In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
OUCH! Heal up fast. At least you can still type (apparently)!
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
OUCH! Heal up fast. At least you can still type (apparently)!
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Ouch. Sorry to hear about how much your nose itches right now...
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Wow, hope you can heal up over the winter and you have someone nice to take care of you. Glad your noggin is ok.
Normally I'd wait for the temperature to get above 18C before I go riding, but today was oddly warm at almost 15C so I knew I had to do an ultraclyde memorial ride. The bike was mid-upgrade but luckily in a state where it didn't take too much work to slap it back together.
Super-rare DNM AO-58RL remote lockout shock I got thanks to dxman92, it has a 2021-03 date of manufacture so it seems they've been put back into production. Replacement mounting pin/tube I needed to do the install arrived early and I had just put it on last night. Remote lockout mechanism not hooked up yet:
When it's rained a lot recently, apparently this happens:
I did have to go through a few construction barricades to get here.
Pour one (bidon) out for ultraclyde 
New race bike day for me! Built for 6 and 12 hour races, light, EXTREMELY efficient and scary fast. Absoluetely love it. As my back heals, Ill get back to getting ready for spring racing series. 
In reply to JStrobel80 :
Nice Element, I have the generation before that bike setup along the lines of a "down-country" bike (gotta use the cool new slang) with a bit more travel in the front and a dropper post. Looks like we are a similar size as well with lots of seatpost showing.
I finally got back out on a bike after dislocating my shoulder after a stupid fall on the mountain bike. Just caught a bar end on a tree, they twisted and I went down and the shoulder came out. 5 hours later it was back in and I was walking out of the hospital. A week later I was scrubbing our shower floor and it popped out again, pain went right back up so we called and ambulance this time, a couple of hours later (and $45 for the ambulance ride, love our healthcare here) and it was back in. I'm waiting on a time slot to get surgery on it as it has been out many times over the past 8 years, hopefully Omicron doesn't delay things more.
Anyways, it was a pretty nice day here yesterday, the sun was out and it was above freezing. It would've have been easy to stay in but Ultraclyde was on my mind so I got dressed and went for an easy spin around Kitchener on our local multiuse trails for and hour or so. Glad I went, thanks Ultraclyde for being a part of the forums.
Brother scored what appears to be a 1986 Cannondale st400 at a yard sale. Will see if it fits me and what it needs to get back to riding. He took it around the block and mostly checks out.
Me in Bentonville
In reply to EricM :
We were supposed to visit April 2020, that didn't happen! Still hope to get down there sometime and explore all the trails.
Snow happened here so I got out on the fat bike for the first ride in the white stuff for the season. Perfect day out with blue sky's and low wind.
Ah, that's the good stuff
I got the fatbike out as well and put too many miles for the first snow ride of the season. Beautiful conditions and a great time, just some burning muscles.
Everybody enjoy your rides! I'll be back in the saddle after I get the full all clear from the doctor after my hernia surgery.
Now that my bike is modified about as far as it makes sense to modify it, I'm running out of things to wrench on during the winter, which is my only winter exercise. Also there is a used Raleigh Huck for sale on the local classifieds, at a reasonable price as used bikes go these days. This is basically an upsized version of my CCM SL2 for 29" wheels, pretty tempting to pick up as a new project, but then I would end up with simply a more trail-capable version of the bike I already have, while I am probably not a good/fast/ballsy enough rider to make full use of even the current bike's capabilities.
I often think I would enjoy a stupid-fast lowracer-style recumbent for riding on pavement, although they can be so long that storage and transportation becomes difficult - maybe I could get a folding one made, since custom fabrication seems to be about the cheapest option for obtaining one anyway. I already have a few parts that would be suitable including a front friction shifter I could use for making a 4x chainring.
Another option might be to get a cheap fatbike and see if a heat exchanger mask helps my lungs survive winter exercise, I figure I should try my current bike (or my loaner bike with less hydraulic/pneumatic bits to be affected by the cold) on cold and dry/clear days first to see if I can get that working.
New Grips
Modernizing my wife's 29er hard tail geometry
So the lowest gear on my bike is 22t-34t (on a 26" wheel) and I've been wondering if I should go for anything lower...back when a 28t sprocket was my biggest on the rear, the bike was clearly gear-limited when climbing, but now it's hard to tell if I'm more gear-limited or balance/wheelie-limited. Climbing steep inclines near this gearing/wheelie/stamina coffin corner is really physically taxing and could perhaps be easier, on one hand. On the other, that would mean less speed which means more difficult balance, and being clipped in while ninja-pedaling your way up a hill, knowing that if you turn away from a direct uphill line or slow down or break torque for longer than it takes for a quick gear shift you're going to do an instant stop-and-drop and then likely tumble down the incline you're climbing is a terrible feeling, and lower gears might just be raising the stakes in that regard.
I'm also really pushing the limits of my rear derailleur and normal chain length with the 11-34t rear cassette, which is made of high-enriched unobtanium (although higher and lower range cassettes aren't too hard to get), and was thinking maybe I should get a smaller bottom chainring in the front instead of giving the bike a more potentially explodey setup in the rear with an even bigger cassette and derailleur hanger extension.
New Personal Record Top Speed.
That was on the new bike. It is ridiculous how much faster it is than a flat bar fitness bike.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Welcome to the Dork side, young one...
Went for a ride along the lakeshore yesterday, the bike's now modded as far as it makes sense to, now with 26x2.4 Maxxis Ardents, Alivio M3100 rear derailleur, 110-link chain so it can survive a big-big shift, front wheel to match the rear, new saddle (not sure I'll stick to this one yet though) and slightly wider CF handlebars.
I haven't seen this ole thread in a long time.
I went looking for the best possible, used bike that I could find for my 7 year old daughter who has been riding w/o training wheels since 4.5 yrs old.
On March 13th I bought her a REI house brand, Co-op, Rev20 6 speed. Since discontinued but $299 when new. As a bike of "better quality" components and an aluminum frame, I thought it was a deal for $90 in lightly ridden condition.
The day after, we went riding at a local, former quarry turned MetroPark
In reply to John Welsh :
I've looked at the rei house label. I don't know much about the frames and such themselves, but man they offer some relatively good components for the price.
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