Any cyclists here?

[Gregadd]

In front the last phone both in America. We keep it just in case Superman needs a place to change.

 

[rando]

I'm convinced a ponderous and thoroughly upright bicycle with only the bald and rotten front tire exchanged for a perennially good snow tire is among the most enjoyable riding experiences possible.

With any luck the white stuff gets deep enough to pull out the road race bike.

 

[MTB Vince]

I'm convinced a ponderous and thoroughly upright bicycle with only the bald and rotten front tire exchanged for a perennially good snow tire is among the most enjoyable riding experiences possible.

With any luck the white stuff gets deep enough to pull out the road race bike.

????

A good bicycle snow tire has tall sharply defined tread blocks, a self cleaning tread pattern, and the largest casing your frame will allow to ensure a healthy footprint. If the paths you intend to ride are icy, a carbide studded version of the same is ideal. And you definitely want these sorts of tires on both ends of your bike to avoid falling down regularly.

The road race bike comment makes no sense to me at all as slippery roads are the bane of road racers...

 

[rando]

????

What manner of reply to this is possible? Where is your quadruple instigation lost inside the text quoted?

 

[MTB Vince]

What manner of reply to this is possible? Where is your quadruple instigation lost inside the text quoted?

I edited my earlier reply to clarify my thoughts on your post @rando.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...how much snow are we talking? Pugsley needs a cleaning, but quietly awaits winter.

This is a first-gen Pugsley. Front-end geometry as slack as your granny's triceps, but geared so low you'll run out of leg before you lose traction. Makes me smile every time! And what a work-out.

 

[rando]

I edited my earlier reply to clarify my thoughts on your post @rando.

Thank you.

A good bicycle snow tire has tall sharply defined tread blocks, a self cleaning tread pattern, and the largest casing your frame will allow to ensure a healthy footprint. If the paths you intend to ride are icy, a carbide studded version of the same is ideal. And you definitely want these sorts of tires on both ends of your bike to avoid falling down regularly.

You have depicted why mtb are terrible in snow despite fitting my somewhat vague description of ponderous and upright.
You have depicted a self propelled tractor of sizable weight and footprint.
Then firmly removed the exact element making these types of bikes actually fun, crashing. A lot. Nearly as much as jumping.

The road race bike comment makes no sense to me at all as slippery roads are the bane of road racers...

In California and Arizona.

Easy (road) courses produce stupendously injurious crashes in large amounts that don't factor into the risk adverse act of racing to the finish line on perilous terrain. Consider for only a moment what surfaces and conditions road cycling was birthed from and is fast returning to.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...horses for courses, as they say. Pugsley loves the snow. Gina (my Colnago C60), not so much. That said, if it's dry, I'll be out on the road in the 20s, eyes watering, praying not to flat.

 

[Atmasphere]

Then firmly removed the exact element making these types of bikes actually fun, crashing.

Hm. Perhaps a different meaning for the word 'fun' of which I was previously unaware.

 

[rando]

Hm. Perhaps a different meaning for the word 'fun' of which I was previously unaware.

Surely you must've enjoyed at least one moment unceremoniously depositing you in the soil or beleaguered in mud.

 

[Atmasphere]

Surely you must've enjoyed at least one moment unceremoniously depositing you in the soil or beleaguered in mud.

No. Usually something gets scraped, bloodied, broken, snapped, bent or other expression of fubar.

So overall falling off the bike hasn't produced experiences I would label 'fun'. But to each his own. None of this has stopped me riding. It isn't about common sense obviously.

 

[MTB Vince]

At 58 and still with a penchant for very technical trail riding, falling down holds decidedly less appeal these days. I equip myself with the best tools for the job these days in order to minimize the risk and likelihood of falls, while still doing the same sort of MTB riding I was doing 25 years earlier. Yet even with those precautions, sh*t happens...

Three weeks ago I had an awkward slow speed front wheel washout and fall after approaching a frost-slicked log-over at too much of an angle. As my forearms and chest hit the ground withought incident during the fall I thought I was gonna be fine, but then my left quadriceps muscle thumped down onto a large pointy rock. The bone-deep bruise and softball sized knot of inflammation is only just beginning to ease up now, but the injured muscle still won't allow enough range of motion to pedal comfortably. It will likely be a full month before I can get back on my bike.

The moral of my reply @rando is that while I still take risks, I manage those risks and I don't take "Johnny Knoxville-dumb" risks.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...at 64 y.o. I have convinced myself there is no shame in the occasional dismount and walk-over. When I pack it in, I just cannot heal up like I used to. And I bounce between wondering which is worse: MTB or road.

I'm five weeks post-op on a total knee replacement, so I don't yet know what that will feel like on a bike other than the wind-trainer, which sucks. Have fun wherever you're riding, fellas!

 

[rando]

...horses for courses, as they say. Pugsley loves the snow. Gina (my Colnago C60), not so much. That said, if it's dry, I'll be out on the road in the 20s, eyes watering, praying not to flat.

Fat bikes have a lot of potential for innocent mischief on snow. I feel safe saying Tullio and Ernesto would affirm pedigreed Italian racers have lost much of this trait. Good for you showing Gina on brisk seasonal jaunts.


A similar arrangement in other hobbies should be understandable to anyone established on a forum this closely bound with industry members. $10K+ custom Winter road bikes fitted with esoteric parts as an extension of the toybox everyone lived in were only fitting to some ends. Style is everything, standing upon association with everything new or unobtainable is fleeting. The rewards found proving ease dictating style even in the case of all else falling away to unaided rigor have a time honored impact. A bar sorely in need of being reset at the high end of audio.

At 58 and still with a penchant for very technical trail riding, falling down holds decidedly less appeal these days. I equip myself with the best tools for the job these days in order to minimize the risk and likelihood of falls, while still doing the same sort of MTB riding I was doing 25 years earlier.

I commend you and multiple others in this regard. Heal well, and you as well MarcusBarkus.

Please don't read too deeply into attempts at setting a good example drawing in younger interests. Per above.

 

[Bobvin]

When the rubber parts are no longer in contact with terra firma… invites pain.

gravity and friction are both blessing and curse.

 

[Bobvin]

Time travel machine, back to my youth. Never fails to bring ear to ear grin.

 

[Gregadd]

road rash -far less likely on dirt.

...at 64 y.o. I have convinced myself there is no shame in the occasional dismount and walk-over. When I pack it in, I just cannot heal up like I used to. And I bounce between wondering which is worse: MTB or road.

I'm five weeks post-op on a total knee replacement, so I don't yet know what that will feel like on a bike other than the wind-trainer, which sucks. Have fun wherever you're riding, fellas!

Some knee replacements are highly successful. Get your bike fitted professionally. Take it slow.

 

[Gregadd]

 

[MTB Vince]

...at 64 y.o. I have convinced myself there is no shame in the occasional dismount and walk-over. When I pack it in, I just cannot heal up like I used to. And I bounce between wondering which is worse: MTB or road.

I'm five weeks post-op on a total knee replacement, so I don't yet know what that will feel like on a bike other than the wind-trainer, which sucks. Have fun wherever you're riding, fellas!

At 44 years old I had a total knee replacement of my left knee. At the time both the ortho and the in-theater consultant from Stryker (manufacturer of the replacement knee) described my grotesquely arthritic knee as among the very worst they'd seen. The knee replacement was the seventh surgery on that knee and I had a tough recovery, apparently due to the built up scar tissue. After six months of physio I only managed 110 degree max range of motion with about 105 degrees pain-free movement. This was not near enough range to accommodate the 175mm MTB cranks I'd ridden previously. One year post-op some work with a professional bike fitter resulted in me moving to 160mm cranks which allowed me to pedal smoothly and comfortably through the entire pedal circle. At the time 14 years ago, high-end MTB and road cranks in lengths shorter than 165 essentially didn't exist. The folks at Lightening Recumbent Bikes made me two sets of their crazy lightweight custom composite crankset & BB in the required 160mm length and I've used them ever since. There are more choices in the market now in sub-165mm lengths including high-end Ebike cranks.

I've made a living as an enthusiast bike shop owner (30 years) and I'm a certified PrecisionFit bike fitter as well. Feel free to reach out privately if you'd like to discuss any issues you may have getting back onto the bike comfortably @MarkusBarkus.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

@MTB Vince thank you for the heart-felt post. I have a Stryker appliance myself. Surgery #4 for me: three re-builds and now the replacement after bone-on-bone for 25 years or so. And yes, the existing scar tissue is a bastard to work around. I am actually doing pretty well, but the ice-age is beginning here in upstate NY, so not a great time to test outside yet. Full-on snow will be better.

For those of you reading along and contemplating knee stuff, the few weeks post-op is wicked, but tapers (for me) after a month or so, and re-hab sucks. Worth doing. The atrophy in the quads is mind blowing, but it's a nice titanium upgrade. Gotta keep on rolling somehow...