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A windy ride

03.02.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

I had planned on a longish ride in the country today, but a cold front is due here tonight, and the winds are kicking up in advance. Gusts have hit 36 mph, so I figured instead I’d ride on the Veloway. The path is protected by trees or bushes for most of its 3.1 miles. It’s less than three miles from my house, so was a natural choice.

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A look at the bike path. It’s a one-way path – slower bikes are urged to keep right.

The new Specialized can do things the old Raleigh couldn’t do. Like handle a stiff headwind. The compact crank gives me more options to deal with hills and wind resistance. It can get knocked about in a sidewind, though, and you must stay alert. It’s also a little skittish going into turns. The Raleigh, when pointed on its line, stayed there. The Specialized will lose the line unless you concentrate. I’ve found that looking in the direction you intend to turn helps keep the bike pointed on the right line.

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Most of the other bikers out there today were roadies. A few mountain bikers were out, but not many.

I did four laps of the Veloway, for 12.4 miles. Coupled with a 5.6-mile roundtrip from home, a nice 18-mile ride. The weather for the next few days will be chilly and wet – but I’ll be working, and there won’t be much riding time.

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Categories // Rides, Specialized

Mountain biking?

03.01.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my bikes is a Trek mountain bike.  I rode it some the year I got it, but never really took to it.  It’s a pretty nice bike – a Trek 4900, which is an entry-level hardtail.  The term “hardtail,” means it has no rear suspension.

It does have a front suspension fork, which makes for an interesting feeling when you jam down on the pedals, or try to stop fast.  The bike noses down.  The suspension is supposed to smooth out the bumps on off-road riding.   But I never ride it off road.

Recently, before I got the new Specialized, the Raleigh was in the shop for some work.  The Trek was the only option I had for my weekend ride, so I figured I’d take it out to the Veloway.

One problem I encountered right away was the front derailleur.  It wouldn’t shift onto the large chainring.  I fiddled with the adjustment screws, but couldn’t get it to go.  I decided to take it out anyway, and pedal easy.

It turned out not to be too bad.  The knobby tires do take away some of your potential speed, but otherwise, the bike responded well, and I seemed to make good time.  When I got to the Veloway, I decided to see just how fast I could get the bike to go, especially since I didn’t have the large chainring to shift to.

A young woman on a Giant road bike passed me right after I entered the track.  I spun easily, sipping  from my water bottle, and enjoyed the ride.  When we hit the first fast patch of road, I zipped by her.  It turned out she was new at biking, because her boyfriend in team bike clothes and a high-end road bike was waiting for her farther up.  He looked at me as I shot past, and then turned his attention back to her.

I took the two hairpins as fast as I dared, and passed a couple of other mountain bikes in the process.  But I also got passed by some road bikes, who sailed by easily, with seemingly little effort.

Still, it was a good ride.   The Trek doesn’t have a cyclocomputer, but I wore a stopwatch, and I was only three minutes slower for the route than I normally was on the Raleigh.  Average speed was about 15 mph.

The Trek will probably stay around for awhile as a backup bike.  If I decide to keep it, I’ll have the derailleurs set right, and get some slick city tires for it.  Some of my biking acquaintances have both road and mountain bikes, and do regular trail rides, but that just doesn’t appeal to me.  As a backup, the Trek will do fine.  But I had a ride on Mopac last night on the new Specialized, and my average speed over 13 miles was more than 17 mph.  With considerably less effort than either the old Raleigh or the Trek.  If you live in the Austin area, and are interested in a mountain bike, I might consider your offer.

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Categories // Bikes, Rides, Specialized

A new bike

02.24.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

My wife and I had agreed that my birthday present this year would be a new bike. I was just getting tired of pushing around the heavy Raleigh. My problem, though, was to figure out just what kind of bike to get.

Carbon would be interesting. But carbon bikes start around $2,000, and I couldn’t make myself spend that kind of money on a bike. I’ve been at it for less than a year, and what if I fall out of love with biking, and give it up in six more months?

Do I look at components, and go for the best I can buy within my budget? That’s not a bad idea, but it soon became clear that for $1,500 or less, which was my self-imposed price point, I’d be getting Shimano 105 derailleurs and shifters – the middle ground of Shimano’s line.

How about geometry? I’m in my 50s, and the old Raleigh stretched me out more than I wanted. The new, more upright geometry with sloping top tubes – “compact geometry” – might be the way to go.

Then there’s fit. Much of the information I’ve seen over the past several months argues that all those other things really don’t matter if the bike is a bad fit. It was also obvious that on my budget, I could get a lot more bike if I bought it online, from one of several companies that offer great deals. I’d have to do a small amount of assembly work myself, but I’d get a heckuva bike for the price. But I’m all thumbs, and those who advised to get a bike from a local bike shop (LBS) made sense. You pay a premium for service, fitting, and free tuneups for a year, but it’s worth it.

Okay. LBS, compact geometry, $1,500 limit. What to buy? My first target was the Specialized Roubaix, which has gotten a lot of good press since its introduction some years ago. But they started at about $1,600, and with the extras I planned to get, that just wouldn’t work. Specialized has a more entry-level road bike, the Allez, with basic components like Shimano Sora. Jamis and Felt offer bikes that have a nice combination of components at a decent price. Trek has two models that interested me – the Pilot, which is all about upright geometry, and the 2.3 – also featuring a compact frame, but with more emphasis on speed than comfort.

Bicycle Sport Shop in Austin stocks both Specialized and Trek. But it turns out they’ve dropped Trek’s aluminum frames, and only handle carbon. The choice, then, was easy.

allez1.jpg

I picked the Specialized Allez Elite. Shimano 105 rear derailleur, Tiagra front. Compact crank, with 50 and 34 tooth sprockets. Compared to the Raleigh, light as a feather. Some of the other components are low end. I added two water bottle cages, a seat bag, and Shimano SPD-SL clipless pedals. The salesperson agreed to swap out the standard white saddle for a black one at no extra charge. Once the shop had mounted all the accessories, it was time to be fitted.

She put the bike on a trainer, and had me put on my bike shoes and get on. Once I started pedaling, she looked at my riding angle and leg extension. I stopped, and she held up a large clear plastic angle finder to my leg. We were trying to get a 35-degree bend in my leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke. She raised the seat a bit. I pedaled some more. She had me stop with the pedals at nine o’clock and three o’clock, and dropped a plumb bob from my forward knee. “This bike was made for you,” she said – no changes necessary there.

I got the bike home, changed into my cycling clothes, and took it out to the Veloway for a shakedown cruise. Verdict: I’m going to like this bike.

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Categories // Bikes, Components, Specialized

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