General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[otc]

I really thought this was going to be some kind of a joke about road bikers demanding pristine pavement...nope.

 

[sugarbutch]

I mean, yeah, that's a thing now but...seems stupid. You just don't need a dropper for gravel riding (which is 90% just road riding without pavement). Sure, there are occasional moments where it might be nice, but there are plenty of moments where you also wish you had bigger tires, or a slacker head tube angle...basically you overshoot the capabilities of the bike long before the dropper becomes the limiting factor.

Our "gravel" doesn't really feature much of that flattish stuff. Lots of the descents around here make one wish for the ability to get farther back and lower. The dropper isn't necessary by any means, but I can see why people use them.

Speaking of non-standard seatposts, has anyone used the Ergon/Canyon flexi post? I have a Redshift suspension post, but I think I could get away with just flex rather than suspension.

 

[otc]

Our "gravel" doesn't really feature much of that flattish stuff. Lots of the descents around here make one wish for the ability to get farther back and lower. The dropper isn't necessary by any means, but I can see why people use them.

Yeah, I mean I see why they have a benefit for the same reasons they are beneficial on an MTB. For the record, this is the elevation profile of the start my last "gravel" ride

That steep stretch is legit xc singletrack--if it weren't the route of a regular shop ride with a bunch of crazy people, I would not voluntarily ride it on this bike. Great for a hardtail or even a full rigid mtb/adventure bike with fat tires, but sketchy AF on true gravel tires (or the one crazed person doing it with slick tires)...steep shots, fast loose corners, and lots of very sharp rocks.

I got dropped pretty early...and we decided to take a shorter route that cuts out the big climbs, but here's the full profile of one of the women who went hard...that last climb...I regularly ride that as a shuttled MTB downhill (via public transit!).

Not a single gravel dropper in sight despite riders including shop owners/employees who can ride/demo whatever new tech they want at cost.


I kinda view it like the use of dropper posts on XC bikes. Most XC race bikes are still specced without a dropper. High level racers seem to only fit them on the bikes when needed for the course
E.g. Dropper use was high in the Tokyo olympic MTB route but it was a pretty aggressive course (almost everyone also chose full suspension bikes over hardtails).

(note that while it doesn't look like there is a dropper here...Pidcock actually has one. It is just a crazy oval design that is integrated into the frame that saves weight and increases stiffness)
Of course other top riders like van der Poel chose to go without a dropper.

And gravel is like XC-lite. Somewhere between road and XC...you're certainly not doing the above on a gravel bike (and if you are regularly, an MTB would certainly be faster and more comfortable through those sections).

That said, if you presented me something like that BMC integrated dropper that does away with a lot of the weight/stiffness/wobble penalties, I'd 100% ride the **** out of it. The BMC tech is only 2 position--up and down--which I actually think would be great for race-mode. Proprietary tech like that is a tough sell to someone who owns bikes long-term though.

 

[otc]

On the flip side though...here's a dropper post being used on a strictly ROAD bike:

Dropper Post Used to Win One of Road Cycling’s Biggest Races - Pinkbike

A Fox Transfer SL used pull off a world first win. Spoilers within.

www.pinkbike.com

 

[Fueco]

On the flip side though...here's a dropper post being used on a strictly ROAD bike:

Dropper Post Used to Win One of Road Cycling’s Biggest Races - Pinkbike

A Fox Transfer SL used pull off a world first win. Spoilers within.

www.pinkbike.com

That makes sense given that certain descending positions have been banned by the UCI.

 

[smittycl]

This is where I admit I had no idea what a "Dropper" was and spent an entire hour reading about them.

 

[UnFacconable]

I’ve never used a dropper but probably will on future bikes because they all
have them standard now. I think a lot of mountain bikers spend far too much time in the back seat with their front tire unweighted and I could see having a dropper encouraging this unbalanced behavior. I have more of a BMX background and spend almost all my downhill time in attack position. I should note I ride XC trails not hardcore downhill so I’m not facing the sort of terrain that pros use droppers for. People used to ride these trails on 26” hard tails so I already have an advantage.

I don’t have a gravel bike but I could see a broader use case for a dropper post with the geometry and body position of a gravel bike with drop handle bars.

I do think from time to time about adding a dropper to my bike to see if it will make a difference in some of the harrier downhill rock gardens I come across but have yet to feel motivated enough.

 

[HRoi]

My XC has a dropper, i think i used two times when I accidentally triggered it trying to downshift (the button is located where i usually expect another bike’s down shifter to be)

 

[otc]

I’ve never used a dropper but probably will on future bikes because they all
have them standard now. I think a lot of mountain bikers spend far too much time in the back seat with their front tire unweighted and I could see having a dropper encouraging this unbalanced behavior. I have more of a BMX background and spend almost all my downhill time in attack position. I should note I ride XC trails not hardcore downhill so I’m not facing the sort of terrain that pros use droppers for. People used to ride these trails on 26” hard tails so I already have an advantage.

I don’t have a gravel bike but I could see a broader use case for a dropper post with the geometry and body position of a gravel bike with drop handle bars.

I do think from time to time about adding a dropper to my bike to see if it will make a difference in some of the harrier downhill rock gardens I come across but have yet to feel motivated enough.

Fwiw, since getting used to the dropper, it quickly became essential even on Midwestern XC trails before I moved.

it becomes second nature to drop it down before getting into attack position and it just gives you so much more room to move the bike around.

edit: and pro dh riders don’t use them either… their seats are just permanently down!

 

[sugarbutch]

I was looking for some video to show the trails, and these folks make the same mistake I always make at this one turn, carrying too much speed. No real consequence other than having to put your foot down, but I was happy to see I'm not the only one who does it. I even know it's coming but never scrub enough speed!

 

[sugarbutch]

This is the descent that makes me yearn for a dropper post (5m11s if the embed doesn't go to the right spot)

 

[otc]

Rode timberline bike park on Mt Hood.

Even sprung for a 2 hour lesson to work on some fundamentals and find the goods.

I know nobody here (myself included) likes to go big and get super sendy. With that in mind, I would recommend giving this place a shot if you’re ever in the area.

They only started a couple years ago so everything is new and well taken care of. They haven’t been able to build any huge gnarly stuff so everything is accessible(all the blacks are techy, no huge mandatory features). Just a ton of riding you can get in in a few hours.

I felt like I improved noticeably throughout the day because I could actually ride most stuff on my trail bike like it was just a normal trail unlike my home park where anytime you pick up speed it feels like you are immediately white knuckling it through ragged brake bumps and ruts.

 

[otc]

That said, the lesson helped but it could have been better.

Wish I had known that they have a rule that they don’t take students on black trails without a full face helmet as I would happily have rented one.

Also I probably could have sold my ability level better. I don’t think many people like me take lessons and like with ski lessons they are probably used to people greatly exaggerating how good they are. With stops and instruction, 2 hours only turns into 2 full laps and a little time in the skills area…would have been better to start pushing harder right out of the gate.

But lately I have been riding with some insanely good riders which makes me feel silly saying I’m pretty advanced when I see what they can do. Last shop ride I was on was a gravel ride, but it saw Strava KOM and QOM crowns change hands…makes you feel weak and talentless!

 

[brokencycle]

I'm probably going to regret asking here, but I'm looking into buying my first bike since high school. I think it would be a fun way to get out of the house more with the wife and new kid.

We would probably just ride on the greenways - we have one connected to our neighborhood. I don't really want to worry about driving somewhere to go riding. They're almost universally paved, so I was thinking about getting a commuter bike.

Any recommendations for newbie resources or for riding with an infant? I was going to go to a couple of local bike stores to see what they have. My initial gut is I would love to find something in the $500-750 range.

 

[HRoi]

How could you call yourself brokencycle and not even own a bike? Working or otherwise