The biking thread

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Took the Cervelo out for a big ride yesterday...honestly the first genuinely big ride on that bike. 62mi/100km and 5500ft of elevation. It did really well and it was probably the first 100k ride I've done where I didn't feel absolutely wrecked at the end...which I attribute to it fitting me correctly, having more compliance, and generally being a more stable bike than my old nervous Cannondale. I could have easily done 100 miles if it was a flatter route (It was a 6.5hr ride). On the old Cannondale (and I think also on the Ribble to a degree), I was in a very quad-dominant riding position and so my quads have become very strong in relation to my other leg muscles. The fit on the Cervelo has me in a lot more balanced position with regards to my legs and yesterday, for perhaps the first time ever maybe, I felt significant soreness in my glutes and hamstrings after around 3.5hr of riding. I think once I put a lot more miles into this bike it will eventually be for the better (considering they are the strongest muscle), but yesterday it ended up being my limiting factor.

The Cervelo is so good at just all paved road riding, and so comfortable, that I've been considering making the Ribble a little more off-road dedicated so it isn't redundant. I can sneak a 650bx2.1 in the frame so I think I might do that and swap the bar to a flat bar with MTB controls. Most of the off road opportunities around here are a lot more rowdy than a gravel bike is really intended for and I've felt myself pretty limited by the drop bar setup on technical descents, not to mention the 700Cx40 tires on there now. The main concern about doing this would be making the bike less suitable for longer rides...but I could also get some clip on "bar-ins" to help make up for the lack of hand positions if I were to do a longer ride.

 

[Greycap]

We're looking at bikes still that we can afford that match our budget.

Some pointers here.

The first thing is to not listen to any of those so called enthusiasts that judge others by their bikes' price. If someone can buy a carbon rocket worth someone elses's half a year's paycheck, good for them, but it doesn't make them any more knowledgeable or "better bikers". It only means they have money. And according to them you absolutely can't ride anything that doesn't have a $1000+ fork if it's a mountain bike or a $2000+ wheelset if it's a road bike. The wheels apply to mountain bikes too though. Only the most expensive groupset is allowed, everything else is junk. Especially if it's from Shimano, in that case even the most expensive is junk because real riders use SRAM or preferably Campagnolo.

Now, the real pointers. I've built "daily beaters" for my mom and myself, and also "enthusiast bikes" for both so I have a bit of real life experience on what works, what doesn't, and what's just worth avoiding for one reason or another.

The first and really only "avoid at all costs" thing is a seven speed cassette. They're the cheapest possible parts, wear about as quickly as soft cheese, and replacing the cassette is a pain because it's usually a freewheel setup instead of the more common freehub. Pay a bit more when buying, get a 8/9/10 speed freehub setup like nearly all modern bikes have, and you'll save the money in the first service already.

Another thing I wouldn't get if the use is any heavier than on a sunny day every now and then, is rim brakes. They do their job but they go through pads like a kid through a bowl of sugar coated cereal and the brake dust gets everywhere. My mom wears out two or three sets of pads a year and I don't even remember when I changed my own disc brake pads. Might have been in summer 2022 for a comparison, and I brake a lot harder. Get disc brakes if possible, they don't even have to be hydraulic, the mechanical ones work just fine for leisurely riding.

The "what works" part is more of a brand thing really. Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials, because they've put the money and effort into R&D and it can be seen though the entire range. Cannondale, Scott, Specialized, Trek (in alphabetical order) etc., the big names. What comes to the parts, the mid to high end SRAM is good, but the low end not so much especially what comes to the value for money. As long as it says Shimano on the drivetrain - and it's not a seven speed - it'll take everything you can throw at it and just keep trucking.

About the price though. I've had hardtail MTBs that cost around $700, $1000, $1500 and $2000 as new and the last one has since been built into a ~$4000 setup. On the other hand, my current daily driver is the $700 model with some small improvements and its actual price is perhaps $1000 now. There's a massive law of diminishing returns when the price goes up, from my point of view (I ride more or less daily, and the equipment has to be good enough to not be a constant irritation) the sweet spot is indeed around the $1000 mark. It already has all the cheapest things ironed out and from there on the functionality doesn't change all that much, everything just becomes lighter and more refined. I know that it's a lot of money for a bike, but you'll get a setup that doesn't have any really weak parts that need attention immediately or perhaps ever.

 

[Chris30]

Some pointers here.

The first thing is to not listen to any of those so called enthusiasts that judge others by their bikes' price. If someone can buy a carbon rocket worth someone elses's half a year's paycheck, good for them, but it doesn't make them any more knowledgeable or "better bikers". It only means they have money. And according to them you absolutely can't ride anything that doesn't have a $1000+ fork if it's a mountain bike or a $2000+ wheelset if it's a road bike. The wheels apply to mountain bikes too though. Only the most expensive groupset is allowed, everything else is junk. Especially if it's from Shimano, in that case even the most expensive is junk because real riders use SRAM or preferably Campagnolo.

Now, the real pointers. I've built "daily beaters" for my mom and myself, and also "enthusiast bikes" for both so I have a bit of real life experience on what works, what doesn't, and what's just worth avoiding for one reason or another.

The first and really only "avoid at all costs" thing is a seven speed cassette. They're the cheapest possible parts, wear about as quickly as soft cheese, and replacing the cassette is a pain because it's usually a freewheel setup instead of the more common freehub. Pay a bit more when buying, get a 8/9/10 speed freehub setup like nearly all modern bikes have, and you'll save the money in the first service already.

Another thing I wouldn't get if the use is any heavier than on a sunny day every now and then, is rim brakes. They do their job but they go through pads like a kid through a bowl of sugar coated cereal and the brake dust gets everywhere. My mom wears out two or three sets of pads a year and I don't even remember when I changed my own disc brake pads. Might have been in summer 2022 for a comparison, and I brake a lot harder. Get disc brakes if possible, they don't even have to be hydraulic, the mechanical ones work just fine for leisurely riding.

The "what works" part is more of a brand thing really. Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials, because they've put the money and effort into R&D and it can be seen though the entire range. Cannondale, Scott, Specialized, Trek (in alphabetical order) etc., the big names. What comes to the parts, the mid to high end SRAM is good, but the low end not so much especially what comes to the value for money. As long as it says Shimano on the drivetrain - and it's not a seven speed - it'll take everything you can throw at it and just keep trucking.

About the price though. I've had hardtail MTBs that cost around $700, $1000, $1500 and $2000 as new and the last one has since been built into a ~$4000 setup. On the other hand, my current daily driver is the $700 model with some small improvements and its actual price is perhaps $1000 now. There's a massive law of diminishing returns when the price goes up, from my point of view (I ride more or less daily, and the equipment has to be good enough to not be a constant irritation) the sweet spot is indeed around the $1000 mark. It already has all the cheapest things ironed out and from there on the functionality doesn't change all that much, everything just becomes lighter and more refined. I know that it's a lot of money for a bike, but you'll get a setup that doesn't have any really weak parts that need attention immediately or perhaps ever.

Hey, thank you for taking the time to give us this info. We're gonna start saving for a more expensive one. We can always ask people and staff at Walmart what kind of good reliable bikes they have. Thanks again for this information. Happy 2026 btw, it's Day #4.

 

[TB]

We're gonna start saving for a more expensive one...

...at Walmart

I understand that everyone's definition of "expensive" is different but that is exactly the kind of bike that @Greycap said to avoid:

Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials

We can always ask people and staff at Walmart what kind of good reliable bikes they have. Thanks again for this information.

These are literally the last people you should be asking. They almost assuredly don't know anything about them and are just stocking the shelves.

Go to an actual bike shop. There are a number of them in your area. They likely sell used bikes which would get you into either a better bike for about the same price or a similar bike for less money. Worst case, you'll be able to talk to someone that actually knows what they're talking about.

 

[Greycap]

These are literally the last people you should be asking. They almost assuredly don't know anything about them and are just stocking the shelves.

To put this into perspective, in our local supermarket I've walked through the bike section, spotted a disastrous mistake, and pretty much forced an employee to get the bike off the floor now or I'll fix it myself right there on the spot with my own tools. It's happened three times now, three separate times. Forks installed backwards. That's how well they know their stuff.

Things like that do happen. On top of that I've had one of the around $300 supermarket bikes myself so I know what they are, and it's not a good look. The derailleurs were worn beyond able to be adjusted after one summer, the fork had developed play that made every braking hazardous as it didn't track straight, the wheels weren't properly trued even as new, and every part was as cheap as you can imagine. The absolute bottom of the barrel. After that I bought a $600 big brand bike and even though it was dirt cheap by their standards everything on it was several magnitudes better than the old one. It could actually be called a proper bike, the supermarket special was a bunch of parts assembled to look like one but it really wasn't suitable for anything else than riding to the local pub and not being sad had someone stolen it.

Just to make it clear, we're not trying to discourage you from buying a bike. We're trying to prevent you from wasting your money on something that will only cause you grief because good cheap bikes don't exist. Terrible cheap ones do, the actually good ones aren't cheap by most standards but they're still worth it in the end.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

To be fair, Walmart does make a bike that is above "bike shaped object" and is at least upgradeable to hobby-level components. However, it's barely cheaper than the lowest price offerings from Specialized/Trek etc, particularly on the used market so it's hard to say its the better option, if it's not the only option. There is the reality that in many parts of the US, there is basically no bicycle market at all.




So I finally pulled the trigger on the flat bar conversion for the Ribble. Went down to the recycled parts shop and found a nice old specialized 690mm bar with a slight rise. I definitely don't want a "contemporary MTB" width bar on this bike, so this feels just right and looks rad. Ordered an RS700 right hand shifter for my GRX 11-speed (from aliexpress, godspeed) and a pair of RS600 brake levers and some PNW grips because I really liked them on my SOMA build. Also going from 700Cx40 to 27.5x2.1s so this bike is being transformed from shared-use path cruiser to fire road mobber - in theory. Really curious to see how it feels, particularly off road as I really dislike drop bars on anything remotely technical or off road downhill. I may get a dropper for it later as it has quite a bit of seat post length available.

 

[TB]

upgradeable to hobby-level components.

The vast majority of people, myself included, don't want to have to upgrade anything, never mind doing so on a brand new bike.

For me personally, the only Walmart bikes I've purchased was for the kids when they were little. Once they grew up, one got my old 1999 GT Outpost and for the other we went to an actual bike shop and bought used Trek. My bike is a Specialized bought off of FBMP for about 1/3 the price of new.

Point is, Chris, don't limit your choices to Walmart's offerings. While passable, there are MUCH better options.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Finally managed to use a rain jacket comfortably on a long ride where it rained the whole time. In the past I've always struggled with becoming clammy & uncomfortable when the jacket inevitably "wetted out". So this past Sunday I went out in a pretty strong rain storm with a goal of doing 40 miles. I wore a wool cycling cap, a sleeveless base, a long sleeve summer jersey, and my Rapha rain jacket, which doesn't even claim to breathe well. Lower body I just wore normal bibs and (my biggest mistake) waterproof socks with no shoe coverings.

The big thing I did different was that I kept my effort in zone 2, heartrate wise. If I noticed my HR tick over 140 I would back off and settle it back down. I think the big issue for me and rain jackets in the past is that I sweat A LOT. Like I sweat way more than most people. I'll start sweating profusely turning wrenches in my garage sometimes...it's kinda ridiculous. But on this ride, I did as best I could to not get into the sweat zone...and it worked! My torso stayed mostly dry despite 3.5hrs of continuous rain. I had to really measure my pace on some of the climbs and I went slow as molasses, but I stayed comfortable-ish. The other essential was the full fenders which kept my back regions clean...a check at the end of my ride showed absolutely zero grim on my back, which was nice. As noted, my biggest mistake was the socks. These have worked great for me in the past, but that was when I was riding in rain pants that covered the top of the sock. Without this "lap" of waterproof material, the water eventually went in at the ankle....and couldn't escape so I had sloshy disgusting feet for at least 75% of the ride. Wool socks would have been a much better choice.

I have to say I think I need a new saddle for my gravel bike. I used to think the Fizik I have on there was a good fit for me, but after riding my new road bike with it's slightly narrower and shorter saddle, I find the Fizik brutal after 2 hours. A quick bit of googling turned up this "NinetyK The Jam" as the saddle that Cervelo rebrands as their own. I think I might order a couple of them for my gravel bike and my trainer.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Anyone have experience with finnicky old QR rear dropouts? The Lemond has an issue where no matter how tight I set the QR, the wheel always seems to move under heavy torque, sometimes enough for it to completely exit the dropout...but mostly just enough to skip a gear. Such a stupid design...so glad modern bikes have through axles.

Also, I'm strongly considering getting a set of Hunt 40 Carbons for the Cervelo. The wheelset is about 600g lighter than the alloy ones I have on my bike now, 10mm deeper, they have 22mm internal width (I'm running 30mm tires) and they are currently on sale for just $786. In conjunction with that I'm thinking of swapping my stock 52-36, 11-34 combo for a 50-34, 11-36 combo because I think the gearing is just way too tall for the terrain I ride in. I calculate that at 110rpm in the 50-11 gear I'd be at 40mph...which is plenty, but I'll pick up some valuable leverage at the other extreme going from sub 1:1 to greater than 1:1. Lastly, I'm thinking of going full roadie and setting up a waxed chain for this bike.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Paris Roubaix was incredible and a well earned return to glory for WvA. MvDP and TP are only as good as their competition/rivalries and with Wout having a few off years it's been anti-climactic. After seeing WVA nearly haul himself back up to the front two at Milan San Remo, I thought he might be back - then he followed that with good performances at Dwars and Flanders. I'm still waiting for the dream scenario where Wout and MVDP enter the Roubaix velodrome together, preferably on a particularly miserable/muddy edition.

In personal bike news - I did buy the Hunt 40s along with an 11-36 cassette. Pretty pumped to get it all setup, it should be around 600g weight savings vs my stock build.

 

[Greycap]

Anyone have experience with finnicky old QR rear dropouts? The Lemond has an issue where no matter how tight I set the QR, the wheel always seems to move under heavy torque, sometimes enough for it to completely exit the dropout...but mostly just enough to skip a gear. Such a stupid design...so glad modern bikes have through axles.

Not so much the actual dropouts, but I figured out one problem back in the day from quick releases. The symptoms were clicking and creaking, audible from somewhere in the drivetrain, mostly in the BB area. So I disassembled it all, cleaned and greased, and it still happened. So I tried different pedals, and it still happened. I changed the BB and you can guess the rest. Then at some point I tried different wheels for some reason, they had different quick releases, and it went quiet for a while until I changed the wheels back and the noise returned. I then tried those quick releases on the original wheels and it was a 50-50 improvement, by which time I began to figure out that the QR tightness played a role in it.

But was it the QR itself? Nope. The derailleur hanger mounting screw had worked itself very slighty loose, the entire hanger was moving around and making the noise, and the tighter QR held it in place well enough to partially fix it. Needless to say that tightening the screw fixed it for good.

And as if this wasn't a stupid enough thing, basically the same happened with a different bike about a decade later. And it was a thru axle bike on top of that, with the axle threads on the hanger itself, but it still managed to be loose enough.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Was looking at my Cervelo today and was trying to decide what car company the brand is most analogous to. I did this previously with my CAAD12 and the clear parallel there was Lotus (I even called that bike Colin). The rest of my commute I came up with this list:

• Porsche = Completely ubiquitous sight on any given race day anywhere in the world = Specialized
• Ferrari = The most coveted name with the most storied history in racing, and deeply Italian = Colnago
• Mclaren = Upstart company focused on advanced technology with the strict goal of taking the fight to the above two = Cervelo
• Lotus = Pioneer of novel construction and material usage to approach racing from angles nobody has thought of = Cannondale
• Mercedes Benz = Deep heritage brand with a century + of racing involvement and innovation = Wilier Triestina
• Corvette = Always there on a race day, always competitive, minus the snobbery = Trek
• Lamborghini = Less prestigious than Ferrari and leans into tech aesthetic, performance and status chasing = Pinarello
• Alfa Romeo = Historic volume brand that has done basically everything, including dominate racing at certain period = Bianchi
• Jaguar = A once prestigious marque with real pedigree that has unfortunately had a long slide into irrelevance = Raleigh
• Maserati = Longtime racing mainstay that has recalibrated into more of an experiential, luxury brand = Masi
• Koenigssegg = Obsessive attention to material craft and extraordinary performance at high cost = Enve
• Pagani = As obsessed as Koenigssegg but to design detail and beauty = Sarto
• Toyota = Innovator of scale and production methodology, does absolutely everything and well = Giant
• Honda = Quintessential Japanese innovator, doing more with less = Fuji
• VAG = Similar to Toyota in terms of production innovation, but towards a European aesthetic premiumness = Canyon
• Subaru = Lifestyle brand focused on outdoor ruggedness with a friendly vibe = Salsa
• Jeep = Lifestyle brand focused on outdoor ruggedness with a surly vibe = Surly
• BMW = BMC
• Peugeot = uh....Peugeot

edit: a few more

• Williams = Factor
• Alpine = Look
• Morgan = Rivendell
• Mini = Bromton
• Abarth = Cinelli

 

[Greycap]

• Porsche = Completely ubiquitous sight on any given race day anywhere in the world = Specialized
• Corvette = Always there on a race day, always competitive, minus the snobbery = Trek

Another thing, still in line with both, is that they're entirely daily drivable while having the race personality. You don't see anyone commuting in the middle of the winter with a Pinarello or daily driving a Lamborghini, but Porsches and Corvettes are as "normal cars" as fast sports cars get and loads of people commute and go grocery shopping with Specializeds and Treks, myself included.

On the other hand either of those two could also be seen as the VAG concern. Everything from the cheap runabout to the extreme top level, and it all just works thanks to the massive R&D behind.

 

[Solo]

@Eunos_Cosmo As a Factor owner, can I suggest it’s TVR? Wild performance, built as one man’s passion but not always reliable and needs plenty of maintenance 😂

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

A few more

Bugatti = Absolute pinnacle of money-no-object engineering and exclusivity = Bastion
Singer = Peak nostalgia meets modern engineering principles and a lot of dollar signs = Pegoretti
Ariel = Pure material honesty & craftsmanship on display in a package meant to be USED = Moots

 

[VXR]

Good to know I've finally got my hands on a Corvette (Trek)

Hoping to add a dirt jumper to my garage, because my lad has started going to a really cool bike park and it was a bit inelegant on my mountain bike.

 

[AEKara38]

I suppose my Mountain Cycles San Andreas is like a De Tomaso Pantera or a Maserati Bora, good in it's day, still looks good but you wouldn't want one.
It's gathering dust in my attic now, most of the groupset is XT or non-Shimano, the front disc is the first Hope ever produced but I'm not active anymore. I'm retiring soon so it may see the daylight again.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I suppose my Mountain Cycles San Andreas is like a De Tomaso Pantera or a Maserati Bora, good in it's day, still looks good but you wouldn't want one.
It's gathering dust in my attic now, most of the groupset is XT or non-Shimano, the front disc is the first Hope ever produced but I'm not active anymore. I'm retiring soon so it may see the daylight again.

I would love to see a modern progressive geometry 29er take on this MTB form factor.

 

[CTznOfTime]

I need to get my VAG out for a long overdue ride...5 months late in my new years resolution, which is about a couple of years late in itself...

Talk about procrastination inception...

 

[Greycap]

I swear my old Stumpjumper hardtail has a soul of some kind. Or an aura, or something.

While its story is forever linked to mine, it was what basically carried me back to life in early 2015 after getting really ill, it has always somehow felt very special from the first time I saw it. When I went to buy it on January 10th that year with my mom (she's an enthusiast too and often comes along simply out of interest) the first thing she said when I pulled the bike from the display rack was "now HOW much does that cost?" which says something about the presence. Well it was 1999€ so not even that much, but it certainly looked like more. It was eventually retired on 10.10.2020 as the red Chisel previously seen in this thread took its place and it's been ridden exactly once since, on July 10th last year - exactly ten and a half years after the purchase, I rode all my bikes here one by one after moving from a rented flat to my own house. The date for that one wasn't a coincidence.

It was set up tubeless way back then and somehow the sealant has worked until this winter but now it eventually failed so I took it out of its "hardstand" for adding a bit more. When lifting it up it still feels different, the Chisel is better in every measurable area but even it doesn't give such a sensation. It's a brilliant bike but this one has something in it that I can't explain. Almost like it has a spirit of sorts, and I'm the guy who doesn't believe in anything supernatural to begin with.

And the reason why it needed fixing is that it absolutely has to be serviceable on June 10th this year. Yes, one more number 10 in the mix. Had things gone differently I would originally have bought it for my 30th birthday in 2016 but health issues indeed forced me to get it while I still could as nobody knew how the situation was going to develop. In the end everything turned out fine and I also got a better bike than the one year later model would have been, the specs and the paint scheme changed slightly and both for the worse. But this June I'm turning 40 and without some serious force majeure I'll ride it once more. Perhaps for the very last time as by then it has certainly done its job and will some day be put up on the man cave wall, there isn't a piece of art in the world I'd rather have there.