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ɣGammaɣ

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,013
the middle of the woods
Actually never noticed how much mountain bike (and bike content in general) is run by Brits.
Why is that.

Jup i was surprised as well. Some fine companies over there. Just got my Christmas present yesterday. Some exposure lights ^_^ Looking forward to night runs in summer. But also have the rear light on during the day (waited way to long to get some, cheap ones didn't last long enough).

My bike should arrive at Fairlight tomorrow, hope the shipping went well and no parts are damaged.

In preparation of getting it back, I will change the tires to WTB byway 700c 44mm, pretty curious how they will ride.
 

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,659
Exposure lights are awesome. Expensive, but I've had experience of the cheap Chinese stuff and these are another level for reliability etc.
 

studyguy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,282
How difficult is it really to start clipped in? I've been flats for like 4 months or so, keep hearing it benefits hardtails, the idea of being able to muscle the rear over obstacles sounds great. The idea of pitching over a corner I've taken a million times because I couldn't put a foot out though... not so great lol
 

phazedplasma

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,855
How difficult is it really to start clipped in? I've been flats for like 4 months or so, keep hearing it benefits hardtails, the idea of being able to muscle the rear over obstacles sounds great. The idea of pitching over a corner I've taken a million times because I couldn't put a foot out though... not so great lol

Definitely takes some muscle memory training at first but if you have pedals where you can loosen the release tension you should have no problems.
 

Sqrt

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,880
How difficult is it really to start clipped in? I've been flats for like 4 months or so, keep hearing it benefits hardtails, the idea of being able to muscle the rear over obstacles sounds great. The idea of pitching over a corner I've taken a million times because I couldn't put a foot out though... not so great lol
Oh, you are going to fall at the start. Mostly dumb falls where you forget you are clipped in. But once you get the hand of it, it becomes a second nature. Also, if you are using your feet at any time you are doing it wrong, being clipped in has saved me a considerably a lot more times than the falls it has caused.
 
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studyguy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,282
Can't wait to roll down a hill then. A friend of mine has a pair he never used, gonna throw them on today, see how it goes. Also they're shimano type with the tension adjustment so I'll just try and keep it loose. You twist the heel to release normally right?
 

phazedplasma

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,855
Yeah, its pretty simple, you'll get used to it quick. Then you'll realize the shimanos dont get tight enough for you and you'll move on to HTs or Times lol
 
Oct 25, 2017
20,202
How difficult is it really to start clipped in? I've been flats for like 4 months or so, keep hearing it benefits hardtails, the idea of being able to muscle the rear over obstacles sounds great. The idea of pitching over a corner I've taken a million times because I couldn't put a foot out though... not so great lol

It's different for every single person. I had some dumb falls, but not nearly as much or as frequent as some people make it seem. I just was extremely mindful of it and made sure to give myself plenty of time to unclip.

Honestly the worst way to learn is REALLY slow on your lawn or something. It's better to get in, ride a bit and then pick a point to stop.
 

FondsNL

Member
Oct 29, 2017
958
The steepest learning curve is not to look like a dweeb once you ride off and have problems clicking in.
Unclicking becomes second nature soon enough. As Tarpit said, just ride and pick a point to stop. Its much more natural.
 

Teggy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
This bike has a belt drive and shimano internal gearing. I've seen old internal gearing and once saw a belt driven tandem, but this is a brand new commuter bike. Very interesting, well suited for winter riding.

aa60021f-79b5-43ab-bdjkzp.jpeg
 

TwntyOneTwlv

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,593
Ohio
What's the longest you've waited for a new bike after ordering it, Bike Era?

I ordered an Ibis Ripley back in August and it's still not here yet. I'm dying.
 

Sqrt

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,880
So, I did it! The most grueling climb I have ever done. My results:

oaOsFnF.png


Nealy 1 hour slower than last week... but this was on my fixed year with a 48/17 ratio. My knees will hate me tomorrow, :P . And yes, low cadence really do kill power output.
 

FondsNL

Member
Oct 29, 2017
958
So, I did it! The most grueling climb I have ever done. My results:

oaOsFnF.png


Nealy 1 hour slower than last week... but this was on my fixed year with a 48/17 ratio. My knees will hate me tomorrow, :P . And yes, low cadence really do kill power output.

Hotdamn, why would you do that fixed?!
Respect! ✊
 

phazedplasma

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,855
What's the longest you've waited for a new bike after ordering it, Bike Era?

I ordered an Ibis Ripley back in August and it's still not here yet. I'm dying.
oof, my buddy sells Ibis at his shop and the wait for the ripley and the carbon ripmo has been rough it seems

those ripmo AFs are FLYING off the shelves tho, holy shit. That the best deal in mtb'ing right now
 

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,659
Returned to bikepacking this weekend... holy shit was it the wrong weekend to do it. Weather was utterly insane. At one point I was having to pedal hard to go downhill.
 

Teggy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
If you break a spoke, does that generally mean you need to true the wheel? What does a truing tend to cost?
 

Frontieruk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
664
Depends on how much you rode on after the spoke broke, but probably a good idea anyway, but I'd imagine any good LBS would say they'd need to true it, here it's about £2 a spoke unless you have something flash and about £10 for the truing
 

Teggy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
Depends on how much you rode on after the spoke broke, but probably a good idea anyway, but I'd imagine any good LBS would say they'd need to true it, here it's about £2 a spoke unless you have something flash and about £10 for the truing

Well as long as exchange rates haven't gone insane that's much cheaper than I expected.
 

AusGeno

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,076
Did an 80km ride yesterday, I was smashing it for the first 60kms and then I bonked really hard and fast and did the last 20kms at a crawl. Next time I'll try taking a gel every hour or so instead of just one at the start of my ride.
 
Oct 25, 2017
20,202
Did an 80km ride yesterday, I was smashing it for the first 60kms and then I bonked really hard and fast and did the last 20kms at a crawl. Next time I'll try taking a gel every hour or so instead of just one at the start of my ride.

My two cents on this:

That distance should be sustainable on either a single piece of food or a water bottle with some electrolytes calories. I don't think you need to go with a gel, especially every hour.
 

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,659
My two cents on this:

That distance should be sustainable on either a single piece of food or a water bottle with some electrolytes calories. I don't think you need to go with a gel, especially every hour.
That's pretty much dependant on both your pace and your fitness, not to mention how hilly the route is.

Anything sub 2 hours at a reasonably moderate pace should be fine without food, but more than that I'd definitely suggest some sort of calorie intake. Working fasted takes a ton of adaptation... and isn't really advantageous anyway.
 
Oct 25, 2017
20,202
That's pretty much dependant on both your pace and your fitness, not to mention how hilly the route is.

Anything sub 2 hours at a reasonably moderate pace should be fine without food, but more than that I'd definitely suggest some sort of calorie intake. Working fasted takes a ton of adaptation... and isn't really advantageous anyway.

I didn't suggest fasted just smarter calories than gel
 

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,659
On a ride that short there's no real disadvantage of gels, as long as you can stomach them. I'd only be worried about eating real food on properly long rides.

Don't get me wrong, eating pure sugar is almost always a bad idea... with the exception of when you're burning through a bunch of calories an hour.
 
Oct 25, 2017
20,202
At that distance is why I like doing one bottle of something like Skratch or untappd since it has electrolytes and calories in them. It's just enough to get you through those last miles.
 

robox

Member
Nov 10, 2017
964
What's the longest you've waited for a new bike after ordering it, Bike Era?

I ordered an Ibis Ripley back in August and it's still not here yet. I'm dying.
i've only ordered a new bike once. and it was on clearance so i got it fairly quickly. all my other bikes, 7 of 'em, i've bought from local classifieds. it has worked out alright for me so far so i'll prob continue like this unless i become hella flushed with money. after all, from an environmental standpoint, reduce demand for production of new bikes, reuse someone else's discards.
 

ɣGammaɣ

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,013
the middle of the woods
That's pretty much dependant on both your pace and your fitness, not to mention how hilly the route is.

Anything sub 2 hours at a reasonably moderate pace should be fine without food, but more than that I'd definitely suggest some sort of calorie intake. Working fasted takes a ton of adaptation... and isn't really advantageous anyway.

Hm, I'm curious how much you drink (normal tap water), let's say, in an hour? Is there a downside to drink more? I always need a lot of water and I mean a lot, nearly 750ml an hour, my GF drinks way less. In summer time 25 Celsius and upwards temperature.
 

FondsNL

Member
Oct 29, 2017
958
Taking my last 120k ride as an example:

- snickers bar
- peanut caramel bar
- two bidons of water
- 7 degrees celcius

Made sure I had a proper breakfast before that, but this is all I needed on the bike.
When its hotter I tend to eat more and drink double or triple that depending on the effort.
Gels are reserved for truly big efforts with a lot of climbing. Often gels don't sit well with me and if I'm in the situation that chewing is still an option, I'll always prefer "real" food.
 

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,659
Generally I'd suggest putting away 500ml an hour at least, but I'm so shit at it that often I'll find I've only just about drunk that in four hours.

If you're drinking more than 750ml an hour I'd suggest using electrolyte tablets so you don't fuck yourself up from salt / mineral loss.

Edit - They're a good idea generally, even if you're doing lower.

Gels are grim. I avoid them wherever possible.

Shotbloks are delicious. Some of the Gu gels are really good too (Espresso Love and Roctane Sea Salt I could just eat as a treat!),
 
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studyguy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,282
Rode clipped in down a very familiar trail. Overall I like it with some caveats...

Going uphill is certainly a different felling now, having a full 360 rotation when pedaling makes it easier sure, but needing to make sure you're in sync all the way around is an odd feeling. The amount of control, especially on a hardtail for the rear is unreal though. I really like it, but I absolutely tumbled doing the small dumb stuff like taking a sip of water because I forgot I was clipped in. Only emergency moment I had was almost tumbling going up hill when a rock rolled out from under my front and I scrambled to get out for half a second. No more than usual though, didn't seem as difficult as I had imagined and could really muscle that back around. I like it, cousin sent some footage of us that ride to me (me in the grey). Not at all impressive but feel like I'm doing way better than I used to for being just 3-4 mo into it.

 

Frontieruk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
664
Rode clipped in down a very familiar trail. Overall I like it with some caveats...

Going uphill is certainly a different felling now, having a full 360 rotation when pedaling makes it easier sure, but needing to make sure you're in sync all the way around is an odd feeling. The amount of control, especially on a hardtail for the rear is unreal though. I really like it, but I absolutely tumbled doing the small dumb stuff like taking a sip of water because I forgot I was clipped in. Only emergency moment I had was almost tumbling going up hill when a rock rolled out from under my front and I scrambled to get out for half a second. No more than usual though, didn't seem as difficult as I had imagined and could really muscle that back around. I like it, cousin sent some footage of us that ride to me (me in the grey). Not at all impressive but feel like I'm doing way better than I used to for being just 3-4 mo into it.


that's some pretty trail you're following.

as to improving as long as you ride you'll always improve, more control, better balance, more confidence it all keeps improving
 

studyguy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,282
First time I rode down that hill I went OTB, first time I went down that fire trail I almost flew off the edge.
Id's say I'm doing better yeah. The first trail I ever went on, I snapped my pedal in two out the gate on what I thought was a super tight switchback after a fast drop, turns out it was nothing. Still confused as to how I ever shot in that fast, I don't think I ever used my front brake when I started.

Anyway, the county I'm in is super blessed with a billion trails less than 30m away by car. Just never know it from driving around all day on the freeways. Also I think I'm gonna pick up some of those crankbros mallet style clips (clip w/ extended flat platform). I was using the crankbros candy pedals which are really small and while obviously the clip functions to make your shoe a platform, I still like the idea of using the flat portion when I don't feel like clipping in proper.