Fifty Plus (50+) - OCP questions

1. I have a new road bike. I have heard OCP'ers say that one should always take off the wheel reflectors from a road bike because a) it causes drag, and b) because it identifies you as a Fred. Part of me thinks that's lame, but my OCP nature says I should give in to poser pressure and take off the reflectors. What do you think?

2. I bought a red and white Lemond. The bike store had only black composite bottle cages. I don't like them. They're ugly. I went to another store and found pretty red and silver cages, but they were made by Specialized. It doesn't seem right to put Specialized bottle cages on a Lemond bike. Am I being too anal with this one?

I take them off because the government says they must stay on.

Stainless steel bottle cages is the only way to fly.

I have a Specilized seat....go with what works best first and what looks best second...I had a set of great looking bottle cages once that SUCKED holding a bottle....

I'm not the one to ask. I have a Trek saddlebag on my Specialized Roubaix. For now, anyway.

I am in the "i am more fred than you" contest and I say ...safety over wind drag... it's your bike, if you got the color of bottle cage that you like, go for it.... or as they say on the prairie, gofer it... ... ... ... ...peace

I'm not the one to ask. I have a Trek saddlebag on my Specialized Roubaix. For now, anyway.
At the bike store I bought the Specialized cages, they had a Roubaix on display. That's a handsome bike, for sure.

If you want waterbottle cages that possess the understated elegance of a fine chamber quartet, consider those made by Nitto, available from Peter White Cycles or Rivendel. You'll stand out from the ocp crowd like old money stands out from the nouveaux riche. And speaking of money, you'll need some long green to pay for these babies.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/waterbottlecages.asp

Well for OCP cages you must go Carbon Fiber, at 23g and $98 this fits the bill. Reflectors must be removed along with dork disk and lawyer tabs.

I was thinking more along these lines:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=72&subcategory=1025&brand=&sku=14994&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Cages

The nice thing about stainless steel cages is that they don't mark your water bottles the way aluminum ones do. They don't have to be exotic or expensive.

The reflectors have to come off. They serve no purpose other than to fall off later and bounce up in your face when you get to 30mph. The Dork Disk- I have doubts about removing-But none of my wheels have them. Now as to the lawyer tabs on the forks- I have to disagree. I have actually done a ride and discovered that I did not have a tightened front wheel. The tabs stopped the wheel coming out and causing an accident. Now if you really want to go OCP- (If that ever existed in the MTB world) Then a 20mm bolt through axle would have to be the way to go.

I am all for riding a bike that is right but/and there are some unnecessary rules about that serve no purpose. But when it comes to securely riding the bike- Then I will go over the top sometimes.

I have a gray bike with black lettering so it's very nuetral, the $2 black cages go just fine and I don't really care if they mark up my used Gatorade bottles.

Um, I'm just a poser. I don't know what a lawyer tab is. The argument for taking off the reflectors makes sense. And StapFam, if you ride trails like I do, you "will go over the top" quite frequently.

The lawyer tabs are the ridges(lips) on the front fork that keep the wheel from falling off if your skewer comes loose. I am not advocating removing them, they are on my bike, but many think they just slow down pulling the wheel on/off. You can find a whole thread on this from last year as well.

I take them off because the government says they must stay on.I took them off for the reason the OP was inquiring about. :)

I used the "road" model of the Blackburn cage Blues Dawg linked to, on my Bianchi.
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=72&subcategory=1025&brand=&sku=13213&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Cages

Stainless is way better than aluminum IMO, too.

My road bike is silver, so a water bottle cage that went with it was no problem. My mtn.bike is sky blue, and by luck, years ago I came across adonized blue water bottle cages that went with it. I'd go with a red one, or white, maybe mask it off and paint it two color to go along. And you'll need matching shoes, helmet, socks, etc. And I am riding my platform pedals--can't lose my "Fred" status! Of course, my mix of wicking t-shirts and regular shorts should ensure my status anyway.
Lose the reflectors-as to the dork disk--I had to look to see if my road bike had one-don't even notice it, and unless I take the cassette off for some reason, it will probably remain.

I couldn't find any lightweight cages in the right color so I went by the paint store and got some primer and spray paint and now I am color coordinated!!!!! I'll probably need to put another coat or two on each year but what the heck.........they match!!

The reflectors have to come off. They serve no purpose other than to fall off later and bounce up in your face when you get to 30mph. The Dork Disk- I have doubts about removing-But none of my wheels have them. Now as to the lawyer tabs on the forks- I have to disagree. I have actually done a ride and discovered that I did not have a tightened front wheel. The tabs stopped the wheel coming out and causing an accident. Now if you really want to go OCP- (If that ever existed in the MTB world) Then a 20mm bolt through axle would have to be the way to go.

I am all for riding a bike that is right but/and there are some unnecessary rules about that serve no purpose. But when it comes to securely riding the bike- Then I will go over the top sometimes.


Ooooh. (insert small shudder here). Can I have those brakes when you done with them.......please?

2. I bought a red and white Lemond. The bike store had only black composite bottle cages. I don't like them. They're ugly. I went to another store and found pretty red and silver cages, but they were made by Specialized. It doesn't seem right to put Specialized bottle cages on a Lemond bike. Am I being too anal with this one?

You call that OCP and anal? You're a rookie!

A true OCP would buy a new Specialized bike to match his pretty, new water bottle cages.

I'm not the one to ask. I have a Trek saddlebag on my Specialized Roubaix. For now, anyway.

I have a Specialized saddle on my Trek:)

I have a Specialized saddle on my Trek:)
We should ride together! ;)

We should ride together! ;)
It all seems so wrong.

Specialized has some nice bottle cages. Go with em as long as they don't have a giat S on the side.

Ooooh. (insert small shudder here). Can I have those brakes when you done with them.......please?

As you realise- Quality units that will last me a life time. Might get used on my grand sons first MTB but he isn't even born yet.

The brakes are not that expensive now as they are not the Latest model but they are about $280 a set- but you do need a front and a rear. The Wheels on the other hand- $800 and rising and the forks are No longer made in this form- Rockshox Boxers. Got them cheap as they only have 6" of travel but would still set you back around $1000 for the 8" travel form. But then I do not need 8" as this is on the Tandem.