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Do You Road Bike?

The real pain and suckage begins!:D
The following request to change your INTL/Road category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling:
udrider - 2015-07-19 17:02
Member: UDRider
License: INTL Road
Request to change category from Cat 4 to Cat 3
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My current bike was set up as a hybrid when I bought it (CX bike). MTB bars, 30 pounds, flat pedals. The week I bought it I joined a group to do a century as a training ride for my friends upcoming Ironman.

I would use one of Aram's ideas, particularly bringing spare shoes.
 
good times at laguna seca today
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Sorry to somewhat double post (thread in the Sink)

I'm looking to borrow carrier bars / roof rack for a VW. I have an 2013 Sportwagon with factory roof rails.

Had an issue with racks recently delivered (missing key) and not sure they can get me the replacement before I leave Sunday.

Also have 2 Rockmount bike holder that slide into roof bars with a slot. The bars I bought have a slot but it's narrow. I'm going to see if I can file down the mounting plate to fit but thought I'd ask first if you guys have a setup I could borrow for a week.

Thanks!
 
So did my last race of the season here last weekend. First time as CAT3. Didn't really matter since they combined 3/4s. Got shelled off the back of San Rafael crit 15 minutes in. :| Along with 40+ people who got pulled before me. I was told we were loosing riders on every lap since the first lap. Last two times I did this race I got top 10 and just outside of top ten. I need to get faster, and stronger. Somehow.
 
Just bought my first road bike, a Bianchi Eros, and I am eager to start commuting to and from work (16 miles round trip.)
Can anyone recommend a contact or bike shop for a tune-up? A mobile tune up at home would be real convenient, but LBS can work too. I'm in SF.

I saw Columbus cyclery in North Beach have a $39 Groupon for a pro tune up right now.
Any thoughts on that? A little out of the way, but damn good price!
 
a bikin' Bueller. eh?
me, too !

here's a new angle to this just-discovered thread:

I'm here in the company cafe eating lunch while watching TV -
The Tour of Utah bicycle race [sponsored by familiar Miller family of road course fame]

the announcers break from the booth for a minute-long tech sidebar on descending,
hosted by Ken Hill !

they gave him props for being a M/C speedster [& cyclist] who knows how to corner
 
Alright, so today I rode up to the top of a local mountain, Mt. Teine. I've done the road segment before, but a friend said I could continue up the gravel road all the way to the peak. Turns out the gravel road was an 1800' climb over 2.5 miles... made for an average grade of 14% and frequent bouts of 30% grades. Even with a 36f x 28r it was still brutal. Pretty sweet once I got to the top, though. Most of the hikers looked at me like I was a crazy person. The route: https://www.strava.com/activities/364625760

There's a shrine at the peak - it was a welcome sight as I knew I was done. The dog statues guard the entrance

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Pano from the peak
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My straggler has been the perfect bike for my riding here. It can do long road rides, but also can handle getting a bit crazy on some double track downhills. Great commuter too! The BB7's are not cutting it with my 245lb weight. Might upgrade to hydro discs when I get back to the states. Some nice old guy came over and took the camera out of my hands to take this picture... I got the jist of what he wanted so it all worked out.

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What size discs are you running?

I think the problem of only having one moving pad and the short throw of road levers reduces the braking ability. If the lever arms were shorter on the calipers the brakes might feel better. I have 160mm discs with BB7's, but I'm only 145 pounds. I love how they feel until maximum effort and then they seem to just drop off. Still love them in the rain, and never worse then rim brakes.
 
Sidewalk said:
What size discs are you running?

I think the problem of only having one moving pad and the short throw of road levers reduces the braking ability. If the lever arms were shorter on the calipers the brakes might feel better. I have 160mm discs with BB7's, but I'm only 145 pounds. I love how they feel until maximum effort and then they seem to just drop off. Still love them in the rain, and never worse then rim brakes.
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Yea, 160's. As you said, they're totally fine until you really need max power. I don't think 180 rotors would make a huge difference as the issue is more with the calipers. The new tektro dual arm brakes are supposed to be good. I'd love to go with shimano hydros, but the STI shifters are expensive! Maybe once the new 105 stuff is available I'll make the jump.
 
I just go for bang for the buck on the road. Most of my road riding is commuting so I don't care about weight or anything. All my concentration is in the MTB, which by coincidence is getting a brake upgrade right now due to a warranty. New Guide RSC :D
 
Sidewalk said:
I just go for bang for the buck on the road. Most of my road riding is commuting so I don't care about weight or anything. All my concentration is in the MTB, which by coincidence is getting a brake upgrade right now due to a warranty. New Guide RSC :D
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Yea, that's why I traditionally ride 105 stuff.... works damn near flawlessly and is a fraction of the price. Haven't seen the pricing on the new 105, though. This bike will see much less heavy use when I get back to the state, so I'll probably hold off on upgrading. I also have a new fatbike coming that I need to pay for!

Oh, you'll have to let me know what you think of the new Guides. I frequently glaze my XT's on long and fast downhills. I've thought about jumping to saints. What were you running before? How did they break?
 
My commuter is all 105 (technically my TT is Ultegra...circa 2002), no complaints. On the other hand I have a wide ratio 9 speed MTB cassette that the bike came with (was set up as a hybrid with Deore), and a 1x9 set up would be nice. So I will think about a Tiagra in the future, maybe. I went playing in the dirt today and used the small ring on the triple, so...


I've become pretty good friends with my LBS, so I don't know how bad the damage is. But the owner said the rear brake was leaking at the lever and contacted SRAM for a warranty repair. I know there was air so I asked them to flush it out. I'm not going to argue about getting all new brakes! The old ones were X01 and I loved the lever feel.

I don't know how hot I get mine compared to others in MTB. I am new to MTB but have taken to it pretty well. I won the Kenda Cup Cat 3 series first try, I'm leading the Temecula 12 hour beginners class series (I have to run the same class all year, the 12 hour was my first MTB race). I think I was 5th fastest out of 27 in Sport in the downhill last Sunday (XC Style DH), on a borrowed HT that I've never seen, let alone had set up time on. So I don't think I brake a lot :D

I can say that on the borrowed bike I didn't seen to like the lever feel of the XTR. But there are too many factors there to make a good judgement.
 
Sidewalk said:
My commuter is all 105 (technically my TT is Ultegra...circa 2002), no complaints. On the other hand I have a wide ratio 9 speed MTB cassette that the bike came with (was set up as a hybrid with Deore), and a 1x9 set up would be nice. So I will think about a Tiagra in the future, maybe. I went playing in the dirt today and used the small ring on the triple, so...


I've become pretty good friends with my LBS, so I don't know how bad the damage is. But the owner said the rear brake was leaking at the lever and contacted SRAM for a warranty repair. I know there was air so I asked them to flush it out. I'm not going to argue about getting all new brakes! The old ones were X01 and I loved the lever feel.

I don't know how hot I get mine compared to others in MTB. I am new to MTB but have taken to it pretty well. I won the Kenda Cup Cat 3 series first try, I'm leading the Temecula 12 hour beginners class series (I have to run the same class all year, the 12 hour was my first MTB race). I think I was 5th fastest out of 27 in Sport in the downhill last Sunday (XC Style DH), on a borrowed HT that I've never seen, let alone had set up time on. So I don't think I brake a lot :D

I can say that on the borrowed bike I didn't seen to like the lever feel of the XTR. But there are too many factors there to make a good judgement.
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Yea, the taperbore srams were pretty picky. They worked great when they had a good bleed, but any air and they were terrible! I have a set of XO's on my commuter mountain bike and I still like them. I just don't like that sram still uses dot fluid. I don't want to deal with that crap when working on my bike.

Great to hear your MTB racing is going so well! All your road biking is undobtedly helping you out. I'm amazed at how much faster I became when I started road biking more a couple years ago (I've ridden MTB since I was 12). Ha, go hit Downieville or SC Demo Forest and then tell me how much you brake! I generally don't run into issues at places that are XC oriented such as Auburn or Tamarancho. It's only on the long fast stuff that I start to lose a bit of braking... It's just the weight + speed is too much for stock XT's.

Where was the downhill race you did?
 
I jealous of all you guys riding! Just three more days and (fingers crossed) I should be cleared by the ortho for all activities and can ride again.
 
I live down south, so my racing is in SoCal. It wasn't a downhill race, but a stage race. It had a two mile climb, then return back down the same hill (not technical). Then a dirt crit and 6 mile XC race. All at the Rim Nordic ski area in Big Bear mountain (7000' elevation). I haven't done any real downhill stuff. Some trails I've ridden have been used for enduro stages, but not true downhill. Though my bike is an all mountain rig so it is pretty capable.

My weight definitely makes braking easier.
 
Hooli said:
Sports Basement is holding a 58cm Felt AR5 for pickup after work today. :banana
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Sweeeet!! I was just down there and the felts looked sweet. I always want to buy another road bike when I go, but already have 3 nice ones. :laughing mention Costco or any gym or make up some triathlon association and they give you 10% off at checkout which I think I mentioned before.

Oh I also rode outdoors for the first time since my crash and man riding outside is so much nicer than the trainer. Felt soooooo good.
 
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