Toronto Fixed
Raving looney
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,482
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Bikes: 70s Leader Precision w/Shimano 600 (road), IRO Rob Roy (Fixed)
If you go to have a lazy day ride then I guess it could be fun. It is affectionately called "Hell of the North" for a reason. I have seen some pretty talented riders get totally crushed in previous years versions of this event. If you are looking for fun...look elsewhere. If you are looking for a very challenging ride/race where at the end everyone is saying to each other " that was the most brutal race I have ever done" than this is the ride for you.
Beating myself up on the bike is the only way I've kept sane - it's my stress relief - I love and crave the burn (always after, never during
). I'm slowly getting in shape, this kind of thing would be a lot of fun for me. I want the challenge.
Last edited by Flimflam; 03-23-09 at 06:39 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 1
From: Kitchener, ON
Bikes: 1994 Proctor Townsend Reynolds 753, TT S3 True North, Kona Major Jake, Kona Honky Tonk, Marinoni Puima, Cannondale BBU
Firstly if you take your bike to a shop...never expect anything to be free. If you are a regular customer and the shop is relatively quiet then maybe a freebie is a reasonable expectation. And if you can take the wheel off a bike, remove cog and lockring, grease said lockring and cog, tighten lockring and cog and then put the wheel back on the bike with proper chain tension in 2 seconds, you sir are the fastest bike mechanic in the known universe.
cab horn

Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 28,353
Likes: 31
From: Toronto
Bikes: 1987 Bianchi Campione
If it's something quick (~5mins), you're not an asshat + it's not busy. Likelihood of freebie approaches 100%. I've had my share of freebies before I had access to a shop which i'm very grateful for. I like to do the same unto others as appropriate.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 1
From: Kitchener, ON
Bikes: 1994 Proctor Townsend Reynolds 753, TT S3 True North, Kona Major Jake, Kona Honky Tonk, Marinoni Puima, Cannondale BBU
^^ Ah, when I worked as a PC repair tech, it always used to grate on me when I needed to charge for silly things, like installing RAM or a HDD. A lot of the time, I would just do it for free, because its a pure cash grab to charge for 80% of those incidents. This is why I'd be a piss-poor small business owner
well, another week, another set of egg beaters kicks the bucket
This time I re-greased them, re-assembled, and tightened down the fastening nut at the end of the spindle... trouble is, the RH nut just keeps turning and turning, and isn't coming off! lol... egg beaters. At least the company seems to be good with returns & warranty so far. These suckers are going back for sure. I'll ask *kindly* if I can pay the diff to step up to SLs. Maybe if I'm ballin' I'll go Ti.
well, another week, another set of egg beaters kicks the bucket
This time I re-greased them, re-assembled, and tightened down the fastening nut at the end of the spindle... trouble is, the RH nut just keeps turning and turning, and isn't coming off! lol... egg beaters. At least the company seems to be good with returns & warranty so far. These suckers are going back for sure. I'll ask *kindly* if I can pay the diff to step up to SLs. Maybe if I'm ballin' I'll go Ti.
Don't smoke, Mike.
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,295
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Bikes: Devinci Tosca, IRO Rob Roy
Let's all take a minute to rock out to something awesome: https://vimeo.com/2317118
Call me The Breeze
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,702
Likes: 8
From: Cooper Ontario
Bikes: 2004 Litespeed Siena, 1996 Litespeed Obed, 1992 Miele (unknown model), 1982 Meile Uno LS.
Robosaurus
Building a better Strida
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 2
From: toronto, canada
Bikes: bianchi brava 1988. fuji track 2007, 2006 Bianchi Pista, 1987 Miele and a strida knock off
Ok. I've realized I'd get dropped in 2 seconds flat in the donut ride, so I'm going to try it solo a few times to see how bad it is/build some endurance.
Also, are there any roads in the city that are better for riding/training? Specifically, I'm trying to figure out a way to get from Yonge+Lawrence to High Park (hill repeats
)on as many quiet streets as possible.
I want to try the donut at least before the end of the summer though. See if I can last 20 minutes
Also, are there any roads in the city that are better for riding/training? Specifically, I'm trying to figure out a way to get from Yonge+Lawrence to High Park (hill repeats
)on as many quiet streets as possible. I want to try the donut at least before the end of the summer though. See if I can last 20 minutes

sounds like most of us here will be far rear of the main pack anyway..
however, i did go this weekend, but i took the vintage road bike complete with its 20yr old 700x20c rubber.
the rolling hills along keele north of 7 were soooooo much less punishing.....
I was up for going again on sunday, but
1. wind/cold
2. overcast
3. amull not joining
4. roadie friends are on their O-Cup team practices
======
= not getting out of bed.
instead, i finally setup my corridor to hang up the bikes..
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Bikes: Leader 735TR 09 58cm 46/17
How many kilometers did you do trueno92? I'll come next weekend under two conditions, not windy (25km/h+) and not wet.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Bikes: Leader 735TR 09 58cm 46/17
Yeah i think when you buy something for the first time you automatically become a member, $5 i think it was.
8% pst (ontario) and 5% gst (canada)
some bike things are pst exempt
and yeah an MEC "share", is $5
some bike things are pst exempt
and yeah an MEC "share", is $5
13% taxes in Ontario, but universal healthcare so overall it's a good deal.
I should add: after using campy shifters (QS) versus Shimano STI, it's painfully obvious why anyone (but racers, especially) would choose campy. You really need the ability to jump multiple cogs at a time, going both up and down, to adjust for terrain. With that in mind, SS and fixed cross or XC riders are a bunch of hard-ass mother****ers.
i don't think indexing on downshifting is all that important, personally, especially with how fast the shifting is on both shimano and sram, it's kind of hard to get ahead of the shifting
of coarse i wouldn't say no to having record on a bike, but they definitely all have their pros and cons, the thumb position is a con i think
i believe lights are pst exempt since they are safety related
Building a better Strida
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 2
From: toronto, canada
Bikes: bianchi brava 1988. fuji track 2007, 2006 Bianchi Pista, 1987 Miele and a strida knock off
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...1,0.30899&z=12
not bad for 5km/h sw wind, and 5 degrees.. quite a few cyclists were out as well - along with the smaller slightly more relaxed group i was with. fun times.
Im exactly the same tho.. if its +5 degrees and less than 20km/h wind gusts, then i'd be out. ala saturday.
sunday was terribly overcast and cold tho..
Last edited by trueno92; 03-24-09 at 12:58 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Bikes: '08 Kona JTS & Riviera (?) Sport converted Fixed Gear
Is everyone riding it fixed, though? I plan on riding my 'cross-turned-road bike. Once my finals are done, I'm down for riding if there's a bunch of guys to form a slower group.
Building a better Strida
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 2
From: toronto, canada
Bikes: bianchi brava 1988. fuji track 2007, 2006 Bianchi Pista, 1987 Miele and a strida knock off
it doesn't have to be fixed only tho.. i would prob take my road bike out every other morning or complete the ride a few times on the road bike to learn those roads before taking the fixed gear.
we can just be labeled the "less-competitive's"
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Bikes: Leader 735TR 09 58cm 46/17
Well i have one bike, and it's a fixed gear. So when you guys are going road let me know so i can skip.
Raving looney
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,482
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Bikes: 70s Leader Precision w/Shimano 600 (road), IRO Rob Roy (Fixed)
If I'm around to ride with you guys on the donut, I'll be riding fixed for the time being.
My next available weekend is April 4/5th. Probable that Sunday would be best, depending on what I'm doing for my Saturday training ride.
My next available weekend is April 4/5th. Probable that Sunday would be best, depending on what I'm doing for my Saturday training ride.
i'm down to ride it as well, just not this weekend
i'll be on my cervelo, i'll still be slow though
i'll be on my cervelo, i'll still be slow though
Raving looney
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,482
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Bikes: 70s Leader Precision w/Shimano 600 (road), IRO Rob Roy (Fixed)
Yeah looks like I should be OK for the 4th and 5th. What ratio are you fixed dudes planning to use?
Building a better Strida
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 2
From: toronto, canada
Bikes: bianchi brava 1988. fuji track 2007, 2006 Bianchi Pista, 1987 Miele and a strida knock off
i was running 46x16 and the other roadies said that was an ideal gear. Once the hammer dropped at hwy7, ratio didn't matter unless i had a rocket strapped to my back.
on another note, how long does stuff usually take to come in from probikekit.com?
PBK: my experience is as little as 3 days from the shipping notice, as much as 2 weeks
pretty fast for free
pretty fast for free
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 646
Likes: 1
From: Toronto
Bikes: '08 Marinoni Pista, '05 specialized langster(RIP), '06 norco kokanee(RIP), '05 norco charger(RIP),'08 surly steamroller, surly big dummy coming soon!
Oh i'm not expecting free service, $10 i guess is reasonable. The only thing i need is to put a cog and lockring on the hub, i bought a new wheelset so there is nothing to remove, plus i can install the wheel myself later. And looks like only soma makes black cogs larger than 16t, but the only place i found them is from an online shop that charges $20US to ship it...it's an all black deepv and i wanted a black cog to go along with it, i guess not.
Raving looney
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,482
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Bikes: 70s Leader Precision w/Shimano 600 (road), IRO Rob Roy (Fixed)
anything around 76 gear inches.
i was running 46x16 and the other roadies said that was an ideal gear. Once the hammer dropped at hwy7, ratio didn't matter unless i had a rocket strapped to my back.
on another note, how long does stuff usually take to come in from probikekit.com?
i was running 46x16 and the other roadies said that was an ideal gear. Once the hammer dropped at hwy7, ratio didn't matter unless i had a rocket strapped to my back.
on another note, how long does stuff usually take to come in from probikekit.com?
I'll drop to edit: 71, not 74 (46/17) tonight and see how she feels.Loving this easterly wind (even though it's bringing rain), going home from work is a total joy (usually I'm faced with a head wind when I head west out of Whitby).
as for PBK, I got my stuff sent to my parents so I've no idea, as they brought it over on the plane with them.
Last edited by Flimflam; 03-25-09 at 03:21 PM.
so they want to merge gst and pst which means no more pst exempt bike stuff that goes through



