mack_turtle

Anyone know what's going on with the body chemistry of people who gush about how they "love this hot weather!"? I keep hearing this and something does not compute. I don't like extreme heat or extreme cold, both are miserable. But i keep hearing randos saying that they wait to go outside when it's well over 100° in late afternoon and go running or just sit in the sun and wait for death, apparently. Are they mutants? Did They make a deal with the Devil? Are they just trolling? Is this something millennials don that I don't understand?

generic Amazon stuff, really. Ergodyne Chill skull cap - $11 Hanes Cool Dri long-sleeve, grey $22 / pair PFFY arm sleeves, $6/ 3-pack. I bought these because I have a pair of white sleeves from a bicycle brand, but only the one pair. I'm staring to accept that my German genes just don't belong here. I was in Seattle last week and I didn't want to come back to this hellhole.

I think the idea is that you're moving faster, so sweating wicks off and cools you more efficiently than when you're crawling through rock gardens on a heavier bike in the deep woods while the sweat just collects in your clothing and weighs you down more. I know I can move a whole lot faster on roads and gravel paths on my groad bike than I do while riding a mtb on mtb trails. You're also less likely to be in more humid creek beds (Barton Creek trails under that canopy feels like a steamer), so spending the same length of time riding "gravel" terrain is slightly less punishing. Yeah, the sun is wicked when you're more out in the open, though. I just bought some lightweight long-sleeve shirts and some cooling skull caps to try this. I'm only riding morning for a while, which means weekends only for me.

I rode Saturday morning when it was still cool, but it warmed up fast. Moderate pace, drank tons of icy water before, after, and during the ride, along with food and electrolyte mix—before, during, and after the ride. Still had a massive non-alcoholic hangover in the afternoon that I had to sleep off. I'm not sure what to try next, but weekday rides are out for the foreseeable future because afternoon temps will certainly be worse for me.

I just got back from Seattle where it was 50s and 60s. I got off of the plane and some local Austin person said to me. "I'm so glad I'm back in this weather! Seattle was so cold!" It took every ounce of self-control not to say back to her. "Yes, I love the spectre being in the hospital with heat stroke!" I'd love the luxury of early morning rides but that would mean waking up at 2:30 in the morning because my work day starts early. I keep it as warm as I can stand in the house all day, but when I go to the office the state agency uses taxpayer dollars to keep the five-story office building that is never more than 30% occupied at 60° all day. Because I was out of town and in a place with non-lethal weather, my last ride was last Tuesday and it took me 3 days to recover. That was before the true heat settled in.

At this point I just read the heat index and don't go out if it's much above 100. That means not riding at all most days with this kind of weather. I think of this part of Texas summer as similar to winter in most of the rest of the country where it is cold and snowy. There's a reason why temperatures and humidities with numbers this high are considered to be dangerous and I don't want to mess with it. I've tried all of the helpfully suggestions to acclimate, hydrate, eat, and dress appropriately for this kind of heat, but the bottom line is that putting my body through this kind of stress is just not fun any more. I've been saying that I'd rather go out later in the day when it's hotter but dryer but now I'm starting to rethink that. Riding in high humidity is uncomfortable and unpleasant, but I'd rather be merely sweaty than in the hospital with heat stroke. If that means only riding on weekends because there's no time before work in the morning on the weekdays then I guess I just don't ride that much anymore.

Vittoria Mezza tires, $20 each at REI. They appear to have 2.6 and 2.3 in 27.5 and 29" sizes. These are e-bike rated. If I put them on my acoustic bike will it make me faster? https://www.rei.com/product/199710/vittoria-e-mazza-tire

Kapic aluminum crankset with 32-tooth oval chainring. Includes 30mm axle in 141mm length for a 52mm boost chainline, 170mm arms with spare boots, and assorted axle spacers. You just need the appropriate 30mm bottom bracket that fits your frame. Super light, narrow, and stiff! Like-new. Installed and ridden fewer than 50 miles. Decided I wanted something shorter. $200

I too have Saturday chain tool and replaced it with a heavy duty Park tool. That is worth every penny.

The Hummingbird is a triumph! Rode it three times last week on various solo SATN routes, then some Barton Creek chunk this morning. I'm plagued with slow leaking tires lately, and figuring out the spacing for the 30mm crank spindle was a giant hassle. the first few rides were on a 120mm fork, but today's journey into Barton Creek was on a rigid Tandell fork with a 29x3 tire up front. didn't slow me down, but hand exertion from Bee Sting is real.

Woodchipper is kind of a "drops only" kinda bar. You really can't set them up for level hoods with a transition from the ramps, and a position that works from the drops at the same time. It's a true dirt-drop bar that works with a very tall stem. The Salsa Cowchipper, however, might work for this application if the frame's top tube is short enough for the rider.

I've ridden Walnut—parts of it selected for the least gnar—on a 650b, drop-bar, singlespeed bike. That place is magical because it has something for everyone. The last time I rode WC, I crossed oaths with at least a dozen people on "road-adjacent" gravel bikes as well.

SOLD 170mm arms with Shimano BSA bottom bracket. regular 24mm spindle. works with Cinch chainrings. $50 w/ BB.

Most lights have a blinky mode for daytime and a solid mode for night. In daytime, drivers can see you, but they might not notice you, so a blinking-flashing light gets their attention. At night, the might not see you at all, so a steady red light lets them know where you are and where you're going. A blinking in the dark is confusing to drivers because they can't track your movement. Using TWO lights on your bike is my favorite solution for redundancy (in case the battery on one goes out) and extra visibility. I can't recommend any one light. Just don't buy generic garbage when it comes to your safety on the road.

Neuhaus Metal Works Hummingbird in size M+. Ride report coming soon. Nick Neuhaus is a good dude, and you should buy a bike from him.

I have a frame with a t47 bottom bracket in 73mm width. I'm trying to fit a Rotor Kapic crankset with a 30mm spindle in the external t47 bottom bracket. the bearings are 92mm apart, if that helps. I have a Rotor spacer kit, so what freaking spacers do I need on either side of the spindle? https://rotorbike.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/15 Edit: I think I got it through trial and error, but dang!

Worth every damn penny. I'm cheap AF and I got one of those. They had a Black Friday sale when I got it, though. Just in time for the sun to go down early enough that I needed it. On the budget side, my main on-bike light is a MagicShine. They probably have a smaller model that will fot on your helmet. Sofirn flashlights have been good to me so far. One of their smaller, lighter units might work on your helmet.

(duplicate post)

I thought we were calling them "acoustic" bikes now, but there's a frame builder who claimed that term as his brand. We'll never find an answer!

In washed my hands of this Marino business. I suspect they're making frames for Merman Bikes in AR now as well. New frame to be announced soon.

Weird! The numbers are referring to their color pallette. You pick a # for the main color, and a secondary # for the logo colors.

The used gear is in the rear-left corner of the downtown store, across from the stairs. There's not much in there when I've checked. I think they disperse some of the used gear around the store. Used shoes are in the shoe dept.

that's gone now, too. https://www.rei.com/help/returns TBH, so many people totally abused that policy that it was ridiculous. true story: there was a guy who bought a top-end mountain bike when I was there. he kept buying it from one store, returning it to another store for a full refund, then buying it again at a discount. This happened a few times before someone noticed that he had downgraded nearly every component on the bike and was slowly collecting stuff like Kashima-coated suspension and XTR components and returning the bike with Deore or something. so shitty people like that ruined it for the rest of us.

Tempting!

when I left REI in 2015, they had just started making every store a warehouse. All of the stores' inventory is represented on the website, so when a customer orders something, the order shows up in every store that should have that item in stock. staff fill the order and ship it from the store to another store or to the customer's home. The first store to fill the order gets credit for the sale. I thought it was brilliant because it got inventory to move everywhere instead of just one place, and it kept the local stores busy. I'm not sure how that worked out long-term, but it appears to not have been enough.