Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed Part 2

any mavic dealer should be able to get the spokes in, assuming they are proprietary spokes which they probably are

la bicicletta probably has experience with rebuilding those wheels, i think you want someone with experience with the wheels

if possible, i kinda want the wheel rebuilt with NON proprietary parts...

but now that u mention it, one of the spokes was replaced with a standard nipple but still bladed spoke..

i wonder if i could save a rebuild with just a proper truing/tensioning.... damn why does that place gotta close at 6...?!

Have you seen this page before? http://www.ibiketo.ca/torontobikeways.html

Check off all the options and see if you can find something workable. At first glance it doesn't look too hopeful though...

i'd have to agree with jabba...... yonge north of eglinton is quite possibly one of the worst stretches of road right now.... it reminds me of bathurst between eglinton and bloor a few years back hahaha

and they keep making it worse

they are tearing it up piece by piece for whatever underground work and doing a terrible patch job

it was bad enough before they started this project

and they keep making it worse

they are tearing it up piece by piece for whatever underground work and doing a terrible patch job

it was bad enough before they started this project

I was totally caught off-guard. It was always bad but this summer I hit it for the first time and was like F-F-F-F-F-UUUCK T-T-T-T-T-HIIIIIIS.

Yo Tam...didnt realise it was your bday girl...happy bday!
got a project bike to build for wife and daughter (older one!)
olllllllllllllllllllllld green raleigh...with a sturmey archer 3 speed (auto? theres no gear shifts and one cog) hub. score! its heavy as hell! but a beaut...cant wait till its built up. even got a really old leather saddle of some sort with springs on it...will post up pics later.

Okay, I'm officially in love with the Don and officially mad as hell at myself for not trying this earlier. Rode from Queens Quay and Spadina to York Mills and Leslie in a little over an hour and fifteen minutes. Spent like 80% of that time nowhere near a major street.

I've got a question though. All signs point to 'no', but is it at all possible to ride that trail at night without $300 worth of lighting? Riding home at 2 AM down Y-y-y-y-o-o-n-n-n-g-g-g-e-e-e-e is going to destroy my joints/will to live, and every god damn time I take some random side streets I end up in cul-de-sac after f**king cul-de-sac.

MEC has a night light for trails that is about $80. Works great on the paved trails at night. Riding in there at 2 am though might not be the best idea. Ask Shapelike about the geese.

Avoiding Yonge is a good idea. It's sucked for years between Lawrence and Eglington. If I was doing that route I would take McCaul north into UofT then across Wellesly to Sherbourne or Parlament, north to the viaduct, then Broadview to the Millwood bridge. Overlea across to DonMills and then cut back to Leslie near Bond Park. I used to work at Warden and Finch and found the Millwood Bridge/Overlea/Don Mills route to be pretty good.

Okay, so last night I pulled York Mills to Banbury Rd, took that south, took the trails south and west to Broadway, which I took west to Eglington Park, shot down Lescalles for a while, which sucked because the streets were all dug up, then took Avenue Rd to Bloor and after that I feel safe and at home so I just sort of meandered home.

It was a pretty good ride. Aside from the trail slowing me down and the construction on Lescalles, things were fine. I miss working at Bloor and Mt. Pleasant. :(

This could be a neat project for someone, a Motobecane CX frame spaced for track wheels: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/478644/

Anyone have a good bike route to the pit that is the TORONTO CONGRESS CENTRE? Dixon and 27. I am going to be going there for a few weeks in July.

If you can get to Royal York that has a tiny bike lane that goes pretty much up to Dixon, I think. Off Dundas may be an option. I've ridden Dixon>Scarlett>St. Clair from the airport before although it was years ago. With all the TTC construction on St. Clair I'd say that's "do not want" part of the route.

This could be a neat project for someone, a Motobecane CX frame spaced for track wheels: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/478644/

Thankfully I just bought a cross frame... whew...

Well, I finally got my wheels back from being built, so I can finally finish my Stratos build.

Even better, today I picked up a pair of Cinelli titanium stems (threadless) for <20% of their (unbelievably high) list. They have been sitting in this particular shop almost as long as I can remember. I asked to have a look and the owner offered one of them to me at a massive discount. I bought both. One's a 120mm, the other 100mm. I have no idea what I will do with them yet, but I have been thinking of a custom titanium track frame from True North for several years - ever since Hugh put disc mounts on my titanium MTB for me and removed the old canti mounts. Perhaps next winter.

thanks shamil and phil! i didn't mean to sound like i was fishing, but i appreciate the well-wishes nonetheless. i mostly wanted to share the pictures, although afterwards i realised that i wasn't sure if you could access them without a spaceface account.

however, i AM going to steel the spotlight for a moment now to say that those pictures are extra-special because i happen to be 17 weeks along in them! one more cyclist! :love:

congratulations!!

Congratulations and hooray for little people! I hope the wee one knows how lucky they are. I'd have a hard time imagining two cooler parents.

thanks shamil and phil! i didn't mean to sound like i was fishing, but i appreciate the well-wishes nonetheless. i mostly wanted to share the pictures, although afterwards i realised that i wasn't sure if you could access them without a spaceface account.

however, i AM going to steel the spotlight for a moment now to say that those pictures are extra-special because i happen to be 17 weeks along in them! one more cyclist! :love:
congrats to you!!:thumb:

yup one more cyclist...
as I type this gabster is already flyin around on her trike!
lemme know if you need anything...I think I still have a few of Gabsters baby tings.

Congrats Zippered!! You better start saving for one of these:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cpfFA8V-iHI/R2fr-SG9wbI/AAAAAAAAAEs/Qibt5DfcxE8/s400/tricycle_5.jpg

Custom titanium tricycle.

just dont be like that guy in the forum who was asking about a "fixie" for his 4 year old. ;)

:lol:

My first big wheel was a "fixie". I could even do a track stand on that bad boy

heehee, i just couldn't keep the news secret anymore... thanks guys. cam, your comment made both of us smile. shamil, we've had pretty good luck so far finding (literally: we found nearly-new peg-perego infant AND toddler seats!) stuff, but i may take you up on your offer if there's something specific you need to get rid of. herald, that's the most extreme example of high-end kids bikes i've ever seen! i had something like this in mind during the trailer period, and then a trail-a-bike later:

http://growingupgreen.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/skutt.jpg

thanks shamil and phil! i didn't mean to sound like i was fishing, but i appreciate the well-wishes nonetheless. i mostly wanted to share the pictures, although afterwards i realised that i wasn't sure if you could access them without a spaceface account.

however, i AM going to steel the spotlight for a moment now to say that those pictures are extra-special because i happen to be 17 weeks along in them! one more cyclist! :love:

Congrats!!!

Let me know if there is stuff/cloths etc you need.

congrats zip! i'm looking for one of those skut things too for jake when he's old enough. i've got a pile of baby stuff as well to pass down - let me know what you're in need of when the time comes.

would a baby be comfortable in a messenger bag?

would a baby be comfortable in a messenger bag?

ha ha...I tried with gabby and she started crying instantly...:innocent:

Hey I bought something similar for my niece. Not as classy (i.e steel frame, Adam brand) but cheaper! I don't know if she has tried it yet :)

Global Gutz '09 anybody know?

Congrats!!!

Let me know if there is stuff/cloths etc you need.

thanks! will do!


congrats zip! i'm looking for one of those skut things too for jake when he's old enough. i've got a pile of baby stuff as well to pass down - let me know what you're in need of when the time comes.

would a baby be comfortable in a messenger bag?

sweet! how old is he now?

do/did any of your partners ride when pregnant or with the kiddies?


ha ha...I tried with gabby and she started crying instantly...:innocent:

really? it's not so different from one of those slings or bunting bags? i guess it depends how old/when you start i guess.

/sabatoge of thread

just wondering, but has anyone here had experience with repairing a pulled thru spoke?

as in the nipple pulled right thru the rim? :(

washers + jb weld + lots of tears and blood?

Stick a fork in 'er she's done!

FWIW - it just isn't worth repairing / making your own wheels. The amount of real experience in building successful wheels is just too prohibitive. IIRC, Keith said you start to "get good" after around 100 wheels.

The days of repairing rims are long gone. They have become consumable items.


All this talk of babies! Congratulations to all who have recently or are about to become parents. Here I am thinking of retirement and fatherhood about the same time in a few years from now!

My new baby. :)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d51/krusty666/DSC00134-1.jpg

wow, that is one of the nicest looking bikes i've ever seen

FWIW - it just isn't worth repairing / making your own wheels. The amount of real experience in building successful wheels is just too prohibitive. IIRC, Keith said you start to "get good" after around 100 wheels.

I respectfully disagree! Building a wheel is not really hard, sure there are a few things to know (nothing that isn't in a book or online) but a 28-32-36 spoke wheel can be quite forgiving. As long as you have a decent amount of tension you'll be fine. You should give it a try it's fun. But certainly a pro-built wheel is likely to be better.

Anyway trueno that rim is toast! Garbage please.

And awesome bike krusty.

Building a wheel is not hard. Building a good wheel requires pro supervision and a tensionmeter.

The days of repairing rims are long gone. They have become consumable items.


All this talk of babies! Congratulations to all who have recently or are about to become parents. Here I am thinking of retirement and fatherhood about the same time in a few years from now!

My new baby. :)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d51/krusty666/DSC00134-1.jpg

wow man...that thing is pure hotness...nice job man!

Congratulations, Tam!

sweet! how old is he now?

do/did any of your partners ride when pregnant or with the kiddies?



really? it's not so different from one of those slings or bunting bags? i guess it depends how old/when you start i guess.

/sabatoge of thread

My wife rode to work when she was pregnant. It made me really nervous, not because of her riding ability, but because of the randon stupid things that can happen to a cyclist. I always had a fear of her getting doored and her stomach ramming the stem. We decided it was a risk that wasn't worth taking.

We also went with a chariot for the little guy over a bike carrier for similar reasons. If a bike goes down the chariot doesn't tip over. I can't ever imagine putting my son on the bike in a carrier. Terrifies me to be honest.

Anyways enough negaitives, get ready for sleepless nights, bathroom breaks every 10 minutes, baby poop that goes in as breastmilk and out as nuclear waste, teething (has that started yet Jer?) endless crying at 3 in morning...but it's the best feeling in the world being a parent.

My little bear at 20 months.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/pyze-guy/100_3773.jpg

Hey, he's out of the larval stage - nice!

Don't forget to support Shapelike's efforts in the Friends for Life bike rally! http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=596283&LangPref=en-CA

Drop a few dollars and help out!

I've ridden out there along wilson avenue before... no hills and pretty straight forward... just watch out for the truck traffic around hwy ramps

...baby poop that goes in as breastmilk and out as nuclear waste...

Nope.

baby poop >> nuclear waste

I've dealt with plenty of both to know.:eek:

Don't forget to support Shapelike's efforts in the Friends for Life bike rally! http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=596283&LangPref=en-CA

Drop a few dollars and help out!

What he said. :) I've got a bit of money coming in from some volunteering I did but I'll still need to raise another $1000 after that. Every bit helps!

Did I mention I'm doing the ride on a singlespeed? 38:14 all the way to Montreal FTW!

I've ridden out there along wilson avenue before... no hills and pretty straight forward... just watch out for the truck traffic around hwy ramps

ppl say wilson is okay, but unless ur the master of skitch and trucks are ur friends, i find even car traffic pretty intense along there sometimes. not to mention the road is really really rough the few times i'd been on it.

fwiw, i finally got out to la bicicletta, last night. I have ridden with jeff on the donut before but didn't know he worked there. Tony figured out the wheel inside out just over the phone where other shops would give you the "cosmic........ carbone... yes, just buy a new one, its only $675 clearance"- usually in a funny accent, like when u play mario kart. so yeah, tony is on it and he seems real confident that i don't need a new wheel.. .. and that i won't have a boat anchor.. so fingers crossed.

Kergin: that 100 wheels to get it right, why isn't that made a sticky.....?!?! wish i had known that sooner!!

Holy crap, big congrats Tam! That's awesome. There's a Yahoo! group for the Toronto Freecyclers which is basically a bunch of people giving away stuff, you can pick up all kinds - we got BIG bags of clothing, etc. this way.

Lovely Stratos there, krusty.

mini-Pyze already growing up, wowzer...

I went to my daughters first dance recital for this ballet class she attends, all of a 3 minute performance, but made me beam with pride nonetheless... She starts school in Sept. :eek:

+1 on the trailer vs. bike carrier, I personally don't trust things enough to have had her mounted on my bike for the exact reason pyze said, if I go down/have to ditch, she's still in a 'cage' of sorts. The trailer rides always went smoothly and she seemed to have a blast unless she was napping. Now you can easily cycle the MGT to the Beaches again that they've sorted the Unwin bridge out, that's a lovely non-major road ride (barring Queens Quay) that you can meander on with trailer in-tow.

thanks! will do!



sweet! how old is he now?


do/did any of your partners ride when pregnant or with the kiddies?





really? it's not so different from one of those slings or bunting bags? i guess it depends how old/when you start i guess.


/sabatoge of thread

three months - starting to teethe a little, pyze; actually just lots of drool at the moment.


well my wife's not a cyclist so no she didn't but she did do most of what she would normally do / had enough energy for.

actually i use a sling for jake almost exclusively because of it's likeness to a messenger bag. carries the same way; the big difference is that it sits on the front and it is shaped to fit and support a baby's bum. other than that it's just a $20 piece of canvas. nice and simple.

What he said. :) I've got a bit of money coming in from some volunteering I did but I'll still need to raise another $1000 after that. Every bit helps!

Did I mention I'm doing the ride on a singlespeed in a gold lamé thong? 38:14 all the way to Montreal FTW!

Fixed

Fixed

:lol:

Will try to spare some cash Mike, things are a bit toight with my sis visiting though... edit: yah, this sentence isn't reading well... :p :s

TJ: I heard Sam has something to do with GG, but then claimed otherwise, so I've no clue what's going on... I have my wee one tomorrow so I'll have to miss it anyway... you partaking or looking to checkpoint?

Fixed

How did you know?! :eek:

^^say it ain't so Mike, you know how much lamé chaffes^^

Turns out the wife will be working during race time, so no participation for Daddy. I heard Nadir is the source of info. I won't deliberately put myself to be in position where my daughters get a phone call from either the police or the hospital.

Almost used to my change in gearing.... mmmm so silent.

Results from the Chico 24 (errr 12) Summer Solstice:

http://www.chicoracing.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=319
GO TEAM SNOW!

Nice to see Fuzz, Pyze, Cavern, Veteran, and Shape out there. Regarding the race, all I can say is that they build houses out of clay and grasses. Until this race, I never had pushed a bike downhill and had it endo.

Nice job!

And ya, that course was insanity. My team took it all in stride and kept things fun but HOLY CRAP did people ever come in from those laps looking like ... well, this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3647007659_3395999f94.jpg

After my lap (and its 100 yard mud-sprint finish) I found the first open space in the grass I could spot and collapsed for a few minutes.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3647809662_51b504a58d.jpg

That said, I'll be signing up for Hot August Nights. :)

Maki, this should probably be your Christmas card photo:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3648719107_64147012d7.jpg

From this set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiofstop/sets/72157620068674879/