will be competing against the core and is also $1200.

DC Rainmaker does awesome reviews of trainers.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/10/...endations.html
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews/trainers

Weitz · 10-23-2018, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Bike sharing service Limebike is "days" away from getting up and running in Calgary:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4558638/l...rogram-e-bike/

Bikes are e-assist and top out around 24km/h. It is a dockless system meaning bikes can be left anywhere in the home zone (similar to Car2Go). I downloaded the app yesterday and here is the initial home zone:

Im curious how the city is going to handle this.

The beauty of these in all the places I have used them is the ease of use and lack of regulations around them.

I could see Calgary ruining that with needless rules and regulations.

Are they doing bikes or scooters? The scooters are great. Didn't know Lime also did bikes though.

Edit: Dammit its the bikes not the scooters.

KTrain · 10-23-2018, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossy22

For smart, I have a Kickr snap. For wheel on trainers I think it's the best. I had a Tacx vortex before and it was frustating to use because it would lose connection frequently. My only complaint with the snap is that you have to calibrate every ride, so when I just want to do 30 minutes on zwift, it's really only 15-20 minutes, because you have to warm up the trainer for 10 minutes before you do your calibration. Direct drive trainers are better for this.

Trainers have gone up substantially the past couple of years. The Wahoo kickr used to be $1300, now it's $1900. They just came out with the Kickr core, which I think will be popular. The Core is $1200 I believe.
The Tacx neo is regarded as one of the best trainers out there. It's quiet. You never have to calibrate it...it's also $1900. Tacx just came out with the flux 2 which will be competing against the core and is also $1200.

The direct drive trainers are really expensive. The Kickr Snap is a slightly more palatable $879 at MEC.

As for calibrating it, if your bike is staying on the trainer you don't really have to calibrate it every time you use. I calibrate any time i move the bike off the trainer or inflate the tires. Other than that it's really consistent from ride to ride without calibration.