General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[otc]

I'm pretty happy with how this cleaned up. Not bad for a random 1994 pick up on the cheap. Full XT and from the look of it very low mileage. Couple of bolts yet to clean up, a new saddle, delete the cyclometer (probably).

Not much left to do but ride it and remove the dork disk.

ftfy

(though to be fair, any plastic dork disk that has stayed intact for 30 years deserves a little respect.

 

[greekgeek]

ftfy

(though to be fair, any plastic dork disk that has stayed intact for 30 years deserves a little respect.

Good catch. Questioning if it's original, hard to believe it's not yellow and disintegrating by now! Maybe it is though, most of the rubber/plastic parts look pretty good on this thing.

A couple of rusty bolts on the stem aside, worst looking part of it is the paint job. Not my first choice in color and the topcoat seems to chip very easily. Wouldn't be so bad if it had color matched primer but between a white primer and black carbon fiber it could use some touch up paint.

 

[Fueco]

I need to stop looking at vintage bikes on Marketplace or I’m going to have a garage full of them.

 

[greekgeek]

I need to stop looking at vintage bikes on Marketplace or I’m going to have a garage full of them.

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Nice! My people tell the same story.

 

[otc]

Anyone looking for some Lynskey titanium road/gravel action? Today might be your lucky day:

David's Birthday Sale - Lynskey Performance Designs

lynskeyperformance.com

 

[Fueco]

My oldest ripping up the campground trails on his Spawn Banshee.

 

[razl]

Winspace/Lún are legit at half the price. Multiple friends have them and rave about them.

Geez, it was Jan 2022 when we were last kicking this around...

Well, since then I'm doing about 2300mi/year and I've finally gotten proficient enough on my Domane to justify a bit of splurge. I went the Zipp 303S route and am really happy. At least I was once I got past the fun of my first tubeless installs.

Definitely feels lighter and a bit more nimble, even better is the lower pressure and carbon flex over brick pavers which is about 40% of my routes. I'm slowly coming down from 70lbs, currently running 60, and thinking about going even lower. It really doesn't seem to affect my speed yet which is a crazy new world.

Not a big deal for you serious players out there but a nice upgrade for me!

 

[smittycl]

Geez, it was Jan 2022 when we were last kicking this around...

Well, since then I'm doing about 2300mi/year and I've finally gotten proficient enough on my Domane to justify a bit of splurge. I went the Zipp 303S route and am really happy. At least I was once I got past the fun of my first tubeless installs.

Definitely feels lighter and a bit more nimble, even better is the lower pressure and carbon flex over brick pavers which is about 40% of my routes. I'm slowly coming down from 70lbs, currently running 60, and thinking about going even lower. It really doesn't seem to affect my speed yet which is a crazy new world.

Not a big deal for you serious players out there but a nice upgrade for me!




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Neat! I'm debating on going tubeless on my Domane. Wheels are tubeless-ready apparently. Wil be curious to hear how you like them over the summer.

 

[razl]

Neat! I'm debating on going tubeless on my Domane. Wheels are tubeless-ready apparently. Wil be curious to hear how you like them over the summer.

One note on that, and others here with way more experience and knowledge than me can better articulate this - but tubeless-ready versus just "tubeless " and then whether they still have clinchers or not isn't as clean-cut as you'd expect. Think the whole "clipless" actually have clips nonsense (yes, I know the why); tubeless and related semi-confusing terminology isn't too far off that.

If you're deep in the biking game, you know all this, but to first timers like me it was head-scratching.

 

[Fueco]

There’s an interesting race shaping up in the Race Across America. Isabelle Pulver (Switzerland) is leading the race outright, and is on pace to destroy the 50+ women’s record. For those who’ve followed, she beat my wife in 2014 in her first RAAM.

The racers are currently spread out through the Rockies in Colorado.

https://www.raceacrossthewest.org/live-tracking

 

[patrick_b]

Shocking death at the Tour de Suisse today after yesterdays crash.

Gino Mäder dies after Tour de Suisse crash

Bahrain Victorious team mourns loss of 'an extremely talented cyclist and a great person'

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[sugarbutch]

Geez, it was Jan 2022 when we were last kicking this around...

Well, since then I'm doing about 2300mi/year and I've finally gotten proficient enough on my Domane to justify a bit of splurge. I went the Zipp 303S route and am really happy. At least I was once I got past the fun of my first tubeless installs.

Definitely feels lighter and a bit more nimble, even better is the lower pressure and carbon flex over brick pavers which is about 40% of my routes. I'm slowly coming down from 70lbs, currently running 60, and thinking about going even lower. It really doesn't seem to affect my speed yet which is a crazy new world.

Not a big deal for you serious players out there but a nice upgrade for me!




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What size tires are you running? I have dipped into the 50s at the front with 28c. My only real concern about low pressures is rim strikes on rocks or sharp edges, so I don't dare go much lower.

There’s an interesting race shaping up in the Race Across America. Isabelle Pulver (Switzerland) is leading the race outright, and is on pace to destroy the 50+ women’s record. For those who’ve followed, she beat my wife in 2014 in her first RAAM.

The racers are currently spread out through the Rockies in Colorado.

https://www.raceacrossthewest.org/live-tracking

I have been following the Tour Divide. The big bummer so far is Ted King's developing rabdo and scratching. I'm rooting for Lael Wilcox to beat all the guys and take the outright record.

Also horrified by the tragic death of Gino Mäder in the Tour de Suisse: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gino-mader-dies-after-tour-de-suisse-crash/

 

[patrick_b]

Also horrified by the tragic death of Gino Mäder in the Tour de Suisse: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gino-mader-dies-after-tour-de-suisse-crash/

Great minds @sugarbutch 🤛 .

 

[razl]

What size tires are you running? I have dipped into the 50s at the front with 28c.

I'm still on 32s. I know the speedsters scoff but, again because I'm on a lot of brick that gets wet and slippery, I just can't bring myself to go narrower. I'm really, really banking on those extra mils worth of traction. While we're here, the Schwalbe Pro One tires seem pretty darn sticky and a nice upgrade in and of themselves.

My only real concern about low pressures is rim strikes on rocks or sharp edges, so I don't dare go much lower.

Ditto. Speaking of, my longer run today took me over some speed-slowing berms that are easy 8-10" high. I reflexively popped off the top of one and realized, in mid air, "oh, this is the first time I've done a drop impact on tubeless" and then cringed thinking of the 60lbs tire pressure as I landed. But, all went well, landed and continued just like normal. Whew, but need to keep it in mind.

 

[razl]

Also horrified by the tragic death of Gino Mäder in the Tour de Suisse: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gino-mader-dies-after-tour-de-suisse-crash/

Wow, shocked at it actually; very sad.