"Although I've never raced (and don't even ride fast!), my family and I
love to watch bike races!
The 2025 Strade Bianche was so exciting...Pogacar is one tough, versatile
rider!"
A week from Sunday I'll be up at 4AM to watch Paris-Roubaix. I can't wait.
Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 7:01:53 AM UTC-7 SallyG wrote:
> Although I've never raced (and don't even ride fast!), my family and I
> love to watch bike races!
>
> The 2025 Strade Bianche was so exciting...Pogacar is one tough, versatile
> rider!
>
> And thanks to Carlton Kirby ("Sticky Bottle"), we are infusing our own
> rides with properly sarcastic lingo: like "You're pedalling squares!" Also,
> we practice the elbow flick, as needed.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 2, 2025 at 6:48 AM Bruce Byker James <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I had the amazing timing+luck+patience-of-family-members to be able to
>> ride one of the climbs of the Tour de France this past summer with a
>> friend, then hang out in the French Alps for half a day waiting for and
>> watching the riders. I rented a carbon Scott and holy crap that was a lot
>> of fun! Probably 75% of the fun was just the circumstances, but it was also
>> amazing to be on something pretty much made for that kind of riding. The
>> ride down was super fun, too, though if the wheels on my Clem were as
>> straight as the wheels on the Scott were, it's possible I would have gone
>> faster on the Clem because fear was the main limit on downhill speed.
>>
>> Anyway, fun is fun!
>>
>> - Bruce
>>
>> [image: IMG_4679.JPG]
>>
>> On Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 9:26:13 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>> I have to add, if you've never tried a carbon bike, you should take a
>>> spin. Light and fast is definitely pretty fun. Light and fast with decent
>>> width tires even moreso. Not what I want to do all of the time (or most),
>>> but definitely enough of the time that I keep a carbon bike in the stable.
>>>
>>> Will
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 8:26:40 AM UTC-4 Nicholas A wrote:
>>>
>>>> I used to race bikes, I still watch bike racing, I may even go back to
>>>> bike racing when my kids are older, it makes me happy.
>>>>
>>>> I don't own any race bikes anymore. I have two, hopefully later this
>>>> year three, Rivendells, they make me happy.
>>>>
>>>> If your bike makes you happy it's a great, relevant, wonderful bike.
>>>>
>>>> On Wednesday, 2 April 2025 at 01:19:25 UTC+1 Garth wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Well gee, this group is rather insulated bunch. In the rest of cycling
>>>>> world. Relatively speaking, a Riv bike costing well over 2 grand on the
>>>>> low
>>>>> end isn't exactly in the "common person" category. Tell a non-rider what
>>>>> your bike costs and they are generally shocked. Point being, Riv riders,
>>>>> Grant, or Jan Heine, or any other cycling related author isn't in any
>>>>> position to be telling people what's relevant in the cycling and or
>>>>> non-cycling world either. They are sales people also after all, just like
>>>>> all the carbon manufacturers and bike racers and organizers. I read all
>>>>> the
>>>>> time in other bike forums how the brand Rivendell is irrelevant to them,.
>>>>> So it seems everyone is irrelevant to someone. L'eggo my E'go !
>>>>>
>>>>> Hey, I don't relate to commuting on bike either. I don't relate to
>>>>> riding the CA hills on a hillybike either. I don't relate to high
>>>>> sweptback
>>>>> bars either. I don't relate to wearing wool or whatever else Riv sells
>>>>> for
>>>>> clothing. I don't relate to the common Riv bike fit either. And I don't
>>>>> relate to wider tires being anything other than, hark ! wider.
>>>>> Oh the humanity ! ... and so what ?
>>>>>
>>>>> I do relate to the manual bike though. The steel frame, and rim brakes
>>>>> and friction shifting. I like Schwalbe tires also. I like bikes one can
>>>>> work on at home. I like that I can wear whatever I want to suit my
>>>>> locality.
>>>>>
>>>>> So see, all that non-relating is really irrelevant. In my own family,
>>>>> there's many things about everyone I don't relate with and vice-versa.
>>>>> How
>>>>> well does anyone really know anyone anyways, truly ? Yeah, so what ? What
>>>>> fun would that be, for everyone to like the same things, to be a bunch of
>>>>> mini-Me's ? Booooooring and frankly, un-natural. The World thrives on and
>>>>> AS It's Inherent diverse nature, not it's non-existent monotony. That's
>>>>> where the supposed do-gooders have it all backwards. What already exists
>>>>> can't be made, and what doesn't can't be unmade.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 3:39:11 PM UTC-4 [email protected]
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> And you can add the fact that Jan Heine has pulled an April fools
>>>>>> joke for at least a couple of years now.
>>>>>> - But seriously, ride the bike that jazzes you and keeps you coming
>>>>>> back for more.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 2:22:53 PM UTC-4 [email protected]
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Guys, it's April 1st.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There are so many "clues" in that "story" I'm actually
>>>>>>> shocked anyone took it seriously.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *"Well, this ends our plans of sending a team on 55 mm tires to *
>>>>>>> Paris-Roubaix"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That and the fact RH makes a very, very specific sized 31 road tire.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 11:20 AM Steve <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Different strokes for different folks. Whatever spins your wheels!!!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If charging up a battery so you can shift gears and emulating the
>>>>>>>> attire of paid professionals is your thing, then do what you want to
>>>>>>>> do (to
>>>>>>>> paraphrase the Isley Brothers). If you are enamored of a CF handlebar
>>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>>> a digital display that tracks your kph and watts per hour then go for
>>>>>>>> it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But if you like riding a Rivendell - like I do - then my hat is
>>>>>>>> off to you!!!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Steve in AVL .
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 1:58:38 PM UTC-4 Shannon Menkveld
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> First, riders haven't had to fix their own race bikes since the
>>>>>>>>> "Googles and Dust" era, and even then it was mostly because Henri
>>>>>>>>> Desgrange
>>>>>>>>> was an utter, flaming asshole... races that he didn't run were much
>>>>>>>>> more
>>>>>>>>> lenient. And, as a spectator sport, somebody brazing their fork back
>>>>>>>>> together at 10 pm in the rain just isn't that much fun to watch. As a
>>>>>>>>> fan,
>>>>>>>>> I'd get ride of tactical mid-race bike changes, i.e. you pick your
>>>>>>>>> bike for
>>>>>>>>> the course, and you're stuck with it. If it breaks, you get another
>>>>>>>>> of the
>>>>>>>>> same bike. I'd also remove the team radios. Let riders communicate
>>>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>>>> their team cars through race radio, where everybody else can hear
>>>>>>>>> what
>>>>>>>>> they're saying. The radios have made races less tactical and more
>>>>>>>>> predictable, less dependent on the rider's ability to read the race.
>>>>>>>>> But
>>>>>>>>> in-race mechanical support? No, that stays in. As a spectator, it'd
>>>>>>>>> be lame
>>>>>>>>> to watch someone lose their chance to win a race because their chain
>>>>>>>>> broke
>>>>>>>>> or they flatted. Plus, I like the tradition that attacking someone
>>>>>>>>> who's
>>>>>>>>> had a mechanical is considered poor sportsmanship.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 2nd, adults who ride bicycles when they don't have to are really,
>>>>>>>>> really weird. And even among those weirdos, the weirdos who ride
>>>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>>>> bikes to the grocery store are really, really weird. Most of the
>>>>>>>>> bicycle-riding weirdos ride for fun and exercise, not for
>>>>>>>>> transportation.
>>>>>>>>> and that's unlikely to change. If the industry stopped making racing
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> racing-inspired bikes tomorrow, the vast majority of them wouldn't
>>>>>>>>> become
>>>>>>>>> utility cyclists. *They'd just stop riding.*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Really, what we used to call fast-recreational riders who are
>>>>>>>>> riding those race bikes would be better off riding high-end versions
>>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>> what we used to call sport-touring bikes. Indeed, many of them are...
>>>>>>>>> they're just called "gravel bikes" these days. Longer chainstays, low
>>>>>>>>> gears, wide tires, lots of attachment points for racks and stuff,
>>>>>>>>> etc. And
>>>>>>>>> you know what? Their owners still aren't taking them to the grocery
>>>>>>>>> store.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --Shannon
>>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:35:14 AM UTC-7 Doug Williams wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Yes, most likely April 1st. But that doesn't change the fact that
>>>>>>>>>> race bikes are useless to real people. In times of old, you had to
>>>>>>>>>> do your
>>>>>>>>>> own repairs during a race. If racers were required to do their own
>>>>>>>>>> repairs
>>>>>>>>>> and to start and finish on the same bike, we would all be riding
>>>>>>>>>> USEFUL and
>>>>>>>>>> reliable bikes instead of single purpose race bikes when we go to
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> grocery store.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:28:14 AM UTC-7
>>>>>>>>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> (April) 1st of all, I'm betting that you got trolled. More
>>>>>>>>>>> importantly, riding a bike quickly around a paved loop to and from
>>>>>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>>>>>> door, (H/T Maynard Hershon, "roadies ride from the door",) just for
>>>>>>>>>>> fun and
>>>>>>>>>>> fitness and because you can, is not a less legitimate use of a
>>>>>>>>>>> bicycle than
>>>>>>>>>>> riding one to and from work, or the grocery store. Not every bike
>>>>>>>>>>> has to be
>>>>>>>>>>> "useful."
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> And as to "carbon is unsafe," it's simply not true, as shown by
>>>>>>>>>>> the number of bonded carbon Treks that are still ridden regularly
>>>>>>>>>>> three
>>>>>>>>>>> decades after they were made. And that includes the mountain bikes,
>>>>>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>>>>>> presumably got ridden hard and crashed a lot... that's what happens
>>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>>> mountain bikes. I've rarely seen any carbon frame break in a crash
>>>>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>>>>> wouldn't have broken a metal bike, and the rider would have been
>>>>>>>>>>> equally
>>>>>>>>>>> screwed either way. I don't ride carbon bikes because I don't care
>>>>>>>>>>> for the
>>>>>>>>>>> way they feel, not because I think that they're unsafe. They're
>>>>>>>>>>> not, and I
>>>>>>>>>>> don't.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> And, if there were no barriers to owning all the bikes we want,
>>>>>>>>>>> I bet that most of us here would have at least one lightweight,
>>>>>>>>>>> modernish,
>>>>>>>>>>> go-fast bike. Mine would probably be steel or titanium, but that's
>>>>>>>>>>> just
>>>>>>>>>>> because I prefer the way that they ride. Every carbon bike Ive ever
>>>>>>>>>>> owned
>>>>>>>>>>> has been weirdly feel-less. All of the aluminum ones have been too
>>>>>>>>>>> stiff
>>>>>>>>>>> for my taste... I like a bit of bend in the bottom bracket. (And
>>>>>>>>>>> I'd really
>>>>>>>>>>> like a Vitus 979... blue anodized, please.)
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> --Shannon
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:05:48 AM UTC-7 Bruce Byker James
>>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> [image: Screenshot 2025-04-01 at 12.02.06 PM.png]
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 11:55:33 AM UTC-4 Doug Williams
>>>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is why bicycle racing is completely irrelevant to people
>>>>>>>>>>>>> who actually use their bike for transportation. For a long time,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I have
>>>>>>>>>>>>> been saying that race bicycle design is so divorced from real
>>>>>>>>>>>>> world useful
>>>>>>>>>>>>> bicycling as to be completely irrelevant. Why on earth would
>>>>>>>>>>>>> anyone buy a
>>>>>>>>>>>>> race bike and use it for their commute or for..well, anything
>>>>>>>>>>>>> except a
>>>>>>>>>>>>> professional race while being followed by a motorized maintenance
>>>>>>>>>>>>> crew
>>>>>>>>>>>>> carrying several backup race bikes? A carbon fiber race bike is
>>>>>>>>>>>>> fragile,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> dangerous, and completely unsuitable for any real world purpose.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> For quite
>>>>>>>>>>>>> some time, the scientific consensus has been that wider tires are
>>>>>>>>>>>>> safer,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> more reliable, and more comfortable. Now that science is equally
>>>>>>>>>>>>> clear that
>>>>>>>>>>>>> wide tires are FASTER on real world roads, the reaction has been
>>>>>>>>>>>>> to...ban
>>>>>>>>>>>>> tires wider than 31mm?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://www.renehersecycles.com/uci-limits-road-bike-tires-to-31-mm/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Seriously, the bicycling community needs to wake up and stop
>>>>>>>>>>>>> idolizing racers, race bikes, and the companies that promote
>>>>>>>>>>>>> them. These
>>>>>>>>>>>>> people are working to promote bikes that are terrible for any
>>>>>>>>>>>>> useful
>>>>>>>>>>>>> transportation purpose.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Doug
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
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>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To view this discussion visit
>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b394de67-b8c2-48b6-97e1-751359dd5c73n%40googlegroups.com
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b394de67-b8c2-48b6-97e1-751359dd5c73n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> —
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Philip M. Watts
>>>>>>> (917) 514 2207 <(917)%20514-2207>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> —
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
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