***General Cycling Thread***

[BoxsterCy]

Did the Heritage Trail out of Dubuque yesterday and tried to hide from the wind. Drove home today in these winds, holy crap. Maybe a ride in the woods on the mtb is the way to go.

I decided to go out in spite of the crazy wind. Weird, it was not a cold wind like you'd expect this late, was warm except coming off lakes I biked by. Checked the NWS stations nearest me and there were wind gusts in the mid to high 40's during my ride. Good news was these big gusts were infrequent and it ended up being a pretty good ride (wind mostly out of the south and I did a lot of east/west).

Got in 30 miles and I have to add "leisure" as a ride purpose to fitness because the fall color was awesome. Had to stop several times to take pics.

 

[brianhos]

Second flat this summer after years of no flats (I am pretty lucky on that front). Yesterday at mile 28 it was hiss and flat in about 5 seconds. Nice puncture. Will check the tire more today. Thinking of maybe trying the Continental Gatorskins. Think peeps have recommended them here. How hard are they, in real life, to get onto your rim?

BTW, after washing bright yellow bike jersey (and drying it) I saw all of the bike grease on it from the tube change (note, front tires NEVER go flat). Tried the WD-40 trick and it work on the dried stain. Now to get the damn WD-40 out of the jersey!

View attachment 103963

I used to get a flat probably 3 times a year, switch to gatorskins and have not had one since. Really like the specialized version of the same idea, they are the roubaix line.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I used to get a flat probably 3 times a year, switch to gatorskins and have not had one since. Really like the specialized version of the same idea, they are the roubaix line.

Looking at those as an option for the roadie now that you've mentioned them. Not sure why I hadn't been thinking of Specialized, I use their tubes and have Espoir Sport Tire 700x28 on my Specialized hybrid.

Found this quote from a review which might be me:

"What we really want is something that is cheap, comfortable, doesn't puncture on a whim and doesn't have us like Bambi on ice in the rain."

 

[BoxsterCy]

Me still tyre shopping. So many Brit inputs that tires are now tyres to me.

And totally down the tyre rabbit hole on the interweb.

So much talk about type width. Thinking of shifting from 700x25 to 700x28. I rarely hit 20 mph on the urban routes I ride and for my speed (more like 15 mph or so) the 28's would provide a little better ride (some of the road surfaces and paths are sort of rough).

Kind leaning towards not going full on Gators but Continental 5000s or the Specialized Roubaix Pro.

 

[Cydkar]

Me still tyre shopping. So many Brit inputs that tires are now tyres to me.

And totally down the tyre rabbit hole on the interweb.

So much talk about type width. Thinking of shifting from 700x25 to 700x28. I rarely hit 20 mph on the urban routes I ride and for my speed (more like 15 mph or so) the 28's would provide a little better ride (some of the road surfaces and paths are sort of rough).

Kind leaning towards not going full on Gators but Continental 5000s or the Specialized Roubaix Pro.

Go to the 28s. It’s a no brainer. Trust me.

 

[BigBake]

Enjoyed the warm October day by hitting the Heritage Trail out of Dubuque. Definitely worth the trip if you like limestone paths.

Me still tyre shopping. So many Brit inputs that tires are now tyres to me.

And totally down the tyre rabbit hole on the interweb.

So much talk about type width. Thinking of shifting from 700x25 to 700x28. I rarely hit 20 mph on the urban routes I ride and for my speed (more like 15 mph or so) the 28's would provide a little better ride (some of the road surfaces and paths are sort of rough).

Kind leaning towards not going full on Gators but Continental 5000s or the Specialized Roubaix Pro.

I'm running 38c's. I honestly can't tell a difference in rolling resistance over a traditional road tire. If I'm on pavement I run 70-80 psi but can run 40-60 if I'm on gravel/limestone.

 

[BigBake]

Anyone ridden the Neal Smith trail north from Sycamore Access to the Marina lately? Last I knew it was in pretty poor shape with issues from tree roots creating bumps to large cracks. Both of which are not idea to hit on a road bike.

 

[Mads4st8]

Anyone ridden the Neal Smith trail north from Sycamore Access to the Marina lately? Last I knew it was in pretty poor shape with issues from tree roots creating bumps to large cracks. Both of which are not idea to hit on a road bike.

Yep, it’s a mess in spots. Have to keep your eyes on the trail.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Okay, going to be hanging the bikes up now unless there is some crazy nice day in November (unlikely). Made my season goal of 1200 miles. A modest number for young peeps but for a septuagenarian who never left the metro area I'm satisfied. Guess I'll have to shift over and ride the stationary bike at the gym now.

 

[BigBake]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

 

[simply1]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

Hate just about every second of it lol

 

[WheelsforClones]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

I have one I’m switching around right now. Pretty basic with Tacx, table, fan, and tv. Been doing it for the past four years.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

Noooooooo!

I would ride a cheap trainer in a hog barn (hot hot but smelly) in high school to cut weight for wrestling. No more.

I'm also lucky that Fort Collins clears the city trails right away after snow storms so we always have a place to ride. This week was cold and snowy so I took the week off which the knees needs every once in awhile.

 

[Yaz]

Yep, had a dumb trainer for a few years and the setup each time was a pain in the butt. Just received my Zwift Hub last week and what a difference. I was going to get the Wahoo kicker v5, however, the Hub came available and is about $500 cheaper. Positive reviews for the price point and no middleman m/u, hence the price. Works with all services but I have mainly used Zwift in the past. Syncing to my TV is much easier than the dumb trainer work around.

Side note: I am pairing the Zwift apps with my phone, which keeps me from streaming music to my stereo from my phone which sucks. I'll probably use one of my laptops to stream one or the other so I can listen to my music, versus the radio. Still working through this part of the setup.

 

[cyclonetrent]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

I'm a psycho that probably does 95%+ of my bike riding year round on a smart trainer. With two small kiddos, it's just too convenient, I can get my rides in before they wake up or after they are asleep.

 

[BoxsterCy]

No trainer as I am just riding for general fitness, my old man substitute for running (which I miss a lot). Do have to add some exercise bike rides at LifeTime. Having to pop over gets me off my ass and out of the house and I am already paying too much for just going over to weight train. Pretty boring except on the weekends when you can at least tune in some sports to watch. The music they pipe in for the whole gym is pretty good so I've never felt the need to tune in my own.

 

[nrg4isu]

I'm a psycho that probably does 95%+ of my bike riding year round on a smart trainer. With two small kiddos, it's just too convenient, I can get my rides in before they wake up or after they are asleep.

I'm in the same boat, or at least was. I've got the pain cave setup, zwift, giant TV, second screen for whatever I want to watch. I've put in a lot of time on that over the years, but less so lately. I really should get back in the saddle, but life happens and hobbies shift a bit. Cycling will always be one of the hobbies/sports, but at the moment it's on the backburner. I think I rode outdoors once last year? and once the year prior? Back in 2010-2015 I was putting in 3-4,000+ miles a year and going crazy. First kid was born in 2016.

 

[Colorado]

Fat bike for outdoor riding in the winter and an Echelon brand bike for the basement. For indoor riding, I certainly appreciate having someone on the screen in front of me telling me what to do and keeping my interest up

 

[BigBake]

Same as a lot of you. Had a dumb trainer several years back but just couldn't stomach the boredom. I still plan on riding outside whenever possible (studded fatbike tires FTW) here in Iowa.

This is my first time with a smart trainer. Doing the trial with Zwift. Definitely better than going without. I do like the interval training as I've never incorporated something like that in my regular riding. (I just pedal at whatever cadence works) Amazed at all there is to Zwift and to learn about it. Think I may give Rouvy a trial run too.

 

[Cydkar]

Checking in, how many "pain cave" indoor riders here? Just bought a smart trainer for some training this offseason. Will definitely still be riding my fat bike outside whenever possible but hopefully this opens up a new off season training option.

I was addicted last winter. I haven't hooked up the bike yet, for the winter, but I enjoy numbers which adds to the "fun".