Dem bicicletas dos, doe.

[troyguitar]

Troy, are you making a conscious effort to force your shoulders down away from your head when riding?

Some people, myself included, have a bad habit of bunching their shoulders up while on the bike. It’ll fatigue the neck and shoulders real quick.

I try to, but I must still be doing it

I also don't see how I'm supposed to actively hold my back up but not use my core OR my hands to hold my body in general and at the same time hold my shoulders down but have them be relaxed, etc. It's a bunch of contradictory stuff on which there are no clear instructions. Apparently everyone else just does the right thing, or at least something that doesn't hurt them, naturally...

[D Griff]

Troy, are you making a conscious effort to force your shoulders down away from your head when riding?

Some people, myself included, have a bad habit of bunching their shoulders up while on the bike. It’ll fatigue the neck and shoulders real quick.

I try to, but I must still be doing it

I also don't see how I'm supposed to actively hold my back up but not use my core OR my hands to hold my body in general and at the same time hold my shoulders down but have them be relaxed, etc. It's a bunch of contradictory stuff on which there are no clear instructions. Apparently everyone else just does the right thing, or at least something that doesn't hurt them, naturally...

I have always had a really hard time with weight lifting movements as my innate coordination/sese of mind and body is awful. One thing that really helped me with that is focusing on just one or a couple of things at a time, it is often overwhelming when there are 80 different things to worry about. I recall finding some videos about dead lifts and squats that were like "5 steps to a good lift" instead of the usual 25 or the more vague description of just do it fluidly like this when I just can't. My form will never be as good as those naturally cut out for lifting, but it got fairly decent by just focusing on 1-3 things until I had them down, then moving on to a couple more.

[D Griff]

Also, I think you've already done this, but try to just change one thing at once, then go ride for a bit and see how it feels. It's just like setting up a car, if you go change tires/pressures/sway bars/alignment all simultaneously, you might not really know what contributed to what improvements/detriments. Start with just air pressure until you have it dialed in, then think about changing alignment if it's still needed.

[troyguitar]

Dunno what else to change at this point. Shoulders hurt 24/7 even if I only ride 30 minutes 2-3x a week. I have never once felt comfortable on the damn thing, except for when I'm pushing 250+ watts so that my legs are actually carrying some weight. But I can't maintain that for more than a few minutes.

[Desertbreh]

Bike Dudes: I am piloting the Havnoonian steel steed from Pflugmaster BikeMax with great success these days, bike is fast, fits me perfectly. Put on about 8 miles every morning as part of my routine. Running into technical problems the last two days though. Rear derailleur keeps "shifting but not shifting." I'm powering along and then there is what feels like a shift/interruption in power delivery.....but no change of cogs.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[D Griff]

Bike Dudes: I am piloting the Havnoonian steel steed from Pflugmaster BikeMax with great success these days, bike is fast, fits me perfectly. Put on about 8 miles every morning as part of my routine. Running into technical problems the last two days though. Rear derailleur keeps "shifting but not shifting." I'm powering along and then there is what feels like a shift/interruption in power delivery.....but no change of cogs.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

What [user not found] said, check cable tension. Is it a slipping feeling as you're pedaling? It could be that your chain or rear cassette are worn out and it is slipping under powah.

Park Tool on YouTube has some really great videos demoing how to do all of this stuff. I would avoid a bike shop right now unless you want to lose access to your bike for 3-4 weeks. Thanks 'VID.

[Desertbreh]

Bike Dudes: I am piloting the Havnoonian steel steed from Pflugmaster BikeMax with great success these days, bike is fast, fits me perfectly. Put on about 8 miles every morning as part of my routine. Running into technical problems the last two days though. Rear derailleur keeps "shifting but not shifting." I'm powering along and then there is what feels like a shift/interruption in power delivery.....but no change of cogs.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Check cable tension, make sure rear wheel is firmly seated in the dropouts. Is it possible you bumped the rear derailleur and knocked it out of alignment?

If the bump is possible - get it to a bike shop and have the derailleur hanger alignment checked. You could also just order up an alignment tool and do it yourself (it's really easy, but does require the right tool to do it).

Will check these items. Don't remember striking the deerailleur but IDK.

[Desertbreh]

Bike Dudes: I am piloting the Havnoonian steel steed from Pflugmaster BikeMax with great success these days, bike is fast, fits me perfectly. Put on about 8 miles every morning as part of my routine. Running into technical problems the last two days though. Rear derailleur keeps "shifting but not shifting." I'm powering along and then there is what feels like a shift/interruption in power delivery.....but no change of cogs.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

What [user not found] said, check cable tension. Is it a slipping feeling as you're pedaling? It could be that your chain or rear cassette are worn out and it is slipping under powah.

Park Tool on YouTube has some really great videos demoing how to do all of this stuff. I would avoid a bike shop right now unless you want to lose access to your bike for 3-4 weeks. Thanks 'VID.

Thanks G. Will check out.

[troyguitar]

Rode today in 62F+gray weather and fucking froze my ass off. Ordered gloves, toe covers, and a light jacket to start. What works for wind/water resistant leggings/tights/pants? Shorts aren't going to cut it anymore.

[D Griff]

Rode today in 62F+gray weather and fucking froze my ass off. Ordered gloves, toe covers, and a light jacket to start. What works for wind/water resistant leggings/tights/pants? Shorts aren't going to cut it anymore.

It was freezing when I was commuting to work on my bike, I wore these which aren’t water resistant but they worked well https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HWQ ... UTF8&psc=1

[troyguitar]

Rode today in 62F+gray weather and fucking froze my ass off. Ordered gloves, toe covers, and a light jacket to start. What works for wind/water resistant leggings/tights/pants? Shorts aren't going to cut it anymore.

It was freezing when I was commuting to work on my bike, I wore these which aren’t water resistant but they worked well https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HWQ ... UTF8&psc=1

I've no idea what I need yet, but I just did another hour in basically identical conditions with similar results. It's FREEZING for the first ~20 minutes, then cold for 20, then I'm and kind of hot by the end. My toes are frozen and nose is running the whole time so apparently I need to cut the initial wind yet provide ventilation.

The jacket I ordered is a terrible fit so I need to start over on that one.

[D Griff]

What do you do with layers during the ride if you desire to remove them? I was commuting in the cold and always had a backpack to deposit things as I got

[troyguitar]

What do you do with layers during the ride if you desire to remove them? I was commuting in the cold and always had a backpack to deposit things as I got

Hat, arm warmers, and leg warmers can come off and get stashed in a jersey pocket or saddlebag.

I always try to wear the bare minimum though, I hate carrying too much stuff. Suffering through the first 20 minutes of cold isn’t too bad, especially if the weather warms up over the ride.

So do you just have a whole closet full of special bike clothes? Seems like that's the way I'm heading if I am going to keep doing this shit. Buying tons and tons of clothes and returning or throwing away most of it as I find what actually fits and works.

I still don't own a jersey or really know what a base layer is, the prices and complexity of fit+functions are nuts on it all. I wear generic cool-max type t-shirts and random $20 Amazon shorts - and none of it really fits right except for one pair of women's shorts.

[fledonfoot]

I rode a bike outside today.

It was weird.

[troyguitar]

So do you just have a whole closet full of special bike clothes? Seems like that's the way I'm heading if I am going to keep doing this shit. Buying tons and tons of clothes and returning or throwing away most of it as I find what actually fits and works.

I still don't own a jersey or really know what a base layer is, the prices and complexity of fit+functions are nuts on it all. I wear generic cool-max type t-shirts and random $20 Amazon shorts - and none of it really fits right except for one pair of women's shorts.

I mean, pretty much. I’ve also been riding for more than 10 years now.

I’ve got 4 different bike kits hanging in the closet of the spare bedroom, along with a riding vest and a fleece riding jacket.

I’ve also got an entire drawer in the dresser in that spare bedroom dedicated to socks, gloves, baselayers, arm and leg warmers, and the few items the wife has of riding gear.

Nothing crazy about baselayers though, I have a cheap compression shirt I use from Amazon. Synthetic or wool is best, cotton isn’t great once it gets wet.

Two pairs of arm warmers I have, I actually made from cutting the legs off of girls leggings. They’re great because they’re thin and not as warm as the pairs of fleece-lined arm and leg warmers I have and use for sub-45 degree weather.

It's just tough to get started when you can't try anything on and need to buy... everything. I guess I'll grab more random amazon shit and go from there.

[troyguitar]

I rode a bike outside today.

It was weird.

How'd it go? Hit any trees?

[fledonfoot]

I rode a bike outside today.

It was weird.

How'd it go? Hit any trees?

I didn’t have any PTSD, which was good.

Still can’t get the palm of my hand flat enough to hold the bars, and the elbow is at a weird angle. I’ll do what I can to keep working on it but it’s not looking good.

[Johnny_P]

Check cable tension, make sure rear wheel is firmly seated in the dropouts. Is it possible you bumped the rear derailleur and knocked it out of alignment?

If the bump is possible - get it to a bike shop and have the derailleur hanger alignment checked. You could also just order up an alignment tool and do it yourself (it's really easy, but does require the right tool to do it).

Will check these items. Don't remember striking the deerailleur but IDK.

Its an indexed shifter, so tension on the shift lever itself is mostly irrelevant. The indexing on the Superbe Pro set was good but not super perfect, it's a bit sensitive. This was the first indexed group from Suntour (indexed = clicks into gear instead of a shift lever that is friction based and doesn't have set gear detents).

To re-set the wheel, open the rear quick release lever on the hub with the bike upright. Put a bit of weight on the saddle, pull the wheel farther into the dropouts, and then re-tighten it. The lever should be tight enough to leave a mark on your palm when you close it. Not he-man tight, but not going anywhere tight.

Flip the bike upside down. Lube the cable where it enters the housing and where it passes over the bottom bracket (crankset) area, as these are high friction areas that can booger up the way a bike shifts. Turn the pedals and try to idenfity where the interruption is happening. You may need an extra set of hands to hold the brake a bit while you pedal to put some resistance on it. If its happening at the back end, note which way the dreailleur/chain is skipping. If it's skipping down to a harder (smaller number of teeth) cog and then back up to where it should be, give the barrel adjuster on the rear shift cable a quarter turn out. If it's skipping up the cogs to an easier (higher number of teeth) cog, give the barrel adjuster a quarter turn in. It can be any barrel adjuster on that shift cable, I believe there is one at the derailleur itself, and one on the back end of the shift lever. Note that after each adjustment you should turn the cranks for a bit and cycle up/down the gears and back to the one that was causing problems.

If it's just a pop in the cranks with no discernible cable movement, it could be the chain is worn or the chainrings are worn. I forget what the chain measurement is, and I'm too exhausted to look it up. Sheldon Brown's website has a ton of great resources on this.

You can also degrease the chain and re-lube with chain lube (not WD-40!). A citrus based degreaser generally will work well. Any chain lube is good.

A shop will be able to diagnose this really quickly and repair it cheaply (like $25 ish), but at least these are some things you can do on your own. A shop can check alignment of the derailleur hanger. Nice thing with steel bikes, if it's bent, they just bend it back. But it's probably just cable tension related. I remember that bike needing tinkering every so often with the cable tension.

[troyguitar]

It's just tough to get started when you can't try anything on and need to buy... everything. I guess I'll grab more random amazon shit and go from there.

This is what I got for the baselayer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJ7I1VY?ps ... ct_details

I went with a medium, you could probably get away with a small based on how you describe things fitting you.

Yeah I have a 35" chest. Just ordered a bunch more crap in a mix of men's and women's sizes. It's surprisingly difficult to find anything small enough to fit me, but I'm finding that in many ways I'm closer in size to the average female athlete than male. I'm basically shaped like a runner chick, except with a few extra pounds on my gut instead of my chest.

Maybe I could find stuff made for 12 year old boys.

[D Griff]

I mean, pretty much. I’ve also been riding for more than 10 years now.

I’ve got 4 different bike kits hanging in the closet of the spare bedroom, along with a riding vest and a fleece riding jacket.

I’ve also got an entire drawer in the dresser in that spare bedroom dedicated to socks, gloves, baselayers, arm and leg warmers, and the few items the wife has of riding gear.

Nothing crazy about baselayers though, I have a cheap compression shirt I use from Amazon. Synthetic or wool is best, cotton isn’t great once it gets wet.

Two pairs of arm warmers I have, I actually made from cutting the legs off of girls leggings. They’re great because they’re thin and not as warm as the pairs of fleece-lined arm and leg warmers I have and use for sub-45 degree weather.

It's just tough to get started when you can't try anything on and need to buy... everything. I guess I'll grab more random amazon shit and go from there.

My stuff is a hodge podge too, just kind of trying things out as I go and slowly adding. The cold thing will be annoying for sure. It’s interesting that you can get stuff from these cycling online stores and a pair of shorts is like $100 but Walmart/Amazon have similar stuff for 1/6 the price. I think my strategy will just be to never try the expensive shit. I’m sure it’s somehow better but I’ve found in like you’re often better off just never experiencing the finer things and being satisfied with lower tier.

Even after Strava challenge 50% off things, these places are still

One thing I do need to figure out is some better eyewear.

[D Griff]

I did my first ride clipped in yesterday. It's funny how I was intimidated by this, it is not even remotely hard. I did fall over in the car port after finishing the ride as I pulled in and just forgot Fortunately I put my hand out fast enough to stop my body and bike from smashing into my car.

Funny enough, this was my slowest ride in months... but I don't really think it was due to the pedals, I was just sort of more relaxed and went out for 44 miles or so after doing a bunch of yard work so I was already a bit worn out I guess. All in all though, the pedals do help and I enjoyed it. I'm not convinced that I'd want them on a mountain bike

[troyguitar]

It's just tough to get started when you can't try anything on and need to buy... everything. I guess I'll grab more random amazon shit and go from there.

My stuff is a hodge podge too, just kind of trying things out as I go and slowly adding. The cold thing will be annoying for sure. It’s interesting that you can get stuff from these cycling online stores and a pair of shorts is like $100 but Walmart/Amazon have similar stuff for 1/6 the price. I think my strategy will just be to never try the expensive shit. I’m sure it’s somehow better but I’ve found in like you’re often better off just never experiencing the finer things and being satisfied with lower tier.

Even after Strava challenge 50% off things, these places are still

One thing I do need to figure out is some better eyewear.

There's certainly an element of ignorance is bliss to it all. I'm also at the prices of even the lower tier name brands like Pearl izumi - especially because I'm riding 5-6 days a week and need to buy at least 2 of things if not 3 in order to avoid doing laundry every single day. $100 for a baselayer shirt, $100 for a jersey, $200 for a jacket, $150 for pants?

That being said, I'm interested in anything I can do to increase comfort and reduce hassles. Pretty soon here it's also going to be cold enough that proper attire will actually be a safety item. It's already supposed to be 39F tomorrow morning. That's cold as fuck with a 15+ mph wind.

I also enjoy the fashion aspect of all of this. Cycling gear is one of the only times when men are "allowed" to wear form-fitting clothing in fun colors.

I haven't tried them yet but I'm looking at trying some photochromic glasses now that the days are short and getting shorter, will probably buy a pair from these guys:

https://www.tifosioptics.com/photochromic-sunglasses/

[D Griff]

My stuff is a hodge podge too, just kind of trying things out as I go and slowly adding. The cold thing will be annoying for sure. It’s interesting that you can get stuff from these cycling online stores and a pair of shorts is like $100 but Walmart/Amazon have similar stuff for 1/6 the price. I think my strategy will just be to never try the expensive shit. I’m sure it’s somehow better but I’ve found in like you’re often better off just never experiencing the finer things and being satisfied with lower tier.

Even after Strava challenge 50% off things, these places are still

One thing I do need to figure out is some better eyewear.

There's certainly an element of ignorance is bliss to it all. I'm also at the prices of even the lower tier name brands like Pearl izumi - especially because I'm riding 5-6 days a week and need to buy at least 2 of things if not 3 in order to avoid doing laundry every single day. $100 for a baselayer shirt, $100 for a jersey, $200 for a jacket, $150 for pants?

That being said, I'm interested in anything I can do to increase comfort and reduce hassles. Pretty soon here it's also going to be cold enough that proper attire will actually be a safety item. It's already supposed to be 39F tomorrow morning. That's cold as fuck with a 15+ mph wind.

I also enjoy the fashion aspect of all of this. Cycling gear is one of the only times when men are "allowed" to wear form-fitting clothing in fun colors.

I haven't tried them yet but I'm looking at trying some photochromic glasses now that the days are short and getting shorter, will probably buy a pair from these guys:

https://www.tifosioptics.com/photochromic-sunglasses/

those seem like a I agree that that would be handy, it's annoying as hell taking glasses on/off constantly as the cloud cover changes, and really, it's safer to just leave them on the entire ride. It gets uncomfortable and too dark sometimes though, with the regular sunglasses I have.

I too love the look of the fun cycling jerseys, but I think those prices are Like a base layer for $100?? I got some long sleeve Haynes synthetic tees for $9 each and AFAIK they are basically the same shit.

[D Griff]

I also never wear real clothes anymore, so I am more OK with owning more fitness shit as it's what I actual use. Basically fitness shit each morning and then khaki/chino type shorts and a tee or polo during the work day. I don't think I've put on jeans in six months, let alone any nicer pants.

[troyguitar]

I also never wear real clothes anymore, so I am more OK with owning more fitness shit as it's what I actual use. Basically fitness shit each morning and then khaki/chino type shorts and a tee or polo during the work day. I don't think I've put on jeans in six months, let alone any nicer pants.

Yeah I have a closet full of probably $3000 in dress clothes and I haven't worn any of it in years. Ironing is a PITA waste of time.

I was thinking about just putting on some regular pants over the bike shorts and realized that I don't own a single pair of pants that is in any way suited for anything athletic. I have jeans and dress pants, that's it. I've never exercised outdoors during winter, this is all new to me.