Thursday, April 13, 2017

Holy Thursday, I Just Realized It's Good Friday Tomorrow!!!

So tomorrow is Good Friday.

What's so good about it?

I won't be posting, that's what!

I will, however, be back on Monday, April 17th with regular(ish) updates, and of course the Bike Forecast will continue unmolested.

Another wonderful thing about Monday is that I'll be bloviating about the burgeoning pastime of "all-terrain bicycling" at the REI in the popular South of Houston* neighborhood in Manhattan:

(*It's not pronounced "Houston" like the city, it's pronounced "Dallas" for reasons unknown.)

Expect:

--My highly subjective opinions about bicycles presented as immutable facts;
--Exciting giveaways, including caps from Walz and coffee from Just Coffee;
--The opportunity to pay NYCMTB money in exchange for a copy of my latest book, which I will even sign and bedazzle for you if you'd like:


And in terms of practical advice, I'll clue you in on how to get to and from some pretty good dirt riding in and around New York City without having to rely on a car (or an expensive bouncy bike, for that matter).

This could lead to a whole new career for me:




"If you think abut the disc brake in everything, whether it’s the car or the motorcycle and also the mountain bike, it’s so logical because with the disc brake you can have so much more precise control, and I believe it’s adding more safety, not danger," Sinyard said. "If anything the chainring on the front is the more dangerous piece. The disc brake is the future. In the future we won’t look at road bikes that don’t have disc brakes. They will all have them.

Well in the present I won't look at Specialized bikes regardless of what braking system they use, so I suppose that's fair.

Of course, Sinyard is specifically talking about the Pro Freds here, but the fact is once he conquers them the Amateur Freds will then fall like dominos (or like triathletes), since Amateur Freds grow squeamish and uncomfortable when their bikes no longer reflect what the pros are using--and that means he gets to sell them new frames, new wheels, new everything.

It's genius.  GENIUS I TELL YOU.

And for the record, let me say I'm all for it, because I can't wait until all the little Freddies are riding around with these stupid things on their bikes:

(It's the 21st century "lawyer lip.")

But don't worry, little Freddies, the ones on your bike will be crabon:

Pictured here are pre-production 3D printed prototypes, the finished product will – unsurprisingly for Tune – arrive in carbon fibre.

If nothing else, the elegant simplicity of the road bicycle has now gone the way of rotary phones and, well, pretty much every other kind of phone.  For that matter, so has the idea of a quiet road bike.  Hit your local Fred route and you'll be amazed at how loud road bikes have become.  Between the whooshy crabon wheels and the incessantly ticking BB-whatever bottom brackets they already sounded rickety enough; then came the discs and the concomitant rotor rub whenever the road surface was anything but completely dry.  Throw these new disc brake pie plates into the mix and the road bike in the future is sure to sound like a real rattletrap.

I love it.

And with that, I'm off, but will see you back here on Monday.

Ride safe.

I love and miss you,


--Wildcat Rock Machine



52 comments:

Very Slim Pickens said...

No Comments Yet! Podium

McFly said...

1st looser

Er'body on Facebook said...

Unspoken prayer request please.

Anonymous said...

Podi.......................nope. Toppus X

John Swanson said...

Fridays, holy or not, are good.

Would be Will Shortz said...

I thought it was pronounced "How-stun".

Knüt Fredriksson said...

If I show up to the mountain bike talk, will you bedazzle my scranus?
(NOTE: there's no chance I will show up at the aforementioned talk so don't worry meeting someone wearing nothing but a trench coat with weird sock and sunglasses tans, a pleading look on their face and a half empty bottle of glitter.)

theEel said...

weed.

N/A said...

I hope that somebody shows up to Wildcat's speaking engagement at the REI, and requests the bedazzlement of a book. Bonus points if, at that request, Wildcat pulls out a tote full of craft supplies and curates a masterpiece.

cdinvb said...

Disk brakes are key to everyone's safety? From the industry that has been arguing for years that reflectors are sufficient? Oh well. Different voices from different places, I guess.

Seattle lone wolf said...

Planet Houston.

Everbody said...

Why do dick breaks have sharp edges? Are they sharper than flat spokes? Why?

leroy said...

Well I was all set to attend the REI soiree on Monday for the free coffee.

Then I read the fine print and figured out that free coffee wasn't automatic, you just had a chance to win free coffee.

Nonetheless, my dog says I really should go and learn about mountain biking in NYC because he's installing something called "a pump track" in our living room.

I'm not sure what that is, but he tells me it's like an indoor trainer for mountain bikes.

Could be interesting.

Ride good Fridayly all.

Hee Haw the Barista said...

BEDA ZZLE

Within 2 years everyone will teabag Sinyard said...

Another in a list of failed predictions:
"In the future we won’t look at road bikes that don’t have disc brakes. They will all have them."
"Everyone will be using studded bike tires in winter".
"More and more people will be playing the fast growing sport of bike polo"
"Everyone will want fat bikes"
"Everyone will want the simplicity of fixies and single speeds."

Pathetic Old Cyclist said...

Top Twenty with a disc brake gash on my leg!

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised Sinyard wasn't announcing that Specialized invented the disc brake and would be sueing anyone else who put one on a bike. At this point they absolutely have to keep coming up with BS like this to justify selling you a new bike every 3-4 years. I see a Rivendell in my future.

Unknown said...

.. And when did freewheels get so damn loud? Some of 'em sound like an angry nest of wasps.

Cat 404 e-Racer said...

I wonder how long it will be before people figure out how to use the sides of the rim up near the tires as an integral disc braking surface. The pistons and pads could be flat-mounted at the top of the fork, in the front and the rear fidly bits could be located near the bridge between the seat stays. This arrangement would lighten the bike considerably by shortening the hydraulic lines and eliminating the weight of a separate hub mounted discs and lockrings.

You can call me a futurist. I predict you'll see something like this at an Eroica by the fall.

wle said...

When are they going to do away with the uber-Dangerous "Chain Ring Of Death"???

Crosspalms said...

Can I get a hat that says Make Friday Good Again?

Ben Mack said...

Disc guards are old news! We bike polo players have had them for years!

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Twenty-turd Scrani!

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

You can't spell Mike Sinyard with Amir's Kidney or Smirky An Die!
I can't make it to REI Monday, but Snob, in case you didn't hear, Mary Anderson, the Co-Founder of REI, died late last month at the ripe old age of 107. She was an avid mountaineer, so maybe you should work that into your mountainous biking commentary.

Anonymous said...

Disc brakes, disc rotor guards? Anyone surprised? The bike/bike component CRAZY TRAIN left the station long, LONG ago. I waved good-by, happily liberated. My old steel bikes? Workin’ just fine, thanks. It is good to be “dropped” from the Planned Obsolescence bike peleton.

82medici said...

Talk about noisy ...I was riding quietly along recently when I heard what I thought was a Hyundai coming up behind me. It then began to pass me at a location where Hyundai-passing was not an option. It turned out that is was not a car, but a REALLY noisy triathlon-type bike with deep section wheels and at least 300 pounds of rider. I think the noise was mostly from the wheels, but it could have been anywhere.

1904 Cadardi said...

If you have any rhinestones left over from the book signing will you bedazzle Monday's blog? PLEASE!!!

Fred Mercury said...

Friday would be a good day for Jewish people to steer clear of Mel Gibson.

Serial Retrogrouch said...

...add cassette hub noise to that mix. When a Fred coasts, swarms of bees get jealous.

...oh, and the clicking of the clipping / unclipping of the clipless pedals.

Pist Off said...

I've used disc brakes in a mountainous Barney way for 15 years. They are good, for use in actual mountain/desert dirt. I've used sidepull and cantilever brakes on mountain roads and trails for 30 years, and goddamn I'm getting old. The number of times I've thought I needed disc brakes on any road is zero. Colorado has some long-ass mountain road descents and still never, nope, nada. How many times must it be repeated that rim brakes are disc brakes, with significant inherent friction and heat dissipation? They also don't cut or burn tender peloton skin.

Olle Nilsson said...

FRED Talks will never work but have a hidden benefit:

TED Talk: you start watching thinking "this sounds really cool" and later realize that was 18 minutes of your life you'll never get back. 9 times out of 10.

FRED Falk: Why would you even click? 18 minutes of your day instantly freed up to watch cat videos.

Arthur Guinness said...

Brilliant!

Chazu said...

Consider demonstrating a dropper post at REI. In fact, it could be the centerpiece of your presentation. Especially if you play "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye during the demo.

Hello and High There said...

Hey Dudes. Our Duder Prime Minister Trudeau has just dropped a parlimentary type bill that will make everyday weed-day up here in Canada. Four plants in every garage!

bad boy of the south said...

officially,wifey and I,have moved south of the mason/dixon line..wherever that may be.
anyway,since we have made the move from the little city of beacon,which we will miss big time,i will keep tabs on the goings on in bsnyc world.
i'm gonna have to come back north at some point.perhaps at some gran fondon't.maybe our illustrious leader can loan me some gran fondon'ty bike. maybe one of the hundred or so two-wheeled contraptions in his stable.hmmm.so when will that be?if no loan,that it's a bike rack ride up.
'til then...I sign off above as...

bad boy of the south said...

I meant"then it's a".

fourhourerection said...

Where's Ted?

Jay Walker said...

Tolerance (and brain) zero for jaywalking
(video, no nudity, a part from bare idiocy)
http://usat.ly/2oZv1sG

TS Eliot said...

And they call this Friday Good...

bedazzled scranus said...

I need a plastic guard for my big ring. Going to switch to Shimano hybrid cranks to match my rotor covers.

Reminds me of a time where you could buy plastic protection for every part of your skateboard deck and trucks- rails, nose guard, skid plate, copers, rear truck guard. It's what your parents insisted you have on your first board so it didn't wear out. They were as quickly removed as reflectors and pie plates.

BikeSnobNYC said...

bedazzled scranus,

Yes! My Vision Shredder had all of the above. I thought it was so cool!

--Wildcat Etc.

We Don't Need No Education said...

Hey, it's Friday and NO QUIZ! What is this society coming to?

Anonymous said...

Evil is driven by overzealous consumerism. The bike industry is at the forefront of this evil-driven consumerism. Remember, not that long ago, bikes were simple, durable, reliable, easy to fix, and relatively inexpensive. Now bike are wicked complex, disposable, spotty, hard to fix, and super expensive. It's a shame. I guess that is why I mostly ride my single speed for my every day bike-to-work and my SURLY Pacer on the weekends. Heck, when we rode from the Bay Area to SD in 2006, it was on single speeds; no mechanicals, no issues, just pedal, pure fun. And I wish that Specialize realized that not everyone wants disc brakes. I've been biking almost every day for the last 50 years and stopping has never been an issue for me; going faster; well that another story. ONE GEAR CONQUERS ALL.

Anonymous said...

Are you going to talk about e mountain bikes at NYC MTB?

Anonymous said...

Sorta funny that Sinyard says that just after Roubaix, where Tom Boonen rode a custom bike designed around rim brakes.

Dooth said...

Sinyard is the boy named sue.

Clarkey said...

Disc brakes? Never. I, for one, like a dutiful Luddite will be throwing my cleated wooden clog into the rotor works of passers by thank you very much.

Skidmark said...

Original OGs (One Gears ,construed as singular) ,Unite!

Pedantic Twat said...

Bad Boy of the Sooth:

The Mason-Dixon Line is the border betwixt PA and MD

Holy Roller said...

I bow my head and pray for another comment or two, for there has been a dearth in recent times.

bad boy of the sooth? said...

Pedantic Twat,thanks for the clarification.i was wondering why I started hearing banjos when driving I95 into MD on the way to visit relatives in DC.

JLRB said...

Still
Catching up from off fucking
Last week so next week is now