throet

11 hours ago, RidingAgain said:

I'm thinking that what he was getting at is if using carbon... Check it regularly... And employ a system of buying new every two or three years... Simply because the weakness that could be in carbon parts can remain hidden, even to the most intense visual inspection (not x-ray type suff).

Yeah I got that too, but like others, he seems to be using a very horrific experience to scare others into action. My point, which probably should have been more concise, is that nobody I've seen has presented real statistical data showing what the likelihood is of getting seriously injured due to a carbon failure. Even the author noted that he will never know what exactly caused the failure. If you employ a system of date stamping, what is the probability of failure 1 week prior to the replacement date vs. 1 week after? Guess I'm just not convinced yet to run out and replace my 2-yr old, banged up stuff, which of course will make me look really foolish if I end up seriously hurt as a result. 

9 minutes ago, CBaron said:

It was to consist of parking at Camp Tejas and making a lap of LGT, then riding down Parmer and doing Peddler's Pass, then Deception proper (1/4 notch & DD).  From there I'd jump back onto Parmer and head to WC for completion.  It was my goal to cover that distance so that I could get an idea for the distance and time to completion.  This would then give me an idea of what time I'd have to begin in order to start (the night before the EB) with this route as a Prologue to the EB.  I was estimating it would be about 6.5 hrs and about 60-65 miles.

This seems insane to me given what the temp and humidity must have been on 8/25. Hopefully you didn't have any open wounds laying in that stream, or your biggest worry might be flesh-eating bacteria. 

58 minutes ago, CBaron said:

I have a bandana that is the last thing I shove into my seat bag.  Its primary use if to take up the additional space to prevent rattling.  However, I've used it on MULTIPLE occasions for injuries out on the trail.  Luckily for me, they've been 'other people's' injuries.  But I had a riding buddy nearly sever off the tip of his finger via a disc rotor during a spectacular crash.  My trusty bandana saved they day (and his finger)!  

-CJB

If clean and dry, could also be used to wipe goggles / glasses. This time of year there is never a dry spot on my shirt to accomplish that task, and I end up riding with obscured vision. I need to start carrying some sort of cloth for that purpose, and potentially other purposes as noted. 

But don't you miss the ads …… 

43 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

I picked these up the last time my family CFO went out of town. I like them and no more shoulder or hand pain

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 

Nice! Were you able to "cook the books" to conceal your purchase? 

6 hours ago, RidingAgain said:

Came across this...

(Not sure what happened... But if you click the FB logo at the top right corner it will open a tab to the person's comment).
 

 

I think the scariest part of this story is that you can get a traumatic brain injury falling from a seated biking position to the ground even with a helmet on (assume of course that he was wearing a helmet). People fall to the ground for any number of reasons, breaking handlebars probably being among the least frequent causes. The reality is that MTB is a sport that can cause you to fall to the ground, or worse off the side of a cliff, at almost anytime with potentially severe consequences. Fortunately most falls result in only superficial cuts and abrasions or non-threatening bumps to the helmet. Less frequently falls result in lacerations requiring treatment or broken bones (mostly clavicles and ribs) or joint injuries (mostly AC separations). And even less frequently falls result in traumatic injuries such as what is depicted here. Of those falls resulting in traumatic, life/limb threatening injuries, my guess is that going OTB or losing control while getting air is the prevailing cause, probably even exponentially more than failing carbon parts. I only say all of this to keep things in perspective, i.e. even if you run out and replace your carbon bars today, something else has a much more probable cause for killing or maiming you whilst riding your bike.   

2 hours ago, notyal said:

Dammit. I did it again today. Marked the whole Mountain Biking forum "read" on accident. Is seems a bit trivial at first, but now I will probably abandon many of the topics I have been saving for later instead of participation in the discussion. That really sucks.

On the mobile interface, at least on my Android phone running Chrome, a warning pops up giving you a chance to cancel marking the thread as Read. How is that being invoked? 

3 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

speaking of grips. the best grips on EARTH are the Ergon GS1 grips. it gives your hand/palm/wrist so much support, it feels like you're riding with a relaxed, open hands, rather than a death grip on a rubber coated pencil, basically makes hand fatigue completely disappear. I have them on all my bikes, including DH. basically everyone who ive gotten to try them has never gone back and now swears by them. especially for any bigger or older guys will probably see the most drastic difference in reduction of hand fatigue, but I recommend them to anyone.

 

Remember you gave me a brand new pair a couple of years ago, and I did swear by them for a year or so. In fact they eliminated some of the arm issues I was having at the time. I even bought a pair of the GX1's that have a slightly smaller wing and used them on my new bike for a good while. As my riding evolved though, I found that the wing was getting in the way of getting the right grip for certain maneuvers and went back to using wide diameter, rounded grips. I'll probably try the Ergon GA3s next time I need new grips, since they have just a very slight wing on them. I still have the GS1 and GX1 grips as well though in case I decide to revert back to them.  

1 hour ago, Anita Handle said:

For those seeking vibration dampening, have you considered the Spank Vibrocore? They're aluminium with a dampening foam injected into them. Probably my next handlebar purchase.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/spank-spike-800-race-vibrocore-handlebar-review-2014.html

 

Definitely something to consider. Also I've looked at the Revolution Grips but can't bring myself to spend $90 for them. 

9 hours ago, FJsnoozer said:

That's scary. I  didnt mean my post to come off so rude.  How do you react to carbs and foods with a much lower glycemic index vs those that are closer to 100? I assume you avoid white bread but do you trade for things like Rye...and tortillas 🙂? 

No worries man I'm learning a lot from reading about what works for everybody, and frankly I'm just glad to be active now in a sport that is so enjoyable for me. I have no interest in competing at MTB; so I can approach this stuff more casually than others. I think for me it's more a question of how I don't react. As long as I keep carbs at around 45 - 55 grams per meal, and mix those carbs with good fat and protein, I feel fine all the time. When I'm hungry between meals, I usually eat a protein bar or some almonds. If I were to eat a high-carb, high-glycemic meal followed by nothing else, within 90 minutes I'd feel like shit and would be heading for a big crash. The biggest thing I avoid are sugared drinks, even fruit juice, followed by cookies, cakes, etc. I try not to eat any bread at all, except for a high-fiber muffin or breakfast cereal, but will occasionally wrap up some fajitas in a flour tortilla. Probably the highest GI items I consume regularly are baked potatoes and white rice, although lately I've been substituting a sweet potato much of the time. I generally consume fruit either on top of my cereal or pre-ride / post-ride, which seems to work well for me, especially high-fiber stuff like apples.     

2 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

I followed the link and enjoyed the magazine. Turning the pages like the old-fashioned paper mags of yesteryear was easy by clicking the mouse on the corner of the page, scrolling the wheel, or using the arrow buttons on the keyboard. It seemed to be a very user friendly format. I'd be happy to view more mags presented online like this.

Blogs are cumbersome for me when I'm not following every new installment as they appear.  The chronological format renders the past entries deeper into the void, unless the blogger provides some easy way to find things.

Maybe I'm not looking at the right blogs, but this magazine had some good content, I even enjoyed some of the ads. Thanks for posting up the link.

Sounds like the same format as the Dirt Rag publication that comes with the ARR / IMBA membership. 

Sweet! These scattered showers are really tricky like that, although even at my house things have dried up nicely from the earlier downpour. 

1 hour ago, Morealice said:

So I went to slowly ride down the right side and my bar clipped the sapling at the top and whipped me off my bike at the top to the left. I got a foot down on the transition before hammering down on my left arm, hand, shoulder at the bottom on a pile of rocks sitting on a rock slab.

Ouch..... and so unnecessary. I don't know about the rest of you but I've been losing my focus a lot in this horrid heat and humidity. I clipped a bar coming through that tree gate on Double Down (sure it has a name but I don't know it). It's the one that requires some good momentum riding E-W but that you can normally just fly through riding W-E. I was attempting to fly through it at high speed, as I normally do without incident, and clipped my bar, sending me flying forward. Somehow I managed to land on both feet though with an arm assist.   

I live about a mile away and got a heavy downpour a couple of hours ago on top of whatever fell during the night. Guessing that the rain will soak in quickly but there's a chance of more being on the way. 

1 minute ago, AntonioGG said:

Yes, the bars have specs and so do the things with clamps.  I have found that there are often incompatibilities.  Some bars are rated for 3-4Nm while a lot of clampy things are rated at 5-7Nm.    As an example, I run bar ends.  I believe those are 6-7Nm.  My older TruVativ bars specifically say no bar-ends allowed.  I machined aluminum pieces to fit inside the area where the bars clamp to deal with that issue.  As to the other things like brake levers, I go with the bar specs and use carbon paste.  It works well to keep shifters and levers from spinning.

Thanks. I see other references to carbon paste as well, and didn't even know it was a thing. I'm going to check into that for sure. 

21 minutes ago, FJsnoozer said:

So you have a medical condition which prevents you from operating normally? That doesn’t mean it’s not right for 95% of people.

 

Also there is recent science on the Keto fad that show that Adults cannot really stay in ketosis, unlock the children the diet is used for to treat an unrelated medical condition.

 

When you have specific medical conditions, obviously things can be drastically different.

 

I would wager your largely low carb diet on average has a sufficient amount of carbs for your riding. I don’t follow your riding, and don’t know your training effort and stress to make any real judgements.

 

Where did I say just glucose?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I don't think I said that you said "just glucose". If I did it wasn't my intention. All I said was that the science points to a steady stream of glucose being essential, which is scary for me. I was merely piggy-backing your response - not countering any of your statements. I think the scary thing about my "medical condition" is that pre-diabetes technically isn't a medical condition and by the measures used to calculate it, millions of individuals have "it" and don't even realize it. I've been very athletic my entire adult life and have never been overweight; yet I found myself awakening in an ambulance because my blood sugar reached a potentially fatal level without me knowing that I had a "medical condition" or even knowing anything about metabolism. Perhaps the lesson for me here and potential warning to others is that I spent 20 years excelling at the highest amateur level of a demanding sport (racquetball) without ever paying attention to nutrition, recovery, etc. Understanding all of the science and getting that stuff right to begin with is probably a big key to longevity in any sport. 

16 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

This is actually an interesting point.  I think it's easy to create a lot of pressure and damage a tube of any kind, but I wonder how much it would take.  I bet it's less than it takes to strip a 3mm bolt.  The fact it took zero torque to remove tells me it was crushed.

I know I don't even use the cheap clicker torque wrench for my bar,  I use only a beam wrench on my levers and bar ends.  I used to exclusively ride Truvativ (really not that expensive) but my latest bike came with an Enve.  So far so good.  I put about 10k miles on the Truvativ that was on my Tallboy, now it's my wife's bike.  Still looks good.

I was also looking at the Chromag page.  From the info on their website, it's not a company that inspires confidence in me (translate as: I wouldn't buy from them).  They have a lot of sales people, and graphic designers, and apparently one--maybe--technical dude.  I didn't see an engineer listed on there.  I was concerned with the unidirectional fiber they claim is good for their bars.  I'm no ME but I believe I'd want parallel fibers along the length for shear strength, as well as circumferential fibers for crush strength.

Is there a "rule of thumb" torque setting for anything attaching to carbon bars? I don't recall if any of my components have values stamped on them, and even if they did those values would likely vary for carbon. I tend to google search when I'm tightening anything on my bars, and seem to recall using something between 3-4 nm. My grips, which only have inside locks, can still spin after tightening to recommended torque, but I've resisted tightening them any further. Hopefully the occasional spinning of the lock ring is not in itself compromising the integrity of the bar.  

On ‎8‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 12:51 PM, FJsnoozer said:

With much respect for you, your racing experience and your contribution to the austin biking...Everything you posted basically goes against the science of racing and your recent experience is probably a representation of a poor nutrition strategy.  I am also a traveler such as yourself and have to come back and race marathons in the fall after weeks of Hotel time. 

Even PRO cyclist on the Keto kick, are using sugar on the bike in hard effort formats.  The only piece of science that backs your strategy are the cherry picked studies supporting Keto and similar strategies.  If you ride a lot of zone 2-3, you can ride without being reliant upon carbs. 

Carb loading is a real thing,  Just not everyone truly understands how to do it.  Glycogen is stored in multiple places for multiple uses.  Depending upon the effort you are right about not "needing" nutrition.  I can ride very hard for 1-2 hours on nothing bout my normal diet, but my performance would be and is better if  timed with the right type of Carbs at the right time. 

For events like the EB, I would take in large quantities of specific carbs and water. I would also be ok mentally with getting on the scale at 3 pounds heavier that morning because your glycogen stores are on the very high end of around 7-800 grams and you are retaining water. 

Most people will not do well with protein in their gut during an event like this.  With that being said, I dont hear of many pro racers being able to handle 500 calories per hour. most of their nutrition is around 250-400 as its tough for the body to absorb much more than that while its under the duress caused by a race.  If you are just at a comfortable pace, and his body is capable of absorbing the 500 then more power to him. I bet he feels great on the bike  with keeping up with calories that well. 

Oh, and YES to pizza!

 

I'm struggling with this because as you state, all of the science points to a continuous stream of glucose being key for these events. For some of us though, our bodies tend to defy science. I had a series of hypoglycemic seizures during my years of playing competitive tennis, and learned that what was happening was my blood glucose was hitting near 200 during my matches while consuming only Gatorade and water, but would plummet to 45 (lowest measured before losing consciousness) within an hour or so of being at rest. I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, but the only real explanation I got from the endocrinologist was that my pancreas was unhappy. I've kept things under control by staying on a largely low-carb diet and by consuming a mix of carbs, fats, and proteins for energy while on long, strenuous MTB rides (no longer playing tennis). Probably not ideal from a performance perspective, but it seems to have kept my hypoglycemic episodes in check. For recovery I like to start with an apple or some grapes to combat any crash, but then follow with a good mix of protein, fat, and carbs, including beer of course.  

9 minutes ago, cxagent said:

On the big / long climbs I watch my heart rate. Once I hit my anaerobic threshold I get off and walk. I have to walk slow enough that I stay aerobic. Know where your anaerobic threshold is and plan how you want to spend your anaerobic efforts.

I read somewhere that most people have about an hour per day of anaerobic effort in them. World class athletes may build that up to about 2 hours. I need to save my "hour" for the efforts on the trail, not the road. 

I posted on Mojo a while back that I find my "most efficient pace". That is the pace I am covering lots of ground with low effort. Less effort is easier but I don't cover as much ground. Faster requires much more effort than the increase in speed justifies. I find that my "most efficient pace" is a lot faster than would expect it to be. On the big climbs I slow down to try to stay in the most efficient pace / aerobic zone but I am still covering a lot of ground. Part of that is maintaining momentum starting up the climb. Part is downshifting to stay aerobic.

This is great advice and I think that balancing the momentum and pace to stay aerobic is probably going to be one of the skills I have to develop. Also as AB suggested, setting your pride aside and walking around some really challenging features makes great sense when your goal is to stay peddling for the better part of a day. I've also been using intense interval training throughout my 2-3hr rides as a way to increase anaerobic threshold, which should help keep me in "cruise control" for most of my 2 laps at DS. 

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 2:26 PM, AntonioGG said:

Practice keeping your momentum up on the trail, as opposed to "having fun" if that makes sense.

This makes a lot of sense. It's just really hard to do in the summer time. My energy level gets zapped too quickly and I find myself half-assing stuff instead of attacking stuff. I can't wait until cooler temps enable me to increase intensity over an entire ride vs. just doing what amounts to interval training. 

Does the high humidity affect you guys? I opted out of riding a loop out there when I saw that the dew point was going to be 70+ all day. Not sure about the rest of you, but when the air is that moist, it just sucks the life out of me. I ended up doing 18 miles at Brushy, but stopped a few times to catch my breath and a couple of times to wring out my gloves, headband, and shirt. 

1 minute ago, Seths Pool said:

Just took this picture right now 🙂 

Obvious solution - buy Renthal!

Seriously dude I'm really glad you're OK. That is truly some scary shit. I did snap a carbon brake lever the other day after washing out on a sharp turn, but the only consequence was having to finish my ride with a sharp, nubby front brake lever.    

12 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

I'm just saying if theres any part that probably should NOT be carbon, its your handlebars. because they have the highest consequence for failure.

So why did you have them on your bike, especially riding downhill? Is it this single incident that made you draw this conclusion or have you done sufficient research to know these things simply don't happen with aluminum bars?

15 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

vibration shouldn't be the reason why you buy carbon bars. if you're having vibration problems, its probably a suspension tuning problem (too much air pressure/spring rate, or too much dampening), or too much tire pressure. you shouldn't be trying to control how smooth your bike rides with the rigid components.

My bike came with carbon bars, and when I noticed how much better my arms felt when riding on them, I bought a pair for my second bike. No matter how "smooth your bike rides", there will be vibrations passing through the handle bars. Carbon absorbs those vibrations much better than aluminum. For somebody with tendinitis or other issues, that can make a big difference. I've heard that titanium does an even better job dampening vibrations but I'm not sure how much stronger it is. 

22 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

don't expect sympathy from me if the same thing happens to you after reading this

I actually appreciate the alert and certainly have thought about the consequences of a bar failing. I'd really like to see the manufacturers publish better safety information relating to stuff like this, but of course it is an inherently dangerous sport to begin with. 

14 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

Oh yeah, carbon bars are a greeat idea. Since we all need to shave those precious grams for your weekend warrior 12 mile trail rides! Right?

More about the feel than the weight for me, and I ride 5 times per week, weekends included (18 miles of Brushy goodness this morning). Sounds like what you're saying is that nobody under any circumstance should ever ride carbon bars, but doesn't it really come down to riding style and other factors, such as bar width? Remember what you taught me when I was just getting into the sport - light hands, heavy feet?