Speaking of non-ironic absurd weight discussions. I overheard two guys at the 200k brevet this weekend talking about how some cyclists are obsessed with weight. I chimed in that I know riders who actually believe that they get a burst of speed if they move their 2 pound water bottle to their jersey pocket. They both nodded and replied "Well, yeah, of course that's true. That's why domestiques carry a dozen water bottles in their jersey and still manage to catch the team leaders to deliver them."
Physics, it's not just a good idea, it's the law. On Feb 16, 12:13 am, CycloFiend <cyclofi...@earthlink.net> wrote: > The only thing that I'll add to the discussion is that we're talking about > pounds here. Which is healthy. I've been part of discussions when folks > were arguing grams. Non-ironically. Y'know...mocking folks who still ran > 150g mtb handlebars when you caould shave 35-40 grams by throwing another > hundred bucks at it. > > I don't think that anyone can argue that weight doesn't make a difference on > a climb. The important thing is whether that difference matters. I don't > have it at ready reference, but I recall in a catalog (mighta been a Reader) > GP writing about the original Banana Bag - a seatbag which was gloriously > larger than most anything you could find at the time. He wrote about how a > saddlebag that let you carry something more than a spare tube and an energy > gel was a much more sensible thing. How you'd be a lot more comfortable on > the way down the mountain if you had real food and another layer stowed > along. It was a pretty radical position at the time. > > There are plenty of Riv owners and riders who go plenty fast. If someone has > the means and interest to do so, they certainly shouldn't be scoffed at for > choosing safe, light parts, (As Keith Bontrager once wrote, "Cheap. Light. > Strong. Pick two.") just as we don't mock someone who wants to run fully > fendered, racked and bagged all the time. Me? I'm kinda always banging > back and forth between those ideals, which, once again, is why Grant's > designs work so well - they allow you do continually tinker, hone and rerig > in the manner that works for you right now. > > There are times when it's fun to see who is fastest, or if you can nick some > seconds off of a personal best time. There are times when it's tremendous > to roll along among new and old friends. Whatever causes the most smiles > per miles. I like to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. I've been > paying attention at the dog park, and notice that they lay about, loaf > around, go flat-out-bat-outta-hell, carve crazy turns, get dirty, get out of > breath and do it all over again. Which seems an appropriate goal for any > bike ride. > > The other thing that Patrick touches upon has to do with climbing on > fixed-gear bicycles. It rocks. Utterly and completely. It hurts. Thoroughly > and deeply. This last week, I've been switching back and forth between the > Hilsen - a multi-geared and coastable setup - and the Quickbeam - which I > run fixed most of the time. There's really no comparison. I can move up my > regular climbs at a decent clip on the Hilsen, but it always feels like > flyng (well, until you utterly, crushingly bonk) on the Quickbeam. The > momentum of fixed gear systems is palpable. > > all righty then... didn't mean to warble on at quite that length. > > - Jim > > -- > Jim Edgar > cyclofi...@earthlink.net > > ³Velvet pillows, safari parks, sunglasses: people have become woolly mice. > They still have bodies that can walk for five days and four nights through a > desert of snow, without food, but they accept praise for having taken a > one-hour bicycle ride.² - Tim Krabbe, "The Rider" > > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries -http://www.cyclofiend.com > Current Classics - Cross Bikes > Singlespeed - Working Bikes > > Send In Your Photos! - Here's how:http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
