Railway crossings
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Railway crossings
Postby dan_the_man » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:40 pm
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Postby dan_the_man » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:45 pm
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Postby dan_the_man » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:11 pm
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Postby Bernard » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:19 pm
...Just make sure that you still have a decent grip on the handlebars tho, nothing like realising a second too late that the handlebars were in your hands.
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Postby matagi » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:10 pm
You can still "unweight" though without actually doing a jump - I've done it and I'm no skilled bike rider.tuco wrote:If you have clipless you can jump the tracks. I don't have clipless so I can't do it but I've seen it done.
Can't really describe the process though.
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Postby europa » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:20 pm
Cattle grids are fun
Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd
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Postby tuco » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:52 pm
I know a guy who was driving across the Nullabour and saw a sign, "Cattle Grid".europa wrote:Stop making it complicated for the poor lad. Just stand up, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, knees and arms bent, let the whole lot move underneath you. You won't even notice it ... much (but it won't hurt).
Cattle grids are fun
Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd
Being naive and not slowing down, he said, "What's a cattle grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgriidididididididididdddddddddddd."
Well it was funny the way he told the story.
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Postby Bnej » Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:49 pm
Of course, you can't do it if there's a cattle grid!
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Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:50 pm
We'll make a mountain biker outta you yeteuropa wrote:Stop making it complicated for the poor lad. Just stand up, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, knees and arms bent, let the whole lot move underneath you. You won't even notice it ... much (but it won't hurt).
Cattle grids are fun
Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd
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Postby europa » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:22 pm
Well, next time you're out on the trail and a green, fixed gear road bike blasts past ... listen for the hysterical scream for helpMulger bill wrote:We'll make a mountain biker outta you yet
Richard
(the sad part is, an mtb is next on the list of projects ... watch for the link asking for advice )
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Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:54 pm
What sorta MTB are you thinking of? Ask anything you like, I just might find a sensible answer in the scone.
But I somehow doubt it
Shaun
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Postby dan_the_man » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:26 pm
how do u manage the hills?
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Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:36 pm
NO coasting
EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie
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Postby Mr888 » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:43 pm
What! you've never managed a "bunny hop" before??? BMX riding for kids 101 (no clipless pedals required)....have been doing these cheap stunts for years. I can still do one on my road bike...but wouldn't make it a habbittuco wrote:If you have clipless you can jump the tracks. I don't have clipless so I can't do it but I've seen it done.
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Postby dan_the_man » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:12 pm
with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?Mulger bill wrote:One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)
NO coasting
EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie
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Postby europa » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:06 am
Okay, we're right off topic here but ...dan_the_man wrote:with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?Mulger bill wrote:One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)
NO coasting
EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie
A fixed gear bike means your legs MUST pedal with the wheels. You are actually forced to spin circles with your legs and this can lead to benefits in your geared riding (in that you learn to pedal properly). There is no rest and no slacking, you are working all the time (which improves fitness and strength). Benefits from a training perspective include strength, working at slow cadences (up hills) and very fast cadences (down hills - I've hit 50 km/hr which on my bike equates to a cadence of around 150), endurance. You can not coast and you'd be amazed at how much of your riding life is spent doing nothing. From a training point of view, riding a fixie pushes everything you have to do on your geared bike. Mate, it's exhausting, it's the most intense ride I've ever had.
Riding a fixie gives you a far better and more subtle feel for what the bike is doing and how it is doing it. This is rather subtle but it comes back to the fact that what the rear wheel is doing, your legs are doing. With time and practice, you develop a whole new feel for riding and a more subtle understanding of what the bike is doing under you - this appeals to the inner nerd in me.
There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.
There's the knowledge that whatever you meet on the road, YOU have to deal with it. You can't drop into a lower gear to get over that hill, you have to do it yourself. Similarly going down hill, where you can control the bike with your legs (back pressure), not just brakes. You do actually have more control over the bike with a fixed gear and you learn more about yourself because you can't woose out in any way.
There's a lot going for a fixie. Some people never go back to geared bikes. Some find they choose to ride the fixie sometimes because of the joys of riding one. It's just another way of enjoying being on two wheels with yourself as the engine (and a rather more personal way I might add).
It also means my beloved Europa has a second life now that I have a new bike with gears (the Trek520 also known as the 'Black Beast').
Richard
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Postby Bnej » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:24 am
Actually they won't, usually. Using gears the wear is distributed between 6-10 gears at the back and 2 or 3 chain rings. Each individual gear won't last as long but you'll wear through the set quicker on fixie. Plus, on a deraileur bike, you reduce the amount of torque applied when climbing hills. The whole drivetrain on a fixie generally is under higher loads.europa wrote:There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.
That's why Surly also offers steel chainrings and chain for their 1x1 frames.
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Postby dan_the_man » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:57 am
europa wrote:Okay, we're right off topic here but ...dan_the_man wrote:with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?Mulger bill wrote:One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)
NO coasting
EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie
A fixed gear bike means your legs MUST pedal with the wheels. You are actually forced to spin circles with your legs and this can lead to benefits in your geared riding (in that you learn to pedal properly). There is no rest and no slacking, you are working all the time (which improves fitness and strength). Benefits from a training perspective include strength, working at slow cadences (up hills) and very fast cadences (down hills - I've hit 50 km/hr which on my bike equates to a cadence of around 150), endurance. You can not coast and you'd be amazed at how much of your riding life is spent doing nothing. From a training point of view, riding a fixie pushes everything you have to do on your geared bike. Mate, it's exhausting, it's the most intense ride I've ever had.
Riding a fixie gives you a far better and more subtle feel for what the bike is doing and how it is doing it. This is rather subtle but it comes back to the fact that what the rear wheel is doing, your legs are doing. With time and practice, you develop a whole new feel for riding and a more subtle understanding of what the bike is doing under you - this appeals to the inner nerd in me.
There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.
There's the knowledge that whatever you meet on the road, YOU have to deal with it. You can't drop into a lower gear to get over that hill, you have to do it yourself. Similarly going down hill, where you can control the bike with your legs (back pressure), not just brakes. You do actually have more control over the bike with a fixed gear and you learn more about yourself because you can't woose out in any way.
There's a lot going for a fixie. Some people never go back to geared bikes. Some find they choose to ride the fixie sometimes because of the joys of riding one. It's just another way of enjoying being on two wheels with yourself as the engine (and a rather more personal way I might add).
It also means my beloved Europa has a second life now that I have a new bike with gears (the Trek520 also known as the 'Black Beast').
Richard
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