The Bicycle Thread

[Mark Antony]

Rode my "cheap" Schwinn (400 bucks) I got a few years back and man it feels terrible vs the Giant Contend AR3 I recently got. Groupset and wheel upgrades planned.

 

[Pedro Navaja]

After not riding in two months did my first ride in NJ yesterday

…and it was brutal. Gotta get back in shape!

 

[Mark Antony]

Surpised how readily available these are right now, the velosamba cycling shoes, they were unattainable for damn near a year:

https://www.adidas.com/us/the-velosamba-cycling-shoes/FW4459.html

 

[whywesteppin]

biking in the right lane and keeping up with traffic (and slowing down for it at times) and car behind me honked at me 5 or 6 times.... y'all killing me with this ****. I'm pedaling for my ****ing life and you're honking at me?

 

[kdawg]

New shoes finally arrived this week. These are the double wide Bont Vaypor+ - and out of the box they feel pretty good. I'm going to break them in a bit before molding them if necessary. I've been really struggling with my knees recently and my first ride felt really good.

I was swapping my cleats over and took this picture showing the difference between a "wide" Shimano shoe and these ones.

These are kangaroo leather which I've never had before - supposed to be very stretch resistant but it should also shape to your feet well. Should be good - they are nearly 3x the price of the Shimano ones...

 

[Thierry Henry]

After not riding in two months did my first ride in NJ yesterday

…and it was brutal. Gotta get back in shape!

You're not the only one, it's been hard to ride since June with all this rain. By the time i get outta work those late afternoon thunderstorms hit and ruin everything

New shoes finally arrived this week. These are the double wide Bont Vaypor+ - and out of the box they feel pretty good. I'm going to break them in a bit before molding them if necessary. I've been really struggling with my knees recently and my first ride felt really good.

I was swapping my cleats over and took this picture showing the difference between a "wide" Shimano shoe and these ones.

These are kangaroo leather which I've never had before - supposed to be very stretch resistant but it should also shape to your feet well. Should be good - they are nearly 3x the price of the Shimano ones...

Kangaroo leather is the good stuff, that's what pro footballers prefer their boots to be made out of.

I'm looking at the Lake cx238 and i believe they're made out of the same material. What's the stiffness rating on the outsole of those Bont's?

 

[kdawg]

You're not the only one, it's been hard to ride since June with all this rain. By the time i get outta work those late afternoon thunderstorms hit and ruin everything






Kangaroo leather is the good stuff, that's what pro footballers prefer their boots to be made out of.

I'm looking at the Lake cx238 and i believe they're made out of the same material. What's the stiffness rating on the outsole of those Bont's?

They don't rate them as far as I know - but they are as stiff as I've ever seen. I tried Lake too - nice shoes but the shape didn't suit me.

 

[kdawg]

Found this quote in a review:

The soles are handmade from unidirectional Toray carbon fibre and they just don't flex. There are quite a lot of stiff-soled shoes out there these days if you're prepared to pay top-end prices, but the Vaypor S takes things to another level. For what it's worth, Bont claims that the sole boasts the highest strength to weight ratio of any cycling shoe currently available.

They're definitely super stiff.

 

[Mark Antony]

This summer has just been a cycle of either rain or hot as ****.

 

[GreenNGold89]

Great weather this morning, had to get out there.

 

[lil black jean jacket]

https://madboy-us.cannondale.com/pr...rce=palace&utm_medium=pdp&utm_campaign=madboy

for my high rolling NT bike fambs

 

[Thierry Henry]

Did anybody come up on some Labor Day sales?

I was looking to buy that new Wahoo Bolt and a pair of cycling shoes, but i had no luck.

I did manage to get some Ultegra clipless pedals from an ebay seller for under retail tho.

 

[therealest1]

I was riding my bike home on a route I normally take on late Sunday evening, and I got into a minor collision with a reckless idiot.

So I was riding in a designated bike lane that merges into a legitimate automobile lane and I made a legal left turn because the traffic light was green and the street was empty, then that's when that idiot collided with me on my left side in the intersection.

Neither of us fell from our bikes upon minor impact because the idiot tried to swerve away to his left while I was already engaged in my left turn position. There was only minimal contact between our bodies.

Then I stopped at the corner of the intersection after I made the left turn to confront the idiot. I waited for him to approach because he had to pick up a small object he dropped during the collision in the intersection.

He proceeded to approach me trying to act tough and make it seem like it was my fault. He actually tried to blame me for not being attentive. And I was firm with conveying to him that he was at fault. He stupidly lied that he utilized the horn on his bike to warn me before we collided when he didn't. I tried to educate the idiot that he has to ride his bike following the traffic direction because that's how collisions can transpire based on riding in an opposite direction against the traffic.

The idiot tried to stupidly justify his negligence based on "the street was empty" to him. Even if a street is empty, you still have to be attentive and cautiously cross regardless whenever riding.

He then relented and tried to end the disagreement because I was firm with my logic that I had the right of way based on my riding direction aligning with the traffic direction and I had a green light with an empty street. I can tell he underestimated me from a distance until he saw I was taller and a little bigger than him when he got closer to me. I believe he tried to intimidate me, but I didn't back down. He tried to act a little civil and no longer care about the incident. I also had a legal way to protect myself in case he posed a legitimate threat. I just rode off going home.

I think the idiot was either trying to cross the intersection diagonally, or he was trying to cross it the traditional way in the crosswalk, so that's why the collision occurred while I was making the left turn.

Can y'all experienced riders please provide input and feedback on who was right and who was wrong in this bike riding ordeal? I have to be in the right because of the direction I was going along with the circumstances involved. And that loser idiot has to be in the wrong because he tried to cross the intersection somehow against a red light with him ending up colliding on my left side, which is quite awkward positioning.

And I hope this doesn't happen to none of y'all either.

 

[whywesteppin]

I will sometimes run a red or sometimes even bike the wrong direction on a one-way or whatever, but then I'm very attentive and ready to yield or come to a stop if I see anybody else nearby. From what therealest1 is describing, the other guy was bending the rules, which I'm ok with, but wasn't ready to stop/yield to you, which puts him at fault.

As much as drivers annoy me when I bike, it's often the other ******* bikers who are the worst and the cause of problems.

 

[whatscomplex]

Do you guys look down on the e-bike community? Is that in the air at all amongst the biking community?

 

[whywesteppin]

Do you guys look down on the e-bike community? Is that in the air at all amongst the biking community?

I don't think they should be allowed on bike paths. Just on roads or bike lanes that go along roads.

I would hope e-bikes encourage people to bike more and drive less, but I feel like they're more likely getting people who would normally bike for exercise to instead just sit there and push "go."

 

[Mark Antony]

E-bikes aren't just push and go though, they're not motorcycles. Experienced road and mountain bikers tend to like the e-bike variations for times they have to go uphill and that pedal assistance helps.

 

[whywesteppin]

E-bikes aren't just push and go though, they're not motorcycles. Experienced road and mountain bikers tend to like the e-bike variations for times they have to go uphill and that pedal assistance helps.

yeah that's a good point. i don't have much experience with them other than somebody on an e-bike zipping past everybody on a flat straightaway.

 

[Mark Antony]

Yeah I watched this where this guy tended to enjoy his downhill run more because the uphill wasn't the normal struggle. I'm not into it enough to pay the premium though, the struggle is fine because i'm not doing miles like that.

 

[therealest1]

I will sometimes run a red or sometimes even bike the wrong direction on a one-way or whatever, but then I'm very attentive and ready to yield or come to a stop if I see anybody else nearby. From what therealest1 is describing, the other guy was bending the rules, which I'm ok with, but wasn't ready to stop/yield to you, which puts him at fault.

As much as drivers annoy me when I bike, it's often the other ******* bikers who are the worst and the cause of problems.

Thank you so much for corroborating what I was thinking all along by expounding on all this! I totally agree with everything you said.

I knew all along that other guy was an absolute idiot and jerk. What's worse is that he turned into a cowardly female dog when I didn't back down and conveyed to him he was at fault after trying to come off tough. Hopefully he'll either run into the wrong person and get hurt or killed, or he'll get hit by a car if he continues to be an ignorant jerk while biking.

It's funny that you mentioned all that because I admit I do exactly what you acknowledged doing while riding your bike.

I always run a red light, but only if it's completely devoid of cars. Or if cars are coming on either the left or right sides of the intersection, I'll run the red only if they're afar from reaching the intersection.

I honestly ride in the wrong direction intentionally for a short distance on particular paths because I prefer to avoid stopping at a certain intersection to use the crosswalks when I need to go left onto another street. But I make sure I ride as close to the curb as I can when I go in the opposite direction. And I try to go around safely another biker if they're going in the right direction while I'm going the wrong direction, I also try to yell out, "EXCUSE ME.", to them out of courtesy.

I agree with being attentive and ready to yield or stop if I see people or cars nearby because I have to do it a lot myself while riding.

I knew I had to be cautious of drivers, but I wasn't aware that other bikers can be problematic because I haven't had an issue until this past Sunday evening. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Liquid Swords]

Other cyclists are just as bad. I had too many near misses when they go shooting out of an intersection turning right, merging into what’s already a narrow bike lane. I keep my cool but ready to throw down if they ever instigate.

 

[jewelknows]

A lot of this results from terrible cycling infrastructure in our cities.

 

[therealest1]

I admit I still have a lot to learn despite riding my bike for a little over a year and a half now but I try to be cautious when I do things like running a red light, riding in the wrong direction, or occasionally traversing through cars in traffic at a red light to make a crossing convenient.

I strive not to be obnoxious when I do those things, but rather courteous to drivers or other bike riders. Like cyclists have never tripped with me going in the wrong direction against them because I go around them and act politely. And I've been lucky where drivers let me pass in front of them occasionally when I have to traverse through traffic to get to the curb, so I always wave and/or smile at them because it isn't smart to piss of a driver when they can use their car as a weapon if they're mentally f'd up like that.

Other cyclists are just as bad. I had too many near misses when they go shooting out of an intersection turning right, merging into what’s already a narrow bike lane. I keep my cool but ready to throw down if they ever instigate.

This is terrible to know that cyclists are as bad as drivers. It is annoying and frustrating when they lack awareness and consideration.

That's just sad and pathetic that there could be a possibility that you may have to throw down if another cyclist instigates or gets hostile when they're in the wrong. It looks like I better be prepared for that based on what transpired with me recently and what you stated.

A lot of this results from terrible cycling infrastructure in our cities.

I agree. It's also compounded with losers being reckless due to them lacking awareness because they idiotically think they always have the right of way being on a bike. It seems like a lot of the idiots don't realize being on a bike is like being in a car while in travel mode.

 

[Thierry Henry]

Did anybody come up on some Labor Day sales?

I was looking to buy that new Wahoo Bolt and a pair of cycling shoes, but i had no luck.

I did manage to get some Ultegra clipless pedals from an ebay seller for under retail tho.

Got here way faster than i thought, i was expecting them next week

 

[GreenNGold89]

Anyone been riding where you at? Weather has been amazing around here. Fun climb this morning, want to get faster at climbing but gotta stay consistent. Finally got a bike fit recently and feeling much better so hopefully that helps.