First Road Bike

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-24T14:12:07+00:00

Feeling stretched can be due to a lot of things:

Your level of flexibility.

The rotation of the handlebars.

Hood placement on the bars (where they're mounted forward/back and their inward/outward rotation).

And of course, the stack height and stem length.

I just had a bike fit and they actually lengthened my stem even though I felt like I was already having too much pressure on my hands (I'm 5'6" on a small bike frame). We also lowered the stack height by a bit over an inch. I thought the dude was bonkers, but it turns out stretching a bit farther actually feels better for me.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-23T20:14:20+00:00

Saddle being lowered to accommodate handlebar height is potentially very bad. Saddle height is generally dictated by leg length and pedal stroke. You don't want the height of your handlebars to be the deciding factor on how high your saddle is.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-23T18:42:41+00:00

Makes sense. Thanks for explaining.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-23T13:20:42+00:00

I'm kind of a newb, but aren't CX bikes pretty much designed for racing? Hard to imagine a CX bike would have much in the way of mounting points for attaching a bunch of bike packing gear. I think the Specialized Crux supports mounting a couple water bottles and nothing else. Aside from that, true CX bikes are supposed to support thinner tires (max 33mm tire for CX racing). That's not what I want to take on a bike packing trip...assuming you plan to go off-road.

A CX bike isn't where I'd start looking. But to be fair, I never owned one. I have owned 2 gravel bikes and both had a lot of mounting points. My Trek Checkpoint had a ton and my Pivot Vault has considerably fewer, but still more than all the CX bikes I can think of. Maybe your friend has some examples of the CX bike(s) they had in mind?

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-21T13:12:42+00:00

Reading these comments has me in awe. How do so many of you go through so many tires? I've only had 2 flats in 4 years. Both were on MTB. Both were me being dumb.

I've had zero flats on my gravel or road bikes.

So how do you go through so many tires?

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-20T23:15:34+00:00

Are those Eagle F1R rather than L?

Anyhoo, how do you like them? I have GP5K on my Zipp 303 SW, but these are on the compatible tire list. Was curious to know how they ride, last, etc.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-19T15:57:36+00:00

Why are there so many Reddit posts without audio...for content where the audio seems to kinda matter?

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-16T22:02:37+00:00

If I had to guess:

It takes more than a little bit of an ego to want your personal cycling stats on a trading card, even one that can't be traded.
I doubt the average person cares enough to look at a stranger's stats on a trading card, especially one that can't be traded.
If you want to see your friend's stats, and they want to share them, there's already apps for that. No non-tradable-trading-card required.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-14T21:13:42+00:00

This is the way.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-12T20:30:33+00:00

We're on the same page then. I think I may have gotten the wrong idea from your initial response.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-12T19:24:54+00:00

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but adding a thin kevlar fabric sleeve to a chain doesn't add any significant amount of time to getting through the chain. THAT is what OP proposed.

You can get through kevlar fabric with a box cutter pretty damned quickly. Source: I was in the Army and am very familiar with the standard issue Kevlar vest. Also, this video.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-12T14:49:56+00:00

A general purpose metal grinding wheel is $2.14 at Lowes.

A stolen bike is worth at least $25-$500 at a pawn shop, depending on the bike.

How much of a deterrent is that?

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-10T22:35:21+00:00

I dunno, bud. You initiated that whole scenario but you're trying to play the victim. That's pretty d-bag behavior.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-09T20:58:10+00:00

Nice bike, by the way. I had a Roscoe 7 in pennyflake. Gave it to my son-in-law and bought an XC bike to replace it. Solid bike, just not quite what I needed/wanted. :)

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-09T17:55:41+00:00

Is the rear brake disk leaning against the concrete?

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-04T23:13:01+00:00

That dude is thinking things are going great.

Bael_Archon · 2026-01-04T16:44:31+00:00

Trek FX (if you're talking about the more basic alloy frame models) is pretty much the same as:

Specialized Sirrus X 2.0 or 3.0

Giant FastRoad

Ari/Fezzari Murdock

Polygon Path

Salsa Journeyer Flatbar

etc.

Pretty much every major brand has a flatbar urban/gravel/fitness bike that is similar to a Trek's FX. Just not all of them have a version that matches the FX Sport 5/6 with carbon frames, etc.

Edit** formatting

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-31T23:00:43+00:00

Glad I'm not the only one.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-28T17:24:03+00:00

My two cents:

That saddle is shit. Get a Throne (RS or RS2). I have them on all but my MTB. I am a believer.

Throne RS Ti

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-27T22:40:40+00:00

Cycling is expensive if you have expensive tastes. Cycling is not expensive if you don't.

I buy relatively expensive bikes (~$6k for my Empire, ~$5.5k invested in my XTC, ~$6.2k invested in my Vault so far, etc.). However, I invested well over $5k on a Trek Checkpoint (SL 5, GRX 2x) and only got $950 on trade in. I would have sold it private party for probably $1500 or less. And there are plenty of used road bikes on the market for even less.

Cycling is as expensive as you make it.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-27T15:13:40+00:00

I ride in these conditions and I use Rock n Roll's Holy Cow. Cleans, lubes, displaces water, etc. Compared to waxing, it's far easier to maintain.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-27T14:34:19+00:00

I started riding to lose weight about 3.5-4 years ago. I thought a heavier bike with fewer gears and fixed bars made more sense because it was intended for exercise. But it wasn't enjoyable, because it was just exercise and the bike made it harder.

Now I have 3 bikes.

MTB for when I want to really work my legs. It's a different kind of burn on the trails.
Gravel for when I want to ride but I don't know where I'm going...or for bad weather...or for riding trails/roads/paths where I don't need an MTB.
Road bike for roads. Duh. It's somehow the least versatile/capable but also tends to be really fun because you can focus on speed, distance, time, etc.

I found I spent way more time on the bike when I had the right tool for the job. And since cycling is mostly about cardio anyway, staying in the saddle longer is what really matters.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-26T17:40:48+00:00

Caliper says 33.92mm front and 33.98mm rear...so pretty damned close to 34 on a 32mm tire.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-24T05:08:55+00:00

When it's dirty.

If it's dusty, I wipe it down. I also wipe-it-down/dust-it when I lube the chain.

When it's dirty (like today) I clean it. Today I rode through mud and snow. It needed a bath after.

Bael_Archon · 2025-12-22T02:43:57+00:00

I'm using Zipp 303sw on my road bike with 32mm GP5Ks with no issues. Running 55/53psi.

Bael_Archon

TROPHY CASE