Cycling

[HereWeGoAgain]

I'll use my ten days researching shoe/pedal combos and order them in advance if they dont have em in stock.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Well I went and ordered it today.
Now for the seven to ten business day wait.
I guess I can use that time dusting off my helmet and searching for my gloves.

Which one did you finally decide on?

BTW..................initial purchase is when you pay for the bike. The 10 day waiting period could be considered "outfitting" time, and that is when you buy your shoes and pedals.

Got the Zektor 3.
I'm going to wait till it comes in.
They put you on the the custom fit machine and will replace your stem and cranks if they dont fit your body correctly free of charge.
I figure I'm going to be there for several hours at a minimum,that'll give me plenty of time to shop.

Wow................you've got a good bicycle shop. It's kinda rare that I see shops with a fit system. What's even more is that they replace your stem and cranks if needed for free. That is a good shop.

Well, when the wind machine finally starts to wind down, I'm gonna get back out on the road myself. Past couple of days, the wind has been 30 to 40 mph.

I never ride in winds over 25 mph because of my aero rims. I've actually been blown half a lane over before by strong cross winds.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I'll use my ten days researching shoe/pedal combos and order them in advance if they dont have em in stock.

Like I said, the Shimano mountain bike system is a pretty good one. Not only are the cleats recessed, but they also have a bit of float to help out your knees.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I used to have the wife come pick me up after riding a strong tail wind.
Freaking cool as hell doing 25 mph and feeling no wind in your face.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I'll use my ten days researching shoe/pedal combos and order them in advance if they dont have em in stock.

Like I said, the Shimano mountain bike system is a pretty good one. Not only are the cleats recessed, but they also have a bit of float to help out your knees.

Looking for the type pedal that allows you to ride without clips if I feel like it.
If I just want to run up to the corner store for something I dont want to have to change shoes.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I'll use my ten days researching shoe/pedal combos and order them in advance if they dont have em in stock.

Like I said, the Shimano mountain bike system is a pretty good one. Not only are the cleats recessed, but they also have a bit of float to help out your knees.

Looking for the type pedal that allows you to ride without clips if I feel like it.
If I just want to run up to the corner store for something I dont want to have to change shoes.

That is one thing that is cool about the Shimano pedal system. The pedal area is big enough to use with normal shoes. I really liked them when I had them. They also had the cleat on both sides of the pedal.

And yes, you could ride in regular sneakers if you wanted.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

These sound promising....
Shimano PD-M545 SPD Dual Platform Pedals

 

[ABikerSailor]

These sound promising....
Shimano PD-M545 SPD Dual Platform Pedals

Those are pretty close to what I had. The main difference is that where there is a steel cage for the platform on the ones you showed, the originals just had a cleat mounted in a block of plastic on both sides.

Those actually look better than the ones I originally had. And, the weight ain't bad either. Probably about the same weight as a pair of Look clipless.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know Here We Go Again, it's been kinda nice to be able to talk bikes with someone who knows a bit about them.

Most people around here think a Huffy is the pinnacle of bicycles.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

You know Here We Go Again, it's been kinda nice to be able to talk bikes with someone who knows a bit about them.

Most people around here think a Huffy is the pinnacle of bicycles.

You cant go anywhere on the weekend around here without running into at least one large pack of lycra clad pedal mashers.
I cringe at the lack of technic from most of them,it's like spinning is an unknown practice. Watching them with their 60 rpm cadence makes me want to pull them over and give them riding lessons.
Most are rich guys riding 5k bikes trying to out spend each other.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I think back to the days I had just started riding road bikes in the early eighties.
The advancement in tech is staggering!!!
Disk brakes,indexing derailleurs sealed bearings everywhere.
Adjusting a derailleur used to be a simple matter of setting the stops,angle of the roller cage and the tension of the shifter.
Nowadays I dont even want to touch them.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know Here We Go Again, it's been kinda nice to be able to talk bikes with someone who knows a bit about them.

Most people around here think a Huffy is the pinnacle of bicycles.

You cant go anywhere on the weekend around here without running into at least one large pack of lycra clad pedal mashers.
I cringe at the lack of technic from most of them,it's like spinning is an unknown practice. Watching them with their 60 rpm cadence makes me want to pull them over and give them riding lessons.
Most are rich guys riding 5k bikes trying to out spend each other.

I hear ya. I never get a computer that doesn't have cadence, and I try to keep it at 90 to 105 rpm. You're right, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that the bigger the gear they can ride in, the faster they can go, when actually, speed is more a result of a decent cadence AND knowing how to spin. One of the biggest wastes of money that I ever did with a bicycle was buying into the BioPace bullshit. They told me that slightly out of round chainrings would make more power and make you faster, so I bought a set.

All it did was mess up my spin, and I got rid of them after about 2 weeks.

And yeah, it's funny to ride up alongside some of those rich idiots who have all the brand name top of the line gear and they don't know how to ride or even keep a line.

I remember that when I was stationed in Memphis, I had a friend of mine who was a big black man that rode like a train. He and I were both hammer dogs at the time, and took great enjoyment in trolling the streets for some of those kind of riders, challenging them to a 1 or 2 block race and blowing their doors off.

Good times...........................

 

[ABikerSailor]

I think back to the days I had just started riding road bikes in the early eighties.
The advancement in tech is staggering!!!
Disk brakes,indexing derailleurs sealed bearings everywhere.
Adjusting a derailleur used to be a simple matter of setting the stops,angle of the roller cage and the tension of the shifter.
Nowadays I dont even want to touch them.

Actually, it's not that hard. Once you set the stops, you then use the barrel adjuster on the derailleurs to set the pulleys to the cogset. It's best to adjust it while it's in the middle of the cogset, and then, once you have it running smooth, all the rest of the gears will hit automatically, as they are adjusted already for spacing.

However........................if you have anything over an 8 speed cogset, you have to get one of those narrow chains specifically designed for higher gear cogsets.

The wider chain on a 9 speed cassette won't shift right. Found that out the hard way.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

You know Here We Go Again, it's been kinda nice to be able to talk bikes with someone who knows a bit about them.

Most people around here think a Huffy is the pinnacle of bicycles.

You cant go anywhere on the weekend around here without running into at least one large pack of lycra clad pedal mashers.
I cringe at the lack of technic from most of them,it's like spinning is an unknown practice. Watching them with their 60 rpm cadence makes me want to pull them over and give them riding lessons.
Most are rich guys riding 5k bikes trying to out spend each other.

I hear ya. I never get a computer that doesn't have cadence, and I try to keep it at 90 to 105 rpm. You're right, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that the bigger the gear they can ride in, the faster they can go, when actually, speed is more a result of a decent cadence AND knowing how to spin. One of the biggest wastes of money that I ever did with a bicycle was buying into the BioPace bullshit. They told me that slightly out of round chainrings would make more power and make you faster, so I bought a set.

All it did was mess up my spin, and I got rid of them after about 2 weeks.

And yeah, it's funny to ride up alongside some of those rich idiots who have all the brand name top of the line gear and they don't know how to ride or even keep a line.

I remember that when I was stationed in Memphis, I had a friend of mine who was a big black man that rode like a train. He and I were both hammer dogs at the time, and took great enjoyment in trolling the streets for some of those kind of riders, challenging them to a 1 or 2 block race and blowing their doors off.

Good times...........................

LOL...the original Fischer MTB I have has the BioPace chainrings...or I should say had.
Total fucken gimmick.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I think back to the days I had just started riding road bikes in the early eighties.
The advancement in tech is staggering!!!
Disk brakes,indexing derailleurs sealed bearings everywhere.
Adjusting a derailleur used to be a simple matter of setting the stops,angle of the roller cage and the tension of the shifter.
Nowadays I dont even want to touch them.

Actually, it's not that hard. Once you set the stops, you then use the barrel adjuster on the derailleurs to set the pulleys to the cogset. It's best to adjust it while it's in the middle of the cogset, and then, once you have it running smooth, all the rest of the gears will hit automatically, as they are adjusted already for spacing.

However........................if you have anything over an 8 speed cogset, you have to get one of those narrow chains specifically designed for higher gear cogsets.

The wider chain on a 9 speed cassette won't shift right. Found that out the hard way.

The Zektor has the nine speed cassette.
Hopefully I wont have any problems.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, I started reading Bicycling when I started riding (1986), and the articles and reviews that they have are generally spot on, but even they got suckered in by the gimmick. The freaking Bicycling reviews is why I bought the damn things in the first place!

Total waste of money IMHO. But, to be fair, there were a couple of things that I bought over the years that were more gimmick than useful. One of the most expensive was I bought a Specialized Tri Spoke carbon fiber wheel. Yeah, it was good for aerodynamics, but sucked in a cross wind, and was heavy as hell. Found someone who didn't know much about bicycles, but liked cool looking gear and sold it to them.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I think back to the days I had just started riding road bikes in the early eighties.
The advancement in tech is staggering!!!
Disk brakes,indexing derailleurs sealed bearings everywhere.
Adjusting a derailleur used to be a simple matter of setting the stops,angle of the roller cage and the tension of the shifter.
Nowadays I dont even want to touch them.

Actually, it's not that hard. Once you set the stops, you then use the barrel adjuster on the derailleurs to set the pulleys to the cogset. It's best to adjust it while it's in the middle of the cogset, and then, once you have it running smooth, all the rest of the gears will hit automatically, as they are adjusted already for spacing.

However........................if you have anything over an 8 speed cogset, you have to get one of those narrow chains specifically designed for higher gear cogsets.

The wider chain on a 9 speed cassette won't shift right. Found that out the hard way.

The Zektor has the nine speed cassette.
Hopefully I wont have any problems.

Dude....................think about what you just said.......................

You are buying a bicycle from the company itself. Don't you think they are going to be smart enough to put the right chain on the bike? The only problem you may have is to forget that 9 speeds require a narrow chain to shift properly, so when you have to replace your chain, remember that you need to get one specifically for a 9 speed cassette.

They're lighter, but they are also a bit more expensive.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I think back to the days I had just started riding road bikes in the early eighties.
The advancement in tech is staggering!!!
Disk brakes,indexing derailleurs sealed bearings everywhere.
Adjusting a derailleur used to be a simple matter of setting the stops,angle of the roller cage and the tension of the shifter.
Nowadays I dont even want to touch them.

Actually, it's not that hard. Once you set the stops, you then use the barrel adjuster on the derailleurs to set the pulleys to the cogset. It's best to adjust it while it's in the middle of the cogset, and then, once you have it running smooth, all the rest of the gears will hit automatically, as they are adjusted already for spacing.

However........................if you have anything over an 8 speed cogset, you have to get one of those narrow chains specifically designed for higher gear cogsets.

The wider chain on a 9 speed cassette won't shift right. Found that out the hard way.

The Zektor has the nine speed cassette.
Hopefully I wont have any problems.

Dude....................think about what you just said.......................

You are buying a bicycle from the company itself. Don't you think they are going to be smart enough to put the right chain on the bike? The only problem you may have is to forget that 9 speeds require a narrow chain to shift properly, so when you have to replace your chain, remember that you need to get one specifically for a 9 speed cassette.

They're lighter, but they are also a bit more expensive.

It's kinda like trusting the manufacturer of the BioPace chainrings.....

 

[ABikerSailor]

Naah..............Trek is really good about marrying up proper groups with proper equipment. Matter of fact, their quality is what made me stick with them since the mid 80's. Like I said, I've had a 2100, a 5200, and a Lemond Zurich, all made by Trek. The ONLY thing I had a problem with Trek over was when they first came out with the 5200 full carbon fiber frame. It seems that the first 3 years in production, they didn't use the right kind of glue to marry up the bottom bracket with the frame, and after a year or so of constant use, it would start to work itself free. You would notice it because there would be a hairline crack about an inch or two above the bottom bracket on the main and front downtube. After my second frame broke, the bike shop offered me a Lemond Zurich with a full Campy Athena gruppo, and I took it.

Swapped out the Athena for a Chorus ergo power shifter group when I put together the cash.

Been riding the Lemond since around 1996.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Naah..............Trek is really good about marrying up proper groups with proper equipment. Matter of fact, their quality is what made me stick with them since the mid 80's. Like I said, I've had a 2100, a 5200, and a Lemond Zurich, all made by Trek. The ONLY thing I had a problem with Trek over was when they first came out with the 5200 full carbon fiber frame. It seems that the first 3 years in production, they didn't use the right kind of glue to marry up the bottom bracket with the frame, and after a year or so of constant use, it would start to work itself free. You would notice it because there would be a hairline crack about an inch or two above the bottom bracket on the main and front downtube. After my second frame broke, the bike shop offered me a Lemond Zurich with a full Campy Athena gruppo, and I took it.

Swapped out the Athena for a Chorus ergo power shifter group when I put together the cash.

Been riding the Lemond since around 1996.

So whats your opinion on tubeless tires?
The only thing I can equate to them is sew ups which were an amazing pain in the ass!!!!
I hear they almost eliminate pinch flats and are lighter.
The Bontragers are tubeless ready just wondering if I should go ahead and set em up that way from the get go.