Is This As Good As Bikes Will Get? (besides braking)

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

User avatar
Spinnekop
Posts: 310
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: South Africa

by Spinnekop

dcorn wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:08 pm
themidge wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:26 pm
aqualelaki wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 5:12 pm
wheelbuilder wrote:I think for me, I am at a point where I don't feel like hunting for the latest and greatest anymore? I'm in my fifties, happy with my fitness, very happy with the performance of my bike........could not ask for more. It's got all the high end components I lusted after, and is what most would consider a damn nice bike. I feel pretty damn satisfied. Rim brakes and all.
Pretty well said. I'm in the same boat as you are. I currently have 3 bikes now. Happy with all of them. I'm a technologist so reading what's new in cycling industry and so on is always interesting to me. But all I care now is keep being healthy and have time to ride my bikes.
I just turned 16 and I feel like this too! The age or supposed 'coolness' of bike parts doesn't matter to me at all. Whenever I upgrade something on my bikes it's for performance reasons (and aesthetics, of course :D ). If 'old tech' still works then why change it?

Disc brakes: Since the invention of the road bicycle, gears arrived pretty quickly on the scene didn't they? That's because they make a huge difference to what is possible on a bike. How long has it taken for disc brakes to arrive? Hmm? It's not new tech either, disc brakes (and their evolutions) have been on cars and motorbikes for decades.

E-bikes: Is not the whole point of riding a bike to enjoy going as fast (or as slow) as you like through your own effort. If you enjoy greater speed, get fitter or buy a motorbike.

Mountain biking started like 35-40 years ago and absolutely FLEW past road bike tech that has been developed for over a hundred years. You want a reason? Road cyclists are notoriously resistant to change, especially major changes. Go listen to the CyclingTips podcast on these subjects. Road riders continue to ride on narrow, high pressure tires even though science proves that wider, lower pressure tires will reduce rolling resistance. Roadies (like you) won't switch to disc brakes even though the technology is superior and has been adopted by literally every other moving vehicle with wheels and brakes. Not one other vehicle uses its wheels/rims for a braking surface.

The only thing 'cool factor' about disc brakes is the fact that they are new on road bikes. It's just better tech in every way. It weighs slightly more than rim brakes in a day where road bikes weigh as little as 10 lbs. The aero difference is negligible (<10 watts over 40km? rounding error). The cutting danger is an absolute myth. It's basically just riders being resistant to such a big change and also not wanting to replace bikes, wheelsets, roof racks, tools, etc. But discs are still new on road bikes, so it will eventually catch on and take over like it has with mountain bikes, CX, and every other type of cycling.
Bahahahhahaha.
BHAAHAHHAHAH.

Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.
"In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is DESIRE.
No reason or principle contain it or stand against it........"

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12458
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

TurboKoo wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:36 am
One thing that may not have been mentioned is that with e-bikes you go faster. I would rate myself pretty fit and with e-bike I’m just faster on technical bits in the woods. Makes it really good training to ride faster through everything. Also e-bike can be used in pacing so that I’m riding behind e-bike with normal mtb. I’m sure this would work also on the road too as Tobinhatesyou basically did.

I never drafted off of him because I was going on a 42mi ride with 4700ft of climb and I didn't want to go past tempo. He didn't draft off me for very long either because I did create some separation during those 5 minutes. The presence of an ebike definitely did make me stick to a set wattage though.

User avatar
Miller
Posts: 2764
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Reading, UK

by Miller

@Stickman, appreciate your insights and I take your points. I have never ridden any sort of e-bike.
@TobinLovesYou, lovely sky in that photo.

One thing is clear, unpowered cyclists better get used to being overtaken by powered riders. I was waiting at a traffic light a month or two back when two guys appeared on scruffy bikes which on closer inspection looked like e-bike conversions. This'll be interesting, I thought. When the lights changed, they left me for dead. In 10s they were 50 metres up the road.

Prepare your egos for a battering, lol.

User avatar
pdlpsher1
Posts: 4016
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:03 am
AJS914 wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:40 am
Because he passed you?
Lol yes. Looks like I held him off for 5min actually. Can't compete with a ~400W motor though.

Image
That's too funny!

Shrike
Posts: 2019
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:08 pm

by Shrike

Muahahaa. Ahh too funny :D

Bet that old guy was having a blast!

User avatar
Lelandjt
Posts: 837
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:10 am

by Lelandjt

Miller wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:26 pm
@Stickman, appreciate your insights and I take your points. I have never ridden any sort of e-bike.
@TobinLovesYou, lovely sky in that photo.

One thing is clear, unpowered cyclists better get used to being overtaken by powered riders. I was waiting at a traffic light a month or two back when two guys appeared on scruffy bikes which on closer inspection looked like e-bike conversions. This'll be interesting, I thought. When the lights changed, they left me for dead. In 10s they were 50 metres up the road.

Prepare your egos for a battering, lol.
You guys must not have many scooters where you live. They're very common in Hawaii. While some of them can go 40mph many are limited to low 30s and struggle to maintain 20 up hills, basically fast bicycle speeds. I'm used to racing against, and frequently losing to them. An e-bike is a motorcycle, just like the scooters. It's a weak, low speed motorcycle that shares the shoulder with me but it's not a bicycle.

bremerradkurier
Posts: 419
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:18 pm

by bremerradkurier

Miller wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:26 pm
@Stickman, appreciate your insights and I take your points. I have never ridden any sort of e-bike.
@TobinLovesYou, lovely sky in that photo.

One thing is clear, unpowered cyclists better get used to being overtaken by powered riders. I was waiting at a traffic light a month or two back when two guys appeared on scruffy bikes which on closer inspection looked like e-bike conversions. This'll be interesting, I thought. When the lights changed, they left me for dead. In 10s they were 50 metres up the road.

Prepare your egos for a battering, lol.
Track stand and motorpace off of them from the line-puts some fun four figure max power/5 second power data points on your Strava feed.

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

When I'm an old geezer I'm totally getting a pedal assist e-bike. By that time, they will probably be pretty light and the battery will be well integrated.

Post Reply