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kimbo305 posted:I think what it boils down to is that it feels very patriarchal for me to intercede as a male. I think I'd have way fewer reservations about jumping in if I presented as female. I’m a super butch lesbian and there is always some older dickhead ready to think to himself “they are just like normal feeemales really” and mansplain at you. I said a few weeks back that I was just stood minding my own business trying to find a squeak on my brand new ebike and this guy pushed me aside grabbed my bike and slammed it up and down by the seat then the seat post rack to “help” me find it (head tube needed grease) and that’s just the latest time some idiot has gone out of his way to “teach” me, at 41 years old and 30 years of bike riding, how to do basic maintenance. It does not matter what you look like, if a lass is being hassled then step in with a ride on pal and leave her alone. Just nod and leave her alone yourself afterwards is all you need to do.
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Aug 1, 2021 17:07
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learnincurve posted:It does not matter what you look like, if a lass is being hassled then step in with a ride on pal and leave her alone. Just nod and leave her alone yourself afterwards is all you need to do. 
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Aug 1, 2021 20:52
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kimbo305 posted:I think what it boils down to is that it feels very patriarchal for me to intercede as a male. I think I'd have way fewer reservations about jumping in if I presented as female. aka this: learnincurve posted:It does not matter what you look like, if a lass is being hassled then step in with a ride on pal and leave her alone. Just nod and leave her alone yourself afterwards is all you need to do.
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Aug 1, 2021 21:33
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meltie posted:Bit annoyed, my new(ish) Endura Pro SL bibs have gone seethrough and holed already - right on the tailbone. https://www.boure.com/ these have been my go-to for brevets. 3 years ago, I got a pair, rode 2000k+ on these and they're still chugging along (with just the logo rubbing off)
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Aug 2, 2021 00:15
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I did a lot of riding this weekend. Rode Galveston Island from end to end and back. Felt great on the way out with a tailwind and light traffic early in the morning (there was a brief rain storm, but that was just fun) . The way back had a headwind and many very upset drivers who had to share the road (there is about a 7 mile stretch of the Island where they got rid of the shoulder to add a second traffic lane and it SUCKS). I got a bit of a late start so by 9 AM there was a ton of traffic. This morning I rode just the Seawall portion with my cousins which is segregated from the road and a nice 20 mile there and back. Same headwind issue. However, now that I've done it, I'm not sure I really enjoy the flat, straight beach ride. It was fine, but got kind of tedious and boring at times. Also my bike is nasty and sandy and salty now. However, 10/10 riding bikes is fun.
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Aug 2, 2021 00:19
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people who crit race - aluminum frame while learning how to race with people, right? I’m at a fitness level where I could justify something more expensive but not if I’m likely to lay it down/get forcibly laid down. If that’s the case I have a diverge frame I could use but it’s got the worlds worst Claris groupset on it and it would be more expensive to find and put on a 105 set of components than it would be to find an allez sprint comp disc (not that a groupset or that bike exist). I guess I don’t really have a question just people who race with other people near them, tell me what you know. I have done a few ultra-style gravel races at this point but this is so wildly different that I would love any resources to read/watch/listen to
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Aug 2, 2021 00:52
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Time posted:people who crit race - aluminum frame while learning how to race with people, right? I’m at a fitness level where I could justify something more expensive but not if I’m likely to lay it down/get forcibly laid down. I don't disagree that an AL frame will likely cope with a crash better, but honestly if you lay 'er down hard enough to break carbon aren't you in a situation where the medical bills will dwarf the difference between a new AL vs carbon frame? And carbon is pretty cheap these days...
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Aug 2, 2021 01:58
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amenenema posted:I don't disagree that an AL frame will likely cope with a crash better, but honestly if you lay 'er down hard enough to break carbon aren't you in a situation where the medical bills will dwarf the difference between a new AL vs carbon frame? I don’t think this tracks at all. It’s very easy to walk away from a crash and wreck a bike. Rider injury and bike condition often diverge wildly, in either direction. Also, I have 100% paid for socialized healthcare so it’s not a factor even if that was the case.
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Aug 2, 2021 02:06
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Time posted:If that’s the case I have a diverge frame I could use but it’s got the worlds worst Claris groupset on it and it would be more expensive to find and put on a 105 set of components than it would be to find an allez sprint comp disc (not that a groupset or that bike exist). I tried to assemble a 2x11 SRAM wide groupset, but got the wrong RD. If you want - 2x11 Red shifters - Force FD - Shimano 11-23 corncob cassette, which might be too narrow for Boston, not sure how they set up crits around here. for cheap, lemme know. You'll have to get your own 11 spd road or 10 spd (GX, X7, X9) MTB RD to complete it.
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Aug 2, 2021 02:18
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Time posted:people who crit race - aluminum frame while learning how to race with people, right? I’m at a fitness level where I could justify something more expensive but not if I’m likely to lay it down/get forcibly laid down. slap a sensah group on there and call it good until the bike market gets back to semi-normal
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Aug 2, 2021 09:54
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Time posted:I don’t think this tracks at all. It’s very easy to walk away from a crash and wreck a bike. Rider injury and bike condition often diverge wildly, in either direction. Can confirm - had 2 crashes in the past 3 years. One wrecked the bike and I was fine, the other wrecked me and the bike was fine.
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Aug 2, 2021 10:28
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Time posted:I don’t think this tracks at all. It’s very easy to walk away from a crash and wreck a bike. Rider injury and bike condition often diverge wildly, in either direction. Fair point, that makes sense. Also - I sometimes forget that there are parts of the world much less dumb and lovely than the US. Carry on with the hunt to upgrade your AL!
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Aug 2, 2021 13:30
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Time posted:I don’t think this tracks at all. It’s very easy to walk away from a crash and wreck a bike. Rider injury and bike condition often diverge wildly, in either direction. Yes a cheaper race bike will be better to learn the ropes on if you're worried about crashing, and until you get to the upper ends of competing you really won't be hampered too much road racing. One of the fastest guys I know still races on his £600 alu frame carbon fork bike with £50 shoes. Hes nearly at Cat 1.
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Aug 2, 2021 20:03
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The rule I use is: if you can't afford to replace it, don't race it. A carbon fiber aero frame will be faster when you're eating wind than a typical aluminum frame. But not by much, and realistically, most crits aren't won in the wind, they're won with good positioning into the final corner. Until you're in the cat 1/2s, a not-completely-optimal aero frame is unlikely to be the decider in the outcome of a race. A good *stiff* bike like the allez sprint or the emonda alr will do everything you need. Weight isn't unimportant but it is not very important in a flat race.
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Aug 2, 2021 21:25
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My buddy cracked the seatstay of his Madone when a gust blew it over. He finished top 15 in a P12 crit last week on his Aspero. It’s all about opportunity and efficiency and getting behind one or three marked wheels going into the last 1.5 laps.
TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Aug 3, 2021 |
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Aug 3, 2021 00:21
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Speaking of racing and crashing bikes you can't afford one of the guys I ride with on the national triathalon team says that quite a few people even at the higher levels are holding back in races he's attended because they know if they wipe out they're stuck waiting possibly a year to get their stuff replaced. Full pros don't have to worry about this stuff but a lot of the categories below are currently one lovely corner away from missing races because they can't get parts.
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Aug 3, 2021 00:51
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EvilJoven posted:Speaking of racing and crashing bikes you can't afford one of the guys I ride with on the national triathalon team says that quite a few people even at the higher levels are holding back in races he's attended because they know if they wipe out they're stuck waiting possibly a year to get their stuff replaced. Full pros don't have to worry about this stuff but a lot of the categories below are currently one lovely corner away from missing races because they can't get parts. To me that's silly. If you enter a srs race, then friggin' race. If you're worried about being able to replace damaged parts, then don't race. I was taken out 6 weeks ago while tailgunning the back of a 35+ 123 crit. Holding back doesn't protect you...I'd argue it puts you farther back and you're more likely to be in harms way. TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Aug 3, 2021 |
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Aug 3, 2021 02:02
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TobinHatesYou posted:To me that's silly. If you enter a race, then race. If you're worried about being able to replace damaged parts, then don't race. I was taken out 6 weeks ago while tailgunning the back a 35+ 123 crit. Holding back doesn't protect you...I'd argue it puts you farther back and you're more likely to be in harms way. Not everyone rides the same way, has the same risk profile , or has the same ability to get replacement parts, especially now.
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Aug 3, 2021 02:09
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I got a bike fitting appointment scheduled at the end of august.
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Aug 3, 2021 02:12
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Hi I’m new at bikes (the last time I had one was in my teens, 20+ years ago) Anyway, I decided I wanted a bike to ride around my small town in Western Colorado for fun and maybe fitness (and maybe one day some local easy trails) so I bought this old aluminum (I think?) Trek 7000 from Goodwill a week-ish ago. Today was the first time I got to ride it more than 50ft. Did a 2-3 mile ride and had fun. Some of the roads around here are a little bumpy (especially the farm roads) and I can definitely see why a lot of bikes have at least front suspension now. Brakes work very well (locked up the rear wheel and slid a little going downhill on a dirt road, LOL), shifters need some adjustment (doesn’t want to shift to the biggest front sprocket) but overall seems like it’s still in working order.  Thoughts? Suggestions? Also, sorry if this is the wrong thread
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Aug 3, 2021 02:18
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You posted about bikes and even included a picture. You're in the right place! Any bike can be the right bike to get started. Probably wouldn't spend a whole lot of money on upgrading it but tuning it up can be a fun learning experience especially if you're not opposed to buying a few specialized tools.
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Aug 3, 2021 02:45
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Coxswain Balls posted:Not everyone rides the same way, has the same risk profile , or has the same ability to get replacement parts, especially now. TobinHatesYou posted:To me TobinHatesYou posted:Holding back doesn't protect you...I'd argue it puts you farther back and you're more likely to be in harms way.
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Aug 3, 2021 02:46
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If people were having fun racing but aren't able to easily get replacement parts right now they should still be allowed to race, imo
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Aug 3, 2021 02:50
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i wanna do some races but not to win but to challenge myself. is that weird?
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Aug 3, 2021 02:53
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ElMaligno posted:i wanna do some races but not to win but to challenge myself. is that weird? I feel like that's normal. If you expect to win all the time, you're probably in the wrong field. TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Aug 3, 2021 |
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Aug 3, 2021 02:57
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TobinHatesYou posted:I feel like that's normal. If you expect to win all the time, you're in the wrong field. i am old, fat and my back hurts. I am just happy to take the bike on route i would not usually take and just be able to finish
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Aug 3, 2021 02:59
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ElMaligno posted:i am old, fat and my back hurts. I am just happy to take the bike on route i would not usually take and just be able to finish See if your region/district holds training races at the start of the season. In NorCal, we do "Early Birds" over 4 weekends. Each week has a different skills session before the novice race. I consider them invaluable and it might save you from a crash or two.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:07
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ElMaligno posted:i am old, fat and my back hurts. I am just happy to take the bike on route i would not usually take and just be able to finish I think you’re maybe looking more at rides than races, to be honest. Look up a metric century in your area and go for that.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:07
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nwin posted:I think you’re maybe looking more at rides than races, to be honest. Look up a metric century in your area and go for that. Yeah or that. Some big clubs will host rides that are split into A-B-C-D groups. If someone gets dropped from the A group, they can fall back to the B group and so on. Morning Glory in Toronto for example. Their weekend rides have >100 participants that self-select between those four groups.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:11
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spf3million posted:You posted about bikes and even included a picture. You're in the right place! Thanks Yeah I have no intention of upgrading this old thing, just keeping it in riding shape.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:32
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TobinHatesYou posted:See if your region/district holds training races at the start of the season. In NorCal, we do "Early Birds" over 4 weekends. Each week has a different skills session before the novice race. I consider them invaluable and it might save you from a crash or two. nwin posted:I think you’re maybe looking more at rides than races, to be honest. Look up a metric century in your area and go for that. TobinHatesYou posted:Yeah or that. Some big clubs will host rides that are split into A-B-C-D groups. If someone gets dropped from the A group, they can fall back to the B group and so on. Morning Glory in Toronto for example. Their weekend rides have >100 participants that self-select between those four groups. I been looking at both and here are some: Reach the beach (25/50/75/100 miles, road) Portland Century (40, 60, 75, 90 and 100 miles, road) Gorge gravel grinder (51, 67, 93 miles. 50%+ gravel) There are others but i am not sure if they are rides, races or both. My goals is to basically keep grinding on the bike, get a bike trainer (to train on winter and for my own mental health) and do a handful of em before I leave the area.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:48
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TobinHatesYou posted:To me that's silly. If you enter a srs race, then friggin' race. If you're worried about being able to replace damaged parts, then don't race. I was taken out 6 weeks ago while tailgunning the back of a 35+ 123 crit. Holding back doesn't protect you...I'd argue it puts you farther back and you're more likely to be in harms way. He said it's triathlon. You can still get a highly productive race while not going to the absolute limit while cornering, which I assume is the spot where they'd be holding back.
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Aug 3, 2021 04:22
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Doc Block posted:Hi I’m new at bikes (the last time I had one was in my teens, 20+ years ago) Sweet bike. Glad you can skid on it, because if there was one thing I learned as a kid, it's that skids are loving sweet. Have fun! Ride that bike as much as you can until you find yourself wanting to do things that it can't do. For adjusting the shifters, there's a bike maintenance thread where folks can help you troubleshoot.
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Aug 3, 2021 04:24
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ElMaligno posted:I been looking at both and here are some: Paid / supported rides are one option, but I’m sure the Portland area has no shortage of plain old group rides too. Looks like a couple of “race pace” rides are the Portland Wheelmen Tues/Thurs evening rides and a ride called the Sauvie Shootout. There are also plenty of more social/relaxed rides.
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Aug 3, 2021 04:30
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ElMaligno posted:I been looking at both and here are some: There is lots of kinds of racing. From what you're describing, you're probably not looking at road racing (which as a category can include criteriums). On a spectrum of competitiveness, something like the Portland Century or Reach the Beach might push you to ride something new, but you'll only be competing with yourself. The Oregon Gravel Grinder is a race at the front, but many folks do it at their own pace just as a personal challenge. A fast group ride ("drop ride") is going to be more competitive - do this if the idea of trying to hang on to a group is going to motivate you to push harder than you otherwise would. Since you're in Portland and mentioned gravel, you might be interested in trying out cyclocross this fall. It's racing, but there are many categories where it's just purely about challenging yourself, and it's also a hugely welcoming environment (especially if you like people handing you fireball while you race your bike).
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Aug 3, 2021 04:34
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I live in Astoria (Oregon NW coast) so im 1.5 to 2 hours away from Portland. Still im gonna see if there are local group rides and i am on an email list for a small gravel rider group but i haven't heard anything about them for like a month.
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Aug 3, 2021 04:50
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ElMaligno posted:i wanna do some races but not to win but to challenge myself. is that weird? Sounds like time trials would be your jam.
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Aug 3, 2021 05:14
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e.pilot posted:Sounds like time trials would be your jam. I do like the concept of a time trial, but i googled time trial bycicles and I do not like THAT specific contest. I am happier when i beat my previous segment times on strava than when i look at TT bikes.
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Aug 3, 2021 05:24
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TT bikes will make you faster tho. 
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Aug 3, 2021 05:37
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There are gravel rides that are ostensibly races but mostly it’s just about beating the course. Quite a few of them in the great state of Oregon
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Aug 3, 2021 05:47
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