While I didn't come up with the title and am a little uncomfortable with the word "great," ultimately I must acknowledge it's fitting given as this column is basically an act of supplication on my part. Hey, over time we all find ourselves doing and saying stuff we never thought we would, to wit:
"My flip-flop just unplugged my Di2 derailleur" is a thing I never thought I'd type. But here we are.— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) August 2, 2018
There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the circumstances that resulted in that tweet, but it's far more intriguing if you don't know what those circumstances were, so let's leave it at that.
Now I leave you go sink your teeth into the sandwich that is the weekend. May all your rides be enjoyable, and may your lap be free from giant errant globs of egg salad.
Yours and so forth,
--Tan Tenovo
47 comments:
Strava dork? Never!
Podium?
Why is the king of sucking wearing catcher's shin guards?
QOM!
Don't you need one of those newfangled smart phones with a data plan to use Strava?
woo hoo speed? making the top 10?
Skinner boxes are the future, bro.
Wait till they put loot boxes in the big S, you'll be fucked then.
wish strava could track your sandwich intake. the food and recipes are the best part about the BSNYC experience. sandwich porn...which, without the glutens makes it pretty nasty and super X rated...like being into feet or farts or something heinous along those lines.
here is an actual bike part question: think getting a shim for a 26.6 post to fit a 27.0 is fine or do shims rattle about or potentially not do their job well?
yes, i know 27.0 posts are available in abundance...but not so much the DA aero posts of the mid 80's..much harder to find in 27.0
and yes, i'm gratuitously buying bits and pieces for their form not their function (or affordability) which i know is silly and stupid but i also am silly and stupid so here we are.
WEED!
I LOVE Strava! (the free version...I'm only half-fred). Not that I care about the leaders board...that just shows how bad I really suck. I'm more interested in how I compare to younger-me.
GG
Need to put up my grocery shopping route and times on Strava; going this weekend for personal best times on the cheese aisle ascent and the wine aisle flat.
@HDEB, no, if you have a computer and a garmin (that's what I use)
@Tan T, in a strange coincidence I also joined strava at the end of July last year. I like it but it got a bit annoying in the winter with all the Zwifting. (Using a computer instead of the mobile app allows you to filter that out).
Summer Streets tomorrow! I'll be there with the young'un. We try to make it there every year. Let's hope for good weather.
Your pen/sword is leaking fluid onto the floor, heh heh. And those knockers, oh, those knockers! I think I enjoy the illustrations for your columns as much as your excellent words.
Yes, enjoy the weekend, ride safe!
Bike on bike gun violence? I wonder if the perp staked out the doctor's route through social media (the dark side of strava)
PBateman, I've always had trouble free experiences with shims on bikes. Im a Schwinnn guy, so shims are sort of the norm, cause none of the old stuff is normally sized so you gots to make em work.
PBR cans work fine, FYI.
Wildcat, this all sounds like rationalizing to me and almost as distasteful as bailing on your New Years resolutions. But, Heck it's your life, do what you like. I am just here to remind you of it like that little Devil on your shoulder.
FWIW, there are other Apps. Map my Ride or Riding with GPS.
-Masmojo
Weekend weed and beer biking!
Strava, still meh. PBateman, from my recent old bike experiences I think you’re in the weird size zone. No one seems to sell manufactured shims under .5mm because it’s so thin. Soda can wall is about .2mm and I have had good results using it for 27.0 to 27.2 (half wrap) and 26.8 to 27.2 (full wrap of post.) When’s your RB1 gonna be yellow?
I can't decide if Strava is a sad need for nostalgia from 15 minutes ago or the Stuart Smalley of biking - you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.
Which is it?
Anonymous 1:31pm,
How is it rationalizing if I'm saying I was wrong and I like it?
--Tan Tenovo
PS: Who says I bailed on the resolution? There will be a full end-of-year accounting.
I'd be interested in seeing an end-of-year tally of rides that began during the Hour of the Wolf.
I don't use Strava, preferring to use my FitBit, which has GPS. Strava turns me into a competitive monster and all around safety hazard, whereas just being able to see my data sitting next to my average heart rate (48! I'm bragging!) and sleep patterns, etc. just make it seem like information rather than a challenge to always go faster. I know many (most?) people can use Strava without being a dick, but I cannot. My first QOM revealed a darkness in me.
So I'm planning a picnic and I was thinking about posting up on that field next to the courthouse (?) where you can pee and get water off of the Henry Hudson Pkwy in NJ. It's got bike racks, water, views, and a lack of other people. I rarely see people in that green area. Am I right in assuming it's because people out there are "serious" and don't want a quarter pound of cheese and a loaf of bread messing up their climbs (heaven forbid a 6-pack of the Bronx Brewery's limited edition mango beer) or is there some kind of rule I don't know about (an obvious rule; if there is a rule against hanging out there but no-one knows about it, I should be able to talk my way out of it and don't care)? I know there are designated picnic areas, where I can engage in active or passive aggression to get a corner of a table and listen to someone else's Jason Mraz or Daddy Yankee, but I'm not interested if I can turn the Fred watering hole into a picnic point.
I recently joined Strava because I want my great climbing ability validated. And if it’s not validated I’ll have a good cry. It’s a win-win!
PBateman,
Seatpost shims are okay, not great, but only use a single wrap (or less). A friend tried to save a few bucks by shimming a 26.8mm seatpost he had lying around into a 27.2mm frame with two layers of pop can. Problem was the two layers kept slipping and his seatpost would slowly migrate lower and lower.
Good hardware stores (not your HomeDespot, etc.) usually sell brass shim stock by the foot, or you might try a hobby shop.
Hey Tan,
You posted a video a couple years ago of the cycle of racer, where a guy gets a bike wants to go faster starts racing retires gets fat goes slow wants to go fast again etc.
Have you become that?
(Not judging, just asking)
@pist off..
probably never but did just call to nudge them so maybe possibly next week. and then by the time i make up my mind on what to hang off it i may get to ride by sometime in mid september. which is just as well - its ungodly hot and too rainy to ride.
plus i may stupidly wind up making it too nice to ride anyway. like any project car/bike/whatever i could have just bought two for what it will cost me to make one.
thinking some cool old anodized parts might be neat rather than going all shiny DA. Modolo has some neat brayks and stems and things in black.
Hey Snob, forgot to ask....for these afternoon naps...what pressure you running on your sleep number bed?
1904, are you calling Tan Tenovo fat?
Ride safe all!
Is that an updated version of "my dog ate my homework" excuse?
Lever, bar, or key, when the button is pushed there is a goody for me. I’m in control and can stop when I like but, what I want is constant delight.
An ode to B.F. Skinner, inventor of STRAVA.
Just to get pedantic with soda can shimming- a half-a-seatpost wrap of .2mm soda can adds .2mm of post diameter. A full circumference wrap without overlap adds .4mm to the post diameter. Definitely not to be used to shim a gap greater than .4mm or have any overlap cos it will slip then as @1904 said. It’s good practice to make a gap on a full wrap of about 2-3mm between the edges of the shim, and put that gap to one of the sides of the post rather than inline with the saddle. And I’m spent...
There has to be an Orwellian reference here.
Sucking is Freedom
Senoritis is strength
Strava is peace
Or something like that
Strava and Operant Conditioning.
Perfect
But there’s always that one rat who will want to push the button to get a cheap thrill from the electric buzz, instead of pushing the button to get the treat.
I've been complaining about the dearth of commercially-available bikes with horizontal top tubes, and someone said I need to look a little harder: just past the big name brands.
OK, but I ride Ti road frames. I'm 6'3", xxx pounds , and have no interest in plastic, aluminum, or steel. The latter material, in my size will weigh more than I'd like. I know this because I have a nice, Waterford-made, Reynolds 853 steel CX frame, and it is heavy. I pull my children with it now; they're in a WeeHoo and can contribute to the wattage on the hills.
Current road frame is a titanium Merckx, "made by Litespeed" when Litespeed was owned and operated by the Lynskey family. Now the Lynskeys have their own name brand, and all their frames, even the "classic", have sloping top tubes. I'm either going to stick with my current frame (1" head tube, and the original plastic fork has become a source of concern for me. It's going on 20 years old and has some chips in it.) or buy a new one. If I keep the frame, I'll replace the fork with a new plastic 1" Ritchey, else I'll opt for a Lynskey with sloping top tube. (and a plastic ENVE carbon fork.)
Thanks for ignoring this.
Chazu,
Why don't you just have someone build you a frame?
--Tan Tenovo
It’s almost Monday and I just read Friday snobnyc and yes I use mapmyride so that’s why I’m late.
It’s almost Monday and I just read Friday snobnyc and yes I use mapmyride so that’s why I’m late.
What do you think about Strava's new Premium called Summit? They are selling a "Safety Pack" like you deserve to be safe on the bike only if you pay $23/year to them. Kind of shady, no? Out for a long ride and got hit? Well your family won't know about it unless you pay us $23/year lol.
Anonymous 9:53am
I joined as a Premium member. I guess it's Summit now. Since I'm not very serious about tracking my performance I'm not all that familiar with the differences and the various offerings. I was initially very interested in the Beacon feature but in practice I never use it. If the "safety pack" is only $23/yr that's an improvement because when I joined I had to pay more than that in order to get it.
--Tan Tenovo
Since we all ride pretty much the same bikes, with a couple inches added or subtracted here and there, I can’t help being amused by grown men 6’3 xxxlbs, explaining how they need a lightweight bike. Just funning w/u Chazu.😋
Just yesterday I considered starting Strava when I mowed the lawn. Just yesterday.
Only thing that stopped me was the downpour that prevented said lawn mowing.
I joined about the same time Snob did. Strava has got me up from about 4,500 miles a year to over 6,000, so I can't complain. Except for the part about enabling my OCD.
how am i supposed to distract myself from work with no post?
InstanPam,
Yes, I could stand to lose about five (5) pounds of body fat. I weigh about 205 pounds now. I have large quads, hamstrings, and triceps; and large-ish pectorals and biceps.
So, I'll be "bottoming out" on weight loss at 200 pounds before I start losing muscle mass, and if grown *middle-aged* men know anything, its that lean body mass is important to well being as we age. I'm positively obese according to the medical community's Body Mass Index, but it isn't because I'm fat. Lean mass includes muscle, not just skin, bones, and connective tissue.
All the more reason to avoid plastic bikes.
Custom ti frames are silly-expensive, which is why I'm looking for an off the rack model.
@Chazu - I have a gorgeous 61cm Litespeed Tuscany that’s just a bit too big for me. I keep wanting to ride it again but makes me achy as I’m older now and have to ride my frame that fits me (plastic 58cm).
Anyhow - if yer interested lemme know.
Yesterday, i had a STFU moment.well,almost a STFU moment.
I'm riding into town from our domicile in NC,mid-morn.
Some clown walking towards me while I'm riding correctly in the lane,tells me i'm supposed to ride in the lane against traffic.i almost said STFU.almost.i said instead"nooooo!you go against,i go with traffic."it was Sunday after all,in the bibble belt.yep,i spelled it bibble.
@bad boy - here in america's size-able penis state, there seems to be a very common misunderstanding on which side of the road is which for cyclist and the fact that i nearly get hit by oncoming salmon is more annoying than cars which are at least on the correct side.
i never had this issue in GA or NC. seems to be a specifically FL thang..like bath salts and gator f#$&ing.
Pbateman isn't in to gators.@1129 am
Must've been a one offer.almost a year and half here in the NC,that was the first of it's ilk to have arisen.
Most are courteous. drivers as well.
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