[DaveK]

@dcv 13616 wrote:

This is my bike, no joke. Let the flames begin

Was that you I saw snapping a pic next to the scenic Arlington Wastewater Treatment Facility on Saturday? There can’t be that many Cinelli track bikes outside of Columbia Heights. I was riding the loop with my wife, I think rode through your pic. Was wearing a Bike Arlington jersey. Very nice bike!

[DaveK]

@TDB 13768 wrote:

I found a gentleman willing to part with a set of Corima carbon tubulars with a few spare tires for 200. While I am unsure about moving to tubulars, as well as needing to have different brake pads for training / race wheels, the price seems pretty hard to beat. From my research Corima seems to be of fairly high quality, but there are of course all of the obvious downsides of cost and inconvenience to repair tubular flats. As race wheels I don’t think they would flat very often, but it is a hard thing to weigh. Pictures are below, any and all input is thoroughly appreciated.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]632[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]633[/ATTACH]

I don’t know those specific wheels, but Corima as a brand is pretty good and carbon tubies for 200 bucks is insane. Jump on it if they’re in good shape.

[DaveK]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyUkm2qlhA

Just keep spinning.

[DaveK]

We can’t stop here… this is deer country.

[DaveK]

@off2ride 13731 wrote:

Hey, by all means keep it on full burn when riding on open road with vehicular traffic around you. There’s a stretch on the WOD that’s pretty dark (between Gallows Rd and Church St.) that I keep my light on full blast plus I keep it high for Deer but this one evening some jogger just popped out of nowhere and he said, shadowing his eye balls from my light, “That’s ridiculous”. I said “Put a reflective vest on you clown”. So in some situations it is necessary to keep it high. Common sense of course comes into play.

This, word for word. If there’s no lighting other than what’s there with me, I still need to be able to see the surface in front of me at 15-20mph. That means a high-zoot light. I don’t ride through deer country… I might mount a couple of those deer whistles on my helmet if I did. Wonder if they really help…

[DaveK]

I only keep my light set to kill through the NPS-owned portions of my ride. Down the MVT, through the National Mall, etc. – anywhere they don’t allow street lighting. Other than that I keep it set to stun. It’s plenty visible either way and I have enough ridiculous flashing lights on my bike already.

[DaveK]

Many shops have loaner saddles they’ll give you for a chance to try it out and see if it works for you. I know Fizik has a loaner program where they provide specially-colored saddles to shops for just this purpose.

[DaveK]

@pfunkallstar 13684 wrote:

NPS would pretty much have to do something then…right?

lol

[DaveK]

Correction – it was a pedestrian and not a cyclist.

Quote:

On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, at approximately 6:15 pm, an area resident was walking on the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail in the area of 3rd & R Street, Northeast, when he was accosted by three individuals. One subject produced a weapon and demanded the victim’s possessions. After complying and without provocation, the victim was punched in the face. The victim then attempted to flee from the scene and sustained a graze gunshot wound to the hip area after the suspect fired his weapon.

All three suspects then fled on foot. The victim received treatment for his injuries and an area hospital. The Metropolitan Police Department continues its investigation into the identity of these three individuals.

To ensure this area remains safe for all, the bike trail will be monitored and patrolled by officers on a regular basis.

Capt. Jeff Brown

[DaveK]

@eminva 13669 wrote:

I’m probably preaching to the choir again, but . . .

If another cyclist had offered you help, would you have accepted?

Absolutely! And I would have been happy to accept it.

I have no shame and very little in the way of dignity, and even if I did, it’s stupidity to let that get in the way of accepting a much-needed hand when you’re in a bind.

I’ve helped cyclists on the side of the trail and given away tubes and such. I feel like it’s all of our obligation to look out for each other and do what we can to help one another. That goes for humanity in general but here and now we’re just talking about cyclists.

[DaveK]

@OneEighth 13663 wrote:

It was lovely morning for a walk, though…
Been there, done that, and am still thankful to the other cyclist who let me skitch a ride part of the way in.
Funny how the tool kit expands one experience at a time.

I have two already (one came in a tool kit I bought), just didn’t keep one in my panniers. That’ll change now.

[DaveK]

@dcv 13660 wrote:

was your chain old or in bad condition? knock on wood, i hope i never brake a chain.

A little bit from column A, a little bit from column B. I almost never clean my commuter and only maintain it when it starts making noises. Probably just the amount of grit that was worn into the link weakened it to the point where it snapped at the roller.

[DaveK]

@creadinger 13641 wrote:

At least you could coast on downhills and ride scooter style on the flats? It happened to me once so I know it’s not a good way to start the day. At least once I got a flat halfway and had forgotten my pump or my patch kit at home. Man, I did a lot of stupid crap before finally learning the hard way.

Yeah, I coasted cross-style on the flats/downhills so I could jump off since I had to stay on the sidewalk. Prompted quite a bit of WTF looks. The problem is that I broke the chain coming up the hill at the Marine Corps Memorial and I work near Courthouse Metro. Not a lot of flats or downhills on that route…

Definitely agree on the Dirty edits – always carry a chain tool AND know how to use it. And carry a quick link. I have plenty but only for my 10-spd road bike, not my 9-spd commuter. Clearly this is a good justification for my wife to let me upgrade the commuter to 10-spd. After all, it’s for my own safety.

[DaveK]

Mine is about 550 lumens and I feel like I wouldn’t want any less in full darkness. It has no beam cutoff to speak of though, and I have to shield it with my hand when I pass folks coming the other way. If I had a proper cutoff like an automotive projector lamp I don’t see why you couldn’t go through the roof with brightness.

Hmmm…. weekend project – retrofit auto-leveling HID headlight to bike.

[DaveK]

@dasgeh 13592 wrote:

As I was crossing the crosswalks on the DC side of the inbound Memorial Bridge, I was surprised by the lack of cars coming inbound. Then I saw him: a bike commuter in the traffic lanes. I can only assume that he rode the entire bridge in the lanes. Good for him! The pavement on the bridge has been getting steadily worse this winter…

I do that occasionally, outside of the peak hour and only on my road bike. I’ve never had an issue as long as traffic is light. I find it safer to ride with traffic than to cross the GW at the crosswalk, but only if I can come close to keeping up with traffic.

[Author]

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