The Official DMF Bicycle Thread

[Stella]

From bikerumor.com "pic of the day":  Rider from the Sea Otter Classic launching his TT.   

[triangleforge]

Might want to swap that solid carbon seat mast for a dropper post sometime before he lands that thing...

[triangleforge]

Explain "wheel" in that description. Is it like lane, line of sight?

Pretty good example of choosing wheels to follow below; you notice he's nearly always drafting someone who's moving forward up until the finish line (and the two man break) is in sight, when he pops out into the wind and kicks in the sprint:



In bigger racing, if you've got a designated sprinter on your team, it's your job to be that wheel moving forward through the field & delivering him or her to the front in time to unleash the sprint - and at the top level, it's turned into full on lead-out trains composed of a single team strung out in a line at the front of the field, including a "sweeper" on the designated sprinter's wheel, to make sure nobody else hitches a ride to the finish line behind (and then in front of) your teammate. Sometimes, you'll even see competing trains roaring down the road side-by-side, then trying to pinch each other off at 40+ mph.

[stateprez]

My only critique is I'd go far left or far right instead of in the middle- then you have only one shoulder to watch over.

It depends a lot on your fitness/sprinting power versus the other's in the field.  There's a guy I race at the track a good bit that I always beat, but in 2 crits last weekend, he beat me in both.  We were sprinting together and he got me at the line in the first race and he sat at the front and got me by 5 places in the second.

Of course, he skipped the Friday night track races to rest up and I didn't.  Nerd.

Next time I go 3 days in a row, I'll be prepared....

[triangleforge]

This weekend, the circus comes to my town in the form of the Whiskey Off-Road mountain bike race. I'm not racing this year, but am looking forward to one hell of a good time (maybe even better BECAUSE I'm not racing...). The pro teams have started arriving in town and I'm seeing lots of sponsor vehicles on the streets and absurdly fit riders out on the trails.

The pro race on Sunday is going to be fantastic - last year's winner Geoff Kabush is back, along with names like Tinker Juarez, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Jeremiah Bishop, Barry Wicks, Troy & Todd Wells, Adam Craig and more.

In the amateur races Friday & Saturday, some of my fast friends will be duking it out at the front, and the rest of them will be mid-pack, cramping and grinning with the best of them. I expect the DrunkCyclist.com folks will be back with gorilla suits and whiskey at the Sierra Prieta overlook, which tops out a long, brutal climb - the last big one of the race (except for Cramp Hill, but I'm blocking the memories of that).



I've never had the stomach to take them up on the offer.

Here's a pretty good overview of the event, including the heart-breaking waterbar climb (at around 2:00 in the video - it's a still shot, but imagine about a mile of that) and the long, fast, chunky, cactus-lined descent (around 2:20 in the video) that scares me every time I do it:

[rsoffar]

couple of pics for the races today. Had a good size crash happen in my cat 5 race with a couple laps to go, happened right next to me got pretty lucky I wasnt taken out. Here are some flix of the first group in the cat 5 sprint to the finish line (Im the guy in the yellow helmet) ended up finishing in 9th today. Decided to hang around for the finish of the cat 4 race after and man did they have a huge crash at the final sprint. My roommate got photos of the whole thing and you can just see one of the guys in the front just put his head down and started sprinting but managed to make his way about 3 feet left and clipped another guy to start the whole thing.

[DRKWNG]

This isn't me, so I don't want to hear shit about the music selection.    This is, however, the trail that I was on today.

[JoeP]

This isn't me, so I don't want to hear shit about the music selection.    This is, however, the trail that I was on today.

Your music selection sucks. 

This is my little girl playing on a log (same place):

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[Stella]

This isn't me, so I don't want to hear shit about the music selection.    This is, however, the trail that I was on today.

It's so......     flat.   





 

[stateprez]

This isn't me, so I don't want to hear shit about the music selection.    This is, however, the trail that I was on today.

I'd hit it.   

[kopfjäger]

Your music selection sucks. 

This is my little girl playing on a log (same place):

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Don't do Facebook. 

[DRKWNG]

Your music selection sucks. 

Bite me, would ya?

This is my little girl playing on a log (same place):

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Going back for the Specialized demo day today.  I'm having a difficult time not moving over to a new bike, and a 29er at that, and this just might push me over the edge.

[stateprez]

I've wanted one of these since I was 15- have one coming my way as of this week.


I've decided I'm never buying a big box Chinese bike again- life is too short to ride a Trekializedondale like everyone else.  American from here on out.....have something brewing for 'cross season.

[DRKWNG]

Yeah.  I'd love to say the same, but don't see myself dropping that kind of coin on a bike again.  Would really like a Santa Cruz Tallboy, but it's more likely to see a Niner in my future.

[JoeP]

Bite me, would ya?

Going back for the Specialized demo day today.  I'm having a difficult time not moving over to a new bike, and a 29er at that, and this just might push me over the edge.

I'll be there too. I'll be the guy on the rigid Ti singlespeed 29er.