Just finished The Sufferfest ISLAGIATT. Since it was so long, I scaled it to 90% of my measty 170 FTP. It wasn't a hard as I thought it would be but that's probably from downscaling it. Make no mistake though, it still SUCKED.

 

Need some beer and food now.

 

yeah i only did the first half. but what was worse was trying to do the 2nd half a few days later! no proper warm up. after 30 minutes on the trainer my penii/balls are so numb i have to start taking breaks standing up to let the blood back in. I ordered some other shorts to see if they help, i may need a saddle change. I've done up to 3 hours on the bike on the road and never had that problem probably because there's always some breaks

Go to a store that sells specialized and get your saddle width measured with the pad that they have. That'll let you know what width saddle you should be using and whether your current saddle is appropriate.

I have found that saddle height and angle affects the numbness of various body parts. 

Although for me it was my foot moving up my leg. 

I'm lucky enough to have never had any numbness in my junk at any point but what I discovered is that saddles are very tilt-sensitive. If I get the tilt on my Arione perfect, it's great.....a few degrees off, it's a nut vise. I personally prefer level to slightly nose-down. Any sort of nose-up creates pressure on my nuts.

Edited February 17, 201412 yr by raffy

That's a very good point, I didn't consider the saddle height and seat angles... oops!

maybe i should adjust the seat angle because with the Kinetic's turntable ring the front wheel is about 1" higher than the rear

Body geometry is decidedly different on the trainer.

Has anyone ever bought a kids' bike? I'm in the market for Xavier, and while I'm keeping an eye on Craigslist, there's just not much out there in the area. We have been looking and he found a bike he loves, a 2013 Kona Hula. We're looking at some other stuff, but this is a bike that he rode and just didn't want to get off of. There was one a little cheaper that he liked, but didn't love.

He's 8, and this is a 24" bike, which is for average 8-12 year olds. With the sloping top tube, he can get on and off it pretty well right now, and Zoe (who it 11 years old and 5'1) hopped on it, and if she had the seat up, she would still fit it. I figure 3 good years could be squeezed out of it... and I think Kona is one of the "cool" brands for the kids these days.

http://2k13.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=hula

He's on a Craigslist Gary Fisher now, but it needs more in maintenance than I have in the bike, and we maxed it out adjustment wise towards the end of last year, so he's pretty much outgrown it at this point, but may be a good "leave at grandma's" bike. I trust the bike in a flat, grassy yard... not so much out on the roads with traffic, or on a trail.

**BRENT**

Took the kids out riding yesterday and did 3 miles in 30 degree weather. No issues with the ice patches (only a few here and there) and had a nice time.

I think my son will need a new bike in the summer. He has the largest single gear Novara so interested in what MD finds.

http://www.fujibikes.com/bike/details/ace-650

I TRIED to get him to ride this today. Two false starts and we decided to try another day. I think this would be a better fit for him than a mountain bike, if he would ride it, but he wanted to go slow, which made it really twitchy. Alas.

He did like this bike, though.

http://www.harobikes.com/mtb/bikes/kids/flightline-24-2014

He liked this one better than the Kona, but it's 6 speed vs 7 speed, heavier, lower end components, and the shop has it at 30$ over MSRP (and it's more than the Kona above.

Still looking, but we've narrowed it down to a couple at this point.

Marc, how old is your son? Is it a 20" wheeled bike?

**BRENT**

^ I'm a few years out but reading with interest.

 

I got in 32 miles or so yesterday. I need to get out riding a lot more often and stop eating like a pig. I'm almost back up to 200lbs from 177 just before Thanksgiving. The Calfee is great though and the Mad Fibers survived a bunch of pretty hard pot holes so hopefully I got a set that will not delaminate.

Edited February 24, 201412 yr by Dreadhead

I wasn't nearly as lucky...I got a pinch flat on Sunday from a massive pothole that I hit. Nonetheless, it still felt nice to get out and ride

This is basically a public PM to Chris, but here's some stuff I've seen while looking at bikes for my 8 year old... there may be some other parents who ride who may be interested as well. He is currently on a craigslist special Gary Fisher 20" bike.

Chris, I don't have the $$$ to throw down for these without a test ride by Xavier, and I don't think the "cool" factor would be there, but these guys seem to "get it."

http://islabikes.com/

These guys seem to do it right, and Isla Bikes tend to hold their resale value better than many. If Zoe rode at all, things would be easier, as I could buy something they both like and hand them down, but that's not in the cards.

FWIW, the Kona Hula 2013 (350$ down from 429$ and the 2014 model is up to 449$) is 27.68 pounds, and the Schwinn Mesa 24 2013(289$ down from 400$*) is 27 pounds. The Jamis X.24 (350$) is 30 pounds. The Isla bikes with rigid forks (which is better than most of the heavy, but virtually ineffective suspension forks on the other bikes, with perhaps the Kona being the exception. There is a Spinner fork with preload adjustment) save 6-9+ pounds, for an extra 150$ish.

Now, if you want road-ish (Street), there is a bike that I ALMOST want to buy, but it's more than I'm willing to spend on a bike that will last 3 to 4 years, tops.

Cannondale Street 24

http://www.cannondale.com/24-m-street-matte-black-28570

A rigid Lefty fork is DEFINITELY cool. MSRP of 530$ is definitely pushing it, but it's probably worth it.

Another cool option, if you're willing to spend the cash, comes from Trek. They have the Superfly moniker attached to the kid bikes now.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/collections/kids/superfly_24_disc/#/us/en/model/features?url=us/en/collections/kids/superfly_24_disc

**BRENT**

So I've been on the Computrainer five days a week for two weeks now, and once on the road.  I'm in horrible shape.  

Keep on keeping on, Vicki. You gotta start back somewhere

 

I've been riding my trainer and using Trainer Road for the past 4 weeks. Trainers suck but it's been paying dividends - my endurance has really improved and I'm able to ride at a much lower heart rate than ever before. I did a 65 mile ride this Sunday and the last 10 was testosterone filled but I only averaged 137 HR

4 month xray/scar. Im pretty much done at this point, but i wouldnt mtb. Maybe road, in Florida, if that counts

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yeouch

Ouch!  I hope the pain has subsided by now.   Yes, with road biking crashes are occasional as opposed to mountain biking where crashes are a regular occurrence, at least on these technical trails.

If it's any consolation pelvis/hip breaks seem more common on the road, with it's higher avg speeds and harder riding surfaces.

Looking good, Justin. I wish you feel completely recovered

I don't think that scar is very visible or large, which I think is a good thing. Does it still hurt?

Did Sufferfest ISLAGIATT last night, this time at 100% instead of 90% the first time I did it. I buried myself but the 2 hours flew by quicker that I expected. Surprisingly my legs feel ok today, I might try Blender tonight then off to recovery weekend pounding beers and shitty food 

I see the Diabolical Double is open for registrations...hmmm.

Let's do it!

Color me interested!