Theres a 67 yr old at work that no one I know can touch on a bike.

I've got an older Cannondale CAAD9 and damn the new CAAD10 is beautiful!

hey pics not showing up, would love to see the image

Hey guys I'm planning to buy a fixie for my girlfriend. We were looking at the Macargi RD269 and she's ridden the 53cm and it felt slightly large for her height at 5'3". One size down is the 48cm but we couldn't try that one out. We were contacting this guy from Craigslist who has been ordering them in and selling them for $320 firm which I think is a pretty fair price based on eBay pricing.

I couldn't find this bike to be sold elsewhere locally. Now however I think we'll be buying it off eBay though because the seller hasn't returned any calls after that one time we met and tried out the bike.

Now my questions are, would 48cm be too small for her height at 5'3"?

When she rode the 53cm with the seat set the lowest, she was tip toeing on one foot while the other in the air, is this normal for a fixie?

Anywhere else I can look at to buy a fixie for under $350 brand new locally?

Sorry for asking so many questions. Tried searching but it was all motorbikes, didn't wanna make a new thread either. Hope you guys could help us out!

LOL! No! 53cm is too tall for her! You should be able to stand between the bike without it touching your crotch and with the bike standing straight up. If not, it's too big.

If I recall correctly from our meet last Friday, a 48 or 50cm should work for her. How tall is she anyway? Fixies could be bad for your knees so maybe consider something else on the safe side. Also check out BikesDirect.com for their fixies. (not local.) It's going to be pretty hard to find a fixie for $350 locally.

Off-topic:

I saw this and thought of azncreations, woob and LiquidTurbo. :rofl:

I asked her to stand over the top tube and she was aaaaalmost flat on both feet. She's exactly 5'3". I wish there was a 50cm but they only came in 48 and 53 =/ We like how it rides and how light it is etc so I think we'll stick with fixies lol. Thanks bcrdukes!

If she's 5'3, she'll have to compromise with a 48. 53 is way too tall for her. She should be at the very least be able to flat foot it while standing between the top tube.

Hahaha speaking of the Ironman, I met one of BC's top triathletes while on the ferry home from my bike tour of Salt Spring. His name is Wade Carlson and he's training for an Ironman hahahaha.

He came in 2nd in the Shawnigan Lake Half-Iron: Results: Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon


Regarding the gf's bike, 53 is likely to be WAYYY too big. I'm 5'9" and I ride a 52.

Ordered a 48cm Macargi RD269 on eBay since bikesdirect was all sold out and such. $310 CAD shipped to PR. Hope all goes well :concentrate:

Im stuck between a 54 and a 51 (only because they come in those 2 sizes), Im about 5'9-10. When I sit on the 54, i can just clear the top tube flat footed with barely a finger in between. But 51 seems a lil small for me. Is it worse for a bike to too big or small for the rider?

they're both bad :P if I absolutely had to pick i'd go for the 54..i'm 5'7 with a 30in inseam and the bikes i ride are 51-52. stand over height is one way of measuring size but reach is also very important. you don't want to drop a paycheque on something that you're going to regret though - i say find something that's your size :)

i'm always scrounging CL and PB so if you drop us your measurements/budget im sure we can help find you something :)

I think it depends on your body type and the bike's geometry. I would say throw the potential frames on a trainer and adjust saddle height accordingly to determine the best potential fit. At least, that's how Cap's determined the size for me is 52. For reference I am 5'9" with a 33" inseam (not my pants inseam).

Here's a pic of my bike after a quick ride after work. A clean bike is a happy bike. I apologize for the crappy cell phone photo.

http://i.imgur.com/mAO9Pl.jpg

looking good Prelude. what's that like 5 of us with cannondales now?

No Specialized riders :okay:

Thanks. I've had the bike since new in 2009 and have been itching to upgrade some parts. The Tiagra/Sora mix has served me well with no problems but would love to upgrade to a 105 gruppo in the future.

Hey guys, just had my first encounter with this
Unfortunately the team assist coupon states "cannot be combined with any other offer" so these two promo doesn't stack :(

Sorry guys

I'm thinking of doing a road bike frame up build from a Rocky Mountain alu/carbon frame, nothing too fancy just middle of the range type stuff. I'm not very well versed in the road scene, but I'm quite familiar to the mountain bike side of things. I've converted my mtb into a pseudo hybrid but it doesn't get me stoked to get out and fire off 50k on the road.

A couple of starter questions for you guys:
1. Standard or compact cranksets? I don't think Vancouver in general is considered too hilly or mountainous to require compact, I may be wrong though
2. Do the make of brakes make huge a difference? I see Tektro spec'd on a lot of the low-mid range bikes, and I know that Tiagra/105 is the general quality entry level range.
3. Where is best to look for used/preowned components? I browse Pinkbike and CL quite regularly.

Question for woob / LiquidTurbo / pK-diU- and all you roadies who go on 234141km rides.

When you go on 1hr+ rides, what do you pack in forms of food or fuel to keep you going? And when do you start to feel like you're hitting the wall?

pretty sure i'm nowhere near as crazy as these other dudes but pre-ride i'll have an egg or two with some yogurt and toast...pretty much whatever i can scrounge up in the morning. i'll eat a snack bar every 50km or so. some of my buddies are into the gels and such, i just haven't tried them out myself but they seem like a good way to keep energy levels up.

if i feel like i'm seriously going to hit a wall i'd just pull over and enjoy the scenery for 5 minutes or so. i just pretend like i'm adjusting my seat or something if other guys are passing by :P

"you okay there, bro?"
"yeah, just testing my seat angle. no sweat, thanks bro"

How much do you weigh, if you don't mind me asking?

Depends, usually after an hour i need something, for me i keep a fig newton in my back jersey, and if you splash something with carbohydrates either every once in a while, you get a pretty good jump in performance.

Also anyone whos getting a tad addicted on the topic of cycling,

https://secure.rodale.com/webapp/wcs...ferId=CAD53024

20 dollars for a year is hard to beat!

1. I ride a compact: 50/34 with a 12/27 rear cassette. You probably will hardly use 53-12 anyway unless you're planning on pulling a 35+mph sprint in the near future. Also, downhill speed can be achieved with a good tuck instead of pedalling on your biggest rings. I hardly use even the 50-12 on my compact. I have, however, used the 34-27 for steep hills in Vancouver (18% grade for 140m near my house) and elsewhere. But really, it's up to you. If you foresee yourself not ever needing the small ring, then by all means get a standard double.

Here's a nice little webpage that calculates achievable speeds at certain cadences and gear ratios.

2. Tektro has served me well so far. I hear the pads make a big difference, though, so I plan to upgrade to Kool Stop pads once the Tektro once wear siginificatly.

3. PB and CL are the big ones. MEC Online Gear Swap may also be worth a look.

For 25-30km rides: 1 bottle of water

For ~50km rides: 1 bottle of water and a few Clif Shot Blocks (essentially candy that's easy to grab out of a jersey pocket)

For >70km: 2 bottles of water, a bunch of Shot Blocks, and around one cup of salted roasted almonds (I never eat all of them, though). The protein from the almonds is nice to have because BCAAs increase resistance to fatigue in glycogen-depleted subjects. Specifically, leucine (one such BCAA) is found in moderate quantities in almonds.

The thing to remember for long rides is to stay hydrated and keep topping yourself up with energy. This means drinking before you feel thirsty and eating before you feel hungry. Otherwise, you'll bonk. I don't usually "hit the wall" if I eat and drink enough before and during the ride.

I haven't hit a serious wall since around a month ago at a 50km R2CC training ride that I hadn't prepared for (see: hadn't ridden in a month). On that ride, once past the 30km mark, whenever the road went uphill I just said "fuck it" and spun my lowest gear all the way up. That's usually my plan if I bonk. Also, if you're riding with a group, just sit in their slipstream until you've recovered. Try to hold their wheel as long as possible, because once you've been dropped, you're done. Drafting makes a huge difference.

Where are you doing your 25-30km rides?

5"7, on the brink of 150 so you get an idea of my size-ish. featherweight for sure!

the iona stretch itself is a good 14k (both ways) i believe. just tack on a loop of richmond and you get yourself a nice 50k flat ride.