[cyclingfool]

@NicDiesel 64358 wrote:

Have you consider a Brooks B17? Not great for road riding but they’re pretty great for touring and commuting once you get them broken in.

I’d say “jinx” but your reply is timestamped 3 minutes earlier than mine. We must have started typing around the same time, though. So that’s 2 votes for Brooks, zero for other ideas. The choice is clear. It’s a consensus!

[cyclingfool]

I can’t NOT suggest a good Brooks saddle, so… I suggest a Brooks! If properly cared for, they last years to decades, and the fit is perfect since the leather breaks in to the shape of your sit bones. If you’re worried about rain, which is really only an issue if you’re not on the saddle yourself, a plastic shopping bag tied around the saddle is more than adequate protection.

The standard Brooks saddle is the B17. There’s also a narrow version of the B17 and several other models/options. Check out their extensive website for more info. The B17 is available on Amazon for a little under $100 or at an LBS near you for anywhere between there and probably about $125. It’s well worth every penny, farthing, schilling, pence, you spend on it.

I loved the Brooks saddle I had on my old bike, and a new Brooks saddle is on the list of upgrades for my “new” bike over the next few months.

[cyclingfool]

Aaaah… may summer be gone til next year. This morning was glorious!

I rode in with my Burley D’Lite in tow, though this morning it contained only the panniers I didn’t put on my rear rack. I took the afternoon off; my wife and 16 month old son are coming into the District to meet me at the office and go to a museum. After museum visit, I’ll be biking home with the little guy! It’ll be his longest trip by trailer so far. Needless to say, I am VERY excited about the afternoon commute.

Saw one of these on a woman’s bike on the ride in. Made me smile.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3685[/ATTACH]

[cyclingfool]

@birddog 63901 wrote:

Caught up with a shirtless FTC employee on the mall portion of my commute. Very nice guy on a frankenstein green bike – maybe I’ll see him another day.

Reminds me of a guy I’ve seen a couple times during the afternoon commute home along the MVT. Topless, wearing only American flag speedos and nothing else except shoes and some sort of fanny pack IIRC. Can’t remember what kind of bike he was on, but I think it was a 1980’s vintage road bike. Odd. Just odd.

[cyclingfool]

@ebubar 63862 wrote:

This is what i’ve had to do on all my flats. Turn the tire more or less inside out wherever there looks to be any kind of crack or tiny cut and pry out glass with some tweezers.

I’ve had to to do that before as well. In this case I was 99.9999% sure that this wasn’t the issue b/c the punctures in the tube were on the inside circumference of the tube, i.e., where it sits along rim, rim tape, spoke holes, etc. That and the tire is new and had less than 50 miles on it when this all started

I thoroughly cleaned up the rim yesterday afternoon with a rag before leaving work, swapped out the rim strip for the Velox tape I had picked up earlier in the day, and put tube and tire back on. Between PM commute yesterday, class last night, and AM commute this AM, I am up to almost 20 miles on the new rim tape, and, knock on wood, no issues so far.

I really think the issue had to do with the plastic rim strip I had on there, and the fact that it theoretically could shift around and pinch the tube against the rim. Assuming the issue really is solved, which time will tell, then lesson learned: Always use Velox. Always. Accept no compromises.

[cyclingfool]

@Dickie 63948 wrote:

Errr, 25 mph up a hill in 100% humidity on this stupid hot morning? You sir are a machine, I could barely do 25 down a hill this morning! […]

This.

Glad you’re OK, jabberwocky. Next time this happens to you, may I suggest you gyre and gimble in the wabe?

[cyclingfool]

@ShawnoftheDread 63832 wrote:

I think the bikers are suggesting a psychological and spiritual benefit from their hobby rather than a cardiovascular one.

Fair enough. Still funny to me, though, since one of the bikers with that shirt on today must have weighed 400 pounds and had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. 😮 Seems like he might want to take some other steps in order to “live”.

[cyclingfool]

@Terpfan 63821 wrote:

I had the same thing a year or two ago and it was a worn out tire. Even though they kept presenting themselves location wise as looking they came from the rim/spokes, it was tire-related. As soon as I changed the tire (knocking on wooden desk), everything was fine again.

I’m tempted to try those gator tires. Coworker has them and says they were work great. Is that the ones you have? I really don’t know a ton about tires except that I tend to buy ones claiming puncture resistance and that are mid range price wise since I prefer avoiding flats.

It’s not a worn out tire issue. The rear tire was first installed last week. I bought it after some bead seating issues had me convinced the sidewall was about to fail. So, the tire is brand new. I actually think that the swap may have inadvertently kicked off whatever is going on. Like I said, upon close inspection, I couldn’t find anything visible wrong with the rim or the strip, which did not have any adhesive. I hope that using Velox, which will stick and not be able to slide around, will fix the issue. If not, your experience may be helpful. I’ll have to have a closer look at the tire. Thanks for sharing.

I have not used Gatorskins. Tires I’ve had good luck with over the years are Vittoria Randonneurs, Schwalbe Marathons (and Marathon Plusses), and my current tires, Michelin City Tires with Protek, which cost about $30. My favorites have been the Schwalbes, but they cost more. I’ll go back to Schwalbes for my next set of tires, which I expect to buy in about a year.

[cyclingfool]

There’s always the classic, “Ride to Live. Live to Ride.”

I first heard that one in a cycling context. I think it’s on some stickers from ACA, too. I saw it today on some tee-shirts being worn by all the motorcycle riders in town for 9/11, though the first part of the phrase seems MUCH much more applicable to a cardiovascular exercise activity like cycling than riding a motorcycle. That’s not to dis motorcycle riding. It’s something I’ve become increasingly interested in with time. It just seems a lot less aerobic than cycling.

[cyclingfool]

Three flats in less than 16 hours. That’s a new record for me. First one was last night on the way home. Already running late. Tired baby at home. Wife not happy. Not a time when you really need a flat. Alas… Other two were this AM. One about two miles into my commute in Crystal City. Changed tube and rode on. Second one made itself known as I descended from 14th St Bridge. I could have patched the bad tube I’d just pulled off in CC, but decided I’d just walk the mile and a half to my office from there. Just made it in time for a morning meeting.

All punctures were singular holes on the inside of the tube (i.e., facing the rim and spoke holes) on the rear wheel. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the rim strip or the rim itself upon inspection, but my hypothesis is it’s the plastic SRAM rim strip sliding around and pinching the tube against the rim somehow, so I took the bus to DC Hardware and Bike Shop at lunch and picked up some Velox, which is what I almost always use anyways (compromised getting the SRAM plastic rim strip thing when I did), and a new tube. So, I’ll take out the old strip, clean the inside of the rim real well with a rag, and install Velox tape before heading home this evening and patch up the tubes there. Hopefully that’ll resolve this situation.

It’s all odd because I hadn’t had a flat for almost two years before this (thanks to puncture resistant Schwalbes and Michelin City tires on my bikes). Life keeping me on my toes I suppose.

In fun news, I have class tonight, which I bike to, so I’ll get a chance finally to ride in the dark with my new MagicShine knock-off light.

[cyclingfool]

@PotomacCyclist 63780 wrote:

Also available as a bike

Jens had that on his bike in the US Pro Cycling Challenge in CO a few weeks ago. Pretty neat. Gotta love Jens!

[cyclingfool]

Love this!!! I’ll have to swing by on my way home today and check it out. More often than not, I’ve been going home to Del Ray by way of Crystal City and Potomac Avenue lately, so this is most convenient!

[cyclingfool]

@CaseyKane50 63596 wrote:

From Local Motion, here are before and after photos showing the proposed change.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3659[/ATTACH]

But look how many cars are parked there! How dare they remove that highly utilized parking for some piddly bike lanes! :rolleyes:

[cyclingfool]

@Rando Guy 63597 wrote:

Cyclingfool – I’m asking this just for pure education but why would you choose a 26” rather than a 700c? Curious, I have 700c now…really, just asking because I am curious.

I used to have a 700c Surly LHT and I loved it. So nothing against 700c. In fact I preferred 700c aesthetically for a long time. I thought that larger frames with 26″ wheels looked odd. I’ve warmed to them aesthetically, at least in my size range, after seeing how they look complete with fenders and racks, which I like to have on my bike, so that prejudice against 26″ is gone for me now. My Surly was stolen in the spring. I ended up replacing that bike with the one I have now, a 1995 rigid Trek MTB frame that I’ve converted to drop bars and added a rack and fenders to. So, the simple answer is that I already have a wheelset I really like that is 26″. If I were to buy a new frame (like the Camargue), it would be in order to swap everything possible over from my current MTB frame, so I’d want a bike that I could throw my current wheels onto, i.e., 26″

I’m picky about wheels because I am solidly in the ranks of the clydesdales, and when I hit upon a solid combo like the one I have now, I tend to want to stick with it. Not to mention that theoretically, all things being equal, a 26″ wheel will be somewhat stronger than a 700c wheel, or so it is often claimed. That alone would not be enough of a reason for me to switch to 26″ from 700c if I already had 700c. I had found a pretty solid rear wheel for my 700c Surly. But since I now have 26″ wheels, I see it as a very slight advantage and a reason to hold on to what I have. Plus I like running fatter (smooth) tires on my bike, and 26″ fits the bill better for that.

So, basically it’s a combination of circumstance and an evolving personal preference. Nothing more.

[cyclingfool]

@jnva 63574 wrote:

I watched a hawk grab a mouse this afternoon on my way home, here’s the video. full screen you may be able to see it better, it was really cool to watch it happen! I’ve seen this happen a couple of times, but never caught it on video.

I’ve seen a few random dead mice on MVT and 4MR recently, enough for me to notice that there seem to be more than I remember ever seeing before. Maybe just coincidence, maybe time of year, maybe something else. Who knows? Haven’t seen a raptor fly off with one yet, though. Awesome video.

BTW are those PB Cascadia 26″ ATB fenders? They look familiar.

[Author]

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