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The brains and mettle of Anna Kiesenhofer leave me awestruck. I've only started following competitive cycling in the last few years, but I doubt I'll see something cooler than what Kiesenhofer did yesterday. She went into the ride alone, unknown, did her own research, made her own plan, and rode the last 40km by herself, winning by stealth. I really hope they don't introduce radios to Olympic road racing. Keep it different. I like the fact that riders have to work out for themselves what's going on.

My city has been in coronavirus lock-down again for the past few weeks. This time they even closed construction sites, so for the first time since the pandemic started I've found myself completely furloughed with heaps of time on my hands. Like a lot of people I dragged my old hybrid out of storage, but it was falling apart underneath me - seat and grips dissolved, front derailleur shit itself, tyres were disintegrating. After half a dozen trips it no longer felt safe to ride. I could probably have fixed it up but don't know when I'll be back at work and didn't want to wait around for parts, workshops etc.

Instead decided to splurge on this Cannondale "Bad Boy 2", about a 2017 model. Old mate selling it had had a stroke and basically never rode it. Has this gimmick fork design that serves no discernible purpose but it looks cool and I love it. Thankfully does not say "Bad Boy" on it anywhere. Just got back from my first ride and it's so much lighter and quieter and easier to ride than my old one.

I just picked up this nice '85 Miyata for cheap. The tires were shit, but I had another wheel set to put on. I also put on a better seatpost, and wrapped the bars with Brooks Cambium. It's been a nice ride so far. Steel is still real.

Leveled up yesterday: catastrophically pulled a spoke *through* a rim on the grocery beast

sparky wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:47 am A disgusting itch for a new bike that I don’t need (and we can’t accommodate) has me furtively browsing for something between my heavy, pannier-laden cyclocross, and the light steel racer, for longer tours. Has anyone seen Isen bikes? They are eye-catching in looks and cost.

I've seen them mentioned in a couple of articles/videos recently. The bikes look pretty spectacular.

They are featured in a documentary in the paid section of GCN+.

I imagine that as I age I will end up with a steel or TI handmade frame, as all aging cyclists seem to do. Also, like most aging cyclists, I vacillate between cool new gear and the gear of my youth, which is now considered vintage and outdated. I think these modern, hand-built bikes kind of do a good job at riding the line between new tech and vintage usability. While my current bike is modern and pretty easy to work on, the press fit bottom bracket is a bummer. Most of the fancy steel and TI bikes can be fully maintained with a modest home tool setup.

In other bike news, I splurged on some handlebars for my main ride (Easton EC70 AX for those curious). I'd been having some discomfort on longer rides with my previous bars (a bit wide and not enough flare for my taste). I decided to see if the "carbon bars dampen high frequency vibrations" is true.

The whole gravel/all-road trend of riding and bike configuration is bringing me so much joy and contributing so much to my mental health. I have one nice bike that I can just ride pretty much wherever. It's simple and yet a high-performance machine. Now, if my "weirdo musician bike club" in L.A. had some better attendance, that'd be super cool.

I have the bikes, so many! TWO!

I have my old Gary Fisher mtb. I guess it is what the kids call a "cross country" bike. It's steel, a hardtail, has a Rockshxx Recon on the front, 29er. Shimano 1x9. EVERYTHING but the frame has been replaced on it at some point. There are a few rides where I think "I wish this thing was a tiny bit more nimble," but it gets my heart rate up and I can climb like a possum on it.

There's a singletrack loop near my house. Anyone who has kept an eye on my strava knows that I ride it 10x as many times as I ride any other trail system.

I have a handbuilt Italian steel road frame by a short-lived frame builder. I got it from a guy who was buying a carbon frame. He's been through four frames, now. He's spent the cost of a 2018 Honda Fit on frames. I put DuraAce shit on my steel frame and I've ridden a gazillion miles. I think I've replaced a tire on it. (My road tires are those Continental Gator tires. If I wanted to save weight I'd eat less Ben and Jerry's.) Oh, and I rewrapped the bars a couple of times. It's got eggbeater clipless pedals on it, but for a long time that meant I only had to worry about one set of shoes to go from MTB to road. Now I have flats on the MTB, but I kept the Crank Bros pedals on the road bike because I'm used to them. Honestly, I don't do a ton of road rides these days because I live in a place where bikes are perceived as toys and I don't need the hostile interactions with motorists when I'm 30 miles from home between Crackers Corner and Shitbag, GA. So, my roadie mostly lives on the resistance trainer and on the bike trails when I go to an actual city. The last time I did a 40 mile ride in Indianapolis on the Monon trail, though, some psycho blew through a light and nearly clipped me in the bike crossing north of Carmel. FUCKING MOTORISTS, man.

I have just taken possession of a '90s aluminum Fuji road frame with a Lemond Carbon fork on it. Side pull brakes (Beauty, eh?) and a comfortable set of drop bars and stem. I'm going to build it up with a Brooks "EasyBottom" saddle, single speed, flat pedals, lights, fenders, and then hope that one day I can live in a city where I can ride it to work. I'll post photos soon.

Added: Went home and looked at my road frame- it's a Bellesi. Kinda rare, but cool.

small talk wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:18 am... decided to splurge on this Cannondale "Bad Boy 2..."

This thing rules and have been riding it every chance I get, but am starting to feel like a front suspension hybrid is not the best fit for how I'm riding. I'm mostly on streets/quieter roadways, & dedicated bike paths when they're available. I manage to get a couple of rides in each week, usually about 30 - 40 km.

I've started checking out used road bikes online but could use some advice on what to look out for. There's plenty of older steel-frame bikes available for pretty cheap, but I don't know how compatible they'd be with modern parts and it seems like maintenance could get confusing for a novice like me. Newer bikes, there's so many variables in terms of materials, geometry, components etc. that I don't know where to begin.

Does this look decent? Not much information online about the manufacturer but it seems cheap for those components on a titanium frame.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 222817105/

I broke my collarbone last night being daft, thrown onto my head and right shoulder. Very glad for the helmet, very annoyed that I am off the bike for the last dregs of sun this year.

Sorry to hear it! Hope for a fast recovery.

I've finally got my Fuji Ace rolling again. It just took a new cassette, chain, bottom bracket and brake job.