Search results for:

Take the plaque off those dodgy teeth you've got.

Steal is real :-,

Something similar whilst fixed mtbing in Epping Forest. I rounded a corner to find not a pile of mags - just one...

... plus a geezer sitting there wanking over it.

He obviously wasn't too phased. The trail kind of disappeared a little further on, so I had to double back - and he was still going at it like a chimp in the zoo.

velocity boy I swear dentists have a racket going on.

Yeah, those drills are well noisy.

laplusgourmande Well, I've never seen anyone climb so fast, so it must work for you. Do you train on hills a lot? Fancy a rematch tomorrow?

I did for a few years, so there's a bit of residual oomph despite being a few pounds heavier, cranks being a few mm shorter, and not getting any miles in. I think the best training was the year I spent working in Highgate - I used to go up Highgate Hill (not West), down Shepherd's Hill (where I worked) but then tag on a little loop of twice up Muswell Hill followed by Wood Vale, with fixed mtb, and panniers stuffed with books. Same extra loop on the way home.

Can't be arsed doing competitive stuff at the moment, but I still 'attack' most hills out of habit. Topographically or otherwise, I like getting high.

Would love a rematch, but I've just walked out of a 3hr anatomy exam an hour early due to having fuck all opportunity to revise whilst the council builders rip our home apart, and have got to do my entire acoustics revision by 10am tomorrow. What a fucking laugh. Can you tell I'm fucking stressed, or is it not that fucking obvious. Fuck knows.

I ended up sharing Marco Pantani's philosophy about climbing - though not his lack of self-control with illicit substances ;-)

Journalist: "Why do you climb so fast?"
Pantani: "To make my suffering end faster"

Nothing wrong with working on leg speed, but you might gain greater physiological awareness by doing some lower cadence/higher resistance work.

It shouldn't be done at a pace to tax your legs or lungs particularly, just to enable you to concentrate on form. Any inefficiencies at slower cadences will just get amplified as you spin faster.

Faster cadences are definitely good for smoothing things out in the knees and hips department though.

Regarding, knee over pedal spindle, it doesn't work for me. I've got short legs/long body & arms, and if I follow the KOPS rule, I end up pivoted to far forward over the bottom bracket and get numb hands etc, regardless of stem length. Horses for clichés...

• Get 'in touch' with the inside of your shoes. Think about the sensation of pressure on different parts of your foot at different points in the pedal stroke.

• Imagine you're pedalling in slow motion (even if you're doing 200rpm).

• Imagine you're turning the pedals under water against fluid resistance (but don't imagine too hard, or you'll rust up your bottom bracket).

• Keep your upper body still, braced, but relaxed.

Sometimes though, it's good to divvy up the pedal stroke, if you're feeling fucked or for specific purposes eg. climbing seated, accelerating seated, sprinting, etc.

Oh, and get a nice snug fit in your shoes with velcro, laces, ratchets - just short of numb-foot.

Laplusgourmande's got not straps/cleats, init? Mashing's gonna be his best option without doing some kind of über-ankling :-)

ImOnCrank Hell yes I get laughed at for riding a fix. Then again it might be because it looks like a unicorn shit it out and it has a sticker that says I like to ride fat chicks on it and I'm goofy lookin anyways...

Like this you mean?

I'll wager this trike's fixed, and Mr Byrne of 'The Late Late Show' is Gay:

laplusgourmande I think you're right, Scarlett. Revealing clothing can be seen to be kinda gay, especially around the middle of our bodies (crotch, arse). That's why some people wear their jeans halfway down their arse.

So you're suggesting the average builder/plumber is kinda gay.

I want to be there when you go to your local builders merchants and announce it to the assembled throng (but I'll be trackstanding by the exit)...

velocity boy [quote]BringMeMyFix So the question is, what seemingly unrelated statistical phenomenon can be used to quantify the exponential growth in fixed gear culture...?

Reduction in civil liberties and a looming recession![/quote]

Looks like fixed gear culture's set to keep on growing then...

RPM no wonder gays don't take up cycling, just look at those roadies in thier fluoro lycra and shaven legs..

camper than pantomime.

too obvious isn't it?

It already happened in the (early to mid?) 80s. My wife remembers our gay neighbour and his procession of lycra short wearing boyfriends, some of whom didn't own bikes. A club fashion trend based on co-opting the attire of the (then) newish phenomenon of London bicycle messengers.

There's a good short story about trends (by Robert Heinlein?), where a statistician produces and watches charts that show the ebb and flow of everything from the average length of women's skirts, to crop yields in Oklahoma - he can spot links and patterns, and can thus predict everything.

So the question is, what seemingly unrelated statistical phenomenon can be used to quantify the exponential growth in fixed gear culture...?

Answers on a postcard.

matthew Damn. Just had my first go at HH West this evening, and failed miserably. Tried to go for it early on, but ran out of puff/strength/will literally half way up. Absolutely hopeless. Had a bit of a rest, tried to get back on bike, but barely had strength left in my legs to clip into spds!

Do you guys have any theories about ratios? I'm running 48/19 (about 66in), and wonder whether it might be too low (paradoxically).

I made the mistake of gearing down one year for the hillclimb season (only 1 tooth up front), and ended up 5 seconds slower on a 2min 1-in-4 sort of climb, but still felt as knackered at the top.

I reckon my perfect gear (I'm about 140lbs at race weight) for HH West would be in the high 60s, but that would be pretty much flat out from the bottom, staying seated till at least the first side road on the left, then out the saddle all the way. But you've got to be very strong out the saddle (arms, lower back, calves, pull-uppy muscles at top of thighs) to be able to ride efficiently. I was riding 72" the other week during the Thursday night 'race'.

Depending on your weight, 66" could be an awkward in-between gear - not low enough to sit down till the last bend, not high enough to support your weight out the saddle. Then again, it could just be a matter of practice. Set yourself incremental goals (ie. stand for 10 pedal strokes one ride, 20 the next, 30 the next, or whatever), breath out strongly, and concentrate on standing tall and getting your full bodyweight over the bottom bracket, synchronising your arms and legs - if you find a rhythm, you can use zen to get past the first "fuck me, I'm going to die" patch.

Sorry to waffle - I was a hillclimb specialist competitively, and it took about 3 years to progress from cracking on HH West to competing at national level. By the end of the summer, I'm sure you'll get the better of it...

MrSmith:

mashton: mr smith - what's your penis called? ;-)

pista

seat-tube?

slamm:

laplusgourmande:I laugh secretely at everyone i overtake :D

Haha, I do the same!!

I laugh in their faces, whilst riding no-handed and stroking a white fluffy cat.

Alex:Is it a leak, or is it condensation?

Or is it that when you fill it up over-zealously at the start of the day, you get a little bit of water 'temporarily trapped' in the threads when you put the lid on - this is the only way I've had those bottles leak at all.

Jos:There is a complete rerun now. last 120km put in one hour....

Blimey, I didn't know pros could go that fast ;-)

These are alright too - reliable, and good value. I think Eastern is KMC...

http://www.extreme-direct.co.uk/bmx/chains/eastern/10048.php

PS. They have a quick link, but I don't use them.

BringMeMyFix:Personally I wait for the green man whilst balancing on one leg, sometimes with one hand in the air.

The other peds are completely in awe of my grace and balance.

gav:i am working on my no hands, standing trackstand at the minute, so i dont RLJ as much as i used to. all the peds ignore you, but you can tell their impressed really.

I wasn't talking about being on my bike. I'm debating the ethics of how to act as a pedestrian at lights. Trackstanding, without the 'track' part.

I'm working on my no-handed seated 'standing'. Quite a feat of biomechanics :-)

Do you have to be limp-wristed to beatbox?

winston:Highgate West Hill is nothing compared to Swains Lane which dissects the cemetry....try that on a fixed....I've done it on 74.....slowly. maybe you should try that one Thursday as an alternative route?

No-one showed up at the foot of Highgate West by 6.30pm, so I had to head home. Went up Swains Lane instead - used to be one of my hillclimb training routes. There's still an annoying pile of builder/roadworks stuff just where the road narrows on the steep one-way section that was there at the end of last summer. What gives?

Agreed though - definitely N. London's steepest paved section, but quite short.

Muswell Hill's tougher than Highgate West - bit shorter, but steeper average grade. Plus it's got a bus lane all the way up and no speed bumps, so great for hassle-free training.

Hmmm, and what about the red man/green man pedestrian debate?

Personally I wait for the green man whilst balancing on one leg, sometimes with one hand in the air.

The other peds are completely in awe of my grace and balance.

Maybe it's worth mentioning that the hook-up spot is actually IN the park, by Gloucester Gate, just in case anyone's thinking of loitering with intent on the Outer Circle.

I'm going to see if I can get special (masochistic) dispensation to make a dash up to the foot of Highgate West, join the bunch for the climb, and then dash home again to put the baby to bed.

Hope to see you all later, albeit briefly.

I think he's lacking a bit of 'snap' in his wrists. But then again, he won't be exercising his wrists properly till he's a bit older ;-)