"Bike Porn"-your rides and how/where you use them

[California4x4]

First night mountain bike ride on a fab cool clear evening. I find it’s so good for my technique when you just react or ride over what enters the pool of light to your front rather than worrying about picking the perfect line. I also found some real flow on some down hill sections

 

[Louis II]

I love a night ride, gives familiar trails a whole new dimension.

 

[pjm-84]

I know what you mean. Something about them.

 

[California4x4]

I love a night ride, gives familiar trails a whole new dimension.
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It also allows you to ride one-way mountain biking trails safely in reverse as there’s hardly anyone on them and you can see each other from miles away.

 

[DrJuanKerr]

I've recently taken delivery of this. Bafang Ultra motor [1.5KW & 160Nm torque], Rockshox Lyric, Magura M5e brakes, XT Groupset. It goes really well. The thumb operated throttle is a hoot!

I've removed the ludicrous side stand and changed the wheels for a set of CrankBros Cobalt 3 resulting in a weight saving of almost 3KG. It still tops the scales at ~30KG so still damn heavy!

 

[pjm-84]

Passed by an ebike this morning. He made it look easy cycling up the climb. Finding my Trigger1 heavy going up but a hoot coming down.

 

[haydnw2]

Very interesting episode of Downtime last week - "Are e-bikes good or bad?". I think there are definitely issues around trail use / general etiquette, particularly from those who are new to the sport. The less powerful, lighter models sound really interesting though.

 

[TwoDogs]

Very interesting episode of Downtime last week - "Are e-bikes good or bad?". I think there are definitely issues around trail use / general etiquette, particularly from those who are new to the sport. The less powerful, lighter models sound really interesting though.

There's so many around here now....you just know as soon as you hear someone coming up behind you fast on a climb that they're on a ebike. Each to their own...I can see me getting one eventually when I'm old, or as a way to get out after injury or illness....but I enjoy the challenge of the climbs

 

[zippster]

im not ready for an e-bike just yet, don't get me wrong I like the idea but I still outride on a regular basis friends on e-mtb from the club, the other weekend one guy was insistent on trying to keep up with me on the hills (im a gazelle) his battery died 5miles out of the the coffee stop and had to pedal his 20kg+ bike the rest of the way.. to say he was knackered was an understatement..

I mainly ride my mtb this time of year and keep my roadie for summer.. ive ridden over 4000miles since lockdown and hunting for hills on my freak of a bike.. its AWESOME! its kinda like cheating as its also full carbon and flys

 

[RikFizz]

Careful we don't stray into the e-bikes and Strava discussion.... that would probably be a thread all on its own!!

 

[Moakesy]

im not ready for an e-bike just yet, don't get me wrong I like the idea but I still outride on a regular basis friends on e-mtb from the club, the other weekend one guy was insistent on trying to keep up with me on the hills (im a gazelle) his battery died 5miles out of the the coffee stop and had to pedal his 20kg+ bike the rest of the way.. to say he was knackered was an understatement..

I mainly ride my mtb this time of year and keep my roadie for summer.. ive ridden over 4000miles since lockdown and hunting for hills on my freak of a bike.. its AWESOME! its kinda like cheating as its also full carbon and flys

That's a lovely looking bike.....

4000 miles is H U G E !!! I thought I'd done a lot at almost 4,000 KM.

Since lockdown, I've become something of a Zwift addict. Still did a fair bit of road rides in the summer and now it's mainly getting out early 6:30am for an off road ride on the CX bike. But mainly it's off to the shed for a virtual Zwift ride/race. I've massively increased my fitness as a result, just a shame there's no real racing events for me to test my new found power against old rivals!

 

[zippster]

Careful we don't stray into the e-bikes and Strava discussion.... that would probably be a thread all on its own!!

don't get me started on e-bikes and segments, and people not correctly flagging ride/segment using a e-bike!

 

[zippster]

That's a lovely looking bike.....

4000 miles is H U G E !!! I thought I'd done a lot at almost 4,000 KM.

Since lockdown, I've become something of a Zwift addict. Still did a fair bit of road rides in the summer and now it's mainly getting out early 6:30am for an off road ride on the CX bike. But mainly it's off to the shed for a virtual Zwift ride/race. I've massively increased my fitness as a result, just a shame there's no real racing events for me to test my new found power against old rivals!

ahh cheers, ive lost over 20kg and have a BF <8% now and loving life and fitness once again( thanks covid) I was waiting for someone to mention Zwift.. this is my new favourite pain guilty pleasure.. ive recently joined the club and bought a Tacx neo2t for my pain cave.. still gives the Pina a good run but my god its hard work and im loving it! I burn more kcal on my trainer than out on the road or trails its mental!

been trying to session some of the mega hills (Alpe du Zwift, aka Alpe duez) as I plan to ride it for real next year on a roadtrip..

if you ever fancy a 'virtual ride' gimme a shout !

 

[Amarillo]

4000 miles is H U G E !!! I thought I'd done a lot at almost 4,000 KM.

My elder boy (age 6) has ridden 500 miles in the past 5 weeks, including a three stage ride from S. London to Hastings. (1. Greenwich to Gatwick; 2. Gatwick to Eridge; 3. Eridge to Hastings).

 

[zippster]

@Amarillo wow that's fantastic! he's got the bug then! Great to see!

 

[Amarillo]

@Amarillo wow that's fantastic! he's got the bug then! Great to see!

And he eats cake like there’s no tomorrow!

 

[Moakesy]

ahh cheers, ive lost over 20kg and have a BF <8% now and loving life and fitness once again( thanks covid) I was waiting for someone to mention Zwift.. this is my new favourite pain guilty pleasure.. ive recently joined the club and bought a Tacx neo2t for my pain cave.. still gives the Pina a good run but my god its hard work and im loving it! I burn more kcal on my trainer than out on the road or trails its mental!

been trying to session some of the mega hills (Alpe du Zwift, aka Alpe duez) as I plan to ride it for real next year on a roadtrip..

if you ever fancy a 'virtual ride' gimme a shout !

Puts my losing 7Kg and 18% body fat into perspective!! Still, my FTP has gone up massively, so I'm very happy.

How do you find the Tacx, working well? I went for the Wattbike Atom about a year ago and love it.

I'll be Zwifting this afternoon if you're able to make it. Might be too short notice for you though?

 

[Moakesy]

My elder boy (age 6) has ridden 500 miles in the past 5 weeks, including a three stage ride from S. London to Hastings. (1. Greenwich to Gatwick; 2. Gatwick to Eridge; 3. Eridge to Hastings).

Fantastic. Love it when kids do good distances. The just get on with it and carry on (especially if fed sufficient cake!!)

 

[zippster]

Puts my losing 7Kg and 18% body fat into perspective!! Still, my FTP has gone up massively, so I'm very happy.

How do you find the Tacx, working well? I went for the Wattbike Atom about a year ago and love it.

I'll be Zwifting this afternoon if you're able to make it. Might be too short notice for you though?

you've done incredibly well with your loss and should be very proud ! im just an all or nothing kinda person ive adjusted my diet also and I ride every day rain or shine, I avg around 150miles a week(sometimes more) I tend to ride after work and before dinner on Zwift to fill the void and keep the legs fresh.. Tacx is amazing, it had road feel so cobbles, wooden planks and gravel etc are somehow really realistic.. I still look down over cobbles to check my drive train is still there and the frame is in one piece.. really enjoying Zwift and its keeping me motivated to ride over winter!

 

[Moakesy]

you've done incredibly well with your loss and should be very proud ! im just an all or nothing kinda person ive adjusted my diet also and I ride every day rain or shine, I avg around 150miles a week(sometimes more) I tend to ride after work and before dinner on Zwift to fill the void and keep the legs fresh.. Tacx is amazing, it had road feel so cobbles, wooden planks and gravel etc are somehow really realistic.. I still look down over cobbles to check my drive train is still there and the frame is in one piece.. really enjoying Zwift and its keeping me motivated to ride over winter!

I normally do six days/week and total about 100 miles, which would explain your 4,000 miles vs my 4,000 km's thing!

The strength/fitness gap isn't going to be huge between us, so if you (or anyone else on here) does fancy a Zwift meet-up, I'll be up for that.

Getting back to the original topic, I wonder if the Tron Bike counts as bike p@rn?

 

[Sunstoner]

Very interesting episode of Downtime last week - "Are e-bikes good or bad?". I think there are definitely issues around trail use / general etiquette, particularly from those who are new to the sport. The less powerful, lighter models sound really interesting though.

Being a new ebike emtb owner and a little too conscious of the fact I usually either switch off the system whilst I get past slower traffic or sit a distance behind and wait for a decent good spot to overtake. Im certainly no trail monster.

There all sorts of opinions on good/bad. For me personally its been quite the plus. Ive never covered so many miles on a bike and everytime I finish a ride I want to go again. Because of this Im definitely fitter for it and im loving the adventure in simply getting outhere. It certainly offers a different dimension to biking.

 

[pjm-84]

I do and I don't like them. So the E bike that was behind me, let me to go ahead at the start of the trail and then immediately chased me down the trail (he may have caught me up a little on the flatter top section) I have no issue with this but need to quickly gauge if he / she is catching, i.e I need to pull to one side and let them by. Trying to ride a descending trail and watch behind is tricky. I decided he wasn't catching on the tech sections and put the hammer down on the flats and rises as there was more tech bits in my favour. At one point I thought he had crashed so slowed until I saw him reappear before setting off again. At the end of the trail i waited and told him to go by as the climbing was before us

He didn't gallop away and if I was fresh and on a lighter bike i would have stayed with him. However there is a switch back on the climb that I can not get the bike around (XL 29er) and I probably lose 10seconds here. The E bike made it look easy. (Then I hated it!)

To the two teenagers on ebikes that were looking down at my cranks for a e motor and wondering why someone probably older than their Dads wasn't riding one. Stop being lazy!

 

[CALI FATE]

Just built up a Stooge Scrambler - Ive gone the other way - no motor no battery no suspension - great fun in the woods

 

[CALI FATE]

Just built up a Stooge Scrambler - Ive gone the other way - no motor no battery no suspension - great fun in the woods

 

[Sunstoner]

I do and I don't like them. So the E bike that was behind me, let me to go ahead at the start of the trail and then immediately chased me down the trail (he may have caught me up a little on the flatter top section) I have no issue with this but need to quickly gauge if he / she is catching, i.e I need to pull to one side and let them by. Trying to ride a descending trail and watch behind is tricky. I decided he wasn't catching on the tech sections and put the hammer down on the flats and rises as there was more tech bits in my favour. At one point I thought he had crashed so slowed until I saw him reappear before setting off again. At the end of the trail i waited and told him to go by as the climbing was before us

He didn't gallop away and if I was fresh and on a lighter bike i would have stayed with him. However there is a switch back on the climb that I can not get the bike around (XL 29er) and I probably lose 10seconds here. The E bike made it look easy. (Then I hated it!)

To the two teenagers on ebikes that were looking down at my cranks for a e motor and wondering why someone probably older than their Dads wasn't riding one. Stop being lazy!

I can totally understand this. Much like drones (in a way), theres idiots outhere who dont have common curtesy and spoil it for the masses.

I was at Sherwood pines a couple of months back on a clear run and testing out the most powerful mode on the bike, aptly named 'Turbo' when gunning it along a stretch I was surprised to be over taken by quite some speed by another emtb. I couldnt quite believe the pace of the thing but it dawned on me that it was more than likely de-restricted which is a different beast altogether.

My first attempt at a red run was bonkers. As a very much novice mtb'er I was fairly cautious letting the more technical and experienced riders through and watched them disappear into the distance as I tiptoed my way through each section but as the miles passed and my confidence grew I ended up being let through by the same riders whilst they were having a breather. I pretty much covered my face by this point sheepishly thanking them for letting me through whilst I 'cracked on' with the next section, not stopping. I was knackered by end but it gave the experience of like being on a rollercoaster. Find the right gear with right cadence and hang on! Mega fun admittedly.