carleton

They are fine. At 250 lbs, I used to ride them through Baltimore's crappy roads. I know a 300lb guy that love them.




PS: Congrats on the weight loss.

hairnet

All the kool kids are riding backwards nowadays so I don't know which way is forward

just dank

what is the braking surface like on the silver Sun M13 rims?

carleton

No idea.

Scrodzilla

Machined. On the black ones, it's anodized after machining.

just dank

any idea about the silver ones?

vw addict

Lay off the weed dude, he said machined. As in the silver are machined, he also added that on the black ones they are machined and anodized after. Maybe he shouldn't have provided so much info?

Scrodzilla

Ya dude srsly.

The polished ones are machined, the soft-anodized ones are not (but you can still use brakes on them without any trouble).

just dank

thanks scrod

andrizzle

From: Andrizzle
To: Carleton
CC: Hairnet
Re: FTP

What is FTP?

After a quick google search, I thought it was a way to measure your power (Functional Threshold Power) but I was trolling the "Nashbar FTP problem?" thread and what i gathered from there it sounds like they're talking about a component? I wanted to ask on that thread, but ... I don't feel safe there.

Warm Regards,

ps. thank you for the seat fitting advice. it worked. your advice was appreciated.

streetdude

I am clearly not Carleton, but I feel qualified enough to answer this one.

Fuji Track Pro. Nashbar had a sale and was letting them go for 200 bones.

carleton

+1

In a cycling context, it can also mean Functional Threshold Power which is the max power that a person can sustain without "blowing up". Basically, time trialists want to know what their FTP is so that they can ride fast as they can. Riding under FTP means that they aren't doing their best. Riding over FTP means they "blow up" and their body shuts down. It's a fine balance.

hairnet

and it hurts and you want to die

toosahn

Dear Carleton,

Are you a fan of any steel road-bike/CX frames? After a year of fixed-gear riding on my Mark V, I'm getting a bit bored and I'm looking for a geared bike to at a little variety to my daily riding activities.

I'm looking at these so far:
Surly Cross Check
Soma Smoothie (ES)
Soma Double Cross
Surly Pacer
Surly LHT


Any others that I should look at?

carleton

Are you looking to ride CX? If not, I would suggest a road bike. The angles on CX bikes are slightly more relaxed and the gearing is lower than a standard road bike. Plus I don't like cantilever brakes. They are tough for me to dial in, but maybe I just had cheap ones.

If you are gonna ride CX, you might want to choose an aluminum bike because it will be lighter than a steel bike of similar strength in my opinion (not trying to start a steel vs aluminum fight).

I had a Cannondale CX bike back in 2008-2009. It was OK...then I rode a road bike and was much happier with the lighter bike (the CX bike had a MTB style rigid fork), larger gearing, and more responsive fork and head tube angles. On the other hand, CX bikes clear much larger tires, knobbies even. So, that's a big plus for city riding. A road bike will only be guaranteed to clear 23c tires...maybe 25.

I know I steer people to road bikes a lot, but it's a "pick the right tool for the job" thing. I once had a really, really nice full suspension MTB when I lived in SF. I think it was a GT I-Drive. It absolutely sucked Gold Bond balls at doing anything but riding trails.

calbob76

Dear Carleton,

What's the best thing for getting my hands clean after working with bike chains?

toosahn

Carleton,

Thanks for the reply! I'm kinda looking for a do-everything bike that will serve as commuter, tourer and joy-rider. I dunno if that even exists.

I'm not looking to don a full kit and go riding with my helmet and shades, but I want something I can ride to school/work day-in and day-out and then take it from the East Bay to the coast of Marin on the weekends if need be and do it all comfortably.

chambers078

I know several people who swear by the long haul trucker as their all around bike.

It's a workhorse with a bit of get up and go.

By the way, I don't own a surly and I'm not affiliated with them in any way. Just passing on high praise.

Kayce

I have figured out that my two biggest problems on the track are stregnth and kicking into overdrive. I have gotten lots of good advise about getting the extra push. But the answer to the stregnth question is lifting. But no one I go to here has any program suggestions. So I have a few questions

Should I start a lifting program mid season or just do my on bike programs for now?
Any suggestions for a thin vegan spinner on a lifting plan?
Or any online resources for me to look into?

nuhtowel

Dear Carleton,

After my 7 week hiatus of riding bikes, for some reason my clipless pedals are making my feet numb. After riding a bunch over the past week, my feet feel so weird that I can't even fall asleep right now. How do I make this go away? My cleats have always been pretty far forward on my shoe.

Love,
Chris

carleton

This is what I use.


This is why people own multiple bikes. Maybe ask in the Road or Commuting forums?

It depends on how seriously you want to take this season. You don't have to lift super heavy right now. You can basically do a 2x/week maintenance lifting program. This is the kind of program that track riders do during the season to try to keep the strength they have gained over the winter. But it should provide you some moderate gains until you switch to a full on strength phase in the winter.

OR

You can do on-the-bike strength training. This is also effective. Basically, do lots of over-gear strength work and under-gear legspeed work and such. I'm not familiar with such a program, but I've heard of some really, REALLY fast guys on such a program. Like Elite National Champions.

So, I guess it comes down to horses for courses. What program do you think your body will respond to. For me, weight lifting woke up my sprint power.

If you are gonna lift, you will need protein. So, start doing research into vegan protein options.

There is another site that is exclusively for track racing, but unfortunately it's not a very friendly or welcoming place...especially for new riders. So a few "strong personalities" (read: jerks) run everyone off. It's a good place to lurk for info though. I'll PM you.

carleton

The pedals/cleats have little to do with foot circulation just like the rubber sole on your sneakers. Maybe your shoes are too tight.

Read here about common foot issues with regards to cycling: https://www.cptips.com/footsyn.htm

just dank

What is the best 700c gum wall tire with a high psi rating? 23 & 25 if possible.

carleton

No idea. I don't buy tires simply because they have a gum wall or not.

yummygooey

Now it just seems like people are using carleton to do their Googling for them...