Road Bikes, Cycling

“Please note:
That is strictly a road bike. It would not be suitable for offroad riding and certainly not wilderness single track. As a road bike it looks like a good setup. It would tend to be very responsive, which can mean rather skittish to an inexperienced rider. If this would be a first bike you might want to go to a bike shop where you can get some local support as well as a good entry level machine for less money.”

“I have a 2000 R800 and like it. Definitely a strict road bike for fitness or club racing, not a tour bike or off road.”

“Thanks, I do have an older Trek 8000 MTB that I like a lot, but I find that I ride it mostly on the roads.

This wouldn't be a first bike but it would be a first "real" road bike. I did a 100 mile ride (MS150) about 18 months ago on a borrowed road bike, but I did all my training on my mountain bike.

I do love riding and find it less stressful to my body than running. Wish I had $1200 for a bike. Might just have to make the guy an offer.”

“Fritz:
Frankly I wouldn't buy that bike based on the ad. There are not enough numbers. The frame size is not there. The cluster range isn't there. The chain ring teeth aren't there. I wouldn't ant to spend that kind of money to get a frame that turned out not to fit. That can't be changed.

PA can be pretty hilly, I would want a wide range cluster and I personally prefer a three ring crank. But those are personal preferences. It would be a shame to have to replace all those other components again to get what you want.”

“ramblinrev's advice is good! I don't think of those things, and why I like dealing with a trusted shop for fit and gearing advice.”

“Sorry, frame size was in the title and I missed the fact that it wasn't in the part I copy/pasted.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/300390978.html

It is 56cm which I believe is right for me (a little under 5'11"). I don't know about the gears but 'tis true that we have hills and I enjoy riding in them.

What should I look for in the gears? (I don't know what I would need. My lazy/ignorant approach would be to assume that whatever it is, it would be fine.)”

“The link he provided, if I am reading it correctly, indicates Shimano Tiagra, 12-25 and Cannondale PX3, 30/42/52.

I don't really know what those numbers mean but looking at the picture of his bike, the large sprocket on the back doesn't look very big. (Am I making you gear-heads squirm?)”

“Does it have one of those greasy long loopy things that's kind of like pieces of metal hooked together? You know, it's the part that goes sort of 'round and 'round on those spikey circle things. I think it's called a chain?”

“Yep. I think the steering wheel is included too!”

“Sweet!”

“okie dokie... backpacking and hiking gear heads may not grasp those numbers... but us cycling gear heads do.

Okie the Smimano 12-25 cluster is very tight. But remember that was the original cog. He put on a Ultegra 9 speed cassette. So the cassette has been changed. No telling whats on it now. The fact that he swapped the original tri-crank for a two ring crank makes me suspect he went to "step gearing" which would be a very tight cluster over nine rings. In other words, he set it up for club racing. What that means you would be standing to crank up some hills. Not a big deal if you are Lance Armstrong but I like to have the gear range to pull stumps. Again, a very personal choice. It was most likely set up for a recreational road racing bike. It might be a criterium bike the bottom bracket seems high to me but I am not a frame designer. That allows very tight turns under power, something a criterium racer needs. In addition, the fork rake is very shallow meaning it will turn very quickly but what you gain in response you lose in stability.

The spoking on the wheels means it they designed for air flow and not strength They are stiff as all get out. Every bumb will transfer to the saddle. No suspension on that baby. Be prepared to break your butt in all over again.

The components are top drawer. The frame is a good frame for what it was designed to do. If that's what you want and it fits.... It's probably a reasonable buy. On the other hand, when you start talking that kind of money, unless you have the full specs of the bike as currently equipped and know exactly what you want, you are better off trying on for size in a local shop in my opinion.

Ask the guy some questions regarding the equipment that's on there. That would be helpful in deciding if it is what you want.”

“Took BowlderGal on one of the local hilly loops yesterday. She's been hitting her spin class a solid 4 days a week, then we've been riding between 10-20 miles on flat terrain on weekends, usually both days. But there's nothin' like actually riding up a hill! She got a little discouraged early on, because some of the "little" hills on the way to the "real" hill are actually tougher than the "real" one. But she stuck with it, and, after we got home, said she felt like she could have gone another hour of flat terrain if needed.

We did have one mechanical problem. Just before the main descents back to earth, the cable to her front derailleur came out of the nut. I didn't have a wrench to fix it, so was able to secure it with an elastic hair band, so it wouldn't get stuck in any moving parts, and we made it home OK.

Stats: 24 miles, about 1700 feet of climbing in 2 main climbs, one of 700 and one of 1000. Fantastic views of the Bay Area on a beautifully clear day!”

“Nice BowlderMan! I did my first century (metric) a over Easten weekend. I jammed it even though I thought I would have problems with the climbing since I only have a double chain ring (not a compact or triple). However, I just put it in the granny gear and ground out the climbs. Of course, I was faster than my partner because he had a triple and was in high spin but low gear.

Man, it was waaay too windy yesterday and I couldn't breathe with all of the pollen in the air. Hopefully, it will be better for a ride today or tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day here! Several of the cities have "energizer stations" where they'll give you fun stuff, like a bag that says "Bike to Work Day" on it, a water bottle, energy bars, and sometimes even coffee and bagels. The City of Oakland has a big ol' pancake breakfast at City Hall!

I think I may even bike the 16 miles round trip to have lunch w/BowlderGal - she's organizing a "bike to lunch" activity at her work.

I've been biking in once a week anyway, so I know what to expect. Of course, yesterday, my dang chain came off and I got it all over my hand, then my shorts, and my windbreaker - ugh!”

“Hate it when that happens!

Good on you, BoulderMan.

May is bike commute month for the state/country? I rode in today and tomorrow there is a big rally at the Capitol. I actually haven't ridden much to work this month as I was getting my rear wheel (3 in the hub Shimano) rebuilt on the beater. However, I have been riding about 100 miles a week for exercise.”

“I made it! Yes, stayed vertical on the way to work. BowlderSon and I got our "bike to work day" bags and a bunch of coupons and stuff, and BowlderGal even rode to work this morning. Next activity - biking down to near her office for lunch....”

“About the best mode of transportation, in my book...”

“Do any of you cyclists have any experience or opinions with recumbent tricycles, of the tadpole configuration in particular? I'm wanting to head in that direction to ease the strain on my back, plus general comfort of hands, neck and shoulders.”

“Good for you Bowlderman. I rode today also and neglected to wear my padded shorts. Ouch! Anyway, all the good swag was gone by the time I arrived at 8:00AM; go figure. I guess that is late for cyclists.”

“I'm in Crystal City Arlington for a meeting, and the Ride to Work rally is just blocks away tomorrow. I think I'll walk down before meetings tomorrow and check it out. Been thinking about riding to work again. 13 miles. I've done that much before, but not as much highway shoulder as I would have to do now.”

“Wow, I added up all my riding yesterday, and it turned out I rode 35 miles! No wonder I was tired!”

“Dangit! Headed out this morning to ride to work (and to drop off B-Son at school on the way), and he noticed a big ol' wobble on my rear wheel. Sure enough, another busted spoke! I need new wheels - any suggestions? Not much point in going ultra fancy with my 20+ year old bike.”

“Check Nashbar or Perfomance for wheels on sale.”

“Yeah, I just took a look at Performance, and there are, like, a dozen or more wheels or sets in my price range. I have no idea how to discern between any of these - I think I'll go over to one of the local shops and quiz them.”

“The lightest you can afford.”

“Went on a nice ride Saturday morning - it turned out to be around 33 miles with around 2500 feet of climbing. On the second descent of the day, I was about 5th in line of our group of a dozen, and got only about a half mile down the hill, when the guy in front of me hit the brakes. As I rounded the corner I could see why - one of our guys had crashed. His bike was laying in the road and he had scampered off to the shoulder. He had some road rash and a sore shoulder, but the main thing was that his helmet was busted - it had about 3 big cracks in it. He said he hit his head pretty hard, and we all appreciated the lesson on why we wear helmets. They might have been hauling him off in a bag without the helmet - instead, he was able to ride his slightly tweaked bike home. Whew!”

“Tell him to send the busted brain basket back to the manufacturer with a detailed description of the crash. At least as best as he can remember. I know the engineers often like to study the aftermath of the impact on their product. If it is really impressive it may be given advertising fame. I know some folks who have actually scored a new lid by doing this. It's worth a shot.”

“Yes, while I am casual about wearing my helmet on my townie rides, I always wear it on my serious rides. Stupid logic, I know.”

“The BowlderFamily has decided to do a "century" in a couple of weeks (6/30)! It is a century ride, if you want to do one of the 100's (miles or kilometers), but also has a couple of shorter rides. B-Gal and B-Son will do the 30k hilly ride (there's a 30k flat, too), and I'll do the 100k. They have the starts staggered so that most people will finish at around the same time. It's called the Giro di Peninsula, and has an Italian theme. Fully supported, big lunch at the end, t-shirt, all for only 40 bucks for adults - not bad! For those of you familiar with the Peninsula in the Bay Area, the rides all start and finish at the Bay Meadows (horse racing) Track. The 30k goes over to the Pulgas Water Temple on Canada Road, while the 100k goes somewhere to the south. They don't want to publish specific course maps or descriptions in advance for some reason. Should be fun!”

“Hey! That's cool! I just did my first century back in May. It was up through the foothill and Gold Country by Pardee Reservoir. Really nice. Have a blast!”

“The BowlderFamily successfully completed the Giro di Peninsula on Saturday!!! It was a gorgeous day, albeit with a little headwind on a few of the final 10 miles. I did the 100k and B-Gal and B-Son did the 35k. They say the 100k had about 3000 feet of climbing - that seems about right. The 35k had some climbing, maybe 1000 feet?

I got pretty tired toward the end. The club rides I do on Saturdays do 3000 or more feet of climbing every week, but usually in 35 miles or less of distance, and they are "no drop" rides, so we often stop and wait several minutes for others. Since I was mostly riding at my own pace at the Giro, I didn't hang out too much at the rest stops. Indeed, it took me a little under 4½ hours to complete the 62 miles, so that's around 14 mph overall average. My Etrex says I hit 36 mph as a max. I also got into some good grooves where I was cruising along some slight uphills at around 22-24 mph!!

The 35k course was an out-and-back to the first rest area. (The others simply added loops beyond that point.) Since the starting times were staggered, I ended up arriving at that point on the course on the way back just when B-Gal & Son were saddling up to head back, so we got to ride the last 11 miles together. B-Son got the family polkadot jersey, powering up the final short but steep hill ahead of us.

We all must be in decent shape because none of us was sore or particularly pooped today.

A most excellent event!!

I will post links to the automated photos they took when available.”

“Here's one of the photos their little automated cameras took:

”

“You know, if you guys keep smiling like that, you'll get bugs in your teeth!”

“Protein!!”

“Did you shave your legs for this one?”

“No. I went so fast that the air friction ripped all the hairs out of my legs during the first couple of miles.”

“Excellent, BoulderMon! Looks like you're riding old skool!”

“Old school is right, dude - my bike is old enough to drink beer!!!!!”

“Looks like a Dentyne commercial..........”

“Hah! It does!

Actually, if the resolution was finer, you could see the Road ID "dog tag" thingee on my right shoe, right next to the Road ID ad!”

“Last year my riding partner broke his thigh in a motorcycle blunder is a SP. Since then I have only done some short rides, so far apart, I keep reinflating tires each time.
I currently own a Cannondale Hybrid (comfy short hauls) and a Giant OCR3 (best little road bike for me!) They are 2000 and 2001 models respectively, replacing my 1980's SR500 Cannondale and Specialized Stump Jumper Sport. Your family is inspiring!”

“Just getting into road bikes and I have a question or two.

One...What do you carry for inflation, dolls don't count. do you carry a pump or the co2 unit. How do you carry it?”

“I carry a frame pump. My experience is the co2 won't deliver the pressure needed for road tires, but I don't have a lot of experience in that regard. There are pumps now that attach under the water bottle bosses. very nice way to carry it. A spare tube is a good thing to have as well as tire irons and a patch kit. the tube goes in my carry all, (belt pack/rack bag/saddle pack) and my irons and patch kit in my hydration pack. That is of course assuming your are riding clinchers rather than tubulars. I have no experience with sew-up.”

“We carry a spare tube for each bike, irons, and a pump. No patch kit.”

“Frame pump and two tubes, can't find my patch kit.”

“I know of some folks who were riding through dairy farm country and had a flat. They did not have a pump with them, but got the bright idea of asking a local farmer if he could inflate the tire. So the farmer fired up the compressor that ran his milking machine and lickety split that tire was full and they set off to finish their ride.

Well, the guy who had the flat was having a horrible time. He was working and working to make that bike move the way it had before the flat. They checked everything they could think of on the road and could not figure out what was wrong.

After they got home, the guy checked his tire on the bench. Striped the tire off and checked the tube. Seems the compressor did not have a moisture trap on it and had pumped a whole lot of condensation into the tube. He was trying to a puddle of water everytime the wheel moved.

hehehe. From then on they always had their pump.”

“I thought you were going to say he had inflated the tire with compressed milk!”

“Good story, Rev!

I switched over to CO2 about a year ago. I really like it. It will fill my road tires hard as a rock. They make some nice little adapters now. I even saw a pump/CO2 combo on the market recently.”

“Thanks for that update on the CO2 my last endeavor with that was ages ago. Nice to know the technology has improved.”

“Le Tour de France approaches! My motivation level always goes up watching the tour in July.”