Second bike age...how old is too old>

MattFalle

MattFalle said:

back pockets (plus 'phone

before anyone says it, obviously the machete and bench grinder don't go in the pockets.

masjer

Proper cyclists use saddlebags on training rides -including pros.
Poncy posers hang around at home worrying about what they'll look like if they actually dare to go riding.

elbowloh

What's the consensus on a backpack with a camelbak?

MattFalle

elbowloh said:

What's the consensus on a backpack with a camelbak?

then you belong in the mtb section

MattFalle

masjer said:

Proper cyclists use saddlebags on training rides -including pros.
Poncy posers hang around at home worrying about what they'll look like if they actually dare to go riding.

proper cyclist - read clubbies from a post written by a clubbie.

i bet you have mudguards (full length, fitted, rubbing) as well.

why would you need a saddle bag when you can just put in in your pockets?

MattFalle

actually, just by writing the phrase "proper cyclist" makes your opinion defunct.

proper cyclist. ffs.

masjer

Never been in a club but (unlike you) aren't derogatory about people who are.
Yup, full mudguards all winter- because (unlike you) I actually ride.
My pockets aren't big enough. Maybe you're an XXL and have more pocket room, plus I don't worry what people think about me and my bike (unlike you)

MattFalle

and of course you think about what you look like before you go out otherwise we'd all look like a bunch of shitkicking hillbillies from the valleys.

MattFalle

definitly not one poseur in this lot, or even one who looked in the mirror before leaving home.

masjer

Yeah but they look happy!

MattFalle

errr? and?

so you can't be well dressed and not ride shitbikes covered in shitluggage and be happy?

or are you saying you have to dress like a fluorescent adolescent turkey in order to smile for a camera?

seriously dude, you're now scraping the bottom of the barrel.

womack

Just to clarify one point about my carrying of a "three course meal" I do this because of a health condition which needs to be controlled.

Luckily the other day I had it with me as at 7O miles the cafe I had previously selected to go to for nourishment was closed. There was not another in the vicinity.

So would I rather look a "nonce" with my saddlebag and stay alive or look like an "elite athlete" like MF and suffer?

MattFalle

pain and suffering equals beauty.

looking PRO is part of the 7Ps that you failed miserably - you're in the middle of the mess that is england and you didn't plan a second back up establishment for "nourishment" (ie a chip cob).

MattFalle

womack said:

Just to clarify one point about my carrying of a "three course meal" I do this because of a health condition which needs to be controlled.

Luckily the other day I had it with me as at 7O miles the cafe I had previously selected to go to for nourishment was closed. There was not another in the vicinity.

So would I rather look a "nonce" with my saddlebag and stay alive or look like an "elite athlete" like MF and suffer?

i do like the drama though.

"STAY ALIVE"

you could have always grabbed a Ginsters and a Mars Bar from a petrol station i suppose.

oblongomaculatus

MattFalle said:

oblongomaculatus said:

MattFalle said:

oblongomaculatus said:

MattFalle said:

womack said:

the fact that someone wanted to fit mudguards and an under saddle suitcase to it cannot and must not be ignored.

such sacriligious acts to a CAAD are abominable and should never be condoned.

This is The Rules, isn't it? That stuff about correct sock length, angle of QR levers and so on. In which case, I'm inclined to get as big a saddle pack as I can find.

no its not.

its about not making your bike lookshit.

Oh? Well Rule 29 says no saddle bags, Rule 30 says no frame mounted pumps, Rule 31 says spare tubes, multi-tools and repair kits should be stored in jersey pockets, rule 45 says slam your stem, Rule 52 says bidons are to be small in size, 500-610ml maximum, no extra large vessels are to be seen on one’s machine. Two cages can be mounted, but only one bidon on rides under two hours is to be employed… Sounds an awful lot like The Rules to me, or at least the ones about not making your bike look like what some would consider censored . But I think not having your pockets crammed full to bursting with stuff digging into you, not riding in a position that hurts your back, neck and wrists, and carrying enough to drink is more important than what other riders may think your bike looks like.

thanks for pointing that out but as i don't actually know much about the rules or read them its good to have someone to do it for me.

its about not having your bike lookshyte - call it the MF rules of not having your bike look shite.

tbh, i'm not sure why people want want to carry sandwiches, cakes and all that jazz.

ok, i ride tubs, so no inner tubes, so: back pockets:

Middle pocket: 'phone with bank card and £20 note in the case.

Left hand pockey: 1 or if i'm feeling extravagent, 2 cans of Vittoria pit stop with presta/schrader adaptor taped on.

Right hand pocket: gels and tiny cafe lock that I paid €1.50 for in a French supermarket.

I'll have either a Co2 nozzle and 2 canisters in a pocket (left hand) or if I'm feeling like impending doom, use one of those zip up things that go in a bottle cage with a small multi tool, some cable ties and a Leatherman.

bottle in other cage.

if you want a spare tube, tuck it/them under the saddle and tape it on.

you may not mind your bike looking looking like a jeffy clubbie machine with a stupid suitcase under the saddle but hey, some of us don't want to look total honking websters and have enough of the 7Ps not to need to.

I’m don’t know much of the rules either, but I’m aware of them and skimmed though them earlier. They seem to be a mix of sensible advice, such as being able to fix a puncture, or not riding erratically, and tongue in cheek stuff about what to wear and what not to wear, which some seem to take seriously.

I do sometimes take a sandwich with me if I’m on a really long ride. I don’t want to go into a shop for supplies because I’m not willing to leave the bike, even with a cafe lock. As I explained, I have no-one I can call for a rescue if the bike is taken, so it's not worth even a small risk.

I do have spacers, because I've found things hurt if I don’t. (The stem is pointed down though) You’re lucky you don’t get back/neck/wrist pain, but I do. I was never very flexible and getting less so as I age. Being comfortable on the bike is paramount, not what someone else deems cool or not cool.

Lastly, some questions. What is “ally”, what is a jeffy clubbie machine, a total honking webster and the 7Ps? I have never heard any of these expressions before.

MattFalle

ally saves lives my friend, it saves lives.

oblongomaculatus

MattFalle said:

ally saves lives my friend, it saves lives.

That still doesn't explain what the word means. Or the others.

First.Aspect

MattFalle said:

womack said:

Just to clarify one point about my carrying of a "three course meal" I do this because of a health condition which needs to be controlled.

Luckily the other day I had it with me as at 7O miles the cafe I had previously selected to go to for nourishment was closed. There was not another in the vicinity.

So would I rather look a "nonce" with my saddlebag and stay alive or look like an "elite athlete" like MF and suffer?

i do like the drama though.

"STAY ALIVE"

you could have always grabbed a Ginsters and a Mars Bar from a petrol station i suppose.

It is a common misconception, but ginsters aren't a food manufacturer. They are plumbing supplies to block pipes. For god's sake don't eat it.

stampz

Now had a spruce up. Swapped saddle out, new bar tape and cable inners and outers. Pretty happy with it.

MattFalle

Looking good.

Can you drop the stem now please and thank you.

stampz

MattFalle said:

Looking good.

Can you drop the stem now please and thank you.

Genuine question, and I guess I need to try it for myself....but having been riding for about 5 years "seriously" and being the tender age of 39 I've never ridden on any of my bikes with a slammed stem. No idea why always presumed potentially wrongly that a) I'm too amateur, and b) it causes back pain

Usually I average around 16-17mph for anything up to about 65 mile.

Am I going to see any benefit other than looking cool?

pblakeney

stampz said:

MattFalle said:

Looking good.

Can you drop the stem now please and thank you.

Genuine question, and I guess I need to try it for myself....but having been riding for about 5 years "seriously" and being the tender age of 39 I've never ridden on any of my bikes with a slammed stem. No idea why always presumed potentially wrongly that a) I'm too amateur, and b) it causes back pain

Usually I average around 16-17mph for anything up to about 65 mile.

Am I going to see any benefit other than looking cool?

More aero so either easier or faster, or a combination of both.
You have to be comfortable but most end up with the bars lower than the saddle.

First.Aspect

Slam a stem if it puts the bars where you want them. Don't if it doesn't. And ignore wind up merchants.

stampz

First.Aspect said:

Slam a stem if it puts the bars where you want them. Don't if it doesn't. And ignore wind up merchants.

Absolutely, I'm not a sheep in the slightest, am genuinely intrigued if there is any advantage for Joe Average

DeVlaeminck

Not really. That said I do prefer to keep spacers to a couple if cm max just for looks.

MattFalle

stampz said:

First.Aspect said:

Slam a stem if it puts the bars where you want them. Don't if it doesn't. And ignore wind up merchants.

Absolutely, I'm not a sheep in the slightest, am genuinely intrigued if there is any advantage for Joe Average

as above - can be more aero, more comfy, more all round everything better including cool.

it may also not.

just try it and if you don't like it put the spacers, or a combo of the spacers, back.

you barely have a saddle to bar drop so its more than likely it'll be fine.

neeb

Yup, try it. Assuming you are comfortable and can maintain the same position(s) with your arms you will go faster. It'll make much more difference to drag/aero than deep section wheels / aero frame / aero anything else and possibly even a skinsuit.

(edit) obviously you don't need to "slam" it, just get the bars as low as you are comfortable with. I'd generally always have a 5mm spacer below the stem anyway.

dennisn

"how old is to old"? Are you asking for yourself or the bike?