Cycling Thread

[surferguy]

I should also mention that I tried inflating before I put it in rim and it would t go.

So yeah my inexperience has me stumped. Bum valve maybe? Should I have bought a 9 dollar tube instead?

[Fuzz]

Ya, could be a sticky valve then. Do you have a valve core removal tool? If not poke the centre stick inside the valve a few times with a screwdriver to see if you can loosen it up. I always get cheapo tubes at MEC for $4.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ya, could be a sticky valve then. Do you have a valve core removal tool? If not poke the centre stick inside the valve a few times with a screwdriver to see if you can loosen it up. I always get cheapo tubes at MEC for $4.

Ok - thanks for the help. No I do not have the valve tool so I'll try the screwdriver method. I'll be sure to hit MEC next time!

[Baron von Kriterium]

For the knobby-tire crowd: CMBA has a trail day coming up to build a trail in Bottomlands Park between Telus Spark and the golf course.

http://www.cmbalink.com/bottomlands-...tember-9-2017/

[Northendzone]

The boys at Cyclepath replaced my rear hub - apparently stan's has a two year warranty.

I picked up my bike today, and am going to head to Bragg creek tomorrow morning for a test ride.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Day Two was better than One. The hills that killed me at the end of the day yesterday were at the start. They still sucked but getting 60-70% of the elevation out of the way by 50km was great. A nice tailwind going into Bragg Creek and pretty much into Calgary was perfect. I managed to be one of the first 20 people to roll in. Though there were many faster people who started the ride later than I did.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1131903948

Congrats on the straight-through ride! I did it two years in a row and I can never imagine not stopping. I was new to cycling at the time and didn't realize the 11-25t cassette on my road bike was making climbs hellish to do.

In year 2, I even went home between the two days by leaving my car parked in Okotoks Pason Arena the day before, taking the bus to Calgary, then biking from home to COP to start the ride. Then I drove back to Okotoks in the morning to star the ride on day 2.

I heard there was a guy who rode to the finish, then went back again and did the ride twice over in the same time other people took.

[KTrain]

I live down south in McKenzie so I opted to go home instead of staying in the tents in Okotoks. It felt different but I didn't mind. If I had to hang out in the beer gardens all afternoon, I wouldn't have made it to the second day.

I didn't hear about anyone doing it twice. I know a few people who finished and then rode back out to meet up with friends who were still on the course. They only added another 30-40km to the ride.

My legs were toast at the end. My friend was on his own.

[surferguy]

I got the tire valve sorted out last night. I got a small screwdriver in there and wiggled it about. Seems that it did the trick and the tube inflated no issues!

Cheers for the help

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I was new to cycling at the time and didn't realize the 11-25t cassette on my road bike was making climbs hellish to do.

I didn't know too much about cassettes until I read your post, and then I spent a couple hours reading about them last night. I ride a Cervelo R3 with a SRAM 12-25. From what I've read, the only difference between the 11-25 and the 12-25 is the 11-25 has the 11 (obviously) and the 12 contains a 16. Neither one of these will affect the climbing. This is assuming we are both riding a 10 speed.

Even in Vancouver, or doing the Whistler granfondo, I don't think having 25 teeth on my big ring is holding me back. I am curious about setups now, so I might look into getting a 12-27 or 12-28. The 12-32 seems excessive. I don't need a cassette that starts with an 11, as I'd very seldom ever use that for long periods of time, and would prefer the 16. I use the SRAM PG-1070.

[worth]

You guys must have huge legs because I use my 32 all the time. I don't know if I could do road to nepal without a 32.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I didn't know too much about cassettes until I read your post, and then I spent a couple hours reading about them last night. I ride a Cervelo R3 with a SRAM 12-25. From what I've read, the only difference between the 11-25 and the 12-25 is the 11-25 has the 11 (obviously) and the 12 contains a 16. Neither one of these will affect the climbing. This is assuming we are both riding a 10 speed.

Even in Vancouver, or doing the Whistler granfondo, I don't think having 25 teeth on my big ring is holding me back. I am curious about setups now, so I might look into getting a 12-27 or 12-28. The 12-32 seems excessive. I don't need a cassette that starts with an 11, as I'd very seldom ever use that for long periods of time, and would prefer the 16. I use the SRAM PG-1070.

For what it's worth, according to GCN and others, a lot of the pros/teams in this years Tour De France used 32 in the back in climbing stages which wasn't really a thing years ago, where the max you might have seen was 28. If it's whats doing it for them, I decided to swap mine out. Spin to win!

If you are racing and are concerned about the absolute smoothest power shifts, it may not be for you but for a casual rider, it's made all the difference in the world for me. I actually enjoy climbing and tooling about previously annoying city climbs like Home Road, Edmonton Trail, etc. now!

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

For what it's worth, according to GCN and others, a lot of the pros/teams in this years Tour De France used 32 in the back in climbing stages which wasn't really a thing years ago, where the max you might have seen was 28. If it's whats doing it for them, I decided to swap mine out. Spin to win!

If you are racing and are concerned about the absolute smoothest power shifts, it may not be for you but for a casual rider, it's made all the difference in the world for me. I actually enjoy climbing and tooling about previously annoying city climbs like Home Road, Edmonton Trail, etc. now!

This is all very interesting to me. I didn't think something like a cassette could have so much impact, or have me doing so much research. Now I think I want like 3 different ones! Which setup do you use now?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

This is all very interesting to me. I didn't think something like a cassette could have so much impact, or have me doing so much research. Now I think I want like 3 different ones! Which setup do you use now?

Chris Froome - the recent Tour De France winner has 11-32 on some of his bikes.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/115657379@N08/14591182981

I read here recently that the gear ratio range of going from 28 teeth to 32 teeth on the big cassette ring makes climbing approximately 14% easier. You can use a faster cadence with less brute strength required for the same wattage. The jump from 25 to 32 should be something like 22% according to the math in this thread: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/com...re-242734.html

My full carbon Ghost bike from MEC still has Shimano 105 11-28t but I recently got a second cheap Northrock road bike (Giant manufactured road bike for Costco lol) to build into a commuter. It came with Shimano Sora 11-25t so I had Cyclepath MacLeod swap in a Sora 11-32t for $30 or so.

My commuter has a carbon fork but aluminum frame and is often loaded with pannier bags on the rack I added so I'm often carrying a lot of additional weight (laptop, groceries, lock/chain, etc.) up hills. So its made my bike a whole lot more versatile to have what amounts to two more easier gears than it came with.

After the swap, I never ride my carbon race bike anymore. The gears and riding position are too aggressive. It's just not fun lol.

[squiggs96]

I have a 2014 Felt F65X that I ride mostly in the winter, as it has disc brakes, fenders, and pannier racks. I was curious as to the cassette, and it's an 11-28. Now there is no need for the 11 most of the time, but with all the hills I am on, and the weight on the back, I think I could benefit from switching to a 12-32. I think I'll buy one of these for my Felt, but will try it out on my Cervelo R3 as well.

For most of my riding I think the 12-27 or 12-28 would be better for my R3, as it has the 16 in it, but for doing the Whistler ride the 12-32 sounds so much nicer after H&L explained the math.

I also have a 2009 Kona Zing. It too has a 12-25. I use this bike for my dry weather commuter, touring around town, etc. If the ride is over 15 km one way, I'm likely taking one of my other bikes. I think I'd benefit from a different cassette here too, as I'd rather arrive less sweaty to the restaurant, and if I'm doing less work, that should happen.

[Mass_nerder]

FYI for anyone who takes the Elbow River path through Stanley Park, the path is completely closed off between Stanley Park pool and Rideau Park (essentially; you can go off road and traverse a rough little foot path above the bike path).

[KTrain]

We've finalized the route for the Saturday morning CP Group Ride. We're meeting up around Water's Edge Pub in Priddis at 9:15am and setting out at 9:30am.

We're considering this a "No Drop" ride. This means we'll wait at the top of hills or at intersections for the group to reform. That said, you should probably be able to maintain around 25 km/h for this ride.

If someone needs a ride out to Priddis, let me know. I have room on my car's rack for one more bike.

We'll go for lunch/beers afterwards. Come get your August Fondo badge!

https://www.strava.com/routes/9849815

[Fuzz]

Would love to join you, but I have a garage to build...

[GomerPile]

So, my wife is a board member of Bike Calgary. They are putting on a Gala this year as a bit of a fundraiser for the group. They are cycling advocates and work with the city to build, maintain and grow the cycling infrastructure around Calgary. As far as I understand there will be music, some snack, beers (I believe a few of the local breweries are sponsoring this) and a bit of an awards ceremony for local cyclists.

Check it out, and hope to see you there.
Tickets are here

And for information on Bike Calgary in general, check out their website

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by KTrain

This means we'll wait at the top of hills or at intersections for the group to reform. That said, you should probably be able to maintain around 25 km/h for this ride.

Good luck lads! No way I could keep that pace over 100km - need to get in bike shape for next year's ride!

[habernac]

See you guys there. I'll try not to slow you down too much.