things I learnt today....

[drubie]

Medium-width tyres are great aren't they?

Oh yeah.

Slow, but great!

[Nobody]

I learned that big, fat, 38mm 700c tyres are AWESOME in the rain compared to a 23.

Wet gravel: no problems.
Unexpected glass: no problems.
Pothole puddle: no problems.
Mud: no problems.

They almost make things too easy. I am digging my cyclocross madness!

I found the difference so great in stability between 23mm Taters and 32mm Michelin Citys that I wondered how many lives it would save if everyone who wasn't in an actual race rode on 32s with a safe pressure for their weight.

[drubie]

I found the difference so great in stability between 23mm Taters and 32mm Michelin Citys that I wondered how many lives it would save if everyone who wasn't in an actual race rode on 32s with a safe pressure for their weight.

They wouldn't fit on either of my roadies - the steel one won't take a 25 because it rubs on the seat tube.

One other thing I learned the hard way: you can't make assumptions about what will fit and what won't when making a bike do something it wasn't designed for. And commuting on a roadie is possible, but kinda futile.

[zero]

I learned that big, fat, 38mm 700c tyres are AWESOME in the rain compared to a 23.

Wet gravel: no problems.
Unexpected glass: no problems.
Pothole puddle: no problems.
Mud: no problems.

They almost make things too easy. I am digging my cyclocross madness!

I found the difference so great in stability between 23mm Taters and 32mm Michelin Citys that I wondered how many lives it would save if everyone who wasn't in an actual race rode on 32s with a safe pressure for their weight.

I don't think many people die due to riding on 23s...

[Nobody]

How would anyone know? Dead people can't speak.

I've personally hit an irregularity in the road on a road bike which turned the bike sideways.
At another time I almost came off my road bike on Anzac bridge going west when my front tyre hit an angled edge of (path) concrete with 23s. There have been plenty of reports of people just hitting something then going down.
Eg:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 12&t=27619

Not surprisingly I don't have problems on MTB tyres with road irregularities.

[Apple]

That I am going to stay a slow rider regardless of what I do. The day of speed have left me.

[Pavlova]

That I am going to stay a slow rider regardless of what I do. The day of speed have left me.

Better to have sped and lost (your speed) than to never have sped at all

[human909]

28mm and 32mm seem sensible. 38mm is certainly on the big side for any road bike. I ride 1.3" which is about 33mm on my all weather commuting MTB.

[zero]

How would anyone know? Dead people can't speak.

I've personally hit an irregularity in the road on a road bike which turned the bike sideways.
At another time I almost came off my road bike on Anzac bridge going west when my front tyre hit an angled edge of (path) concrete with 23s. There have been plenty of reports of people just hitting something then going down.
Eg:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 12&t=27619

Not surprisingly I don't have problems on MTB tyres with road irregularities.

all bike tires will tramline.

most 23s are mounted on bikes with 72deg or steeper head angles with a rigid fork, and narrower bars.

My mtb tire is mounted on an mtb frame with a 69deg head angle, suspension, and with wider flat bars that both have more leverage, and have the arms in a stronger default position (being pushed back, rather than sideways by a snap). The whole package is far more stable, the tires alone, only moderately so.

[brades68]

i learnt that the difference is tyres is bigger than i thought possible, just put on GP4000s to replace armadilos, WOW! Also on the same ride, i learnt about breathing with an open mouth during dusk....... bugs don't taste nice!

Cheers
Mick

[Nobody]

How would anyone know? Dead people can't speak.

I've personally hit an irregularity in the road on a road bike which turned the bike sideways.
At another time I almost came off my road bike on Anzac bridge going west when my front tyre hit an angled edge of (path) concrete with 23s. There have been plenty of reports of people just hitting something then going down.
Eg:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 12&t=27619

Not surprisingly I don't have problems on MTB tyres with road irregularities.

all bike tires will tramline.

most 23s are mounted on bikes with 72deg or steeper head angles with a rigid fork, and narrower bars.

And the 32s I compared them with are on a Cross Check with 72 degree head angle and 38cm drop bars. Have you ever tried 32s?

[Pavlova]

Today I learnt that the milk in my coffee curdles if I eat citrus immediately before drinking it.

[Wayfarer]

sitting at a bus stop today, i realised the true potential of the lemming effect; 3/7 cars didnt signal on the way out of an intersection, and it was those same people who didnt have teh confidence to look back at my stare, implying their interior guilt at doing the wrong thing...

[open roader]

Today I learnt that the slight jingling sound my jersy zipper pull makes when travelling at 25km and above is exactly the same slight jingling sound of a farm dog's collar D ring as it was madly chasing right behind - attempting to bite my rear tyre..........

[Missy24]

4 cups of coffee between 8:30am and 11:30am is tooooooooooooooooooooo many

[hannos]

4 cups of coffee between 8:30am and 11:30am is tooooooooooooooooooooo many

Only if you don't often drink coffee!

Double shot espresso (AT) 6:45am
single espresso (AT) 8:15am
double espresso (AT) ~9am.

yummo!

[Spork!]

Today I learned that they do make double skin stainless drink bottles (thermos style) to fit a bike bottle holder. Hmm, cold morning rides + hot coffee, before getting to the cafe...

[casual_cyclist]

I learned a few things today:

1) minus temps on the bike are dam cold even if you wear layers and layers of cycling clothes

2) you can ride 200km after not riding a single ride for 2 1/2 months. It will just take time, that's all.

3) If you only get 5 hours sleep the night before a 200km ride you might struggle to stay awake by the end of the ride.

4) If you take a break from riding of 2 1/2 months and then spend 11 hours on the bike, you will get a sore bum.

5) The vegetarian pies at the Pinjarra Bakery are awesome!

6) cavebear and Aushiker are great company on a long ride.

7) GU Gels have the same consistency as a big ball of snot and are sickly, sickly sweet. Blech!

Hot chocolate and a wagon wheel after a long ride when it is freezing cold are fantastic.

9) Hot chocolate is way more fantastic if you don't spill it everywhere.

10) if you ride 200km, your tired, your hungry and it's freezing cold, hot vegetarian satay noodles might just save your life.

[casual_cyclist]

Oh, and also: legs are brilliant. If you are so tired that your head says No! but your legs say Go!, go with your legs.

[Wayfarer]

I was skateboarding today and decided to buy new wood for my skateboard, and ended up lugging my old wood around. One kid at the skatepark had snapped his, so i gave it to him, saying 'one day when you drive, watch fro cyclists yeah? Promise me.' The kid thought i was kidding, giving away free wood. One good deed deserves another.

[hh445f]

I learnt that if you hit one of those blue reflectors that are stuck to the road surface with only one hand on the bars doing 30km/h you can loose your balance.

[Max]

Yesterday, I learnt that one should, under no circumstances, forget to take one's house keys when going for an early morning ride.

I came home to find that MaxBabe had gone to work and I was keyless. Let me tell you, cycling nicks + jersey + vest + arm warmers + leg warmers + booties + gloves + neck roll is just fine when you're riding and have worked up a sweat. But once you stop, and the cold morning air hits that sweaty gear, it turns you into Frosty the snowman. I was sooooooo fragging cold. I rang the real estate agent in the hopes they'd have a spare key, and to their credit they helped me out. But I got to spend two glorious hours in the frigid bloody cold. And of course, the sun refused to come out to warm me up. And the dog didn't want cuddles, so I didn't even get to sap his body heat. Mongrel!

Lesson learned: Always carry a spare house key in your saddle bag.

Max

[twizzle]

Yesterday, I learnt that one should, under no circumstances, forget to take one's house keys when going for an early morning ride.

I came home to find that MaxBabe had gone to work and I was keyless. Let me tell you, cycling nicks + jersey + vest + arm warmers + leg warmers + booties + gloves + neck roll is just fine when you're riding and have worked up a sweat. But once you stop, and the cold morning air hits that sweaty gear, it turns you into Frosty the snowman. I was sooooooo fragging cold. I rang the real estate agent in the hopes they'd have a spare key, and to their credit they helped me out. But I got to spend two glorious hours in the frigid bloody cold. And of course, the sun refused to come out to warm me up. And the dog didn't want cuddles, so I didn't even get to sap his body heat. Mongrel!

Lesson learned: Always carry a spare house key in your saddle bag.

Max

Hang on - I just checked the weather obs for Brisbane, and according to the Bureau the minimum temp yesterday was 12.3C. While yesterday, the maximum temperature in Ngunnawal country was 12.6C.

So - I've just learnt that people from Brisbane have it easy, and should be banned from using terms such as "frosty" and "frigid".



*sigh* I hate winter.

[elantra]

Today I learnt that you CANNOT leave Brisbane (northside) at 4 pm and be in Kingscliff (NSW) in time to see TdF highlights at 6 pm.

Also I learnt DONOT order the Teriyaki something-or-other at Kingscliff bowls club.

[hannos]

Chain cleaners work really well. I forgot my chain was actually a silvery colour, not black.