Well, my bike of over 20 years (pictured on a previous page) was stolen yesterday in broad daylight. Locked up with a Kryptonite cable lock, I was gone for 45 minutes. Time to go shopping I guess.

^enframed, sorry to hear the rotten news.

penningtron wrote: I have a few friends who have gone tubeless within the last year. I haven't made up my mind about them yet: while they do seem to get less day to day flats, it still happens sometimes (deep potholes or train track grooves and whatnot) and I don't believe it's something that can be re-sealed on the spot. I think they perform better with less PSI which is counterintuitive compared to conventional road tires.

My wife's gravel bike had tubeless 28cs that failed completely a couple of times, and we found them infuriating to work with. We probably could've got comfortable with them had we invested time and effort in learning how to maintain and fix them, but we found them messy and fiddly, and nowhere near as reliable as we expected them to be. Tyre pressure may have been too high at times, perhaps. Speaking to a local bike store that specialised in mbks, I gather 28c is as thin a tubeless tyre can go without becoming a liability for anyone other than a pro, so if you're riding thicker wheels, go for it. We're sticking to clinchers hereon: the last failure ruined a ride and resulted in a costly taxi ride home, as the tyre was completely unseated.

Back in the UK, we rode old steel racing bikes ("classic lightweights" to use English terminology) with friends who are thoroughly in love with old bikes, and there are a fair few ex-racers in the bunch who stick to tubulars, which I saluted while thinking they're nuts.

enframed wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2023 4:33 pm Well, my bike of over 20 years (pictured on a previous page) was stolen yesterday in broad daylight. Locked up with a Kryptonite cable lock, I was gone for 45 minutes. Time to go shopping I guess.

Commiserations, that's awful.

My faithful old Kryptonite has been out-paced by the arms race: our local bike thieves have been using a battery powered angle grinder in broad daylight, so I've just upgraded to a new lock. Battery technology advances have some downsides too.

Can't provide an especially useful review other than 'I still have my bike'.

pldms wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2023 9:28 am

enframed wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2023 4:33 pm Well, my bike of over 20 years (pictured on a previous page) was stolen yesterday in broad daylight. Locked up with a Kryptonite cable lock, I was gone for 45 minutes. Time to go shopping I guess.

Commiserations, that's awful.

My faithful old Kryptonite has been out-paced by the arms race: our local bike thieves have been using a battery powered angle grinder in broad daylight, so I've just upgraded to a new lock. Battery technology advances have some downsides too.

Can't provide an especially useful review other than 'I still have my bike'.

Looks like a good lock thank you. I have a new bike on the way, which I'm excited about. Will be my first bike with indexed gears.

I did a mega-bike ride, gravel event this past weekend. I also made a video.

benadrian wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2024 2:55 pm I did a mega-bike ride, gravel event this past weekend. I also made a video.

Man, something about the sound of an announcer at the beginning of a sporting event gives me flashbacks to marathons past and my anxiety just SHOOTS up.

I'd love to do some rides like this but less structured!

Enframed - awful, sorry to hear that but please do post pictures of your new ride!

Ben Adrian - wow, 200k on gravel and elevation is insane. Chapeau!

Patching tubes - always not crap. I only get a puncture on rare occasions (once in 6.000 km's?) but I always patch the tube and continue to use it. The I've found is to leave the galvanizing goo until it's (almost) dry, so no less than 3 minutes, and then stick the patch.


I'm still rocking my 3*9 hybrid with v-brakes and heavy as fuck Schwalbe Marathon tyres. I still swap the largest 48T chairing for a 44T and still commute on it everyday. Last year I did a 250k ride (all flat and 95%+ of it was on pavement) so this year's goal is to hit 300k. And maybe buy a road bike and a power meter as I do like them numbers If I drop under 120kg's / 265 lbs of weight.

So here's Pussy Magnet the 250k ride trim (I was visiting a friend hence all the baggage):

emmanuelle cunt wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2024 6:37 am Enframed - awful, sorry to hear that but please do post pictures of your new ride!

Ben Adrian - wow, 200k on gravel and elevation is insane. Chapeau!

Patching tubes - always not crap. I only get a puncture on rare occasions (once in 6.000 km's?) but I always patch the tube and continue to use it. The I've found is to leave the galvanizing goo until it's (almost) dry, so no less than 3 minutes, and then stick the patch.


I'm still rocking my 3*9 hybrid with v-brakes and heavy as fuck Schwalbe Marathon tyres. I still swap the largest 48T chairing for a 44T and still commute on it everyday. Last year I did a 250k ride (all flat and 95%+ of it was on pavement) so this year's goal is to hit 300k. And maybe buy a road bike and a power meter as I do like them numbers If I drop under 120kg's / 265 lbs of weight.

So here's Pussy Magnet the 250k ride trim (I was visiting a friend hence all the baggage):

Digging those pedals! Flats On Everything!

What's up, nerds!?

I had a cycling heavy weekend.
On Friday afternoon I realized that I hadn't done a gravel ride in a while, so I invited a few friends to do the trails by JPL in Pasadena the next morning. To my surprise, two people said yes; a band-mate and another punk rock friend. So we met up early, hit the trails, started climbing a big dirt hill, and got zapped by the sun. We decided to turn around and go do the trail that follows the Arroyo Seco creek. During a stream crossing I lost my footing, fell of a log, bashed my shin, and my ass fell into the creek. Luckily, it was funny and not tragic. It must have looked pretty dramatic because everyone was really concerned. The ride continued, but I was just walking through creeks, wet feet be damned. We ended with coffee, pastries, and bike shop nerding.

Sunday was a meet and greet ride for a cycling club that I participate in. I ran into another bike nerd friend of mine who I hadn't seen in a while. I forgot that he's a TV and film producer. He just wrapped a big time film. This is existing in L.A. The people with whom you do regular life shit often make entertainment for the world. The ride was a memorial for a member of the club who recently passed from heart failure (fuck that shit over and over again). I rode with the gentleman many times, but never knew the guy personally. Still, it was a joyous time full of people having memories and out doing what we all loved.

Sunday evening my spouse and I got a message from a couple with whom we are friends. They both had COVID. They need someone to pick up their prescription for them. My wife has a pickleball tournament, so it's on me. I waited until it was not murderously hot and then I rode to the Kaiser pharmacy in Hollywood. I grabbed the drugs and then rode back to their house not far from our place. I stopped by the local skatepark to watch kids bail and even saw a few tricks that were landed. I then had a nice, slow cruise home.

I should also mention that I had a super-beginner-ass Tai Chi course on Saturday evening. All of this physical activity has left me feeling more joyful and positive than I've felt in ages. It was just a weekend of adventures with and for friends. Fuckin' A. Fantastic. You can find photos on my social media places, strava, etc. I'm easy to find.

Love y'all.

Nice post Ben!

So I realize I miss my chromoly steel bike with curved forks. These new-fangled carbon frames are rigid as fuck. Chromoly has a little play/flex that I miss terribly.