[ot] Tour de France

[ThrowAway]

Christ this is a long race.

[DangerousDave]

I got a RC7 made by Blue. Got it in 2007




I will be picking up a Argon 18 E-112 TT bike this Spring



If my supplier has any frames my size I'll be picking up a cyclocross bike from Blue again this week. If not because he doesn't work for Blue anymore I'll be checking out the local stores!

Jesus Christ, the wheels on that bike alone are worth more than my car....Excuse me while i whipe the drool from the floor.

[Magik]

heh well I just used that picture to show what frame I am going to pick up. I plan to get a Zipp disc wheel on the back and a Zipp 808 on the front most likely. Plus I'm gonna get straight carbon aero bars, I don't like when they curve at all.

[Tone Deft]

nice pics.

I might post some later, not tonight. I bought a Marin Point Reyes a few years ago, hydraulic disc brakes let me run fat 26" MTB tires or 700c tall n skinny wheels. with the MTB tires on it looks mean, with the 700c wheels it looks sleek and fast (for a MTB frame.) I've always been a mt biker but this summer I've been on the 700c wheels and am loving it. dunno if I can ever bring myself to wear one of those freaking jersies (MTB bikers scoff at those but I'm coming around) but if I can stick with it I'm getting a nice touring bike next summer for sure. did 47 miles on Saturday, SF, around Tiburon, over to Mill Valley and back ('Paradise Loop'). it's a start. want to do the 50 miles up Mt Tam and back soon, all this on a commuter bike. trying to ride 20-50 miles daily, been doing that for a few months now.

any tips on bike shopping appreciated. I'm thinking of picking one out soon and continue shopping to see what compares. start at around $1,000 and talk myself up from there. dunno about buying used.

[Tone Deft]

Christ this is a long race.

it's not even that, it's the climbs as well.



this was the END of stage 20, the 167 kilometer (100 mile) second to last stage. they're so high they're on the moon.


that's up to a 10% grade!!!

[Magik]

20-50 Miles a day on a computer bike is pretty impressive.

Are you looking at getting a road bike to casually ride around your paradise loop? Or are you interesting in starting racing?

I don't know to much about bikes around $1000 but if your not racing there is really no need to get a full carbon bike with Dura Ace and that saves ALLOT of money. Id say look into cyclo cross bikes. They are tons of fun and very practical for any rider. They still hav light frames, skinny tires but with treads so you don't feel guilty when you ride MNT bike trails on your road bike. Plus the breaks are wide spread so if you are riding in the mud, it wont slow you down.

For a decent bike thats pretty cheap get full 105 components and aluminum frame with carbon seat post and carbon fork to absorb some of the bumps.

I just asked in google and I found this page. Its a nice little read explaining the difference between all the components made by Shimano.

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/biking-a ... -bike/2561

[Tone Deft]

thanks, it's fun walking around with rubber legs all day, it takes the edge off everything else.

I'll keep the Marin for Mt Biking and use the 700c wheels for the work commute. I got it for the variety of riding but it's solid at offroad and commuting.

I'm probably looking for a touring bike, I doubt I'll race as there are plenty of people to play cat and mouse with on the Bay Area roads to get my competitive kicks. who knows, maybe I'll enter some tours. a coworker did this years AIDs ride, SF to LA in 6 days, 90 miles a day, that'd be a dream of mine.

thanks for the tip, I'll definitely check that out. sounds like the right direction to go in.

[Magik]

SF to LA in 6 days sounds like a bunch of fun. Always nice to go out riding with other people.

It was the least I could do, you were helping me in the other thread about warping!

[Tone Deft]

this forum can be very cool like that. come for the Live, stay for the other hobbies.

yeah, there's something about cycling with and around other people that makes the roads flatter.

cheers! I'm already drooling over bikes on web sites.
http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/ ... elite.html

[8O]

Great bike talk! Very jealous of that Argon bike, but it'd be wasted on someone like me! I kinda have an inverse snobbery in competitive cycling and love it when someone on a cheap, ugly bike with a basket on the front and a kickstand beats someone on a full-suspension boutique monster! It's happened to me: my mountain bike is a top of the range custom Klein (first year after they were bought by Trek), it's a beautiful, very lightweight hardtail, but kudos to the old guys on completely unsuspended (or maybe with a Girvin flexstem - remember them?) 1990 Raleighs who just grind past me... Respect!

BTW , how was the Berlin Skoda Velothon?

Do you just ride casually or do you also race?

The Velothon was excellent, would strongly recommend it - fantastically well organised, loads of marshals who all knew what they were doing, efficient and friendly staff at the feeding stations, good atmosphere, nice route, only dud was the road surfacing and some potholes after about 110km - heard someone behind me yell in a panicked voice and looked around to see his face about to hit the tarmac. Ouch! I sprinted up to the next ambulance and told them about it, but apparently over-all there weren't that many accidents considering the huge numbers of amateur cyclists, many of whom were probably experiencing riding in large groups for the first time.

Used to race mtb and a bit of triathlon many years ago, but not any more... still love the sport though!

[8O]

The Tour's finished!

Cavendish's stunning win yesterday - how about that!?

Contador's second tour win - good job - but I dunno, his riding doesn't do anything for me. I'm sure if I was Spanish I'd feel otherwise, but he just reminds me of Indurain, not in terms of riding, but in terms of dullness. I'm sure he's got at least another Tour win in him too. Will be interesting to see the new team constellations for next year, too.

Oh, and there was a phone interview with Jens Voigt the other day and he's on the mend, another two weeks or so of recovery and then he wanted to get back on the bike and even wanted to do a race again before the end of the year.

For those of you who didn't see it, this is why you should always wear a helmet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohEYgJCh7oc

[8O]

that's up to a 10% grade!!!

[nuperspective]

The Tour's finished!

Contador's second tour win - good job - but I dunno, his riding doesn't do anything for me. I'm sure if I was Spanish I'd feel otherwise, but he just reminds me of Indurain, not in terms of riding, but in terms of dullness. I'm sure he's got at least another Tour win in him too. Will be interesting to see the new team constellations for next year, too.

i dunno interplay between contador / armstrong and the schelk brothers [and of course wiggins] made it a quality race for stage 20. i think contador makes it look very easy with the teams he has had for the last two years. it will be interesting next year when armstrong doesnt have team orders to follow. if they can both build strong teams next year should be a classic.

hes still a class rider

[8O]

Oh, controversy! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_s ... 170479.stm

[Tone Deft]

Oh, controversy! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_s ... 170479.stm

"We haven't decided which teams will be invited next year but, looking ahead, a team with Contador, another with Armstrong and another one with the Schleck brothers (Andy and Frank) would be sensational."

/popcorn

question for you tread heads... in a touring bike, 2 front sprockets or 3? I've started looking here for reviews.
http://tinyurl.com/nvuots
is it just that with 2 you have to be more precise with your gear selection?