Originally Posted by halfspeed (Post 16754060)

Ride something like this without them:

Originally Posted by Gus90 (Post 16754281)

Hows that then? I think the bike is hot. The difference with this thread will be people are free to give an honest critique, positive or negative. They're also free to inject some tongue in cheek humor. Personal attacks and being an asshat in general will probably still be moderated but if you still don't get it, I can't help you.

Originally Posted by kleng (Post 16753581)

a shortish persons bike to balance it out, flame away !!!

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps5fcd9d05.jpg

Originally Posted by kcollier5 (Post 16754683)

The valve stem covers is almost enough to knock it from Hot to Not. Is there a reason people use these that I'm unaware of?? LizardSkins Bar tape in gloss black would help and all black seat post and stem would carry it to the rarefied 'Smoking Hot' status!

Originally Posted by RPK79 (Post 16754416)

Not ideal. The roads I'm hitting are basically straight so I just pick a line and go; as long as you're not turning the tire doesn't seem to matter too much. I know I'm playing the odds on getting a cut tire though since they're Conti Ultra Race tires and not meant for gravel by any stretch. Although, they are not showing any excess wear.

I want to buy some gravel specific tires and I know my bike can handle some 700x28 (meh) and might handle 700x32 (mo' bettah), but since none of the bike shops carry much of anything and don't want to just order stuff for me to try out (understandably) I'm kind of waiting on feeling lucky playing the online order lottery.

Originally Posted by halfspeed (Post 16754708)

Both Rochester Cycling and Bicycle Sports carry several tire models suitable for gravel. Stop in. They'll hook you up.

Originally Posted by Nagrom_ (Post 16753518)

http://greatamericanthrills.files.wo...following2.gif

http://i.imgur.com/QFLc2NK.jpg

Originally Posted by RPK79 (Post 16754698)

If they forget to close the valve and put the cap on those carbon rims it will cause an asplosion.

I currently have Lizardskins on my bike and I never will again. I put it on in late winter and now it is early spring and I have already worn through the tape on the right hand side near the hood. Garbage.

Originally Posted by kcollier5 (Post 16754801)

Interesting to hear. I'm only on my second LS wrap on my current bike, the first was destroyed when I loaned my bike to my brother and he wrecked it. I know, I know, awful, right? 2 mi an hour wreck over a speed bump, cracked my carbon bars and destroyed the bartape. Only had about 1,200 miles on them and they were still like brand new. Now have another 1,000 miles on the new tape and it's showing little to no signs of wear. Obviously I always wear gloves, but I've had great success with this tape… Just a few questions: Do you sweat a lot? Do you wear gloves? Are you normally hard on tape? And is this the first LizardSkins you've ever used?

Originally Posted by kcollier5 (Post 16754916)

Wow, that's awful. I wouldn't use it ever again either. For me, it's hard to spend $35 on bar tape, but it has worked SO well for me that I did it again when I needed new tape. Strange though that our experiences would be so different. Wonder if you just ended up with a bad tape?

Originally Posted by halfspeed (Post 16753404)

This one was "hotter", but I pretty much stopped riding it and sold it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1380400419

Originally Posted by Nagrom_ (Post 16753518)

http://greatamericanthrills.files.wo...following2.gif

http://i.imgur.com/QFLc2NK.jpg

Originally Posted by martinus (Post 16753542)

Originally Posted by nagrom_ (Post 16753518)

http://i.imgur.com/qflc2nk.jpg

Originally Posted by kcollier5 (Post 16754683)

Hot! I love this bike. Yes, I agree with most all of the comments (except the 'not hot' ones). The valve stem covers is almost enough to knock it from Hot to Not. Is there a reason people use these that I'm unaware of?? LizardSkins Bar tape in gloss black would help and all black seat post and stem would carry it to the rarefied 'Smoking Hot' status!

Originally Posted by Gus90 (Post 16753136)

This forum is for presenting your bike in all it's glory to be critiqued by other members. If you have thin skin, best to post your ride in the original Hot R Not, where criticism is limited to "not".

Some guidelines:
1) For best results, stage your bike properly:
a) against a neutral background
b) drive chain out with chain on large crank and one of the smaller cassette cogs
c) cranks at any angle except 90 or 45 degrees
d) remove seat bags, water bottles, lights, etc. (we really just want to see your bike, not your accessories)
e) valve stems at 6:00 and, if possible, tire logos properly aligned on rim.

2) Be prepared to handle criticism and not take this thread too seriously.
3) If you must criticize try and be constructive and not mean. We all can enjoy a good ribbing now and then and some tongue in cheek humor, but let's not get carried away or make it personal.
4) A "not" should be followed by a pic of your bike. (Unless you've posted it here previously)

(if I left something out, let me know and I'll add it)

Originally Posted by Niloc (Post 16755221)

Good idea, thanks for creating this. I got slammed down for making these suggestions on the original post. A suggestion? Make this post (minus your bike) a sticky so it stays at the top of the thread and everybody can see the guidance about staging and is forewarned.

Originally Posted by halfspeed (Post 16753404)

This one was "hotter", but I pretty much stopped riding it and sold it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1380400419

Originally Posted by Gus90 (Post 16755241)

Not sure how to sticky the post, happy to do it as you suggest if someone could tell me how.

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 16755299)

You can't sticky your own thread. If you could, there'd be 187 pages of stickied threads per week.

Originally Posted by 3alarmer (Post 16755327)

...I don't get it ? How is this an improvement ??