Bicycles!

[choneofakind]

Do a set of flat bars on your 29'er. That would be more comfortable than road bars with drops.

[Apex]

It has a set of carbon risers on it right now. They are TruVativ Noir bars, and a TruVativ Stylo Stem.

Road bars give me more hand positions, so they are the best option for me. I don't know, I may just put some bar ends on them for now and give that a try.

[choneofakind]

playing with the GoPro on the road bike today. It was uber foggy and kinda rainy, so it was a safety yellow rain jacket and gloves/leggings kind of day.

[Apex]

I've tried that angle before, but typical shorts get in the way. Maybe if I just kept my road gear on and not do anything baggy, I'm sure the results would be much better.

[choneofakind]

Yeah, I kept getting my knees and calfs in the picture. That picture was taken when I unclipped to shake my leg out. I moved the camera about 8" forward which should help, and Jiggles tells me I can do a smaller viewing angle with my gopro, so maybe I'll try that as well. The whole wide angle thing isn't my favorite.

[Apex]

I have mine currently mounted on my MTB, just on the front shock. So it should be a very smooth shot. I just have yet to try it.

[choneofakind]

But then you won't be able to see the front end working! That's the coolest part yo!!

[Apex]

True. Too bad my top and down tubes are too thick to mount them. I am too cheap to buy new mount just for the mtb hahaha

[choneofakind]

Sticky mount (closest one to working right) and then get 2 velcro straps with hooks on one side and loops on the other. Stick the sticky where you want it, then clip in the camera and use the velcro straps to tighten each end of the mount. It's not perfect, but it should work just fine.

Or ghetto rig it like I did with lots of electrical tape.

[Apex]

Me and adhesives don't get along very well. I prefer to not put anything sticky on a bike that sees a lot of use in sandy areas.

I can think of something.

[choneofakind]

True. I'm going to get a roll-bar mount, but idk if it will even work. My tubes are all rounded triangles, not circles...

[Apex]

Well, if you need a little cushioning...go to a home improvement store and get some foam pipe wrap and use that to help hold it without scratching.

[Gorilla25]

Lets revive this thread. heres my bike. shot taken at Tantalus look out on Oahu, Hawaii.

[choneofakind]

Neat picture Gorilla! Do you have really short legs? haha

[Gorilla25]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Neat picture Gorilla! Do you have really short legs? haha

no. actually im 5'6" and thats the wrong frame for me. Got the bike for free so i can't complain. just needed to fix her up a little. I cant flat foot at a stop, but i either tippy toe or lean the bike to one side so i can flat foot.

[choneofakind]

Yeah, I can't flat-foot on anything except my bmx bike. I just get one foot off the pedal and stand there. To me, it's more important to have the seat at the proper height in relation to the pedals than to be able to touch the ground.

I still like your picture. It's a great view.

For reference for everyone looking to buy a bike or set their own bike up right, here's a fitting guide that my friend showed me that's pretty useful:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

[Apex]

I purposefully cannot flat foot my bikes. If I can flat foot mine from the saddle, my saddle is too low. However, I don't have a frame size issue to deal with, so that is another story

That orange reminds me of my old Cannondale.

[BlueHairSar]

For Apex: Year round biking!

[choneofakind]

I've read that those conversions are heavy and hard to balance on, which is why I haven't bought one for my mtb. Besides, I get more snow than Apex anyways

[Apex]

Nah, you'd be better off with one of these when the snow falls.

I have heard all over that these things ride great.

FAT BIKES!


Many say it is a fad. Those who own these (and ride them how they are supposed to be ridden) say they are just great riding bikes. I'd like to toss one of these down the trail to see how well it does. It makes me wonder....how big are the tubes for those things? hahahahaha

[choneofakind]

^ Aren't those tires like 3" wide? Tubes must be huge.

Also, I got a sweet GoPro mount made for the MTB, so I'll get some pictures/video up eventually. It looks right out over the fork and watches the fork motion without being shaky. It's really great. Basically all I did was cut up some old clip board and epoxy it together, then cut it to size and bolt it into my bottle cage mounts. Then I put a flat sticky mount onto the flat clipboard surface. It's great!!!

[Apex]

Awesome.

I took my MTB out today. It was windy because a small front blew through and cooled things off a touch. Still, I felt like I had nothing in the tank. It has been over 2-months since I did a serious ride. Being sick, busy, my grandma passing, just a crazy couple of months. It was great to get back out again. I just felt weak, which does make sense due to my time away from riding. Now I have to work hard to get back to where I was. Boooooo

[thisisbenji]

I hate to admit this... but I'v spent more money on bicycles than my motorcycle.

Crux - Apex by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

Carve by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

Motobecane Track by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

Plus I have a full SRAM Force groupset and Reynolds Assault tubulars sitting in my closet... that'll be making their way onto a 2013 Matte Black Specialized E5 frameset in a few months.

[choneofakind]

Benji!!! Looking good dude! Welcome to the ninjetter biking nerds group!! Don't be ashamed of spending $ on bikes haha.

Mark, glad you got back out on the bike, despite having a rough time. I also got that tired feeling; I biked some serious hills on my 35 mile ride the other day. First time I've ridden real hills in 3 months. I feel your pain.

I'll get some gopro footage up eventually, and I'll post pictures of the mount. You're more than welcome to copy it if you think it would work on your bike.

[Jiggles]

I keep forgetting to ride my bike

I wna be a bike nerd tooooo

[Apex]

I had my gopro mounted on my MTB, but I just didn't put the camera in it. That is ok, the ride was dull. Lots of little rocks and gravel, with some paved sections. Nothing fancy about it.

[Apex]

Once my wife and I have a kid, this will be on my list of things to purchase:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[thisisbenji]

I'm not sure about all of that... I'd prefer the little kid trailer.

[Apex]

If cost is an issue at that point in time, I'm all for a trailer. The nice thing about a bikfeits is that they are right in front of you. You can talk to them very easily. Plus, the things are just cool.

[thisisbenji]

True that.

[choneofakind]

I went MTB'ing around town in snow. Snowmaggeddon to be exact The roads were pretty bad, it was a level 1 snow emergency, and I was doing better than some cars.

Lots of fun while I was out. Re-enforced the need to be light and relaxed on the bars. Also was a great example of low tire pressures (27F, 32R) help a ton with finding grip.

[thisisbenji]

I usually run 28 PSI on my MTB for single track. But for the snow I'v found that my cyclocross bike with 700x30c tires tends to do better than the mountain bike.

[Apex]

I run my MTB at around 35psi on the trails. Lots of roots. Too low and I get a pinch flats.

[thisisbenji]

35 is probably good, that's what I run on my CX bike. I'm on the light side (134-139lbs depending on season) so I can go lower on the MTB, plus I run tubeless.

[Apex]

Tubeless helps.

Yeah, on a good day I am 160. I was in the 150's, then I took a cruise vacation. Now I have been hovering around 165-167. Hopefully things will calm down enough so I can start riding again. It has been crazy around the house and work lately.

I want to hit the trails so badly...

[choneofakind]

Old school here; tubes and about 34 psi or so for trail riding. Tons of roots and clay in NE Ohio. I'm also a lightweight (135) and that setup seems to work for me. Unless I do something really stupid, I don't go flat.

I don't have any interest in going tubeless because I've read about them burping or whatever and I don't want to get stranded. I run Kenda Nevegal 2.1 front and Kenda Excavator 2.1 rear. Both are UST capable, so it's an option if I ever choose to try it, but I'm just fine with cheap and easy tubes.

Update on my bike search. Still haven't gotten a chance to test ride the Madone 3.1 because of the weather, so I decided I'm going to keep the Dawes a bit longer. I replaced tires (Conti Gatorskins, 700x23) and I ordered a new cassette and chain because both of those are totally shot. I figure that new bike parts and new motorcycle gear makes up for not having a new road bike right?

I also want to get a trainer so I can spin in my dorm room instead of taking my life into my hands on the back country roads near Ada that don't ever get cleared. Input on experience with fluid resistance vs magnetic resistance?

[Apex]

I stick with tubes as well. So you aren't alone there.

I have a fluid trainer. I snagged it used for $30. Talk about a steal!

As far as trainers go, one tends to be bit more noisy than the others. I just cannot remember which one. I haven't researched them in ages.

[choneofakind]

$30?? nice snag. I'll check ebay and CL more...

I got out for a ride. I managed to make it back before the snow flew, so the roads were clear and wet. I cleaned the chain right after I got back in. Road salt = bad. I snagged this picture when I got home just to prove I went out:

[thisisbenji]

I went out during the snow today, I tried to make a little video but I forgot to wipe the snow off the lens. It was still fun though, it was the first time I'v rode my new MTB in the snow and I have to say, the tires hook up really well.


First Snow Ride of the Winter. by Benji Reynolds, on Flickr

[choneofakind]

It's kinda fun isn't it?? the worst part is the spots where the snow has been inconsistently packed by cars/pedestrians. Clean packing snow hooks up really well and breaks loose predictably.