Cycling Miscellany

[Dwight Schr-ute]

I've spent 20 (even more!) minutes in zone 3 and have never needed two hands to use this bottle:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00I2V...=AC_SY200_QL40

Of course, I've never needed two hands to operate any water bottle while riding.

By "cycling", do you mean "spinning"?

Wow. That's a hell of a price spread. Hopefully you got yours under $200.

I have a couple of Camelbak Podium bottles that I like quite a bit.

I use these for running. Work great. I have never used them for cycling. Mostly people they have a little mesh running handle on them and I'd rather not mess with that back and forth.

Two things will make a bottle worthless on the road, too hard to squeeze and a top that squirts out everywhere. If you get a bottle with either one of these problems throw it away, it's junk.

Las Vegas must be a great market for those insulated water bottles because everybody I've ever ridden with from Vegas has those.

Insulated water bottles are a must in Houston if you want cold water on a summer ride longer than 30 minutes.

I've never used an insulated water bottle. The whole concept seems gimmicky to me. Does it really make a significant difference? Enough to make up for the loss of storage space due to the bag?

Here's what I've been using that I like. Easy to clean. No funk. http://www.competitivecyclist.com/cl...id|59971173901

[BrutusBuckeye]

I've never used an insulated water bottle. The whole concept seems gimmicky to me. Does it really make a significant difference? Enough to make up for the loss of storage space due to the bag?

I have a couple of insulated bottles and I don't think they work all that great. The liquid seems to warm up only slightly more slowly than my bottles without insulation. I haven't tried the Polar Bear insulated bottles, though, so maybe those work better.

[Moliere]

I've tested my insulated water bottles in the heat of the Houston summer and I have noticed they retain the cold at least twice as well as non insulated bottles.

I typically freeze one bottle solid the night before a ride and after about two hours it'll still be a bit cold. If undid that with a regular bottle it would be warm after an hour.

[Pelado]

Just dropped a wad on a Trek mountain bike for my 11-year-old. Ugh! Are we crazy to get a kid a nice bike? I was tired of buying him Walmart shit. What kind of wheels do your kids ride?

Used Giant.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

[Pelado]

After 5 years, I've lost my cycling water bottle. Je suis desolee. I loved that water bottle and I feel that its loss has detracted from my optimal workout. I've gone to 4 different sports stores, and cannot find a decent replacement. The very nice salesman at Sports Chalet thinks I'm being way too picky. "You can't have everything," he warns me. "Either it will have a rigid handle, or be squeezable, or have a flip top spout you can open with your teeth, or be the right volume, but you can't have all of those features." After 10 minutes of agonizing over a $40 Nathan water bottle, I stubbornly reject that too, causing the clerk to throw up his hands in defeat.

I came by my old Nike water bottle accidentally. I saw it in a bargain bin and didn't even know it was specifically designed for cycling. I wondered what the large rigid handle was for months before I realized that it was quite useful; the handle enabled me to carry other things in the same hand, and the rigidity allowed me to swig water sideways, or from a prone position on the bike.

The bottle is a perfect size; enough water for a 60 minute cardio workout. (I have to refill it at the gym if I'm lifting after). And after a morning workout, I pop it into my car's cup holder so I can sip water driving to work.

Sales clerks dont understand why I need it to be squeezable, and wonder why I want a feature which excludes 90% of all the bottles in a market currently saturated with nalgene products. They call it an "old school" feature, and point me to those ubiquitous green-and-orange gatorade bottles with contempt. Haven't they ever worked out in Zone 3 for 20 minutes and then grabbed a water squeezie, gasping and sweating, and gushed water all over themselves? Not possible with nalgene, or aluminum.

Last year at the San Diego Zoo, I left my water bottle on a zoo tram. I was frantic when I realized I didn't have it, and insisted that my whole family march across the zoo to lost-and-found. Breathlessly I asked the security on duty if anyone turned in a water bottle. They asked me to describe it, and I told them it was clear with black rubber fittings, with a Nike logo. The cop started to remove something from a drawer, but then stopped. I caught a glimpse of the top, and joyfully cried out, "there it is! That's mine!" The cop was strangely reluctant and only after he grudgingly handed it to me did I realize his concern. I've used that bottle so much that the nike logo had rubbed off. It wasnt as I described. But in the face of my overwhelming happiness at getting it back, his caution disippated.

There are a lot of nice water bottles rendered next-to-useless, because you can't open the spout with your mouth. The worst are the screw top caps. To open those you have to drop everything in both hands. A little better are the push button spouts, because you only need one hand to open it and you can use the same hand that holds the bottle. But you still need two hands to reclose it, or the spring mechanism gets clogged easily in Utah's hard water. Flip tops are a little better, but still spill too much water when you accidentally knock them sideways. The best are the flexible plastic pull tops that you pull out with your teeth and spill very little water when knocked over.

So now I'm shopping on the internet, but still can't find anything decent.

This was a gift, but I use it and like it. It is not very squeezable, but it's easy to drink from while riding.



I believe it is available from the BYU Bookstore.

[falafel]

I just wanted to see him ride!

[Dwight Schr-ute]

I just wanted to see him ride!

Ha. I had the same thought. And by ride, I mostly mean stop.

[Green Monstah]

One of the advantages to living in Tulsa is the many paved bike paths. I bought a road bike last summer and enjoyed riding while daylight and weather permitted. This winter I've been doing resistance training and riding on spin bikes to try to build up strength for this spring/summer. My problem? When I get on the spin bike, I am not seeing much improvement in speed/RPMs. In an effort to salvage my pride, I'm blaming whatever the bike uses to measure distance and speed....

Any indoor traning tips?

[PaloAltoCougar]

In addition to routine maintenance throughout the year, I get a major tune-up each spring and it always surprises me what a difference it makes. I also like that a major tune-up is a whole lot cheaper for a bike than a car (who knew?). This time my bike shop replaced a cable (and, thus the handlebar tape as well), front derailleur, chain and bottom bracket, as well as the usual lube and clean. It cost around $240 but was worth every penny as the bike felt brand new on yesterday's ride. Having a bike shop that's competent, trustworthy and reasonably priced is a very good thing.

[creekster]

I replace my bar tape a couple times a year. It's worth it. It feels better and I always fee like I do when I wash my car.

[Joe Public]

Bottom brackets go bad?

[PaloAltoCougar]

Bottom brackets go bad?

It was making some noise, and I've put around 15,000 miles on it, so I told them to replace it (around $45, I think). Very quiet and smooth now.

[Joe Public]

It was making some noise, and I've put around 15,000 miles on it, so I told them to replace it (around $45, I think). Very quiet and smooth now.

Good to know. Any thoughts on bar tape? Is it a commodity, or are some better than others? The tape on my road bike is unraveling, and I'd like to get some new tape on there.

[creekster]

Good to know. Any thoughts on bar tape? Is it a commodity, or are some better than others? The tape on my road bike is unraveling, and I'd like to get some new tape on there.

It varies a lot. I only used cork for many years. It was soft and Grippy. The last few years I've been putting padded tape on a couple of my bikes and have really come to like it. It actually lasts longer than the cork and provides a little more padding. I still think the cork is better as to grip. It never gets slippery when wet.