cycling in 2018 & beyond

[JCA-CrystalCity]

To kick things off, here's a link to a story from Spokes about their wheel-building class. 

https://spokesetc.com/about/bills-wheelbuilding-school-pg1238.htm

I think this is the guy who built MDS's wheels.

[HalfSmokes]

why on earth do freewheels and lockrings have to have different patterns for wrenches? At least lockrings are relatively standardized

[mitlen]

This stretch of trail is very crowded on the weekend.    I've seen a lot of crazy stuff.    I know it's not polite but I've seen a lot of people "ridin' the line" who are a danger to everyone on the trail.    However, this is not the solution.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/one-bicyclist-assaults-another-on-wandod-trail-in-virginia/2018/04/23/7db36b94-46b2-11e8-9072-f6d4bc32f223_story.html?utm_term=.317d5c4654af

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I like the stretch of the W&OD from Herndon out towards ashburn. There's the Old Ox Brewery, what looks like a good barbecue place that has a mess of bicycles right by the trail a little further out, and, back towards Herndon, and Great Harvest and a nice bike shop with a coffee / smoothey / energy snack bar (Green Dragon or something like that).  Sells pinarellos and asthma inhalers

[HalfSmokes]

I like the stretch of the W&OD from Herndon out towards ashburn. There's the Old Ox Brewery, what looks like a good barbecue place that has a mess of bicycles right by the trail a little further out, and, back towards Herndon, and Great Harvest and a nice bike shop with a coffee / smoothey / energy snack bar (Green Dragon or something like that).  Sells pinarellos and asthma inhalers

This time of year, I avoid the W&OD and the Mount Vernon trail like the plague, too crowded with too many people going too many different speeds with varying levels of awareness. I like both once the heat chases people away, and again when the cold does its thing, but this time of year, they're best for joggers and kids not idiots in aero helmets with tri bars trying to rack up koms

[mitlen]

I like the stretch of the W&OD from Herndon out towards ashburn. There's the Old Ox Brewery, what looks like a good barbecue place that has a mess of bicycles right by the trail a little further out, and, back towards Herndon, and Great Harvest and a nice bike shop with a coffee / smoothey / energy snack bar (Green Dragon or something like that).  Sells pinarellos and asthma inhalers

There are a couple of brew pubs in Sterling as well  ...  not too far off the trail.    I always made a stop at Dominion back in the day.        Heads up, they're appropriating funds to erect a bike overpass at Sterling BLVD.     There used to be a place at Ashburn RD (Partlows ?) that was pretty neat.   It may have been been there in the RR days.    I think they turned it into somekind of BBQ joint.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

There are a couple of brew pubs in Sterling as well  ...  not too far off the trail.    I always made a stop at Dominion back in the day.        Heads up, they're appropriating funds to erect a bike overpass at Sterling BLVD.     There used to be a place at Ashburn RD (Partlows ?) that was pretty neat.   It may have been been there in the RR days.    I think they turned it into somekind of BBQ joint.

I don't know my Loudoun geography, so I'm not sure which town what is in.  The barbecue place is around mile 28, give or take a half mile.  I know I just go by it when I'm doing 100kms from Crystal City (out and back - CC to the trail is about 3 miles). Old Ox is closer, maybe mile 25? 

[mitlen]

I don't know my Loudoun geography, so I'm not sure which town what is in.  The barbecue place is around mile 28, give or take a half mile.  I know I just go by it when I'm doing 100kms from Crystal City (out and back - CC to the trail is about 3 miles). Old Ox is closer, maybe mile 25? 

Beyond the golf course and the 7-11 in Herndon westbound you enter Loudoun CO into Sterling  ...  next road you cross is Sterling BLVD.    They wanna build an overpass.    Right now you're at the mercy of the folks on the BLVD.

Old Ox is real close to where the Dominion Brewery used to be.

[MarquisDeSade]

This thread is why I’m glad I don’t live in that MAMIL and needledick infested cesspool.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

This thread is why I’m glad I don’t live in that MAMIL and needledick infested cesspool.

I would have loved to have seen that tri guy try anything with you on your wheels.  His arm would have broken off.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the let's vent thread, but this AM, riding up 15th Street by the WH and treasury, there was a guy who was using a blower to clear oak pollen strands off the sidewalk and bikeway.  I guess he wanted to promote pollination.

Oh, also on this stretch of the bike lane was some horse poop.  That horse must have eaten well before that.

[UMDNats]

I'm looking for a classic-looking bike to commute with. My commute is about a mile (so, not long), and crosses just one major intersection. I won't be biking much further than a mile or two on it, usually in residential areas. Any recommendations? I love those classic-looking road bikes like this -

https://www.statebicycle.com/collections/city-bikes-1/products/the-elliston-deluxe

I'm a total noob so open to all ideas.

[HalfSmokes]

do you have somewhere inside at work to store it? If not, I'd just get a cheap beater and accept that it will get destroyed by weather or stolen

[UMDNats]

do you have somewhere inside at work to store it? If not, I'd just get a cheap beater and accept that it will get destroyed by weather or stolen

yeah tons of space at work to store it and would be easy to store at home too. any good way to look for a cheap beater? craigslist?

[MarquisDeSade]

yeah tons of space at work to store it and would be easy to store at home too. any good way to look for a cheap beater? craigslist?

A reliable beater gonna set you back about $400.  Don't buy that State bike, way too limited.

[UMDNats]

A reliable beater gonna set you back about $400.  Don't buy that State bike, way too limited.

any recommendations?

[MarquisDeSade]

any recommendations?

Check out the Surly Pack Rat (https://surlybikes.com/bikes/pack_rat).  Probably about $1,400 after tax but a great get around town bike.  You can probably find a Surly Cross Check or Surly Long Haul Trucker used for around $800 for a complete and those will last you forever.  The biggest issue with the sub-$500 new bikes is that they're completely disposable and have really crappy components on them.  I'm a big fan of trying to be "zero waste" so I don't buy anything bike related that's disposable or not going to last at least 5,000 miles. 

[HalfSmokes]

State has a reputation for crap that's designed to look nice/trendy. It's basically a dressed up department store bike. If that bike is the look that you're going for, find somewhere that sells velo orange 

[UMDNats]

State has a reputation for crap that's designed to look nice/trendy. It's basically a dressed up department store bike. If that bike is the look that you're going for, find somewhere that sells velo orange 

i like the look of that bike for sure, but thanks for the tip it's usually crap quality. i want something practical that also looks nice and isn't just a regular bike. style is, unfortunately, important to me.

[HalfSmokes]

i like the look of that bike for sure, but thanks for the tip it's usually crap quality. i want something practical that also looks nice and isn't just a regular bike. style is, unfortunately, important to me.

https://velo-orange.com/ is basically what they're going for. I've ordered apparel from state (they have right to the Simpsons), and they aren't even capable of shipping a t-shirt without a hole (I gave them three shots before cancelling the order. I have a Surly (the brand MDS was recommending) and I love it, the same company owns all city which has pretty similar bikes and price points. If you're only going a couple of miles and have no intention of getting into cycling, you may be better off saving your money though

[MarquisDeSade]

i like the look of that bike for sure, but thanks for the tip it's usually crap quality. i want something practical that also looks nice and isn't just a regular bike. style is, unfortunately, important to me.

You can get that look in any number of bikes and not end up with disposable garbage after six months of use.  I just ordered the Velo Orange Pass Hunter (https://velo-orange.com/collections/pass-hunter) but you could easily build it or something like the Campeur (https://velo-orange.com/collections/campeur/products/vo-campeur-frame) into a city cruiser that will last you for decades for around $1,000.  The thing you need to remember is that cycling is like getting into music or photography or golf - if you go cheap and get really into it you're going to have a lot of buyers remorse. 

QBP owns a number of bike companies (Surly, Salsa, All City, Civia) so if a place carries one or any QBP products (Problem Solvers, 45NRTH) they can order any of those frames or completes.  If you want to stay below $600 or so check out the Civia Venue (https://civiacycles.com/bikes/venue) in the 24 speed variety.  It's aluminum and not steel (all Surly's are steel, most All Citys are) so it's not going to be as smooth of a ride but if you're under 300lbs you won't notice any difference.  The groupset on it (i.e. the gears and shifters) are lower end Shimano but my wife has them on her neighborhood cruiser and we haven't had any problems. 

[UMDNats]

Thanks guys, this is a huge help!

[MarquisDeSade]

Hit me up if you find some bikes you like and I can give you the 411 on whether or not they're a decent value or not.  Like I said, cycling is a lot like golf, photography, and musical instruments in that you can go cheap just to "do it" but once you get into you realize very quickly how bad the low end stuff is in terms of value.  You can probably find something used for well under $500 that would be perfect for a beater city cruiser but you'll definitely want to find a bike shop to help you keep it in running condition.  Unfortunately looking through the used bikes on CL for Nashville shows mostly the crappy low end mountain bike garbage but there are some definite deals out there. 

Check these out:

https://nashville.craigslist.org/bik/d/1983-schwinn-world-sport/6579738466.html

https://nashville.craigslist.org/bik/d/pink-bianchi-road-bike/6581615009.html

Bianchi makes some great bikes (I have a Volpe that's great) but their geometry is a little weird to me.  Before you start looking for a bike stop by a well reviewed bike shop and have them do a "quick fit" for you and some test rides on different frames to get a feel for what you like.  If you have the tools (level, measuring stick) you can use this calculator to get an idea of what your bike frame size is but a shop usually can size you up quicker. 

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp

I didn't get sized when I bought my "first" road bike back in 2012 and I wound up riding a frame too small for a while that caused some serious issues with my IT band.  If you decide to buy a new bike from a local shop they'll usually throw in a "fitting" to make sure your bike is set up right so it's comfortable and there are no mechanical problems.  Much like with golf club a fitting makes a huge difference in performance and comfort.  I have kind of a strange body (6'3" but very short legs) so I have a hard time find frames that work for me without major adjustments. 

My main bike now is a Surly Ogre and I actually switched it from the XL frame to a L after a couple of months because I couldn't get the fit "right".  It's a weird looking  bike but for bike packing and touring it's a really hard frameset to beat, especially for the price.  By no means is it fast or nimble but it's probably the best "swiss army knife" bike out there now. 

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/ogre

One bike you might like is the Surly Pack Rat (https://surlybikes.com/bikes/pack_rat).  It runs 650b or 26" wheels (smaller wheels, very nimble), has a rack, and comes in a really sweet green.  One of the really nice things about Surly bikes (other than being steel and very affordable) is that you can easily remove the decals.  Great if you want a really clean look.  Also great if you like to change things up.

[HalfSmokes]

If only they would sell the orge with track ends (or crosscheck). No real hills here, and I really prefer the simple drive train. I love my steamroller, but getting racks on it takes some work since they didn't bother with any braze-ons and made it impossible to use the rear eyelets with their chain tensioner

[MarquisDeSade]

If only they would sell the orge with track ends (or crosscheck). No real hills here, and I really prefer the simple drive train. I love my steamroller, but getting racks on it takes some work since they didn't bother with any braze-ons and made it impossible to use the rear eyelets with their chain tensioner

All Surlys have track ends/horizontal drop outs so they can be ran SS (the Cross Check is semi-horizontal).  I've ran both my Ogre and Pugsley as single speeds. 

Ogre:



Pugsley:



Not sure why you're running a chain tensioner on a Steamroller.