EB Cycling Club

FLBuff PE · Mar 26, 2014

I know we have quite a few cyclists here, whether serious or weekend warriors. I figured it is time to create a dedicated thread. Post anything bike related (mountain, road, recumbent, pro race talk, etc.). I am riding a 110-mile one day event mid-summer, so I have already started riding 10-20 miles at lunch, weather permitting.

mudpuppy · Mar 26, 2014

I totally fell off the biking bandwagon last year, but I'm planning to get back into it this year. Waiting until the roads are no longer icy, though.

csb · Mar 26, 2014

Went out and hammered 16.2 last night to finish out a challenge I had signed up for...only to get home and realize I needed to have gone 16.5. Hopped back on a different bike (other one had a mechanical issue come up during the ride) and went back out for another mile, just to be on the safe side.

I mainly ride recumbents- a Catrike and a Bacchetta. The other bike is a Schwinn Varsity from 1972 and there's also a mountain bike I need to get tuned. I have the frame for a Schwinn Caliente that I want to fix up for a road bike. I like having options.

matt267 PE · Mar 26, 2014

I live about 5 miles from the office and hope to start biking in once the weather gets nice. I used to go trail riding. I hope to get back into that this year as well.

I have a 1997 Reighley M60 Mountain Sport.

snickerd3 · Mar 26, 2014

csb said:
Went out and hammered 16.2 last night to finish out a challenge I had signed up for...only to get home and realize I needed to have gone 16.5. Hopped back on a different bike (other one had a mechanical issue come up during the ride) and went back out for another mile, just to be on the safe side.

I mainly ride recumbents- a Catrike and a Bacchetta. The other bike is a Schwinn Varsity from 1972 and there's also a mountain bike I need to get tuned. I have the frame for a Schwinn Caliente that I want to fix up for a road bike. I like having options.

such a bike whore....

Ship Wreck PE · Mar 26, 2014

I have a POS from toysRus.

blybrook PE · Mar 26, 2014

Have a cannondale mountain bike frame that was rebuilt by my uncle prior to his passing. Have upgraded a few parts since I got it, but its been a good beast.

Last ride was 4 miles about two weeks ago. Decided to wait till better weather to get it out again, going thru ice wasn't fun.

csb · Mar 26, 2014

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matt267 PE · Mar 26, 2014

How about GPS units on your MTB? I have a Magellan SporTrak Pro and am looking to upgrade to a Garmin eTrex 20. Do any of you guys use a GPS while riding?

mudpuppy · Mar 26, 2014

^I typically just use my phone. I use an app called MyTracks because it lets you upload your rides directly into dailymile.

I also have an eTrex 30 that I use for hiking. It's great for hiking, but honestly I don't think it would be very user friendly on a bike. If I remember right the main difference between the 20 and the 30 is the 30 has an altimeter. In any case you control them with a joystick, which would be really difficult to do while riding. Though if you just plan to set it and leave it alone while you ride it would be fine.

FLBuff PE · Mar 26, 2014

I use MapMyRide, and have been pretty happy with it. However, it glitched yesterday and turned my 16.75 mile ride into a 24 mile ride, with one split speed at 29.9 mph. I'm open to other suggestions, especially ones that won't eat my phone battery. I don't know if that is possible with GPS tracking or not.

matt267 PE · Mar 26, 2014

Yeah, I would likely set it and leave it.

wilheldp_PE · Mar 26, 2014

I use Strava and like it quite a bit.

ptatohed · Mar 26, 2014

FLBuff PE said:
I know we have quite a few cyclists here, whether serious or weekend warriors. I figured it is time to create a dedicated thread. Post anything bike related (mountain, road, recumbent, pro race talk, etc.). I am riding a 110-mile one day event mid-summer, so I have already started riding 10-20 miles at lunch, weather permitting.

Ummm..... once every other weekend or so I go out with my Golden Retriever, Molly, biking on the trails across the street, for a few mile's ride, with my 2007 Santa Cruz Heckler - does that count?

Oh, and I have a kid-seat bolted to my old POS Wal-Mart Mongoose that I alternate taking my 1yo and 3.5yo's around the neighborhood in.

knight1fox3 · Mar 26, 2014

FLBuff PE said:
I'm open to other suggestions, especially ones that won't eat my phone battery. I don't know if that is possible with GPS tracking or not.

Simple. Portable power pack for the phone.

IlPadrino · Mar 26, 2014

I'm a Strava fan, too. I have an old Fondreist, but I'm itching to buy a Trek Madone or Domane with Di2. I've convinced the wife to let me spend $8,000 - which is less that the kitchen remodel material cost (and forget about the value of my labor!). I hadn't touched the bike for two months, but got on last weekend for a 40 mile ride.

Dleg · Mar 26, 2014

I have a couple of good bikes, but I've been a little lazy about them lately. I rode my mountain bike last week, though - a 2006 Specialized Stumpjumper, I think. I've also got a nice titanium frame road bike that I bout ~14 years ago, when I thought I was going to get into triathlons, but got married instead (meh.) I hardly ever ride that one.

Biking has become pretty big here in the Marianas. This month is the big "sport fest", when we host an X-Terra off-road triathlon, with lots of visiting pros, and also an Ironman-qualifier road tirathlon the following weekend. The bike trail for the X-Terra is brutal, and partially why I have been lazy about biking - i am sick and tired of the crashing and the bleeding. I'm too old for that now. I ride some WWII-era jeep trails around my part of the island instead, and rarely see another soul. It's pretty nice.

But I have a major mechanical issue right now - sticky rear derailleur cable! Nothing I do seems to loosen it up. Any suggestions? I'm thinking I just need to replace it.

matt267 PE · Mar 27, 2014

Dleg said:
I have a couple of good bikes, but I've been a little lazy about them lately. I rode my mountain bike last week, though - a 2006 Specialized Stumpjumper, I think. I've also got a nice titanium frame road bike that I bout ~14 years ago, when I thought I was going to get into triathlons, but got married instead (meh.) I hardly ever ride that one.

Biking has become pretty big here in the Marianas. This month is the big "sport fest", when we host an X-Terra off-road triathlon, with lots of visiting pros, and also an Ironman-qualifier road tirathlon the following weekend. The bike trail for the X-Terra is brutal, and partially why I have been lazy about biking - i am sick and tired of the crashing and the bleeding. I'm too old for that now. I ride some WWII-era jeep trails around my part of the island instead, and rarely see another soul. It's pretty nice.

But I have a major mechanical issue right now - sticky rear derailleur cable! Nothing I do seems to loosen it up. Any suggestions? I'm thinking I just need to replace it.

Do you have slotted cable stops? If so, you can pull the cable housing segments out and coat those sections of cable with chain lub. If you can't gain access to the cable in the housing, you might want to consider replacing the cable before the added stress breaks it.

csb · Mar 27, 2014

I ride with a Garmin Forerunner 310XT. It replaced a 205. I like it because I can use it for running and biking. Then the data is easy to drop onto Strava for claiming QOMs.

Dexman PE PMP · Mar 27, 2014

Question: I want to get back into some recreational mountain bike riding and be able to ride around with the kiddos, but am unsure which would be the better route.

I have a Trek 820 Antelope from the early '90s. It has spent the better part of the last 15 years sitting underneath my parents patio and has gone relatively unused. It needs a new front sproket (a couple broken teeth), the seat should be replaced, and the rear gear selecter doesn't work (rusted/broken cable). The frame is in really good shape, wheels and tires seem ok. I have looked at what it would take to get it "up and running" again, and there's a local shop that says they can do a complete top-down reconstruct (complete disassembly, clean, lube, replace cables, put everything back together) for ~$200 plus the cost of any additional parts (new sproket). I'm thinking that it will be close to $250 once I get everything done.

The other option would be to get a new bike. I don't need anything fancy, and could probably get away with a $200-$300 bike from a sporting goods store (Sports Authority, Dicks, maybe a local shop).

I fear the older bike may be too far gone and I'd hate to pay the money for a reconstruct if it's really not as good as I think, or if rebuilding it is simply a short-term solution because I'll need a new one shortly anyways. On the flip side, I know that $300 really doesn't seem to get you much for a new bike. Sure there are ones that can be purchased for that price, but I fear they are cheap and I will end up breaking something and having to get it repaired/replaced sooner than later.

I don't need anything fancy, it doesn't need a full suspension, but I don't want a single speed.

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