The biking thread

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Question for the knowledgeable - My Giant Roam has a 63mm front fork (this one) that I would categorize as almost useless. It's technically functional, but any time I'm in a situation where I don't have it locked out, it seems to either overheat or, I'm not sure - it just rattles around a lot and seems to lose its damping capability. It's also quite heavy. I want to simplify this bike and align it more with gravel riding rather than a sort of low end hardtail that it feels like it is now. I like the geometry of the bike and I like the brakes, my big issue is that it's too heavy. All that being said, I thought I might kill two birds with one stone if I eliminated the suspension on the front fork. How do I go about finding a lightweight fixed front fork that would fit my bike? The alternative would be getting a Cannondale lefty fork - but those are so damn expensive I might as well get a whole new bike.

 

[Shaun]

Question for the knowledgeable - My Giant Roam has a 63mm front fork (this one) that I would categorize as almost useless. It's technically functional, but any time I'm in a situation where I don't have it locked out, it seems to either overheat or, I'm not sure - it just rattles around a lot and seems to lose its damping capability. It's also quite heavy. I want to simplify this bike and align it more with gravel riding rather than a sort of low end hardtail that it feels like it is now. I like the geometry of the bike and I like the brakes, my big issue is that it's too heavy. All that being said, I thought I might kill two birds with one stone if I eliminated the suspension on the front fork. How do I go about finding a lightweight fixed front fork that would fit my bike? The alternative would be getting a Cannondale lefty fork - but those are so damn expensive I might as well get a whole new bike.

Don't know the first thing about shocker forks (did I even get the terminology right ) sorry mate so can't help you out here. Did you get it sorted out?

Just today I was cleaning out alot of old emails when I came across the folder I had created when getting my bike built. After reading through it I really want to get another one, so so dangerous but I'm going to have to be strong and resist.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Don't know the first thing about shocker forks (did I even get the terminology right ) sorry mate so can't help you out here. Did you get it sorted out?

Just today I was cleaning out alot of old emails when I came across the folder I had created when getting my bike built. After reading through it I really want to get another one, so so dangerous but I'm going to have to be strong and resist.

I did another ride up the local mountain (about 1000m, really rocky) on the Giant and decided that its both too heavy and too dim feeling for me to put any money into. I decided I'd rather get a dedicated and much lighter steel gravel bike. I'm looking at a few options:

Surly Midnight Special
Surly Straggler
Chumba Terlingua
Black Mountain Monstercross

Anyone know of any other cool steel gravel frames?

 

[Shaun]

Anyone know of any other cool steel gravel frames?

Surly was my first thought also.

I know a guy who has a Norco Search XR which is a nice bike.
A local bike brand in Melbourne Curve do a steel gravel bike called Kevin of Steel 3 which looks pretty cool, not sure if they ship frames worldwide though.

You could always sell a few organs and head over to Above Category and get measured up for a Baum Orbis X though they are titanium not steel.

 

[girabyt3]

So... Is "Cityzen Kane" (Do I keep the name or not? ) an All-Mountain Hardtail or does it need a bit more??

Finally, I could do the Upgrade I wanted to do forever!! New Maxxis Minion TR EXO Skinwalls!! ❤️ (DHF 29x2.50 // DHR II 29x2.40)... Didn't change the inner tubes (didn't know you had to)... But they work flawlessly (on tarmac... I know I need to take them down and dirty )!! ❤️

Like a glove

Spoiler

Didn't change the rims BTW... Those still are the original ones, but with reflective stickers to make them both badass and visible at night, a government mandatory over here

Sadly... (Story of my life at this point...) It came with a trade-off... At one green light, my Bottom Bracket snapped in half... and I had to change not only it... But also the WHOLE crank due to the BB's arm getting somehow welded due to friction to the crank... Which gave me no choice but to change to a new crank... ... At the end, I got a new sealed Neco square BB with a smaller, more MTB-ish 3by Crankset ✌️

Man... These are sexy...

 

[MrCrynox]

So... Is "Cityzen Kane" (Do I keep the name or not? ) an All-Mountain Hardtail or does it need a bit more??

Finally, I could do the Upgrade I wanted to do forever!! New Maxxis Minion TR EXO Skinwalls!! ❤️ (DHF 29x2.50 // DHR II 29x2.40)... Didn't change the inner tubes (didn't know you had to)... But they work flawlessly (on tarmac... I know I need to take them down and dirty )!! ❤️

View attachment 1078631

View attachment 1078635

Like a glove

View attachment 1078632

Spoiler

Didn't change the rims BTW... Those still are the original ones, but with reflective stickers to make them both badass and visible at night, a government mandatory over here

Sadly... (Story of my life at this point...) It came with a trade-off... At one green light, my Bottom Bracket snapped in half... and I had to change not only it... But also the WHOLE crank due to the BB's arm getting somehow welded due to friction to the crank... Which gave me no choice but to change to a new crank... ... At the end, I got a new sealed Neco square BB with a smaller, more MTB-ish 3by Crankset ✌️

View attachment 1078634


View attachment 1078633

Man... These are sexy...

Looks nice mate 👍

 

[Fat Tyre]

Hello everyone. I recently bought my first ever road bike after finding the GCN channel on YouTube (btw Manon 😍🥰❤️)... And I just received my cycling shoes and cleats. I had to practice against a wall and it didn't seem that difficult. I went on a short ride and I clipped and unclipped several times while riding (never stopping). I thought to myself huh this is easy, why do they always tell those horror stories? Anyways, I'm getting back home, I'm cycling slowly down the driveway, I try to unclip and surprise, surprise it's a whole different story when you're near coming to a halt. Thankfully I was able to lean against the wall and not smash my whole body and possibly face against the concrete.

Btw here's Mrs. Fat Tyre.

 

[Shaun]

I thought to myself huh this is easy, why do they always tell those horror stories?

There's a good chance you'll forget to unclip once, it's normally in front a a car full of young guys.
After that it will become second nature and you'll do it without thinking, enjoy the new bike. 👍

 

[Fat Tyre]

There's a good chance you'll forget to unclip once, it's normally in front a a car full of young guys.
After that it will become second nature and you'll do it without thinking, enjoy the new bike. 👍

Haha, I hope my anxiety and fear of falling will keep me in my toes. Actually my biggest fear is that I'll fall at an intersection with my head falling towards the traffic and been run over by a car 😬. I just read some horror stories in Reddit about unclipping accidents and a guy mentioned breaking his wrist on his first ride, ouch.

And thanks mate, I will!

 

[MrCrynox]

I've only done it once. After I had been riding for months feeling like I was a natural, right at the end of my ride heading towards my back gate, just coming to a stop and there was some of my neighbors washing their car, they called out to me to say hello, that's all it took, being distracted I somehow forgot that I had to unclip and promptly fell into and hugged my Wheely bin which was by my gate. Embarrassing to say the least.

Where you need to be very careful is stopping on a hill, in high winds and sudden unexpected stops in traffic.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Hello everyone. I recently bought my first ever road bike after finding the GCN channel on YouTube (btw Manon 😍🥰❤️)... And I just received my cycling shoes and cleats. I had to practice against a wall and it didn't seem that difficult. I went on a short ride and I clipped and unclipped several times while riding (never stopping). I thought to myself huh this is easy, why do they always tell those horror stories? Anyways, I'm getting back home, I'm cycling slowly down the driveway, I try to unclip and surprise, surprise it's a whole different story when you're near coming to a halt. Thankfully I was able to lean against the wall and not smash my whole body and possibly face against the concrete.

Btw here's Mrs. Fat Tyre.

View attachment 1079974View attachment 1079975View attachment 1079976

Yeah, it's not particularly hard I've found. I use SPD cleats now (because I like to walk) which are perhaps even easier to get in and out of.

Knock on wood, I've never spilled due to my cleats. (although, a few weeks ago, my cleat became loose on my right shoe and would not unclip no matter how hard I yanked. I had to take my shoe off my foot to get it off my pedal)

In other news, I checked my Strava activity yesterday and on one segment I was just ahead (by 2 seconds) of a chap named Barry Bonds. Apparently he is a big cyclist in retirement and frequently rides the same roads I do. I'm surprised I haven't run into him before - he's not exactly inconspicuous.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Surly was my first thought also.

I know a guy who has a Norco Search XR which is a nice bike.
A local bike brand in Melbourne Curve do a steel gravel bike called Kevin of Steel 3 which looks pretty cool, not sure if they ship frames worldwide though.

You could always sell a few organs and head over to Above Category and get measured up for a Baum Orbis X though they are titanium not steel.

I just ordered a Ribble Gravel Ti Sport 650B with Shimano GRX600 1x11! I'm really excited, I've been wanting a titanium bike for ages. The price on the Ribble was better than the handmade steel bikes and I was finding it hard to justify the boutique surcharge. The Ribble isn't as exotic as your Baum, but should last basically forever.

Everything is backed up, so it likely won't ship until January...at the earliest. I've heard Ribble is not the best about communicating build status, but I'm hoping the supply chain issues will be getting better, not worse.

 

[Shaun]

I just ordered a Ribble Gravel Ti Sport 650B with Shimano GRX600 1x11! I'm really excited, I've been wanting a titanium bike for ages. The price on the Ribble was better than the handmade steel bikes and I was finding it hard to justify the boutique surcharge. The Ribble isn't as exotic as your Baum, but should last basically forever.

Everything is backed up, so it likely won't ship until January...at the earliest. I've heard Ribble is not the best about communicating build status, but I'm hoping the supply chain issues will be getting better, not worse.

Awesome news mate, no need to compare it to my bike.
The best bike you can have is the want that makes you want to ride.

Look forward to seeing some pics of it. 👍

 

[Greycap]

Spring came and my Chisel made it to the sunshine. The cheap and effective upgrades have been done - next in line are the eye wateringly expensive ones that I just want...

Autumn has arrived, as well as some of the eye wateringly expensive upgrades. The previous white reflective wheel decals are also gone, now in their place are black reflective ones. Stealthy.

 

[Fat Tyre]

Autumn has arrived, as well as some of the eye wateringly expensive upgrades.

What were the upgrades?

 

[Greycap]

XT cranks with an Absoluteblack oval chainring, SID SL fork. Those alone command a price tag well above a complete, perfectly capable, entry level bike.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

What are your thoughts on the oval chainring? I've been curious about them. @Greycap I just love a nice hardtail. My Ribble will probably occupy the spot that I would reserve for a hardtail, but if it doesn't that might be the next bike in my N+1 collection. Also I need a coffee bike.

Man...the days are just ticking by. January 2nd feels like a lifetime from now....

Did anyone catch Paris-Roubaix this weekend? What an insane race and rode brilliantly by Colbrelli. That's two times now in a manner of weeks he's stalked a more broadly capable rider all the way to the finish and used his power to take them at the line. I'm surprised that Van Der Poel made the same mistake that Evenepoel did at the European championship...though I guess having 3 in the bunch limited his options. In any case, these two photos of WvA and MvDP pretty much tell the story of the hell of the north.

On another note, what is everyone using for their supply carrying? I'm talking tool kit, spare tube, etc. I've been using the same saddle bag for years, but I don't really love it. Was thinking of getting a new one for my new bike and I saw this...which looks pretty awesome! The only thing I don't love is the fairly limited multi-tool capacity.

 

[Greycap]

What are your thoughts on the oval chainring? I've been curious about them.

Some people say it feels funny at first. This is my second bike with an oval, and both have been ridden with a normal chainring first so I know how they feel with it - and I haven't felt a thing after the change in either case.

BUT.

The change becomes very obvious after riding a "normal" bike after getting used to one equipped with an oval. The round chainring becomes the one that feels unnatural, of course the muscles adjust to it very quickly and then it feels normal again but the interesting thing is that there's again no odd feeling when going back to the oval, at least for me. I only feel the change from the oval to the round ring, not the other way round.

Uphills may be slightly easier with the oval ring as it has the "lower gear" positioned at the spot where there's very little power coming from the legs so the point of running out of energy is moved further. Of course it's also possible that it's all just between my ears.


The next planned upgrade is one that I'm not at all sure about if it can be done with standard parts. If it can't... well then it'll involve using a lathe. I've never heard about anyone doing such a modification, reference material doesn't exist, but someone has to be the pioneer and it seems that'll be me in this case. Stay tuned during the winter.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Some people say it feels funny at first. This is my second bike with an oval, and both have been ridden with a normal chainring first so I know how they feel with it - and I haven't felt a thing after the change in either case.

BUT.

The change becomes very obvious after riding a "normal" bike after getting used to one equipped with an oval. The round chainring becomes the one that feels unnatural, of course the muscles adjust to it very quickly and then it feels normal again but the interesting thing is that there's again no odd feeling when going back to the oval, at least for me. I only feel the change from the oval to the round ring, not the other way round.

Uphills may be slightly easier with the oval ring as it has the "lower gear" positioned at the spot where there's very little power coming from the legs so the point of running out of energy is moved further. Of course it's also possible that it's all just between my ears.


The next planned upgrade is one that I'm not at all sure about if it can be done with standard parts. If it can't... well then it'll involve using a lathe. I've never heard about anyone doing such a modification, reference material doesn't exist, but someone has to be the pioneer and it seems that'll be me in this case. Stay tuned during the winter.

Are you going to drillium your entire frame?

 

[Fat Tyre]

I bought a Kickr Core and signed up to Zwift. I thought it was best to try and get somewhat fit indoors before riding on the road that way I can go for 'long' without that fear of having to ride home with absolutely no energy left.

My fat ass is really not used to riding. Today I managed to do 30kms and while it might not seem much I realised it's the first time I ever rode that far, indoors, outdoors, whatever.

How do you guys decide what pace to have when going on long rides? Do you check the power output or the speed you're traveling? I found my biggest problem with trying to be consistent in either was boredom and exhaustion as well. Especially gradients feel horrible to me and I feel my legs drowning in lactic acid instantly. Any tips?

 

[W3H5]

How do you guys decide what pace to have when going on long rides?

It’s been a while since I rode, but when I did ride a lot, and far, I’d use the chart below to plan my pace:

As a rule of thumb, if you can still sing while riding, your around Endurance, which is probably where you want to be for a safe ride that isn’t going to burn you out.

 

[Fat Tyre]

It’s been a while since I rode, but when I did ride a lot, and far, I’d use the chart below to plan my pace:
View attachment 1085689

As a rule of thumb, if you can still sing while riding, your around Endurance, which is probably where you want to be for a safe ride that isn’t going to burn you out.

Thanks so much! I had no idea about that. What did you do when you found hilly terrain? Do you go to zone 3 and higher or just shift gears until you can maintain the zone 2 for instance?

 

[W3H5]

Thanks so much! I had no idea about that. What did you do when you found hilly terrain? Do you go to zone 3 and higher or just shift gears until you can maintain the zone 2 for instance?

Really depends on many variables; am I chasing a PB, did I want to train harder or just spin my legs, was I with a friend or did I spot somebody I wanted to catch up to, how far did I plan to ride and what was my current state like.

I’d usually aim for Zone 3 if I was training to build up fitness but only on shorter rides. For anything over 50km I’d probably stick to Zone 2 and on occasion push a bit harder when I felt I could. If I knew I would be doing 100km+ I’d certainly stay at Endurance to avoid fatigue.

It’s also dependant on personal fitness. I’d ride with others who could cruise along at Zone 2 while I was at threshold for the majority of the ride.

As much of my riding was done over mountains I did use the gears to help me keep my zone where I wanted it, but on an uncategorised climb there may be no avoiding pushing harder even with proper gearing.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

@Fat Tyre

I typically pace myself with heart rate as I don't have a power meter. For instance, I know that pretty much:

Heartrate between 100-150 I can sustain pretty much all day - "endurance"
Heartrate between 150-175 I can sustain for about 60-120 minutes - "tempo"
Heartrate between 175-190 I can sustain for about 20-45 minutes - "threshold"
Heartrate between 190-205 I can sustain for less than 5 minutes - "V02 Max"

Now everyone's heart is different (consider the numbers above as totally arbitrary) but you can find your zones with a little practice. This metric lines up reasonably well with power, so you can use it as a proximate gauge of power, though things like recovery and how you're feeling that day can impact heartrate.

As far as hills, it really depends on a few things. If climbing the hill is the point of the ride, and it's less than an hour climb, I'm going to ride it somewhere around the tempo/threshold border. If it's a short punchy climb I might crank the dial all the way to 11. On the other hand, if the hill is merely in the way of getting to somewhere else and I want to preserve energy, I'll drop down into the little ring and hold my heartrate to just below tempo so that I know I'll still be fresh on the other side (where I live, I basically can't go anywhere without clearing at least one 100m climb). One thing I've learned the hard way is to pace yourself on the easy side (that is, keep your HR on the lower end of your intended target) towards the bottom of the hill and save your energy for the top. One thing about hills (particularly mountains) is that the topography generally has fewer options near the top (you can't switchback on such a small area) so the peaks are often the steepest bits. A local climb near me has a section at the very end (the last 100m of the climb) simply known as the wall. It's 18%.

As far as boredom goes...it's hard to escape on an indoor trainer. I'd suggest music or some other entertainment. I never get bored outside though...there's always something to look at or pay attention to. I've gone on 6+ hour rides and not felt bored the entire way.

 

[Shaun]

@Fat Tyre the guys above have pretty much covered it. Once you have ridden for a while it also comes second nature and you can ride by feel and know if you are pushing or not.

I have both a power meter and heart rate monitor, unless I'm actually training I tend not to look at the numbers and just ride for the enjoyment.

As for Zwift yep it gets boring (I sold my core after about a year) but once you get a bit of fitness embrace the hills, that's the fun bit. Pick a gear that is easy to spin, don't grind your way up, who cares if you are going 4km/h. You won't fall of a stationary bike due to not moving.

 

[toastet]

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I noticed that I had a tendency to move forward on my saddle when I was wanting to put down power while seated. So I decided to experiment and slide my saddle forward a bit...maybe half a CM or so. I did a ride yesterday and I immediately noticed by glutes & hamstrings were being used quite a bit more to the point where I feel like they weren't being used basically at all before. Today they are sore as hell giving further credibility to that thought. I also feel like I'm slightly better balanced on the bike...like I'm not having to reach as much. Seems like a pretty good change, so far.

 

[W3H5]

The expression “on the rivet” comes from exactly what you’ve experienced. It is indeed a way used to put down some more power.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

The expression “on the rivet” comes from exactly what you’ve experienced. It is indeed a way used to put down some more power.

I noticed that expression came up quite a bit when I was googling the forward position. Its interesting that tri-athletes apparently use that position to put more load on their hamstrings and glutes to preserve their quads and calves for the running portion of the race. I'm trying to find a balance where all four muscle groups are in perfect harmony!

I should also note that I've scheduled a bike fit (first ever!) for my new bike...which feels like ages from now still. 76 damn days.

 

[Greycap]

Are you going to drillium your entire frame?

That would certainly be interesting. But no, I'll be a bit more boring.

As the current fashion is the totally nuts 10-5x (depending on the manufacturer) cassettes on mountain bikes, even on go-fast XC bikes - and I know from experience that with such a cassette I basically never user the smallest, or the four largest cogs - it effectively means I'm riding a very expensive seven speed system with huge gaps between gears. Which isn't good. My previous bike was from the good old 10s era when you could mix and match just about anything and for most of the time it had an 11-28 road cassette. Shimano just unveiled the new 12s road parts a few weeks ago, I'm going to find out how to craft an 11-34 Ultegra cassette onto the XC rig and make it work.

I noticed that I had a tendency to move forward on my saddle when I was wanting to put down power while seated. So I decided to experiment and slide my saddle forward a bit...maybe half a CM or so. I did a ride yesterday and I immediately noticed by glutes & hamstrings were being used quite a bit more to the point where I feel like they weren't being used basically at all before. Today they are sore as hell giving further credibility to that thought. I also feel like I'm slightly better balanced on the bike...like I'm not having to reach as much. Seems like a pretty good change, so far.

As a MTB rider I've never understood why just about every bike has a relatively slack seat tube, and an offset seatpost on top of that. Practically ensuring that the seat can't be positioned far enough to the front. I've swapped the post to one with zero offset and pushed the seat as far forward as it goes, it sounds pretty radical but in reality the nose of the saddle is still something like 5 cm behind the bottom bracket line.