[TwoWheelsDC]

So I think I’m giving up on the Schwalbe G-Ones and going back to the Clement X’Plor MSOs. I’ve now gotten large punctures on the rear tire twice in less than 1200 miles, both from riding through gravelly shoulder areas of the road. The one I got yesterday was pretty small, but I think the cold kept it from sealing and the tire went completely flat (it punctured in probably the last half mile of my commute) while sitting in the parking garage. The cold also caused the tire to shrink up when it lost air and my mini pump wasn’t powerful enough to get it back on the bead. I’m going to bring the bike home and put a dynaplug in the hole and see how that goes, but I think I’m going to replace these tires with the Clements once they wear out or inevitably puncture again.

The G-Ones seem great for actual gravel or clean pavement, but they just seem to be too soft to stand up to the type of gravel that tends to accumulate on the shoulders where I spend a decent amount of time during my commute. The Clements seemed much more durable in that regard, at the cost of a small amount of speed.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 169282 wrote:

I may take you up on that, thank you

Just let me know. I’m available Sunday if you want to pick them up, but Saturday is not an option, unfortunately.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 169287 wrote:

For the navigationally challenged, there is a GPS route map that you can download to your bicycle computer:

Using other’s content without attribution? I’m hurt Bob.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Steve O 169285 wrote:

I thought you were going to say “Hains Point,” but then you veered off.

Hains Point is a close third behind crippling social anxiety.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I have a set of Shimano R500 (basically Tiagra) wheels that came with my Cervelo that you can have. I think the rear freehub may not have a ton of life left, but they’re solid wheels. I won’t ever use them again because all my bikes are 11spd at this point and now they’re just clogging up my shed.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Birru 168089 wrote:

So Performance sometimes has house brand builds and they’re blowing out the 2016 and 2017 GT Grade Carbon with a SRAM Force 22 mix. They cut costs a bit with Stans Notubes Radler (which seem like an OEM version of Grail) rims on cheapo Formula hubs (which are fine) and went with an FSA PF30 BB instead of the stock Praxis BB. They also went with FSA compact cranks. A friend of mine bought the 2016 and it’s a really sweet bike at a heck of a price too. I’d probably go with the 2017 though for the flared bars and 32mm Clement treaded tires instead of the 28mm Conti slicks. Seems to fit the intended use better.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product2_10052_10551_1208138_-1

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product2_10052_10551_1185360_-1

I have the AL version that came with Rival 1 HRD. I think I paid $1100 from Jenson. I moved the nicer components (crank and wheels) I had from another bike that ended up becoming a bad weather commuter, so I didn’t end up spending any extra money on upgrades. I absolutely love it. Although I do like carbon, I don’t think I’d pay the $600 premium for it (the AL Grade has a carbon fork) unless money just wasn’t an issue for me (it is).

[TwoWheelsDC]

I….may show up. HP100 generally involves two of the things I hate most in this world: a large gathering of people I’m sort of expected to socialize with, and cold weather.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 169011 wrote:

As the creator of Freezing Saddles, Dread is right. Freezing Saddles was a game played amongst a community as we cycled through the winter. It was a farce, a giggle. It was pointless (ergo the games title, taken yes, from Whose Line is it Anways).

It was never meant as a true competition. In terms of design, it really could not be. The rules bias the game one way or another – and anyway if you actually have to have a D- Measuring Competition, go race. If you actually have to compete to satisfy some self worth need, go join the big kids and the real competitions where its “put up or shut up.” To turn FS into a true competition would be to turn it into something it could not be and ruin the community experience.

Social points will bias FS towards an inner social clique. Anyone on the outside of that clique will be pretty much out of the game. Live in Frederick Md and able to ride with only a few FS members – yer at a huge disadvantage. you are an introvert or aspergers and you love to ride but you dont like lots of social interaction – you are hosed. You are part of S Arlington HDCC and like riding for donuts – you win. The rules bias the game and determine who wins. For a whole bucket of people FS becomes uninviting and a peripheral experience

All recreational activity is social. That is a big reason we play. You dont get extra points for playing basketball with a team. you dont get extra points for playing disc golf with friends. You play. And then you go drink beer because you like the people you are with. you dont need a toy surprise award to give you an incentive to be social.

The fact that you have to be awarded points to be social misses the point and begs some social issues. Do I really have to bribe you to talk to me??? And do I really want you crashing my social experience just so you could earn your stupid points? That happened last year with the social butterfly award which became the “crash other people’s coffee conversations” award which is one of the reasons I stopped going to coffee. If I am immersed in a delicious conversation with a friend, I dont want to be interrupted by a dingus taking a selfie.

FS is a giggle. It’s design was to build community. I dont need points to talk to people. And if the only reason you will ride with me is to earn 50 points, maybe I should reflect on why it takes that type of incentive to get people to ride with me.

Old man yells…….a coherent and sensible take.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Steve O 168898 wrote:

So if you ended up in 46th place instead of 36th place because some other people took rides with other FS participants, would you get your panties all in a knot?

See my post directly above yours…

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 168895 wrote:

Or are you concerned that you’d be doing your team a disservice if you didn’t get enough ‘rides with others’ in.

This. I’m obviously fine with some type of prize or bonus for riding with others, but I wouldn’t want it the competition heavily weighted in that direction…I would effectively become a liability for my team in that case.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I’m an anti-social reverse commuter (DC to the ‘burbs), so a socially-orientated points system would probably lead me to go ahead and withdraw. I like the contest in the sense that it gives me a way to see how my winter riding stacks up to that of others, but I’m not one to make an effort to participate in social rides/activities, outside of maybe a ride or two to put names to faces with my teammates.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@EasyRider 168257 wrote:

The lines between “e-bike” “e-scooter” and “e-motorcycle” are going to be blurry;

No they aren’t. Existing laws cover these distinctions quite well. They could be better refined on the low end of the power spectrum (i.e. potentially lowering the power/assist threshhold in the definition of e-bikes, or more explicitly defining e-bike classes), but the legal distinctions between e-bikes and scooters/mopeds/motorcycles (regardless of power source) are very clear.

@EasyRider 168257 wrote:

Should any of the above be allowed on paths, assuming they observe speed and safety norms — even though they be capable of highway speeds? They are “perfectly capable of slowing down to the fit conditions”, right?

There is zero ambiguity about this in current law.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dasgeh 168250 wrote:

The guy I pass most often wearing a full face helmet is riding a regular ol’ mountain bike – no e assist.

I see this dude fairly regularly on the Custis (and almost always in the same spot, oddly enough). There are a couple of other people that I’ve seen on multiple occasions with full face helmets, even in the summer, riding just regular bikes.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dcv 167735 wrote:

Nominate a few candidates for FS dictator and vote, the winner makes all the rules. No more debates.

“The Hunger Games: Freezingjay”

[TwoWheelsDC]

Can’t say I’ve ever had a “squeaking” that was solved by a simple RD adjustment. If the bike shifts fine (meaning it runs smooth while in a given gear, in addition to actually shifting smoothly) and is all lubed up well, then I can’t really think of any adjustment that would fix some sort of nondescript squeaking. If your RD is in need of adjustment, you should be getting some feedback through the drivetrain as you ride, along with some roughness in the drivetrain sound (but not a squeak). Does it just sound like it’s coming from the RD while you’re on the bike, or have you put it on a stand and traced the sound to the RD area?

One easy culprit to check…make sure your rear skewer is snug. I had a squeak that I eventually tracked down to my hubs, where the little grippers had worn down allowing the hub to move against the dropout, which necessitated keeping the skewers really tight. You generally don’t need the skewers super tight, but they should be nice and snug.

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