rootboy 

Always tying up flies.

Why, I don't know. Got enough to last a life time.
Creative outlet I suppose.

bulldog1935

actually, it would make that ride just fine
I rode my old Raleigh 25mi this morning, climbed the 2-mile hill to the halfway park, another up Amman rd, passed many group riders, and it's a 400' (steep) climb from Cibolo Creek to my house

a few summers ago my friends were training on their tandem to climb Donner pass.
We rode from Musebach Creek (Luchenbach) over the old tunnel, down to Waring and back.
I rode my Raleigh because it was only bike I had gears to climb from Waring to Alamo Springs

good fly fishing below Vanderpool
really not showing off here, but recovering my cats whisker

my first 5000 mi on a bicycle were in cut-offs, tube socks and damn, I miss Avocet mod 20 touring shoes

Bandera

Actually I was referring to my old Raleigh in the attached pic, a '56AW/Cyclo 3 cog set-up w/ a low gear of 41GI
isn't Vanderpool gearing but the ability to shift at a stop is really old-school tech appropriate for a town bike.

For the long, steep and challenging routes in the Hill Country I choose the modern-ish CF Merckx w/ composite CF wheels. Horses for courses....
Stock pic attached.

As always, suit yourself.

-Bandera

Cyclist0108

The Maxwell relations come from the First and Second law, and the Legendre transformation of the thermodynamic potentials (like Gibbs to Helmholz free energy). They don't say anything about molecules one way or another. Glad you did well in the class. Mine was a bloodbath.

Cyclist0108

I think we need a neo-retrogrouch category. Although my 1987 Bianchi definitely fits most if not all the criteria, my 2014 custom steel-frame bike has a sloping top-tube, tig welds, Di2, hydraulic brakes, a carbon Enve CX fork, XTR trail pedals (in blue), some Chris Bling, and 40mm tires on it at the moment. (It does have a nice classic-looking Brooks saddle complete with the copper wide rivets).

noglider 

I'll never forget the time I misjudged a heavy rider. He was 20 years older than I was. I thought he was a poser. Turns out, I was the one with the judgmental attitude. I just about blew my body up trying to keep up with him for a few miles.

gomango

Heh, I'll drop you a pm this weekend.

Vacationing in the Dominican Republic this winter and my CFO has authorized me to bring my Salmon/Musky rod.

Could use your expertise for some saltwater gear for sure.

bulldog1935

I don't remember exactly when it was, but somewhere along the way, cyclists started trying to look like cyclists.

Bandera

That would be right after the turn of the 19th century, some pre & post WWII pics attached.

Woolen jerseys & shorts w/ a natural chamois were not that comfortable in TX heat, when lycra kit became available in the '70's we converted post haste.

-Bandera

bulldog1935

ok, and every one of those is a photo of racers (most of the people I pass aren't racers, even if they choose to look like one - had them get offended when I passed them on my upright).
here, I'm not the only one who thinks this way
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...P=share_btn_fb

Chamois in Texas - sit on a blanket. The whole point of a hammock leather saddle is cooling - you don't have to sit on a blanket and can ride all day (or as long as you have water), and weight-wise, it's about the same as a carbon pan saddle, gel, and a soaked chamois and chafing creme.
BTW, have you ever stopped at a roadside peach vendor. It's the only time I eat peaches, but they're incredible then.

The Aussies are onto something with Merino wool. The lightest icebreaker is the most comfortable thing I own for summer riding.
Our Sunday group is a fun ride - we take over downtown streets before the coffee shops open.
The group couldn't be more serious and diverse.

Bandera

You wanted to know:

Those are "cyclists" in the pics attired for the sport of cycling in the their period from 1932 on to answer the question.

It's not astonishing that for several reasons, one of which is that competive riders are/have always been a very small percentage of the bicycling population. Another reason should be obvious on reflection.

-Bandera

bulldog1935

but
the connotation of serious cyclist is an image that matches this photo
(at rest stops, I've actually had people talk to me about the serious cyclists they know, assuming that I'm not - and yes, I smile)


the largest percentage of cyclists are riding the wrong bikes and wearing the wrong clothes, and many of them just happen to be round

btw, answering rhetorical questions, well, never mind

crank_addict

Admit sometimes I'm retrogrouchi. Don't know why I bothered reading this ebay article when first seeing the glaring image of the bike. Take that pixel thing off the bars and the dohicky off the saddle please. At least for the photo session. Jeez.

Your Guide to Buying Vintage Bike Accessories | eBay

AlexCyclistRoch

You know, after seeing those classic pics, I think that next time I go out for a ride, I'll put my spare tire around my shoulders, like they used to do....

Salamandrine 

Yep. I got my first cycling shorts - wool - in the summer of 1979. That same year I joined my local VC and saw lycra shorts for the first time on a century in the santa cruz mountains. They seemed to be from outer space. By 1980 no one at all was riding wool shorts anymore. There was no transition period; it was instant. They were totally superior. I seem to recall wool jerseys lingered on for a few more years though. By the mid 80s I went off to college and wasn't really paying attention.

What I really want to know is if anyone is enough of a retrogrouch to still be pedaling with cleated cycling shoes and clips&straps?

vtchuck

I might say since the advent of disco.

There is still some great pop music being made, e.g. Fountains of Wayne, but its considered "Alternative".

A good link is: Pop Geek Heaven | It's all...POWER POP!

Bandera

@79Mooney: Hardcore clips/straps/cleats riding fixed gear.
Tough to out-retro that.....

-Bandera

jimmuller 

Clips and straps. No cleats though. Never used 'em. Never needed 'em. Cleats? Modern techno-stuff. Never touch 'em.

Mobile 155

Slight topic drift warning.

I was pretty much just reading through many of these posts till I realized you hit on a phrase that often drives a knife between one group of cyclists and another. What people decide to wear when riding a bike and what they ride being right or wrong for them.

I happen to live in an area where I see way more cyclists in kit than I do on touring bikes. So because a loaded touring bike is "out of place" of course we stop to look and talk about the machine. After all we wouldn't be out on bikes if we didn't like bikes. However that being said it doesn't indicate we don't know what we want or that we should be on a touring bike. That is what N+1 is for.

While the touring bike posted earlier by you in post 123 was interesting it was just such a bike that I hardly ever see riding up and down the coast of Southern California. In fact I see maybe 100 drop bar road bikes and 100 MTBs or hybrids for every touring bike riding down the road. So I am not sure what a large percentage of people riding the wrong bike or wearing the wrong cloths are. Should they not ride the bike they like? Should they not dress they way the feel?

Believe it or not cycling specific clothes have a reason for existing. I have several that I use quite often and find the lack of seams where the body doesn't like seams a nice touch. A jersey dries out a lot faster than a cotton T-shirt, however I have bought several t-shirts made of wicking material so when I ride somewhere to have lunch with my Bent friends I can look "normal" to them. They can be even more insufferable than the few retro friends I have.

So while we often hear things like, "those Lycra clad racer wannabes should realize other might just want to wear what they like", it is most often code for they shouldn't wear lycra because the speaker doesn't approve.

Just an observation.

bulldog1935

actually, they dress the way they're sold

the industry marketing stuffs it down their throats and it's hard for them to see anything else.


There is a mass migration of bikes on carriers out to my borough every weekend.
I literally saw 200 group riders this morning between 7 and 9a.
I see a lot of the same people who come out to my area to ride.
I noticed a 300-lb guy struggling on a bike.
Next time I saw him, his bars were higher and he was in baggy shorts.
He figured it out.

sounds like there may be two types of people on this forum page - people who collect steel, and people who ride steel

Mobile 155

I just started riding a FG this year. I can see clipped in but not with straps and traps.

bulldog1935

I've never gone to clipless, even though my buddy has preached it to me for 30 years (we've been riding together since 6th grade).
I saw him fall over at a stoplight one day.
His daughter rides clipless with him on his tandem but on the '85 Shogun Frankenbike she just built (came out splendid), she gave up and went with some nice narrow spiked platforms - and she's fast on them.
I ride one bike with toe clips and straps (not cleats) and with the right shoes (and right straps - Binda) they're automatic to load feet.

Mobile 155

You could be right. Then some ride whatever they like at the time. But that may be why this thread was started to see where people stood on the scale of retro and how set in their ways people are. When I was into Black Powder shooting there were a lot of people that shot and collected old guns. Then there were the ones that came to the events in period dress. Some looked like mountain men, some looked like Civil war soldiers. I don't think the industry was into selling clothing that mountain men wore but some did it none the less.

Bandera

Actually it's a pretty big tent in C&V. Some like myself have machines that have become C&V by attrition, some are only now able to acquire the machine they always wanted in their youth and others who bought some old bike and just like riding it.

Dogmatic adherence to some arbitrary mindset about "how it was/how it should be" requires membership in the Period Correct Police. Applications are still being accepted.

BTW: Here's a pic of a machine of mine that has been in continuous service for 39 years, 1st as a road racing bike and for >25 years as a fixed gear.
Steel, 19th century drivetrain and original owner, Retro w/o being Grouchy.

As always, suit yourself.

-Bandera

bulldog1935

a 50-something goes into a bike shop and a 30-something outfits him.
He has the choice of being serious (sporty), mountain or comfort/hybrid = less than sporty.
Two weeks later he is suffering cervical strain because he is leaning on his bars with his neck twisted back, instead of supporting himself with core muscles - not riding on his neck and shoulders. If he gets a bike set up right for his age and condition, he will eventually get into shape that he can ride anything. But there is a good chance he just bought a $1500 garage decoration. Most weekend warriors would be better off on a well-thought-out steel bike than trying to mimic TdF
I see them every weekend, they don't ride like Tdf, they don't spin, they putt along, and I pass them on my upright.
I'm not passing them to be competitive, but just because they're in the way...

You guys are making a lot of editorials about my posts, and bordering on calling me names. I'm just posting my observations here, and I have been riding seriously for 40 years. I ride 120-130mi every week (lets me eat however I want) - all on steel. My togs are bike specific and don't have seams in the wrong places. But you can't go to a bike shop and buy them. I drank the Grant koolaid and like it. I'm also very friendly with everyone, on the road and especially at bike stops.
My bikes tend to start conversations at every bike stop. When people tell me my tire pressure is too low, my handlebars are all wrong, I smile and listen.
I've designed my gearsets for the job at hand, which is the Texas hill country. and getting me up that 400' climb at the end of a long ride.