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I would also consider single speed bikes. If you get rid of the derailleurs and shifters, it saves weight and cost. If you are looking for more of a commuting bike and can live with the simplicity of a one gear, its a reasonable choice. Most manufacturers make single speed bikes that are close to your price point.

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@Tim Kelley 25371 wrote:

By 8am it was pretty frustrating between Arlington and Vienna. After that things cleared out pretty well and we were moving from Hunter Mill to Leesburg with only the occasional slow down to safely get around other trail users.

Yeah, we were through there before 8am for the most part. I was surprised how light it was on the way back around 3 pm. I guess the heat drove the Fred’s away.

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The Fred traffic wasn’t that bad surprisingly.

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Indeed, Haute Dogs is down Main Street and right around the corner in a strip shopping center. Its a great end of W&OD reward. My first experience was awesome!!!!!

I am training to ride the Civil War and Seagull Centuries this fall so its good to clear the 100 miles mark this quickly. Planning a ride to Mount Weather to kill myself on hills with the hope that the Civil War won’t be so punishing. I may be naive.

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@rsewell19 25317 wrote:

Well done, I’ve been meaning to do the round trip for some time but always get distracted by other routes. How were the dogs?

The Haute Dogs were awesome. Had a Three Piece Suit and an L.A. Dog. with some fries. Not the best food for a long ride back but a reward. I couple of energy gels and a Gatorade got me through the heat.

I guess Haute Dogs is going to open a store in Alexandria. So my you are a lover of meat in tube form I highly recommend it.

http://www.hautedogsandfries.com/

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I missed this ride. Sorry. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

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@Dirt 25236 wrote:

We’ll do something similar to what we did last weekend again when it cools down a little. Riding in less than 100 degree temps would be nice. I’ll post up before we do.

Maybe I should wait to remove my CX tires until I meet up with you guys for these ride.

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@DaveK 25229 wrote:

It was a challenge for me on a CX bike but I’m relatively new at trail riding on the CX and not a great bike handler. If I had it to do again I think I’d be much cleaner having had the experience once already. I’d also take a larger cassette in back than 11-25 even with standard CX rings (48-36). One big challenge for me was the steep climbs coming from a slow technical section, I just didn’t have a great gear for it. I’m looking forward to taking another crack at it with better brakes and gearing. Like Pete said, the bottom 2/3 is a breeze on a CX bike. Lots of fun packed gravel trails and stream crossings.

Thanks, I would love to ride it sometime with someone who knows the trail. Maybe I will venture out there alone.

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Ok, I will play

http://www.parleecycles.com/z2z3-overview/

My brother-in-law just bought a Parlee Z3 to replace his Van Dessel. I am in the coveting stage.

and this

http://moots.com/our-bike/road/vamoots-rsl/overview/

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How rough is the section south of W&OD? More mountain bike or is it cross bike territory?

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As always it depends on how you are going to use it. I made the switch to carbon over the winter (a Blue Norcross EX). If you are planning to run errands and lock it up at bike racks and public place I don’t recommend it. Carbon is just to fragile and impact sensitive to take all the hits and bangs at bike racks. But if you are going to use for recreational riding, Centuries, racing, etc they are nice. The ride is very nice compared to Al frames. If you get a carbon frame, you really need to own a torque wrench. The torque specs on carbon frames are very important to avoid overtightening and causing stress cracks. I am thinking about building a steel single speed commuter to use on day to day riding just because my carbon bike is not “public” friendly. Any of those bikes are going to be nice. Ride them all and pick the one you like best.

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Hmmmm…. interesting. I might have to convince my wife to do this with me.

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So I boxed up the Vittoria’s and sent them out. I doesn’t appear they are available without the reflective strip unless its a special order. Since I am switching from Hutchinson Toro CXs (700X32, a knobby cross tire) to a more road friendly tire to ride some Centuries and train with, I decided narrower and lighter are better. So I just ordered some Conti Grand Prix 4 seasons in 700×28. They should be fairly durable (similar to Gatorskins), lighter than the Vittoria’s or Gatorskins, have a folding bead while being wide enough for gravel trails and such on occasion. Plus, I still have Hutchinson’s available to me if the need for a more off-road tire comes up. Oh and they the don’t have the reflective sidewall. I think I made a reasonable choice. If only they made Gatorskins in 700×32 with a folding bead.

Thanks for everyone’s opinions and advice. Sorry for being an overly anal crazy cyclist about tires.

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@dasgeh 24851 wrote:

If you ride outside, they’re not going to stay white for long. I imagine some of the pictures are from bikes that have been taken out on the road. But if you don’t like them, return or paint them…

I have them boxed up for return. Probably go with a Conti Gatorskin (700×32, wire bead) or Conti GP 4 season (700X28, folding bead) Try to figure out which to go with. I like the 700X32 size but hate wire beads. The GP 4 Season is a folding bead and almost 100 grams lighter but a narrower tire which I don’t like. Back to the drawing board of which compromises I am willing to make.

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I know its small potatoes but they are going to look stupid on my bike and it will drive me crazy everything I look at them. They are new and unmounted so I will just return them for a refund. I had seen pictures of these tires with a much darker strip than these tires have and thought they would be ok. However, they are much brighter than the pictures. Almost like white walls. The reflective strip just annoys me.

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