more like fat 1 racer LOL

Thanks guys for the sale advice. I'll hold out till spring.

FYI, bcrdukes, i went by Musette Cafe during my ride today, and Raiment clothing is inside (owned by kevin, same owner as bicicletta), they have all the rapha city lines in there. They have $80.00 rapha trousers in black or sand... sizing limited. If you're a 32 or 30 i'd recommend picking them up. Cheaper than levi's jeans :)

Another good buy is the merino collar for $35.

Size 30 / 32 - Back in grade 8, yes. :lol

Haha

I'll chalk it up to me having a fembot body then LOL


Who's tuning in on Thursday on oprah.com to see lance come halfway out on his doping situation?
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Whoa...if anybody is looking to upgrade their bike this season, Bike Shop Warehouse is selling a Bottechia Sprint BZ78 spec'ed with a Columbus Airplane aluminum frame, Dura-Ace group and FSA SL-K crank for $1395.

So much bike for so little. I...kinda want one. :pokerface:

Edit: Another good deal to be had - JensonUSA.com is selling their 2012 Focus Variado 1.0 aluminum bike with an Ultegra gruppo (FSA Gossamer crank/105 cassette) for $1200. Not bad!

^^ sweet deals right there

So the boss asked to ride today at 10am

Richmond to Stanley park. It's gonna be cold as fuck lol

Its not too bad, went out yesterday just wearing a nike baselayer, windbreaker, shorts and gloves.

Except the Stanley Park Causeway, so much salt on the road that its like a sandstorm when cars pass, had to take the seawall which was way cold and slushy on the north facing sunless parts. I'm just a newb anyways.

^
Noob or veteran racer - you're riding so that's all that matters! :D

Started at 10am finished at 130pm. Didn't end up doing Stanley park. Lots of side streets were frozen and slippery and figured the decent after prospect point wouldn't have been worth the trouble

I did Stanley park on Friday and it was perfect. Today was too cold for safe road conditions. the roads were still icy and slippery at 11am

Parts of the ubc highway were sheets of ice
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My buddy and I rode today around Richmond area started at 9 am till just after 1230. We started from his house (1st exit after A.Fraser bridge), took River Road and around Richmond area until Steveston Village and back to his house via Westminster Hwy. Damn, it was hella cold and I layered up pretty good.

It was definitely an eventful day for me, my first time taking out my road bike and still getting used to my clip less pedals. I fell 3x, 2x clipping and out on a stop and go and 1x when front tire got caught my rail tracks :failed:. Yeah, I know it's a fail and I am still a newbie going from mtn biking to road biking. But, still great learning experience for me nonetheless and can't wait to get out again and start riding more.

Sorry for the long story and post.

^ when coming to a stop get one foot out, keep one foot in, and anticipate the stop

When clipping back in, make sure u get some forward speed. If u have trouble getting that foot clipped in and ur losing speed, use the foot that's already in and make another rotation to speed up

I always clip in at the top of a rotation

Also check the resistance setting on ur pedals release action. May be too tight
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What kind of pedals are you using?

604cefiro: does it matter which leg or foot is your dominant? I clip out my left foot and slightly lean the bike towards this side and keep my right foot clipped. I actually fell cause my right foot is still clipped and slightly leaned on this side, and couldn't shift the weight back. So when i come to a full stop I also unclip my right foot and start clipping both feet again when I go.

dukes: they are shimano pedals, will get back to you on the model # later.
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I would advise against unclipping both feet. That would mean you would have no control of the bike incase you do have to speed up and go.

If you unclip your left foot then yes you will come off the bike on the left and planting your left foot on the ground.

If need be, go to a park with grass and practice emergency unclipping. If you fall at least it's grass

Find out if your cleats are multi release, meaning u can unclip at multiple angles not just heel outwards. Doesn't mean u should start unclipping at weird angles but it will generally release if u freak out and pull in an odd direction other than heel outwards

Everyone will fall at least once. But doing it on the street in traffic.... Could be dangerous :/
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I've been practicing on my trainer and I must say I'm still nervous to go out on the road. I guess I just gotta do it and get it over with. But it's a lot easier practicing on a trainer knowing I won't fall. I get a good idea of clipping out but it's those emergency ones I'm worried about. Also practicing starting on one foot and getting enough speed and clip in my right foot.
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604CEFIRO beat me to it but the only real way to figure this all out is to get onto the street and practice. And by street, I don't mean a street with lots of traffic. If possible, ride around on a grassy park so when you fall (not if!) it doesn't hurt so bad. Figure out your dominant leg. If you are right handed, it is likely your dominant leg is right and vice versa. I always clip my right foot in first, pick up some momentum/speed with a pedal or two, then clip in the left.

Want to see what happened when I bailed? :)


Anyway, I brought my bike in to Pacific Multisport for a tune up today. We weighed the bike in and it registered at 16.9lbs (16lbs and 14oz.) The only change to the bike since I bought it were the Reynolds Solitude wheels and Michelin Pro3 race tires. I may have to change my seat post as the zero-setback isn't working to my advantage anymore as the Northwave shoes are a whole different ball park. And umm....maybe some SRAM Force cranks. :D

Edit: FAWK! SRAM Force cranks are $187 on RealCyclist.com! :fuuuuu:

At least u didn't tear up those expensive socks :)
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I lost one thanks to the laundry! :fuuuuu:

Those were the best ones too! :mad:

I found my focus cayo is pretty heavy. With both bottles removed and plastic front and rear fenders installed, no saddle bag it's like 20lbs when I weigh it with my bathroom scale (me + holding it)

My boss got a Trek Domane in a size 58 and its way lighter than my 52 lol

But it Feels light to me cuz my jake feels like a tank.

I don't know if ill ever consider carbon seat post, stem, bars... I may consider some nicer wheels tho :)
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When I was learning to use clipless pedals on my MTB way back when, I found the easiest way to get out of the pedals was to imagine lifting your foot up,forward,heel twist out all in one motion. It took me a couple of stopped falls to figure that out. Since then Ive had no difficulties getting out on the trails or on pavement over the past decade.

Ive never used a road specific pedal so Im not sure if there are any major differences in feel and technique. I still use MTB clipless pedals on the road bike just because I had an extra set.

Does anyone want a good winter/beater aluminum with carbon stays 59cm frame? $220 obo

I've listed it in the WTS section. Thanks!

If I may ask, why? (Not that there's anything wrong with it. I'm just curious.) I managed to shave off 1.5lbs for less than $150 but this doesn't include my Specialized Toupe saddle.

Wheels - for sure. You're small/light enough to take advantage of a nice carbon or even an aluminum wheelset. For me, weighing in at 210lbs with a large frame - no way in hell I could ever use a set of carbon wheels. Too dangerous.

I'm a little torn on the whole weight savings debate. A part of me feels that it isn't worth it because I'm a heavyset rider while at the same time, comparing my CAAD10 to the Diamondback Podium 4, the weight difference was significant enough that not only was I able to pedal more efficiently, it was also more comfortable and I managed to improve on my overall speed.

There isn't much of a difference except that from a Shimano SPD to SPD-SL (in my experience anyway) the SPD-SL require a tad more effort to get in and out of. That and the pedal can only be engaged one way whereas on a SPD mountain bike pedal, you can engage it on both sides. A good transition mountain bike-to-road pedal would be a set of Speedplay cleats as they act the same way.

I wouldn't worry too much about durability of modern day carbon parts as long as you are getting reputable stuff. Carbon seatposts and handlebars are pretty standard affair even in MTB nowadays and catastrophic failure is very very low. You can get some weight savings, better compliance, pimp factor, and if you are frugal and shrewd the price increase over aluminum counterparts is minimal.

That's a great weight on your Cannondale! How much did your Diamondback weigh? With the Ultegra group, its hard to imagine it weighed more than 20lbs. So a 3lb savings on the frame along is hard to imagine. I'm guessing the frame/fork combo saved you 1-1.5lbs, your post/stem/bar combo saved you another 1.5lbs.

My Rocky Solo weighs a bit over 19lbs and its an aluminum/carbon frame with mainly 105 level parts and a mid-level DT Swiss wheelset. I know I can shave 1-1.5lb with a nice light high-end wheelset, but I'm not about to throw in what I spent on the whole bike thus far for a set of wheels to save 1lb. Carbon wheels are no weaker than aluminum wheels. They are loads stiffer, usually lighter, and way more expensive. But I'd way rather a carbon wheelset fail on me than a carbon stem or handlebar, not to say that either are not up to the task of regular road riding.

If I recall correctly, the Diamondback was in the high 20lb range, even after the parts I threw on it. Maybe 19'ish when I had the Reynolds Alta wheels on them. Fully stock, if I recall correctly, it was maybe 22 or 23lbs (yes, the stock cockpit was heavy.)

Before I sold the Diamondback, I stripped it apart for a cleaning and put it back together. For reference:

- Frame @ 52cm - 1770g or about 3.7lbs (w/bottom bracket bearing installed)
- Fork - 585g (disappointing for an alloy/carbon fork.)
- FSA Energy hollow forged cranks & chain ring @ 740 g (expected and as per spec but no wonder they call it FullShitAhead)

So yeah, that was disappointing so the say the least. Mind you, Diamondback had just gotten back into the road bike scene and the frame came from a Mainland Chinese factory, not Taiwan so I think quality control may have been a huge factor.

While I agree with this, my major concern with carbon wheels is the fact that they are designed to support up to a certain rider weight and given that I am larger, it would be a bad idea to mix it into my supposed "casual" riding regimen. :badpokerface:

That is hella heavy for a road bike! 3.7lbs is heavier than many hardtail MTB frames and those are designed for a lot more abuse. With the fork it works out to around 5lbs... I had expected most road frame/fork combo's to be under 4lbs, but I guess you do get what you pay for. I just noticed Jensonusa has a Rocky Mountain Solo full carbon framed bike for $1200us, 105 level components. Would make a great platform for future upgrades while being fully useable in the meantime. The only weak point I would say are the low end Fulcrum wheels but even then they are totally useable.

re: carbon wheels, totally see where you're coming from. I think right now to justify their high cost, manufacturers are concentrating on low weight to get same or slightly better strength and stiffness as aluminum wheels, I don't blame them. If we are willing to accept the increased cost of carbon wheels with the same or slightly lower weight of aluminum wheels, that's where you'll see the greatest benefit of significantly increased strength and stiffness.