Motorbikes and pushbikes

[vifferman]

thanks to the car load of surfers who threw a can of tui at me last weekend on Scenic drive.

Didja catch it and wave "thank you" to them for the thoughtful, refreshing drink? :spudwhat:

[jrandom]

And you really understand the mentality of cagers when you get things thrown at you on a cycle - thanks to the car load of surfers who threw a can of tui at me last weekend on Scenic drive.

Yeah!

I had a sandwich, of all things, thrown at me once on SH16. Car slows down, half-eaten ham and salad roll is flung, car speeds up and drives off.

Bounced off my arm and rolled into the ditch. I was very befuddled. Maybe they thought I looked hungry?

[90s]

$600 will be hard to find, especially with the VFR keen to take whatever I have, chew it up and spit it out and demand more.

I knew they were going to be pricey since a lot of technology goes into them (I've heard of mountain bike tech going into MX). Since I've left school but I'm still at home hopefully I'll make a bit of cash next year to buy a bike despite the VFR.

A lot of that sounds like gibberish to me (exaggerating a bit) but I'll research into everything more.

Cycling pants were the real reason why I wanted to get one of course

A few months ago I got a mint hardly riden raceline (not a famous brand but a good brand) sora 8-speed roadbike for $300, inc. cateye computer and look pedals and cleats. There was plently of choice if you look on TM over a few weeks. Also consider 'hybrids' such as specialized cirrus (TM $200 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Cycl...-129737628.htm) - these are comfortable bikes that don't give much away to road bikes in terms of speed, although racing is out because of the upright position. Basically you get roadbike 700c wheels and tyres and chainrings on MTB shifting and controls.

Just to reinforce what has been said about set up. Many 'down to the shops' cyclists bikes are set up completely wrong. You need to have your leg extended so that your foot is not flat - of course on the correct sized frame. This may mean you cannot reach the ground when you are on the bike without 'coming off' it. Get used to it. If the bars feel to close or too far away change the stem - can be cheap to do this. Move the brakes and levers so they are where your arms fall.

If you feel uncomfortable on your bike then set it up properly.

And again, I think that your skills are cross-transferable and add to each other. When you have been off a cycle for months and jump back on it does feel wierd - but that lasts about 20 minutes.

[90s]

I'm calling BS on that one. Only the best sprinters in the world could do that and only on a velodrome. 103kmh drafting a suv downhill is quite realistic though.

No, that's fairly easy. TdF sprinters do 75kph over several ks in the open. Any fairly fit cyclist on a 52-53 tooth bike can hit 60k over a short stretch and hitting 70k+ for a short burst is possible. Wind on your side etc.

Look up velodrome speeds as I have posted on other threads and you will be breathtaken at what speeds are possible on bikes set up for actual 'top speed in perfect conditions'. It is far in excess of what you imagine.

>edit> actually thought I would post them here again as they are so interesting!
130.36 km/h record for a bike on a flat without drafting (ie. following a car), 244.9kph (with drafting) or the downhill record (on ice) of 210.3kph official or unofficial record of 364 km/h
Indurain on his standard bike with no towing but with drafting was just shy of 160kph remember, behind a train.

Pretty impressive heh? You can write off that guy who 'achieves' 200kph+ on a trainer and is widely claimed to be the fastest cyclist.

[jrandom]

What is the problem with triples? (aside from the chain angle on the small-small and the big-big gears, which overlap with the middle ring anyway)

Shifting's less precise. A double crank shifts easy, fast and reliably; a triple requires more finesse on the lever and often doesn't quite latch in so well. It's just a less robust design on the whole. I rode a Trek with a triple for a year before giving up in disgust and moving to 53/39, and I'll never look back.

I'm not a fan of compact cranks, either - if you need the gearing, just get a cassette with a 27t at the back instead of a 23 or 25.

[MisterD]

I'm not a fan of compact cranks, either - if you need the gearing, just get a cassette with a 27t at the back instead of a 23 or 25.

I'm going to go compact, 50-34 plus 11-23...gives a slightly wider spread and better spacing between the ratios and it's lighter. Big rings back on for the crits..

[bungbung]

I went from a cannondale with 8spd 105 to a 9spd/triple 105 set up on a kona.
I don't have any difficulty with shifting on either bike. Mtbs have had triples forever, and as long as they're set up properly there shouldn't be a problem.

[jrandom]

Mtbs have had triples forever, and as long as they're set up properly there shouldn't be a problem.

Maybe it was to do with the quality or otherwise of the Tiagra front shifters I had?

Either way, I figure there's a good reason no serious road racers use triples. Rotating mass in the drivetrain makes a big difference.

I borrowed a pair of AmClassic MAG300s for Le Race this year. OMG. I *heart* 1200gm wheelsets.

[MisterD]

I went from a cannondale with 8spd 105 to a 9spd/triple 105 set up on a kona.
I don't have any difficulty with shifting on either bike. Mtbs have had triples forever, and as long as they're set up properly there shouldn't be a problem.

The main problem with triples is the width of the whole setup - leads to knee problems in long road-type rides

[fergie]

What A shame, this thread went for 41 interesting posts then some plonker had to spoil it.( ie #42) Its obvious that lots of motorcyclists are cyclists as well. each to his own etc.I do both, have raced(road and later mtb for 20 years) and had some great times. also have ridden motorbikes for twice as long and met some awesome people.long may it continue

[jrandom]

What A shame, this thread went for 41 interesting posts then some plonker had to spoil it.( ie #42)

That's Finn for you. Always spoiling and plonking.

[bungbung]

I figure there's a good reason no serious road racers use triples. Rotating mass in the drivetrain makes a big difference.

I borrowed a pair of AmClassic MAG300s for Le Race this year. OMG. I *heart* 1200gm wheelsets.

I like that idea better than shifting performance. What MisterD said about width too. While my bike has triples, I don't use the granny at all.

While you soft northerners don't have much in the way of hills, I thought welli might require more gears.

btw 1200gr wheelset wow. I have the heaviest wheelset that looks like it should be light. Shimano R540. They seem quite strong, up and down kerbs ok etc. I've only done 2000k on them though.

[90s]

Either way, I figure there's a good reason no serious road racers use triples.

Some of the tour mountain specialists go in with triples these days - esp. for ventoux.

Having said that for my sora 8-spd double I thought about the triple route and instead got a 26 rear cassette. I'll fit it when I shag the current 22.
I got a complete new drivetrain - front rings + cassette + sram chain - for $60 from chainreaction. Price less than I could get a 52 ring for here. Needed to place a big order as recently snapped both my EA70 seatpost and titanium flite rails at Woodhill (been a bit of a disaster there recently) and have gone new flow flite + raceface XC post. $60 flat NZ postage fee to NZ from CR however much you buy, so it really pays of if you need some new bike kit.

[RC1]

but I once managed 103 downhill behind a SUV.

witnessed a friend get a warning from cops for doing 110kph down waikemete hill in west akld a few years ago, would not get a warning these days i suspect

[slopster]

No, that's fairly easy. TdF sprinters do 75kph over several ks in the open. Any fairly fit cyclist on a 52-53 tooth bike can hit 60k over a short stretch and hitting 70k+ for a short burst is possible. Wind on your side etc.

>edit> actually thought I would post them here again as they are so interesting!
130.36 km/h record for a bike on a flat without drafting (ie. following a car), 244.9kph (with drafting) or the downhill record (on ice) of 210.3kph official or unofficial record of 364 km/h
Indurain on his standard bike with no towing but with drafting was just shy of 160kph remember, behind a train.

Pretty impressive heh? You can write off that guy who 'achieves' 200kph+ on a trainer and is widely claimed to be the fastest cyclist.

Not many cyclists can hit 60kmh on the flat. I was hitting 55kmh on the flat when I was cycling seriously and I was a better sprinter then most. I did the round Taupo ride in 4h 16m. Those records you post are not for bicycles as we know them they are for human powered vehicles. That is the fully faired pedal powerered machines that you lie down on with your arse 2 inches off the ground and fully enclosed in a big aerodynamic bubble. All bets are off when your drafting a large vehicle after about 70kmh you don't really need to put any effort in but only need to keep spinning the pedals fast enough.