r/bicycling

Music edited in by me

Original Footage from here: https://youtu.be/aJmPt3Y8WW0

I love Banana seats and sissy bars :)

My wife wasn't a cyclist. She had a whole list of reasons she couldn't do a tour. Wrong bike, not fit enough, can't camp, doesn't speak French. Honestly I was a bit nervous, everyone says taking your partner on their first tour is how you put them off it for life.

We did the Avenue Verte anyway. Gatwick to the Eiffel Tower, about 400km over five easy days, plus a rest day at Giverny. And it just... worked. The route's basically flat, you sleep in B&Bs the whole way so there's no camping gear to deal with, and the ferry in the middle gives you a four-hour sit-down that resets everyone's legs and mood. By day three she was the one checking the map.

Now she wants to pick every tour we've done since.

Wrote it up properly on my Substack if you want the longer version.

Happy to answer anything if you're thinking about doing it or you have a reluctant partner you are trying to come on your tours with you.

I believe this is an all (mostly) original bike from 1989, but not positive. It was on marketplace place for a few days and she lowered the price to $75 so I jumped on it. Tires hold air, gears seem to shift fine, but a bit noisy, brakes need adjustment, but all in all I like her!

Low long and slow

Im looking to revitalize my 1998 Dean Colnel. It’s a titanium hard tale that I built myself when new. It’s been upgraded a bit over the years but nothing in the last 20 years or so.

Any ideas on what I should do to it to get me back on it again?

I already have a Kink Drifter, Origin8 drop bar gravel bike, Felt road bike and a cruiser bike. I would see this as something I’ll bomb around with my 5 year old son on his bike.

It has a Duke XC shock, Shimano XT V brakes, and a mix of XT / LX drivetrain.

I currently have a Gestalt, the rubbery grip gets sticky and sometimes uncomfortable, was looking to change out the texture, any recommendations?

Ok, so maybe this is something basic I should just know, but many years ago (2010) I went to a bike store rather than a Wal-Mart to get a bike as an adult. I wanted to bike to work, and the LBS helpfully said that what I was describing as my use case was a hybrid. I got it (a giant), had some different tires installed + fenders, and some pedals, and was on my way. I really enjoyed it, this was my first bike as an adult and it was aluminum so lighter than anything I had ever owned previously (Steel 1990s mountain bikes). I basically fell in love with the bike and biking again. Then life happened (yep) and I stopped biking for about a decade.

Flash forward to this year, and I decided to get back in the saddle. I'm being told that gravel bikes are the do anything bikes now, and I go look at one and the price is... yeah, up there. I go to the meagre hybrid section (now called city) and immediately find three nice bikes (in my eyes). I go online to do some research, and immediately see a bunch of 'why hybrids suck" posts. Everything from "they suck at everything" to "they're boring".

Maybe I am just basic, but the idea of a bike that can do most of everything is appealing to me. The relative simplicity of a basic bicycle I find appealing. And while the tires may not be the fastest, the durability on some city rubber (Schwalbe Big Ben for example) is extra appealing for someone who is unsure if they could perform a roadside repair. I also really like that most hybrids can in a pinch cut through a park/unpaved area with no real difficulty. Not to mention mounting points for practical things like racks abound on most city/hybrids I have seen. I dunno, maybe I am just weird and I find utilitarianism appealing.

But I think what I really do not understand is how these bikes are seen as boring? I think they look smart, and I kind of dig their utilitarian vibes. Yes flat bars aren't aero, but I find them easier to control (full disclosure I've never owned a drop bar bike). Edit: Oh and pedals, flat pedals are egalitarian, and in my mind, provide a peace of mind in emergencies that you can just put a foot on the ground.

Anyway, if anyone wants to explain the hate for hybrids, I would be interested to hear why they seem to get so much scorn?

i put the pump on the bikes air thingy or wtv and green liquid came out what is this ?

Hi all!

New to the biking world. Just picked up this 2019 Trek checkpoint AL off of marketplace. I will use it for general cruising and fitness with the longer rides. I’m wondering from more experienced bikers what accessories they would recommend getting for this bike? I don’t plan on getting any clip in shoes at this point as a side note.

I already bought a quad lock phone holder that I plan to use Strava with for mileage tracking etc. I also already have a helmet and a small vibrelli bike pump.

What other accessories that go on the bike or for maintenace would you recommend?

I've been cycling mostly around my neighbourhood for the last few years and recently decided to map all my Apple Watch rides onto one image to see where I've actually been. I knew that my rides were mostly local, with a few bridge crossings here and there, but didn't expect it to be mostly the same 3-4 loops over and over again. One thing that I found is that most of my rides tend to be during the summer months when the weather is nice. As soon as it starts raining in October, that is it for me (That is the Vancouver weather for you and I'm not a rain or cold weather person at all...)

Edit: Since I had a couple of people DMing me asking what the app is, thought I'd share it here. It is called MoveMap. Full disclosure I developed it but thought it would be the right place to share my map.