Cycling?

[Chester]

Just wondering if anyone here on YW is a roadie cyclist. I just got my first road bike a couple months ago and it's been a focal point for barely-contained obsession ever since.

It's even given me a new appreciation for my old, crappy mountain bike. And along with lusting over stuff like road pedals and component upgrades, a little part of me wants to get a new MTB as well.

Basically, I have a general urge to wear Lycra as much as possible. This is not necessarily a good thing, of course. But we all have our own foibles.

[deez nuts]

i'm thinking about taking up cycling too.

[yoMAMA]

i wish i can ride my bike to work.

:(

[Fireblade]

http://www.performancebike.com/index.cfm

Good place to shop for bike related items. It's much better than paying up the arse for items in some of those independant bike shops.

[Faithless]

I've got a Specialized touring bike.

But it just sits on the Blackburn.

I've been meaning to look for a better bike trainer. When you're not on the road, what do you train with?

.
i'm thinking about taking up cycling too.
My ignorance: Where can you ride in the big city?

[deez nuts]

My ignorance: Where can you ride in the big city?

i'm out of the city (thank god) and in the burbs. but, i've seen more people riding bicycles in the city i.e. weaving in and out of traffic, riding in the parks, etc etc etc when i was living there than i do out here in the burbs. most people in the burbs just hop into their cars.

[Chester]

Performance can often have very good pricing, but I wouldn't ever go to one of their stores if I needed to ask any questions about a purchase. They're like the Fry's of bicycle shops. But they serve their purpose from time to time. For online shopping, you have other low-priced alternatives with ColoradoCyclist and Nashbar.

I ride a lot on a stationary cycle, but since I've gotten used to my real bike, the geometry of the stationary has been irking me. Still...it's nice to be able to park my ass and spin in front of a television. Don't know anything about trainers, but it's something I've been thinking about as a way to stay stationary with my bicycle and make it easier to fine-tune settings.

[thaite]

I don't road, but I mountain bike.

[Faithless]

I don't road, but I mountain bike.
You bike. You do martial arts.

You must be in outstanding shape. :cool:

[thaite]

I'm in decent shape. I haven't biked or done martial arts in a while -- I bought a house and I'm spending all my spare time (every weekend) fixing it up.

Soccer is off-season until next month. I'll be glad to start up again.

Haven't gone scuba diving since last summer, but I will next month.

But I still go to the gym regularly. So I have that.

That's pretty much the extent of my physical activities.

[mrazntre]

the only cycling i want to do is motorcycling.

[nonamerasian]

I bike once in a blue moon with the fam.

I'm beginning to enjoy it again, but I haven't headed for the Lycra.

[noname]

I ride a Cannondale R1000Si

I did 2 centuries in 2002, but haven't been able to do as much riding since.
I'd love to try L'Etape du Tour (an event for regular people to ride the same route as a stage of the Tour de France, usually in the mountains) someday.


My ignorance: Where can you ride in the big city?

Central Park is a great spot, as well as the west side path that stretches from Battery Park all the way to almost the George Washington Bridge

also, many of the roads have bike lanes

riding in traffic can seem daunting at first, but you develop skills for it as you do it

[Faithless]

Central Park is a great spot...
I thought about Central Park, but was thinking that riding through would be slow because of all the people.

(Again my ignorance because I don't know much about Central Park.)

Question about toe-clips:

Do they make slip-on toe-clips that you can afix to street shoes? Let's say I want to ride to work but don't want to wear the special shoes. Do they make toe-clips that can be buckled-on to street shoes?

[Chester]

Not sure what you're asking. You can get pedal clips that will attach to your pedals so that you can get a more secure connection with your pedal without actually clipping in with special cleated shoes.

You can also get shoes that are made to click into clipless pedals, but which have deeply recessed cleats that still allow you to walk around more or less normally.

And, finally, you can even get pedal clips that have cleat attachments so you can put clips onto a clipless pedal.

[AngryABCGirl]

I ride a Giant OCR3 in Davis and in LA. I hadn't biked in LA since I went to college until this summer, and I realized how fucking scary it is to bike here with all the cars and insane drivers.

[Faithless]

Not sure what you're asking. You can get pedal clips that will attach to your pedals so that you can get a more secure connection with your pedal without actually clipping in with special cleated shoes.

You can also get shoes that are made to click into clipless pedals, but which have deeply recessed cleats that still allow you to walk around more or less normally.

And, finally, you can even get pedal clips that have cleat attachments so you can put clips onto a clipless pedal.
You're right, what I wrote doesn't make sense. Hopefully, this does:

What I was thinking of (if they exist) would be like strap-on cleats (sounds kinky) that could afix to clipless pedals.

The strap-on cleats could then be strapped on to work shows for riding and then unstrapped so that you can walk-around normally.

Is there such a thing?

[AngryABCGirl]

You're right, what I wrote doesn't make sense. Hopefully, this does:

What I was thinking of (if they exist) would be like strap-on cleats (sounds kinky) that could afix to clipless pedals.

The strap-on cleats could then be strapped on to work shows for riding and then unstrapped so that you can walk-around normally.

Is there such a thing?

Toeclips?

[Faithless]

Toeclips?
Sounds like that, huh?

I was thinking of a setup that wouldn't have a bulky pedal.

[AngryABCGirl]

Sounds like that, huh?

I was thinking of a setup that wouldn't have a bulky pedal.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=346&subcategory_ID=5245

[Faithless]

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=346&subcategory_ID=5245
Wow! That is awesome, at first glance.

That's weird, because I searched through that site, today, too. :rolleyes:

[Chester]

Yeah, that's what I meant by "pedal clips with a cleat attachment for clipless pedals". The purpose of them is to allow alternating use of regular shoes as well as clipless shoes without having to switch pedals.

Apparently there is a company that makes a design that takes the standard shoe cleats instead of some molded plastic that will eventually wear away and slip out.

But if you don't plan on wearing clipless shoes, then just get a regular platform pedal with the clips strapped on.I ride a Giant OCR3 in Davis and in LA.Wow. Pretty much polar opposites insofar as bike-friendliness goes, no?

[AngryABCGirl]

Wow. Pretty much polar opposites insofar as bike-friendliness goes, no?

Yeah, actually did not realize how scary it was to bike in LA until I brought back my bike from college or summer break.

[noname]

I thought about Central Park, but was thinking that riding through would be slow because of all the people.

(Again my ignorance because I don't know much about Central Park.)



You just have to try it. It's not bad at all.

CP is such a big place, with space for everyone

There is a separate lane on the left side for runners, and then the rest of the road for cyclists, roller bladers, and horse carriages (only up to 72 St or so).
It's also closed to car traffic on weekends and weekday evenings
Sometimes you just have to be careful going through places where people are likely to cross the street, but they'll usually let you whiz by.
I usually go around 26-30 mph on some of the downhill sections.

[Chester]

Correspondingly, in SF, you can ride in Golden Gate Park or the Presidio if you don't feel like crossing the Bridge into the North Bay.

In San Ho, there's vehicle-less trail to ride on the Los Gatos Creek Trail and Coyote Creek Trails. Kind of boring from a cycling perspective, but they can make for pleasant, light workouts.

[Fireblade]

Correspondingly, in SF, you can ride in Golden Gate Park or the Presidio if you don't feel like crossing the Bridge into the North Bay.

In San Ho, there's vehicle-less trail to ride on the Los Gatos Creek Trail and Coyote Creek Trails. Kind of boring from a cycling perspective, but they can make for pleasant, light workouts.

You could always do this:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rhorii/alvisowr.htm

I've never personally biked this though...

[Leinad]

Do you ride them? What can you do?

[thaite]

I mountain bike. What can I do? Ride up and down a bunch of hills.

[tapestrybabe]

i use to attend summer bike camp...
during my high school days...

and wellz...
i just recently bought a bike...
OKAY, i bought it used...
since i dont feel like i'm a
hard core cyclist or anything...
but i just do it for fun/recreation...

[Chester]

You could always do this:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rhorii/alvisowr.htm

I've never personally biked this though...
Yeah, there are bike/hike-able levees in the marsh areas around the bay. Around Alviso, as you've pointed out, as well as in Fremont at the Don Edwards Wildlife Preserve and in the Palo Alto area at the Ravenswood Preserve.

Probably best to bike these with either a mountain bike or a hybrid. You can take a road bike on the levees, but it's a little rough for skinny tires and stiff frames.

[Leinad]

I mountain bike. So fun :rolleyes:

I can do endo... trying to do at least a 180 endo, but can only do about 45degree 1 at the max.

Bunnyhops too.

What's a ride-up? Is that when you like ride-up a hill?