TorqueZombie

iTrader: (6)

And onto more dirty things. Wrecked pretty bad few weeks ago. Jacked up my knee pretty bad and angered an already poor spine. Shorts kept the dirt out. I took a downhill section faster than my skill level should allow. Rear jumped up from a root + speed + off camber and muddy spot under front tire = bad. Wife said I skipped like a stone off the berm and then took a fallen tree head on like a scared ram in the fetal position. I was just trying to protect this money making face. Two weeks to walk right again and the last week of excuses that don't add up. Going back out Thursday to make that part of the trail my bitch. Wish I had full suspension $$$


Shorts kept the dirt out nicely. Hurt to stand and still tried to finish the trail, but nope.


Want, but way too much

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Sucks, but I can sympathize here. Somewhere I have a picture of the whole left side of my body being one huge, purple hematoma as a result of my slightly over-estimating the wet grip of my Michelin pilot city tires in a hard corner.

Destroyed a very nice silk shirt in that wreck. (Also cracked a couple of ribs, but I'm honestly more miffed about the shirt.)

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Such a luddite . I kind feel sorry for you at times. There is some deep seated guilt somewhere that manifests as uncommon frugality that you're able to rationalize solely as pragmatism.

Some of us ride simply because we are passionate about it and want to ride. Others joylessly ride because it's cheaper and often easier than driving to work and errands and is good exercise. As it in most other countries, these joyless souls, their bicycle is a utilitarian device, not a chariot to adventures.

For us that love to pedal, it is a pastime that some of us choose to treat ourselves on. Like adding turbos to otherwise perfectly functional Miatas.

I disagree with the bicycle discussion being out of context on this board. This forum is about passion, pure and simple. We all have appreciate the basic economy of the 90-05 Miata platform but it is first and foremost a forum of passionate and forthright opinions. Many of really love our cars and other toys for the joy they bring us, our friends and family. High performance cars, high performance bicycles, high performance computers, high performance firearms, fine beers.

So no Joe, you're the one that is a bit out of touch. But please don't tell us you understand, apologize or anything so prosaic. That won't be nearly as entertaining as what you are about to write.

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

No I think joe is right, I could never justify spending more than $500 on a bicycle, I can easily justify spending $1500 on a turbo. A bike is some metal tubes welded together with some other bits, it doesnt even have an engine, it should not cost that much money. I especially couldnt justify a baller bike for fitness. If you're trying to get fit you should be riding on the heaviest high geared bike (so you dont spin out going down hills) with nervous geometry, and with the highest rolling resistance tires you can find. Hence my $35 dollar mtb with bent wheels, and a bent front sprocket set (previous owner seems to have had a very bad day), a nice seat, and new derailleurs so they would actually stay in adjustment for more than 2 miles of riding. I'm pretty sure if this bike took any more effort to ride it would go backwards when I pedaled.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

I drive a diesel pickup to and from work every day. Worth maybe $14k on a good day. I do not think it's fun to drive, but it does get me to and from work and it gets my toys to and from the race track or the bike trail. At work, I store a pair of Miatas worth $100k+ between them that I use for fun. At home, I store $2k+ worth of bicycle and gear that I use for fun. This thread (and more generally, this forum) is about the things we do for fun and not necessarily the things we use to get to and from work.

If that's not a valid enough explanation for you, then you're not interested in ever actually understanding this hobby (or any hobby, really).

TorqueZombie

iTrader: (6)

Agreed. I bought my MTB to enjoy the necessity of working out and not stare at a wall in the gym the whole time I do it. I got a Focus ST to enjoy the daily drives we have to do. I don't see why we can't make the daily things less mundane. I am all over saving a buck, but am willing to spend the cash if it makes life more enjoyable. Or makes the things I don't want to do less sucky. Yes I am a tight wad. Yes I will eat at home 98% of the time to save the money for "dumb things".

Also don't have kids.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Nice. When I stopped pedaling in ~9yrs ago I was ~170lbs so that's where I'd like to get back to. That's 30lbs from where I am now.

I had a mountain bike a few years ago before a roommate stuffed it into a curb and refused to fix it afterwards. Didn't do a lot of riding locally, but used it up in Oregon for trail and downhill rides. I'm sure I'll end up with another one to keep the CAAD10 company at some point but I need to recover from the sticker shock of getting back into the hobby first.

Did ~40 miles last week including 20 miles yesterday. Going to try to do ~60 this week. Both feet in

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Commuting on a bicycle has it's place. My track car has no place as a commuter because it's loud, shoots fire, and the gears are short. Much like the green car, my road bike is made for going as fast as possible, at all times, rather than carrying groceries. This makes it a poor commuter, but that's not it's purpose.

I've busted my *** over the last six months, in agony, trying to keep up with the fast guys. Comparing that to hard-parking a Bugatti is absurd. If you think we should own a single bike and it should be a randonneur, so be it. I'm logging ~1000 miles per month, and there's some carbon in the mix.

A bicycle is a lot more than "metal tubes welded together and some other bits". For some of us a bicycle is an engineered machine that's artistic, fast, and possibly some sort of a personal embodiment. My primary bicycles cost more than $500 but they take me places I've never been before and it's a pair of machines I respect.

When I'm pedaling my *** off on Tuesday and Thursday nights, I don't care that I have $2000 into my road bike, I don't care that the dude next to me is on $13,000 of bicycle, I'm just happy that I'm there and I couldn't do it on a $500 bicycle. I don't want to ride a broken POS, I want to ride an awesome machine that looks great and takes me places and goes straight, shifts gears properly, and rolls fast as hell. The pursuit of fitness doesn't have to be a miserable experience where you're constantly miserable because you've made the experience enslavement to a goal. Get a cool bike that hauls ***, enjoy it.

It appears that you guys have no idea the kind of work some of us put into keeping up with the weekly ride groups and no awareness of the fitness level of these amateur cyclists just to stay mid-pack. If I ever get to the front, I'll consider handicapping myself in some capacity, but that's probably half a decade away.

These two posts are the most commie-laden rhetoric I've read in a while on here. We should own one bike and it should be a miserable **** heap? Please, come the **** on.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

That's because it's a beautiful woman embodied in a bicycle.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

https://www.miataturbo.net/profile.p...ignore&u=26914

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

It's going to take me some time to come up with an appropriate retort to this.

(Well played, sir.)

Savington

iTrader: (31)

I got invited on an "easy morning cruise" by a friend of mine who is very, very much into bikes and has been for 20+years. My normal 10-mile flat loop was quickly turned into 24 miles of moderate climbs and general malaise at the same average speed I've been doing on the short, easy rides.

I feel like I have a true understanding of "what does not kill you makes you stronger" now. Last week, I did ~36 miles. On target to do ~70 this week. Feels good

supercooper

Purchase the Iron Horse Sinister 6.2 Bike, 29", for less at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.

This bike is actually EXTREMELY good considering you CAN get it at walmart. DONT be fooled by the price though.... i picked this same bike up at my local walmart 2 weeks ago for $260. (might be on sale because the season is over) But if MY walmart has it for that price, im sure you could get it for the same, and then save up for the TREK you want.
the Sinister 6.5 has slightly different (better) features... but for the price, it doesnt get much better for a full suspension setup

dcamp2

iTrader: (4)

At this price point, I'd recommend staying FAR FAR away from anything with full suspension...

All it's doing is making the bike heavier and all the other components shittier.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

When you start riding with groups, you will redefine this colloquialism and realize there are several dimensions of suffering, some that you might not have experienced before. The "true understanding" you hold today will evolve to a degree of pain checked by determination that pushes you further into the red zone. Then you will drop, demoralized as the group passes you, and you will realize how far you pushed it and then the pain will set in. However all that pain will be a distant memory the first time you finish with the lead group. Only then may you make #1 standing. The minute you finish with the lead group, you are admitted to "the front". This means you've made it and you get to post-up after the ride and chat while the grupetto rolls in.

Once you make it to the front, you will then return the favor. You will pull on the front and when a newb approaches to pull, you will give him "the look", upshift one cog, pull him just hard enough to look back and see a tear, the signal of emasculation and a job well done. This will motivate him to pull-aside and let men pedal through. The front of the group ride is a horribly mean place and the riders understand their responsibility to the newb to make it as painful as possible.

dcamp2

iTrader: (4)

you ever raced? it makes you do all kinds of horrible things to yourself.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Not yet, but I believe kits are getting made and I'm going cat-5 in January.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

I went ahead and picked-up a crank with shorter arms. I appreciated the advice from Emilio, but my doctor suggested I drop down a size and see how it goes since I have a history of knee pain and an MRI and X-ray which show nothing. I also stuck with the baby 50/34 crank because I sit down to make #1 and to reduce pressure through the knee. When my ***** drop and I get an adult-sized crank, I'll get the baller Praxis rings. I expect that to happen in 2020-2025.

dcamp2

iTrader: (4)

what size arms are you running? I have 172.5 (came with bike) and a compact 50/34 drive.


I love the 50T- i can pull that everywhere around me 95% of the time, although i've been running 1x10 on my mountain bikes for years, so i got used to mashing gears at low rpm. **** you knees. haha

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Saddle nose looks low. Like you're in junk protection mode. If you're sitting on the bike right, you shouldn't need to tilt the nose down. Some guys aren't flexible enough to bend above the hips to reach the bars while sitting perched on the ichials. Try to get your weight on the ichials while sitting up, then see how far forward you can go before you crush junk. You're better off raising the bars or moving the seat lower or forward to sit right and gradually improving flexibility.

Running the nose low like that puts a strain on your wrists and generally throws your whole fit out of whack.