[ian74]

@Boomer2U 137879 wrote:

Did I not say “team” award?

Reading comprehension fail. I’m tired today…

[ian74]

@ArlingtonRider presenting the team award to @IanF for most laps around Hains Point (401!):

Ack!!!! No no no!! Correction, since Nick was not at Happy hour, the one who did the most laps at HP, @Arlingtonrider presented the award to my Team for most laps by a Team. We did 401 laps altogether!!! (However, 3 team members all are in the top 10 for individual laps)

[ian74]

@americancyclo 137702 wrote:

It’s % of rides. and you’re in 11th place.

Here’s the top ten for % commute miles (not a prize)
[TABLE=”width: 516″]
[TR]
[TD]Display Name[/TD]
[TD]Non-commute miles[/TD]
[TD]Commute miles[/TD]
[TD]Grand Total[/TD]
[TD]Percent[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mark W[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]51.317[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]1175.526[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]1226.843[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]96%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]LeprosyStudyGroup *[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]53.158[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]861.839[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]914.997[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]94%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Eric We[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]46.943[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]582.841[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]629.784[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]93%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Richard S[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]74.113[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]788.56[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]862.673[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]91%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Peter K[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]51.702[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]485.003[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]536.705[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dana B[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]45.936[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]396.158[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]442.094[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ryan L[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]9[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]63[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]72[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]88%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Jason M[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]33.98[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]232.553[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]266.533[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]87%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seth P[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]190.338[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]1232.191[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]1422.529[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]87%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]paul g[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]104.944[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]637.191[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]742.135[/TD]
[TD=”align: right”]86%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Almost all my rides were commutes as well, I forgot to flag a lot of them as commutes in Strava, is it too late to go back and add the “commute” tag to my rides? Is that like sandbagging the prize at this point?

[ian74]

I’m volunteering for award distribution. I can be there around 4:30 or shortly after.

[ian74]

@Tania 137490 wrote:

I have the 2016 Kona Rove ST (purchased specifically for commuting) and I LOVE it but…

It’s heavy. That’s also a good thing in that when it comes time for me to get on my carbon bike, my legs last a lot longer. I’m small-ish so my idea of heavy might not be the same as yours…

I love the Rove ST, it’s out of my budget range though Sad trombone. Your idea of heavy might not be the same?? Aren’t you a competitive weight lifter?

@eminva 137492 wrote:

If you wanted someone to talk you out of this, you came to the wrong place. :p I will tell you what I did when faced with a similar dilemma.

I had (and still have) a road bike, a Cannondale Synapse, more than adequate for my 29-mile round trip commute. I wanted a bike that would allow for wider tires, touring on the GAP or C&O easily, steel frame and with disc brakes. I identified a lot of the same models that you note as being out of your budget. Because I had a decent bike for commuting, I decided to bide my time and wait until I could save enough for the bike that was out of my budget. I parted out another bike which netted almost $1000, sold whatever other parts were lying around, made my own coffee, looked under sofa cushions, etc. After almost a year of saving, I started to shop and test ride, settling on the Volagi Viaje.

Liz

I love the Volagi Viaje! Ever since I saw kayakcindy’s picture of hers I’ve wanted one. I probably should keep saving…

@Emm 137494 wrote:

yes you need an n+1. Maybe an n+2 or n+3…

Definitely consider is the used marketplace. 2 of my bikes were used, and they ended up as great deals ($1,200 for a $3500 bike in near-perfect condition, and my husbands old bike for free, but it needed $400 worth of work). But you may be able to find something that you’re looking for that needs minimal work within your price range on the Facebook “DC Used Bicycle Marketplace” …

I’m already in the Facebook group! I watch it like a hawk. Someone was selling a Charge Filter that ticked all my check boxes just last week for $450! However, I snoozed on it and lost out. Still kicking myself!

@DismalScientist 137496 wrote:

If you are competent at final assembly, the internet is your friend. Used is fine, but wider tires on road-like bikes is a more recent phenomena and there may be limited availability on the used market.

In terms of speed, weight savings is most important on moving components: wheels and tires. Frame material is probably not that important. Comparably equipped steel bikes go just as fast. Geometry is important and steel bikes typically are more relaxed, but it really depends on the specific design. (I didn’t actually say any of this last bit; I need to retain my street cred.:rolleyes:)

Fenders are for pansies.:rolleyes:

I’m not competent at final, let alone any assembly. Glad to hear that the steel shouldn’t make too much difference. And fenders keep icy cold road spray from soaking my behind during FS.

@huskerdont 137498 wrote:

You can get steel that is comparable to aluminum now, and as stated elsewhere, a pound of so in the frame isn’t a big deal anyway since the frame doesn’t spin.

Bianchi Volpe might be a good candidate. If you can find a used one in your size, it would fit your budget. Might want to change the tires out to slicks.

Really would be nice if you could get your budget up to $1200+. That would get you up toward the lighter components that would make a difference. Something with Ultegra on it rather than Tiagra would be good, and a double chain ring rather than a triple. Better wheels as well–durable but not heavy beasts. So used might be the way to go.

My current bike has Ultegra, and I love it. Seems like I need to keep saving…

Thanks for the input gang!

[ian74]

Your user name is incredibly fitting!

[ian74]

I’m coming! I’m coming!

[ian74]

@bruzasd 136678 wrote:

We’re in 5th place at the moment and less than 200 points behind 4th!! Awesome job, everyone.

Everyone did great this week! Strong work Team 13. Six of our riders had 200+ miles last week and I know for David B, it was his biggest week ever. Congratulations Dave! I also had my highest mileage week, and I think Andrea might have too. We really did great. Go team!!!!!!

Last week of Freezing Saddles is upon us! Dig deep everyone and lets show them what we can do!

[ian74]

Let’s bring this back from the dead! Just wanted to say we’re doing great! Even in the absence of Powerful Pete we’ve managed to hold our place on the leaderboards. Sure, were’ not in the top five, but we could be doing a lot worse than 8th place!

Also, our team is leading in Hains Pt. laps. Another great accomplishment, with a healthy lead of like 40 laps over the next team. Finally, we’re also in first place for team avg speed. Well, the slackers are in first, but they don’t count as far as I know. These are GOOD THINGS and you should all be proud of yourselves.

I’m a bit regretful I haven’t made it out for more shenanigans are made any attempts at a group ride, it’s just that with a 10 month old at home and a wife who spends every waking minute with him during the week, by the time the weekend rolls around, my time at home is greatly….uh…encouraged?

The best place to find me is at Friday Coffee Club which meets at M.E. Swings in DC. Us early shifters show up around 7:20-or abouts, and I head out around 8:15. It’s a great group, lots of BikeArlington people come and it goes late. I see that a couple of teamates are heading into DC, for their commutes, maybe you could try to pop in? Judd has made a few appearances, but I see Leprosy Study Group heads in that way, and my team nemesis Chris “Tomfoolery” Ulery is also going that way. Incidentally, I can’t believe I haven’t met Chris yet since we both seem to enjoy Hains Pt. morning laps. He must be sleeping in…

[ian74]

@dcv 135468 wrote:

Ian I think you caught me on the MVT when I was bring the RX frameset home a few months ago?

I did see you with a bike frame over your shoulder that day! I didn’t realize that was the frame you built up in the picture. Looks great!

[ian74]

This thread is just pure bike porn for me. I’d post if I had more bikes, but I love seeing everyone else’s!

[ian74]

So, since I can’t buy more bikes /sadface, I’ve been looking for ways to make my road bike more commuter friendly. I have no braze ons so everything has to go through the axle skewer (my rack) and clip on fenders. I finally found a pair of clip-on fenders that I think are idiot-proof. They’re SKS raceblade pro’s. They showed up on the SKS website in December or so, and I’ve been waiting for a US reseller to stock them. No one has. REI even had a pre-order and then later removed them from their site. So I ordered them from Rose bikes in Germany. Smartly designed and they were cheaper than the MSRP listed at REI. With shipping from Germany they were less than $50. Adding them on was a little fiddly, but I’m happy with they way they work and are adjusted. See this video (it’s very short) for mounting instructions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys7pRkBcZnI

Here they are on my bike:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11034[/ATTACH]

Took them out in the rain yesterday and my butt stayed dry! Only thing I wasn’t too keen on was the rear fender shifter slightly during my bumpy ride up the MVT, but a simple push on the mounting bracket had them fixed right up. Not too shabby, huh?

[ian74]

That’s some interesting tile work behind the chair? Are you in a converted bathroom or something?

@dbb 135231 wrote:

I finally went down for my first fall of the season.[ATTACH=CONFIG]11006[/ATTACH]

Will leave it to the judges to determine if it counts.

Sitting at my desk working on a knuckle busting staff action and the desk chair catastrophically fails, putting me down.

Snow, ice or winter weather didn’t seem to play a role in the crash.

[ian74]

There is a tunnel! I rode through it this morning. When I went through I met a goat legged fellow named Mr. Tamland, and he took me to his his cave, gave me tea. I watched a lion get resurrected, helped defeat the Ice Queen, ruled the land peacefully for 100 years until I was old a grey, then I went back through and it was the same time I entered and realized “Sh*t! I’m going to be late for Friday Coffee club”

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11007[/ATTACH]

Seriously though, one one side it’s a fenced in parking lot with no exit and on the other side is the train tracks. So if you wanted to ride on the CSX tracks, or flatten a penny, this would be the place to do it.

[ian74]

AFHokie, I actually have the Phantom 2.0 jacket by Gore. They also have that on sale at Spokes for $95. Which I think is a great deal. http://spokesetc.com/product/gore-bike-wear-phantom-2.0-windstopper-soft-shell-jacket-187409-1.htm

It’s a soft shell jacket and the sleeves can come off making it a short sleeve jacket. The zippers around the sleeves serve as pit zips. You can open them up as it gets hotter. This is my everyday winter jacket. I wore it today with a long sleeve jersey underneath and was fine for the hour+ I was out riding around. I had to buy a large, because I’m short and stout/chubby. I’m 5’4 and 165. I think they size kind of small.

[Author]

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