Bicycles

[Samoan]

Bike "Hangers" are suddenly all the jazz in London. They're hideous and to my mind, a prime site for graffiti, not to mention other vandalism.
Residents/home owners unfortunate enough to randomly have had them built outside their homes are incandescent.
It remains to be seen how impenetrable they are to thieves

[Jimbo]

When I first came to Tokyo - and long after - bikes motorbikes, too, could park on any sidewalk if you shoved them close to the edge. Actually my memory is fading for I can't imagine such chaos in what I now consider an orderly and clean city. But I do recall walking around clusters of parked bikes and not giving it a second thought. Nowadays, there are still lots of bikes riding on the streets - in newly designated bike lanes - and they're parked in pretty conveniently (for me) placed public racks. And it isn't free parking but still pretty inexpensive.

Electric/pedal bikes have taken off here, especially for mothers with one or two kids. I want one but most are designed for mothers and are not manly looking enough for Big Bad Jimbo. But I did see one the other say that had the simple look I like but the price - yikes. The concept is brilliant with easily removable batteries you take in the house for charging. No special license required either.

[trans-chigley express]

Like D_F I got a hybrid bike. It’s a Giant brand and a really lovely bike to ride, very comfortable with quick smooth gear change. I usually just cycle to my office as it is cycle path all the way but if I have time I’ll make a diversion up a country road with no vehicles and a few hills to go over. I avoid roads with traffic as Hong Kong drivers are typically fuckwits incapable of safely passing a cyclist without attempting to kill them.

The cycle paths here can be a hazard as so many non-cyclists use them despite having a perfectly good footpath running parallel. Joggers, dog walkers, old people and a wide range of morons all think the cycle path is for their use too, sometimes walking in pairs blocking the whole path. I’ve cycled into people who have been dawdling on the wrong side round a blind bend. Then they have the gall to yell at me!! I wear a helmet because of these idiots. The police are quick to clamp down on cyclists using footpaths but never do a thing to pedestrians using cycle paths.

[$P.Muff$]

Lemme give this another go...

While I do love riding, I don't particularly care for or relate to much of cyclist culture. Easy to avoid around here thankful. I ride alone - sometimes with a helmet, sometimes without, probably 70% of the time on hard packed dirt roads or country trails. Not a big fan of mud or very loose gravel.

I have a 2014 Trek Fx 7.1. It's one of their cheapest bikes - total entry level. It has been a great beginner bike but I definitely want to upgrade soon, particularly because I want drop bars, and to do that with this model I would need a different brake setup. But really, for the kind of riding I do, I need a new crankset and better front & rear derailleurs, a new rear cassette. It could get kind of ridiculous. I've only added a back rack and slightly bigger tires with more grip at this point, and a couple of bottle cages. I also have an awesome trunk bag that clips right into the rack.

Yesterday I test drove this:


For a while I was actually considering getting it financed. Ha. So fucking nice, and so completely out of my league.

I'm still trying decide what the best move would be, but the above isn't it.

[The Modernist]

I used to know this shop where you could get old Italian cycling tops from the 60s. Wearing those was probably the nearest I've got to being a cyclist.

[harvey k-tel]

Yesterday I test drove this:


For a while I was actually considering getting it financed. Ha. So fucking nice, and so completely out of my league.

You'd think that a bike that expensive would at least come with pedals.

[$P.Muff$]

A lot of the higher end bikes don't come with pedals - although the SL 6 might qualify as mid-range, considering their Domane line runs above $10,000.

I guess they figure if you've got enough dough to indulge on such fancy gear you can afford to shell out even more for pedals. But there is also the customization factor. Some folks prefer 'clipless' (which seems like a misnomer since you have to clip in), some prefer flat - which is what I like.

There were pedals on the bike I test drove, which was a nice bonus.

[wannabee enfant terrible]

Why do cyclists need pedals anyway? Surely their holier-than-thou feet just float?

[Jimbo]

I was sitting in a bullet train station waiting room up north and just outside the waiting room window was a cyclist who'd just arrived and was setting his gear up for some cycling. And Japanese fanatics of any activity don't do anything half-assed. They always have all the gear. So this guy unzips from a case a folded up bicycle and meticulously proceeds to set it up. A few minutes later there's this beautiful, very expensive bike. Then he pulls from a compartment in the bike case his costume and I'm just watching as he squeezes his skinny body into a silvery lycra jump suit. Then he slides onto his head a same colored lycra head cover. like a knights under-helmet hood. The dude goes back into the case for his riding shoes. Then he put on a short billed cap. Then a leather helmet. Last came the Oakley's. The bike bag became a back pack where he had shoved his day clothes and shoes and then off he rode like a futuristic robot.

[$P.Muff$]

Why do cyclists need pedals anyway? Surely their holier-than-thou feet just float?

Yeah, yeah, yeah... funny how the only self-righteousness on this thread is coming from the anti-cyclist crowd.

I know the lycra crew can be annoying, and are probably much more common in the areas you all live in, but comments complaining about riders not going anywhere reek of entitlement. I mean, where the hell are you going in your automobile that is so damn special?

And then you have Rayge, who has apparently always been lucky enough to possess either a fine pair of walking shoes, have an extraordinarily accommodating partner, or just live in an area with good public transit. That isn't meant as a knock on Ray, but personally, I prefer to be a bit more independent than that.

[sloopjohnc]

Bicycling also seems like the only sport where people dress up like they're professionals. I can't stand all the cycling jerseys and accoutrements like folks are riding the Tour de France. it's an excuse to spend money and be a poser.

If you showed up to a pick up basketball game wearing a full-on NBA uniform, you'd be laughed off the court.

And believe me, because the Bay Area is loaded with money, they're all over the place on the weekends.

My bike looks a lot like this, same color and model, except the seat's not so high, and the bike rack has a spring loaded holder where I can put a basketball or anything else.

[$P.Muff$]

I'm sure lycra is more comfy for long road rides / touring, but from my (albeit limited) experience, road cyclists are just as you described - poseur weekend warriors acting as if they're in training for the next Tour de France.

A month or so back I was watching a lot of GoPro downhill mtn. bike videos, and that got me really wanting a dual suspension bike. Some of those trails out in Utah are just nuts - look like a ton of fun. But for around here there really isn't much need for a dual suspension - can't really afford one anyway.

[Rayge]

And then you have Rayge, who has apparently always been lucky enough to possess either a fine pair of walking shoes, have an extraordinarily accommodating partner, or just live in an area with good public transit.

You call it luck, I call it skill .
Plus I like walking, and this is a small country with pretty good public transport. I've never felt a lack of independence - quite the opposite in fact.
Good to see you back, K.

[harvey k-tel]

I'm sure lycra is more comfy for long road rides / touring, but from my (albeit limited) experience, road cyclists are just as you described - poseur weekend warriors acting as if they're in training for the next Tour de France.

A month or so back I was watching a lot of GoPro downhill mtn. bike videos, and that got me really wanting a dual suspension bike. Some of those trails out in Utah are just nuts - look like a ton of fun. But for around here there really isn't much need for a dual suspension - can't really afford one anyway.

Back when I was seriously into mountain biking I went on a couple trips to Moab, Utah to ride the slickrock trails and it was amazing. The first time I went (94, iirc) I had no suspension whatsoever on my bike, but the next year I upgraded to a pair of Rockshox on the front end, and what a difference that made - even then, I still wound up cracking the frame at the join between the seat tube and the top bar. Luckily it didn't break on me while I was riding it!

[sloopjohnc]

I'm sure lycra is more comfy for long road rides / touring, but from my (albeit limited) experience, road cyclists are just as you described - poseur weekend warriors acting as if they're in training for the next Tour de France.

A month or so back I was watching a lot of GoPro downhill mtn. bike videos, and that got me really wanting a dual suspension bike. Some of those trails out in Utah are just nuts - look like a ton of fun. But for around here there really isn't much need for a dual suspension - can't really afford one anyway.

About five years ago, we were at a friend's cabin and rented mountain bikes and took them up a ski lift to 8,300 ft. altitude, where from there, you rode the fire trails down the mountains back to the rental places. There were a variety of trails you could take, depending on degree of difficulty.

It was one of the hardest, but most rewarding days of mountain biking I've ever experienced. I wiped out once and it took me a couple months to recover, but it was worth it.

[$P.Muff$]

And then you have Rayge, who has apparently always been lucky enough to possess either a fine pair of walking shoes, have an extraordinarily accommodating partner, or just live in an area with good public transit.

You call it luck, I call it skill .
Plus I like walking, and this is a small country with pretty good public transport. I've never felt a lack of independence - quite the opposite in fact.
Good to see you back, K.

I never doubted your sense of independence, Ray, just sayin' if I didn't have a car or bike I would be screwed.

And it's good to be back, though I never really left. Unfortunately, I do often find the social media experience toxic these days. But I'm not quite ready to allow the pricks of the world to completely own it.

[trans-chigley express]

I'm sure lycra is more comfy for long road rides / touring,

Yes it is the most comfortable clothing to wear, and certainly keeps chaffing to a minimum. It is somewhat unnecessary for just tootling around though.

[trans-chigley express]

A good friend of mine is a hardcore cyclists, the kind of guy that does 500 mile off road races for fun. Last weekend he did what is called an "Everest run" where you ascend the equivalent of the height of Everest in one run - at least 8848m. He said now he's ticked it off it's highly unlikely he will ever attempt it again . He has a road bike and a off road bike both of which cost as much as cars.

[yomptepi]

Fuckwit.

Humourless drone.

It is supposed to be funny, but maybe you should try getting anywhere at the weekend where I live. all the filthy Londoners who think it will be ever so much fun to bring their bikes and their lycra to go for a ride in the Chilterns. First of all they all park wherever they like, and block the roads for residents. Then off they go in packs of 15 or 20, often 5 abreast, shouting at each other as they go. Riding 5 abreast and screaming abuse at anyone who might dare to want to go more than 10 mph along a 70 mph stretch of road. But can you get past them ? No you can not. Not for all the wanker signs, and verbal abuse and trying to throw themselves in front of you whilst calling you a lunatic. They are all utter cunts. I was stuck behind a slow moving "peleton " (sic) of half dead 50 somethings, as the panted and groaned their way up Frith Hill at 5 mph. Each car that tried to pass was greeted with abuse and foul language , and hand waving gestures.

Who's the fuckwit now?

I would suggest this is a lie.

It is not. Not that you would know. The Chilterns is a well known lung for London, and every weekend we are swamped by Walkers, ramblers and cyclists. The ramblers are just as bad with their inconsiderate parking. I suspect that fact that all the cyclists are wearing lycra uniforms makes them think they have some sort of sacred right to behave like cunts.

[yomptepi]

Bicycling also seems like the only sport where people dress up like they're professionals. I can't stand all the cycling jerseys and accoutrements like folks are riding the Tour de France. it's an excuse to spend money and be a poser.

If you showed up to a pick up basketball game wearing a full-on NBA uniform, you'd be laughed off the court.

And believe me, because the Bay Area is loaded with money, they're all over the place on the weekends.

There's a lot of yellow jerseys out there, you are right. But I assume that when people play basketball they wear sports stuff? That's the parallel. I'm in a cycling club and so when I ride I wear the club colours. It helps people like Yomp recognise us as a collective and rail against us, but it also makes things much easier when cycling 60 miles. The lycra is wicking, so helps keep you warm and sweat free. I can keep an energy bar in the back pocket and, because bicycles are mechanical, things can go wrong, so it's useful to take that kind of equipment along too.


[/i]

What a surprise. You are one of the ignorant cunts. I should have guessed. I suppose you do have all that spare time on your hands, being a teacher. You are just the sort of self regarding arrogant cunt who would think it perfectly reasonable to behave badly on the roads. Makes me hate cyclists even more.