(drooling on that 18 lb hardtail last page)... as an aside... kinda surprised the mountain folks haven't adopted internal shifting hubs like the Affine 8 and 11 speed stuff. I'd think they'd work much better in messy muddy bushcrashing kind of riding. are they too heavy? too fragile?
The whole Strava seems a bit odd to me. I can see both the sides being presented, but ultimately, it feels like boasting about your practice. I can't imagine ever boasting about rugby practise. "I did the longest beep test" doesn't have the same ring to it as "We won and I scored the winning try." But it's probably worthwhile to track your progress.
to me, its about like those bumper stickers "MY STUDENT IS AN HONOR ROLL STUDENT AT ______ MIDDLE SCHOOL". or posting your golf scores on facebook.
I don't get it either, but we all have different reasons for doing things. Aurielus is just over a year from breaking his hip. Just the fact that he can get out and ride is pretty damn good. Whatever works for him, I guess.
Nah, it's more like rugby league vs. rugby union. I don't know *anybody* who plays rugby league, but clearly *someone* does.
Re: the Niner Air 9 on the previous page. Pinch the down tube on both sides down by the BB with your thumb and forefinger. The tube will visibly give. It's a stupid light frameset.
That's the nature of carbon layups; thickness based on loads. For sure, that's a race machine and not for the average trail rider. Doubtful. Niner wouldn't build it, if that were the case. A Niner Jet 9 RDO is one of the few bikes I lust after. Of course I'd take an MCR 9, too.
If my clydesdale butt was on that thing it would probably fail. Remember, ultralight stuff like that is designed for a 150lb rider max. I'm not saying it is bound to fail but it surely won't be the most durable thing for most of us well fed types.
Agreed. I wouldn't worry a bit about it breaking when being ridden as intended (straight-up XC). OTOH, the prospect of a good, hard crash would probably cause me to lose some sleep. On the fantasy front, I'd really like a Mooto X RSL. Pretty please.
The reason it seems odd to you is because you've made a wholly unjustified assumption. 'Practice' for what, exactly? Practice for racing? What makes you think the average Strava user has the slightest interest in entering races? The vast majority of Strava users upload their rides for the reasons I've already listed, and it has nothing to do with being a wannabe racer. When I got involved in weight training, I kept very precise records of all my workouts. These records allowed me to plot my progress over time, to set realistic goals, to see which types of exercise routines produced the best results, and so on. None of this suggests for one minute that I entertained any thoughts about entering weight lifting competitions. Why is it so difficult for some here to understand that exactly the same considerations hold true for bicycling?
You could say exactly the same thing about my 16 lb Trek Madone. Yet when I performed the 'pinch test' on the frame, there was no noticeable flexing anywhere. No flexing on my other two CF frames either. A seemingly reasonable assumption, but one that has been repeatedly disproved. Frames do suffer structural failure, despite the best intentions of their designers. I know two local racers who have experienced multiple frame failures on their CF bikes. When they return them under warranty, they're given another frame just like it, which eventually also fails. They break in the same way and in the same locations as before, which points to a design flaw that the manufacturers, for whatever reason, have never rectified.
Did you publish them ? Nobody is suggesting that keeping records is a bad thing, what people find distasteful is all this 'dick-waving' by publishing them online so you you can brag about how well you've done.
Nowt wrong wi rugby t'league (if you are from northern England, that made perfect sense ) I'm actually more a Union man but I still enjoy League - to me, it's less skilful but boy, it's a tough game. Never played, I was a Union guy.
I'm not gonna jump back in.... I'm not gonna jump back in... ...but I AM going to go ride some gravel here in about an hour. Buddy of mine keeps wanting to go out too effing early. Wait a bit and it won't be so bloody cold! M
Was that intended as a serious question? Because I shouldn't have to point out that in weight training, you can't simply pin an electronic device to yourself to keep the kinds of records weight trainers use. If anything comparable to Strava had existed for weight trainers, I would have gladly used it rather than going to the trouble of keeping records on paper. Now on to your second contention. Maybe you'd care to explain to me why simply uploading your Strava results constitutes 'dick waving'. You do know that leader boards contain the listings of hundreds of riders for a given segment, right? If you understand that much, you can appreciate the absurdity in claiming that the guys who are not in the top ten are engaging in 'dick waving'. Unless of course you think the guy in 300th or 400th place posted those results in order to brag about them. So, suppose your criticism is aimed only at those who are in the top ten. Let's be generous and grant your groundless assumption that these riders posted their results so they can brag about them. It's an irrational assumption, but since your entire objection seems to hang on this point, we'll assume for the sake of argument that it's true. My reply would be, so what? Do you find it equally objectionable when racers post their first place finishes? What exactly is wrong with taking pride in being at or near the top in some personal endeavor? I notice that quite a few people on this forum post information about some marathon ride they've just completed, and that others aren't shy about congratulating them on their accomplishment. Does this offend you as well?
Crash-ability is exactly why I've never even considered CF, for a MTB. I can deal with scratches and dings, but, not the prospect of sending a CF frameset to Calfee, or somebody, for repairs/inspection. It seems like every crash I have is in rocks, which always result in some sort of new damage. Despite this video, I still can't accept it. I've yet to see a CF toptube that didn't compress upon pinching. Furthermore, tube shape has a lot to do with the ability to do that; flat-sided shapes are more susceptible to it. There are always going to be some model, from some manufacturer, that is going to have a structural issue (Gary Fisher Hi-Mod is an example). However, knowing the reputation of Niner (a small, dedicated company), that's highly unlikely, with their stuff. If you do have a problem, they take care of it directly. Furthermore, if you're out of the norm (clydesdale, lightweight, disproportianate, bomber, etc), it'd make sense to contact a manufacturer, before one's purchase. Despite looking similar, many manufacturers have models that are better suited to one's needs.
