Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed

I usually just throw on the lycra jobbies under whatever I'm wearing for the padding whenever I know I'm going to be in the saddle for an extended period of time...

Exactly. Or, even better, I think MEC sells ones that are meant to be worn under clothing so they're far thinner and more breathable. I have these (not from MEC), which came with a pair of Swobo shorts I have: http://www.swobo.com/catalog/product_info_m.php?cPath=1151&products_id=726&page=2

I have a pair of Swrve knickers which I really like, for the most part, and I think they're cheaper than the Chrome ones. They fit pretty snug though, even on my chicken legs.

yeah i have a pair of the heavier weight ones (as in heavier fabric, not as in i'm a heavy weight)

they are good but i don't think i'd buy another pair ... i've put a lot of km's on them but they seem to have worn out more than they should have, the fabric seems to get a lot of imperfections as well after being washed even after following the instructions

the built-in chamois is actually really good ... i don't think i ever really felt uncomfortable in them

i still use them but for longer rides i like liners (like matt talked about) and rapha touring shorts

Wondering if anyone can give me a bit of direction... this isn't for FGSS but people seem to know more here than other forums...

It appears that the only place in the city that does fitting for custom Marinoni is La Bicicletta (Bike Specialties guy retired last year??). Anywhere else in the city?

Also if anyone knows of other custom frame fitters/dealers - lemme know. The Marinoni Sportivo line is ideal for me as it's good for road and touring.

Thanks very much for any info.

thanks for the input. looks like i'm heading to mec. i'll take lots of pics.



http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/zip/833427838.html

A little late on this but the Cetma racks rock. While at CMWC Morgan and I did a beer run and he carried 3 24s Cans) back to the shop on his 5 rail that is mounted on his Colnago Olympic Pista! Clearly my dare was not daring enough:

http://i35.tinypic.com/2iudxlz.jpg

he carried 4 24s cans

ftfy

What gearing do y'all use in the city? I have been getting some knee pain as of late (I injured my left knee once when I was 9
and then again, badly, when I was 16)and I think I am going to go down a bit.
Currently, I am at 48X15.

What is the retail price on one of them there Marinoni Pista frame-sets?
Did Canice ever post up pics of her purple one?

48x15 is pretty high. At 25kph you're at 60rpm. Higher cadences (80-100rpm) are better for the knees apparently. My friend's uncle who used to race at the Montreal track told us he used 48x16 most of the time and put the 15 when he got well in shape.

I use a low gear: 40x17. Nice compromise for the city

if i recall correctly a frameset is around $750.

i rode 48X16 for about a year and a half no problems. When I got my marinoni it was 48X15 but I thought that was too high. I ride 48X17 now and it's great.

What gearing do y'all use in the city?
Currently, I am at 48X15.



The only real city gear ratio is 52 x 11. :thumb:

I run 48x18 and once you get used to it it's really comfortable doing most of your spinning at 100 rpm. I ran 48x17 for awhile and I wasn't riding any faster really but didn't feel like I had as much control low speed

Thanks for the input guys, I think I will try to track down a 17t cog as that will give me 17 skid patches with a 48t chainring.
Plus, a cog is cheaper to get than a whole new chainring.

jet:

framesets are $750, full builds are $1500

and no i haven't posted pictures of the purple monster yet. i haven't found the time to snap some pics while i've been out on the bike -- i promise i will soon!

also, i'm in moncton right now and the dieppe velodrome isn't going to have any open track sessions cause of the paralympics (stews in bitterness).

I run 46x17 which seems to work out well for me, I'm actually thinking of going to a 15 so I can keep around 100rpm but go faster (that's the theory, we'll see how I handle it ;))

Yesterday Charlie appeared in the 'People You May Know' area on my Facebook, it kinda threw me for a little loop.

What gearing do y'all use in the city? I have been getting some knee pain as of late (I injured my left knee once when I was 9
and then again, badly, when I was 16)and I think I am going to go down a bit.
Currently, I am at 48X15.

Turdbanite (fixed): 47x18 (I think... maybe 48x18)
Cross bike (freewheel): 42x16
MTB (freewheel): 32x20

;)

I think I'm running 48x16, I like the chrome pants but 145 is too rich for me for a pair of those.

Another FG rider passed me on Danforth today riding my MASI and said "those are nice machines". I assume he was talking about my legs, so I'm flattered ;)

Wondering if anyone can give me a bit of direction... this isn't for FGSS but people seem to know more here than other forums...

It appears that the only place in the city that does fitting for custom Marinoni is La Bicicletta (Bike Specialties guy retired last year??). Anywhere else in the city?

Also if anyone knows of other custom frame fitters/dealers - lemme know. The Marinoni Sportivo line is ideal for me as it's good for road and touring.

Thanks very much for any info.

There's a list of dealers on Marinoni's site and only three (one of which was Bike specialites, which has closed) are listed and I've never heard of the other spot (Z.M. Cycle & Fitness Ltd). There's a couple in the burbs but I have no first hand knowledge if they are competent to do a fitting.

zm cycle fitness is ziggy's shop on Dufferin just north of Rogers. He's a stand up guy.

zm cycle fitness is ziggy's shop on Dufferin just north of Rogers. He's a stand up guy.

Except for race organizing.. :P

Also, Freestyle Rap Battle: Translated. Gold. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6H0i1RAdHk

Thanks to Will for messing up the page with his huge picture! :p

hope it's creeper weed your puffing , I have a 1959 hand built raeigh all original except the bars ,nasty b*tch trying to stop on steel rims in the rain though and yea my brother bent the forks but I still have them http://www.flickr.com/photos/steeker/157633855/sizes/o/

Sarnia weed, field growed. I dont know if that is creeper weed.

And nice specimen! Im still waiting for a chance to get a pic of mine in its cleaner current condition.

As for city cycling, I ran 72.5 gear inches.. I think it was a sixteen in the back? It was great but I was meaning to go to about 75 gear inches. I found the 72.5 great on climbs in the don and off the line, but I found my cadence a bit high at cruising speed. (cruising speed is 25-30kmh IMHO)

Thanks to Will for messing up the page with his huge picture! :p

Seriously. I'm posting again just to speed up the change to a new page! :)

edit: hooray! \o/

I love 950 ml cans of 50 from Montreal....even better in the park with buddies and cheesy beer-league baseball. Is heckling a friendly game of baseball from the grass bleachers wrong?

So the "Summer of Keith" is officially over. Mountain bike season is finished and I now will be working alternate Saturdays at the shop. Fortunately I now have Thursdays off to ride the Don. I am meeting a buddy for an afternoon Don ride tomorrow if anyone is up for it...around 1sh. Stuart?...Pyze?

Hey Wes...any consideration to doing any cross races SS this year? I am banishing the thought of a new cross bike this year with the intention of doing them all SS on my Kula. Will I be the only SS cross rider this year? Time will tell.

I "heart" 44-17 on my street fixed. 69.9 gear inches is my magic #. For the record I think consideration for skid patches when choosing a gear is somewhat mis-guided. If you pull your wheel off to fix a flat, the combination of removing the wheel and changing the tube will re-orient the wheel/tire anyway and put it in a different position, thus new skid patches. Ride the gear you like regardless of skid patches. Just my .02

Hey Wes...any consideration to doing any cross races SS this year? I am banishing the thought of a new cross bike this year with the intention of doing them all SS on my Kula. Will I be the only SS cross rider this year? Time will tell.

I'd consider it more if I was racing M3. I think racing in Senior I'm gonna need all the help I can get! :) That said, I may still try racing on the Biach once or twice. Who knows, I might be faster on it!

Speaking of which.. I totally agree with the idea of making the Masters categories ability based (M1-3), but I don't get why they also raised the age. In all other bike races I've encountered, 30+ = Masters. Why is it different in the Southern Ontario Cyclocross Series only? Even at Provincials Masters = 30+. I call BS on that! I'd rather race with the old guys and I don't wanna wait until I'm 35! :P

Also, I need a new helmet badly. If anyone hears of any end-of-season lid-sales, let me know.

lol! that is awesome!



anybody here own a pair of chrome shins (http://www.chromebags.com/products/apparel/show/44/)? are they any good? i've always heard that they're great but pricey. can anyone recommend something similar? it's about time i get some padding under my butt.

the MEC tripper shorts have similar material to the light-weight shins and about a fifth of the price (plus they're cut so be seamless in the crotch and have articulated knees). i've been thinking about getting a pair of the tripper pants and having them shortened for colder weather.

It's official:

http://livestrongblog.org/2008/09/09/statement-by-lance-armstrong-regarding-global-cancer-fight-and-his-return-to-professional-cycling/?tr=y&auid=3991019

What gearing do y'all use in the city? I have been getting some knee pain as of late (I injured my left knee once when I was 9
and then again, badly, when I was 16)and I think I am going to go down a bit.
Currently, I am at 48X15.

anywhere around 70" works for me just fine. 42x16, 46x18 etc...

I love 950 ml cans of 50 from Montreal....

are they still called "Le Boss"?

I "heart" 44-17 on my street fixed. 69.9 gear inches is my magic #. For the record I think consideration for skid patches when choosing a gear is somewhat mis-guided. If you pull your wheel off to fix a flat, the combination of removing the wheel and changing the tube will re-orient the wheel/tire anyway and put it in a different position, thus new skid patches. Ride the gear you like regardless of skid patches. Just my .02

Yeah, I was just thinking about skids for when there is an emergency. In fact I rarely skid. I put some pretty decent tires on and I really like how much nicer the bike rides with them, so I make an effort to not skid.


It's official:

http://livestrongblog.org/2008/09/09/statement-by-lance-armstrong-regarding-global-cancer-fight-and-his-return-to-professional-cycling/?tr=y&auid=3991019

This is pretty awesome. I like how he says this is an effort to promote the fight against cancer but part of me wonders how much of it was to get back some of the "shine" that cycling used to have. The sport has become badly tarnished since he left and I would imagine there are a lot of teams and sponsers very happy that Lance is coming back

Fortunately I now have Thursdays off to ride the Don.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it out with you sometime in the fall once things slow down...
I haven't been in the don since February!

Sarnia weed, field growed. I dont know if that is creeper weed.

Tell me you're not from Sarnia.

Keith, apparently Tom from Misfit was out on his ss during the other night's practice at Centennial so maybe he plans on racing that this year.

My commuter is at 42/14, while the other fixed gear is 46/15, both on 26" wheels.

No Don rides right now, the mtb is in change over mode, more or a commuter now with moustache bars and slicks, although swapping wheels isn't that hard. Slowing building the khs from JW. Plus I have a few things on the go today.

Keith, apparently Tom from Misfit was out on his ss during the other night's practice at Centennial so maybe he plans on racing that this year.

If he races he probably will at ride his Misfit at first, but I think he's getting canti bosses brazed onto his Steelwool as well. He's not racing this weekend though.


edit: new signature in a sad attempt to get more people out to try 'cross racing. Or at least to come and scream/heckle/ring cowbells at us. :)

It's official:

http://livestrongblog.org/2008/09/09/statement-by-lance-armstrong-regarding-global-cancer-fight-and-his-return-to-professional-cycling/?tr=y&auid=3991019

It'll be interesting to see how well he does after 3 years "off". He actually came in 2nd in the Leadville 100 this year, which was pretty impressive. That said, if he continues to only race The Tour, I'll kinda shrug my shoulders and see what happens. But if he actually races some other grand tours or *gasp* some Spring classics or something I'd be far more interested. I don't see that happening, though.

I wanted to go the last two weeks! Chickened out because of the rain this Tuesday, and now I broke the fork on my "cross" bike :(

Thanks cavit8 and I_bRAD for the response. Just spoke to Ziggy - really nice guy... sounds like the kind of business I want to support.

day one of trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29950894@N02/sets/72157606984258658/

MS bike rally:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155390&l=0cc45&id=810315111

august critical mass:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152755&l=cfcd2&id=810315111

/lurk

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bik/836803101.html

In case anyone might be interested.

What gearing do y'all use in the city? I have been getting some knee pain as of late (I injured my left knee once when I was 9
and then again, badly, when I was 16)and I think I am going to go down a bit.
Currently, I am at 48X15.

SS Street MTB - 28x13
Fixed - 42/15 or 46/16

The more spins the better for that knee.

I'd consider it more if I was racing M3. I think racing in Senior I'm gonna need all the help I can get! :) That said, I may still try racing on the Biach once or twice. Who knows, I might be faster on it!

Speaking of which.. I totally agree with the idea of making the Masters categories ability based (M1-3), but I don't get why they also raised the age. In all other bike races I've encountered, 30+ = Masters. Why is it different in the Southern Ontario Cyclocross Series only? Even at Provincials Masters = 30+. I call BS on that! I'd rather race with the old guys and I don't wanna wait until I'm 35! :P

Also, I need a new helmet badly. If anyone hears of any end-of-season lid-sales, let me know.

In RR they sometimes mix S3/4 with M3. Is this not done for CX? Seems silly if they don't but it might depend on the event.

M2 & M1 are more ability based (in general). M3 is for the old *******s just starting out.

In RR they sometimes mix S3/4 with M3. Is this not done for CX? Seems silly if they don't but it might depend on the event.

M2 & M1 are more ability based (in general). M3 is for the old *******s just starting out.

Well, the S3/4 and M3 guys are all on course at the same time, but that's no better. I just wind up pacing some slow M3 guy instead of going for it. 25 M3s mixed with 5 S3/4s = it's easy to lose your competition in traffic.

It'll be interesting to see how well he does after 3 years "off". He actually came in 2nd in the Leadville 100 this year, which was pretty impressive. That said, if he continues to only race The Tour, I'll kinda shrug my shoulders and see what happens. But if he actually races some other grand tours or *gasp* some Spring classics or something I'd be far more interested. I don't see that happening, though.

I heard from my in-house expert that he plans on doing at least half a dozen big races. Look for him at the Tour of California, even.

Polo Bike: 48x20
Fixed: 49x16, Im thinking about going to a 17 next time I have to switch out my cogs.


No one has posted in over 12 hours here! It's the end of the world!

48-16, hopefully gonna change to 46-16 at somepoint



anyone know where cavernmech works? (i pm'ed him but someone here might respond faster...) *is terrible with names and thinks it is keith, but doenst want to be wrong*


thanks

All rides should include a taco truck and a keg.. (from my sswc adventures). Still periodically adding new pictures to Flickr whenever I get a chance to spit some out of Lightroom.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wes/sets/72157607184282064/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2841283528_ef7c65e2da.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3152/2840448161_f5dab25ca6.jpg

After tacos, beer and 4000+ feet of singlespeed climbing... all smiles. :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2840450041_92cdab7ed4.jpg

anyone know where cavernmech works?

Cycle Solutions on Parliament.

Keith is his name. :)

This video makes me totally ****ing excited for messy cyclocross races. Watch it. Drink it. Join us!

YouTube - Portland Cup USGP Cyclo-Cross '07 - cyclofile.com