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@lordofthemark 182102 wrote:

if wider tires are faster, why do I see so many people riding skinny tires, especially people on road bikes, and in general people riding faster than I do? Does everyone with a “stronger motor” just happen to be among those fooled by skinny tire propaganda?

Skinny pros on lightweight bikes ride skinny tires because they’re lighter weight (esp rotating weight) and their skinny tires are usually expensive tubulars and really supple
Availability. most road bikes will clear 25-28mm tires, maybe 30mm these days. and most stock road rims would do poorly with more than 32mm or so.
Tradition/looks – skinny tires still make sense on a nice groomed velodrome, afaik

Agree with hozn/mstone as well

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I tried Lyras once as a stock part on a bike I otherwise liked upon test riding (Kona Jake). Thought they were terrible, and had them swapped out with [road] BB7s before buying the bike.

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@dkel 179021 wrote:

I do that after every ride.

Eat *and* drink too, maybe.

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Same! Seems like such a genuine guy. (I commented on his ‘gram post about it and he liked my reply too.)

His commentary is apparently good too but yeah, I miss him on GCN. Barely watched it since he left actually.

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If you wanna go baller there’s also these
https://paulcomp.com/shop/components/minimoto/

Can be found cheaper on the ‘bay. I’m planning to swap my folding bike’s front brake to one of these. I used to have mini-Vs then I stole those for another build and then switched to regular Vs I stole off a bike I converted to disc. Stopping power right now is good but due to cable pull there’s very little modulation and not much room for adjustment.

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Will be curious to see your thoughts on the Yokozuna calipers!

I swore I wasn’t going to have a wheelsize in the family between 406 20″ and 26″ but ended up getting a good-value-but-heavy 24″ disc-brake hardtail for my son. It’s quite a bit heavier than the Isla Beinn (which my daughter’s riding now). I do wish he enjoyed riding more but unfortunately there aren’t a ton of places to ride nearby anyway.

I keep thinking of ways I could lighten up the bike. The easiest being to swap in 26″ wheels with slicks (…which I happen to have laying around already) and putting in a n/w chainring to replace the triple crankset (don’t think he’s ever used the FD), but somehow I doubt it’ll affect how much he really rides.

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@AlanA 173110 wrote:

Once in a while I may make a post that makes me appear as a pompous ass (and this was one of them), but I certainly don’t appreciate the jerk reference.

My apologies, it was a tongue-in-cheek comment.

The circles are just based on average speed. Total distance over total elapsed/riding time. You can see the actual data from the “Pointless” individual data. (I do think it’s a bit a silly prize because the competition is about going out and riding safely [mostly] through any weather, and typically the tougher the weather the lower the [safe] average speed.)

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So it’s a circle jerk prize?

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@bob_dc 172959 wrote:

I am not sure if this is true of all Garmin 500’s or if it depends on which vendor Garmin used for the barometer during installation. The other thing that can dope a ride’s climbing is if you stop mid-ride and bring it inside (I haven’t done this during FS18 BTW!). Eat lunch, then go back outside. The temp difference from it warming up can suddenly pad your elevation maybe a couple hundred feet!

Two Garmin 500s will give different results for the same ride. The barometric altimeters and thermometer inside aren’t that accurate/consistent between Garmins. Though barometer based calculations are arguably better than GPS track based elevation estimates, even if they’re highly susceptible to weather changes (and heavy rain will kill recorded elevation). I have two barely working 500s and a 520 and even though I know one of the 500s gives the most elevation relative to the others, and the 520 gives the least (typically 10-15% less than folks I ride with), I just use the 520 because it’s the best at everything else and does Bluetooth sync’ing.

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I miss beers in America but otherwise happy enough logging whatever miles I get in downundah. Will try to at least ride every day.

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But I sold my studded tires.

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I have some Five Ten Dirtbags I got a few years ago online – fairly cheap, grip well, wide for their size. Probably my go to for flat cycling shoes, though I also have a pair of “forged rubber” Chromes that definitely look less dorky. For flat pedals I have some UK brand (Nukeproof), also bought online. I think almost any decent shoes would grip great on these, although it may wear our your sole fast. Definitely would recommend shin guards if you’re doing anything where you might hit your shins!

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@vern 162413 wrote:

I have no idea if this matters, but I wonder what happens to the air pressure in the tires in the ascent/descent to 35K feet?

My understanding is that it rises by about 10-20 psi, generally not enough to really matter – but enough that you don’t necessarily want 80+ PSI in tires, or much more than 35psi in say, gravel tubeless ones. I just deflate mine a bit.

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There’s def a great cycling community around DC. Chances are you’ll want to do a faster paced ride (based on looking at a few of your Strava activities). If you don’t mind a crit-style pack weekday midday loops around Hains Pt will keep you on your toes – kind of similar to Centennial Park in Sydney except with some stop signs and mixed in with more traffic and in summer, tour buses/coaches

http://dcpaceline.weebly.com/ seems fairly up to date, although note Revolution Cycles was bought out by Trek Bikes this year and I’m not sure if those rides are still going ahead.

Your route looks fine, especially if you’re used to riding across Spit Bridge, on Pacific Hwy, etc. in Sydney.

Sat/Sun there are plenty of groups. The Coppi Sunday ride is usually a good pace (with competitive racers) and open to all. http://squadracoppi.com/events/ride/squadra_coppi_sunday_ride

Thursday’s Reston Bike Club (RBC) ride may be up your alley too. You can warm up on the W&OD and then join the A or B group for a good workout. Free to first-time riders I believe.

Bikenetic in Falls Church usually (but not always) does Friday all-day rides but they aren’t fast and are often gravel/MTB.

If you can rent a car and fit your bike, I’d also recommend Skyline Drive out west starting from Front Royal. You can easily spend a day there out and back, with lots of climbing.

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@Sujiro 162335 wrote:

I usually bike the whole Arlington Loop 3-4 times a week. It will took me 1hr 40mins to finish it. The problem is almost all bikers pass through me even grandmas and granpas. Lol. Not sure if I’m just really slow and using a fitness bike or the other bikers are all using road bike with clipless pedals. Or probably combination of both. I’m tired of being passed by a lot, that’s why I’m thinking if clipless pedals will help me to go faster. But now I’m scared to use the clipless because I’m afraid to fall.

I also feel completely drained after uphills in custis trails after I pedalled up. Do you have any suggestion on this?

When you say “fitness” bike it could mean a bunch of things. After the first time I rode the Custis on a 30lb 26″ MTB I swore off trying to bike to work. Something in the range of 18-23lbs will actually make a pretty big difference on hills, especially if you’re not heavy yourself, and a lot of the “gains” you can make are based on gaining confidence and positive feedback as opposed to being passed by old folks.

I wouldn’t worry too much about clipless, and I’d also second the flat pedals with pins as a good in-between option (I have a pair I used in the winter with boots, and also for intermittently practicing certain skills that I’m still terrible at). A half-decent bike fit is probably more important – make sure you have your saddle up high enough to get leg extension.

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