Bikes!!!! (MTB, Road, etc... just no motors)

[webby]

I've never worn anything but a pair of running shoes or whatever to bike. I guess I wondered how much different it felt to wear those mountain biking. I think I'd freak initially trying to move my feet...reposition them, whatever...and be clipped in.

 

[Nix]

jrotax101 - Get the RF cranks then! They are awesome! I just never had good luck with their rings.

webby - most of the pedals have some "float" to them so your foot can move around a bit. Twist your heel outwards and they release. It becomes second nature very quickly. It's the equivalent of flashpro for your bike.

Most shimano style pedals have a spring loaded ski type binding where you can adjust the spring tension & entry/release force. Others rely on degrees of engagement. If you move your foot far enough it releases. It's really an awesome upgrade. 2-3 rides and you will be used to it.

I really like the crank brothers egg beater pedals. 15 degree release angle, no spring tension to adjust, lots of float so they are easy on the knees and hips. Switching to clips forces you to use the whole pedal stroke also. Makes you a much more powerful rider.

Egg beaters - scary as hell looking pedals.

 

[jrotax101]

Nix , I'm just not sure if the RF cranks will work with the HTII (bb90) bottom bracket? The shimano tech doc says only M970 and M770 work with the BB90 too...

webby
I use SPDs, perfectly natural, but I've been riding SPDs since I was single digits, then took a long hiatus.
My riding buddy uses egg beaters. I'm curious to switch to them because when it's wet and muddy, the SPD cleats get really jammed up on the shoes.

Also.. being clipped in allows you to "hop" over obstacles at a higher speed rather than whacking them with the rear wheel.

 

[Nix]

Yup. I heard from tons of guys that the egg beaters were great but I was hesistant to switch also. They really are great. Easy in and out. I was very surprised. Their ability to shed mud is fantastic also.

BB issues.... heh I forgot about that. You won't go wrong either way.

 

[jrotax101]

P.S I like how you picture the $400 eggbeater pedals.

 

[Nix]

Hahahahah..... Obv. I have "connections" still, they're only like $260-ish IIRC. Want a set? hahahahah

 

[jrotax101]

Maybe down the road

don't tell the wife! :P

 

[jrotax101]

Got the brakes on. Quite a nice difference! Awesome quality too.
Fork and wheels arrive tomorrow then she's good to go for the race on Saturday.

 

[Nix]

nice brakes. What fork you got coming?

 

[Nomar06]

Hydro brakes?

 

[jrotax101]

Nomar, yessir, takes red blood mineral oil :P

Nix,
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/CANNONDALE-L...ND/$(KGrHqRHJE8FESjb10eWBRIbNDuQNg~~60_57.JPG

 

[Nix]

Oh right, I remember reading that back a bit... That lefty is awesome.

 

[Nomar06]

What's the "big deal" about the lefty forks? I've seen them but never read up about them....

 

[Nix]

Cannondale likes to make a lot of their own "proprietary" stuff. The lefty simply happened to work very well. The single leg was quite stiff and the damper being of a larger diameter allowed for the issues with smaller cartridges to be solved easier. Things like cavitation, oil sloshing, foaming, heat dispersion.... all that junk.

The cannondale frames are very very nice but they always had this oversize headtube so you could run their headshok forks. If you wanted to switch out to a different standard telescopic fork you had to get a reducer kit. More parts, more headache. The lefty was much better than the headshocks when it came out.

You wouldn't go wrong running a regular fork on a cannondale but I wouldn't go out of my way to fit a lefty on a standard frame or find another compatible frame.

The carbon lefty is just a really nice trick part too! Performance and looks!

 

[jrotax101]

my regular fork was leaking.. easy way up upgrsding for me

 

[jrotax101]

woot. I R excite.

 

[Nomar06]

Nice!

 

[jrotax101]

At the end of the race, a little over 2 hours:

Not sure if I want to spend $15 for a digital copy of 1 image.. kinda ridiculous.

Finished in the top half, which was great. I cramped badly 4miles into the MTB segment, after already running 5.5miles in 48min. 2 minutes off 2nd place in class... definitely had it in me. I was 10 minutes slower than my race sim practices on the bike. Proud of my un-athletic overweight self!

 

[Nomar06]

Nice work!

 

[Nix]

Not bad man! Nicely done.