It took me a second of reading the opening paragraph - but why is WIRED writing anything about bicycle equipment?

Also, everyone KNOWS spoke cards make the fastest wheels, but only when you run an Aerospoke or HED.3 in the front.

:lol:


sorry Wes *hangs head in shame*:(

Drop the Hammer! :P

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...0110123523.jpg

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2008...mmer_felttk108

ps. that's a 54x15. :)

Pffft, easy peasy... *gets bionic knee replacements* ;)

Anxious at getting my bike back with a new BB in, it's going to feel so weird - though after a thorough clean+chain clean+lube the bike felt beautiful in comparison this morning, even with the BB issue.

Do you guys clean as routine, or as needed? I'm meaning more mechanical cleaning - rather than just making the frame look pretty... I hadn't done my chain in a good 4-6 weeks and it really felt it.

Also, do you guys stretch as part of your biking? Even when just commuting? I find when I'm hammering to work and back it's not such a big deal (4km) but when I'm heading across town and back, I feel my legs - but am terrible at stretching - I wonder if stretching *every* time will help my legs recover quicker and get stronger - especially for when I'm riding fixed on the street as more a regular thing.

On my fixed, I like to keep the chain clean and lubed, so about 1~2/week. On my beater Concorde, whenever I feel like it :P I don't like to ride my C-dale in this muck, so it stays inside most of the winter.

I don't stretch, but since riding fixed, I've noticed that I'm *much* more tired each day after riding distances >20km. Maybe fixed is just a significantly better workout than geared?

cleansing:
-commuter: about once weekly clean/lube for the drivetrain. probably quarterly for the rest of the frame/wheels/etc. :P
-mtb/cx bikes: thorough cleaning/lubing after every race. drivetrain every ride or two, everything else just when it gets messy

Obviously those all vary depending on the conditions I'm riding in. e.g. Wet weather = more lube. I put a new chain on my urbanite last night and I felt like full on stealth mode this morning. hooray!

stretching:
-several times a week as part of my normal routine
-before/after races or long rides.. or just generally when things feel toight.
-never for commuting, but my commute is like 7km round trip and I usually take it pretty easy

If your muscles feel sore/etc stretching might help (and is a good idea generally anyway), but so will some carbs+protein immediately after you're done.

While we're on the topic of drivetrain maintenance, I have a quick question to throw out there about noise.. my chainline appears to be bang on, but my conversion has always been a bit "grindy" from the cog end. I had done the conversion using an older chain, so I bought a new chain yesterday thinking it'd fix the problem. There's no visible wear on the chainring, and the cog is almost new.. but it's still a bit noisy. Oh yeah -- everything's 3/32.. and the sound seems to happen regardless of amount of chain slack. Any random thoughts?

Drivetrain: about once a week I wipe down the chain and re-lube. I get the derailleur pivots at this time too. Less often than that I wipe down the wheels and frame and put a little oil on each spoke nipple.

Also, the ice race is official now. Feb 16 @ 6pm.

Who all is racing? I have my wheels pretty much done, and I have the parts gathered for the rest... now I just gotta go through the tedium of putting all the studs in.

I am...gonna build up a new set of tires this year too. I am heading out to the "House O Screws" tomorrow if anyone needs any.

I'm racing as well. Should be fun.

*eyes up the competition*

I was considering the Lew carbon rims ($750 MSRP) until I realized that one hit and it's an instant replace. The Reynolds DV46C's look cool, except for the lame words all over the rim.

P.S A buddy of mine is looking to start couriering. Do any of you guys in the know have any advice on what companies to avoid/ride for? PM me if info is classified.

Oh man, I've been a runner since I was 10 and I really got into cycling as a form of transportation and am now thoroughly consumed by it as a sport. Speaking from years of experience, stretching is likely more important than the work itself. Especially afterwards just before you're cooled off. Stick with it for a week and you won't want to leave it ever again. I do quite a few yoga stretches and pilates (laugh if you like) nearly every night about three hours before bed. It helps your breathing and my recovery is loads quicker than most of my mates. Just try out a few techniques and STICK WITH IT. Cheers friend!

Haha Sounds great! Wish I could have been there.

Oh no you dint.

P.S. I've finished my gym window shopping. I am joining the Y. Now we can be work out buddies. Yay.

That's good to hear. I love you guys (I meant musically more than romantically, but I do have an open mind...). I was planning on going but was exhausted and ended up passing out.

UML (United Messengers) is probably a good bet. It seems like people stay there longer and make fairly consistent money. Kid Gloves is amazing but I don't know if there would be any spots available (smaller company). There are lots of small companies that can end up working out well. The best way to find out about them is word of mouth. I'd say try one of the bigger companies first like UML and then if you like it stay. Once you're on the road, if you make friends with other messengers, you'll get a pretty good idea of where you want to be.

Also tell your friend my cardinal rule of surviving as a bike messenger: Never NEVER go faster than you are comfortable going in any given situation, no matter how much of a hurry you are in or how much pressure your dispatcher is putting on you. It sounds obvious, but it can be pretty easy to get caught up in trying to prove how fast you are to your dispatcher, especially when you are just starting out. After all, at the end of the day you are just delivering crap and arriving a few minutes late is better than arriving dead. The only time I got hit by a car when messengering was when I was pushing it too much and not totally paying attention. Easier said than done believe me.

sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

i usually wipe down the chain and put some lube on it once a week. for the winter bike everything else gets greased in the spring and that's it. for the nicer summer bikes, i take care of them a bit more but these days generally maintainance is on an as-needed basis.

god damn snow.

supposed to be heading to chicago for hot water music today

Ouch.

ps. Even though I don't know you, I still hate you for not inviting me. :)
pps. The only thing worse than knowing you're not getting a snow day on a day like today is when your partner goes back to bed after finding out they *did* get one.

Huh

Hahahahahaha ya man Carlotta just looked at me blankly said goodnight and went back to bed...
Anywayz...the ride in was so damn fun it made up for it!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa boyeeeeeeeeee! its nasty out there peeps...ride safe plz!:)

edit: riding in listening to Fela Kuti definitely made the vibez much warmer!

UofT = Open
UGuelph (where kim is teaching this Winter) = Closed

yeah,
at least i have tickets to tomorrow's show not tonight's so i can take time going down.

lucero and able baker fox (1/4 casket lottery, 3/4 small brown bike) are the openers.

i got about a block down college on bike this morning before turning around.
my beater bike still only has clearance for 23's and the snow jammed quickly. not to mention there werent even tire tracks in the snow yet.

and of course the queen street car took 30 minutes to show up.

Bunch of sissy farmers!
Edit: rumour has it that it's harvest day at UofT too.