General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[Piobaire]

Can't remember if I mentioned I dropped the bike back off at the local Trek store as the new brakes were making a horrendous noise and not properly releasing. Got it back a couple days later and got some miles in this weekend. They put in resin pads and reseated things. Noise is gone, they're releasing perfectly, but I feel like I've lost a smidge of stopping power. I'll take the trade off.

 

[otc]

Can't remember if I mentioned I dropped the bike back off at the local Trek store as the new brakes were making a horrendous noise and not properly releasing. Got it back a couple days later and got some miles in this weekend. They put in resin pads and reseated things. Noise is gone, they're releasing perfectly, but I feel like I've lost a smidge of stopping power. I'll take the trade off.

Gotta get the MTX red or gold pads

https://mtxbraking.com/product/red-label-brake-pads/

 

[otc]

Wife has a licensing test in Helena tomorrow so got to explore today while she studied.

There’s local shuttle service so I started with a drop up high and didn’t make it back to town until almost 6 hours later. Was an exercise in not letting my heart rate blow up in the steeper climb sections in order to maintain stamina

different landscape than back home (other side of continental divide, more high desert) and a crazy amount of trails accessible right from downtown. Seriously, check our Helena on Trailforks, it is nuts.

Most of my route was nicely maintained but relatively moderate trail but some of the descents were super fun and there were a couple of spots with some nice rock drops/features like this:

And the flattish tail along the road back to town was loaded with a bunch of dirt jumps, some far too big for me.

Super cool spot that makes me jealous. My local stuff is great, but this network is just so accessible and well done (probably why Helena is regarded as a big mtb destination).

 

[Althis]

Got the fit dialed on my new bike and cut the steerer tube. My fit is pretty weird but it's very comfortable and efficient since I can get so low and use more glutes/hamstring, plus my femurs are disproportionately long. Been making some final preparations for this weekend's ride; we're racing from Venice to Santa Barbara and back (~200 miles)

 

[patrick_b]

The finish is fantastic. Industrial titanium with the gold Ck headset accent is stunning!

 

[sugarbutch]

Got the fit dialed on my new bike and cut the steerer tube. My fit is pretty weird but it's very comfortable and efficient since I can get so low and use more glutes/hamstring plus my femurs are disproportionately long. Been making some final preparations for this weekend's ride; we're racing from Venice to Santa Barbara and back (~200 miles)

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Wow, that seat position is something! I've seen the TT-style forward slam, but never this kind of setback. If it works, it works, though.

Tell us more about this intercity race. How does that work? How many people?

 

[Althis]

It was definitely an adjustment but feels natural now. I have long femurs, short calves, and big feet for my height so to get far enough behind the bottom bracket on a frame with low enough stack I needed to be way back. The virtual frame dimensions on the fit bike measured as a 52cm frame stack with a 56cm frame reach, though with a 70 degree seat tube angle to get me far enough back behind the BB. Now I can push straight down on the pedals and use my glutes more instead of pushing forward through my midfoot and using my quads/hip flexors. It's the opposite of a TT forward position in that it relies less on quads which produce higher peak power in the saddle but has better efficiency from using more muscle groups and spreading the load.

The race is teams of 2 and mass start but the finisher time is based on the second person. We pick our own route to get to SB and back so it's up to us to determine food/bathroom stops and strategy e.g. try to get a small group early or ride as a bigger group and attack the way back. There are around 20 teams so I'm sure the first hour will be interesting

 

[sugarbutch]

The race is teams of 2 and mass start but the finisher time is based on the second person. We pick our own route to get to SB and back so it's up to us to determine food/bathroom stops and strategy e.g. try to get a small group early or ride as a bigger group and attack the way back. There are around 20 teams so I'm sure the first hour will be interesting

That sounds awesome. Good luck!

 

[patrick_b]

Today is very likely the last 75° day we'll have this year. Dropping back down into the 40's tomorrow morning. Long past peak fall colors but still nice out there.

 

[Althis]

My teammate and I finished in 3rd place today. Probably a top 5/10 hardest rides I've ever done. Very happy we finished in under 8 hours. It came down to the last 30 miles with 8 of us left (~50 starters); one team pulled off at a gas station for food & water then the winning team attacked up one of the longer/steeper rollers and another team chased. I cracked and had to stop for water/food at a gas station at the top of the hill. My teammate, who was on a much better day, pulled the whole way back while I rode through numerous cramps.

Top 3 teams finished within 5 minutes of each other and 4th was 15 minutes back. Was pretty much 2-man team time trials the last hour and a half. 5th was another 20-30 minutes and there were a lot of people still out there when I left an hour after finishing. Had to lay down for a bit and couldn't eat/drink anything for a while

 

[HRoi]

240w average power for 8 hours?? I am never posting a power meter s/s in this thread ever…

 

[otc]

Today is very likely the last 75° day we'll have this year. Dropping back down into the 40's tomorrow morning. Long past peak fall colors but still nice out there.

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Jealous...we snapped into winter with snow on the ground and freezing temps on Tuesday.

I haven't even gotten to wear any fall jackets--went straight from a fleece being sufficient during the day to needing a winter coat.

I had planned to try to do a solo century today, but obviously that didn't happen.

There's still a chance--this is a bit too early for winter to stick and it looks like the next two weekends should warm up. Then it will just depend how much I want to ride 100 miles in a given temperature...I feel like I'd like to see the high hit 50 before I do that.

 

[Althis]

240w average power for 8 hours?? I am never posting a power meter s/s in this thread ever…

You're probably better off, means you have a life

 

[sugarbutch]

My teammate and I finished in 3rd place today. Probably a top 5/10 hardest rides I've ever done. Very happy we finished in under 8 hours. It came down to the last 30 miles with 8 of us left (~50 starters); one team pulled off at a gas station for food & water then the winning team attacked up one of the longer/steeper rollers and another team chased. I cracked and had to stop for water/food at a gas station at the top of the hill. My teammate, who was on a much better day, pulled the whole way back while I rode through numerous cramps.

Top 3 teams finished within 5 minutes of each other and 4th was 15 minutes back. Was pretty much 2-man team time trials the last hour and a half. 5th was another 20-30 minutes and there were a lot of people still out there when I left an hour after finishing. Had to lay down for a bit and couldn't eat/drink anything for a while

View attachment 2058313

Mighty impressive!

 

[patrick_b]

My teammate and I finished in 3rd place today. Probably a top 5/10 hardest rides I've ever done. Very happy we finished in under 8 hours. It came down to the last 30 miles with 8 of us left (~50 starters); one team pulled off at a gas station for food & water then the winning team attacked up one of the longer/steeper rollers and another team chased. I cracked and had to stop for water/food at a gas station at the top of the hill. My teammate, who was on a much better day, pulled the whole way back while I rode through numerous cramps.

Top 3 teams finished within 5 minutes of each other and 4th was 15 minutes back. Was pretty much 2-man team time trials the last hour and a half. 5th was another 20-30 minutes and there were a lot of people still out there when I left an hour after finishing. Had to lay down for a bit and couldn't eat/drink anything for a while

View attachment 2058313

Mighty impressive!

@sugarbutch sums it up well. Truly impressive!