Dirt
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Dirt
ParticipantGood perspective, Invisiblehand. You’re right that a lot of gearing is a matter of riding style and personal preference. It also makes a big difference what bike you’re riding. I ride smaller rings and bigger cogs on my 22lb steel bike than I do on my 14lb carbon bike.
1) I have the Apex cluster with a 32t biggest cog (forget if it is 11 or 12 for the smallest) on my cargo bike. Works great.
2) Biggest cog is definitely a personal preference. I rarely use the 25t in this region and really love the much closer gear ratios of the 11-25 or 12-25 (I have a few of those too).
Dirt
ParticipantDeFeet Wooley Booley socks are also 11 kinds of amazing. Same idea as the Smartwool. Super soft. Super comfy. Great warmth. Wide temperature range.
Dirt
ParticipantChemical warmers ROCK!!! Just remember that moisture shuts them off… so you gotta kind of plan for that. I’ve had all-day rides where my feet overheated with the warmers in there, sweated, then shut off the warmers and I got a little chilly. I don’t know exactly how to plan for that… except to be aware that it can happen.
Pre Moose Mitts, I used some HUGE running gloves with the pocket that turns them into mittens. I put a chemical hand warmer in the mitten pocket. Worked like a charm.
Dirt
ParticipantWelcome! Cool to have the WABA folks here. I’m a WABA member, but didn’t really dive into the forum at all. Only so many on-line fora that I can keep up with.
Dirt
ParticipantTotally agree ERandall with your comment on the Smartwool socks.
I made a discovery this year, however. At the SnotCycle race in January, the swag gift for racers was a set of DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks. They were amazing. When the race was over, I bought up as many of the left-overs as possible. They’re merino wool, nice and thick on the bottom, a little thinner on the top. They remind me very much of the Smart Wool socks that I’ve used for years.
Another idea that I was reminded of when I got home… I use SuperFeet insoles in my cycling shoes. They make a winter insole that has a heat reflective material in them.
If you own Shimano road shoes, most have vent holes in the bottom of the sole to keep your feet cool in the summer. Definitely put a bit of duct tape over those to keep the air from breezing through. I put it on the inside… under the insole so that it doesn’t get the outside all gooey.
Dirt
ParticipantNorm for most fit and non-racer folks around here is 50/34 compact with an 11-25 in back. If you ever go to Skyline Drive, you’ll probably want a 26 or 27.
That’s what I rode last year. This year I went to 52/36 with the 11-25 and it felt good. Next year I’m likely to go back to 53/39 with an 11-26. That gearing is on my featherweight Cervelo. On my steel road bike I stick with 50/34 and 11-25.
With modern 10 speed drivetrains, the 11-25 is a really nice cluster.
I don’t think there’s much reason to go with more than a 50t big ring unless you find yourself spinning out a 50-11 combo. I do at least one flat century ride each year and have found that I really like a 52 or 53t when I’m riding in a pack. When I ride in the Alps or Rockies, I throw the 50/34 compact crank back on.
Fixie around town I ride 46-16 pretty much everywhere. If I head to the Eastern Shore I’ll bump that up to a 50-15.
I’m a 46 year male that does 300+ mile weeks during the spring, summer and fall and 200+ mile weeks in the winter. I’m 6’4″ and ride with 175mm cranks.
I know that’s more info than you asked for… Hope that helps.
Pete
Dirt
Participant@americancyclo 1165 wrote:
my commute takes me from Falls Church to DC.
We share a commuting route. If you encounter an odd person on a pink fixie that sounds remarkably like Santa’s sleigh, make sure to introduce yourself.
Rock on!
Pete
Dirt
Participant@americancyclo 1162 wrote:
glad to see these back in a better place in the road. now if we could only get some trail lighting, we’d really be in business!
Yeah… the valley of certain death is a bit dark. I’ve been distributing Bike Arlington reflective bands to the ninjas that frequent this section of trail at 0-Dark-30. I’m happy to say that out of the 40+ that I’ve given out over the last 2 months that I’m regularly seeing 5-10 people per week actually using them. I’d also add that with dropping temps, the more casual walkers/runners are choosing to stay home. A month ago the vast majority (90%) of the people I encountered on the trail had ZERO reflective gear or lights to help with their safety. From what I can tell, most of them are staying home and almost everyone out on the trails early are the avid walkers/runners that use lights and reflective gear.
We’ll see how my comment changes tonight now that both of my commutes are being done in the dark thanks to the lack of daylight savings. BRING ON THE NIGHT!!!!
Happy riding!!!
Pete
Dirt
Participant@Sherpaboy: Thanks so much for the background. Very cool info. I knew they were locally made, but for some reason I thought they came from Alaska. Not really surprising. I thought my single speed was geared at 34×20 for the whole summer only to find out during a hub overhaul that it was geared at 34×19. D’OH! No wonder the hills in GWNF are kicking my butt more than last year.
@Agnes: Cool info on the BarMitts. Glad they worked for you. I think I’m gonna hit up Mike for a third and 4th set of Moose Mitts for other bikes so I don’t have to switch them all.
Hope y’all had a great weekend. I was NOT inspired to ride this morning. I did anyways. Need more sleep on the weekends.
Pete
Dirt
ParticipantMy problem with gloves, more than any other bit of winter clothing, is that if I wear something warm enough to make my fingers work for the first hour, I’m sweating in the second and third hours, then freezing for the 4, 5 and 6th hours. Moose mitts get away from that.
The jersey is one of my pride and joys. It is a real national jersey that was ridden by a national team member in the early 90s. I love stuff like that.
Dirt
ParticipantMy problem is staying comfortable through a long ride. I’m either too warm or too cold. Moose Mitts help me regulate this.
Dirt
ParticipantGood for them!!!! I’m one of those odd people that love snow and ice. Not so crazy about wet leaves though.
Dirt
ParticipantThey survived the night. They’re very well placed and they painted the posts bright orange. They’re MUCH more visible than the old signs. They’re also 2′ outside of the crosswalk on either side.
I noticed a Falls Church City public works truck driving around at 0530 checking to see that the signs survived the night. I had stopped to photograph them and the person gave me a serious look. S/he was trying to figure out what I was doing. Once s/he saw my camera flash go off, they drove on by. I saw the same truck at each of the other intersections. I hope they didn’t have to spend the whole night out there patrolling the signs. That would be a crappy job.
Dirt
ParticipantThey’re back!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/sets/72157625137489255/
Tune into Fox 5 for a report with more photos that they stole from me.
Love,
Pete
Dirt
ParticipantI imagine Bluemont gets that a lot. It wasn’t too bad on the W&OD and Custis. Just lots of wet leaves.
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