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Post by strawman on May 11, 2005 20:11:46 GMT -5
 heres the new training bike...I thought it good enough to race, so heres a photo I took last weekend just before I raced it...not too bad, third home and second fastest time...yeah its a wicked bike to ride...9 spd dura ace, so its spec'd pretty similar to the red TCR...but the paint job is nicer!!...can't beat basic black with a splash of colour.... |
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Post by phil on Sept 3, 2005 7:25:44 GMT -5
So ! Lance Armstrong ...
Did he or did he not ??
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Post by maarts on Sept 3, 2005 8:27:55 GMT -5
Win the Tour De France seven times?
Lemme check....
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Post by Kensterberg on Sept 3, 2005 10:14:09 GMT -5
I don't know if Lance used any illegal substances over the last seven years, but frankly, given the pervasity of such "cheating" in the pro cycling ranks, I don't think it diminishes his accomplishments at all. I certainly WANT to believe Lance, and I'm skeptical of the latest French accusations, but there's no way to prove a negative. The man has been tested repeatedly over the last 7 years, and hasn't been caught. If he's a cheater, he's a damn good one.
Hell of a bike rider too.
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Post by Kensterberg on Sept 3, 2005 10:14:51 GMT -5
Strawman -- love the paint job on your latest Giant. Great wheels, too.
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Post by RocDoc on Sept 3, 2005 13:46:14 GMT -5
I want to put a baby carrier on my bike to take my son for rides...anyone with experience doing that here?
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Post by Kensterberg on Sept 3, 2005 14:07:26 GMT -5
Does two kids riding on a stingray with a banana seat count as "experience"?
Seriously, I've never attached a child seat to one of my bikes (for a number of obvious reasons!), but I don't think it's too hard. You might, however, have to get a different bike -- one set up for attaching such touring accoutrements as panniers, fenders, etc. Phil could probably give you all the details, as such pack mules are more his territory. ;D
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Post by RocDoc on Sept 3, 2005 16:50:32 GMT -5
Re the Sting Ray.....AND a third one riding on the handlebars? Yup, I know exactly what you're talking about! As I recall, Phil's preference was just a few degrees below my personal level of packmule. For him it was a 3-speed Raleigh to (drunkenly, probably) cross the vineyards of the south of France...or to ride out to the isolated Quebecois woods to tend his, ahem, 'garden patch', heh. For me, it's what's probably a 20-25 year old (more probably) Schwinn World Sport 10-speed which was good in its day, and which, well-lubed and with trued wheels is still a nice smooth ride after the several thousand miles that I've ridden it. Rode it last night in fact... to retrieve my car from where it had stalled earlier that day, the fucker. Shit, this is the same bike that I sweated buckets on when I had it attached to the Turbo-Trainer in my basement! This bike's gotta honestly be 30 years old. Still I've been talking about getting a 2nd-hand mountain bike for a good ten years after having rented a Trek which rode like a dream while we were vacationing on the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin...I'm one whose price for a 'new' replacement bike idealogically tops out at about maaaybe 200 bucks. I honestly care little about how light the bike might be or some mystical 'feel' I'll get from some hand-tooled Italiano work of art....I mean look, I was knocked out by the feel of a run-of-the-mill Trek rental bike which probably retailed for $300(and which I could've bought end-of-season for a hunnert bucks IF I could've gotten back up to Door County on the correct Saturday in October ca '94 when they were selling that season off  )so I don't think any high-end bike is going to justify its price in my eyes, because it's simply going to be me pedalling it. And turning it. It won't pedal itself.... I was worrying more about the practical aspects of getting kid in a helmet and glasses or whether those trailers-type thingys are a good idea with a mobile, inquisitive (often destructive) boy, which honestly scare the heck out of me cos how DO you keep an eye on the kid(s) back there while you're navigating....I already have been given one of those attach-to-the-frame pannier-type seats in which the kid sits in over the rear tire. Speaking of which how do you hoist your right leg up high enough to clear a seat like that? And with your child sitting in it without popping him one?! Are you forced to get off of your bike 'Ladies'-style' over the crossbar? Bottom line is that I'll probably bolt this thing to my existing Schwinn (I mean it was a 'Tourer' back in its day, tho the industry might have changed its definitions since) while still trying to find a lovingly maintained used mountain bike somewhere for a 'reasonable' price... |
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Post by Kensterberg on Sept 3, 2005 17:42:32 GMT -5
I'd forgotten that you had that old Schwinn ... for some reason I was thinking you had bought that mountain bike ... your Schwinn should do just fine with a seat -- if it can have a luggage rack mounted on it, you'll have no problem with a child seat. That said, most (if not all) of the pedaling parents I've seen lately have been using those little trailers. I think the idea is that it's (a) less hassle, and (b) a shorter fall if (heaven forbid) something should cause you to take a spill. Your gearing should be plenty low to allow you to pull it without blowing an artery. I'd offer to sell you my mountain bike (I'm beginning to lust after a cross bike to ride during bad weather, on trails, etc.), but I think at 5'6", anything that fits me just isn't gonna work for you! Ebay often has good deals on used bikes, though, both road and mountain. You can also check out the classifieds at roadbikereview.com (and it's companion mtb site, whose name and link I've misplaced) ... or hell, you're in Chicago, you should be able to find something in the classifieds or your local bike shops!  |
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Post by RocDoc on Sept 3, 2005 17:54:19 GMT -5
Thanks, but it's gotta be a 27" frame for me...I'm 6'2" which honestly isn't at all tall among my friends and Lithuanians in general, but I'm definitely all legs and short-torso'd...from time to time, I've checked the 'Net often figuring that bike-rental places attached to a serious bike-shop (which was just the set-up at the place we showed up late for the 'sale' they'd had) would have something as well-maintained as one could expect after a hard-ridden resort season...then the thought just deserts me for months at a time.
But now, with the boy.
I'm getting tired of all the stroller-walking honestly...plus I'd like something a bit more fun (and strenuous) for myself too.
And yeah, that idea of taking a tumble with him on the back is scary as shit. Tho the bike carriers these day (the behind-the-saddle ones) seem to look like little space shuttle capsules, nearly completely enclosed with a sturdy belt system.
I'd be afraid our Matas would crawl OUT of one of those trailers while I was moving...and I wouldn't see him...plus it gives a longer target for someone to broadside.
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Post by phil on Sept 4, 2005 14:22:21 GMT -5
 HÉ ! This look like fun ... ! |
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Post by phil on Sept 4, 2005 14:31:22 GMT -5
 IMO, this is the best way to go !! Somebody gave me a state-of-the art children seat and I hate the feeling. And it's impossible to get the kid seated and keep the bike straight at the same time !! But no ! There's no way a kid can free himself and fall !! So I sold it back and bought one of those equiped with a flag on a tall pole ... |
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Post by RocDoc on Sept 6, 2005 21:57:51 GMT -5
Very good site that you grabbed that trailer photo from (tho it's an 'x' here)....I'll check it more closely tomorrow.
AND thanks for the input about that 'control' problem with the bike seat...but did you mean it's tough to get the kid seated initially...or to keep him seated while you're riidng?
I also saw several of those passengers-in-front-of-handlebars 2-wheelers in Copenhagen, which is REALLY one bicycle-mad town! And like I said when we came back from there, the women! Simply gorgeous, tall, athletic, tan and with great legs.
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Post by phil on Sept 6, 2005 22:26:47 GMT -5
it's tough to get the kid seated initially...
Yep ! That is it ... !!
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Post by RocDoc on Sept 8, 2005 12:01:46 GMT -5
Couldn't you just bungee the bike to a pole, a stair-rail or something?
I mean, a bike is not too stable on a kickstand, but it can be made to be stable somehow...I'm curious as to how you were trying to do this...
The trailer-thing doesn't sound as well-suited for city riding...tho city-riding in general won't be something I'll do with Matas behind me on the bike. The drivers of automobiles here in Chicago are WAY too plentiful and WAY too stupid for meto risk both of our lives. It's why I gave up motorcycle riding. There's too many cars these days, period.
We'll schlep the whole mess over to the forest preserve trails by car, most likely.
I simply have to make up my mind before winter hits!
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)so I don't think any high-end bike is going to justify its price in my eyes, because it's simply going to be me pedalling it. And turning it. It won't pedal itself....