Show "Bicycle"

Well, we got out camping this weekend. And it turned out great, but not without some twists. More on that elsewhere. As far as biking goes, we pushed our bikes through roads that were surprisingly not just "a little snowy still," but "whoa god, completely packed with several feet of firm slush." We had intented to drive past this, but got the old 4runner stuck the night before for 45 mins (and the old girl don't stick easy). So explored by foot.

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Eventually we ditched the bikes, walked, then walked back to them. Later, when it was time to leave, the wife let me bomb down the long gravel descent while she drove and picked me up. I raced down this so delightfully (but controllably) fast.

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Then later, exploring up other mountain roads, we were again thwarted by snow at the last few miles. And lo and behold, I found myself atop a tallllll gravel road with a full suspension mtb in my hands... and the wife sent me down another one. This time, faster and longer. This one was 1,400 ft of drop in a little over 4 miles.

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And just for you all, I took a bike shot at the campsite. The view was amazing.

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I spent about 5 hours this morning playing along WV's Greenbrier River Trail. 30 miles total; the first half I just pedaled lazily, stopping whenever I saw something interesting that I wanted to photograph. The return leg was different; I basically put the hammer down so I could make it back to my car by 1 PM. I took lots of water and snacks with me, and felt like I could have done another 20 or so. It helped that the weather was drop dead gorgeous, mild and cool all morning with a nice breeze.

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Today I did a quick ride around the neighborhood. With my 30:42t low gear ratio, there aren't many hills that I can't go up! Also the amount of knowledge I've accumulated working on this geared bike, definitely has me thinking about a new build. I was thinking of cannibalizing my current bike and either build a lightweight gravel carbon bike or a steel bike using my Shimano GRX components. Man the obsession is real! 🤔 :D

BTW - New upgrades include carbon fiber seat post, alloy bar plugs and new Shimano wheelset! My other wheelset will have the 11-36t cassette and gravel slicks!

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I've got not one but TWO bike-related things going on each week these days, aside from getting around by bike and mountain biking for fun. First, the wife got a Bike Train (to school) organized for our daughter's elementary school. We've got 2 routes, so every day we guide anywhere from 2 (each) to 15 kids from their houses to school, then back home again that afternoon. Took a group photo this afteroon, using a Gorilla Pod (?) thingy I found while camping 2 weeks ago to attach my old XT1 to some structural rigging, albeit with my strap wrap around it too as insurance...

These are all cars that would've otherwise been stuck in the huge line around front, idling and waiting. Instead, they start off the day riding, talking, laughing, and learning how to be safe out there.

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And then one day a week I go fix bikes for a local non-profit that donates them to folks who want to ride but can't afford a bike, mostly kids but not always. Did that last night for almost 5 hours! I pulled a bottom bracket and replaced the whole crank setup with a nicer 2x front end, new bars, chain, grips, and trued things up on the mystery purple bike.


Started off like this... front tire on backwards, no chainrings, no right crank, shot chain, etc. But I like rigid old 26'ers, and purple is cool, so I saved it.
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Still needs a cleaning, and needs pedals (on order, waaaaaaiting......). But now works great. Thought the old leftover carbon bar would pull some weight off AND look cool, with tan grips.
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You guys have beautiful bikes!

I used to be obsessed with them until a properly nasty XC crash 21 years ago in Victoria, Australia.

I still appreciate them.
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I love bike riding and do it as often as possible, but I'm not an aggressive rider. I knew a woman who was a fitness fanatic, until one day she had a devastating crash while mountain biking. Crushed her hip and one knee and broke her back. It ended her athletic days permanently. She'll spend the rest of her life with a fused spine and walking with a cane.
 
I love bike riding and do it as often as possible, but I'm not an aggressive rider. I knew a woman who was a fitness fanatic, until one day she had a devastating crash while mountain biking. Crushed her hip and one knee and broke her back. It ended her athletic days permanently. She'll spend the rest of her life with a fused spine and walking with a cane.
This ^ is why my wife and I don't "clip in" (those pedals that lock to your shoes) when we race cyclocross. It is an advantage to be clipped in, you're a good 3-4% faster for sure. But when you crash (racing cross it's not "if" it's "when") your knees get torked hard, sometimes twist fracturing your shins when your feet can't fly off those pedals. No thanks. I ain't gonna win anyway, best I've ever done was 9th. I go have fun (like Tony), smile, push hard enough to barely be able to breathe, then I go sit in the team tent and drink a beer with my friends.

Moderation gets a lot easier as you get older. I don't bounce anymore, I thud.
 
You guys have beautiful bikes!

I used to be obsessed with them until a properly nasty XC crash 21 years ago in Victoria, Australia.

I still appreciate them.
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And these look like the fleet bikes that Kempton-owned hotels stock for their guests. usually the Public brand "mixte" framed bikes with a Shimano Nexus 7 or 8 internal geared rear hub. Cool bikes, that double as rolling advertisements for the hotels as guests cruise around town on them.
 
I love bike riding and do it as often as possible, but I'm not an aggressive rider. I knew a woman who was a fitness fanatic, until one day she had a devastating crash while mountain biking. Crushed her hip and one knee and broke her back. It ended her athletic days permanently. She'll spend the rest of her life with a fused spine and walking with a cane.
This is why I like the exploration aspects of bicycling. While I enjoy the exercise, I usually ride for two things: the photo ops and to make sure I have a glorious downhill coast somewhere along the way! Getting injured while riding would suck!

Hey quick question everyone - I'm looking at switching out my crankset and bottom bracket from english threaded to a Shimano Hollowtech II BB. I've already sourced the parts I want, the tools I need and watched YT videos on the necessary steps. It looks easy enough as long as I take my time and use a torque spec'ed adjustable wrench. Is there anything I should keep in mind before the procedure?
 
This is why I like the exploration aspects of bicycling. While I enjoy the exercise, I usually ride for two things: the photo ops and to make sure I have a glorious downhill coast somewhere along the way! Getting injured while riding would suck!

Hey quick question everyone - I'm looking at switching out my crankset and bottom bracket from english threaded to a Shimano Hollowtech II BB. I've already sourced the parts I want, the tools I need and watched YT videos on the necessary steps. It looks easy enough as long as I take my time and use a torque spec'ed adjustable wrench. Is there anything I should keep in mind before the procedure?

Ehhhh, well, make sure you ...

- get the threading direction correct before you start cranking on it. Ie, don't crank the wrong way and tighten instead of lossen (one of those sides is reverse threaded, right? Do I remember that correctly?)
- get a long wrench, or a pipe extender if you need it.
- DO NOT CROSS THREAD IT when you go to install. It's easier than you think.
- I always put a little blue grease on the threads before I put the new one in, so it doesn't ever seize up in there.

But with the correct spline tools and a decently long wrench it usually isn't hard.
 
Ehhhh, well, make sure you ...

- get the threading direction correct before you start cranking on it. Ie, don't crank the wrong way and tighten instead of lossen (one of those sides is reverse threaded, right? Do I remember that correctly?)
- get a long wrench, or a pipe extender if you need it.
- DO NOT CROSS THREAD IT when you go to install. It's easier than you think.
- I always put a little blue grease on the threads before I put the new one in, so it doesn't ever seize up in there.

But with the correct spline tools and a decently long wrench it usually isn't hard.
I try to think of the threading as "the right BB is reverse threaded, and the left pedal is reverse threaded".

I called my LBS this morning. They quoted me $30 to do the installation! That comes out around the same price in buying new tools (more if I go Park Tools everything) and it'll probably be something I won't do very often anyways! I already have my crankset ordered, now I just need to order a BB. Not sure if I should go Ultegra or Dura Ace?
 
I've had really good luck with even the cheapest of Shimano BB's... so I'm not gonna be the guy who says "you should spend as much as you can" on one.
The Ultegra BB is around $20 bucks, so I'll probably go with that. I'm not sure I'll notice anything with a Dura Ace BB, other than being able to say I have Dura Ace components on my bike! :roflmao:

I'm also looking at getting a carbon fork, but unless I get an Ebay fork, the one I'm looking is in the $300 range. If I'm spending that much, I've been debating about getting a new frame and fork together. I was thinking about carbon, but for the way I ride a steel frame sounds appealing. I found a crmo/disc bike frame that takes 700x42c tires, but I'm trying to contact the vendor before I place an order.

Bikes are way worst than cameras, mainly due to the customization factor of the whole thing! :D
 
Yeah GOOD carbon forks, that I would trust, are still fairly pricey. And there are a ton of cheapies from Chinese no-name brands on amazon, ebay, etc, that just scare me a little. A fork failure is ... catastrophic.
 
I predict in the near future you will begin building an e-bike. :D
Haha, I'll be in big trouble with the missus if I start a new project like that! :roflmao:

Yeah GOOD carbon forks, that I would trust, are still fairly pricey. And there are a ton of cheapies from Chinese no-name brands on amazon, ebay, etc, that just scare me a little. A fork failure is ... catastrophic.
My issue is that I already have two QR disc brake wheelsets and all the popular carbon forks are tapered thru-axle with internal brake routing. I want a non-tapered, external brake routed, quick release carbon fork with wide tire clearance. Most carbon forks with those specs are made for road bikes with skinnier tires. I prefer the external routing so I won't have to bleed my hydraulic brakes (not an issue if I had mechanical).

That basically leaves me with either a Ritchey WCS Carbon Cross Disc Fork or Soma Fork All-Road Gravel Carbon Fork. I'm leaning towards the Soma since it's cheaper and I can just use a normal star nut, but it's a few hundred grams heavier due to the alloy steerer. The Ritchey is much lighter being full carbon (including steerer), but I'd have to use a top compression plug, make sure I don't over torque and it basically cost more than half of what I paid for my bike! 😳
 
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Photos from today's 32 mile ride! I was smoked on the uphill by a lanky kid with what looked to be either an 8 or 9 speed steel frame bike. Either way, I could only keep up for a short time, before leaving me behind! No way can I compete with young kids at their pace! 😂:D

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