Need Some Ride Reports!

[Razors Edge ★]

...from the folks with the fancy new bikes!  @Square Wheels, @ChrisL, @dennis and a few others should have some feedback from their rides on their new bikes.

Good, bad, ugly?

[donkpow]

I thought about riding yesterday.

[dinneR ★]

It's the fucking bomb. Everyone should own one of these. Good enough?

 

 

[Razors Edge ★]

2 minutes ago, dennis said:

It's the fucking bomb. Everyone should own one of these. Good enough?

 

 

But maybe a more recent photo next time. 

[dinneR ★]

5 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

But maybe a more recent photo next time. 

It's still the bomb.

 

[ChrisL]

I couldn’t be more happy with my SwissCross.  It is everything it’s advertised to be and everything I wanted for mixed road/dirt uses.  

The ride is dreamy, it is flickable without being twitchy and the Ultegra hydro group is freaking awesome.  I haven’t done too much gravel/dirt but what I have done so far has been awesome.  Also can’t say enough about the GRX wheels. Best gravel wheels for the money.  I swapped them over from my old bike and 1.5 years & a couple thousand miles of mixed road & dirt trouble free miles. 

If you have never ridden a high end steel frame it’s hard to explain. Maybe a good word is butter, it’s just smooth like butter.  Add in gravel and it gets even better.  The bumps are still there, it’s just muted.  The overall build is not super light at around 20 lbs but it works for me. 

I’m also really happy with the purchase experience & being able to pick every part for the build and save $ by using stuff I already have.

[ChrisL]

We also need a report from @az_cyclist who recently built up a Ritchey Outback.  

[MickinMD ★]

My non-fancy $820 low-step is supposed to arrive 3/29 but I've got almost that much money in fancy accessories to go with it:

[bikeman564™]

2 hours ago, dennis said:

It's the fucking bomb. Everyone should own one of these.

true

[Razors Edge ★]

52 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

We also need a report from @az_cyclist who recently built up a Ritchey Outback.  

And still not a peep from @Square Wheels.  What's up with that?!?

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, bikeman564™ said:

true

There are about a bazillion ebike fatties out here.  It seems to be the top sort of ebike - maybe because of the sand and beach??? Often they are the smaller wheels, but still wide fat tires. And they hum along with the tires making a lot of noise.

[bikeman564™]

41 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

There are about a bazillion ebike fatties out here.  It seems to be the top sort of ebike - maybe because of the sand and beach??? Often they are the smaller wheels, but still wide fat tires. And they hum along with the tires making a lot of noise.

they're good on sand I imagine. And yes they are loud. Sounds like a truck

[Randomguy]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

And still not a peep from @Square Wheels.  What's up with that?!?

I asked about that, I think he mentioned that it will see only rollers until it gets nicer out.  That makes sense to me, as I wouldn't want something that pretty to debut in a sleetstorm or rainy grit fest.

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

I asked about that, I think he mentioned that it will see only rollers until it gets nicer out.  That makes sense to me, as I wouldn't want something that pretty to debut in a sleetstorm or rainy grit fest.

Wasn't the weather in the 60s-70s recently?  It is practically Spring! 

[Square Wheels]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

And still not a peep from @Square Wheels.  What's up with that?!?

It still has nubs on the tires.  It is staying on the rollers for now.  Now much to report.  I ride pretty much in one gear, there are no hills, no turns...

7 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Wasn't the weather in the 60s-70s recently?  It is practically Spring! 

Not all of us moved to California.  Friday was amazing, close to 60.  I planned to go out with my wife on Saturday.  Not as amazing.  The high was just under 40.  The winds were close to 30mph.  We rode in the basement in the morning.  Our ride had been planned for about 30 miles around 1pm.  We were sitting in our living room around 2.  It got ominously dak, even windier, then the sleet was coming down sideways.  It would have been a disaster.

I will keep it inside until the weather is nice.  I don't think I'll ride this one in the rain.

[shootingstar]

6 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

There are about a bazillion ebike fatties out here.  It seems to be the top sort of ebike - maybe because of the sand and beach??? Often they are the smaller wheels, but still wide fat tires. And they hum along with the tires making a lot of noise.

Vancouver is getting enough uptake for owning ebikes locally. Dearie hears them buzzing/hmming along near him.  Not sure if fattie tires are the norm there..there are beaches but not really allowed to bike on there since there's not that much sand.  I can't see the rationale of having fattie tires if one has the lovely electric assist going on, given Vancouver's mild climat. Just mountain bike tires would be good enough... There are some road hills and local mountains where electric assist is good enough. 

To me, in prairie city where the city terrain is not really rough, have ebike with mountain bike tires is good enough. So when I see ebikers in the summer with fat tires, it makes little sense. Maybe they love the cushy ride.   I'm sure alot of people would love fat tires for winter riding, but the cost of a set unless one rides often in winter, is abit of a barrier to folks here, many still locked in car driving mode.

[Razors Edge ★]

18 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

I will keep it inside until the weather is nice.  I don't think I'll ride this one in the rain.

Can you avoid rain where you are? I've never been able to.  Saw a pretty Project One at the LBS yesterday.  Sort of purple but then a totally different hue when viewed from the side.  Not sure what color it was as it kept changing as I walked around it.  My wife approved (well, except the price).

13 hours ago, shootingstar said:

To me, in prairie city where the city terrain is not really rough, have ebike with mountain bike tires is good enough. So when I see ebikers in the summer with fat tires, it makes little sense. Maybe they love the cushy ride.

With an ebike, why "settle" for MTB width, when, like you write, the fatties are a cushier ride.  I think folks - when weight and power are not an issue - gravitate towards the fat tires because they can do everything they are likely to want to do on a non-road bike.  They're capable of 20+mph so can keep up with most non-ebike folks, but also can go off-road with aplomb - sidewalks, gravel, dirt, sand, etc..  If they went with skinnier tires - like commuter ebikes from Trek, they would be limiting their options with little to gain but maybe some top end speed.  Most folks favor the SUV approach to the tiny tuned sports car approach for everyday use.

[shootingstar]

4 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

They're capable of 20+mph so can keep up with most non-ebike folks, but also can go off-road with aplomb - sidewalks, gravel, dirt, sand, etc..  If they went with skinnier tires - like commuter ebikes from Trek, they would be limiting their options with little to gain but maybe some top end speed.  Most folks favor the SUV approach to the tiny tuned sports car approach for everyday use.

Love that translation....go SUV style...when one doesn't really need the SUV car when trundling around the city and no equipment nor children to transport most of the time.

[Razors Edge ★]

19 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

when one doesn't really need the SUV car when trundling around the city and no equipment nor children to transport most of the time.

SUVs usually offer enhanced comfort (larger folks like larger spaces), a higher ride height (better visibility), and larger mass (safer), so the "need" is there whether solo or packed with people and things. I'm more of a specific tool for a specific task, but there is sometimes a Swiss Army knife approach that can appeal to folks not quite sure what kind of riding they might be doing, so just get one that covers a lot of different kinds.

[ChrisL]

25 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Love that translation....go SUV style...when one doesn't really need the SUV car when trundling around the city and no equipment nor children to transport most of the time.

I think it’s funny how we like to label other peoples needs.  I did that to my daughter recently when she got a gas guzzling massive SUV.  OK the baby is coming but why a bigger SUV than the one you have?  Because I want it.... Oh I guess that’s reason enough.

Do we really “need” most of the things we have?  No, but we want them and that’s reason enough.