File under: random stories from the history of cycling

Just tried commuting on my bike from Santa Monica to downtown Culver City today. I took the Exposition bike path, which was fine until I needed to get off of it to head south.

Google recommended I take National and--lo and behold--there's no bike lane with cars flying past at 55mph+ on blind hills. That's a death trap.

On the way home I left early to avoid traffic. I took Venice Blvd, since it has a protected bike lane all the way until McLaughlin which Google Maps called "bicycle friendly." No bike lane, of course, with cars flying past leaving a foot of distance between me and death. One testy driver in a BMW didn't want to wait the 15 seconds for me to pedal into the left turn lane to get back onto the Exposition bike path, honking and then flying by nearly killing me. Jeez lady, I'm not the city planner. Don't kill me to save 15 seconds.

How does Culver City put zero bike lanes going north to south connecting to the Exposition path? How do these drivers maintain their licenses?

What's a cyclist to do?

Eurosport started sending e-mails that they are discontinuing streaming (premium) service in favor of HBO MAX. Which is much, like 3x more expensive if you happen to watch only bicycling or some other sports and you don't care about other stuff. Even more odd is that they were sending e-mails like a couple of weeks ago that they were just increasing the price. So, that's it for me watching bicycling, I guess. It's been nice while it lasted, then corporate greed took over.

Hello,

I have an ELEMNT BOLT V2 GPS BICYCLE COMPUTER. Now I'm planning a longer bike tour with breaks. The bike computer stays on. Can you turn off the bolt to save power and then reactivate it to continue recording?

Best regards

Hi friends! I feel like I'm at a bit of a crossroads with my cycling journey right now, and I'd really love to get some feedback from some of y'all.

For background, I started getting into longer distance cycling events last year as a way to stay healthy and fit, especially since my partner and I have an 18 month toddler. Cycling is both a mental health and physical fitness outlet for me.

I'm riding a Surly LHT with 700x32 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, so I'm almost always at the back of the pack. I am not part of a team, so I'm never able to draft behind people either.

Last year I completed 2 Gran Fondos, one of which was the Whistler Sea to Sky Fondo. Yesterday was my first ride of the year and despite spending all winter with TrainerRoad 3 times a week, my time was actually slower than it was a year before and I missed the cutoff time.

Granted, I had an exhausting week leading up to their ride, I got slightly drunk 2 nights before the ride which resulted in bad sleep, and then a toddler-induced bad nights sleep the night before the ride.

Needless to say, that was pretty discouraging, especially since my plan has been to try and go for even longer rides this year (a 157km ride on July 1 and a 200km in September). My partner wants me to back down from leaning into these fondo style rides (and the longer ones too obvi), and in my disappointment from this weekend I'm inclined to go along with that.

But here are my questions:

• How much should I read into my results this weekend? Could it just be chalked up to a hard week and a bad nights sleep?

• If I had a really hard day going for 120km on June 9, should I pull back on trying to go for 157km on July 1 and 200km in September?

• If anyone is a toddler-parent who works full time and engages in long-distance cycling, I'd love to hear how you make that work

Paywall-free link: https://archive.ph/3tLtL

The crash occurred on September 25, 2021, the first crisp day of fall after a hot Texas summer. Claudius Galo intended to ride a hundred miles or more that morning. “There was a chill in the air. It felt so good. The energy was high,” he recalls of the small group that gathered to ride with him.

Galo had moved to the Houston area from Rio de Janeiro, about 14 years prior. A calm and inquisitive engineer who works in the oil and gas industry, Galo had become unhealthy and overweight in his late thirties. He tried running but got hurt, so his doctor recommended adding swimming and cycling. Now 45, he’d lost 60 pounds and completed six Ironmans and almost a dozen half Ironmans. Tamy Valiente, 45, had come to the United States from Costa Rica nine years before. Inspired by the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in her twenties, she’d dreamt of becoming a competitive bike rider, but first, “I had to raise my babies,” she says. After going through a divorce, she eventually saved enough money to buy a bike frame and slowly began building her first racing bike part by part. She would often wake at 4 a.m. to train on the narrow roads close to her home back near San José, where buses crept by within inches of her handlebar. To Valiente, the U.S. felt like paradise. “The roads seemed safe. The traffic laws were actually enforced,” she says.

On the day of the crash, David Reynolds, a 45-year-old tattooed photographer with two teenage children, had ridden 11.5 miles to meet the group at Hockley Community Center, about 30 miles west of downtown Houston. Cycling was his “Zen time,” when he could zone out and let all his worries wash through him. Though he wasn’t training for an event, he had ridden for nearly 600 consecutive days. “I just like to ride,” he says. The group that rolled out that morning included three other experienced cyclists: Craig Staples, Brad Stauffer, and Keith Conrad. The six regularly met up to ride through Waller County, an agricultural and ranching community just outside the sprawling metropolis. The group would become known as the Waller 6.

. . .

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15834699

> Ooga Booga

Biking in this petiod can be a pain for people with pollen allergy.

Do you gave any tip to share? Do you wear a mask? What kind? Anything to protect your eyes?

Thsnk you

(Picture source: Brainwashed https://www.flickr.com/people/39453974@N04 )

My bike is exposed to the sun on the balcony where I keep it. This is probably not so great for the leather saddle, so I improvised a sun cover from some wire and folio. This highly advanced design doesn't trap heat underneath.

What do you all think of this company's idea? You can lease a bike from them, to get started riding without the "big" expense of buying a bike up front.

I guess the big question is just, will this get more people riding then would otherwise happen? If so, seems OK, but generally, I'm resistant to this idea that literally everything needs to be done via subscriptions.

Is this available in your area and if so, is it working well or no?

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/19380584

> cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/19380579 > > > Cyclists blame "utterly ridiculous bike prices" for brands' ongoing struggles, after Giant's sales slashed again; Visma–Lease a Bike's cursed 2024 continues; Devastated Arsenal fan turns to... Lance Armstrong; Bargain hunting + more on the live blog

Dumb question, but new to cycling, and the person at the store adjusted the height of the back via the tab. The Trek manual and video are absolute garbage, so we can't figure out how. Can anyone help?

Inspired by me seeing a tall bike in NYC and wondering WTF it was.

Keep your behind dry and clean, folks!

Hi all, I hope my post doesn't violate any rules, because of the links, if yes, please let me know.

I am a beginner with road bikes, I was always a MTB person, but I decided to get a road bike for my cardio exercise as I turned 40 and I have less option in my area for MTB rides.

Since Im a beginner with road bikes I would need some advice to not mess up my purchase. Of course I done some research as well, but never know what I missed.

Im in the EU and my budget is 700-750 EUR, so yes, it will be a budget bike. I will ride 3-4 times a week for 50-70 km distances. Some hills, but nothing serious.

I found two possible candidates:

Triban RC500 The obvious choice, many reviews calling it the best budget bike under 1000 EUR, some compromises, but I think it would be perfect for me. Price: 750 EUR where I live.

Sava Vegur 1.2 A bit of a wild card, its currently on half off sale with a reputable online retailer for 680 EUR, but cant decide if its the deal of the year or I should be cautious. I know, I dont need a carbon bike for my needs, but still, Im curious if anyone ever had experience with the brand? I found reviews, opinions, etc but nothing which would tell me to buy or not buy it specifically. Its a Chinese brand, but thats about it from what I can see.

Thanks for the time and I would prefer constructive feedback if possible :)

Hi everyone, i hope to find any of the r/Velo geeks here as well.

I finally got myself a nice carbon Wheelset, Lun Winspace Hyper 23 SE 40mm, it has a 21 internal width and nearly 28mm outer width. Now i am undecided which tyres to fit the set. I have the choice out of two sets that i have laying around in fairly mint conditions. The first is the conti gp5000 S TR 28mm and the second the conti gp5000 AS TR 32mm. I got the latter to fit my winter configuration, and I have enjoyed it on the Aluminum DT Swiss P1850 wheels, internal width 19mm.

Winspace specifies the Hyper 23 SE is best matched with 25-28mm tires, following the transition from rim to tire is nearly flat, beyond the 28mm you can get a little bulp, potentially sacrificing aero benefits. Peak torque had made a very insightful video about this too where he concluded the airflow might not attached back to the rim using the wider tire. Now, i am not a racer, but i do enjoy optimising the configuration.

Another point of consideration is the weight, it seems the S TR 28mm weighs around 280 grams, and the AS TR 32mm a full 105 grams more. That is 210 grams for a set. Around me, the area is flat as a pancake, but next month I aim to cycle the Amstel Gold 150km, that will have a more fluent course where lower weight can help me getting up the hills faster for less power. Saving me energy to help avoid being slowest in our group of friends.

Bicyclerollingresistance has made analyses of both tires, but categorised the AS TR 32mm as a gravel tire, so i can’t make a head to head comparison on the site. They did have the AS TR 28mm in the road category to compare with the S TR 28mm. The 32mm and 35mm supposedly have a higher thread thickness compared to the smaller. Wet grip is also noted as a pro of the AS TR with a slight penalty on rolling resistance.

Many will say 32mm is simply more comfortable then 28mm due to lower pressure they allow. I am pretty lightweight, i think the system weight will tally up to 75 kg maybe, so i am not confidant i will get my best bang of comfort over mm when going from 28mm to 32mm.

Any opinions anyone has to share would be greatly appreciated

I thought this would be dead simple but trying to label a road as "bike-friendly" isn't as intuitive as one would hope (am I "adding" a road even though it's technically there or reporting "wrong info" piece by piece?)

Which are you using?

For most things (day trips, few km after work...) I use multiple of them.

Mapy.cz

• online and offline mobile app
• trip planner works pretty well
• you can check out places (photos, reviews...) when online
• well maped whole Europe
• not enough information about roads (asphalt, paved, gravel...)
• basically interactive version of KČT maps

Cykloserver.cz

• can't find app
• basic planner, but better for drawing your route
• much more helpful info about roads
• it is just automatically scaled paper map, so you have to know how to read it

Osm clients - I tried multiple of them.

Paper maps - from the same company that makes the Cycloserver maps. You can get set of them for about 100€ (CZ not sure about SK). There is just something special about planning trip on paper maps.

amcargobikes/amladcykler Ultimate Harmony cargo e-bike review

I've had my cargo bike for about six months now. I thought I'd write a review of it, because (1) I love it, and (2) I had loads of questions before buying it, and thought I could help future cargo bike buyers.

Anyone have a method for determining the best stem length and rise? I'm a casual road cyclist and I feel like I have too much weight on my hands, noticable more on longer rides. I kinda feel like it should be an inch (2-3 cm) shorter, but not sure how rise would impact that. How do I go about finding whats right without trying 4 or 5 stems? Any help is appreciated!

My everything was sore when i got back because I'm out of shape but it was worth it. Had some oatmeal after setting everything up and enjoyed myself.

I had been looking for a bike to get around my local city and managed to snag a Huffy cruiser for $50. It is in decent shape with only some superficial rust on the pedals. This will be a big learning experience for me as I haven't ridden a bike for nine years. I'll both learn how to use a bike to run errands and how to do some of my own maintenance. Maybe even customize it a bit by adding a frame lock and a 3 speed gear hub. I guess we shall see how far I get in this learning and fitness quest.

I for one am really excited to see what Sepp Kuss can do this year. After killing it in the '23 Tour and then winning the Vuelta, he should be poised for wins. Go Sepp!

(Sorry if this isn't the place for bicycle racing talk...)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11429948

> Men accused of pushing cyclists into ditches for fun go on trial in France > > Two defendants could face up to five years in prison after spate of incidents in country’s rural south-west > > Two men accused of driving up to cyclists in rural south-west France and pushing them into ditches for fun have gone on trial in Toulouse for organised violence and could face up to five years in prison. > > The two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested last year after a spate of cyclists being pushed off their bikes on quiet country roads. One victim told the newspaper La Dépêche: “It was April … I’d gone out on my bike for the afternoon. When I got to a little country road … I felt a car was following me silently. It was driving very slowly behind me when it could easily have overtaken me. Then after a few minutes it drove up beside me. The car’s passenger suddenly pushed me down.” > > Another man described being on a weekend cycle ride with two friends when a car pulled up beside him and the passenger allegedly reached out a hand and pushed him into a ditch. > > At least 12 cyclists were hit over a period of several months, some sustaining injuries including a wrist fracture and a collar-bone fracture.

If you're at all techy, in any way, you probably have come across Stack Overflow or one of the many other sites which are part of the Stack Exchange network. Each site is a place for people to ask questions about a given topic (software development, movies, whatever...) and for others to provide answers.

And now I know there's a site for cyclists too. I'm passing this along in the hopes others might find this useful.

I was about to pull the trigger on a set of Schwalbe Johnny Watts, but they seem to be out of stock everywhere. My backup plan is to get a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour. But in doing my research, I've read multiple people say that although they stand up really well to thorns and other trail nasties, they're a mild pain to take on / off due to sidewall stiffness.

Everything I've raid suggests Schwalbe is a pretty solid brand. Before I pull the trigger on these, are there any other brands I should be considering?

I'm riding an ebike mainly on rail trails. Some are paved, most are packed dirt or well-packed pea gravel. Sometimes I'll hit a small mud patch but I don't really go mudding. Once in a blue moon I'll hit single track or railroad ballast, but that's rare. I want something that's going to be reasonably quiet and smooth on paved but that won't shred itself when the terrain gets a little rougher, and that won't fly out from under me if I hit a mud puddle.

Please feel free to delete this if it's breaking the no ads rule, but I figured I'd share the message with the community because of the benefit these cameras have had for my safety and confidence riding in a not super bike friendly town. I purchased both the front and rear cameras after being shot with an airsoft gun while riding and missing the last three digits of the cars license plate. The footage is fantastic and the lights are pretty darn bright too. Happy to answer anyone's questions about my experience with them.

!

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Soma Double Cross w/ Ritchey fork, 1x11 Shimano drivertrain, 500W rear hub, 400Wh battery, torque pedal assist, 16kg

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/7741424

> .... and I couldn't be more stoked! Empty bike paths, crisp air... I'm ready to throw on the studs.

Hi guys, I replaced two broken spokes on my Elops 900e electric bike's rear wheel. I've trued the wheel before with the zip tie trick, but I just bought a spoke tension meter to try to be a bit more precise and spread the load evenly on the spokes. Is there a simple way to get an average tension target for the spokes? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!