That was NiCad batteries, where you were supposed to drain them all the way occasionally.
Finally bought me a used road bike:
Pretty happy with it for right now. Toe clips have got to go and eventually I want to get clipless on there, but for now it’s so much better than my old hybrid.
Awesome! Definitely an upgrade, enjoy it :)
I am enjoying it. Rode it to work this morning. I didn’t think the difference would be so remarkable, but riding the hybrid is like towing a load of firewood in comparison.
Is that a 1999 Kona Haole? Those were pretty impressive for the day, with carbon fiber forks, which were fairly new in 1999. Is the drivetrain all original, or has it been updated?
Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Pretty sure the drivetrain is original, unless it was just updated to a newer Shimano 105. I think the only things not stock might be the stem and saddle. It’s in great shape.
Welp, bit the bullet on clipless pedals today. Picked up these pedals:
And these shoes:
Bought the pedals because they’re pretty highly recommended for beginners, but they’re pretty big and heavy. Still, they are SUPER easy to get into and out of and the amount of play on them is hardly noticeable. I’m really happy with them. Hard to describe the difference it makes being attached to the pedals. Eventually I’ll pick up some smaller, lighter pedals for my road bike and move these to my commuter.
I can’t ride a bike without clipless pedals now, feels too strange (and oddly dangerous) to not be connected to the bike! Also makes me realise how inefficient down-stroke only pedaling is.
That’s the next step, Zuwadza, start paying attention to your up-stroke and aim for constant smooth power delivery in your pedaling!
I noticed this difference just going from regular old pedals to clipped pedals. I especially like being able to adjust pedal position while I’m stopped just by lifting my foot around.
I must still be losing lots of force to the pliability of the clips though, even if they are metal.
Nice, what part of the world do you live in? Yesterday we had a great summer ride, met up and left at 7 AM, covered 94km in the hills northwest of Toronto with 848m of vertical climbing. On the way back it was into a strong headwind so I was totally tired. Photo below, proud to wear lame-looking spandex…
I’m in Victoria BC. That pic was just outside Arbutus Cove Park.
I’m looking to upgrade to some spandex next, but I’m tapped on bike spending for my moment. You should have seen my girlfriend’s eye’s bulge when I showed her the prices on some bib shorts. Anyone have a recommendation for cheap-ish, entry level bib shorts?
I use Speedplay Frog pedals. They have nearly 100% “float”, which means your foot isn’t locked into position. It makes life much easier on my middle-aged knees, yet has all the benefits of any clipless pedals. The cleats will bolt into a standard mountain / urban bike shoe cleat mount.
I do use mountain bike shoes (Shimano M088), which are easier to walk around when you’re dismounted. I tried road shoes and pedals, but really didn’t like the off-bike experience.
About six months back I started on a new project, which put me well outside bike-commuting range. While I have managed to keep the weight off me, I am currently a doughy, flabby mess.
As of today I am back in an office where I can once again bike in, and I start tomorrow. Can’t wait.
For biking shoes, this is what I go with during the warm months:
They’re really quite nice in that I get all the benefits of a biking shoe while not ending up with soggy, sweaty socks. Highly recommended.
What do biking shoes do? Give you better grip on the pedals, which translates into a more efficient transfer of energy? Are there bike shoes which are ok for walking around in, that is, I can wear them to ride and not bother to change out of them and not wear them out in two months?
Bike shoes allow you to attach cleats, which work with clipless pedals. (They are “clipless” because they lack toe clips, as opposed to flat pedals.) So your foot is attached to the pedal (they are easy to detach, in general.) Clipless pedals improve your pedaling efficiency, not so much because you lift on the upstroke, but because the energy transfer is more efficient.
However, there are cycling shoes which don’t require you to wear cleats, as with some urban and commute cycling shoes. Some even look a little like running shoes or Vans. However, they have a harder, somewhat stiffer outsole so you don’t feel the pedals on the bottom of your feet. Riding with normal sneakers can start to hurt your feet on long rides.
Bike shoes are just shoes, unless they have clips in them. With clips the shoe connects to the pedal so that you can power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.
Oddly enough they are often referred to as clipless pedals, of which various types and styles exist, like so:
They will transform they way you ride! There are significant efficiency and power gains to be had through being able to use the entire pedal rotation - something that can’t happen if your feet are not connected to the bike. Once you are used to them they will also raise your confidence in bike handling.
You can certainly get clipless shoes that suit commuters and can be worn on the street when off the bike, but I don’t think you’d want to be regularly walking miles and miles in them, as the shoes tend to need to be be fairly rigid in the sole. YMMV, however and I have far from tried all the styles and brands on the market. Finding reviews that talk about walking comfort will be easy enough as well.
Yeah, most clipless shoes have a fairly rigid sole that will not be good for your feet if you walk long distances in them.
Wearing biking shoes is a game-changing event: the first time is really scary because you are literally attached to the pedals and until you satisfy your hind-brain that you can get loose at a moment’s notice, you have this terrifying notion that when you stop you’re simply going to keel over and break your leg. However, after a week or so of riding with the cleats you will find yourself wondering how you ever got along without them – going back and riding with normal shoes will seem inefficient and painful by comparison.
My first bike-commute in about a half a year went much better than I had thought. I had thought that after six months of mostly no cycling, the 20 km hilly jaunt would kill me, but I made it in with little difficulty. Of course I still have the ride home (mostly downhill), and perhaps tomorrow I will feel slightly differently…
But coming to a stop only to be unable to unclick your shoe is a classic cycling rite of passage! Who can forget that helpless feeling of falling sideways in slow motion while being inextricably linked to your bike :)