100% honest here, the thing I've not understood about Gravel Bikes is do you really have that many roads of that specific type? I've never really looked into it, is it just branding for city bikes?
I'm always seeing people posting about padded bike shorts like they're some sort of fashion statement they're not falling for instead of equipment to save your crotch from harm.
Look, whoever came up with the survey "proving" drivers of loud cars are "psychopaths" may want to consider that the last 8 times I was almost killed in traffic was because bicyclists tried to ram me when I was walking.
“Ciclovía is really cool because there is a lot more space for us,” says seven-year-old Oliver Rojas, who is out #cycling with his parents and is baffled to hear that this innovative scheme does not exist in the rest of the world.”
should I get a full suspension #mtb if I'd rarely need it? I'd use it some up at #duluth probably but the reality is thatd be like once a year. But of course I could be overbiked at Theo and it's not like thats a problem.
im mostly trying to decide between a Wyatt Vista and an Otso Fenrir. I have a Wyatt fat bike and an Otso gravel bike so I'm familiar with the brands but neither offers full suspension.
@billyjoebowers just because it's dumb or because it's too heavy? I have some limited ambition of doing Maah Daah Hey but the reality of fitting that in the schedule. idk.
I'm not in any hurry though. I won't be doing any MTB racing until next season at the earliest
Reminded by replies on @rasterweb ’s post ( https://mastodon.social/@rasterweb/112510709516785401 ) asking about prescription protective glasses, that Zenni might have reasonable sports prescription sunglasses — I keep putting off getting Oakleys, etc, because they’re so expensive. So thanks to the commenters there for reminding me that Zenni exists. It turns out they do have similar prescription sunglasses that should work for riding #bikes .
Disc brakes are one of the greatest things to ever happen to bikes, but I'm not sure everyone knows that disc brakes does not mean hydraulic brakes.
I've only used mechanical disc brakes. It's just a cable. They work so well on my mountain bike I can lock up with one or two fingers on the steepest hills.
I'm sure hydraulic brakes are great for someone but for me it sounds unnecessarily complicated.
I've had the same mechanical disk brakes for almost 20 years and the only thing I've ever done is change pads occasionally, which takes like 5 minutes, and cables maybe once or twice. Every once in a while I reach down and turn the adjustment wheel a click or two.
I have absolutely no patience for complicated maintenance.
My point being not that hydraulic brakes suck, but they're just not for me, and I've heard a lot of people saying their not interested in disc because they don't want hydraulics. The industry really pushes them.
I'm mostly unconcerned with what other people use.
In 2023, word was it would be the last production season of the Surly Big Dummy (non-electric) cargo bike. It's still for sale today. https://surlybikes.com/bikes/big_dummy But they have made some changes that not everyone is happy with, including using a single chain ring up front and removing the mount points for a centerstand like the one that Xtracycle made for it originally.
I started a blog to promote the idea of electric cargo bikes a decade or so ago. At that time, many electric bikes and cargo bikes were still made from kits. The combination was even rarer.
The idea caught on so much that it seems non-electric cargo bikes on their way towards to extinction. It's true that cargo and electric pair very well on a bike.
It's also true the non-electric Surly Big Dummy is joy to ride whether it's around town for a long bike tour. #bike#cargobike
@markstos all of my cargo/tandem bikes were bought as acoustic and then modified because the built-in motor options are too weak for actual hills. A decade into it, there are some e-cargo bikes showing up around the neighborhood, but they don't get used as much as mine (except the one guy with multiple batteries and a smaller kid.) Off-the-shelf options have improved slightly but still not really capable as car replacements.