Cycling Miscellany

[RC Vikings]

PLus, its an excuse to buy a new bike!

http://www.cxmagazine.com/nahbs-2013...shamrock-shire

I think I'll have Brian build one for me this winter. I will probably just go with one of his steels bike because they aren't that much heavier. He puts a 34 tooth ring on front and a 11-34 cassette on the rear. It's electronic shifting and it's really a sweet set up.

[creekster]

http://www.cxmagazine.com/nahbs-2013...shamrock-shire

I think I'll have Brian build one for me this winter. I will probably just go with one of his steels bike because they aren't that much heavier. He puts a 34 tooth ring on front and a 11-34 cassette on the rear. It's electronic shifting and it's really a sweet set up.

Those are nice looking frames. I'm jealous!

[RC Vikings]

http://www.bicycling.com/news/pro-cy...tdf_devil_done

The TDF devil has retired.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

http://www.bicycling.com/news/pro-cy...tdf_devil_done

The TDF devil has retired.

I have a love-hate relationship with El Diablo. On one side, he's a race icon. It just isn't a climb through the mountains until El Diablo has staked his claim. On the other side, I can't help but wonder how many fewer yahoos would be trying to outdo him if he never set the precedent.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The Bay Area is getting blasted today by the biggest storm in years. The main front won't hit us in Pleasanton for another couple of hours, and thus the winds are really ramping up--currently around 35-40 mph. Mrs. PAC just said, "We should head out for a ride, as we'd probably get some awesome PR's [on Strava]. If it were just wind, I'd probably do it, but the rain makes it a dealkiller.

[smokymountainrain]

The Bay Area is getting blasted today by the biggest storm in years. The main front won't hit us in Pleasanton for another couple of hours, and thus the winds are really ramping up--currently around 35-40 mph. Mrs. PAC just said, "We should head out for a ride, as we'd probably get some awesome PR's [on Strava]. If it were just wind, I'd probably do it, but the rain makes it a dealkiller.

But the rain obviously doesn't scare the Mrs.

Interesting.

#wmph

[Katy Lied]

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.

[ERCougar]

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"?

[Katy Lied]

yup. I've never claimed to be a road warrior.

[BrutusBuckeye]

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

[RC Vikings]

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.

[creekster]

or from a prone position on the bike.

are you riding one of these in your spin class?

http://www.h-zontal.com/pagesgb/presentation.html

[Moliere]

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

[Eddie]

This is the water bottle I like, I've got 2 of them: http://shop.camelbak.com/performance.../d/1061_cl_501

It isn't insulated, but I'm used to drinking non-cold water during a ride anyway. I like that it has a straw to the bottom and a bite valve, because when I'm riding I hate trying to tip my head back to empty the bottle. And I like being able to keep my eyes forward - particularly if I'm with a group. You can twist the lid to close it if you like - so it doesn't leak during transport. Then I open it up when I'm on my ride. It is soft sided - so it is squeezable, but since I'm sucking (sipping) on it, that typically isn't an issue. This isn't a bottle you can dump over yourself without unscrewing the lid. But I can't say that I've ever done that during a ride anyway.

[creekster]

The bottles I use are the free ones the guys at the bike shop I frequent give me every so often. They have a common little pop up thingy that allows a high flow rate. They are not insulated. They do not have a straw but I avoid tipping my head back by tipping the bottle up and I avoid taking my eyes off the road by looking straight ahead and putting the bottle tip in the side of my mouth. None of my bottles have handles. I can't say that I have ever wished they did.