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Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED (Page 87)
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 2020-06-16 1:58 PM in reply to: alaskatri |
 1517   Cypress, Texas |  Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSEDOriginally posted by alaskatri I got my first pair of Asics Gel Nimbus in the mail today in size 10 wide. The 9.5 should be here in the next couple days. I'm not really sure why REI didn't just send them as one package. But so far, these size 10 wide feel AMAZING in terms of length/width. Unless the 9.5's really convince me they are a better length, I think the 10's are a keeper. Good luck with the shoes. I hope that they will help save you some numb feet. |
| 2020-06-16 4:53 PM in reply to: BlueBoy26 |
52 Laramie, Wyoming | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Hey all, well a lot of things have been happening up here. I think Curtis asked about the snow we got last week here in Laramie.. at my house we measured about 8" of really wet and heavy snow. So much snow that city wide trees were losing branches. Our large tree in front of the house lost a lot from the top of the tree. In fact I had to move my car that is usually parked out front because we were afraid a branch would fall on it. As for the training front, last week I had a schedule doctor appointment. We discussed the opening of pools, specifically the pool in my city. We discussed the precautions being taken at the pool, the things that I need to do, etc. She gave me the green light to head back to the pool. So I have a lane reservation for tomorrow afternoon/evening. This is going to be a tough swim, as I have been out for so long! --Tom |
| 2020-06-16 5:26 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! |
| 2020-06-17 7:13 AM in reply to: BlueBoy26 |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by BlueBoy26 Well...I probably should have got a gravel bike so I could join in on the Gravel Talk but I got a Blue Triad SL TT bike over the weekend instead.
It is going to go great with my "Blue Boy" theme, but that is not the reason it got it. I got a bike fit for my birthday present about a year after I started doing triathlons to search for a bike that was fit to me rather than continuing to try to fit to my bike. The bike fitter told me I needed a bike with a minimum stack of 553mm and a maximum reach of 437mm. I went through a geometry database with over 60 tribikes and only about 6 bikes fit the criterion. I looked them all up to see what they were and liked the Blue Triad the best but searched the used bike ads for several weeks and three of the other bikes were available in my price range. I went back to the fitter and asked which of the three that were available would be best for me and he said that a Front Center distance of 600-620mm would be the most stable. The Blue Triad was the only bike left on the list when that criterion was added. I ended up getting one of the three that was available but always have had the Blue Triad in the back of my mind as my ideal bike. I saw someone post a Blue Triad SL (red) in a local Triathlon Club page for about half what the bike value guides were putting it at (and $8,200 under MSRP). I looked into it more as a wish than something that I was going to get but found that it only had 1,300 miles on it and was very well maintained. Unfortunately, the Blue Triad SL (red) did not have the same geometry as whatever year/model of the Blue Triad I had in the bike geometry database that I went through 4 years ago. It would not have even made the cut for the final 6, but it was such a good deal I decided to get it anyways and see how close I could get it adjusted to where it needs to be. Everything is now in place except for the saddle-drop. It currently has a saddle-drop of 120mm from the top of the center of the saddle to the top of the center of the elbow pads and I can't add any more stem spacers. I ride with 85mm saddle-drop so I am way off. After riding in the higher position for 4 years the bike definitely feels off with the addition drop to the aero bars. I saw a rule of thumb that 120mm was a typical drop for many triathletes and that 150mm was really aggressive for many triathletes. I have always thought that the bike fitter put me at a much more relaxed position that what I could ride at so I may try riding at the 120mm drop and see if it works for me. I don't think I will be riding the Blue Triad SL at the Duathlon I am racing in this Saturday but will start training with it after the race and see how things go in the more aggressive position.
That is a sweet looking ride, congratulations!!! |
| 2020-06-17 8:21 AM in reply to: UberClydesdale |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by UberClydesdale Hey all, well a lot of things have been happening up here. I think Curtis asked about the snow we got last week here in Laramie.. at my house we measured about 8" of really wet and heavy snow. So much snow that city wide trees were losing branches. Our large tree in front of the house lost a lot from the top of the tree. In fact I had to move my car that is usually parked out front because we were afraid a branch would fall on it. As for the training front, last week I had a schedule doctor appointment. We discussed the opening of pools, specifically the pool in my city. We discussed the precautions being taken at the pool, the things that I need to do, etc. She gave me the green light to head back to the pool. So I have a lane reservation for tomorrow afternoon/evening. This is going to be a tough swim, as I have been out for so long! --Tom I'm glad that you are able to get back to swimming! Woo hoo! It's also good to hear that your car wasn't damaged by falling branches during the storm. |
| 2020-06-17 8:25 AM in reply to: abake |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. |
| 2020-06-17 8:45 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED The feedback that I have received about our Zoom meetups is that we should scale back to about once a month. Let's plan to meet on the last Monday of the month -- same time/location. Thanks! |
| 2020-06-17 8:50 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! |
| 2020-06-17 9:01 AM in reply to: amd723 |
Champion 14677 Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by amd723 gravel riding is not a going "thing" here yet. Especially since NC has a policy to pave as many gravel roads as possible. Forest service roads and access roads are the only ones I know of. Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! |
| 2020-06-17 9:04 AM in reply to: amd723 |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! End of July when? We plan to be in Fletcher sometime in that timeframe as well. We are undecided about the exact dates -- mostly because I need to move some appointments and I'm a little reluctant to do that. Gravelmap was good for some ideas but I ended up looking MTB Project for more details. Gravelmap isn't really routes more like, oh, here's a gravel road. |
| 2020-06-17 9:05 AM in reply to: ceilidh |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by ceilidh Originally posted by amd723 gravel riding is not a going "thing" here yet. Especially since NC has a policy to pave as many gravel roads as possible. Forest service roads and access roads are the only ones I know of. Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! Robin, you are on notice, more and more Manatees are coming! |
| 2020-06-17 9:18 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! End of July when? We plan to be in Fletcher sometime in that timeframe as well. We are undecided about the exact dates -- mostly because I need to move some appointments and I'm a little reluctant to do that. Gravelmap was good for some ideas but I ended up looking MTB Project for more details. Gravelmap isn't really routes more like, oh, here's a gravel road. Right now I'm looking at about the 24th-29th, so a short trip that i may get to extend a couple of days if a couple things on my calendar go away . |
| 2020-06-17 9:28 AM in reply to: amd723 |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! End of July when? We plan to be in Fletcher sometime in that timeframe as well. We are undecided about the exact dates -- mostly because I need to move some appointments and I'm a little reluctant to do that. Gravelmap was good for some ideas but I ended up looking MTB Project for more details. Gravelmap isn't really routes more like, oh, here's a gravel road. Right now I'm looking at about the 24th-29th, so a short trip that i may get to extend a couple of days if a couple things on my calendar go away. Nice! We were thinking the week of the 20th or the week of the 27th. As I said, I need to reschedule some things to make it happen. |
| 2020-06-17 9:57 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
| 1731 Denver, Colorado | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED RE: gravel discussion.... Would mountain bike do the job...? Your stories sound interesting, and the sport starts to be tempting... But I can't afford another bike, while I need to save for a good roadie... Speaking of road bike - the one I have and raced on is very old. I love it, but it's probably my mom's age. My partner said it won't work for all the hills I would ride in CO. Also, the maintenance is problematic, becuase if I get a flat tire, there is no way I would do it myself (I once attended a workshop, and the guy had to search for a special tools to remove the bolts...) The current bikes are so easy - you just take the tire off in no time. I will be looking into buying a new bike, probably paying in payments, as I won't afford 1-2K up front, not now. Is there anything I should look into? What are the things that won't matter (but add the cost)? I would use it for triathlon, but am not crazy competitive, I will also like it to be easier to do long hills. Somebody here recommeded a facebook swap page, but I think I will go for a brand new bike. |
| 2020-06-17 10:06 AM in reply to: marysia83 |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by marysia83 RE: gravel discussion.... Would mountain bike do the job...? Your stories sound interesting, and the sport starts to be tempting... But I can't afford another bike, while I need to save for a good roadie... Speaking of road bike - the one I have and raced on is very old. I love it, but it's probably my mom's age. My partner said it won't work for all the hills I would ride in CO. Also, the maintenance is problematic, becuase if I get a flat tire, there is no way I would do it myself (I once attended a workshop, and the guy had to search for a special tools to remove the bolts...) The current bikes are so easy - you just take the tire off in no time. I will be looking into buying a new bike, probably paying in payments, as I won't afford 1-2K up front, not now. Is there anything I should look into? What are the things that won't matter (but add the cost)? I would use it for triathlon, but am not crazy competitive, I will also like it to be easier to do long hills. Somebody here recommeded a facebook swap page, but I think I will go for a brand new bike. Yes, you can ride a mountain bike on gravel roads and at least some gravel events have a mtb division. Your partner is correct, you are likely to need different gearing in CO than in IL. Have fun shopping for a new roadie! |
| 2020-06-17 10:12 AM in reply to: marysia83 |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by marysia83 RE: gravel discussion.... Would mountain bike do the job...? Your stories sound interesting, and the sport starts to be tempting... But I can't afford another bike, while I need to save for a good roadie... Speaking of road bike - the one I have and raced on is very old. I love it, but it's probably my mom's age. My partner said it won't work for all the hills I would ride in CO. Also, the maintenance is problematic, becuase if I get a flat tire, there is no way I would do it myself (I once attended a workshop, and the guy had to search for a special tools to remove the bolts...) The current bikes are so easy - you just take the tire off in no time. I will be looking into buying a new bike, probably paying in payments, as I won't afford 1-2K up front, not now. Is there anything I should look into? What are the things that won't matter (but add the cost)? I would use it for triathlon, but am not crazy competitive, I will also like it to be easier to do long hills. Somebody here recommeded a facebook swap page, but I think I will go for a brand new bike. If you are looking at road bikes -not tri bikes at that price point I think you have lots of options for really good bikes! This article should give you some great ideas. For hills the most important thing is to have the right gearing - what is the cassette? My tri bike came with 12-25, but I switched it to an 11-28 bc that allowed more gears for riding in western NC. If you're riding in the Rockies you could even go with an 11-32. I'll let the more techie bike people explain this stuff more eloquently! |
| 2020-06-17 10:16 AM in reply to: 0 |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by marysia83 RE: gravel discussion.... Would mountain bike do the job...? Your stories sound interesting, and the sport starts to be tempting... But I can't afford another bike, while I need to save for a good roadie... Speaking of road bike - the one I have and raced on is very old. I love it, but it's probably my mom's age. My partner said it won't work for all the hills I would ride in CO. Also, the maintenance is problematic, becuase if I get a flat tire, there is no way I would do it myself (I once attended a workshop, and the guy had to search for a special tools to remove the bolts...) The current bikes are so easy - you just take the tire off in no time. I will be looking into buying a new bike, probably paying in payments, as I won't afford 1-2K up front, not now. Is there anything I should look into? What are the things that won't matter (but add the cost)? I would use it for triathlon, but am not crazy competitive, I will also like it to be easier to do long hills. Somebody here recommeded a facebook swap page, but I think I will go for a brand new bike. If you are looking at road bikes -not tri bikes at that price point I think you have lots of options for really good bikes! This article should give you some great ideas. For hills the most important thing is to have the right gearing - what is the cassette? My tri bike came with 12-25, but I switched it to an 11-28 bc that allowed more gears for riding in western NC. If you're riding in the Rockies you could even go with an 11-32. I'll let the more techie bike people explain this stuff more eloquently! One thing to add, I'd give strong consideration to disc brakes. OK, make that two things to add, get the bike that fits you. I have never needed a women's specific bike so don't feel like you need to go that way unless that's the one that fits you best. Edited by jmkizer 2020-06-17 10:22 AM |
| 2020-06-17 10:29 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Champion 14677 Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer there can never be enough Manatees!Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer There are so many options for gravel tires now! It somewhat depends on the terrain you will riding -- maybe ask your LBS what people are running on these roads. For riding in the Midwest, the gravel tends to be pretty chunky and for that, we use tires with pretty good tread. Maxxis Ramblers in either 38 or 40 width have worked well for me, and tubeless setup is very popular. For air pressure, anywhere from 35 to 40 psi. Another tire I like is the Specialized Tracer Pro, although it seems to have a bit more rolling resistance. Panaracer makes some very popular gravel tires and some of them come in great sidewall colors!!! More gravel talk I know that I need to address the gearing on my Cx bike to make it more usable. If I am still enjoying gravel riding, I may consider replacing the Cx bike with a gravel bike but not immediately -- maybe a year out? So, assuming that I can get the gearing taken care of, my next question involves tires. How wide, what pressure, what tread pattern is appropriate for the forest roads that I encounter in NC? I currently have 35s on my cross bike and I think that I can go wider. The tires that I are Kenda Kwick Cx tires (appear to be these ones) I read this article about Ted King's recommendations but I'm no Ted King-like rider so I thought that I'd ask ;-) I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. Knowing which tires to use is something I've been thinking about too. Right now the ones that came with the bike do just fine on the terrain around here, but I also bought some with fewer knobs thinking they'd work on what i've been (or pre-injury been) riding and be good for the road. I haven't gotten them out of the box they shipped in yet! I hope to bring my gravel bike to WNC end of July, so I'll keep what's on them for that trip. I'm not really sure where we'll do our riding other than some of the Deep Creek trails. I have a sneaky suspicion that bike shops in Bryson City will be similar to Asheville as it relates to their gravel bike understanding! End of July when? We plan to be in Fletcher sometime in that timeframe as well. We are undecided about the exact dates -- mostly because I need to move some appointments and I'm a little reluctant to do that. Gravelmap was good for some ideas but I ended up looking MTB Project for more details. Gravelmap isn't really routes more like, oh, here's a gravel road. Right now I'm looking at about the 24th-29th, so a short trip that i may get to extend a couple of days if a couple things on my calendar go away. Nice! We were thinking the week of the 20th or the week of the 27th. As I said, I need to reschedule some things to make it happen. |
| 2020-06-17 10:54 AM in reply to: ceilidh |
| 1731 Denver, Colorado | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Wow, thank you so much for the great advice. I would never think about such things. |
| 2020-06-17 11:10 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED I have had both "women's" and "men's" bikes and really not noticed much difference in design or comfort. In theory women's bikes are designed for a body which has proportionately longer arms and legs and a shorter torso, which does describe me, but certainly not all women. I think it would probably make a bigger difference for a petite woman who might find it hard to find a small enough "men's" bike. I've had Trek 1.2 and 1.5 road bikes and been very happy with them, especially the 1.5. Trek also makes some great higher-end road bikes. Be aware that road and tri bike sizing is different--typically you'll be a size or two up on road bike vs. tri bike. And if you're going to be riding it a lot, get a professional fit. I had to go back and do that after the fact when I started riding the roadie a lot more during IM training--I developed some knee and other discomfort that I'd never had when mainly using it for recreation and doing almost all my training on the tri bike. |
| 2020-06-17 11:20 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by amd723 Originally posted by marysia83 RE: gravel discussion.... Would mountain bike do the job...? Your stories sound interesting, and the sport starts to be tempting... But I can't afford another bike, while I need to save for a good roadie... Speaking of road bike - the one I have and raced on is very old. I love it, but it's probably my mom's age. My partner said it won't work for all the hills I would ride in CO. Also, the maintenance is problematic, becuase if I get a flat tire, there is no way I would do it myself (I once attended a workshop, and the guy had to search for a special tools to remove the bolts...) The current bikes are so easy - you just take the tire off in no time. I will be looking into buying a new bike, probably paying in payments, as I won't afford 1-2K up front, not now. Is there anything I should look into? What are the things that won't matter (but add the cost)? I would use it for triathlon, but am not crazy competitive, I will also like it to be easier to do long hills. Somebody here recommeded a facebook swap page, but I think I will go for a brand new bike. If you are looking at road bikes -not tri bikes at that price point I think you have lots of options for really good bikes! This article should give you some great ideas. For hills the most important thing is to have the right gearing - what is the cassette? My tri bike came with 12-25, but I switched it to an 11-28 bc that allowed more gears for riding in western NC. If you're riding in the Rockies you could even go with an 11-32. I'll let the more techie bike people explain this stuff more eloquently! One thing to add, I'd give strong consideration to disc brakes. OK, make that two things to add, get the bike that fits you. I have never needed a women's specific bike so don't feel like you need to go that way unless that's the one that fits you best. There is a "category" of bikes known as All-Road. Generally speaking, these bikes have the ability to take a slightly wider (28-38 mm), more knobby type of tire for gravel riding and can run a 23 or 25 mm wide road tire without issue. These bikes actually make it possible to have one bike for multiple types of rides. Something like a Salsa Journeyman, Jamis Renegade, or the Giant Contend. Disc brakes have helped make this sort of thing possible, and like Janyne, I would highly suggest them. If you are worried about the weight penalty, don't be. If you think that disc brakes aren't helpful in hills or mountains, watch the video of Julian Alaphilippe descending Galibier in the TdF last year. He wasn't just fast, he was scary fast. And the reason why is that he could go further into the corner before braking and feather those brakes much better than he could with rim brakes. I was not sold on disc brakes until I watched that. I will not purchase a new bike without them now. |
| 2020-06-17 1:09 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. There are definitely niches of knowledge among the bike shops. We have 5 shops in this area and only one of them is truly a good source for all things gravel. They are a Specialized dealer and sell quite a few Diverges. I had a 2016 Diverge (last year before they added Future Shock) and then a 2017 Diverge with Future Shock. Future Shock (FS) is a sort of suspension that is built into the head tube. It absorbs the shock of riding on rough ground so that your arms and shoulders don't fatigue as quickly. It really is a nice touch. Not sure about Red Shift -- SRAM does make a line of shifters/drive train components called Red but maybe that's not what you were referring to. A good site for discussion about gravel components is ridinggravel.com. Here's an entire forum devoted to gravel tire choice: https://www.ridinggravel.com/forum/?p=%3Fforum%3D494958 |
| 2020-06-17 1:25 PM in reply to: abake |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. There are definitely niches of knowledge among the bike shops. We have 5 shops in this area and only one of them is truly a good source for all things gravel. They are a Specialized dealer and sell quite a few Diverges. I had a 2016 Diverge (last year before they added Future Shock) and then a 2017 Diverge with Future Shock. Future Shock (FS) is a sort of suspension that is built into the head tube. It absorbs the shock of riding on rough ground so that your arms and shoulders don't fatigue as quickly. It really is a nice touch. Not sure about Red Shift -- SRAM does make a line of shifters/drive train components called Red but maybe that's not what you were referring to. A good site for discussion about gravel components is ridinggravel.com. Here's an entire forum devoted to gravel tire choice: https://www.ridinggravel.com/forum/?p=%3Fforum%3D494958Red Shift is like Future Shock in that it's in the stem but you tune it to a rider's weight. I mean, you add a spring to it based on the weight or desired springiness. I don't know if it has a lock out or not. Also, it's not a SRAM product but a completely separate company. https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem |
| 2020-06-17 2:42 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. There are definitely niches of knowledge among the bike shops. We have 5 shops in this area and only one of them is truly a good source for all things gravel. They are a Specialized dealer and sell quite a few Diverges. I had a 2016 Diverge (last year before they added Future Shock) and then a 2017 Diverge with Future Shock. Future Shock (FS) is a sort of suspension that is built into the head tube. It absorbs the shock of riding on rough ground so that your arms and shoulders don't fatigue as quickly. It really is a nice touch. Not sure about Red Shift -- SRAM does make a line of shifters/drive train components called Red but maybe that's not what you were referring to. A good site for discussion about gravel components is ridinggravel.com. Here's an entire forum devoted to gravel tire choice: https://www.ridinggravel.com/forum/?p=%3Fforum%3D494958Red Shift is like Future Shock in that it's in the stem but you tune it to a rider's weight. I mean, you add a spring to it based on the weight or desired springiness. I don't know if it has a lock out or not. Also, it's not a SRAM product but a completely separate company. https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem That's pretty cool -- and they have a seatpost as well. Do you know if any bikes are being sold with the Redshift system? |
| 2020-06-17 2:48 PM in reply to: abake |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer That's pretty cool -- and they have a seatpost as well. Do you know if any bikes are being sold with the Redshift system? Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer I tried to talk to two different bike shops in WNC and neither seemed knowledgrable. The first shop basically wanted me to get a mountain bike. The second one was a Salsa and Specialized dealer. They had no Salsa's in stock and showed me the 2021 Diverge. It has Future Shock. I asked about Future Shock versus Red Shift. They looked confused. For a second, I thought that I had it wrong and he asked another guy in the shop who looked at the computer and was like, "Oh, that's a SRAM product." He clearly had not seen it in person. Anyway, at that point, I pretty much stopped asking questions. They did say that they'll have Salsa rentals in the falls (assuming that bikes come in). Anyway, I'll ask my local (Raleigh area) bike mechanic about tires. There are definitely niches of knowledge among the bike shops. We have 5 shops in this area and only one of them is truly a good source for all things gravel. They are a Specialized dealer and sell quite a few Diverges. I had a 2016 Diverge (last year before they added Future Shock) and then a 2017 Diverge with Future Shock. Future Shock (FS) is a sort of suspension that is built into the head tube. It absorbs the shock of riding on rough ground so that your arms and shoulders don't fatigue as quickly. It really is a nice touch. Not sure about Red Shift -- SRAM does make a line of shifters/drive train components called Red but maybe that's not what you were referring to. A good site for discussion about gravel components is ridinggravel.com. Here's an entire forum devoted to gravel tire choice: https://www.ridinggravel.com/forum/?p=%3Fforum%3D494958Red Shift is like Future Shock in that it's in the stem but you tune it to a rider's weight. I mean, you add a spring to it based on the weight or desired springiness. I don't know if it has a lock out or not. Also, it's not a SRAM product but a completely separate company. https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem No but guessing from the Sycamore Bike response, not Salsa! The review that I heard was that RedShift knocks the stuffing out of Future Shock. |
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