Author Topic: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS  (Read 11933 times)

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Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #225: November 17, 2014, 11:51:46 AM »
Looks decent - definitely spend the extra $100 for disc brakes if you plan on riding in the cold and/or wet.   

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #226: November 17, 2014, 12:01:50 PM »
So, any suggestions on a flat bar road/commuting bike? 

My LBS is in Germantown, and they do Specialized.  The Sirrus Sport looks more than good enough for me...

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If you can find a Specialized Tricross Disc Sport in your size I'd totally go with that if you have the budget.  It has disc brakes, decent components, has both hood brakes and top brakes (a big plus), and can do pretty much anything you want it to do outside of elite racing (probably not your bag) and mountain biking.  Check it out:


Offline Dave B

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #227: November 17, 2014, 01:01:57 PM »
That thing is geared to ride up telephone poles. I saw a guy riding one in 40 inches of fresh snow in Colorado last winter, and he seemed to be having a grand old time. 

The front sprocket is smaller than the rear. Can you even generate enough speed to balance

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #228: November 17, 2014, 01:08:39 PM »
With wheels that heavy? I'll bet you can. :)

The front sprocket is smaller than the rear. Can you even generate enough speed to balance

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #229: November 17, 2014, 01:35:37 PM »
The front sprocket is smaller than the rear. Can you even generate enough speed to balance

Given the terrain you ride these on (ice, snow, sand, trails) you need smaller cranks on the front (36/22, the smaller two rings of a road triple crank) and a pretty wide rear cassette (11-34) to keep a high cadence with low strain on the chain.  My road bike is a double and has a 50/34 front crankset and a really narrow rear 9-speed cassette of 11-23 and it sucks to ride on snow and ice with studded tires.  My road bike also only has 1 3/8" wide tires vs. the 4" width of a fat bikes tires.

Offline 1995hoo

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #230: November 18, 2014, 05:33:18 PM »
Night clothing option:

http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/06/30/sugoi-shines-bright-with-new-tech-be-seen-and-dry-with-zap-bike-jacket/

Reflective over the whole torso and arms, not just patches. 

I checked out this item at REI today because we were thinking of getting one for my brother for Christmas. Nice reflectivity, but it runs extremely small. I wear XL in almost everything and I could barely do up the zipper on this. It looked like I was trying to stuff a litre of ice cream into a 500 ml container. The salesgirl said they don't carry any bigger size, unfortunately. Seemed like an ideal Christmas present given his commute. (My brother is shorter than I am but is stockier, broader shoulders and an inch bigger in the neck.)

Edited to add: I see the company's website lists an XXL. Maybe we'll try that depending on the return policy. I had wanted to buy from REI this week because they have a members' sale going on that would have saved us around $30.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #231: November 18, 2014, 06:09:04 PM »
That's pretty nice, but personally I think that money would be better spent on lights. A velcro reflective strap on each ankle and then kill 'em with candlepower.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #232: November 19, 2014, 08:56:27 AM »
There are studies that show that reflectivity on the moving parts of your body is way more effective than a reflective jacket.

There was a guy riding the other night that had reflective material on the back of his calves and it was completely obvious from  a long way away what I was looking at.

I was reading in a bike forum the other day that one guy bought two of those cheap lollypop reflectors that you use to delineate your lawn from the road, cut them down, and strapped them to the top of his rear stays, protruding about a foot on each side. He said he never felt such respect from the cars passing him. I wonder if the separation makes it easier for drivers to judge distance/speed/etc., if it's a depth perception thing.

That's pretty nice, but personally I think that money would be better spent on lights. A velcro reflective strap on each ankle and then kill 'em with candlepower.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #233: November 19, 2014, 08:56:44 AM »
What lights do you use?

That's pretty nice, but personally I think that money would be better spent on lights. A velcro reflective strap on each ankle and then kill 'em with candlepower.

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #234: November 19, 2014, 09:00:29 AM »
If you're looking at REI, you could make yourself a blinking Christmas Tree with http://www.rei.com/product/850213/nathan-strobelight for the same price of the Jacket

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #235: November 19, 2014, 10:14:37 AM »
I checked out this item at REI today because we were thinking of getting one for my brother for Christmas. Nice reflectivity, but it runs extremely small.

Most, if not all, cycling gear is "European" cut so an XL in US sizes is at a minimum a 2XL in most cycling gear.  Personally I find jackets like this to be a waste since for the same price you can buy an excellent set of lights that you can use year round and that are a million times safer.  I ride year round and mostly at night and the only reflective things I have on me are the sewn on strips on my Chrome bags (http://www.chromeindustries.com/us/en/bags/messenger-bags) and maybe a leg strap if I'm not wearing shorts. 

I'd give this a go - http://www.rei.com/product/880093/niterider-lumina-750-front-bike-light

Offline 1995hoo

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #236: November 19, 2014, 01:01:03 PM »
He's already got several lights he likes. Found the same jacket in XXL on Amazon for a lower price than the discount would have been through REI, so we ordered that.



Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #239: November 22, 2014, 05:55:21 PM »
Got a new ride today.  Sadly the red version with the sweet tan sidewalls was sold out but green ain't too bad.  Need to put the orange decals on it at some point.


Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #240: November 22, 2014, 06:04:44 PM »
:clap:  Looks like some fun for you.  Congrats on pulling the trigger.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #241: November 23, 2014, 09:56:53 AM »
It's a blast to ride, reminds me a lot of riding a Big Wheel as a kid.  Best $1,800 (got it on sale from $2,200) I've spent in a long time.

Offline mitlen

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #242: December 06, 2014, 07:21:33 PM »
Got a new ride today.  Sadly the red version with the sweet tan sidewalls was sold out but green ain't too bad.  Need to put the orange decals on it at some point.

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Love the knobby tires and the "slop guards".

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #243: December 21, 2014, 02:35:51 PM »
My sister who lives in Sydney reports that there has been a recent surge in the number of blokes with massive beer guts sporting pro cycling kit. This cycling boom has had some unfortunate aesthetic consequences.


Offline blue911

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Re: Cycling 2014 - In honor of MDS
« Reply #244: December 21, 2014, 03:40:46 PM »
My sister who lives in Sydney reports that there has been a recent surge in the number of blokes with massive beer guts sporting pro cycling kit. This cycling boom has had some unfortunate aesthetic consequences.

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I could totally rock that get up.