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Bike Advice

Judas

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Sorry I was con fused. The traditional tubular vs tubeless tire. I got it now
 

Willem

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Tubeless is fine for mtb but not for ling distance touring as dealing with a puncture is a hassle. There is now also the ultralight Aerothan tube that is also more puncture resistant. However it is expensive and once it has stretched to a particular size you cannot use it with another size anymore.
 

MRC01

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Tubeless is fine for mtb but not for ling distance touring as dealing with a puncture is a hassle. There is now also the ultralight Aerothan tube that is also more puncture resistant. However it is expensive and once it has stretched to a particular size you cannot use it with another size anymore.
I don't see the purpose of Aerothan tubes. They're non-repairable, so if you have one you'll also need to carry a spare. Might as well go tubeless since you'll be carrying a spare tube anyway. And if your tube is only a spare, what is the point of the expensive Aerothan? You're not using it except in emergency, so you might as well carry a standard butyl.

Tubeless is great for MTB, where it enables you to run lower pressures, giving better traction, and they are puncture resistant. They are most definitely not puncture-proof, as I have gotten flats that the sealant could not seal. Yeah that means hiking out from wherever you are, pushing your bike. And there's not much point to carrying a spare tube, because any puncture that the sealant can't seal, is likely to be big enough tear in the tire that any tube you insert will "hernia" out the tear.

However, tubeless offers no real benefit for road bikes. The standards are not as consistent as they are for MTB, so it will limit your tire selection. And it's more complex, messier, and expensive. And it's not lighter. And it's not more efficient. The cleanest, best, most efficient setup on road bikes is to use clinchers with latex inner tubes.
 

MRC01

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... I’ve put more miles on my SRAM Red set and have to say, i love the mechanical precision and the single lever shifting mechanism. It’s so intuitive and quick shifting but I could live with any of the big three. If I bought a bike with any top group set, I would not swap it out. They all seem to work well enough but I’m more comfortable adjusting my SRAM stuff because I’ve owned it for so long.
Is your SRAM Red mechanical or electronic shifting? I'm about to replace my old road bike (21 years old, at least 15,000 miles). I want to avoid electronic shifting but that's getting increasingly harder to do on the mid-high end road bikes.
For comparison, it seems SRAM Red ~= Dura Ace, and SRAM Force ~= Ultegra... is that true?
 

Koeitje

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Road bicycles are best for exercise because they promote performance. Exercise bicycle is a great way to burn calories and fat while also improving your cardio, lung, and muscles.
If you like a good exercise you should just take an old heavy bike and ride that. That's give you a good exercise :D.

Indoor I don't think rowing can be beaten. Full body workout and good for your core.
 

bt3

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Some opinions developed in over sixty years of cycling:
1.Take care of your joints throughout your life.
2.Proper setup/positioning on bikes is very important if you will be riding frequently.
(I can tell at a glance when I see a cyclist if their positioning/setup on bike is off)
3.Chain lubes odor will permeate inside your home. Don't bring your bike into your living/sleeping areas.
4.Don't get hung-up on the type of tubing your bike has. Better to ride more often with an old Reynolds 531 frame than
less often with the latest carbon fiber wonder bike.
5. Guaranteed. Every year during the Tour de France more recreational "road warriors" are to be seen coasting through stop signs/lights
than any other time of year. During anytime of year, many cyclists ignore their state law when it comes to stop signs/lights.
Be careful out their. Don't even get me started about pedestrians dodging cyclists riding on sidewalks.
6. Around about sometime in ones' fifties, and certainly by ones' sixties, recumbent's make more sense as the bike to use.
I've built several recumbent's One from an old Rans Rocket that I modified extensively. My regular recumbent is a P-38.
Ever see a guy about seventy pass a bunch of red-faced thirty/forty something's on their carbon fiber diamond frame racing bikes?
If you have, it may have been me. Lived in many so-called great bicycling towns where recumbent's are rarely seen.
7. If you will not be obeying traffic signals all-the-time, at least wear insanely bright cycling clothes and install strong front and rear blinky lights on
your bikes, so motorists (many with vision not so great, or under the influence, of taking prescription med's that decrease their response time) have a better chance of not maiming/killing you.
Note: I've nothing against latest and greatest bicycling technology. I've owned expensive carbon fiber bikes and TOTL components.
Be safe out there! When you get older consider a quality recumbent. Be careful with cycling trainers. If your position and cycling shoe/cleats are not
setup really well, you may be putting yourself at risk for premature knee/ankle issues.
 

Count Arthur

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And there's not much point to carrying a spare tube, because any puncture that the sealant can't seal, is likely to be big enough tear in the tire that any tube you insert will "hernia" out the tear.

However, tubeless offers no real benefit for road bikes. The standards are not as consistent as they are for MTB, so it will limit your tire selection. And it's more complex, messier, and expensive. And it's not lighter. And it's not more efficient. The cleanest, best, most efficient setup on road bikes is to use clinchers with latex inner tubes.

If you get a tear in the tyre, you can use something like a crisp packet to cover the hole and get you home, in the UK the new plastic bank notes also work quite well. Alternatively, keep a section of an old tyre, about 3 or 4 inches long, with the beads cut off, with your spare inner tube.

I disagree about tubeless, I've been running tubeless for a couple of years and and I've been really impressed; I haven't had to use my spare tube yet. When I removed a tyre, I found several thorns and small sharp stones, there's a fair bit of flint where I live, that had punctured the tyre through to the inner that I was completely unaware of.

 

MRC01

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If you get a tear in the tyre, you can use something like a crisp packet to cover the hole and get you home, in the UK the new plastic bank notes also work quite well. Alternatively, keep a section of an old tyre, about 3 or 4 inches long, with the beads cut off, with your spare inner tube. ...
Good advice.
...I disagree about tubeless [on road tires], I've been running tubeless for a couple of years and and I've been really impressed; I haven't had to use my spare tube yet. When I removed a tyre, I found several thorns and small sharp stones, there's a fair bit of flint where I live, that had punctured the tyre through to the inner that I was completely unaware of. ...
This comparison shows tubed with latex is just a bit lighter and lower rolling resistance than tubeless, all else equal (same wheel & tire). And tubed gives you more tire choices. With a tubeless MTB and tubed road bike, I have both and find tubed to be simpler & easier. With GP5000 700x23 tires and latex tubes I haven't yet gotten a flat over the past year / 1,000 miles (Of course, now that I've said that... knock on wood!).

If and when road bike tubeless technology gains practical benefits, as it does with MTB, I'm ready to switch.
 

Chrispy

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Hadn't noticed this thread before, but having only read the first page, was curious what @anmpr1 settled on.

Had no idea there were recumbent exercise bikes...but then I have no interest in recumbent bikes myself in general (outdoors they just wouldn't do it for me in a coupla ways). Thankfully I can ride most of the year, while I have Kreitler rollers and a way to fix the bike on a roller with a front fork attachment as well, haven't touched them in years.....but I really just don't care for the indoor thing at all. Same for gyms.
 

Count Arthur

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This is the important thing for me:

1626733442421.png


Any speed/time gains from a 20g weight saving and ~1W lower rolling resistance will be wiped out as soon as you have to spend 10 minutes faffing about at the side of the road fixing a puncture.

1626733678090.png


Bear in mind, I ride most on gravel tracks and rough country lanes, not smooth, well maintained tarmac. With standard tyres and tubes I used to puncture about once every 50 to 100 miles - a real drag.
 

MRC01

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Sure, my point is NOT that the marginal difference in efficiency matters, it's simply that tubeless is not more efficient, nor lighter. This is worth mentioning because some people & sites claim the opposite. If there is any advantage at all to tubeless road tires, it's puncture resistance, nothing more. Yet the article overstates this, saying tubeless is "virtually impossible to flat". I've gotten flats myself on my tubeless MTB, and I've seen tubeless gravel riders get flats too. Less likely, yes. Virtually impossible, no.
That alone may be worth it, depends on the person.
 

Sonny1

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Is your SRAM Red mechanical or electronic shifting? I'm about to replace my old road bike (21 years old, at least 15,000 miles). I want to avoid electronic shifting but that's getting increasingly harder to do on the mid-high end road bikes.
For comparison, it seems SRAM Red ~= Dura Ace, and SRAM Force ~= Ultegra... is that true?

I have SRAM Red mechanical, circa 2008, ten speed. It’s their top of the line and Red = DuraAce, pretty much. Force is their version of Ultegra and Rival is in line with Shimano 105. I’ve ridden Rival and Force and they all shift so responsively, I could easily live with any of them. Mine is a few generations old and I’m sure the new ones are even better shifting. I like the single shifter mechanism versus upshifting using the brake levers. Shifting is swift and has a nice mechanical feel. I prefer it to Shimano but own a bike with old Shimano Ultegra 9 speed and it still shifts smoothly. I also owned a bike with 105 ten speed and it shifted smoothly. Shimano shifters don’t have the immediate “snap” you get from SRAM. Neither will make you faster but I’ve got thousands of miles on my old SRAM Red shifters and never had to tune it up.

If I bought a bike spec’d with Shimano (105 or above), I wouldn’t get rid of it unless it was broken or worn out. I’d replace it with SRAM when I needed a new set, most likely. Electronic shifting is great and I understand the allure. All the new groups hold a charge well and they are fun to use. No cables and they shift so quickly and perfectly, it’s easy to understand the allure. I’m old school and prefer mechanical, at least for now.
 
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aslan7

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Since the house arrest lockdown, I haven't been able to go to the gym as before. So waifu and I are looking to buy a (recumbent) exercise bike. I see them on-line with prices ranging from less than two hundred dollars, to two thousand. I just want something that is decent and going to last, and not fall apart. McIntosh quality for Topping prices. I don't need blue meters, or anything like that. LOL

Since I know that ASR members are all physically (and mentally) fit, I'm asking advice. Anyone have any suggestions on decent quality but not through the roof priced home exercise gear?
Since the house arrest lockdown, I haven't been able to go to the gym as before. So waifu and I are looking to buy a (recumbent) exercise bike. I see them on-line with prices ranging from less than two hundred dollars, to two thousand. I just want something that is decent and going to last, and not fall apart. McIntosh quality for Topping prices. I don't need blue meters, or anything like that. LOL

Since I know that ASR members are all physically (and mentally) fit, I'm asking advice. Anyone have any suggestions on decent quality but not through the roof priced home exercise gear?
Why a recumbent? They were championed in the 1960s by Captain Dan Henry and are very eccentric. The rider is positioned very low so traffic visibility is an issue. I’d get a Specialized Sirrus or Trek equivalent because they are versatile and well built. 1k will get you a fine bicycle.
 
OP
anmpr1

anmpr1

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1) ... a cycling seat can ruin or disrupt your overall workout experience. The good thing is that there are a lot of ways you can follow on how to make the exercise bike seat more comfortable. 2) Although there is no exact posture that everyone must follow...
1) In the last year, since this post, I bought a pretty inexpensive exercise bike. From a big box store. Nothing fancy, but acceptable quality. It came more or less disassembled, and took an hour or so to bolt together. I changed out the seat to a more plush aftermarket design, as the original was quite hard and inflexible. I've gone over 1050 odometer miles on it.

2) Usually about 3 miles at a stretch, hands off the handlebars (sitting upright), using barbells for upper body work at the same time. I think that's a decent aerobic workout for my age.

I get through one and a half records on the changer, per session. Digit streaming is actually better, because in the middle of your workout you don't want to have to get down from the bike in order to push the tonearm over a skip. That can throw off your pace and timing, in audio parlance... :)
 
OP
anmpr1

anmpr1

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Bikes don‘t have seats. They have saddles…

Grammar Offender: Whose seat is this, sirrah?

Grammar Stickler: Not mine, sir.

GO: I think it be thine, indeed; for thou sittist in't.

GS: You sit out on't, sir, and therefore it is not
yours: for my part, I do not sit in the seat, but it is mine.

GO: 'Thou dost sit in't, to be on't and say it is thine.
Tis not for the quick as it doesn't move, yet it has a seat.

GS:'Tis a quick lie, sir; 'twill away gain, from me to you.

GO What man dost ride its seat?

GS: For no man, sir.

GO: What woman, then?

GS: For none, neither.

GO: To what purpose then?

GS: For the nonce it has no seat, but a saddle.

GO: How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card or equivocation will undo us!

The textual content certainly reads like a Bot. A lot of fluff and not really on point.

Where do bicycle oriented bots come from? What would be the purpose of someone creating that? Strange.
 
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