Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club...

Welcome to all who have an interest in anything cycling of any kind.( road, mountain, commuting, stationary, whatever).

This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,

or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,

find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.

So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.

Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group. 

 

About Cannondale. That is very disappointing news. They have had deteriorating innovation over the last few years which is why I believe they're having a downfall.

I'm happy to say the least that I don't own a Prophet of a System Six...

I got in about 180 miles this week on the Specialized Tarmac Pro that I just built up! I love it, the Toupe 143 saddle is taking some getting used to, but I like the bike. Weighs in at 17lbs in a 61cm, pretty epic for me.

Now I'm looking at upgrading my hardtail Rockhopper...I'm looking for either a Stumpjumper or a Santa Cruz, the local trails are great, but I'm not sure I can afford to buy one. I'm going to Italy for 4 months in September, so maybe I should wait.

Hello everyone.  My name is Steve.  I have always liked to ride bicycles.  I did it all the time when I was a kid, then into my teenage years shied away from it.  Then I moved to Gainesville, Florida where I picked it back up again.  In fact, the bicycle resources were really the highlight of Gainesville and it saved me from complete boredom if not insanity.  Then I moved back to the Tampa area and gradually shied away from it again after a few years.  I just got back into it earlier this year. 

I am riding a new Schwinn Ranger mountain bike (I know the hardcore cyclists are laughing) which I have fixed up pretty nicely with lights, speedometer, all that jazz.  I live in Temple Terrace, Florida which is northeast of Tampa.  It sits on two sides of a river, and as a result has natural rolling hills.  I have the mountain bike because it gives me the ability to adapt to many road conditions, while I do know I am sacrificing a good deal of speed. 

Right now I am riding 5-15 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, and consistently average 12-15 MPH.  I have more passion about riding than I even had when I was in Gainesville, which is the best motivator of them all. 

This bike will do me for now until I can work my way up to the Trek I'd like to get in possibly a few years (or until I have a few great days betting horses =D). 

Hi everyone! I'm Suzy, I'm eighteen almost nineteen. Before I  started driving, I used to ride my bike to school everyday. Of course there were a couple days where I walked home and forgot it, haha. Then I got my liscense and drove. My bike got pinched before I moved and I walked the six blocks to my new school and four blocks to my job. I've now moved twelve other times in the last year. I totaled a brand new SUV, took driving lessons all over again and still wasn't down.

Now, I've finally settled down for a bit in Tyler, Tx. I abhor driving. Really really can't stand it. A little skittish after the accident I guess. I just bought a bike and will hopefully be riding it to work everyday, school is across the road, so riding the bike there would be silly.

I'm pretty stoked about it, but I've still got to get a lock for it. I guess it's a fairly oold bike(I bought it from my landlord) but it seems to work alright, though my seat is missing a bolt(or a nut? Don't ask me, lol.) so it's a bit wobbly. Brakes work so good, I can stop on a dime. =) Totally excited.  Hope all is well with everyone.

Any suggestions on hydration packs?

REI outlet has a 100 oz. pack on sale for $10 right now. Its just basically a bladder with shoulder straps. I don't mind the no frills, but I am worried it will be uncomfortable?

Anyone have one that they love?

SS: That $10 hydration pack sounds too cheeeep -- particularly coming from REI.  I like hydration packs and I have gone through a couple of them that I got for $30 or less.  I have one from REI that was quite a bit more expensive but it has lots of carrying capacity and features.  It is rather heavy.  I just bought a Camelback M.U.L.E. which I hope to try out tomorrow morning.

Friday I leave for Bike Virginia and a multi-day ride back from Bristol, Virginia -- a masochist's vacation, if there ever was one.

Re: hydration packs. I have one of these, but in different colors than that shown, and mine holds 56 oz. There's a (very) small pouch to hold maybe one Clif Bar, though it would be more useful to stuff your driver's license, a credit card, and a twenty. This is not a carry-all-your-crap bag; it's really just a hydration pack. Full up, it weighs a touch over three pounds, so it's not bad at all. The shoulder straps are padded, and there's a fastex-buckled chest strap to keep it in place. The hose exits the bag through a reinforced hole on the top left, and there's an elastic band on the left shoulder strap to hold the bite valve up reasonably close to where you need it. It's a convenient size, and between that, a 32-oz. bottle, and a 20-oz. bottle in the mountain bike's cages, I'm good for 3 hours on a hot day. On the road bike, I don't typically use the hydration pack, although, there are some places where I might consider it, as water isn't conveniently available (e.g., roads that go through state or national forest areas, or way, way, way out there in rural PA). I haven't gotten any of the cleaning kits. I just slosh soapy water around in the back, flush some through the hose and bite valve, and then go through a lot of rinse cycles to get the soap out. Then I throw the bag (with line attached, but bite valve removed) over a clothesline in the basement, pinch it out, and hold the pinches with clothespins to open up the bag and let air get in there. It takes a couple of days to dry thoroughly, and it still smells like whatever you had in there last (in my case, Fierce Grape Gatorade), so if you can get nalgene bags, that might be a decent upgrade.

ssbuckeye, you've gotten some pretty good advice about cycling shorts and saddles so far. What many may not realize is that a split saddle design (such as those found on Specialized road bikes) is as important for women as it is for men, for similar and different reasons.

Blood vessels and nerves travel through the perineal area. A split saddle prevents pressure from being applied to them (this is the similar reason). Among other things, that pressure can result in numbness in "that special place." I find, as well, that the reduced blood flow can result in pain running down my left leg. In addition, there can be injury to the tender bits if you spend a long time on a crappy saddle (this is the different reason). Good shorts and a good, ergonomic saddle minimize the risks.

krrpt08, man, I hate people who let their dogs run loose. There's one about ten miles from the end of a lot of my loops that will chase me out into the street. It's gotten so that I have to be ready for an impromptu doggie sprint whenever I pass that house. Fortunately, it's slightly downhill, so I can wind it up to 28-30mph, and the dog just has no chance. I almost got caught by one on a charity ride this past Sunday, though. Fortunately, I saw him launch from behind a bush, so I had time to stand on it and haul away.

Of course, that technique requires that you're not so shellacked by the time you get to the dog's house that you can't sprint away. In that case, the advice I've seen is to dismount and keep your bike between you and the dog. Squirt it in the face with a water bottle. Smack it with your pump if you have to. If it's a vicious dog, then you're going to have to use your bike as a shield until help comes along.

People suck.

—Chris

Question on saddles: I find that as I'm riding more, I'm more comfortable sitting further back in the saddle, because I can get more power that way. But, I've gotten to the point where its as if my sit bones are falling off the back of my saddle. The position of the saddle on the tube is already as far back as it can go. The guys at my local shop said that if I want to sit further back, I should get a new post for the saddle, which will be a "lay back" post.

I want to ask if anyone has experience with this? Am I right in wanting to sit back as far as possible on the saddle (i.e., I don't want to do any joint damage, if I shouldn't be sitting further back...)?

Thanks for the input,

Denise

PS:  I'm riding a Cannondale 700 for women, and I'm up to weekly distance of 40 miles. Yesterday I did a 1.5 mile circuit (with a hill!) at an average pace of 21.5mph--whoot!

defrog3 writes:

[...scoots back on saddle to develop more power, but is out of room...LBS said to get a setback seatpost...]

I want to ask if anyone has experience with this? Am I right in wanting to sit back as far as possible on the saddle (i.e., I don't want to do any joint damage, if I shouldn't be sitting further back...)?

Setback seatposts are very common. In fact, they're pretty much standard on modern road bikes. There are no worries here—it's sitting too far forward or too low that lead to knee pain. As long as the front of your kneecap is at or behind the pedal spindle when the pedal is at 3 o'clock, you're good as far as fore/aft positioning. Anything beyond that is personal preference.

Personally, I find that I scoot back to climb, and I scoot forward to hammer on the flats ("on the rivet," as Phil and Paul like to say).

PS: I'm riding a Cannondale 700 for women, and I'm up to weekly distance of 40 miles. Yesterday I did a 1.5 mile circuit (with a hill!) at an average pace of 21.5mph--whoot!

Not bad at all! The C700 is a touring bike, with slightly lower gearing (and slightly more mass) than a typical road bike, so double-plus good on ya!

—Chris

Thanks, Chris, that's what I wanted to hear!  I feel a lot better when sitting further back, even when riding flat.  I'm trying to work on my balance for standing while going up hill--do you sit when you climb?  I like how my core feels more engaged when I stand...

Follow up question:  What do you mean by slightly lower gearing? 

And, I am currently carrying more mass than the average bear, so triple-plus good!

I have been away for a little while, glad to see this thread among the living. I made it through the winter and have logged 2600 miles so far this year. I put on 180 this week alone. I am down another 30 lbs to 210 from 275 from a year and a half ago. 40 more and I will be at my goal.

I see there are some new members welcome

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all of the advice re: hydration packs and ummm "unmentionables" comfort.

I have a more technical question for the bike experts out there. My new to me torelli frame is a steel model. I am not sure if the person who built the bike originally performed any rust prevention on it or not, but I am wondering if this might be a good idea.

Have any of you treated the inside of your tubes with a rust prevention spray? If so, would you recommend this, and what brand did you use?

Thanks!

Not sure about your area but where I live it almost never rains. I have 1991 Schwinn Paramount mountain bike and it has no rust on it all and I ride it in the rain snow and mud etc. I just wash it and blow it dry and give it a coat of wax every now and then. 

defrog3 wrote (continuing the seat position thread):

I'm trying to work on my balance for standing while going up hill--do you sit when you climb? I like how my core feels more engaged when I stand...

I do both. If the hill is really steep, or I really want to go fast, or I just need a break from sitting, I stand. If I can sit, I do that instead, because it's more efficient (it takes a lot of energy to hoist your body up and down with each pedal stroke!). It really depends upon how I feel, how beat my legs are, and how aggressive I want to be. I'm not an extraordinarily powerful rider, so if I want to carry the big ring up a hill steeper than 3% (e.g., if I'm in a paceline and I got lucky enough to get a turn at the front when the road is going uphill), I have to stand.

defrog3 also asked:

What do you mean by slightly lower gearing?

Because people often ride them with luggage (sometimes front and rear), touring bikes often have rear cassettes and front chainrings selected to reduce pedaling effort when hauling all of that extra weight uphill. For example, on a touring bike like yours, you'll often find that the small chainring has 30 teeth, the middle ring somewhere around 36-40 teeth, and the big ring around 46 or 48 teeth, with a rear cassette whose largest cog is around 30 teeth and whose smallest cog is around 14 or 15 teeth. On a typical road bike these days, by contrast, you'll find (for a triple) front chainrings of 30, 42, and 52 teeth, with a rear cassette whose largest cog is only 25 or 27 teeth and whose smallest cog has 11 or 12 teeth. Road bikes with double chainrings will typically have 39 teeth on the small ring and 53 on the big ring. "Compact" doubles will have 36 teeth on the small ring and 50 on the big ring.

A bigger front chainring and smaller gears on the rear leads to higher (or "taller") gearing, which requires more pedaling effort, but lets you go faster, ultimately. Smaller front chainrings with larger rear gears is lower (or "shorter") gearing, which requires less pedaling effort, but you cannot ride as fast before you "spin out" (your legs can no longer keep up with the rpms you need to go faster).

IOW, your low gears are lower than those on a typical road bike, and your high gears and aren't as high as those on a typical road bike.

ssbuckeye asked about rust-proofing the inside of a steel frame.

The only tube that you'd really be able to apply any treatment to (without disassembling the bottom bracket and steering head) is the seat tube, though you might be able to direct a little spray snorkel down the seat stays. Your seat post (if not carbon) should already be greased, and that should provide a reasonable water barrier. If you're still concerned, you could pull your seat post and spray some fogging oil down the seat tube.

In light of a CC rant regarding cyclists on the road, I thought I'd just pop in here and say that I had a lovely 50 mile ride on Sunday.

It was the first time I've gone that far in one shot and it was great. I was wiped when I was done, but man what fun!

Happy riding to all.....even though some may hate us :)

Be carefull while riding out there.

Lots of people hate us.

Good to see that everything is going along well.  I got back from Bike Virginia and a tour across Virginia last Monday.  That was 586 miles in 10 days.  The first 3 days were fully supported rides with Bike Virginia.  On the fourth day, we (two of us) loaded up our camping gear, etc., and took off up the Virginia Creeper Trail, an old railroad bed.  That's a nice gradual ascent on a dirt and rock road.  We rode over 70 miles on 3 of the days.  The big day was from Lexington, home of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to Charlottesville, home of University of Virginia (UVA).  That was 78 miles including a 4 mile 1800 foot climb up to Sky Line Drive to start the day off and an 18 mile all out push into Charlottesville finish the day off.

It was an amazing ride.  There was mixture of cool mornings and hot, humid afternoons.  There were a lot beautiful mountain vistas, humdrum roads winding through farmlands and some urban rides.  The Transamerica Route is generally successful in avoiding heavy traffic.  But there were times when the traffic was moderate to heavy.  And there were times when trucks of all sorts were whizzing by on two lane, shoulderless roads.

I rode my (steel) touring bike with all-terrain 32c tires and platform pedals.  That part worked great.

I have a TREK 710.  I started out only being about to go about 2 miles, but now I am up to 22 miles.  I ride on the roads.  I live in Oneonta so there are some hills, I wish there was a bike trail around here.  I have to go to Schenectady if I want one.  I try to avoid the steep hills, but Oneonta is the "CITY OF HILLS".  I am learning to ride up hills standing up, but am not very comfortable yet with it.

Is anyone doing one of the Tour de Donut rides coming up? I'm in for the Illinois ride this weekend.  I figure I'm good for 8 to 10 donuts. 

Hi, all,

Thought I'd reach out to say hello and to thank Chris for explaining the gearing!  Now I need to take the few minutes to actually look at my chains and figure out what I've got going on...

Am pretty pleased with myself--did a 40 mile ride on Saturday, riding around Cape May County, NJ.  Nice and flat, good roads, had a great time.  I plan to join a club ride this Sunday--they have 3 distances, 55, 90 or 130 miles.  I want to go for the 90 mile route, but I'm not sure if my husband will be up for it.  It shouldn't be too bad, though--Newark, NJ to Princeton NJ.  I did the same ride 2 years ago (I didn't ride last year due to an injury), and while it was exhausting, I had a blast!  And its great to say to people, "You know, I rode 90 miles in one day."  This would be a great training ride for me to get to a century this year!!

Cheers!