Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: Touring Shoes, Cleat Selection and Toe Clip Survey

« on: April 07, 2010, 05:59:21 pm »

CraftGeek Thaml you for your comments. This brings up and interesting point, in my research, I assume most people who read this and comment ride upright bikes but I would also welcome those who ride recumbent (s) and trikes to respond. Are there the same principles that apply to regular bikes verses recumbent (s) and trikes to pedaling systems, shoes and comfort

As you probably got from my avatar, I ride a recumbent trike so, all my input is based on that. I have never been able to ride long distances on an upright bike so I can't help you there. However, almost all the data on the subject that I found while researching it came from upright riders. So it should be valid for anyone who peddles.

17

Gear Talk / Re: Touring Shoes, Cleat Selection and Toe Clip Survey

« on: April 07, 2010, 11:02:09 am »

http://mikescomputerinfo.com/hotfoot.htm

Excellent article! Confirms most of the things I've found that help me.

Many of the tips and techniques I have seen revolve around the following:

• Distribute the force applied to the pedal over as wide an area of the foot as possible.
• Decrease the constriction of the foot from the arch to the toes as much as possible.
• Move the center of the foot to pedal contact as far from the metatarsal as possible while still maintaining an efficient stroke.

For myself, I found the following solutions:

• I try to find the stiffest soled shoe or sandal possible that fits properly.
  I use pedals with the largest surface area that I can find for the cleats I prefer. So far, the best ones I have found for me are Crank Brothers Mallets.
• Most cycling shoes are designed to bind the foot tightly so there is no slop on the up stroke. While this may be the most efficient way of transferring power for racers, it's horrible on the long haul.
  I look for shoes and sandals that have a wider toe box and a lacing system that allows for a slightly snug but not constricting fit. Also, the ability to easily adjust the fit without dismounting is a plus. BOA lacing systems help with that.
  I have slightly wider feet than average and have found that Lake shoes and sandals are the best for me. They have good design and materials and some of their higher end shoes have carbon fiber soles with BOA lacing systems.
  Your feet are worth the extra money. Really.
• I mount the cleats as far to the rear as my shoes will allow. I've had to adjust my peddle stroke to accommodate this but I'm glad I did.

Hope that helps.

Sean

18

Gear Talk / Re: Mitts or Gloves for extreme cold

« on: April 06, 2010, 06:40:53 pm »

I'll second the recommendation for the Pearl Izumi lobster gloves. They handled Colorado winter just fine.
http://www.pearlizumi.com/product.php?mode=view&product_id=1455044

19

Gear Talk / Re: handlebar bags for DSLR's?

« on: April 03, 2010, 10:51:13 am »

Ortlieb bags have optional camera inserts. Call Wayne at The Touring Store and discuss your needs. He'll fix you up quickly.

I emailed him, and funny thing is that his place is only a few miles from where i live in fort collins, CO. That's perfect cause then i can go try it out and see how it fits on my bike. Thanks for the recommendation.

-Ted

Hi Ted,

I can give a hearty second to both Wayne and Ortlieb handlebar bags. I bought Ortlieb panniers and all three sizes of their handlebar bags. Wayne was great to work with.

I also got the camera pad insert which fits both the medium and large Ultimate 5 which carry a Nikon D70 in it with room to spare. I use the compact size for short trips around town. They all use the same mount so switching them is easy. Having all three bags works out well because my wife and I both use them and when we ride together, we normally want different sized bags.

20

Gear Talk / Re: Camping Tent

« on: March 09, 2010, 08:08:50 am »

This is a great 2 person tent at a great price, Nemo Losi 2p from REI outlet:
http://www.rei.com/product/799099

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

Normal price; $339.00
Closeout price; $234.93
20% more off until 3/11/10; $46.99
Total I paid; $187.94

Nemo has not made any changes to this model this year and this is not a used or seconds so this is a great deal.

Thanks again.

21

General Discussion / Re: A couple of touring questions

« on: January 27, 2010, 11:38:58 am »

All good sugguestions. Thank you all!


Now I need to focus on a new tent. But that's another thread.

22

General Discussion / A couple of touring questions

« on: January 25, 2010, 03:04:16 pm »

• If you are with a group that leaves at sunup, you will be packing your tent while it is still wet with dew and condensation, then riding with it like that all day. Doesn’t it begin to form mildew after a few days of this?
• What about laundry in the same situation? I can easily wash and wring out the days cloths and put them on a line outside but they won’t be dry at sunup. Should I only do laundry on layover days when it has the time to dry? Or don’t do laundry and live with the smell?

23

Gear Talk / Re: Camping Tent

« on: January 12, 2010, 02:28:32 pm »

<snip>
Another great tent in this category is the Kelty Gunnison 2.  It's a bit lighter, looks to be a bit sleeker, and is a bit more expensive.  And, even though you may be able to find it $10 or so cheaper elsewhere, if you buy it from Adventure Cycling the profits go to promote the sport/lifestyle we all enjoy!

Cameron

This message was edited by CNC2006 on 7-24-07 @ 12:42 PM

The Kelty Gunnison 2.1 sold here at ACA looks good. I went looking for some reviews of it and found this
http://www.rei.com/product/763437#customerReview
I especially liked the one titled "I can even set it up when drinking". 
All the reviews are informative and worth the read.

The one reservation I have is that the tent's mesh windows do not appear to have cloth inner panels to close them up as some other tents do. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because the huge wrap around mesh panels are probably the reason this tent is condensation proof. My only worry is that in very cold weather, it's warmer to completely block all the mesh to keep the warm air in. On the other hand, I doubt I would be doing much snow camping while cycle touring.

24

General Discussion / Re: It's 15 below zero this morning...

« on: January 07, 2010, 05:05:34 pm »

In SE Michigan it was 25 F last night when I went for a ride with my new NOKIAN studded bike tires.  They did great on the ice, hardpack, crunch, and corn snow.  I really had to work in powder, as my tires don't have really big knobs.

Do they help the steering or only rear drive traction?

25

General Discussion / It's 15 below zero this morning...

« on: January 07, 2010, 11:08:49 am »

Woke up this morning to -15 F this morning, I think that's -26 C. 

I wonder if I should go out for a ride? I bet the traction is fine in the few inches of snow we have laying about...

26

General Discussion / Re: What's up with the smileys?

« on: January 05, 2010, 06:15:22 pm »

 
Yup, they're working.
Thanks!

27

General Discussion / Re: Should we have a sub-forum for Guided Tours?

« on: January 05, 2010, 06:13:53 pm »

That will work fine for the upcomming tour and that is just what I'll do as the date approaches

Thanks all! 

Hey! the Smileys are working! 

28

General Discussion / Re: What's up with the smileys?

« on: January 05, 2010, 03:37:11 pm »

My guess is that the forum configuration is pointing to the wrong location for the smiley files or that they don't exist.

Admin,
Please go to the Admin Tab, then in the Forum section of the Administrative Center select  Smileys and Message Icons. Check that the Base URL  and the Absolute path settings both point to the smiley icon files. If they do point to valid icon files but we (users) still can't see them, try selecting a different Default Smiley Set.

Good luck.

Sean

29

General Discussion / Re: Should we have a sub-forum for Guided Tours?

« on: January 05, 2010, 03:18:23 pm »

Hmm. Good points.

I think I may have made a bad assumption here. I saw the low topic count of many of the sub-fora and the single digit post count of many (most?) of the posters as evidence that this site was new and still in the design phase. But you say it has been around for 5 years?

In that case, I think you are right. Given that many of the other more focused sub-fora are underused, making one for Guided Tours would be a rather Zen exercise.

I retract my request.

30

General Discussion / What's up with the smileys?

« on: January 03, 2010, 08:31:14 pm »

I noticed that in the topic editor window, the smileys are all text. Instead of the graphic smiley it only says "Smiley". If I click one to insert it into the post, it enters  a colon and right parenthesis as I would expect but in the preview or the finished post this is replaced with the word "Smiley".

Does anyone else have this problem?