@tk@cycling@mastobikes@biketooter Urban Arrow find’ ich auch cool. Aber am schönsten sind die Dinger von Eliancycles, weil die Lenkung in die Nabe integriert ist.
The pro racers who do need carbon fiber bikes get them for free. Only the people who don’t need them actually pay for them.
Carbon fiber is light. It’s strong. It can be used to build everything from frames to seat posts to handlebars to cranks. And it’s one of the worst things that’s happened to bikes.
Now, to be clear, carbon fiber makes perfect sense for professional racing. Because it’s basically a fabric, builders can mold it into all sorts of aerodynamic shapes. Moreover, they can tune ride quality and maintain strength while simultaneously keeping the weight to a minimum in a way that’s not really possible with metal tubing. It used to be that racers had to choose between a light bike and an aero bike; now they can have both, all thanks to the miraculous properties of carbon fiber. At this point, there’s no reason for elite competitors to use anything else. Gift Yourself More Adventure
But here’s the thing: you’re not them. I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you’re almost certainly incapable of milking the handful of seconds a wind tunnel-sculpted pro-level carbon fiber race machine might theoretically net you in certain situations. Moreover, the pro racers who do need carbon fiber bikes get them for free; only the people who don’t need them actually pay for them. This means that, ipso facto, if you’ve purchased a carbon fiber bicycle, you’ve made a mistake.
“Okay, fine, I may not be Jonas Vingegaard,” you may be thinking. “Maybe I didn’t need a carbon bike. But how does that mean I’ve made a mistake?”
Simple: while you’re not able to extract carbon fiber’s small performance benefits, you are in an ideal position to experience its many drawbacks—and for normal people, carbon fiber bicycles have only drawbacks.
This is Bike Snob NYC writing for Outside Online, by the way.
@tk@biketooter@cycling@mastobikes I respect Eben and enjoy his articles but I got a CF bike cheap and I can lift it onto its rack without hurting my back.
@keraba@tk@biketooter@cycling@mastobikes Eben kinda lost the plot a few years back. He's still right sometimes, but so is a stopped watch. FWIW I ride mostly steel bikes but, like you, got a CF bike for cheap recently and it's fine....
Today in tk's #seabikes adventures: descending from Phinney Ridge without a function front brake. :blobfoxscared:
(The bike has TRP Hylex hydraulic disc brakes. I took it to my LBS after and they said that it looks like the caliper might've sprung a leak and has been contaminating the rotor. I've had the brakes for several years now, so I'm not too bothered.)
Yes, cantis. I like them. :blobfoxgooglytrash: They work well when set up correctly: straddle as low as you can get them to start, then raise little by little if you prefer. Having a lower cable hanger will additionally reduce system flex and improve stopping.
Even those dreaded Tektro “Oryx” 992A calipers. You need the straddle super low, but they work great that way. (That does also mean that they have limited tire clearance!)
(Oh, and this isn’t a “rim versus disk” debate starter. If anything, it would be a “cantis suck” debate. :blobfoxgoogly: )
NZ cyclists who also use buses, warning that from Saturday bike racks on public buses will be unavailable due to safety concerns raised by NZ Transport Agency (NZTA). May be temporary but no restoration or replacement date given.
NZTA have advised bus operators but no info for cyclists on their website. Useless agency for alerting actual transport users!
@Kay I was about to reply that Christchuch's Metroinfo had advertised it fairly well but then I reread the details and realised it's now a complete ban, not just a nighttime ban. Whaaaaat??
(Metroinfo does have a news item on their site, I'm not sure if they're updating the posters on the buses or just going to rely on bus drivers warning people individually throughout tomorrow....)
I used to love #bicycle touring, but after years of doing routes most riding wouldn't even consider, having various kinds of "type 2 fun" times, and then COVID hit, I just can't get myself to do it. That even applies to supported tours like #BikeSTP! Being a "sitting duck" in a sea of drivers of all personalities scares the everliving shit out of me. :blobfoxscared:
During the pandemic and motivated by the psychological pressures of quarantine, I learned how to ride a #motorcycle, and went through various scooters and larger bikes to get to where I am now. I spent so much time riding street (really rural highways to or through natural landmarks) that I got bored of that, too, so I bought a dual-sport so I could, well, honestly ride gravel roads to places farther off that allow OHV and/or larger use. That dual-sport was a CRF450RL and was sprung custom for a much heavier guy than me, which made it super tall for me. :blobfoxsweating: As you can guess, I traded it in for a #Tenere 700, which I will be riding this weekend on a rural gravel highway that I've ridden before on a much heavier street bike. :blobfoxhappy:
The principle of the SCHWALBE CLIK VALVE, winner of the Eurobike Award 2024, is very simple: it works intuitively with a click. What does it need? The valve and the corresponding pump head or pump head adapter. With the Clik Valve, this can be clicked onto the bike valve with minimal force and removed again very easily after successful inflation.
It doesn’t matter which valve and pump you currently have - thanks to conversion kits for all existing bicycle valves and most pumps. To change the bicycle valve, simply replace the valve insert (Sclaverand, Presta, Dunlop, tubeless valve), for the car valve there is an adapter that is screwed over the valve (and can be easily unscrewed again to be able to use petrol station pumps).
The pump head adapter can be integrated into the pump head of current pumps (by clamping or screwing in), even with hand pumps. The Schwalbe Clik Valve can also be inflated with normal SV (Presta) pumps - thanks to this reverse compatibility, you are never at a loss in any situation. And SKS will already be offering its own CLIK VALVE pump at Eurobike.
Schwalbe will soon be producing the first tubes with the Clik Valve.
I’ve been running 38mm Panaracer GravelKing tires tubeless on my Soma Stanyan for years, but the front tire I just put on has enough wobble to rub in one spot on every rotation. (The wheel itself is true.)
Two shops told me that the tire wasn’t seated right, but I checked and remounted multiple times and it’s seating fine. Even used some rubbing alcohol to lubricate the tire where it seated, but it always mounts up perfectly fine. The tire is the problem.
The second shop gave the real answer after chatting with the folks there for a bit: I should go down a size. It’s a real bummer, but even the Soma website says it can do up to 35mm. :blobfoxsad:
The only other realistic alternative is a new frameset, or at least a new fork, but that will have to wait for a while. :blobfoxgooglycry:
The slow, silent ride will start at the Davis Bike Collective (1221 1/2 4th St ) this Wednesday 5/15 and will visit 4 different locations in Davis where people have been killed while riding their bikes
The route will be 7.5 miles and is expected to take ~1.5 hrs. We will have some flowers to distribute but feel free to bring your own offerings as well.
@meganL@cycling Can't believe I didn't know about this event. Doesn't look like #STL has one, but I'm reaching out to some local bike orgs to see if we can schedule one for next year. Hope y'all have a good ride!
@alexisdyslexic@cycling So my point is not to act as if Davis is the worst - it's not. But I want to show that you don't have to scratch deeply to hit the car-centrism and ableism. Therefore holding it up uncritically as "Platinum Bike-Friendly" does us a great disservice. #UCAccessNow#CarCenrism#Cycling
@meganL@cycling the best in North America is probably Montreal. But Not Just Bike just made a clap back video about how poorly Montreal stand up to European cities. I don't think we have a good infrastructure anywhere in North America.
But I think we're at an inflexion point and a lot is going to be built out soon.
When @glitter and I got to the bottom of a long hill while #cycling yesterday, I heard the tell-tale sign of a #tubeless leak in my front tire, a well-used #Panaracer#GravelKing. She even said it was smoking, but I knew it was just sealant blowing out.
Thankfully, it was at the end of our ride and I didn't have to deal with steering on a floppy tire. I did snap this picture, though. :blobfoxsweating:
I tried seating it again today and it just wouldn't hold air because of the same spot. That's when I noticed the bulge in the sidewall near the bead, so I decided to toss the tire and put on a fresh (identical) one I had in reserve. The new tire seated without issue, aside from how I had to do it twice because I put it on the wrong way the first time. :blobfoxgooglymlem:
This isn't a knock on Panaracer tire quality, of course. The tire's been through a lot and there was only so much tread left anyway.
@nik After years of struggling because I was afraid to raise my saddle after tearing a quad in 2013 (?), I started raising it some, then noticed that I was able to pedal in smooth and quick circles instead of by mashing down. That circular pedaling is what good technique is. :blobfox: I also had to move my saddle forward quite a bit because my legs would drag me forward with their circular pedaling otherwise.
As far as handlebar position goes, that resolved itself once my core was strong enough. :geblobcatshrug: If you don't try to hold onto the bars for dear life and just let your hands fall where they will, that'll tell you where to move the bars to.
kids, I'm doing Ride London again this year, raising money for the brilliant Bike Project, who do up bikes and give them, along with training and support, to refugees and asylum seekers. I'm WAY out of shape, having had my slowest start to the year cycling since before COVID. Here's the link to sponsor me, if you'd like to help support them and motivate me :) xxx