Tell me about your Bicycle

Observe & Report

Observe & Report

Well-Known Member
This site https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ measures the rolling resistance, puncture resistance and grip of a lot of tires and publishes the results so you can compare. Rolling resistance is the main thing slowing you down until you get to about 14mph when wind resistance matches everything else. So if you haven't put much thought into your tires you could probably get a noticeable boost just by upgrading. Less rolling resistance means more range on your e-bike, too.

Check out the Continental Contact Urban tires. Fast fat slicks with good puncture resistance, grippy compound and cheap!! They come in a wide range of sizes including the now obsolete 559/26" and 406/20" and are just the ticket for taking your old MTB on all roads. I just picked up a few different sizes for a couple of my bikes for $14-$18 each.
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Observe & Report said:
Do you burn before/during your rides? I like a bowl when I'm taking a break after a long climb but it might not be the best idea to do so before screaming down the other side of the hill.
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I did some gummies and was told not to till the end of a ride. I took them before, and things just looked so much more colorful! I gave the mechanics at the park a 20 dollar tip just to look at my tires, I was hey what's up to everyone, but that downhill...Jesus Christ... the trees were all a giant blur and I nearly survived that first run downhill run, my brother in law was stunned when I said , "I'm done man, let's go home". 2 hour drive to Big Bear Summit just for one downhill run.... lmfao, I bought him lunch.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Observe & Report said:
This site https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ measures the rolling resistance, puncture resistance and grip of a lot of tires and publishes the results so you can compare. Rolling resistance is the main thing slowing you down until you get to about 14mph when wind resistance matches everything else. So if you haven't put much thought into your tires you could probably get a noticeable boost just by upgrading. Less rolling resistance means more range on your e-bike, too.

Check out the Continental Contact Urban tires. Fast fat slicks with good puncture resistance, grippy compound and cheap!! They come in a wide range of sizes including the now obsolete 559/26" and 406/20" and are just the ticket for taking your old MTB on all roads. I just picked up a few different sizes for a couple of my bikes for $14-$18 each.
Click to expand...
So younger years I was a road racer (ok to laugh) we ran 23 mm tires pumped to 120 psi on dry days. Then suddenly people started getting smarter, 25 mm then even 28 mm with a little less air pressure. Now days I won't ride outdoors on anything less than 38 mm road tires at maybe 90 psi. Pretty much ride anytime compact gearing can get me up, 34x34 is a pretty sweet gear when the going goes up!
 
Dr.Amber Trichome

Dr.Amber Trichome

Well-Known Member
Sold my bike in SanDiego for $35 and my Kuat bike rack, later, in Colorado had to take off my hitch and get rid of it because it was hitting down and dragging on the concrete dip into my driveway. Now I see why Toyota corollas don’t have hitches . When the bikes were mounted it caused the car to really tail sink like a low rider.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Dr.Amber Trichome said:
Sold my bike in SanDiego for $35 and my Kuat bike rack, later, in Colorado had to take off my hitch and get rid of it because it was hitting down and dragging on the concrete dip into my driveway. Now I see why Toyota corollas don’t have hitches . When the bikes were mounted it caused the car to really tail sink like a low rider.
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Sounds like you need to do some bike shopping. :D
 
Observe & Report

Observe & Report

Well-Known Member
There was a break in the weather so I had an opportunity to give an aerodynamics lesson, er... I mean go for a nice ride. One of my favorite rides is over to the neighboring valley so it starts with a long but not difficult climb then a nice long downhill where you can really haul ass. There's 2.5 miles of 3-4.5% average climbing then another 2 miles or so of 2% average but somewhat rolling terrain up to the top (about 700ft total gain and only 24 feet loss.) The downhill is almost six miles of around -1.7% average but rolling terrain, 600ft down but 275 feet up including a one third mile 4% buzzkill in the middle . At the end of the downhill is a post office and a port-a-potty and nothing else for miles so everyone stops there.

So a roadie passed me near the beginning of the second half of the climb where it's easier. He got about 100 yards ahead of me then the one little bit of downhill let me catch up and pass him, which I think surprised him since he said "good work!" I could see in my mirror he was really cranking up the hill so he quickly passed me again and was maybe 200 yards ahead of me by the time he got to the top and started to descend.

The downhill starts with a third of a mile of -4.5% to get some speed but then you hit this third of a mile rise of 0.5% that saps your momentum. I'm not sure how much he had slowed but about 3/4 up this rise I blew past him at around 35mph. I started my stopwatch when I got to the post office, beat him there by five and a half minutes. Top speed was over 48mph. He turned out to be very curious about velomobiles indeed!!
 
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Dr.Amber Trichome

Dr.Amber Trichome

Well-Known Member
Observe & Report said:
There was a break in the weather so I had an opportunity to give an aerodynamics lesson, er... I mean go for a nice ride. One of my favorite rides is over to the neighboring valley so it starts with a long but not difficult climb then a nice long downhill where you can really haul ass. There's 2.5 miles of 3-4.5% average climbing then another 2 miles or so of 2% average but somewhat rolling terrain up to the top (about 700ft total gain and only 24 feet loss.) The downhill is almost six miles of around -1.7% average but rolling terrain, 600ft down but 275 feet up including a one third mile 4% buzzkill in the middle . At the end of the downhill is a post office and a port-a-potty and nothing else for miles so everyone stops there.

So a roadie passed me near the beginning of the second half of the climb where it's easier. He got about 100 yards ahead of me then the one little bit of downhill let me catch up and pass him, which I think surprised him since he said "good work!" I could see in my mirror he was really cranking up the hill so he quickly passed me again and was maybe 200 yards ahead of me by the time he got to the top and started to descend.

The downhill starts with a third of a mile of -4.5% to get some speed but then you hit this third of a mile rise of 0.5% that saps your momentum. I'm not sure how much he had slowed but about 3/4 up this rise I blew past him at around 35mph. I started my stopwatch when I got to the post office, beat him there by five and a half minutes. Top speed was over 48mph. He turned out to be very curious about velomobiles indeed!!
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Oh , a velomobile! You had me going there, you sly dog. It sounded like a fantastic bike ride but it’s a velomobile. Woody Allen fan I assume.
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