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Dren posted:I got a synapse 105. Would it be crazy to do some touring on it? What kind of touring are you considering/planning?
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Dec 27, 2020 19:53
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kimbo305 posted:What kind of touring are you considering/planning? c&o canal. Probably 3 day trip. Guides I’ve read say people do it on road bikes but a wider tire is recommended. Undecided about if I want to do credit card touring or bikepacking. I have an FX1 which would probably be perfect but I want to sell it to make room in my garage.
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Dec 27, 2020 20:21
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Dren posted:Undecided about if I want to do credit card touring or bikepacking. Costs might be similar, with buying gear obviously preferable if you have future touring plans. There's a touring thread where a lot of folks have done C&O and (I think) would prob vouch for the Synapse being fine from a comfort/durability standpoint. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933885
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Dec 27, 2020 20:26
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kimbo305 posted:Costs might be similar, with buying gear obviously preferable if you have future touring plans. thanks!
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Dec 27, 2020 20:37
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kimbo305 posted:Costs might be similar, with buying gear obviously preferable if you have future touring plans. I missed this thread somehow, thank you
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Dec 27, 2020 20:45
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Dren posted:c&o canal. Probably 3 day trip. Guides I’ve read say people do it on road bikes but a wider tire is recommended. Undecided about if I want to do credit card touring or bikepacking. I have an FX1 which would probably be perfect but I want to sell it to make room in my garage. I’ve done the C&O. You can do it on 28s but I’d rather have a 32/35 or bigger tire tbh. It can get pretty rutted up and muddy fast with any rain. I did it on a set of 42s and had a half day of rain that made the trail muddy with sections of peanut butter mud that would sap any momentum. Doing that on 28s would not be fun. The C&O is probably one of the easiest trails to camp on because there’s a campground almost every 5 miles with potable water and a portapotty.
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Dec 27, 2020 21:24
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My cycling career has peaked, I should retire now.
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Dec 27, 2020 22:01
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amazing
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Dec 28, 2020 00:32
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Dec 28, 2020 01:15
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e.pilot posted:My cycling career has peaked, I should retire now. nice
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Dec 28, 2020 01:20
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Give me your bike please
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Dec 28, 2020 01:21
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Alright, fed up, tossing these drat Gravel Kings (38 slicks) in the trash. They were completely unprotective of tubes, and even after switching to tubeless they are still swiss cheese. Countless punctures and cuts, they lose so much sealant so quickly. Been through a whole bottle of Orange Seal in 700 or so miles in just a few months riding mostly pavement and hardpack. They are just magnets for tiny debris. They ride great, but this is just stupid. Never had remotely so many issues with tires before, even road race tires. Seattle streets are rough but they aren't bad enough to justify how often these things let me down. Going to try out some G-One Allrounds in 38 and tubeless. Fingers crossed they hold up better.
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Dec 28, 2020 03:46
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Guinness posted:Alright, fed up, tossing these drat Gravel Kings (38 slicks) in the trash. They were completely unprotective of tubes, and even after switching to tubeless they are still swiss cheese. Countless punctures and cuts, they lose so much sealant so quickly. Been through a whole bottle of Orange Seal in 700 or so miles in just a few months riding mostly pavement and hardpack. They are just magnets for tiny debris. teravail ramparts have fun i literally live in the same city as you and had the same problem. GK slicks died before 1,000 miles- ramparts are at 1500 on my first pair with the original load of sealant and minimal wear.
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Dec 28, 2020 04:58
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a patagonian cavy posted:teravail ramparts have fun Sweet I was looking at the Ramparts too, but a little bit hard to find in stock right now. Finally found a place with the right size/color in stock so I'll pick them up instead of the Schwalbes. Hopefully I can eke out a few more miles on the GKs until they get here, so close to my 2020 mileage goal.
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Dec 28, 2020 06:42
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Easy flat one today, 325km done with 3 days to go 
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Dec 28, 2020 14:01
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Four days into the festive 500 and my body is an absolute furnace at night. Also, perhaps related, I am enjoying eating everything in sight.
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Dec 28, 2020 16:18
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Guinness posted:Sweet I was looking at the Ramparts too, but a little bit hard to find in stock right now. Finally found a place with the right size/color in stock so I'll pick them up instead of the Schwalbes. eBay for tires, you’ll always get what you’re looking for and sometimes there’s a lil sale
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Dec 28, 2020 16:29
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e.pilot posted:My cycling career has peaked, I should retire now. Nice
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Dec 28, 2020 16:59
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This is probably a question done to death, but looking for opinions on gravel v road bikes. My wife got me a new bike rack for the house for X-mas - her way of saying I can go out and get a bicycle upgrade from the Hybrid I use now. I went in thinking getting a road bike with endurance geometry (something like this [https://www.cervelo.com/en_US/caledonia or https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bikes-defy-advanced-2021), but I feel like bike shops are always pointing me towards gravel bikes, highlighting their versatility. Personally, I have a reflexive reaction to the fat tires. I don't venture off road often (or really at all except where there are breaks in the trails which I usually walk anyway). We have an extensive paved bike trail system in Houston (I can easily do a 10, 30, or 50 mile circuit entirely on the dedicated trails from my house) which is what I use to avoid interactions with cars. This will be my first step up from the Hybrid which I've used through the pandemic to improve my fitness significantly and what I plan on continuing to do - just looking for people's thoughts on whether a gravel bike is generally preferable to a road bike as the "next step" cycle, or should it just be like - I want the road bike and think I'll have fun riding it, so get that. Sab0921 fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Dec 28, 2020 |
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Dec 28, 2020 17:02
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Skarsnik posted:Easy flat one today, 325km done with 3 days to go Nice
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Dec 28, 2020 17:12
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spf3million posted:Four days into the festive 500 and my body is an absolute furnace at night. Also, perhaps related, I am enjoying eating everything in sight. I’ve noticed the insane body heat thing too. I’m sleeping in a room that’s 64F with only a sheet.
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Dec 28, 2020 17:43
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spf3million posted:Four days into the festive 500 and my body is an absolute furnace at night. Also, perhaps related, I am enjoying eating everything in sight. I have completely thrown out my diet for the F500 and have been eating literally everything and it has been loving GREAT.
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Dec 28, 2020 17:51
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Sab0921 posted:I want the road bike and think I'll have fun riding it, so get that. I went the other way and am happy with my gravel bike as my main road bike. But I'm also interested in getting a true road bike too next year.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:02
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spf3million posted:I vote for getting what you want. +1! Get what you want. If a road bike is what you're into, get a road bike.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:06
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spf3million posted:I vote for getting what you want. If you closed your eyes while riding you probably couldn't tell the difference but psychologically you'd probably wish you got that road bike. Since you have no interest in exploring off road, a road bike will be great. Why did you make the choice for gravel over road?
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Dec 28, 2020 18:09
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I'd go for a flexible road bike in that situation. The difference in speed between a true race bike and a practical road bike is measured in seconds per mile, so I'd go for something that can upgrade into a rack, fenders, extra bottle cages, and that has clearance for larger tires. Surly pacer or something similar. The worst bike purchase I made was a Madone 6 which I ended up selling because it was exhausting to ride. It takes less effort to go fast, but at the same time I couldn't ever feel comfortable on it unless I was pushing 10 out of 10, no MUPS, road only, full kit, going 20 or feeling like a loser. So... it had to go. It was fun for a while but eventually I replaced it with a gunnar touring bike with a 1x11 drivetrain, front and rear racks, 36c tires, faster than everyone on a MUP but I feel good wearing jeans on it, cutting across lawns, full gravel roads are no problem etc. I'm not recommending that you go that far away from race bike but a few tiny tiny touches make a world of difference for how practical a bike is.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:19
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I thought about this some more and I think it's just super personal. For me, I ride bikes because I like exploring and getting lost. I like trespassing and getting into weird situations. For me a race bike just limiting the amount of fun I'm having. Same with a bike computer where I'm just looking down at it and being critical of my pace. BUT 10 years ago I was just an adrenaline junkie looking for a fix by racing cars in the 25mph zones and a race bike would have been perfect in that moment.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:43
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Salt Fish posted:I'd go for a flexible road bike in that situation. The difference in speed between a true race bike and a practical road bike is measured in seconds per mile, so I'd go for something that can upgrade into a rack, fenders, extra bottle cages, and that has clearance for larger tires. Surly pacer or something similar. The Cervelo Caledonia can fit big tyres (bigger than a Surly Pacer, even) and mudguards. It can't fit a rack, but his use case doesn't need a rack.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:54
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Sab0921 posted:Why did you make the choice for gravel over road? I wanted a do-it-all bike I could take on gravel/dirt should I find myself in that position. Also the ability to fit wide tires with fenders and maybe do some touring/bike packing at some point. It works fine as an endurance road bike, not as fast as a racing bike but I'm slow as hell anyway.
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Dec 28, 2020 19:09
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Sab0921 posted:Personally, I have a reflexive reaction to the fat tires. Most gravel bikes should ship with rims that'll let you downsize to 32s. Granted, it'd be a bit messier if the stock tires had already been set up tubeless. That said, those endurance bikes you listed are already running 32mm, so if you only ever plan on going on pavement, they'd be 100% fine. And both look to be able to eke out 35mm if you're never gonna see mud/grit. For me, unless it's serious distances, I don't really think about speed, and would rather run the tires that make my ride more comfortable.
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Dec 28, 2020 19:09
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Sab0921 posted:This is probably a question done to death, but looking for opinions on gravel v road bikes. I'm all  at your wife giving you a bike rack for Christmas.I'd vote for getting the bike that tickles your fancy the most right now, for the type of riding you enjoy right now. Most current gen gravel bikes have gone 1x, and for someone who mostly (primarily) wants to bang out road miles, that's going to be inferior. There are definitely bikes that are more in the "gravel" space that would be fine for your purpose, but half the point of getting a new bike is that you're hella stoked about it. Either of those ones you linked are gonna be a hoot and a holler. The other consideration is: buying a bike for gravel when you don't know what kind of gravel riding you'd want to do is a recipe for getting the wrong bike. Gravel is a very broad term, and what works well in one region or for one style of riding could be not what you're looking for at all. I'd hold off on that until you know what your current (or new) bike can't handle that leaves you wanting more. Either of those bikes can handle hardpack doubletrack and gravel just fine as long as conditions are dry. I'm not sure which of the spec levels you're comparing, but 105 and Ultegra are functionally very similar, fwiw. Availability is probably gonna be the biggest issue. If you want recommendations of other bikes in that niche I'm sure the thread can help.
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Dec 28, 2020 19:20
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Cervelo Caledonia can fit big tyres (bigger than a Surly Pacer, even) and mudguards. It can't fit a rack, but his use case doesn't need a rack. No - for rides where I want to pack things, I'll add on the hybrid - fenders, racks, panniers, mirrors and all that for family rides.
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Dec 28, 2020 19:20
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bicievino posted:I'm all Much love for this post - I chose those two bikes because Urban Bicycle Gallery in Houston seems to always have a good stock and regularly has both the Giant and Cervelo (other stores are cleaned the gently caress out). Also - yes, the bike rack was very sweet. We got COVID in the summer and I got into riding to build my health/CV fitness back up and she has been super supportive except for a new bicycle because we have a tiny house. She got me the rack, told me where to install it in the house and that I could go out and get a new bike to keep going on my health journey (note - she probably is a fan of me dropping 25 lbs and being at wedding weight as well, so something in it for her too) Sab0921 fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Dec 28, 2020 |
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Dec 28, 2020 19:51
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I recently bike shopped and debated gravel vs road. A major reason I ended up with a road bike is I wanted a 105 groupset, not a GRX groupset since I primarily ride road. It felt like getting a GRX groupset would just make me sad about the compromise since I don’t do enough gravel riding to justify it.
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Dec 28, 2020 21:55
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That Cervelo looks pretty rad. TBH though, on the surface, I don't really see much of difference between the it & my Diverge. I didn't look at geometry or any of the specs that would really separate them, but my first impression was "Who says that's not a gravel bike?"
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Dec 28, 2020 23:07
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"Gravel bike" has gotten so diluted these days it could mean anything from a road bike with room for 35s to drat near a hardtail mountain bike. After I got my gravel bike I hardly rode my pure road bike anymore, and eventually sold it off. For not-racing it's near enough as fast to not make a difference, and much more comfortable and bomb-proof. I think of it more of a "all road all conditions" bike since I run slick/near-slick 38s on it. I can enjoy rides on crumby roads or in crappy conditions that I would have been miserable on my road bike on 23-25s. Speaking of, after much encouragement and massaging I finally got my unreliable GK slicks to seal my most recent nasty puncture and they held up for a 25 mile ride today and I got my 2000 mile distance & 100,000 ft climbing goal for the year  . The Ramparts to replace them are in the mail and can't get here soon enough.
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Dec 29, 2020 00:39
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I still ride my road bike more than anything else, and don't ever see myself not having an actual "road" bike. I did go a season with road tires on my cx bike, and while it worked, it was definitely not the same. One of the highlights of my year was a road ride out on the mt/id border:   Any other bike would have just made it take longer, and I was already out there close to 7 hours. So I guess what I'm saying is get a road bike if you want one. They're light and fast. I also highly recommend fancy tires and wheels that make cool wooshing noises. jamal fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Dec 29, 2020 |
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Dec 29, 2020 01:55
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for everyone helping out with this, one thing to also consider is that houston is completely flat (last year i did 1,600 miles for 20,000 feet of elevation per strava)Sab0921 posted:Much love for this post - I chose those two bikes because Urban Bicycle Gallery in Houston seems to always have a good stock and regularly has both the Giant and Cervelo (other stores are cleaned the gently caress out). i'm definitely not an expert but i'd also go with whichever you felt better about, especially if you plan on sticking to the bayou trails. i like a fatter tire after it's rained and the trails are covered in bayou goo at random points, and also for ubiquitous road debris, but have done fine on both
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Dec 29, 2020 03:03
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pulled up to a light next to a car and my tire shot a rock right into their door that was awkward............for a moment because i ran the red since there was no cross traffic 
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Dec 29, 2020 06:42
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I believe that's the city's fault. Though you'd have the same easy remedy as when you break your car wheel on a pothole.
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Dec 29, 2020 06:51
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