Cycling Thread

[Coys1882]

That's a beauty!

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Thanks! Monday morning is going to be fun.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Red

I hope this hasn't been covered here yet (yeah right).

Cyclecross or Hybrid/multiuse?

Planning to ride mostly on bike paths (fish creek) with occasional longer trip.
Things I am having a hard time deciding on:
flat bar vs drop bar
front suspension or not
tiagra, 105 or mountain bike set

I own an old mountain bike so I can use that for some off roading I do with the kids.
Some considerations:

http://www.bowcycle.com/bicycle/diverge-elite-a1/

http://www.bowcycle.com/bicycle/caadx-105-disc/

http://www.bowcycle.com/bicycle/crosstrail-comp-disc/

http://www.bowcycle.com/bicycle/sirrus-comp-disc/



Pros - cons? I am not really familiar with these new and fancy bikes with gears and brakes.I grew up knowing two types of bikes, ones that worked and ones that were broken or had a flat

The Diverge is what is called a gravel grinder. Essentially a road bike with the ability to use bigger tires. The Diverge would be similar to a roubaix in geometry, but be beefier, and you can use a much bigger tire. If you plan on doing road riding, this could be a good option. This bike does not have braze ons and will not fit panniers

I rode the diverge carbon di2. It was a cool bike, and really stable and comfortable. If I could only have the one road bike, I'd get this one, but for myself, I'd rather an awesome road bike, and a separate commuter bike.

I owned the caadx-105. Was an awesome cross bike. I used it mainly for commuting and some light off roading. I could jump curbs and not worry about it. You could put paniers on it as well.

I myself am not a fan of that crosstrail. The fork is shyte.

[cracher]

Yeah, that crosstrail fork is poor idea. Not positive, but I think it is coil-sprung. It will be rock hard in the cold mornings and soft in the warm afternoons... and probably weighs 5+ pounds.

On the GPS front, caught the shop.ca/aeroplan 10X points promotion for this weekend. Got the wife a garmin 510 bundle and me an etrex20 with canada topo. Unless I calculated it wrong, I'll be seeing around 12000 points once you factor in the 10X, status bonus, and 2points:1$ on my TD visa. So the GPS units basically come with a free short-haul flight. Can't beat that.

[Northendzone]

My wife just picked up a 2014 trek ex-5 (full squish) today at cycle path. Only thing wrong with it is that it is a 29r which means stocking yet another sized tube.

Her goal this year is to attempt to ride up to Marlins view by fall

[cracher]

Nice, congrats on the ex5. Out of curiosity, how tall is your wife? My wife is 5'4.5 on a salsa horsethief 29er. After riding it twice, she is starting to not like the big wheel geo and wants to get back on a 26er (which I sold 3 weeks ago). Grrrrr.

Merlin's: was out in bragg this morning. bragging rights is still pretty soupy. May be a couple weeks before it's good to go.

Oh and GO FLAMES GO!!!!!

[wwkayaker]

First mountain bike ride of the spring today and any thoughts I had that I was in shape quickly evaporated.

I have been looking at buying a bike tool set. Any suggestions on where to buy online? I think the Park Tools AK40 is the set I will get. Also, I haven't done a price comparison yet, but is there any cost advantage to buying the kit versus individual tools?

[Northendzone]

Cracker - my wife is 5'7" or so.......the bike was tested in the parking lot, we then took a spin around the neighbourhood. She liked it so far - but I will need to spend some time to dial it in for her. Last her her and I managed to offload the kids for one day and we went and did the spray river loop in Banff and then had a delicious lunch at magpie and stump - it was a very good day.

Wwkayaker - my neighbor bought a decent tool set (not park) at chain reaction. Seems to have most of the required tools. I buy the tools as I need them as I don't see the need for a chain-whip and other tools as there is only so much I am willing to do.

[Red]

Well, I did the unthinkable and went with the crosstrail. Not only that but actually went a step up to the "Expert" trim...shatty fork and all

http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bik...il-expert-disc


Rode the others and almost went with the Sirrus Carbon, mostly for the looks. Sharp. But in the end all suspension hybrids felt better to me. Old man bike for an old man I guess. Love it...large frame and the wide bars just felt a better fit for now.

The wife got a Norco Valance so I can always joyride it if I need a thrill.

[habernac]

geez, guys, stay the heck off the trails in Bragg until they're dry.

[wwkayaker]

Northendzone, I ordered 4 tools and a new chain off chain reaction, my drivetrain is full of crud and I need to start taking better care of it. After looking at the park tools kit, I decided there were tools I would never use. Much like your stance, I am only going to do so much maintenance.


I don't remember who posted about staying off the Bragg Creek trails. If you were upset with me, I wish I was there. I am riding "single track" quad trails around Grande Cache. Mud and deteriorated trails is my standard ride but not due to my two wheeler. I just get laughed at and asked where my quad is at.

[Northendzone]

^ a clean drive train is a happy drive train.......personally, i now like to take my chning right off (it has a sram power link) and then soak in the citrus decreaser from home depot - chain is so clean afterwards you could eat off of it.

i also favour the wax based lube.

other thing i was thinking about with respect to tools is that things keep changing, so that bottom bracket tool you have now, may not fit your next bike.

[Hevishot]

Originally Posted by habernac

geez, guys, stay the heck off the trails in Bragg until they're dry.

X2 after meeting up with some of the guys that maintain and repair the west bragg and moose trails I second this. Alot of time and effort goes into maintenance and making ruts is counter productive.

[Atlas_Inc]

Have you guys heard about the N3 Condo in the East Village?
It's the condo project with zero car parking. Bikes only!

They go to City Council May 11th and need support letters by April 30th.
If you're interested in knowing more about this project, click here http://tinyurl.com/pj88l2r

Check out their cool bike arrangement and walkable ramp on their website.

[Northendzone]

^ a cool idea, but i guess you would need to warn your friends to ride their bikes over to watch the local sports team on your TV - assuming the bulidng is wired for TV.

[Northendzone]

so annoyed yesterday on my ride home - i was working my way down mckenzie towne blvd and some guy (likely a canucks fan) passes me then moves to the right effectively blocking me off. due to traffic flow, and a slight downhill grade i can easily do 35 kph and keep up with traffic from deerfoot to the traffic circle.

anywyas, he is driving a truck with the back window open so i say move left - and he give me a big "eff-you" and then proceeds to lecture me on how to navigate teh streets.

i felt like going to the left of him and getting in front of him, but i was not in the mood to battle.

i just fail to understand why we can't share the road as there is a lot of it for everyone.

[Coys1882]

You can't change guys like that - some of them just hate cyclists and enjoying trolling them. You'll never win so it's best to not let guys like him ruin your ride - it sucks when you miss out on a nice decline though.

[Northendzone]

^ i was mostly annoyed becasue i was making really great time home on a nice day and this guy slowed me up and was a tool about it. and of course when he accelerated he had to gun it in a attempt to "coal roll" me.

my guess is that when he got home he logged on to metal mulisha chat board and bragged how he got me

[cracher]

Probably gonna draw some hate here, but I see the logic of hugging right curb in a car. Downtown, going north on 6th and about to turn right on 5th. Was in the far right lane, about to start my turn in a 3 week old car. I began the turn only to have a bike buzz straight through between the curb and my car. His pedal clipped the side of the bumper. The dumbass cussed me out and took off as I got out of the car. Since then, I have always hugged the curb (downtown especially).

[Coys1882]

No hate here - that cyclist was a dumbass and deserved some road rash. The point is you shouldn't have to block the lane off from idiots - if a cyclist isn't aware that a car in front of him may be turning right at the upcoming intersection he should probably get off the road.