Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

Some guy is just asking for it.

Search
Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

Some guy is just asking for it.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-01-06 | 10:53 AM
  #51  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,546
Likes: 1
From: Beantown

Bikes: 2011 Tsunami, 2004 Fuji Team Issue and More!!!

Originally Posted by fmw
After dropping a 200 HP John Deere tractor with 4 wheels in the back, the farmer raised his fist and shifted into overdrive. Smoke poured from the stack and his hay baler began bouncing on the pavement. His challenge was clear. I was spinning up a 42% grade into a 45 mph headwind with 60mph gusts. When I saw the raised fist and the forward lurch of the John Deere, I shifted into my 53 ring and mashed down hard. As I approached the top of the hill, I was spinning at 28 mph. I think this was a personal best on a 42% grade. I decided that what I really wanted to do was to ride circles around the farmer so I descended the hill hitting 79 mph, screeched to a halt and did the climb one more time, reaching the summit just before the tractor, dropping it a second time. The farmer bowed in appreciation and respect and the two of us headed off in different directions. I wish I had recorded the watts. Must have been a lot them, though.

LMAO
FormerBMX'er is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:07 AM
  #52  
merlinextraligh's Avatar
pan y agua
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,809
Likes: 1,232
From: Jacksonville

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Originally Posted by jsharr
Have you looked into getting a large digital readout mounted on your backpack that displays your wattage to the riders you just dropped?
I think they had how to do that in popular mechanics a few months back.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:07 AM
  #53  
DanO220's Avatar
SoCal Commuter
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 592
Likes: 0
From: Agua Dulce, CA

Bikes: Surly Crosscheck single/9 speed convertible, Novara Buzz beater

Yea, the tractor bit is the best. It had me laughing out loud here at work.

But seriously; I say we take up a collection and get that MTB rider on a decent road bike and then watch him blow Mr. 600Durace into the weeds.

I ride a single speed. Does that mean I have just one watt... or what? Anyway, I'm no slouch, but I've been surprised on more than one occasion by day laborers riding 35 lb Walmart mountain bikes in denim jackets and work boots. Sure, I might have been toward the end of a 40 mile ride, but these guys can throw down some watts of their own. Perhaps thats because they ride because they have to, not because they want to.

DanO
DanO220 is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:08 AM
  #54  
Senior Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,138
Likes: 324

Bikes: 2 many

Originally Posted by slvoid
In this category, I believe 2manybikes with this multiple HID lights would win. Somewhere between the lupines, L&M's, and niteriders, I believe he's sporting the equivalent of 3-400 watts of light...

I just realized he can save a lot of batteries if he got a tandem and had R600 powering his lights while he biked.

excellent.

You need to warn me to turn away from the monitor if I have coffee in my mouth ! I'm going to get busted for laughing too. I really am LOL.

So I turned up my lights to 400 watts......... and I put the hammer down..............mechBgon was close behind, he was drafting in the electromagnetic field. All of a sudden slvoid went to high beam and came from behind at the last second..........he was running TWO Nightrider tailights ! ! The reverse magnetic field in his tailight cables swung him around like a track racer. He dropped us both......the spirit of Ringo lives on.

Next week....... mech brings the big guns ! The new tailight!
2manybikes is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:08 AM
  #55  
genec's Avatar
genec
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 27,072
Likes: 4,533
From: West Coast

Bikes: custom built, sannino, beachbike, giant trance x2

Originally Posted by Urban Shooter
Why do people continue to bore us with their wattage?
I just want to know how they accurately measure it.

My little converter here says 440watts is about .59 horsepower. But where did he get the figure in the first place?
genec is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:22 AM
  #56  
flythebike's Avatar
Wher'd u Get That Jacket?
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere in the Tubes

Bikes: Calfee Dragonfly, Lemond Poprad, Airborne Manhatten Project, Calfee Luna Fixie

Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Ok rushing in where angels fear to tread, 440watts for 30 seconds and 290 watts for 5 minutes is extremely pedestrian. Unless you weigh 120 pounds, these are OTB numbers in a Cat 5 race.
Well I suppose you're right, but I don't know about OTB in a 5 race. I don't really train with watts, though I have had a fitness test. My max wattage at exhaustion was like 420 or something, so 430 didn't sound bad to me - but the test started at 100 watts and went up 20 watts every minute, so by the time I was a max wattage I had been over threshold for 6 minutes. I mean, I'm a cat 3 with the points to cat up to 2 so I realize among racers he isn't like Lance but those numbers aren't that bad if he kept going 290 for a lot longer, anyway - but at that point he had dusted the guy.

Everybody just loves to pick on R600DA. I personally think it is annoying as heck when other people start racing you when you're just doing your thing. So that is why I took his side.
flythebike is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:22 AM
  #57  
sabaka's Avatar
Southern Gentleman
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 148
Likes: 0
From: Muscle Shoals, AL

Bikes: 99 Specialized Allez Comp, 03 Cannondale F400, 02 Motobecane Cafe Latte

Originally Posted by genec
I just want to know how they accurately measure it.

My little converter here says 440watts is about .59 horsepower. But where did he get the figure in the first place?
From here: https://www.cycleops.com/products/powertappro.htm
sabaka is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:37 AM
  #58  
chipcom's Avatar
Infamous Member
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 24,360
Likes: 6
From: Ohio

Bikes: Surly Big Dummy, Fuji World, 80ish Bianchi

Originally Posted by R600DuraAce
I shifted into my big ring and on my 53 x 14. Stood up and attacked.
__________________
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
chipcom is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 11:47 AM
  #59  
merlinextraligh's Avatar
pan y agua
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,809
Likes: 1,232
From: Jacksonville

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Originally Posted by flythebike
Well I suppose you're right, but I don't know about OTB in a 5 race. I don't really train with watts, though I have had a fitness test. My max wattage at exhaustion was like 420 or something, so 430 didn't sound bad to me - but the test started at 100 watts and went up 20 watts every minute, so by the time I was a max wattage I had been over threshold for 6 minutes. I mean, I'm a cat 3 with the points to cat up to 2 so I realize among racers he isn't like Lance but those numbers aren't that bad if he kept going 290 for a lot longer, anyway - but at that point he had dusted the guy.

Everybody just loves to pick on R600DA. I personally think it is annoying as heck when other people start racing you when you're just doing your thing. So that is why I took his side.
Flythebike, that would indicate to me that your LT watts are somewhere in the mid 300's, consistent with an average sized Cat 3. I'd bet your 30 second critical power would be more like 600 to 700 watts. Way above R600's 290 for 5 minutes, and 430 for 30 seconds.

See https://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/...profile_v4.gif

Last edited by merlinextraligh; 06-01-06 at 11:55 AM.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 12:30 PM
  #60  
LowCel's Avatar
Throw the stick!!!!
Titanium Club Membership
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 18,150
Likes: 93
From: Charleston, WV

Bikes: GMC Denali

Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Flythebike, that would indicate to me that your LT watts are somewhere in the mid 300's, consistent with an average sized Cat 3. I'd bet your 30 second critical power would be more like 600 to 700 watts. Way above R600's 290 for 5 minutes, and 430 for 30 seconds.

See https://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/...profile_v4.gif
Yeah, R600's numbers are not very impressive at all. I am just a cat 4 yet my threshold (30 minutes) was 297 last time I was checked. Holding 450 watts for 30 seconds is not all that difficult either. I see numbers that high for a couple of minutes at a time during climbs. During sprints they are much, much higher.

If you are going to brag at least do it with some impressive superman type numbers.
__________________
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
LowCel is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 12:30 PM
  #61  
catatonic's Avatar
Chairman of the Bored
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,825
Likes: 2
From: St. Petersburg, FL

Bikes: 2004 Raleigh Talus, 2001 Motobecane Vent Noir (Custom build for heavy riders)

All I do:

1) shift my butt to the back of the saddle
2) shift my pelvis forward.
3) spin the 44-11 on my MTB
4) get out my sindproof lighter
5) put lighter to butt
6) fart and ignite
7) 15 seconds later look back at the ppor chump who's now on fire, running around and screaming "AHHH MY D***S ON FIRE, MY D***S ON FIRE AHHHHHHH!!!!!"

...Taco Bell, it's how chumps are burned.
catatonic is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 12:35 PM
  #62  
O-Town's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
From: Saint Pete

Bikes: Seven Axiom Steel, Surly LHT

Oh yea...well my Dad rides faster than your Dad!
O-Town is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 12:58 PM
  #63  
georgiaboy's Avatar
Retro-nerd
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,638
Likes: 57
From: Morningside - Atlanta

Bikes: 1991 Serotta Colorado II, 1986 Vitus 979, 1971 Juene Classic, 2008 Surly Crosscheck, 1956 Riva Sport

To me R600DuraAce posts before and now have always been satirical. For that reason I chuckle at them and don't take them seriously. Take a minute and think about his user name. He has included in his name a reference to an elite race gearing for bicycles, how pompous. But its humorous.

Kind of like the movie Dr. Strangelove where Kubrick made us laugh in the same way with the character Generral Jack D. Ripper:

He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
__________________
Would you like a dream with that?
georgiaboy is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 01:30 PM
  #64  
Cerberusgl's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
From: Sacramento, CA
42% slope 28 MPH no wind

www.analyticcycling.com

Frontal Area 0.50 m2
Coefficient Wind Drag 0.50 dimensionless
Air Density 1.226 kg/m3
Weight 75.0 kg
Coefficient of Rolling 0.004 dimensionless
Grade 0.420 decimal
Wind Resistance 23.9 kg m/s2
Rolling Resistance 2.9 kg m/s2
Slope Force 308.9 kg m/s2
Cadence 100. rev/min
Crank Length 170. mm
Pedal Speed 1.78 m/s
Average Pedal Force 2357.8 kg m/s2
Effective Pedaling Range 70. degree
Effective Pedal Force 6062.9 kg m/s2
Speed 12.50 m/s
Power 4197.5 watts
Cerberusgl is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 01:57 PM
  #65  
Bklyn's Avatar
Ex-Lion Tamer
 
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 0
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bikes: 1982 Lotus Legend (steel-frame touring bike); 1982 Fuji S10S (converted to a singlespeed: 46x16); Specialized Crossroads hybrid (the child taxi).

This is a cautionary tale! How far into cycling can you get before you pass through the Membrane of Beatitude and become a tool in "team kit" racing a mountain bike on the most-populated MUP in the United States? We should look for the warning signs! Just today, I was thinking that I'd like to know just how fast I'm going up First Avenue, as I pass or run alongside the taxicabs. Now, after reading this, I'm not so interested. I'm convinced that the cyclocomputer is the gateway drug to tooldom. Computer users, beware.
As for the tractor, I know that guy. Shortly after your "race," fmw, the guy had a nervous breakdown. Now he sits on a bench in front of city hall, whittling a replica of an Easton carbon fork and muttering, "Wattage, wattage, wattage...." Sometimes I give him the half of the sandwich I didn't finish. He is a shell of a man.
Bklyn is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 02:27 PM
  #66  
Artkansas's Avatar
Pedaled too far.
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 12,851
Likes: 9
From: La Petite Roche
Well, I do have to agree with R600 on one tiny point. It is annoying to find some clown who speeds up to pass you and having passed you, slows down; and does it repeatedly. Cyclists like that are morons.

It's worse on a regular commute where you meet this moron day after day. I'm not really into racing in the morning, and after several days of this behavior and showing such them that yes, I am consistently faster than him and hoping that he will eventually just quit trying to force me to follow him, I just find an alternate route because clearly, he is not learning, and I don't wish to contribute to whatever pathetic dialog he has going in his head.
Artkansas is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 02:29 PM
  #67  
fmw's Avatar
fmw
Hoosier Pedaler
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,432
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Patriot
Maybe it's just me, but I grew up on a farm. So, I guess I have a unique humorous perspective.

Now, my gut is thoroughly busted.
I live on a farm and actually own a John Deere. I drop tractors all the time around here on the roads. I exaggerated the numbers just a tad, but the story wan't too far from the truth.
__________________
Fred
A tour of my stable of bicycles
fmw is offline  
Reply
Old 06-01-06 | 06:03 PM
  #68  
slvoid's Avatar
2-Cyl, 1/2 HP @ 90 RPM
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,762
Likes: 5
From: NYC

Bikes: 04' Specialized Hardrock Sport, 03' Giant OCR2 (SOLD!), 04' Litespeed Firenze, 04' Giant OCR Touring, 07' Specialized Langster Comp

I just realize we've been duped by some computer nerd sitting behind a desk making up stories, arg, I fall for it every time...
slvoid is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 01:06 AM
  #69  
scottmorrison99's Avatar
New! With Self Loathing!
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,618
Likes: 0
From: Fairfield, California

Bikes: 2013 Jamis Xenith T time trial bike, 2013 Jamis Xenith Elite

R600, I get the feeling you're trying to compenisate for something...
__________________
Scotty

Weird Bike Guy Blog
scottmorrison99 is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 05:06 AM
  #70  
slvoid's Avatar
2-Cyl, 1/2 HP @ 90 RPM
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,762
Likes: 5
From: NYC

Bikes: 04' Specialized Hardrock Sport, 03' Giant OCR2 (SOLD!), 04' Litespeed Firenze, 04' Giant OCR Touring, 07' Specialized Langster Comp

He has small breasts and the pushups aren't working.
slvoid is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 06:15 AM
  #71  
Cyclaholic's Avatar
CRIKEY!!!!!!!
Titanium Club Membership
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4,276
Likes: 702
From: all the way down under

Bikes: several

Coming home to federation space via DS9 on impulse power just running some diagnostics on the warp core. An hour earlier I was enjoying a deliscious klingon dinner with the high council. I was carrying a fresh load of dylithium crystals. I'll be taking shore leave tomorrow at planitia utopia while the enterprise is in space dock having the warp nacelles overhauled. All of a sudden navigation sensors pick up this cargo hauler blowing by at warp one and drops to impulse right in front of me, I mean this bucket of bolts was leaking antimatter all over the place yet the phred piloting it thought he was in a klingon bird of prey or a romulan warbird! mind you this is in a charted flight corridor so you just don't drop in and out of warp. Fine, I let him go ahead, so he scanned me and slowed down and forced me to take evasive maneouvers and go around, he punched it up to warp one and did it again. This went on a few more times untill I realised that mine is bigger than his so I called "shields up, red alert" and all hands went to battle stations. I took out his rear shield generators with the first phaser shot and locked on a spread of photon torpedos, he opened a communication channel and begged for mercy, I put it up on the viever and gave him THE LOOK, I fired the torpedos and blew by him at warp 9 as he was vaporised.

Ready for some terrawattage? at impulse I was at 0.5 terrawatt, at top speed I was doing warp 9.1 (about 1600 times the speed of light) at 5 million terrawatts. I knew when the torpedos hit he wouldn't be able to get back on my nacelles and would blow up. I scanned back and not surprisingly he was just a cloud of dust. I hope the cargo he was carrying wasn't too valuable.
__________________
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore
Cyclaholic is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 07:09 AM
  #72  
TexasGuy's Avatar
That darn Yankee
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,284
Likes: 0
From: West West Fort Worth

Bikes: Mongoose XR-100, Eros Bianchi

Originally Posted by HenryL
Since this is a commuter thread I really have to ask the original poster...

Who cares how much wattage you produced? Next we will have the road rage forum.
That would be quite humorous. I'm sure we'd have one to 2 forceful submissions a day to thatl.
__________________
Life is about hanging onto what you think is important and finding out what really is important.
"Stop Ruining my joke!", "No, a joke implies humor attached at no additional cost"
So many sayings, so little sig space.
TexasGuy is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 07:11 AM
  #73  
TexasGuy's Avatar
That darn Yankee
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,284
Likes: 0
From: West West Fort Worth

Bikes: Mongoose XR-100, Eros Bianchi

Originally Posted by DanO220
Yea, the tractor bit is the best. It had me laughing out loud here at work.

But seriously; I say we take up a collection and get that MTB rider on a decent road bike and then watch him blow Mr. 600Durace into the weeds.

I ride a single speed. Does that mean I have just one watt... or what? Anyway, I'm no slouch, but I've been surprised on more than one occasion by day laborers riding 35 lb Walmart mountain bikes in denim jackets and work boots. Sure, I might have been toward the end of a 40 mile ride, but these guys can throw down some watts of their own. Perhaps thats because they ride because they have to, not because they want to.

DanO
Ditto.
__________________
Life is about hanging onto what you think is important and finding out what really is important.
"Stop Ruining my joke!", "No, a joke implies humor attached at no additional cost"
So many sayings, so little sig space.
TexasGuy is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 11:40 AM
  #74  
flythebike's Avatar
Wher'd u Get That Jacket?
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere in the Tubes

Bikes: Calfee Dragonfly, Lemond Poprad, Airborne Manhatten Project, Calfee Luna Fixie

Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Flythebike, that would indicate to me that your LT watts are somewhere in the mid 300's, consistent with an average sized Cat 3. I'd bet your 30 second critical power would be more like 600 to 700 watts. Way above R600's 290 for 5 minutes, and 430 for 30 seconds.

See https://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/...profile_v4.gif
Thanks for sharing the diagram.

Actually when they tested me my LT was either 280 or 300. It was in October of last year, so at the end of a long season full of (35) races, therefore you might be right as it has likely improved after a winter of some rest, and more training. But, they commented that that likely showed why I tend to finish well: I could ride above threshold for twice as long as most people. My sprint tends to be rather long as well. I say this mainly by way of encouraging people to take these kinds of tests, they really can tell you things about yourself that you didn't know, especially your training zones. Now when I'm in a tough finale, I know other people are having more trouble than I am, even if it hurts me a lot too. I'll probably re-test pretty soon, at least again at the end of this season, and it will be super-interesting to compare the difference.

As far as R600DA goes, perhaps he hasn't reached 'critical mass' through his training yet. Therefore his race results aren't anything to crow about, so it makes him feel good to crush people who challenge him in other venues. If it makes him feel good and he doesn't hurt anybody, the worst thing that can happen is he'll have an overdeveloped ego.

I've won three races out of my last 15 starts or so, going back to my last cat 4 race, but the stronger I get at this level, the more I realize what a big pond it is. The higher you go the more guys there are who are good at what you are good at, and the more breaks there are and tactics - so while I can dust almost anybody out there on the bike trail, I am so aware that there are many, many elite guys who could steal my lunch. R600DA should keep it in perspective!
flythebike is offline  
Reply
Old 06-02-06 | 02:27 PM
  #75  
shaq-d's Avatar
been ridin?
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 598
Likes: 0
From: toronto

Bikes: serotta cti

lol, hilarious thread, best i've read in a while
shaq-d is offline  
Reply


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.