The Bike Shop

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Bike commute (Read 331 times)

    I got my first bike commute in this morning and it felt great. Its been cold and wet all spring and it was finally nice enough for this softie to ride into work. I overdressed and had to shed some layers half way through the commute, but it was good none the less.

     

    I might run back this afternoon and leave my bike in my cube but I haven't decided yet.

     

    The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

     

    2014 Goals:

     

    Stay healthy

    Enjoy life

     

    Slo


      How far is your commute BT ?

       

      It's bike to work week. Since I'm already a regular bike commuter I figured I would ride a different bike each day. Mon I was on PTO.

       

      Tue  I rode my Surly Cross Check

      Wed I rode my newly built 1999 Litespeed. I've got 50+ miles on this bike and I'm lovin it! Titanium is the SHIT !

       

      Today I rode my GT Avalance, 26" front suspension MTB. It currently is outfitted with  2" aggressive knobbies for a mud bog race I did. The rolling resistance of these tires is terrible. I got a pretty good work out coming in this morning.

       

      Tomorrow will be my GT ZUM. My old daily commuter...for old times sake.

       

      And Sat I will ride in the Cannondale Six13. Another frame I built up last winter. This bike is proof that you don't need to go all carbon.

      zoom-zoom


      rectumdamnnearkilledem

        Tue  I rode my Surly Cross Check

         

        And Sat I will ride in the Cannondale Six13. Another frame I built up last winter. This bike is proof that you don't need to go all carbon.

         

        Yeah, but all carbon is SO much nicer than aluminum on chip seal.  As long as we live in an area with minimal asphalt roads I'm never going back to aluminum for a road bike.  The difference in vibration is astounding.  Your Litespeed sounds like a dream!

         

        I rode a Cross Check recently.  Wow, what a tank of a bike.  I couldn't imagine actually doing a CX race on that beast....I would need to do a LOT more weight workouts to hoist that thing around during a race.

        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

             ~ Sarah Kay

          My commute today was 9.3 miles. I drove my car about 20 miles to that point (trail head parking area in Spicer MN) and biked from there. If I ride it back I think I may stretch the ride out and go around Green Lake to add another 12 miles. I'm planning on extending the bike portion throughout the summer and do a couple commutes from door to door towards the fall.

           

          I have three bikes, two rodies and a mtb. The one I rode today is an 05 Felt F15. I also have an early 2000's model Fuji Roubaix steel frame I ride to keep some miles off the Dura-Ace compnents on my Felt. I also have an early 90's Marin Nail Trail mtb which was the first bike I ever bought.

           

          I was seriously considering picking up an 07 Quintana Roo Kilo tri bike a couple weeks ago, but decided that if I was going to get a tri bike, I wanted either a full carbon or titanium framed bike. I'm planning on getting into half and full Ironman triathlons in the next year or two and think I'd rather not have an aluminum framed bike for the bike leg.

           

          The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

           

          2014 Goals:

           

          Stay healthy

          Enjoy life

           

          Slo


            Yeah, but all carbon is SO much nicer than aluminum on chip seal.  As long as we live in an area with minimal asphalt roads I'm never going back to aluminum for a road bike.  The difference in vibration is astounding.  Your Litespeed sounds like a dream!

             

             

            This is exactly what I mean. This mixed frame of carbon and aluminum takes care of that. It's carbon and aluminum married together in the right places. Prior to the litespeed this Six13 frame is one of the most responsive frames I have ever ridden. Stiff and forgiving.

             

            The Surly Cross Check is a tank. And that's exactly what I wanted. Riding steel is a dream...2nd only to Titanium. I spent 5+ hours straigt on frozen snow covered gravel roads. There's not to many bikes I could do that on and be as comfortable as I was on the Surly.

            zoom-zoom


            rectumdamnnearkilledem

              This is exactly what I mean. This mixed frame of carbon and aluminum takes care of that. It's carbon and aluminum married together in the right places. Prior to the litespeed this Six13 frame is one of the most responsive frames I have ever ridden. Stiff and forgiving.

               

              My Synapse was aluminum with carbon fork and seatpost...and horribly buzzy.  Also not nearly as responsive as my SuperSix.  But the SuperSix is still really comfy.  It just feels "right."  I always felt like I was beating a stubborn and lazy mule on the Synapse. Tongue

              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                   ~ Sarah Kay

              Slo


                BT

                 

                Quintanna Roo holds a special spot for me. Quintanna Roo is the originator of the Tri Specific frame and I can still remember when I saw my first one.

                 

                I had a 2004 Quintanna Roo Seduza. It's nice to see this comapny making a comeback. Even though it is no longer owned by Dan Emfeild.

                xhristopher


                  Nice to see that winter is finally ending in MN. Here in MA we're having a repeat of March. Fortunately I tend to resume bike commuting in March so it's been ok so far.

                   

                  Speaking of ti, carbon, al, & steel... I'll be riding a 17 mile bike leg of a du next month on a decade old 20+lb steel road bike. I'm guessing I'll be somewhat unique. I just wonder how much faster those Quintanna Roos go. I'm hoping the answer is not a lot.

                  zoom-zoom


                  rectumdamnnearkilledem

                    Not really a commute, but hubby and I headed from his work to our favorite LBS (an hour from our home, 30 minute drive from DH's work) by bike.  Had lunch at the brewpub across the street, then rode back.  Awesome day...except I had to get a new LS jersey at the shop.  Because I was friggin' freezing my tits off (yeah, I can say that...'cause I'm a girl.  And they really were cold).  I don't know the temp, but by the time we finished it was around 50 a couple of miles from the lake, so my guess is that we were pedaling for many miles in the 40s.  5 miles or so inland it was 60.  Very difficult to dress for these rides.  So by the end I had shorts, fleece knee warmers, SS jersey, Smartwool arm warmers, and a lightweight, LS jersey.  I wish I'd had my full-finger gloves, though.

                     

                    In a month it will be Summer...yeah, right. Roll eyes

                     

                    First metric century (+3ish miles) this year.  Longest ride yet on my new bike.  Ahhh...  I'm >1mph faster than I was a year ago, too.  And my first metric last year ended as a bit of a death march.  Biking is good. Big grin

                    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                         ~ Sarah Kay

                    xhristopher


                      our favorite LBS (an hour from our home...

                       

                      If your favorite "L"BS is an hour from home you live in BFE!

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                      rectumdamnnearkilledem

                        If your favorite "L"BS is an hour from home you live in BFE!

                         

                        That...and the 4 closer shops suck.

                        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                             ~ Sarah Kay

                        Slo


                          That...and the 4 closer shops suck.

                           

                          OK...took me a little bit to figure out BFE

                           

                          LBS's...It's really a personality fit and who they cater too.

                           

                          In the town I live we now only have one...which is fine because that one is perfect for me.It's also 6 blocks away.  In the neighboring metro area there are 4. One I refuse to due business with...this is the roadie LBS, Full of bike snobs and a prick of an owner. One that caters to the Off Road, one that caters to the recreation crowd, and they like to push the recumbents, and finally there is the "Hey, it's all good, we all ride...check out this tie dye jersey...stick around after close and we'll snap the cap on a couple of brews"...shop.

                           

                          So anyway...all the parts are in for my next build. A single speed 29'r.

                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            OK...took me a little bit to figure out BFE

                             

                            LBS's...It's really a personality fit and who they cater too.

                             

                            In the town I live we now only have one...which is fine because that one is perfect for me.It's also 6 blocks away.  In the neighboring metro area there are 4. One I refuse to due business with...this is the roadie LBS, Full of bike snobs and a prick of an owner. One that caters to the Off Road, one that caters to the recreation crowd, and they like to push the recumbents, and finally there is the "Hey, it's all good, we all ride...check out this tie dye jersey...stick around after close and we'll snap the cap on a couple of brews"...shop.

                             

                            So anyway...all the parts are in for my next build. A single speed 29'r.

                             

                            Ooh, fun!  DH has a 29er and a single-speed road-converted-to-CX...but not a single-speed 29er.  I'm not about to give him any ideas for new bikes, either...he already has "too many." Wink

                             

                            Yeah, the shops closer to us include 2 big shops that are part of a small chain.  They are like warehouses...big, impersonal, carry a lot of non-cycling stuff, too.

                             

                            Then there is a smaller shop that is OK, but not great.  I think the owner actually used to work with our shop guy.

                             

                            And a small shop that carries only Bianchi, if memory serves me.  That owner is just plain weird.

                             

                            "Our" shop is very laid-back.  Their motto is "A cool bike shop," which is pretty accurate.  They were the only shop in this part of the state listed in Bicycling Magazine's top shop rides list.  We wish we lived close enough to do more of their rides (they have organized rides pretty much every day--some in the AM, some in the evening).  We've done some of their regular Sunday event rides.  They do a Spring and Fall gravel road ride that is really fun (I borrowed my friend's Surly Cross Check for that).  It ends at the shop with food or at the brewpub across the street.  The owner buys food for everyone.  The owner is also one of the JDRF Ride To Cure national coaches.  Really class guy.

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                            Kerry1976


                            Master of the Side Eye

                              I finally got off my lazy butt and started commuting to and from work. Of course, "commute" is a generous word as it is only 1.25 miles each way. I really enjoy it. I started last week - not because of Bike to Work Week - but instead because the semester had just ended, the students have gone home, and the roads are nice and quite. Perfect time to get started.

                               

                              I'm riding my Trek Pure Lowstep now, but working on placing an order with Bike Friday for a New World Tourist. My NWT, as it appears to be shaping up, will be less than the standard price listed on the BF website as I don't want/need 27 speeds but instead want an 8-speed Nexus internal. A folder is very appealing to me as I living in a college town and am not enthused about parking my bike outside overnight (especially when fall comes) and schlepping my Trek up and down my apartment stairs each day just isn't remotely practical. But, I don't need "speed folding" of a Tikit. Plus, having more than 1 bike (even 1 is hard) in my tiny 1 bedroom apartment can be a pain.

                               

                              Of the 7 days I've had an opportunity to bike to work, I've biked 6. That one day I drove to work (because I had to run multiple errands to pick up lots of stuff - groceries, etc.) felt really foreign.

                               

                              So far, I haven't commuted in the rain yet, but am kind of looking forward to it. I love running in the rain and look forward to seeing what it would be like to bike in it. My $15 fenders are on and ready to go!

                              TRUST THE PROCESS

                               

                               

                               

                              Slo


                                 My $15 fenders are on and ready to go!

                                 

                                That's the ticket right there. A must have on any daily commuter.

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