| Diet Forums : Fitness (Library) | Report Violation · Tag It! |
| Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... |  leinad |
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| #481 |  trhawley |
Jun 19 2007 17:05 |
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nightc1: Go with what you are comfortable with. I was just suggesting that you might be surprised by the difference it can make when you are locked in especially on a mountain road like you are discribing because you can apply power through a much larger range of motion but apparently few agree with me.
Edit to add: It is not "hard" or "slow" to unclip and put a foot down, it is just an unnatural motion. Once you are used to it, it becomes a reflex and it is no longer an issue. I personally feel that the benefits outway any disadvantages but to each his/her own. |
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| #482 |  nilla529 |
Jun 19 2007 18:04 |
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trhawley: I totally agree with you. I started using look pedals and cleats about 5 weeks ago and I can't believe how much easier it is to climb. There is a hill my husband and I take all the time that has a 2.25 mile stretch with 657 ft of ascent. I went up it on my platform pedals and had to stop twice because my quads were burning. 3 days later and clipped in I made it to the top without any stops and I know much (if not all) of the improvement is due to being able to use both quads and hams for the climb. I have toe clips on my mountain bike so I was fairly used to being strapped to a bike so I didn't feel uncomfortable being clipped to the bike but again to each their own. I also second that it is as easy to get out of the clips as it is to take your foot off of a platform pedal once you are used to being clipped in. One last note, is there any cooler sound than leaving on a big group ride as everybody clips in? |
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| #483 | autismjtm |
Jun 19 2007 18:34 |
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Ugh, I bought the bike at Target - I don't really trust them to mess with it. I will just have to take it to the bike shop and have them do it. I have a feeling I will ruin the whole bike if I start messing with it.
I am looking at rain today but unless it starts thundering, I am going to ride to work. A little rain has never hurt anyone. And I need the excersise since I just pigged out on french fries at the zoo - oh the joy of no willpower. Jane |
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| #484 | pandajenn19 |
Jun 19 2007 19:05 |
| Quick update from me and my pedals, since I notice pedal talk has come up the last few days. :) I have now had several successful, crash-free rides. And I freaking love them! Regarding hills, I find it is so much easier to ride locked in, particularly given that my terrain is rather hilly. Well worth the 4 crashes I have chalked up to date. :) I especially love the feeling that I am getting to use more of my muscles which are, if I do say so, well developed from running. And since I'm still working some of the kinks out of shifting, I've found I have a better feel now for when I need to shift, so it's an incredibly smooth ride compared to before. | ||
| #485 | leinad |
Jun 19 2007 20:52 |
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pozesara, I know what you mean about the sound as a group clips in, it is so cool, especially racing, cause that means "game on"!!
jane, don't fret the adjustment thing, It should only cost around 10 dollars at the bike shop, well worth it! BTW, I'm staring at the same rain and I have a club ride at 5:30 (well maybe not). panda, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you got the hang of those pedals. Just about everyone, including me, puts them off and then wonders what all the fuss was about. DAN |
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| #486 | gmule |
Jun 19 2007 22:39 |
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At one time I was also timid and afraid of making repairs to my bicycle. As a person who started out mountain biking I often found myself very far from the road or even cell phone service. Keeping that in mind I decided that I needed to learn how to make repairs becasue my life could really depend on me being able to ride my bike out instead of walking my bike out. I learned everything that I need to know from these 2 web sites. The Park site has excellent insturctions and pictures to go with them.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/bikemap.asp The second best site that I have learned from is http://sheldonbrown.com/ You may have to do a little digging but everything you need to know is there. I learned how to re-lace and true wheels from that site. By using the information from both sites and taking my time to understand how things work I have been able to make almost any repair or upgrade to my bikes. I have saved lots of money and down time due to the shop being busy. Now what I do is take my bike in the winter months when I am not riding it to have a second set of eyes see if I am overlooking anything. Most of the time if the shop finds something and it is not to expensive I will let my LBS make the repairs. It helps to keep my relationship heatlhy with my LBS and I get excellent advice because I know what my mechanic is talking about. |
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| #487 | jc343 |
Jun 20 2007 01:36 |
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Gmule: Thanks for the tips. I used to be able to break down my 10 speed and put it back together but I have been reluctant to do much on my current bikes. The road bike that I bought last November has forced me to get more involved because it has been rather resistant to shop repairs. Hopefully, I will be willing and able to do my own overhauls. The parktool site looks like it will be helpful. By the way, I had an unplanned bike commute today. I had to put my car in the shop and I couldn't afford to play hookie. So pedalled in at 10:00 this morning. It wasn't raining but I got soaked anyway. |
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| #488 | autismjtm |
Jun 20 2007 04:27 |
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I have to tell you guys this. It is completely unrelated to biking but it was really funny. This afternoon I was complaining that I couldn't ride my bike to work because it was thundering like crazy outside. Well, my dear son who has been completely hooked on watching the weather channel for the past month decided that he is terrified of thunder. So, smart me took him out in the garage where we could watch mother nature unleash her fury without getting wet. I had him all convinced that he was safe when a huge lightening hit the house across the street. Sparks flew all over the place, power went out and the thunder was unbelievable. My poor child looked like the roadrunner, trying to get inside to the safety of the living room. Now I will never convince him that he is safe in the garage. I have to admit it scared me too when that lightening hit.
Has anyone ever been caught in something like that on their bikes? Dan, did you make it to your club ride? gmule, that is an awesome site. Thanks for letting us know about it. So, do you think a road bike is harder to work on than a mountain bike? Jane |
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| #489 | gmule |
Jun 20 2007 04:48 |
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I think that a bike is a bike. Frames, forks and tires are the biggest difference other than that all of the componets are the same.
I have been caught out in that type of weather twice this year. It was misserable but I survived. |
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| #490 | behanna |
Jun 20 2007 06:16 |
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A bike is a bike, sure; however, the bikes at the big-box discount stores have super-cheap, non-replaceable components (when they wear out, you throw the bike away), use such thick, cheap metal in their frames that they weigh a ton, and are assembled by people who likely have never seen a torque wrench, much less a truing stand. The bikes are designed with one purpose in mind: extracting fifty bucks from someone who isn't going to ride the bike for long enough to notice its shortcomings. The target market for these bikes is the schmoe who gets an urge to "get in shape," but then quickly loses the urge and waddles over to the snack food aisle after a week or two.
In contrast, a "real" bike has a replaceable cassette, replaceable chainrings, and replaceable cranks mated to a sealed-bearing bottom bracket (which is also replaceable) instead of a pressed-together job or a solid crank (like on a kid's bike) that rides on ball bearings in a pressed-in race. The chainrings and rear cogs on a "real" bike have ramps cut into them, and teeth shaped such that the chain has an easier time shifting back and forth. The indexed shifting will be more precise, and the whole thing will just tend to work better. A real bike will also have been assembled by a real bike mechanic, who will not only use a torque wrench where appropriate, but will also verify that the wheels are true and that the spokes carry enough tension to stay true. Nearly every real bike shop will throw in a free tune-up to adjust cables and such after you've ridden the bike for a month or so (cables will always stretch a bit), which is something you won't get at X-mart. Adjusting derailleurs is a cinch. Both Sheldon Brown's website (already mentioned in another post) and the Park Tool website will show you how. Shimano's website has a very decent step-by-step procedure for adjusting triple front derailleurs as well (download the service sheet for one of their triple front derailleurs. Just about any one will do). Keeping chains clean and lubricated makes them shift loads better, too. I favor Pro Link, personally, as the wet weather around here is ill-suited to wax-based lubricants. I wipe the chain down every hundred miles or so, or if it's really grungy, I take it off (I use SRAM chains with a Power Link) and shake it in two successive jars of kerosene, then dry it off, put it back on, wipe it down again, and lube it. I also wipe down the chainrings and derailleur pulleys and "floss" the cassette with a paper towel while I have the chain off. I admit that I usually only do the latter the night before an event, as everyone else shows up with clean bikes, so it's almost out of embarrassment that I clean mine up, too. :-) |
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| #491 | leinad |
Jun 20 2007 10:21 |
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Jane yes I have been caught in weather like that it is NO FUN!! I didn't go on my club ride, the weather passed in time but I just desided not to go since the roads were so wet. Did take a short ride on my touring bike later, just for fun, around town.
DAN |
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| #492 | plaidpooka |
Jun 20 2007 13:22 |
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Behanna- I'm not disagreeing with what you've said, it's simple logic that a bike store is going to give you a better bike and better service than a discount store. But Wal-Mart has it's place, and it's a good option for folks like me. I'm 180 lbs, I hadn't been on a bike in 20 years, I wasn't sure if riding in the city was going to make me too nervous, and I have a very tight budget. Spending much money on a bike I wasn't sure if I would feel safe enough to ride simply wasn't an option in my case. The fact that the 54 buck bike at Wal-Mart fit in my limited budget was what made me decide to go for it. I'm not a distance rider or a trail rider, I'm a commuter with a 3 mile commute. I love my cheap bike to pieces! I've found out that I can ride, though it was hard at first. I've found out that city riding does make me nervous, but not nervous enough to quit. And my cheap bike is fine for the type of riding I am doing. I'm sure a better bike would be lovely, and if I can ever afford it I will get one. But right now, if it wasn't for Wal-Mart and a 54 buck bike, I wouldn't be riding at all.
And I am deffinitely one of those folks who bought a bike to get in better shape. But I've been commuting for over a month now, and I haven't wandered over to the snack food isle yet, nor do I plan to. ;) |
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| #493 | autismjtm |
Jun 20 2007 15:24 |
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I am with plaidpooka. My schwin road bike was 150 bucks at Target and I love it to pieces. I am not a bike pro - just a commuter. There is a place for all of us, snacking or not.
Jane |
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| #494 | carrihound |
Jun 20 2007 16:01 |
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Invisible Riders http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-3-12-13639-1-P,00 .html (I updated this link to the easier-to-read printer-friendly version) I love this article. Something about the conversation in the thread today reminded me of it. Very humbling for those of us who spent thousands on our bikes. Jane's right - there is a place for all of us. Now where's the snack aisle? ;-) Let's all have a great day. I rode in before a huge storm today. I got SOAKED and I wasn't even out there when the worst hit. My jersey, trunk bag & shoes are propped under my desk in front of my spaceheater to dry out. I'm happy to have made it here before the lightning & high winds. As a true weather wimp, I should have checked the radar this A.M.! |
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| #495 | nilla529 |
Jun 20 2007 17:14 |
| Carri - great article! Puts things into perspective. | ||
| #496 | nightc1 |
Jun 20 2007 18:12 |
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plaidpooka, but you don't agree with him.  It's ok not to agree with everyone.   I don't think he'll take it personally. As many of you know, I ride a $150 GMC Denali Road Bike purchased at **drumroll** walmart.  I could have bought it online at amazon.com or online in certain bike shops but i bought it locally at walmart because I could eye over all they had and pick out the one that seemed best assembled. If I got it home and it broke horribly in the first so many weeks I would have taken my bike and receipt and either got my money back or exchanged it for another bike.   No problem. I've adjusted derailleaurs.  I've got my seat height and stem height adjusted upwards.  I adjusted my brake pads as well as adjusted the clamping power of the brakes.  All in all nothing big.  Plenty of good tips are on the net to be found. I have yet to need a bike shop to do any repairs let alone a real bike mechanic.  I've worked on plenty of cars and old bikes and stuff.  I can use a wrench just fine as well as can read and comprehend most instructions. So my bike is 26 pounds instead of 16.  It only cost $150 not $6000.   26 pounds is very comparable to what most people here ride.  So the old thing about all department store bikes being super heavy is just the person not knowing any better. Despite everything you may think about department store bikes I CAN replace parts on it.  Whoever thinks that you can't upgrade or replace parts on a big box store bought bike hasn't looked at those kinds of bikes in a long time.  I could change out the cassette, wheels, tubes, tires, whatever I pretty much wanted with off the shelf parts from nashbar.com or any other bike site. I'm not going to throw around "bicycle snobbery" ... but often it feels like it when someone puts down the very types of bikes that I have ridden all my life.   My old huffy kids bikes may have been heavy, but they were like tanks.  It's amazing how big the single speed world is now... a lot of people prefer these kinds of bikes. Nothing broke on em ever.  Even jumping ditches and stuff the bikes held up as did the wheels.  My 26" mtb purchased a few years or so back at K-Mart for $50 still rides perfectly fine now.  It shifts like butter... as does my new Denali. I know this can be a touchy subject.  On my side i get touchy when people put down my ride.   There's no need in that EVER IMO.  We all can ride and have a good time... no need in putting down the guys and gals that don't have the big $$$ to invest in a bicycle.  There's nothing wrong with bikes bought at department stores.  Expecially if you can take a little time to read on the net how to adjust things and get some basic advice on what to check/tighten when one shows up.  Oh and you buy at walmart you get that great return policy if something breaks during the first 90 days.  Other stores aren't as good. The only bike that really sucks is the one that collects dust.  And a department store bike can collect dust just as easily as a more expensive lbs bought bike. Just like in riding, it's the engine that matters the most not the bike.   So let's try to avoid putting down others for whatever they ride.  Sure we can disagree, that's normal... but no reason to belittle anyone over their choice in bikes. |
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| #497 | pandajenn19 |
Jun 20 2007 18:33 |
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So let's try to avoid putting down others for whatever they ride.
nightc1 - I couldn't agree more! Just remember it goes both ways. ;) If one of us spends a few bucks on a new piece of equipment or a new bike, let's also not put down the people for spending more money. I know there are less expensive options, but no one should be made to feel bad for choosing how they allocate their funds, in either extreme. In other news, I had an urge to stay out last night on my bike on my commute home after my softball game. Really picked the wrong street to take a detour down! I think it is the most pothole ridden, oft-patched street in the city. Ugh. But it was still worth the extra couple of miles. |
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| #498 | nightc1 |
Jun 20 2007 18:41 |
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pandajenn, Yeah it goes both ways for sure. I don't think I've ever put down a cannondale, trek or any other bike and I don't plan to either. I may have put down lbs's though. Not all of em, just one of my local ones. carrihound, fantastic article. There aren't any real day laborers like that around here, so no invisible riders. |
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| #499 | autismjtm |
Jun 20 2007 18:49 |
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I totally agree with the both ways thing. And without all you experts I would not know where to turn.
I was able to get out there for a little while this morning and I really discovered the beauty of backroads Oh here's a weird one for the pro's. Have any of you ever developed a tennis elbow from riding. Since I am new to the riding thing, I think my posture is all wrong and my elbow is giving me a hard time. Maybe I am just way out of shape, lol. Jane |
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| #500 | carrihound |
Jun 20 2007 19:18 |
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jane, i've never specifically had elbow pain, but the upper body definitely gets utilized in new & different ways when you ride. here are a few thoughts : you can try different hand positions. drop bars offer several hand positions & folks with a flat bar often add bar ends to give them another option for their hand positioning. your bar position may also be somewhat adjustable, so perhaps your fit needs to be tweaked to bring the bar closer, extend it farther out, raise or lower it to ease strain on your 'bows. you can also try modifying your posture to see if changing elbow position helps. know that you should not be riding with stiff, fully extended arms, you should always have some bend in your elbows. work on keeping your upper body relaxed if you find yourself riding stiff-armed. you can try wearing gloves with gel pads and/or installing bar endplug vibration dampeners(these, called BzzzKills : http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handleba r_Accessories/5882.php) to reduce bar vibration and the impact on your hands/wrist/elbows/shoulders. and, said jokingly, there's alway glucosamine/chrondroitin supplements and physical therapy for those of us with joint problems. said not jokingly, bodily pain can be a symptom of a problem, so get it checked out if it persists. |
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