Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT

Horace

Oh and I mentioned in the other thread, I like the 1x gears... you only shift up/down on the right handle bar and don't have to worry about left shifting too. I equate it to being able to do an octave using white keys without needing to use the black keys with a 2nd hand to get the exact note (aka gear) you need based on the incline. Sorry if that was racist, @Horace

I would have appreciated a trigger warning. Thank you. I will take a few moments now to collect myself, and attempt to continue on with my day.

Aqua Letifer

@George-K said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

I went out in duck shoes and Lycra for the second time this morning. 20 miles of hell. I could be getting too old for this level of humiliation.

Hopefully it gets better

The older you get, the less likely that lycra and duck shoes will mitigate the humiliation. Probably the opposite.

Lycra and duck shoes always enhance the humiliation.

Klaus

I often use SPD pedals, even on a road bike.

As for lycra, it is just too much fun to ride fast to give a damn about what others think about me.

Aqua Letifer

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

it is just too much fun to ride fast

Uh... wut? How does lycra make you ride fast?

Klaus

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

it is just too much fun to ride fast

Uh... wut? How does lycra make you ride fast?

Yep. There are many things in cycling where the improvements are ridiculously small, but clothing makes a quite big and immediately noticeable difference.

jon-nyc

Because the dogs chase him.

Aqua Letifer

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

it is just too much fun to ride fast

Uh... wut? How does lycra make you ride fast?

Yep. There are many things in cycling where the improvements are ridiculously small, but clothing makes a quite big and immediately noticeable difference.

Of course they do.

Doctor Phibes

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

it is just too much fun to ride fast

Uh... wut? How does lycra make you ride fast?

Yep. There are many things in cycling where the improvements are ridiculously small, but clothing makes a quite big and immediately noticeable difference.

Of course they do.

Not as big a difference as sticking in an electric motor, possibly, but it sure makes my rides a lot better

Aqua Letifer

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Klaus said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

it is just too much fun to ride fast

Uh... wut? How does lycra make you ride fast?

Yep. There are many things in cycling where the improvements are ridiculously small, but clothing makes a quite big and immediately noticeable difference.

Of course they do.

Not as big a difference as sticking in an electric motor, possibly, but it sure makes my rides a lot better

Better? Personal preference and not universally true, but for a lot of people, sure, absolutely.

Faster? Here's your middle-aged white guy card. You get a free coffee when you tell me why your grill is better than anyone else's and what traffic app is the best because you use it.

Doctor Phibes

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

mark

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

This. Long distance rides require it.

Aqua Letifer

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

Which is you how? Congrats, you got another punch on your card: middle-aged white guys love to buy "performance" shit because they get to make believe they're the guy in the ads. Under Armour built an entire company around that very idea.

You were fine with "I just damn want to." But pros have nothing to do with the rest of us. Nothing.

Aqua Letifer

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

This. Long distance rides require it.

Ever try without?

I used to do centuries in DC just noodling for an entire Saturday. Wore jeans. It's really not necessary to wear that shit.

Doctor Phibes

Pretty much everybody says 'I'm never wearing that shit', when they buy a decent bike.

Some folks are inherently more stubborn than others. Who could possibly have predicted that Aqua would be the outlier?

Klaus

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

Which is you how? Congrats, you got another punch on your card: middle-aged white guys love to buy "performance" shit because they get to make believe they're the guy in the ads. Under Armour built an entire company around that very idea.

Ever heard of the concept of "live and let live"? People can have different opinions and priorities on the matter and that's fine; there's no need to put down everyone who dares to disagree with you.

mark

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

This. Long distance rides require it.

Ever try without?

I used to do centuries in DC just noodling for an entire Saturday. Wore jeans. It's really not necessary to wear that shit.

Yes, I have tried without. It sucks.

I don't give a rats ass what you or anyone else think about people wearing cycling clothes. I am exponentially more comfortable wearing them.

Aqua Letifer

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

Pretty much everybody says 'I'm never wearing that shit', when they buy a decent bike.

Some folks are inherently more stubborn than others. Who could possibly have predicted that Aqua would be the outlier?

I do wear lycra—when I do 'cross races. Every time. Because having heavy, muddy, cold and wet clothes flapping in the breeze is terribly uncomfortable. And that's if your t-shirt doesn't just rip.

It's too practical not to then, but I don't otherwise because I don't like being associated with the kind of asshole personalities you find in lycra suits. Y'know, the kind of people who say you have to wear lycra once you get to a certain level of performance that I obviously haven't reached yet.

Aqua Letifer

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

This. Long distance rides require it.

Ever try without?

I used to do centuries in DC just noodling for an entire Saturday. Wore jeans. It's really not necessary to wear that shit.

Yes, I have tried without. It sucks.

I don't give a rats ass what you or anyone else think about people wearing cycling clothes. I am exponentially more comfortable wearing them.

GOOD! Do you! I'm devoid of fucks! I mean it looks goofy as hell so of course I'll make fun of that, but all good if it works for you. Just don't try to tell me it's "necessary" because it isn't. Some people find it helpful, that's it.

kluurs

I semi pro cyclist and excellent runner told me about cycling on some ride near San Francisco. He came up on a woman cyclist who wore a corset and floppy hat and could ride like the wind. She enjoyed trashing the macho kit dressed guys with her clearly non-cyclist fashion statement.

mark

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@mark said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT:

The fact that it's all a matter of opinion would presumably explain why every single professional road cyclist wears the stuff.

This. Long distance rides require it.

Ever try without?

I used to do centuries in DC just noodling for an entire Saturday. Wore jeans. It's really not necessary to wear that shit.

Yes, I have tried without. It sucks.

I don't give a rats ass what you or anyone else think about people wearing cycling clothes. I am exponentially more comfortable wearing them.

GOOD! Do you! I'm devoid of fucks! I mean it looks goofy as hell so of course I'll make fun of that, but all good if it works for you. Just don't try to tell me it's "necessary" because it isn't. Some people find it helpful, that's it.

The only thing that really matters as far as speed is concerned, given a quality bike, without measuring to the nanosecond, is power output. How freaking strong are your legs? How much heart/lung capacity do you have? Weight is also have a pretty big factor. I am talking about the weight of the rider and not the bike. Even though I participated in weight weenie like purchase decisions during my builds, I certainly didn't take it all that seriously given my fitness level. There was a rider in our weekly ride group that rides a big knobby thread giant tire mountain bike that probably weighed double what my bike weighed. He was always at the front with the fastest riders who were on expensive, speed built bikes.

My bike was sub 16lbs until I snapped the weight weenie chain. The replacement chain took it above 16lbs. lol

The New Coffee Room

Hey Aqua - BIKE ALERT