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Peter · Jun 21, 2007, 09:37 PM

Any real bikers here? Not wussy road cyclists or motorcyclists.
Downhill biking!
Just abouts to pick up a Kona StinkyDeluxe:

The front forks are maybe a bit wussy, but will await the exciting crack as you're bombing down some big muddy hill

Always been a big Kona fan, really tempted to upgrade my Claud Butler commuting bike to a Kona Smoke. I've also got a NuNu for a bit more normal mountain biking.

I'm hyped.
Whats your ride? (any bicycle!)

larrinski · Jun 21, 2007, 11:27 PM

I just went on an epic ride today, had a nasty spill, and came face to face with a black bear!! All in all, a very satisfying ride!

I ride a 2003 Brodie Thumper. I live on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, where we have TONS of trails. Your bike would fit in well here! IMO, there is nothing as exciting as getting a new bike! More than a car, and I will probably get some flack, but more than a computer! I have been mountain biking since 1990 and love the feeling of getting on that new rig.

OreoCookie · 12:12 AM

Rabe CSR09, it's a custom-made bike based on a cube. Nothing as fancy as what you are showing, but it's a rock-solid hardtail that can take plenty of abuse (i. e. my kinda bike). Disc brakes are a bliss … I'll post some pics later tonight

BTW, is that you on the pic, larrinski?

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 02:24 AM

Ok, here we go: this is my old bike, a Giant Terrago (so 90s, Chrom-Moly steel frame, very reliable, but my brother forgot to lock it one day and it was stolen).

This is my new one, a beautiful hardtail.

This is my friends, my bike and me on Monte Tremalzo.

Lateralus · Jun 22, 2007, 02:33 AM

Hmm. Your friends are hot Mr. Oreo.

iMOTOR · Jun 22, 2007, 02:49 AM

So where does that tunnel lead to?

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 02:59 AM

@Lateralus
The one on the right is still single. But you need to be in shape, she does triathlons …

The tunnel basically marks the summit of the mountain and leads to even more rocks. Basically it leads to heaven, coz from there on, it's 1400 height meters downhill! It was awesome, no fading, I was breaking with one to two fingers all the way down

Lateralus · Jun 22, 2007, 03:05 AM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

@Lateralus
The one on the right is still single. But you need to be in shape, she does triathlons …

Sign me up.

Between FedEx, cycling and jogging I'm a tall, nerdy machine.

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 03:10 AM

Ok, I'll show you where it leads to:

JonoMarshall · Jun 22, 2007, 04:09 AM

Used to do a fair bit of downhill in South West UK, but then I got into jumping far too much and built a bomb-proof bike using an Identity Dr Jeckle frame, it was all black... loverleee.

Then I got into kayaking and play boating far too much and biking took second place, now I'm based in London and have taken up knitting.

Goldfinger · Jun 22, 2007, 07:27 AM

I was toying with the idea of starting with cycling last week. I'm completely out of shape so I really need to work on that. I'm probably not going to do hardcore down hill stuff. I'll probably get me some hard tail bike like Oreo has. I'm not sure on what to get though, I don't know too much about bikes and I want to keep the budget as low as possible. If I like it I can get a better and more expensive one later on. But I'll just be trying out for now.
I'll be doing it all by myself as well, I don't really know anybody who's interested in riding along. My girlfriend sure isn't. She'd rather lay by the pool, tanning.

I'm not wearing those lycra cyclist pants either

keekeeree · Jun 22, 2007, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by Peter

Any real bikers here? Not wussy road cyclists or motorcyclists.
Downhill biking!

Yeah...'cause REAL men let gravity do all the work for them, right?

My ride is an '87 Trek 1000. Bought it brand new back in the day when aluminum frames were the cutting edge technology

(no pics...maybe later if i have time)

larrinski · Jun 22, 2007, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Rabe CSR09, it's a custom-made bike based on a cube. Nothing as fancy as what you are showing, but it's a rock-solid hardtail that can take plenty of abuse (i. e. my kinda bike). Disc brakes are a bliss … I'll post some pics later tonight

BTW, is that you on the pic, larrinski?

Yup, that's me!

OreoCookie · 02:28 PM

Great shot! Makes me want to go to Canada. Usually when I go biking, the wilderness is more barren (as soon as you are above the treeline, there isn't that much to see except for the mountains

)

Guys, you really made me miss my bike, otherwise I'd be on a tour tomorrow! Something mellow, 50-70 km, 1500-1600 height meters. (I had to leave my bike in Germany.)

BTW, I found most biking clothes to be ridiculously expensive, if you have a look at the pic, I'm the only one without professional clothes (I do have a 3l bubble, though). Some bikers were looking at me like `hey, armchair amateur, take it easy'. Then I usually passed them

(In Germany I do about 150 km a week, not great, but it keeps me in a fairly decent shape.)

@Goldfinger
Don't spend less than 600-700 Euros if you can. Cheap bikes are dangerous (I'm absolutely serious)! Nowadays every bike seems to have front suspension, but the cheap suspensions are way, way, way too soft. They just waste energy and you'll get sea sick (especially when breaking). Try to stay below 12, 12.5 kg (which is entirely doable).

If you want to stay in shape, take your bike to work whenever you can. That's what I usually do.

EricTheRed · Jun 22, 2007, 02:23 PM

I have an old Team GT (full XTR, White hubs ti crank, sprockets, cook bros crank, AMP fork, and so on) hanging upsidedown in my garage but it doesn't give the thrill of riding riding through town:

Or, for that matter riding on the race track.

Originally Posted by Peter

Any real bikers here? Not wussy road cyclists or motorcyclists.
Downhill biking!
Just abouts to pick up a Kona StinkyDeluxe:

The front forks are maybe a bit wussy, but will await the exciting crack as you're bombing down some big muddy hill

Always been a big Kona fan, really tempted to upgrade my Claud Butler commuting bike to a Kona Smoke. I've also got a NuNu for a bit more normal mountain biking.

I'm hyped.
Whats your ride? (any bicycle!)

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 02:37 PM

Ah, come on, that's no way to treat such a bike. Motobikes are lame, any fat man can drive one

((Motor) bikers really pissed me off at Lake Garda, the mountains were crawling with them and almost none of them were paying attention to mountain bikers. Pretty much anyone can go uphill with a 100+ hp engine …

That's why you usually couldn't just let your bike go downhill, but you had to go very slowly

)

olePigeon · Jun 22, 2007, 02:42 PM

Check out this bad boy. Yeah, I just got it back from OCC. I was gonna get chrome spinners that look like broadswords, but I held back.

ThinkInsane · Jun 22, 2007, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by keekeeree

Yeah...'cause REAL men let gravity do all the work for them, right?

Yeah, but it make the landing a bit rough

residentEvil · Jun 22, 2007, 07:47 PM

i just inherited my mom's mongoose crossway 450. just over 1280 miles on it (current computer stat). not sure on the year; 2001 i think. she got it before her big bike ride (posted in another thread).

larrinski · Jun 22, 2007, 08:06 PM

BTW, I found most biking clothes to be ridiculously expensive, if you have a look at the pic, I'm the only one without professional clothes (I do have a 3l bubble, though). Some bikers were looking at me like `hey, armchair amateur, take it easy'. Then I usually passed them (In Germany I do about 150 km a week, not great, but it keeps me in a fairly decent shape.)

It is true that a lot of bike clothes are pricey, but I would roast in that pullover! As long as you wear something that breathes and isn't too warm... You can find cheap athletic gear now adays that fits the bill. As for the lycra, I wear riding shorts underneath my army or Roach shorts so the boys don't get rattled around too much!

But the skin tight look should be left to roadies and women that look good in them!

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 08:54 PM

The pic was taken on the highest point, almost 2000 m above sea level and we were just about to go downhill. So I usually put something on to keep me warm and to protect me from injuries before I go downhill. After all, I learn from experience (my front wheel slipped on a rock when going downhill with over 30+ km/h and I still had half of a tour to go):

And this one was taken before surgery (fortunately my mom works in a hospital):

BTW, it wasn't really serious surgery, no broken bones or so, just plenty of road rash and a bursitis (basically my right knee got scraped so bad that the surrounding tissue of my joint was filled with little stones and dirt and it had to be partly removed).

Just a question: do you have clicks (I forgot what they are called in English, basically these fancy pedals)?

larrinski · Jun 22, 2007, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

The pic was taken on the highest point, almost 2000 m above sea level and we were just about to go downhill. So I usually put something on to keep me warm and to protect me from injuries before I go downhill. After all, I learn from experience (my front wheel slipped on a rock when going downhill with over 30+ km/h and I still had half of a tour to go):

And this one was taken before surgery (fortunately my mom works in a hospital):

BTW, it wasn't really serious surgery, no broken bones or so, just plenty of road rash and a bursitis (basically my right knee got scraped so bad that the surrounding tissue of my joint was filled with little stones and dirt and it had to be partly removed).

Just a question: do you have clicks (I forgot what they are called in English, basically these fancy pedals)?

Nice pics!!! I was going to post a pic from yesterday's wipe out, but yours takes the cake!!

Over here we call them clipless pedals. I do ride with them. I have the Crank Bros. Mallet pedals. They have been the best pedals I have ever owned! They provide a platform and you are clipped in. The best of both worlds... They have survived almost 3 years of wet west coast weather and keep on ticking.

Eug · Jun 22, 2007, 11:17 PM

Beat that!

(Dammit that hurt.)

P.S. I don't ride my mountain bike much anymore. Cranking up the mountains is too tough on the knees. (And falling down is too tough on the ribs.

)

I usually ride this when I get the chance:

Still use mountain shoes though.

OreoCookie · Jun 22, 2007, 11:51 PM

Nice bike! I've tried getting into race biking for one season. Then I sold it again, I didn't like it. The bike was too fragile and the brakes too weak (a different order of magnitude compared to my disc brakes) … But I can see the appeal (they are fast, really fast).

Oh, and Eug, I hope I won't beat you

Eug · Jun 22, 2007, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Nice bike! I've tried getting into race biking for one season. Then I sold it again, I didn't like it. The bike was too fragile and the brakes too weak (a different order of magnitude compared to my disc brakes) … But I can see the appeal (they are fast, really fast).

I like the speed, but that's not the reason I ride them. I ride them because I simply sit and spin. I use the hamstrings with them much more than I ever did with my mountain bike. On my mountain bike, much of the time I'm using too much quad strength (getting over rocks and branches or short super steep grades, etc), which in turn made my knees hurt.

Spinning on a road bike is much less stress on my knees. Unfortunately, I don't get the chance to ride often enough, because of work. I used to ride to work lots, but unfortunately, my colleagues don't appreciate the sweat...

P.S. A lot of the bike couriers around here have single-speed road bikes. That would never work for me.

larrinski · Jun 23, 2007, 12:15 AM

I was a courier in Vancouver and Victoria for 5 years, and my Kona Single Speed was the best for durability by far. When you are getting paid by the piece, you can't afford any breakdowns. A lot of couriers ride 80-100 kms per day, and with all the crap on the road, and the rain on the West Coast, bike parts don't last... The fixed gear single speeds are a little nuts though! I never went that far. It was nice to coast once in a while, and who wants to peddle when you are grabbing a free ride on a wheel well?

OreoCookie · Jun 23, 2007, 01:03 AM

Yeah, what's the deal with those? I have never seen them in Europe and they are even quite popular in the bay area (think: steep hills). What's the advantage?

Eug · Jun 23, 2007, 01:51 AM

I dunno, but they're everywhere here in Toronto. It's not that hilly here though.

FWIW, I have a friend that's a triathelete, and it's almost a badge of honour for some of them to own a single-speed fixed gear bike. The gear chosen is a sign of strength or whatever.

For me, I'm too weak anyway, esp. these days. I'm perfectly happy to sit in low gear on my 27 speed slowly heading up the hill, spinning at 90 rpm. My knees are more important than my ego.

larrinski · Jun 23, 2007, 09:54 PM

A courier's bike is a reflection of themselves. Some want to make a statement that they are tough and are able to do the job on the most simplest of machines... Some couriers don't even ride with brakes, and allow their legs to control the speed. If they need to stop quickly, they lock their legs. I have always been fond of brakes and a free wheel...Call me crazy