[GuyContinental]

@chris_s 20477 wrote:

There are some improvements to the Fairfax Dr >> Clarendon Blvd transition in the works, but you’re looking at probably 2015 for implementation and in my opinion, the toughest part is making the left to stay on Fairfax Dr and I haven’t heard of anything so far to address that.

Awesome! Thanks for the detailed links!

I just started using Fairfax as an occasional (like say in a massive thunderstorm) alternate to WO&D to Lee as a slightly faster and hill-less way home and every time I make that left I think “this can’t possibly be right…”

[GuyContinental]

@5555624 20440 wrote:

My hands-free riding needs work; but, I know I’ll never manage unslinging a rifle and taking aim without stopping. Mounting something next to my light? I can manage pulling a trigger or pressing a button.

Except for the whole getting killed/beaten/arrested by the Secret Service thing- these would work well:
http://www.airgundepot.com/airsoft-guns-spring-air-soft-guns-standard.html

[GuyContinental]

@brendan 20427 wrote:

Can I take a step back and ask the thread participants a question that’s been in my head for a while?

Is bike fitting somewhat (or much) less important and/or less complicated for non-“road bikes” (i.e. where “road bikes” = any bikes with drop handlebars)?

Brendan

*Generally* speaking the more stretched out you are on the the bike (e.g. road or XC MTB racing) the more important mm of difference become in fit. The more upright you sit on the bike the “looser” the fit can be from saddle to bar because you aren’t forcing your torso into a strange and highly strung position. However, good seat/pedal/seatpost fit is always important and a bad fit torso fit will become noticeable the longer the ride (pain in back, neck, shoulders, wrists etc). As far as tolerances go- think cm vs mm.

It’s a little less complicated on a non-drop bar bike because you aren’t dealing with the variety of body positions but not much- a MTB fit takes just as long as a road fit.

[GuyContinental]

I saw Dirt this morning on the fat bike- I think he’s aiming to float home in the inevitable storm this afternoon.

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 20412 wrote:

I had this afternoon free (from home duties) so I decided to do some exploring/”errands”. Ended up being a bit of an impromptu outdoor adventure – I also took the overland route to cross Wilson.

Was there hail? Maybe it was just heavy rain but it felt a bit harder than that.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I rode by the clusters of trail users huddled below a good number of the W&OD underpasses.

Don’t have to wash the bike now but wondering if there’s anything special maintenance-wise I should do. I’m pretty sure the whole rear derailleur cage and a good portion of the 20″ wheels were submerged in points.

I got nailed Sterling to Herndon and then stopped at EFC.

You might have passed me as one of the “huddled.” Just East of EFC the hail got me and then two massive lightening strikes (within 100′) made me decide to sit it out under one of the larger bridges. I kept thinking about the t-storm post and “your body is a circuit…” Honestly and truly, DO NOT RIDE IN LIGHTNING.

As for the bike- if you were hit with what I was hit by, every bit of your light lube is gone you need to lubricate (this is what I did last night after letting the bike dry):

-Chain (probably 2x and again today)
-Every derailleur pivot and spring (use a straw or a screwdriver to track the lube into the hard to reach places)
-RD pulleys
-Cables
-Pedal cleats
-Brake pivots

Also clean the AL residue off of your wheels- the rain turns it into an abrasive paste that will kill them.

Next time you have time you’ll want to grease your pedals (if they spin without a little resistance they need grease); pull and grease your bottom bracket and clean any pivots (if you are on a FS bike)

It sounds like a lot but it’s well worth it for component longevity and only takes about 10 minutes

[GuyContinental]

@brendan 20288 wrote:

Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HPG here.

That’s a pretty cool little critter, looks small enough to tote… perhaps I have tempted the gods enough for one thread.

One additional tool to carry in your bag is a presta/schrader adapter- just in case you get stuck pumpless in schrader land

[GuyContinental]

A quick footnote on this fit conversation- I rode my “winter bike” for the first time in a year yesterday (because of the rain). 50 miles and I’m in some serious pain today because of the horrible horrible fit. I rode that bike for 10K before I built my current bike (fitted by Clovis) and honestly thought that pain was just part of road riding. Riding this morning on the fitted bike was like night and day- I may never ride the old bike again- frame is too long; seat is too narrow; bar angle is wrong; wrap is too thick… yuk. Most of these are fixable but the frame will always be too big and the whole rig is tired. Time to properly build up that new cross bike that I’ve always wanted

So:
1. Little details can make a BIG difference, particularly on a road bike
2. Biking, even for long distances SHOULD NOT HURT (well, the legs maybe)
3. It’s rarely one factor that is driving bad fit
4. There are things that you can fix (seat, bars, stem, pedals, wrap) and things that you can’t (frame size, frame geometry)
5. Life is too short for a bad fit

[GuyContinental]

@Dirt 20289 wrote:

I like the discussion of time spent commuting in regards to something like these challenges. When I compare the REAL time it takes me to commute each day, I spend approximately 30 minutes more commuting by bike (driveway to desk and desk to driveway), but the timing actually balances out well when you look at the bigger picture. With all the other benefits and savings, commuting by bike is much more efficient for me.

It is easy for me to say that, however, since I forgot to reproduce. I know that’s something that many humans have to factor into these things.

Rock on, y’all. I’m gonna go for a bike ride.

Dirt.

My average driving commute is an unpleasant 100 minutes/day (up to 130 minutes on bad traffic days); Riding is 165 minutes + 15 minutes cleaning/changing. If I weren’t riding and wanted to stay in shape (in reality I’d probably just sleep in and get fat…), I’d be swimming which would easily eat that 80 minutes. It nets out plus additional benefits (based on 60 RT- 3K miles) and since I did reproduce, doesn’t interfere with kid time (or not much):

3600 miles of wear and tear on the car
$480 in tolls
$720 in gas
$300 in food (I usually eat out for lunch- when I ride I have to bring vittles)
-$300 for various bike parts & repairs

So, I’m getting my workout, keeping up with kids and actually saving $1200/year… that rules

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 20263 wrote:

So I ended up buying a 44 cm Canondale Synapse alloy Shimano 105 road bike.

Dang- I should have thought of that earlier- My wife has your dimensions (more or less) and ended up buying pretty much the same bike because it was just about the smallest female specific bike made. It made a world of difference for her when combined with a Clovis fit. Congrats on working it out!

On the pedals- I wouldn’t sweat the MTB style vs road… I used my winter bike for the rain today (with eggbeaters) and honestly couldn’t feel much of a difference- not having to walk like a duck was nice as well. The important part (IMO as a faux-roadie) is the shoes- super stiff and well fitted carbon MTB shoes make a big difference in power and comfort.

[GuyContinental]

@creadinger 20249 wrote:

What team do you ride for Guy? You may need some de-motivation. :p Take a long look at some of these.
http://www.allowe.com/Humor/DemotivationalPosters.htm

Those rule- I like “Ambition” in particular…

I’m riding with Arlington A and CCrew’s Cascades Health Challenge Team (where we are 8th out of 1500 teams). Cascades has a simple challenge system set up so I’m competing with a couple non-local riding friends from Grad school- that’s where the real smack-talk/motivation is happening.

I wish that I could truly be car-free but 3 hours a day in the saddle, while great for my legs and outlook, would not be so great for my marriage. I’ve received special dispensation for the challenges and summer but if I keep waking my wife up with any time starting with “4” I’m going to end up on the couch

[GuyContinental]

@americancyclo 20239 wrote:

Glad to see everyone logging some good miles! I’m back in the saddle again, but this rainy weather is putting a damper on my commute!

It’s funny- if I wasn’t participating in these challenges and in particular, falling behind in a few individual challenges in the Cascades event, I totally would have bailed on commuting this week. Instead I crawled out of bed at o’dark-thirty, got wet and had a heck of a good time. Warm rain, empty trails and actual daylight! No more looking at the weather and who cares if I have to take apart and lube my bike (again) over the w/e- I’m going regardless!

[GuyContinental]

@americancyclo 20210 wrote:

No feet.

36″ Commuter Unicycle.

http://www.unicycle.com/36-nimbus-impulse-disc-unicycle-with-shadow-handle.html/

There’s at least one in Arlington already, why not two?

[GuyContinental]

@brendan 20180 wrote:

I’ve never quite understood the appeal of canisters. If you manage to not get it right the first time (need to patch twice, etc.), you’re SOL. Or you brought two canisters…which is starting to get into the weight class of a pump…

Brendan

Ironically, I’m with you, canisters kind of suck but at serious risk of offending the cycling gods, I very very rarely get flats- on my MTB bikes I have tubeless & Stans and my road bikes have Kevlar tires. I carried a pump for years and Never. Used. It. Now I carry the itty bitty canister just in case (for this afternoon when the gods strike me down with a double flat in a thunderstorm…).

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 20162 wrote:

GuyContinental,

Thanks so much for the very useful info. In retrospect, I am amazed that I biked for 25 years without knowing how to change a tube (and remarkably never got a flat tire on the road); I certainly didn’t lube or clean the chain(!). I brought the bike to the LBS every spring for a tune-up and that was it. To my knowledge the chain nor cassette was ever replaced. Sometimes ignorance is bliss….

The big mystery to me now is all the folks I see biking out there with nothing more than a saddlebag (sometimes not even that) and their jersey pockets for storage. I can only guess that they only carry an inner tube, air canisters, keys, ID, and phone. Most don’t seem to carry a lock or more emergency repair stuff. When I was looking to buy a road bike, all the guys at the LBS looked at me like I was nuts when I said I wanted a road bike I could put a rack on (I hate backpacks).

You’d be amazed what fits in my tiny saddlebag- tube, air cylinder, levers, tool set (with chain tool), 2 quick links, patch kit, spare headlamp (in winter) and $50 (in case all else fails- I can take a cab). It’s all about the careful packing. In my jersey is just a phone, a snack and sometimes a shell. I hate bags won’t ride with them if I have the choice but then again, unlike some of you I max out at 3-4 commutes a week so I have the luxury of a suitcase at work.

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 20149 wrote:

Very instructive. As a newbie, I gotta ask this question: what causes the chain to break? More to the point: as a woman riding around the area and not stressing the bike very much, what are the chances this is gonna happen to me?

In 20+ years of hard riding (with some racing) I’ve broken maybe half a dozen chains and half of those were user error (improperly installed pins). But I’m completely OCD about chain maintenance. If you keep your chain clean and lubed it should last until it stretches (YMMV but I get 5K out of an ultegra cassette & chain).

How do they break?
1. Neglect- lack of lube causes excess wear that can degrade the pin and wall connection. Also, corrosion can seize up a link so that the pin breaks rather than rotates
2. Weird lateral stress- chains aren’t really meant for side loading. Running a super big cog on your big ring can cause stress that usually destroys your derailleur but could weaken the side of a link (a “long cage” derailleur is meant to offset this but you are better off switching your front ring to the middle than trying to use the inner cassette cogs)
3. Monster power + inferior metal- I did this once on a MTB SS (with a robust SS chain) I cranked so hard that the chain pin simply sheared. I’d like to think that it was all me but it was probably a mechanical fault somewhere in the link. I nearly broke my kneecap in the process since I went from 100% resistance to 0% in about 1/100 of a second. That was bad.
4. Too much stretch- if you overuse a chain you get more play in the interior of the links; more play leads to more lateral movement; more lateral movement leads to #2.
5. Impact damage- Not an issue with road riding (well not usually…) but I ripped a drivetrain (RD + chain) off a MTB catching it on a small tree. I’ve heard of folks losing chains after hard falls.
6. Too many powerlinks/quicklinks and the like- as much as I love these things I’d retire a chain if I had more than two. They simply don’t have the same tolerance as an integrated link.
7. User error- Make sure that you understand how a pin or new chain needs to be installed and don’t do something silly like trying to re-use a non-self piening pin (I can vouch for the fact that it probably won’t work)

So- is it a problem given your riding? Probably not but like all things it depends on the Bike gods- I carry a quicklink, lube nearly every ride (Prolink) and use a chain gap tool replacing both the chain and cassette when necessary. My knee-thing scared the heck out of me and took me out of action for several months, I’d rather never break a chain (in action) again.

[Author]

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