The Official Road Bike/Cycling Thread

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by hpiguy

Very nice Nate!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by hpiguy

I just registered for the Fletcher Flyer, doing my first century this year.

Good luck and train well!

Originally Posted by rupps5

The food stops are really addicting! Lol

Gotta watch out too much in da belly. lol

[hpiguy]

Any RCC member that would like a helluva deal on an Ergon CF3 pro seatpost shoot me a PM, it's 27.2mm x 330mm. I'm getting rid of my current road bike, and won't be needing it anymore. It does work as advertised, and made a big difference on my alloy frame. I still have the box and manuals, and it was installed properly with a CTI torque wrench.

[Natedog]

Fixed with 44cm Specialized Expert Alloy Shallow Bend Handlebar, all taped up and test riding
Specialized Bicycle Components





Specialized Comp Alloy H2 Ergo Handlbar also in 44cm, 110mm 12' Comp Multi Stem, flipped with -4' bushing = -8'....rode yesterday like this and really felt comfortable.
Bars:
Specialized Bicycle Components
Stem:
Specialized Bicycle Components





I want to remove the grey and white graphics without harming the black coating. Black is anodized? Will lacquer thinner take off the graphics, acetone or?

[EeePee]

Originally Posted by Natedog

I want to remove the grey and white graphics without harming the black coating. B;ack is anodized? Will lacquer thinner take off the graphics, acetone or?

Just leave it. Resale value might be important later.

[rockhugger]

sharpie it to down play it a bit, then it's easy to reverse.

that will be $10.00 please.

[hpiguy]

Having my first season back in the saddle under me, knowing I'm going to stick with it, and turning 40 recently, I decided it was time to invest in a new road bike. And I've wanted this one since they announced it last summer. Also, if it weren't for my LBS, it wouldn't have happened this year. Pam and Dave are truly amazing people, and I'm proud to call them my friends.

I had some issues at the end of last season with lateral flexing, bad enough my wheel would tag my brake pads if I was standing and hammering. So that's one of the reasons I went with the disc model, as it runs through axles for more lateral rigidity. It also gives me the ability to fit a CX tire in there since I have way more tire clearance than a standard road frame since there are no canti bosses. Geometry is almost identical, and wheelet is identical to the Boone CX bike also. I won't abuse it, but it will see some gravel grinders and mild trail use in it's life.

Bike is a 2015 Domane 4.3 disc
OCLV carbon frame & fork
ISOspeed decoupler (think rear suspension for a road bike)
full 105 gruppo
15mm front and 12x142 rear through axles
TRP HY/RD hydraulic discs
tubeless ready wheels

I took it out today for a short shakedown ride, just to get a feel for it. It was kind of chilly and gray, and my saddle postion was a bit off, but I didn't want to come home, I just wanted to keep riding, and riding. The ISOspeed system is a game changer. I rode the roughest shit I could find, pavement, chip and seal, potholes, gravel, and some mild single track and you just sort of float over it while the bike moves beneath you. The other big thing I noticed is how responisve the stiff carbon frame is, you mash and it really goes. It's a huge jump up from what I had, and if you can't tell, I"m pretty excited about it. I LOVE THIS BIKE!!

TLDR; I got a new bike, pretty excited about it

This guys looks happy about something (EeePee will be happy we flipped the stem )



From today's ride





I also sprung for the Duotrap setup, really clean and easy way to get speed, mileage, and cadence numbers.

[RiceBurner]

Nice! HPI. Got a new(to me) cross bike myself couple months ago. A '13 Raleigh RCX pro, a much needed upgrade. Gonna be my road/gravel/cross bike. Came with Easton wheels on it so I got on eBay and found another identical set in mint shape. Now to get a longer cage derailer and a mountain cassette.

[JeremyH]

Nice! I've been riding the hell out of my cross-ish bike. It is great on the road, but the tires badly need some tread when off road. At the slightest uphill, I just spin the tires.....

[hpiguy]

Thanks guys, I just measured and I can fit 32mm tires no problem. My schedule has changed and I'm working till 7PM every day till the end of April, so I also picked up some rollers to try and keep my fitness up until I can really start putting in some miles again. Took me about a half hour or so to get a feel for it, but it's so much better than a trainer (which I tried) IMO. At least on the rollers, you have to focus and can't just mindlessly pedal, and it feels like you're actually riding, in a way.

[rockhugger]

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Rollers will make you a better rider in every way period.


Much approval coming from California.

If you have nice or high dollar tires on your road bike, I'd recommend using some junker wheels and tires on the rollers, as it's kind of hard on the them.

Wait till you go back out on the road again, then tell us how you feel.

[Blind]

Are commuters and tri's allowed in here?

I commute on a 80's 68cm steel framed monster, that I rebuilt with dura-ace 7700 9spd sti groupset and 180mm sram apex crankset....and race on a 2012 trek madone 5.2, that's totally stock other than pedals and gp 4000 s2 tires

my next 'race' is the silicon valley tri, I believe on Easter.

[RiceBurner]

Rollers are awesome! I bought some on the advice of a friend. He won the local MTB series in class 1 40-49 and only trains on rollers. Got a used set to see if I like them, and I definitely do, before I get good ones.

Hell yes commuters/tri-guys/gals are welcome here. We can all learn from endurance athletes.

[hpiguy]

Thanks guys! Since regular riding season has ended, and I'm not getting my usual amounts of exercise my insomnia has been on overtime. I'm happy to say that after my first roller session last night (30 minutes to start with, working up from there) I slept like a damn rock.

rockhugger - the tires are bottom of the barrel / heavy and will be replaced at the start of riding season.

Blind - hell yes, everyone is welcome here. Lots of great advice and people in this thread who've helped me a ton.

RiceBurner - That's good to hear! I had tried them once at a group trainer night, and struggled badly with them so it was a gamble but it paid off. Looking forward to another ride tonight.

[Blind]

nice

this is my latest trainer bike / commuter fred purchase.


It's a "siva cycle atom" that I kickstarted, it finally came in late last year. Has a battery pack that pulls off that it charges which has a usb port to recharge stuff, or the atom also has a wire running up the frame you see to a usb port mounted under my seat that I use to charge my phone while riding.

This is definitely not something to be used during a strava attempt, as it adds quite a lot of resistance, although it is silent which I appreciate. Luckily if you feel tired you can just pop the battery out and the resistance feels to go back to the same as without this mounted.


and here's a pic of the back of the boat from the return trip of my last tri in November on Catalina island


my bike is obvious as it's the one with the highest seat height in the picture, though it is hard to tell it's a madone as I wrapped it with foam noodles to prevent damage from the bike packing on the boat ride.

[JeremyH]

Lets talk about helmets. I've been wearing a Bern for quite a while. It is heavier than most cycling helmets but doesn't look as strange as they do. I'd like to pick up something that is a bit lighter and comfortable, but doesn't make me look like these two idiots:


I was considering the Giro Air Attack Shield (I would really only wear the shield on cold days). It appears to be comfortable and light, but still has the looks that I like. What do you guys think??

[hpiguy]

^^If you or anyone you ride with is wearing helmets that are anything close to that, I don't think it's anything that can be fixed in this thread.

I personally think the air attack shield is pretty dorky looking, but, that's just like my opinion man.

At the end of the day, we all look pretty goofy to the rest of the world when we're out on our bikes in our gear, so buy whatever you like.

[rupps5]

I like the bell helmets and some giro like the hex. But you really need to go to the bike store to find one that fits your head. There are many helmets that I like better than mine but don't fit my head but you gotta go with the one that fits right or there is no point in wearing one.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by hpiguy

Having my first season back in the saddle under me, knowing I'm going to stick with it, and turning 40 recently, I decided it was time to invest in a new road bike. And I've wanted this one since they announced it last summer. Also, if it weren't for my LBS, it wouldn't have happened this year. Pam and Dave are truly amazing people, and I'm proud to call them my friends.

I had some issues at the end of last season with lateral flexing, bad enough my wheel would tag my brake pads if I was standing and hammering. So that's one of the reasons I went with the disc model, as it runs through axles for more lateral rigidity. It also gives me the ability to fit a CX tire in there since I have way more tire clearance than a standard road frame since there are no canti bosses. Geometry is almost identical, and wheelet is identical to the Boone CX bike also. I won't abuse it, but it will see some gravel grinders and mild trail use in it's life.

Bike is a 2015 Domane 4.3 disc
OCLV carbon frame & fork
ISOspeed decoupler (think rear suspension for a road bike)
full 105 gruppo
15mm front and 12x142 rear through axles
TRP HY/RD hydraulic discs
tubeless ready wheels

I took it out today for a short shakedown ride, just to get a feel for it. It was kind of chilly and gray, and my saddle postion was a bit off, but I didn't want to come home, I just wanted to keep riding, and riding. The ISOspeed system is a game changer. I rode the roughest shit I could find, pavement, chip and seal, potholes, gravel, and some mild single track and you just sort of float over it while the bike moves beneath you. The other big thing I noticed is how responisve the stiff carbon frame is, you mash and it really goes. It's a huge jump up from what I had, and if you can't tell, I"m pretty excited about it. I LOVE THIS BIKE!!

TLDR; I got a new bike, pretty excited about it

This guys looks happy about something (EeePee will be happy we flipped the stem )

From today's ride

I also sprung for the Duotrap setup, really clean and easy way to get speed, mileage, and cadence numbers.

Fawkin sweet! Ride, enjoy, repeat.

Originally Posted by RiceBurner

Nice! HPI. Got a new(to me) cross bike myself couple months ago. A '13 Raleigh RCX pro, a much needed upgrade. Gonna be my road/gravel/cross bike. Came with Easton wheels on it so I got on eBay and found another identical set in mint shape. Now to get a longer cage derailer and a mountain cassette.

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Nice! I've been riding the hell out of my cross-ish bike. It is great on the road, but the tires badly need some tread when off road. At the slightest uphill, I just spin the tires.....

Originally Posted by rockhugger

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Rollers will make you a better rider in every way period.


Much approval coming from California.

If you have nice or high dollar tires on your road bike, I'd recommend using some junker wheels and tires on the rollers, as it's kind of hard on the them.

Wait till you go back out on the road again, then tell us how you feel.

I've thought about rollers before, but dang images of flying off and shooting through the living room wall lol! Keep the cats, dogs and small children away from the wheels too.

Originally Posted by Blind

Are commuters and tri's allowed in here?

I commute on a 80's 68cm steel framed monster, that I rebuilt with dura-ace 7700 9spd sti groupset and 180mm sram apex crankset....and race on a 2012 trek madone 5.2, that's totally stock other than pedals and gp 4000 s2 tires

my next 'race' is the silicon valley tri, I believe on Easter.

Of course, all are welcome! The best bike ever is the one that you ride often.

Originally Posted by rupps5

I like the bell helmets and some giro like the hex. But you really need to go to the bike store to find one that fits your head. There are many helmets that I like better than mine but don't fit my head but you gotta go with the one that fits right or there is no point in wearing one.

x2, gotta go to LBS and try the helmets on. It doesn't matter what it looks like if it's uncomfortable or doesn't fit your head properly.

I recently replaced old helmet with Specialized Propero, it fit ME better than the more expensive S3 and it doesn't look to dorky. Watch the weight of helmets, lighter is better and more cooling vents is good. This one is pretty light and lots of well designed cooling vents still provide good coverage but let in lots of air. In winter I almost always wear some typ of spandex skullcap or headband dealio to keep my head and ears warm, depends how cold which one I wear under the helmet.
Specialized Bicycle Components

For MTB, I'm liking Specialized Vice, but have not bought one yet. Maybe this summer.
Specialized Bicycle Components

@HPIGUY, sometimes I have hard time sleeping and sleeping well, K-Line Adrena Calm Cream helps a lot. I bought little 2oz jar several years ago and just rub a small dab on behind my knees and it helps me relax and sleep great. I see they all come in 1.6oz pump bottle now, it doesn't take much to do the job.
K-Line Creams - Apex Energetics

EDIT: @JeremyH, I just looked at that Giro and not nearly enough venting for me.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by hpiguy

Brian, I'm a roadie as well as MTB so I guess I can post in this one too. Nice bike BTW, I'm jealous, they're made not far from here. Here's my road bike when it was new a few weeks ago. It's a Trek 1.5, added a Cromag Moon leather / Ti saddle since then and that's about it.

This bike was flexing that much?

[hpiguy]

Nate, I think it was the lower end wheels more than anything else, but yes, towards the end of the year (having ridden all season, and after taking up SS riding), I could tell a big difference and had some minor issues.

Also, if you come off a set of rollers you're not going rocketing across the room. That's blown way our or proportion, but you will fall over though.

I'll have to try that cream. I generally take melatonin but I've been slacking on that also. I just need to back into my routine and I should be OK.