One last ride...

[BlrwestSiR]

I was out in our garage and decided that maybe 6 bikes is a bit too many. My bike quiver (don't know they don't call it a stash) consists of:

- a full suspension carbon fibre bike

- a fully rigid titanium single speed mountain bike (my 40th gift from Sue)

- a fat bike

- another full suspension bike full of nostalgia and memories.

- a sought after collector's hard tail

- a bastard build cyclocross bike on a one off frame. 

So after going through them, I decided the fat bike was the least likely to be ridden with the minimum emotional attachment. Mostly because after my triple bypass last year I've found I'm much more sensitive to the cold. And fat bikes are meant to primarily be a winter bike.

I put up an ad for it on me of the bike forums and got an offer.  

Turns out the guy lived near the trail we were going to ride this morning. So I took it instead of my usual bike and went for one last rip. Man, it was fun and a blast riding something with no suspension that just put the power down. The trails were the perfect terrain for a fat bike out of season.  

Then I got to meet up with the new owner and hand it over. I couldn't think of a better send off. 

Now, what to replace it with? 

 

 

[GusMac]

Friend of mine's eldest daughter lives in Winnipeg and just bought herself a new fat bike in preparation for winter. Hadn't realised you Canuks weren't allowed to ride the trails in winter on a standard bike, hence the craze for fat bikes. The crappy wet snow we get over here would be useless for that unless you fancy breaking your neck.

[BlrwestSiR]

Gus, fat bikes aren't the only option for winter riding. You can get studded tires for you bike too.

In fact there used to be a race every Feb 14 in the inner harbour provided the ice was thick enough. Studded tires were a must, be it production ones or homemade versions.  It was run on a figure 8 course and was called the St Valentine's Day massacre for obvious reasons. Lots of fun. 

Edited September 28, 2020 by BlrwestSiR
Fix typo

[Clunkmeister]

I did something similar on ice while in the Army.  On a figure eight  

Dead Drunk. And I mean Pissy Faced, Blind, Pie Eyed, Moon Howlin’, Commode Huggin’ Drunk.

And we all rode kids tricycles. 

I came in second last. 

[BlrwestSiR]

9 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

I did something similar on ice while in the Army.  On a figure eight  

Dead Drunk. And I mean Pissy Faced, Blind, Pie Eyed, Moon Howlin’, Commode Huggin’ Drunk.

And we all rode kids tricycles. 

I came in second last. 

Back in the early '90s Toronto had a huge underground bike culture. It's was mostly the city's bike couriers and the odd civvies that knew them. There were lots of impromptu races held on city streets. Point A to Point B no holds barred, first one there wins.  Usually at night after one too many drinks and far too much pot. They were called Alleycat scrambles as they often started in alleys and laneways. 

The city finally got wind of them and rather than crack down, they made it into a legit race series. Got DuMaurier to sponsor the races and built a custom track for them to held on inside a warehouse. Those were fun races to go to and watch. 

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Then I got to meet up with the new owner and hand it over. I couldn't think of a better send off. 

Now, what to replace it with? 

Tough decision, I guess. 
I did some biking too in our mountains the last days, it's very dry and dusty in the moment, some rain would be welcome. Yesterday I heard, that our big MTB race festival in November is called off, pity.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

4 minutes ago, DocRob said:

Tough decision, I guess. 
I did some biking too in our mountains the last days, it's very dry and dusty in the moment, some rain would be welcome. Yesterday I heard, that our big MTB race festival in November is called off, pity.

Cheers Rob

That sounds like the conditions here on our trails. There hasn't been a lot of rain here either. 

I was talking to a friend who owns a bike shop. He said most 2021 bikes are sold out already. They haven't even hit the showrooms and the manufacturers don't have enough stock on hand or in the production queue to fill orders. 

Another variable is Sue hit the dirt for the first time and she liked it. She's thinking of getting a bike for herself instead of borrowing one of mine. 

[DocRob]

One good thing about the covid thing is, that there is definitely more biking everywhere. On my island I saw so many people biking and hiking like never before. In my old home town of Berlin, lots of people commute by bike, better than sitting in a cramped subway. It gets harder to buy a new bike though, the shops have been robbed lately.

When I was studying, I worked as a messenger in Berlin and bought one of the very early mountain bikes, a steel framed Trek single track, of course without suspension. I put slicks on for the job and had a very fast reliable ride, specially after the wall came down and we had to go to the east as well, with all the cobblestone roads and banged up tarmac. Definitely no place for race bikes.
Anyway, the bike still exists and is in good shape, with an old Shimano DX shifter, which I always preferred to the XT and I gave the bike to our son. After a year or so, he went to a bike shop recently and was asking for a new bike and pointed some out. The guy in the shop was blown away, like how can you give that jewel away for a new bike. Since that visit, he sees the bike with different eyes and doesn't want a new one .

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

I bought a couple of years ago a Norco A1 Threshold - 2014 -  cyclo-cross. I believe they are Vancouver based. Came with Shimano 105 5800 with discs all round. It really does purr on any surface........

[BlrwestSiR]

5 hours ago, DocRob said:

with all the cobblestone roads and banged up tarmac. Definitely no place for race bikes

Sounds like the streets here in Toronto. I had slick tires for my last fat bike. 4.0 inch wide slicks. People would ask me why I had them and I'd only half jokingly say because of the condition of our roads. 

5 hours ago, DocRob said:

One good thing about the covid thing is, that there is definitely more biking everywhere.

Same here. The city finally got off their butt and made a continuous divided bike lane that goes across the city. Hopefully it stays that way through the winter. 

5 hours ago, DocRob said:

Anyway, the bike still exists and is in good shape, with an old Shimano DX shifter, which I always preferred to the XT

I think I still have a DX derailleur somewhere. 

As for XT, I've got 8, 9, 10 and 11 speed versions of it. I'm just missing the oldest 7spd and the newest 12spd groups .

I also have a second generation XTR group on one bike. Shifts like a dream. 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

I bought a couple of years ago a Norco A1 Threshold - 2014 -  cyclo-cross. I believe they are Vancouver based. Came with Shimano 105 5800 with discs all round. It really does purr on any surface........

Yup, Norco is Canadian. A couple friends of mine work there. 

[Clunkmeister]

12 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Back in the early '90s Toronto had a huge underground bike culture. It's was mostly the city's bike couriers and the odd civvies that knew them. There were lots of impromptu races held on city streets. Point A to Point B no holds barred, first one there wins.  Usually at night after one too many drinks and far too much pot. They were called Alleycat scrambles as they often started in alleys and laneways. 

The city finally got wind of them and rather than crack down, they made it into a legit race series. Got DuMaurier to sponsor the races and built a custom track for them to held on inside a warehouse. Those were fun races to go to and watch. 

Last I checked, weed’ll slow you down, not speed you up.  A couple lines of pure high country Peru might help the go fast guys, I’d think. 

I’ve never even smoked a joint, but I sure could drink like a fish. 

[Bill_S]

When it comes to bicycles, I'm a dinosaur. I still have my Schwinn that I bought in 1979. 10 speed, 27 in wheels with a 27 inch frame. Most people can't get their leg over the horizontal frame member.

I used to ride about 25 miles a day prior to the heart attack. I still get out on it once in a while.

I have a friend who's an avid cyclist. He told me something long ago that stuck with me. "When it comes to bikes, you want light, strong, and cheap. But you only get to pick two."

[GusMac]

1 hour ago, Bill_S said:

I have a friend who's an avid cyclist. He told me something long ago that stuck with me. "When it comes to bikes, you want light, strong, and cheap. But you only get to pick two."

Ha ha, too true. My own bike has lasted for years but it does feel like it's made out of scaffolding poles!

[BlrwestSiR]

15 hours ago, Bill_S said:

"When it comes to bikes, you want light, strong, and cheap. But you only get to pick two."

Sadly, it's true. What's truly scary is the prices these days for production bikes. There are mainstream bike manufacturers selling bikes that cost upwards of $10K. That used to be the domain of boutique brands and custom builders. Not any more. 

15 hours ago, Bill_S said:

I used to ride about 25 miles a day prior to the heart attack. I still get out on it once in a while.

Bill, I'm glad to hear you haven't given it up. My heart attack was only 11 months ago but I've been able to get out about once a week with the boys riding once I was cleared to ride. They've been a great motivator.

Carl

[Spitfire]

7 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Sadly, it's true. What's truly scary is the prices these days for production bikes. There are mainstream bike manufacturers selling bikes that cost upwards of $10K. That used to be the domain of boutique brands and custom builders. Not any more. 

Bill, I'm glad to hear you haven't given it up. My heart attack was only 11 months ago but I've been able to get out about once a week with the boys riding once I was cleared to ride. They've been a great motivator.

Carl

Not in the same class as you guys but after my heart attack five years ago the first thing that I wanted to do was start cycling again, when I retired in 2005 I decided that I would need to get some exercise so made sure that I went out cycling Monday to Friday in place of the exercise that I got at work.

I only did 8 miles a day on roads but with my monitor I kept the heart rate up throughout, after the heart attack and cardiac rehab I restarted riding and have kept it up ever since, I've always thought that the cycling probably helped me survive the heart attack.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[BlrwestSiR]

Well, a quick follow-up. Since there was now a bike shaped  space in the garage, I decided it needed filling. After some conversations with a friend who owns a bike shop, I decided to order a frame and use up some of my leftover bike parts. So it came in earlier this week and he sent me a pic. 

I'm going to start building it up tomorrow over beers and BBQ.

 

[Bomber_County]

On 9/27/2020 at 9:59 PM, BlrwestSiR said:

was out in our garage and decided that maybe 6 bikes is a bit too

Hmmmmm so a fresh bike to replace the one you just sold...............

[BlrwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Hmmmmm so a fresh bike to replace the one you just sold...............

Actually, it'll be for my oldest son. It's a 12inch frame so a bit small for me. I usually ride a 17inch frame size. But it's overbuilt so I could take it to the bike park and huck it off the big jumps if I was crazy enough. 

Which I'm not. 

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Hmmmmm so a fresh bike to replace the one you just sold...............

Coming from a guy, who is followed by large scale submarines the other day, makes you curious .

Cheers Ro