If FEMA had the bicycles, would it fund Hustler's manlet bib?
#1601
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
I will say, if you can afford it, getting a pro fit done to eliminate hot spots and potential knee pain is money well spent. I went from having left knee pain after my road rides to being perfectly comfortable on my Bianchi C2C.
I know how to adjust all my settings on my bike to dial in fit/comfort but I was amazed at how all the VERY small little adjustments affected my comfort and recovery.
Also, I'm a speedplay *****, so I'll recommend them just on how nice they are to clip into and how well they release as well.
I know how to adjust all my settings on my bike to dial in fit/comfort but I was amazed at how all the VERY small little adjustments affected my comfort and recovery.
Also, I'm a speedplay *****, so I'll recommend them just on how nice they are to clip into and how well they release as well.
#1603
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
Fittings start at $500 here and no one is selling much of anything other than Enve components. My LBS offered $400 to help size me for my current bicycle, that was $900 OTD.
#1604
What are you guys using for bike tools? I've never had much of anything in the way of specialized bike tools - just screwdrivers, wrenches and Allen keys - because I used to regularly take advantage of all the pro goodies available to me when I worked in a bike shop. The other day I adjusted my rear hub with a ratchet, a pair of pliers and some scissors. I'm tempted by the Park Tool AK-38 set, but it's not cheap. I always appreciated their quality of tools, but for occasional home use, maybe there's something cheaper that would do the job.
Park Tool AK-38
Park Tool AK-38
#1606
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,020
Total Cats: 6,588
^ This.
I have two Park Tools cone wrenches, one Shimano-style freewheel socket, an Avenir universal spoke wrench, and a cheap chain-tool from REI. Add in a few household and automotive-style tools (vise-grips, needle-nose pliers, metric wrench set, hammer, allen driver set, etc), and it's been enough to keep several bikes of varying levels of quality (one moderately-priced Giant Revel 1, and a few very cheap BSOs) on the road in daily, all-weather commuter duty for roughly three years.
I have two Park Tools cone wrenches, one Shimano-style freewheel socket, an Avenir universal spoke wrench, and a cheap chain-tool from REI. Add in a few household and automotive-style tools (vise-grips, needle-nose pliers, metric wrench set, hammer, allen driver set, etc), and it's been enough to keep several bikes of varying levels of quality (one moderately-priced Giant Revel 1, and a few very cheap BSOs) on the road in daily, all-weather commuter duty for roughly three years.
#1607
What are you guys using for bike tools? I've never had much of anything in the way of specialized bike tools - just screwdrivers, wrenches and Allen keys - because I used to regularly take advantage of all the pro goodies available to me when I worked in a bike shop. The other day I adjusted my rear hub with a ratchet, a pair of pliers and some scissors. I'm tempted by the Park Tool AK-38 set, but it's not cheap. I always appreciated their quality of tools, but for occasional home use, maybe there's something cheaper that would do the job.
Nothing dumber than paying your LBS $10 to remove a freewheel that you could do with a $12 tool, forever
__________________
#1608
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
So I exchanged saddles today and one dude tried to sell me on a $500 video-fit to adjust my saddle, lol. It took all the professional courtesy I had to not laugh in his face. "If you have discomfort you can't just move the saddle without a full analysis blah blah blah". Cycling, lol.
I just realized why bicycle shops treat me like an idiot. After a year on the bicycle observing at least one adult man unable to change a flat tire/swap a tube ready to call for help and several adults essentially panic because they can't use a barrel adjuster and then drop the bicycle to pay someone to turn a barrel adjuster, it's starting to make sense now.
I just realized why bicycle shops treat me like an idiot. After a year on the bicycle observing at least one adult man unable to change a flat tire/swap a tube ready to call for help and several adults essentially panic because they can't use a barrel adjuster and then drop the bicycle to pay someone to turn a barrel adjuster, it's starting to make sense now.
#1609
mkturbo.com
iTrader: (24)
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Charleston SC
Posts: 15,176
Total Cats: 1,680
So I exchanged saddles today and one dude tried to sell me on a $500 video-fit to adjust my saddle, lol. It took all the professional courtesy I had to not laugh in his face. "If you have discomfort you can't just move the saddle without a full analysis blah blah blah". Cycling, lol.
I just realized why bicycle shops treat me like an idiot. After a year on the bicycle observing at least one adult man unable to change a flat tire/swap a tube ready to call for help and several adults essentially panic because they can't use a barrel adjuster and then drop the bicycle to pay someone to turn a barrel adjuster, it's starting to make sense now.
I just realized why bicycle shops treat me like an idiot. After a year on the bicycle observing at least one adult man unable to change a flat tire/swap a tube ready to call for help and several adults essentially panic because they can't use a barrel adjuster and then drop the bicycle to pay someone to turn a barrel adjuster, it's starting to make sense now.
#1610
Retired Mech Design Engr
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Seneca, SC
Posts: 5,009
Total Cats: 856
What has kind of surprised me is the large number of guys on MT who ride. I was not expecting to find others that had the dual hobbies of Miata-turbo and Road Riding. However, due to time constraints, when I get my turbo build complete, I plan to return to the single hobby of riding.
#1611
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
I didn't realize that so many cyclists couldn't figure that out themselves.
#1612
Not just the expensive ones. I know this sounds obvious, but it's more extreme than that. Even incredibly simple things aren't done by the rider. I had a conversation last night where the guy said he felt like he was sliding forward on the saddle of his bicycle for weeks, then paid a fitter $500 to tell him to lean it back a little. This is painfully obvious to me.
I didn't realize that so many cyclists couldn't figure that out themselves.
I didn't realize that so many cyclists couldn't figure that out themselves.
i need to get into the fitting busine$$...
#1613
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,099
Not just the expensive ones. I know this sounds obvious, but it's more extreme than that. Even incredibly simple things aren't done by the rider. I had a conversation last night where the guy said he felt like he was sliding forward on the saddle of his bicycle for weeks, then paid a fitter $500 to tell him to lean it back a little. This is painfully obvious to me.
I didn't realize that so many cyclists couldn't figure that out themselves.
I didn't realize that so many cyclists couldn't figure that out themselves.
#1614
Elite Member
iTrader: (37)
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Very NorCal
Posts: 10,441
Total Cats: 1,899
Chain tool? I replaced the original 18 year old chain and 18 year old tires on my wife's Specialized last month with a dremel cut-off wheel, a drift, a punch, a pair of needle nose pliers and a couple of open end wrenches. I think I used more tools out of my AR15 armors tool kit than I did my Craftsman roll-away.
I'm enjoying reading and learning but beyond that, I'm pretty sure I have no real business in this thread
I'm enjoying reading and learning but beyond that, I'm pretty sure I have no real business in this thread
#1615
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
Think about how many people maintain their own cars beyond oil changes. I bet most people can figure out how to muddle their way through a tube change with a couple of kitchen spoons and a free afternoon, but derailleur adjustments are outside the grasp of your average person. We are viewing the maintenance aspect of cycling after coming from building race cars which is more than unfair.
#1616
Chain tool? I replaced the original 18 year old chain and 18 year old tires on my wife's Specialized last month with a dremel cut-off wheel, a drift, a punch, a pair of needle nose pliers and a couple of open end wrenches. I think I used more tools out of my AR15 armors tool kit than I did my Craftsman roll-away.
I'm enjoying reading and learning but beyond that, I'm pretty sure I have no real business in this thread
I'm enjoying reading and learning but beyond that, I'm pretty sure I have no real business in this thread
#1617
Elite Member
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Posts: 2,910
Total Cats: 51
chain and spoke tools are the only real bike tools that I would suggest having to get started and then buy what tools you need as you need them.
There are so many proprietary tools because there is no standard that you can spend a fortune buying a mechanics kit and only end up using 1/3 of it as has been said above.
Some tools I would suggest getting something good, like a hex set, spoke tool and screwdrivers. Others just get the cheapest thing you can find on ebay, like a chain whip.
something I have noticed is that not all screwdrivers -even high quality ones- fit well into bike limiter screws. This is something I would still suggest looking into over what you might have. I personally have a rounded limit screw on my front and rear derailleur because of my craftsman screw drivers. They simply do not fit well into the screw.
There are so many proprietary tools because there is no standard that you can spend a fortune buying a mechanics kit and only end up using 1/3 of it as has been said above.
Some tools I would suggest getting something good, like a hex set, spoke tool and screwdrivers. Others just get the cheapest thing you can find on ebay, like a chain whip.
something I have noticed is that not all screwdrivers -even high quality ones- fit well into bike limiter screws. This is something I would still suggest looking into over what you might have. I personally have a rounded limit screw on my front and rear derailleur because of my craftsman screw drivers. They simply do not fit well into the screw.
#1618
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
I just posted this on another forum, it should make Emilio really happy:
As a road cyclist, it is my duty to be smug, and unrepentantly pursue the "pro" state of being, and exceed that to a degree at the hobbyist level which rewrites the book on casual road cycling. With a dedicated spirit and lust for the goal, coupled with contempt in my heart, I can attain a state of being so pro that it exceeds pro peloton levels; oh to be more "pro" than an actual professional. Then just maybe, if the cosmos aligns, I can be out there, gasping for air on a cat-5 climb, gasping for air at sub-1000', a pro might drive by in a car and think, I wonder if I know that guy, he looks pro." Then, although I'll be ignorant to the ebb-and flow of energy, the whims of the great magnet, I will have obtained a degree of fitness that exceeds the potentials of fitness and strength, I will "look pro".
You too can be "pro". It doesn't take a $10k bicycles, Campagnolo (it sure helps), nor does it require Rapha (but seriously, lol @ troglodytes riding on SRAM). It takes is an unrelenting respect for the rules and the commitment that holds you to standards which exceed them.
So I hope I've enlightened you and eased the burden of course attitudes you have toward cycling and that you've now realized that anyone with a smug attitude and a saddle bag or mismatched components should be immediately disarmed by the rules. I also hope that you have learned that although speed and endurance are paramount, the strongest cyclist in the pack is no greater than the depraved chi of his bicycle affixed with a saddle bag.
As a road cyclist, it is my duty to be smug, and unrepentantly pursue the "pro" state of being, and exceed that to a degree at the hobbyist level which rewrites the book on casual road cycling. With a dedicated spirit and lust for the goal, coupled with contempt in my heart, I can attain a state of being so pro that it exceeds pro peloton levels; oh to be more "pro" than an actual professional. Then just maybe, if the cosmos aligns, I can be out there, gasping for air on a cat-5 climb, gasping for air at sub-1000', a pro might drive by in a car and think, I wonder if I know that guy, he looks pro." Then, although I'll be ignorant to the ebb-and flow of energy, the whims of the great magnet, I will have obtained a degree of fitness that exceeds the potentials of fitness and strength, I will "look pro".
You too can be "pro". It doesn't take a $10k bicycles, Campagnolo (it sure helps), nor does it require Rapha (but seriously, lol @ troglodytes riding on SRAM). It takes is an unrelenting respect for the rules and the commitment that holds you to standards which exceed them.
So I hope I've enlightened you and eased the burden of course attitudes you have toward cycling and that you've now realized that anyone with a smug attitude and a saddle bag or mismatched components should be immediately disarmed by the rules. I also hope that you have learned that although speed and endurance are paramount, the strongest cyclist in the pack is no greater than the depraved chi of his bicycle affixed with a saddle bag.