[Rod Smith]

…

[Rod Smith]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152293491220023&set=a.246402765022.302078.175133555022&type=1&theater

I though you all would enjoy this picture if you haven’t seen it already.

[Rod Smith]

You can enter rides manually at Strava, but they do not count towards their challenges. Endomondo did not require participants to own a fancy cell phone or GPS bike computer to paticipate in the National Bike Challenge.

[Rod Smith]

Since I got my Garmin in May, I’ve ridden an average of 249 miles/week. It will be hard to maintain that in the shorter winter days but I guess that’s my baseline to use in handicapping. Thanks in advance for the work of putting this together, RC100. Should be fun.

If the numbers don’t come out even, such that each team has the same number of riders, you can still keep it balanced by putting more high mileage riders on the smaller teams.

[Rod Smith]

You’re a ringer too.

[Rod Smith]

I guess I’m a ringer but I know commuters who put in similar miles just getting to and from their full time desk jobs. I’m envious of that kind of work ethic. I just ride around at my own pace on my own time. Should I volunteer to captain the slacker team?

[Rod Smith]

Ooh, ooh. Chainlove. Reynolds wheelset on sale now. Is it OK to put a $1750 wheelset on a $800 hybrid? What if the wheels are half price and the hybrid frame has been upgraded to a frame with carbon stays which was offered as a complete bike in the $1100 range? Answer quick, I have 5 minutes or less, only eight sets are left.

[Rod Smith]

I hate to Strava all my rides because then anyone can see how late I go to work and how early I knock off. On the other hand, if my comings and goings are a matter of public record, I might try harder to work full time. That’s the point right, to get us to ride more? My job is delivering stuff by bicycle so I get to ride a lot. I’m good for at least 150/week. During this summer I averaged twice that, but I’m not planning to do a lot of recreational riding during the winter months.

[Rod Smith]

I picked up a cold weather tip that’s well known in the non-cycling community. Long pants. If you like MTB shorts you’ll love long pants!

[Rod Smith]

@dcv 36471 wrote:

Holy tire clearance! Are you running 26″ MTB wheels on a 29’er fork?
Your trailer tires looks overloaded or low on air, what are you hauling?

I’m embarrassed. I’d been meaning to pump up those trailer tires. There’s maybe 20 psi in that one. Scwalbe Marathons are very stout and forgiving of such errors.

Yes it’s a 29er fork on a 26er bike. The new fork matches the stock (100 mm travel) shock’s axle to crown measurement. Perhaps I should have accounted for an inch of sag? I didn’t think about that. The bars do feel kind of high, but I can lower them. The subtle changes in handling that a change of a degree or two of seat tube/head tube angles are probably lost on me. I doubt I could tell the difference. Which is another reason maybe I should have sourced a slightly shorter fork. It looks a liitle odd but I like it. The old fork was starting to move back and forth like it had (double jointed) knees.

There are times I notice and miss the cushion but for the riding I do, I don’t think suspension is worth the weight.

I was hauling cardboard boxes. :p

[Rod Smith]

I put a new fork on mine.

[Rod Smith]

A most dubious distinction. For the record it’s sub 40! 😡

I’m putting on a rigid fork, the stock shock is cooked. I’m hoping that will take a few pounds off.

[Rod Smith]

Clean your shoes monthly.

[Rod Smith]

Yeah well it’s my job. I ride in empty and I deadhead a lot (ride empty to a pickup across town). I get groceries and cat food on the way home.

[Rod Smith]

After I asked that, I looked at my bike and it seems the rotor is very far inboard from the dropouts and the brakes do not stick out as far as the frame does. So it seems to me that the brake mechanism shouldn’t be in the way of a rider’s heel even if aligned with the chainstay, unless it protrudes to the side more than mine (or the stays are radically curved).

My bike has curved chainstays. Straight ones work better with my trailer hitch, but these work ok. My rack is not a disc specific model but it works fine with the seat stay routed brake lines on my bike. The rack is very close to the brake, but not touching.

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