Cycling

Stereodude said:
Why's that bad? He has a lot of expertise and experience when it comes to typos. Who better to catch you? :-P
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I would refer to that as a misused word. You know I was very close to being a English major, but could not stand the typing. I consumed many dozens of bottles of Liquid Paper in the 70s. :)
 
LunarMist said:
I would refer to that as a misused word. You know I was very close to being a English major, but could not stand the typing. I consumed many dozens of bottles of Liquid Paper in the 70s. :)
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Lucky you had teachers who didn't object to the use of Liquid Paper. Many of mine said an erasure or use of Liquid Paper was an automatic fail. I spent many a day retyping pages of term papers where I had made only one or two typos.

Computers with word processor software and nice printers were a wet dream of mine at the time. Unfortunately, those things didn't really come into their own until maybe a decade after I was out of school.
 
jtr1962 said:
Lucky you had teachers who didn't object to the use of Liquid Paper. Many of mine said an erasure or use of Liquid Paper was an automatic fail. I spent many a day retyping pages of term papers where I had made only one or two typos.
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Liquid Paper on original, then submit photocopy. The challenge was finding a good photocopier.
 
jtr1962 said:
Computers with word processor software and nice printers were a wet dream of mine at the time. Unfortunately, those things didn't really come into their own until maybe a decade after I was out of school.
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My high school was still using electric typewriters when I failed "keyboarding" in 1996. They didn't have a computer lab at all until I put one in the next year.
 
I bought a pair of these last year and have put about 1300 miles on them since. I think we finally hit the holy grail here as far as airless tires go. Rolling resistance and ride quality seems to be just about on par with regular pneumatic tires. Compared to my last set of airless tires, these are a quantum leap. They're using the high-rebound elastomer which is specifically designed to reduce rolling resistance and increase ride quality. I never intended to ever go back to pneumatic tires even before I tried these. I was willing to accept the slight speed penalty and lesser ride quality offered by my last set of airless tires in return for not having to deal with flats. Well, it turns out now I don't even need to make any tradeoffs. Well, the tires are a bit pricey, but it's looking like I'll get 10,000+ miles out of them. All in all, I highly recommend these if you have a rim they'll fit on.
 
ddrueding said:
Good to hear about the rolling resistance, what about the weight? Noticeably different?
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Weight is about 500 grams per tire. That's about 100 grams heavier than my previous airless tires or the inner tube/air tire combo. It's most definitely not noticeably heavier. The balance is decent also. I spun my front tire up to 100 mph with my Dremel two days ago to check. Just a slight amount of vibration even at that speed, next to nothing at 60 mph or less.

If you have rims these will fit on (these fit on rims with 13 to 14 mm inner spacing-see sizing chart), you might want to try a pair. I'd be curious of your impressions. In fact, I think they'll work out better for you than for me given the much smoother roads where you live. These ride decently enough on typical NYC lunar landscape pavement but that doesn't mean the ride isn't harsh. Then again, it was with air tires also. On the rare smooth roads here the ride is great.
 
I'm unclear if I could add the tubeless tires to my bike. I have the following wheels and tires now.

Wheelset:
AXIS 1.0 Disc Deep
Front Tyre:
Specialized Espoir Sport Reflect, 60TPI, wire bead, Double BlackBelt protection, 700×30c
Rear Tyre:
Specialized Espoir Sport Reflect, 60TPI, wire bead, Double BlackBelt protection, 700×30c
 
Handruin said:
I'm unclear if I could add the tubeless tires to my bike. I have the following wheels and tires now.

Wheelset:
AXIS 1.0 Disc Deep
Front Tyre:
Specialized Espoir Sport Reflect, 60TPI, wire bead, Double BlackBelt protection, 700×30c
Rear Tyre:
Specialized Espoir Sport Reflect, 60TPI, wire bead, Double BlackBelt protection, 700×30c
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Tubeless tires require a rim which have the spoke holes sealed to prevent air leaks. They also require adding a valve to the rim. Here's a good read on the subject.

They sell sealant to seal the rim, and also valves to install on the rim. So basically the answer here is you can use tubeless tires on your bike.

Note that tubeless tires and airless tires are two different things. Airless tires are solid polymer and have to be sized properly to fit a given rim. Measure the inner width of the rim to determine which airless tires would fit. I suspect based on the size tires you're using that you could use the same tires I'm using but I could be wrong. The rim could also be slightly too wide inside and you might instead need these or these.
 
I'm researching a home trainer for the colder months coming up. I've read some decent reviews of the Kinetic Road Machine 2.0 Fluid Trainer and was considering it or the previous version. A buddy at work recommended getting a trainer tire so that I don't kill my road tire. Would something like this Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer Fold Tire work ok on my wheels which currently have 700x30 tires? It's offered in a 700x23mm.
 
A while ago I bought a TacX Bushido, along with the i-Bushido computer connectivity kit, and steering frame. I really like it; the geek elements (all the data, computer game aspect, etc) keep me distracted while I ride.

Be sure to get a fan to blow on you and a mat for under your bike (you won't believe the sweat that can accumulate). I haven't bothered about a training tire yet, but I am pretty pro-active about changing tires to avoid punctures/blowouts regularly even with minimal wear so it doesn't worry me much.
 
+1 on that. I don't have a trainer but I use my mom's Schwinn 240 for indoor workouts when it's not feasible to ride outside. Even when the basement is 55°F in winter and I'm riding in my underwear the amount of sweat is unreal. This is with a fan blowing on me. Amazing how much cooling power the wind gives you when you're riding for real. You don't appreciate it until you're riding a stationary bike.
 
jtr1962 said:
Even when the basement is 55°F in winter and I'm riding in my underwear the amount of sweat is unreal.
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Somehow, I wish I read that coming from a swinsuit model rather than from a 52 years-old slightly overweight man. The pictures that pop in my mind would have been much more pleasant.
 
I ended up getting the setup for the colder months to see if I can keep up with my bike training. I set it up to test it out to make sure everything is working ok. I'll probably leave it in my office for the winter so I can watch movies or something while I ride.

kurt kenetic road machine 2.0 fluid trainer
Supermats Heavy Duty P.V.C. Mat for the floor
some padded biking shorts
a Wahoo BlueSC for recording RPM, cadence, and speed (works with Strave)
a Wahoo TICKR Heart Rate Monitor (works with Strava)
a continental home trainer tire (which I haven't installed yet)
Fixed Riser for the front wheel.









 
I got my first mtb this week and took it for a 22 km premiere ride in the woods today, it was really fun to just attack and blast though the mud. :)

The bike is a Cannondale Trail 1, a not so expensive 29" HT. I also tried a Trek X-Caliber, but the Cannondale just gave me a better feeling on the road/trail.
 
It looks like a nice bike. In what material is the frame made? Alu, chromo or other? My current bike is around 10 years old so I've not been following that market much for the past decade.
 
It's alu, it has a pretty basic crank and headset, so it can't be upgraded to a WC winning machine. But it'll be nice to rid in the winter and on the trail with my son next year... And maybe one or two XC races. :)
 
Maybe they could be blasted with gamma rays or something to stop it.
 
I'm pretty sure just a thermal camera is enough to identify it. Carbon Fiber doesn't conduct heat very well, so it should be an isolated spot where the motor/battery/electronics are.
 
I really think the concern is overblown here. There was one instance of a pro rider using this and it was in a women's U-23 cyclocross race and it was her backup bicycle.
 
I'm not worried about it threatening the future of competitive cycling; if doping didn't do that it can't be done.

I'm more into it from the geek/detective, white/black hat side of things.
 
I want to know more about the perpetual energy machine they reference in the article which generates power from the spinning wheels and feeds it back into a motor driving the wheels.

"The authorities hope this system will be able to detect a subtler, more recent development in mechanical doping: neodymium batteries hidden in the rear wheel, generating induction force with a coil somewhere under the seat, and controlled using Bluetooth. This can net the cyclist a few more watts of power that can be fed into a hidden motor."

Cause you know Neodymium batteries. :bstd:
 
Stereodude said:
I want to know more about the perpetual energy machine they reference in the article which generates power from the spinning wheels and feeds it back into a motor driving the wheels.

"The authorities hope this system will be able to detect a subtler, more recent development in mechanical doping: neodymium batteries hidden in the rear wheel, generating induction force with a coil somewhere under the seat, and controlled using Bluetooth. This can net the cyclist a few more watts of power that can be fed into a hidden motor."

Cause you know Neodymium batteries. :bstd:
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I assumed that the Nd was used in the PM alloys and that the energy would be supplied to the conventional coil.
 
LunarMist said:
I assumed that the Nd was used in the PM alloys and that the energy would be supplied to the conventional coil.
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It seems like they're trying to claim the rear wheel is being used as generator by putting magnets in the wheel to excite current in a coil under the seat and are then using the power to drive a motor. Conservation of energy dictates that wouldn't provide a net gain. The best you could do is use something like that instead of brakes to store excess energy in a battery or supercap and then give it back when not on a downhill, but I can't imagine the weight of such a system would be offset by the minimal gains it could offer.

Do road bike racers even use the brakes much?
 
I don't think that's what they're claiming. I think it's just a poorly written article. There are batteries inside the frame from what I understand.
 
timwhit said:
I don't think that's what they're claiming. I think it's just a poorly written article. There are batteries inside the frame from what I understand.
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Can't they just x-ray all of the winners' bikes and maybe bikes of the 2nd and 3rd place finishers? IR scanners by the roadside might not capture everything if the motors are not active and in the heart of the petons or whatever. I wonder how difficult it would be to fry the electronics with the energy pulse?
 
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Stereodude said:
Do road bike racers even use the brakes much?
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The only time I'm aware of it is slowing for corners on descents and (less often) slowing for sharp corners on level roads. I hardly ever use my brakes even just riding recreationally. I typically see things I need to slow down for in time enough to just coast down.
 
Stereodude said:
Do road bike racers even use the brakes much?
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There is a type of road race called a criterium that is frequently held around a couple city blocks with 90-degree corners everywhere. Effectively it becomes a bunch of sprints with potentially huge breaking points. I don't do them, too many crashes, but they are popular because it is so easy to organize a "track".

[video=youtube_share;dswuWTOcovI]https://youtu.be/dswuWTOcovI[/video]
 
$179 for a full suspension bike is actually a crazy low price compared to what you could spend. High end, "double-black-diamond" rated, downhill mountain bikes are easily $3000-5000. Or more! On a less severe trail the bike would probably hold up fine. The main drawback to a bike at such a low price is durability. Really shitty wheels, crap brakes/pads, chain with too many links, crappy shifters/derailleurs, etc, will cause the bike to fall apart really quickly.

In 1990 I spend $750'ish for this bike. No suspension, and I didn't take any jumps or ride any "double-black-diamond" rated downhill trails, but I did ride the hell out of it and it lasted and performed excellently. A friend spend $350 for the same brand bike with crappy parts and after 5-6 rides bike needed MAJOR repairs.

As far as the bike in the video goes, a more through pre-ride checkup and some basic adjustments would have prevented many of his issues. $20-40 bucks on some aftermarket, softer compound, brake pads would make the brakes work a lot better. Going thru all the spokes and make sure they were tight and the wheel was true would also help brake function. And fully tightening and perhaps loc-tightening bars/stem would have prevented the handlebar from twisting.

However, the HUGE issue with that $179 bike is that it weighs 55#. Fifty-Five Friggen Pounds! 25 Kg. Holy Crap! You are going to hate doing ANY uphill or trail riding with that thing. Holy crap 55lbs. Fuck me.
 
The other problem with riding a 55lb bike is the added injury potential in a crash. If you come down under that thing it will be a major issue. I crashed on an 8lb bike and it ended up on top of me without additional injury.
 
snowhiker said:
In 1990 I spend $750'ish for this bike. No suspension, and I didn't take any jumps or ride any "double-black-diamond" rated downhill trails, but I did ride the hell out of it and it lasted and performed excellently.
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Was the frame in chromoly? It was very popular in those years.

Regarding the weight, I used to chose bike that were the heaviest possible. The reasoning behind this is that I rarely went for a long ride and that I used bike riding as a leg training. So the heavier the bike was, the harder it was to make it move at a reasonable speed. It worked quite well. 20 years ago, I had quite unusual leg strength. It almost all gone now, since I've almost stopped cycling close to twenty years ago. My last 100Km ride must have been in 1998 or 1999.
 
I had a bit of an accident today while riding my bike around the park. I had a muscle cramp developing in the calf of my right leg while I was riding. Not the first time it's happened so I just kept riding. About 1/3rd of the way into my second lap I went to overtake some other riders and as I put a lot of force down with my right leg the cramp got super bad. So bad I couldn't bend my leg and was in excruciating pain. I pretty much jumped / pushed off the bike sending it and myself crashing into the grass. I laid there with my leg straight while i tried to stretch it and massage the muscle.

Needless to say this all attracted the attention of the people I was overtaking who stopped and asked if I needed help, etc., etc. Within a few minutes I was able to get back on the bike and finish my 18 mile ride. My right calf still hurts, it's really stiff when I get up from sitting, and I've got a bit of a limp as I walk. Whee!!!
 
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