Show your Bicycle !

I gave it up a few years ago when I hit middle age. In your 40's your bones don't heal as fast as they did at 11.

Don't understand the above quote.
Just turned 65 and had a great summer on the bike totaled 2,000 miles . I ride with a lot of gray haired guys and gals . I did have an older friend do a "header" breaking a collar bone and cracking two ribs. No talk of giving it up.
 
BobHol, I did not give up cycling. I stopped racing in criteriums. I raced for many years. I broke a lot of bones mixing it up and never quit. But after I recovered from a torn thigh muscle 6 years ago I have not had the motivation to train 20 + hours a week. I'm too competitive to race if I don't have a chance to get on the podium. Maybe when I am 65 I will have mellowed out and can race just for the fun of it.
 
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BobHol, I did not give up cycling. I stopped racing in criteriums. I raced for many years. I broke a lot of bones mixing it up and never quit. But after I recovered from a torn thigh muscle 6 years ago I have not had the motivation to train 20 + hours a week. I'm too competitive to race if I don't have a chance to get on the podium. Maybe when I am 65 I will have mellowed out and can race just for the fun of it.

Now I get it. You're a racer. I've only done recreational riding, so I've never faced the challenges you have.
Bob
 
One way that I motivate myself to get out and ride is to watch YT or Vimeo videos of cycling events, e.g.: go to Youtube and search on "Paris Brest Paris 2015"; here's one of my favorites:


Damon Peacock is producing some interesting stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/user/damonpeacock

p.s. I'm 61 yrs old, never raced (well, I did a coupla fundraisers in my 20s), strictly recreational

p.p.s. I think I'm gonna watch that PBP video above, one more time -- I've been off the bike a few days due to some kind of contact dermatitis reaction to my cycling jersey on the back of my neck. Getting better, but I gotta go over to v-neck collar-less shirts for a while. ARGH.
 
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I usually post in the Marantz forum, but this below was taking my time as well....

This is my new transport, for commuting and for fun. I intend to sell my car (we have two in the family - two too many but at least we can get rid of one...).
I'm already taking it to work regularly, thats 11km in the morning of which 8 downhill loosing 650 meters altitude, and then in the evening the same in reverse, 650m of altitude up...
time by car - varies because of traffic : morning 19 minutes, evening 25 minutes.
time by bike - morning down 22 minutes :D evening up 34 minutes :banana: . That is with near zero training...
last year I did do it three times on my normal road bike....the up part took me at best 1 hour 45 minutes :eek:

It's a german make called Bulls (Bulls.de) with the Bosch e-bike "performance line CX" system.
Oh, and the swiss winter requires some grip for the icy roads !

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and this is last sundays ride, up to 1700 meters from 1100 where I live.
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This is one of my bicycles. It is a replica of the high wheel bicycles that were the rage during the end of the 19th century. Back then, a bike like this cost around 5 months salary for the average buyer ($150 - $160). If my cadence is 90, the bike is travelling at 14 mph (22.5 kph). Trust me, that's fast enough since the brake is on the front wheel only -- lock that front wheel during a panic stop and you're done so you have to plan ahead with these bikes.

Tires are solid rubber with a wire insert. No punctures, no gears, no chain to wear. They truly are low maintenance. A lot of Wheelman today still ride the originals that are more than 125 years old! These bikes are very comfortable and handle dirt roads well as long as there are no large potholes.

 
This is my daily commuter, a Gran Royale Lurker messenger bike. My daily commute is 22 miles return. I'm running 700C x 32 tires, fixed 42 x 16 gearing, a front brake and a Brooks B17 saddle. Bike is exceptionally comfortable during 60 mile day rides.

 
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Anybody remember WEYLESS hubs ? I fell in love with them the first time I saw them....they definitely lived up to their name, they were way lighter than Campy Super Records. I built a set of race wheels using the Weyless hubs, Fiamme Ergal rims (270 gr., IIRC), DT Etoile double-butted spokes, and Clement 230 gr. silk sew-ups. Man, those wheels were something else, they would glide forever....

Weyless hubs 1977.jpg
 
I have an old Aegis carbon mountain bike. Rigid fork, full xt 8 speed I think. Been awhile since I looked at it. Really smooth on the trails. I also have an old Serrotta road bike, a Colorado. Burley tandem too. Kind of haven't ridden in years, but still hope to get back on the bike. Couple of knee surgeries and arthritis have slowed me down a bit. Not to mention the 4 kids......
 
Kids, age, aches and pains...naaah, you still have what it takes to go out cycling. :D

Baby steps. I haven't been in the best of health lately myself, but I felt worlds better (with fewer aches and pains) when I was cycling at least 100 miles per week this past summer. I thought it was a big deal to do a 15 mile round trip, the first time I went on a nearby trail. Now I feel like I'm cheating myself if I don't do at least 30 or 40. This coming summer, I'm shooting for my first metric century (100 km) and first century (100 miles).

Actually, about those aches and pains...my usual ones mostly went away, but started having pains from cycling. Carpal tunnel and numbness (partially cured with the Ergon grips), sore rear end (tamed with the Selle SMP seat), etc. Properly equipped, it's not so bad.
 
Anybody remember WEYLESS hubs ? I fell in love with them the first time I saw them....they definitely lived up to their name, they were way lighter than Campy Super Records. I built a set of race wheels using the Weyless hubs, Fiamme Ergal rims (270 gr., IIRC), DT Etoile double-butted spokes, and Clement 230 gr. silk sew-ups. Man, those wheels were something else, they would glide forever....

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I picked up a race bike made by a local builder and it had a wheelset with Weyless hubs just like those. The wheelset was tubular, and that's not my thing, so I sold them at a swap meet last spring. They were nice hubs with cool skewers.
 
Bikes were a passion of mine many years ago. As a kid I raced BMX in Chandler. Also loved very early Freestyle bikes. My son found out about some of my old bikes and for the past few years we have restored a few. This is one of my pride and joys. It sucked having it repainted but it was already resprayed the wrong color when I got it. I prefer "survivors" but seeing as there was somewhere in the area of 200, or less, of these made in 1984, the chances of finding one was nil. It took me over 2 years to source the parts for this one. Oh, its a very rare 1984 Redline RL-20II, Japanese made frame/fork set.
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I have a few others, including my sons baby, a 1983 Haro freestyler. Will have to get some better pictures of all of them.
 
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