Hothead286

How often do you get a Fresh Prince joke?

carleton

Way too often.

Lilcphoto

Dear Carleton:

After buying my first jersey, and feeling quite good about it, I want to try out a set of bibs. But what if I don't like them? Or is it just like any other piece of clothing and I'll get use to it? Also, I remember awhile back on a different thread you mentioned something about spending $$$ for a nice one which makes a world of a difference. Is there a specific design/material/cost price that you recommend for a beginner who is looking to try it out?

carleton

Personally, I avoid:
- Gel chamois (they feel like I'm wearing a wet diaper)
- Textured chamois (some like them, but for me they contribute to saddle sores)
- Thick chamois (again, feels like a diaper).
- Performance Bike's house brand shorts. Performance has some nice deals on lots of stuff, but when I was starting out, I never liked their shorts.

BTW, Performance has a no questions asked return policy. I assume they just throw the shorts away. I can't see them reselling them.

There are lots of good brands out there. Some that I've tried and liked:
- Hincapie
- Castelli
- Adidas

If you are between sizes, go with the smaller one. This will keep you from getting snagged on your saddle as you mount the bike.

hwdxbassist

Dear Carleton, I am thinking about joining the California Climate ride in october, do you have any training tips to help improve; cadance, endurance, and strength?

im going to be doing the ride on a fixed gear, cause im to broke right now to buy a road bike, and I have gone down the PCH on my madison a couple times.

Thanks

carleton

I'd ask for training tips in the Touring forum.

Also, maybe start a thread in SSFG asking for advice on doing such events on a fixed gear.

Generally speaking, I'm not sure how expensive or inexpensive it will be. You will need basic equipment, provisions, and proper clothing.

dk2ck

Dear Carleton,

Speaking of bibs, have you ever tried Voler bibs? If so, what do you think?

carleton

Yeah, my current team's kit is by Voler.

DO NOT get the grey Torino chamois pad. Pay the extra few bucks and get the red Trilogy chamois pad. I have 2 pair of bib shorts that I may have worn 3-4 times each (practically new) with the Torino pad that I'll never wear again. I never had a saddle sore in my life till I wore that Torino chamois.

Your mileage may vary.

That being said, if they have the Trilogy chamois, then they are pretty good. Not as nice as the Hincapie or Castelli that I own, though.

EpicSchwinn

Dear Carleton,

How do you feel about riding brakeless on the road? I know it's a touchy subject but I'm curious what you think. Do you ever ride around town on your track bike?

carleton

I think it's fine if you have a gear that's really, really low. That being said, I think too many people ride brakeless. They either ride like idiots or have a moderate to high gear on and can't stop their bikes.

No, I never ride my track bike on the street.

VincentLe

What are some quality, yet affordable cranksets for a street fixed gear bike? They would hopefully be moderately light, but strong enough to support riding 83 gear inches with moderate power and a fair amount of skidding. (Note: I do run brakes at the moment, but I don't generally need to use them so far.)

Aesthetics are second to function for me. They are a factor, but they would not be the most important thing. I want to replace my cranks due to an unaligned chain line. Any combination that'll provide a quality ride and give me that 42 MM chain line would be superb. (:

Dannihilator

Dear Carleton,

Long ride, lower intensity or shorter ride, higher intensity?

carleton

See? Why on earth would you ride 83 gear inches (49/16) on the road? ...and not use your brake? Seriously. That's just not smart. If you want a gear that big get a single speed or a road bike. The concept of using a track bike on the road was about gaining leg speed and a good pedal stroke. You are not doing that with 83 gear inches. You roll at 60RPM all day. 80 TOPS. That's not leg speed.

But, to answer your question:

Get some SRAM Ominums. They are inexpensive and high quality. Available in Silver or Black. I hear that there might be a new version coming out soon that will address the beefiness that keeps them from working with some frames. So, maybe wait for the update for one of two reasons: 1) Get the new ones or 2) Get the old ones on sale.

carleton

I'm a fan of short with intensity. The amount of fat burned is the same, plus you get a good sweat and your HR up.

VincentLe

Thank you for the crank set recommendation! They look pretty powerful and 200 for everything (cranks, chainwheel, bb) seems like a great deal to me. Any news on when the update is coming out? This gives me time to get a hold of more funding regardless. (:

Mm, I'm actually running 46-15, but I'm sure that doesn't help. There are a few reasons I'm running this ratio:

1) My bike arrived this way.
2) It's been... okay. I'm able to start and stop effectively. (Okay, this is opinion and I'm actually not sure if they are effective, but they've been suitable thus far.)

...I'm not deadset on this ratio, though. Would 48-17 (76 gear inches) be a more suitable ratio for the road? Or do you recommend going lower? I've been wanting to ride at a faster cadence though, so yeah.

carleton

Your bike came with a track warmup gear on it. Many track and FG bikes come this way.

48/18 (72") or 48/19 (68.2") if it's hilly. You will be amazed at how your pedal stroke will come along...provided you have proper leg extension. Accelerations will be quick, as well as stopping.

VincentLe

48/19 sounds more appealing, because skid patches matter a bit to me. I'm in a relatively flat area, but we've driven our bikes out to San Francisco and that was a blast, so I can only imagine us going back. I'm sure it'll help when I go back to have the easier ratio. (: [My friends ran ratios as high or higher than mine. A friend went 46/14 brakeless all day. I'm not sure if he's just a monster or just stupid, but yeah.]

The more I think about it though, I'm not sure if 48/19 is such a good idea for as flat of an area as the one I'm from. Would running 48/17 be significantly worse than running 48/18? If so, I guess I don't mind 48/19. I just hope I can keep speed with it.

carleton

Riding a FG bike isn't about keeping speed.

If you want speed, buy a geared bike. Even a singlespeed bike that is geared high will be tough to accelerate and you won't carry a high cadence.

conbon

Dear carelton, long time listener first time caller...

So I was over at my buddies house helping him swap handlebars from his old bike to his new bike tonight. Now, I built the last one from the ground up for him, but I'm tired of working on other peoples bikes so on this one I made him do all the work as I talked him through it. So after talking him through it, he got the bars switched over. Knowing that he's had previous issues with not getting parts tight enough, I went over and pushed down on his bullhorns and sure as **** they we able to be pushed down pretty easy. Now, he got mad, and told me to fix his bike since I messed it up, so I just pulled the bars back up to where they were. He goes "no, get an allen wrench and tighten them, since YOU moved them". Now I refused to do this, with my arguement being that I didn't mess anything up, his bike is exactly the same as it was 30 seconds earlier, the only thing thats changed is now he's more knowledgeable and he knows that he needs to start tightening his bars more so they don't move on him first pothole he hits and send him flying over the front of his bike. Who's in the wrong in this situation?

Also, I know it would be easy for either party to just grab the allen wrench and tighten them and move on, but he already put the allen wrenches back in the toolbox and put the toolbox away in the basement, plus, its the principle behind things.

Sincerely, Connor in St. Louis

VincentLe

Mm, I understand your advice. I'm going to take it all into consideration as I go out to ride my bike tonight. Thank you for your time and educated opinions, they'll help me adjust my ratio accordingly. I'll put a higher cadence higher on my list.

carleton

Your buddy is wrong. He should be grateful that you saved him from buying a new set of teeth.

No problem. Have fun.

evilcryalotmore

dear carleton,

Do you have a grocies getter? what is it?

carleton

I have one of these (but mine isn't this low).



It holds lotsa groceries.

evilcryalotmore

Have you ever ridden a motorcycle/Scooter/modped

Leukybear 

Hellaflush XD
Only if it as infact yours....