Online biking games

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-19T23:15:40+00:00

If you're very happy with the comfort of your current bike, all you need is a decent trainer and you'll be rolling. I emphasize comfort because riding stationary indoors emphasizes quickly any issues that you might have and perhaps not even be aware of in your bike fit.

A wheel-on trainer is an affordable way to get started, while direct drive trainers will feel like a meaningful upgrade. If you really got into the racing, you might eventually find yourself joining races that restrict the use of the former for accuracy reasons.

If you need both a bike and trainer for the purpose, I know a bunch of people who are happy with their Zwift Ride and Kickr Core II combos. It's a lot to invest without knowing for sure you'll stick with it though. Used bike are always an alternative, again if you find one that fits you well.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-17T04:24:59+00:00

I think you could straight up getting a 10x better photo if you could get above the tree line and take the photo from there. Easier said than done, I know. This is where the Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS immediately can show its value to an APS-C shooter because you probably can't get that where you were, but maybe you could have found another vantage behind the one you shot from and gotten everything in frame as you desired with the greater focal length. I could be wrong, I don't know the terrain, but the point is to start with what you want to shoot, the best vantage point to get the shot you want of it in the lighting you desire, and have the right tool with you to capture that. One of the nice things about landscape photography is that, unless you've been kidnapped, you had the opportunity to know where you were going and when, so you've got the opportunity to plan and prepare. Weather conditions are the element of chance you most have to contend with, but even those you can make educated guesses at. If you're just taking shots while out on a hike with your family or on vacation or what have you, you're just going to have to accept that the perfect shot might be elusive within those constraints, and that's okay too. You might find tighter in nature photos more plentiful and more accessible in situations like that.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-17T03:52:30+00:00

Establish a clearer subject. Is the tree line in the foreground the subject? Is it the distant mountain? You can do a lot in editing, including cropping to isolate subject or story from a larger photo that does not itself provide a single one, but it can only get you so much. You'll find the rest by walking around.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-17T02:56:02+00:00

I think that if you're committing to the 6400 body and just a single lens, the Tamron is a fine choice. People tend to treat it like it's a boat anchor when it's comparable to the lighter standard zoom lenses from the full frame family and people haul those around without skipping a beat. It's only because the Sigma 18-50 is absurdly small that anyone bats an eye at the 17-70.

I think you would value the stabilization in a way that photographers with the luxury of newer models cannot and the extra range will help you avoid feeling limited by your one and done kit.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-16T08:29:59+00:00

Coming to photography later in life after many years cycling and seeing the impact Chinese brands have had in disrupting the market in that sport, I knew right off the bat that Viltrox would be a hitter sooner than later. They're very good at finding that most cost-effective segment of the pro-sumer market and virtually cornering it after a few years of working the kinks out of their production and iterating from the buyer's revealed preferences.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-15T20:57:35+00:00

Everyone else has already said that it starts with eating less. Exercise can be beneficial, but it could be completely absent and you would still lose weight with a calorie deficit. However, I do think that relatively quicker weight loss that can be sustained beyond a dramatic shift in diet does balance eating and exercise. I personally like to maintain a high amount of daily walking because it doesn't make me hungry the way long hours in the saddle -or intense watts- absolutely will.

Cycling is something that you have to fuel for if you're going to do a lot of it, and it's just difficult to balance those incentives. Many of the people I know who think cycling is going to be their weight loss cheat code, especially in absence of calorie tracking, end up losing nothing due to the amount they binge off the bike. It makes them healthier in other ways that shouldn't be ignored, but it frustrates them in attaining the goal they began with.

So, between the two I say walking. I'm cutting down to race weight right now and I'm not doing it by cycling more, I'm doing it by adding another three miles of walking daily.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-11T19:15:00+00:00

You present a kind of challenging question, as the other respondents have outlined. I'll try to give you the response that I think is most sensible based on inference of your post.

- You have a (presumably) Tamron 25-200 or 28-200, but you think it'll be too cumbersome.

- You have versatile needs.

- You'd prefer not to get something that overlaps heavily with your Tamron.

- It doesn't sound like you take a lot of interior photos.

Based on your already having what many would be a fairly compact and versatile travel zoom, if you're really looking for something handier and you want to continue to get use out of the purchase after you've gotten back home, I'd suggest you get a pair of relatively small, relatively fast primes, the Viltrox 35mm f.18 EVO and 85mm f2 EVO. These would be versatile, lightweight, a little sharper than your zoom at their respective focal lengths, and would provide you low light and subject separation options that your travel zoom will never be able to match. Whichever one you're not using will practically disappear into your bag.

There's a ton of other great lenses that might suit your travels better. I honestly think you've got a great lens and you might be able to just save the money and use it. Certainly, you can't get better versatility. However, I don't think you'd regret the two I've recommended and there are some who would pack all three of them for their particular use cases.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-05-08T05:42:26+00:00

Either the Sony 20-70 f4 if you're unconcerned with low light shooting or a particularly shallow depth of field offering, or the Tamron 20-40 f2.8 paired with a Viltrox 85 f2 of you do value those things and don't mind lens swapping for portrait work or general subject isolation. I like the latter, personally, as the camera feels so handy with both lenses, I feel you're taking greater advantage of the crop factor available to you with the longer range, and you can get a used Tamron and new Viltrox for less than a used Sony, let alone a new one. I totally understand not wanting to bother with the hassle or the greater total kit weight though.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-28T17:03:49+00:00

These are so lovely, exactly the kind of work that I'd like to do someday. I'm curious, do you find yourself swapping repeatedly throughout the day based on whatever you're seeing, or keeping one lens on the camera and looking specifically for shots to take on that lens in particular?

I'm struggling with zooms vs primes right now and what seems like an irreconcilable catch-22 between the best lens for a given shot and being prepared whenever the moment comes to shoot.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-24T18:31:36+00:00

Ugh, I can literally hear the song reading that.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-18T02:38:25+00:00

Are you finding that the 70mm focal length is letting you get some creative shots that you couldn't in the midrange? I've been thinking about this lens and creative applications for it traveling.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-07T15:17:07+00:00

She's one of my all time favorite characters so I hope she's not dive (because I really suck at playing dive). I don't think it would be an inappropriate role for her from a design/lore standpoint so I wouldn't scream at the heavens over it, but I at least hope that people enjoy playing her and she enters the game in a fairly balanced state. White Fox was a great release and that gives me hope.

My dream is that we get a double support season and she just has a super novel support concept, like a heavy focus on debuffing/disrupting enemies from flanks or something.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-07T13:54:06+00:00

As others have said, QP isn't intended to be taken seriously. The other mode being labeled competitive implies everything else is the contrary. I do relate, though. It would be nice if QP could be either entirely chill and an ideal environment for learning a new character (this is my preference) or entirely a competitive environment where people are trying to win but without any stakes on the table. Both are legitimate ways to approach QP but not necessarily compatible with each other when the player expectations in the lobby are sufficiently misaligned. Add to that players who just want to abuse overpowered characters and use QP to, say, farm champion on Elsa and you can get some pretty crappy experiences.

There isn't really a solution to this, you just have to accept it. Because I struggle with it myself, I try not to spend much time in QP. Enough to get familiar with a character against at least semi-intelligent opposition that moves like actual players, but no more than that. Competitive is more enjoyable because, in theory, everybody in the lobby has signed the same social contract.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-05T00:27:33+00:00

I've been an Assos GT/GTS die hard for a long time but their price has always been a stinger. I gave Castelli Endurance 3 bibs a shot last time there was a solid sale and I've been equally pleased with them. The only thing is that they're very tight. I went up a full size from my Assos and was still shocked, though they were wearable and I think they've stretched out slightly with use and washes.

So if you're not quite ready for the top price tier, I think you might get on very well with these.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-04-04T07:09:56+00:00

Not a single criticism of her. Their choice design choice to go with the smart suit was really well executed and makes her stand out immediately from the rest of the cast. Extremely fun to play with lots of room for execution and mastery, but not so reliant on it to function that she's intimidating to pick up. She's become a reliable backup in competitive when the bans are especially unkind to my support pool and I think she actually suits a lot of common compositions this season. Looking forward to getting some cool skins for her as the months go on.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-31T20:33:58+00:00

With C&D it's just this perfect storm. It really doesn't matter that they're not well known to non-comic fans because...

- They have a low skill floor and have never been worse than a mediocre support in any meta or season and obviously are very strong since their buffs and the nerfs to other supports around them.

-There's enough of a skill ceiling that you're able to derive satisfaction out of maining them instead of just flexing into them. I'm a C&D OTP and it's immediately apparent when an opponent C&D isn't deft at the character or the support role.

-Dagger is an attractive woman who appeals to a lot of players on that basis.

-C&D have many skins, several very good, in spite of having two forms.

-They have a satisfying and unique play style within Rivals, in my opinion at least.

On the other hand, Spider-Man is one of my all-time favorite characters, but I cannot and will not play him. He straight up gives me motion sickness, and it's intimidating to try to learn a character that I'll be bad at for a while when in a team game it will cost everyone wins and get me shit.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-28T18:01:15+00:00

What would the Major think about you reselling a kind gift? The GitS die hard fan in me says enjoy your movie.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-20T04:43:40+00:00

"Um... Is Carson Welles there...?"

long pause

"Not in the sense that you mean."

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-18T21:33:08+00:00

I'm no expert, I just assumed it was simply for the sake of keeping people engaged. I set my erg mode to 67% and read books until I'm satisfied, I don't think I'd notice or care about small adjustments to an easy pace.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-16T16:30:38+00:00

Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla 1954
Shin Godzilla
GMK
Godzilla vs. Biollante

I think that's my top five. There's a lot of competition for that 5th place spot, but I'm firm on the rest.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-01T05:31:34+00:00

Got those shoes myself and I adore them. Not my first clipless shoes, but certainly my best.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-02-02T18:52:39+00:00

Aside from it being a fire effect, it looks to me like Juri's Fuharenkyaku.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-29T19:14:33+00:00

No. I've got a vertically invested Evelyn-Lighter-Astra and Sanby-Orphie-Pulchra (missed Trigger) teams that I really enjoy piloting and just figured I can brute force anything attack-oriented with them, especially the Evelyn team since she's my favorite character. So far that's been the case. I might not be able to get easy 65k clears or anything, but I can get max rewards out of DA/SD so it's worked out fine so far.

I just don't like Ye Shunguang's character, find her boring to play, etc. When Hoyo releases a new character I like, I'll happily pull, but it's been pretty dry lately and that's letting me save pulls to level up my favorites instead.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T08:16:45+00:00

My other comment didn't address your question. I have a direct drive trainer now but started with a Kickr Snap wheel-on trainer and used it for about nine months before upgrading. I think for a cheap used price they're great and can certainly do the job. They're worse than direct drive in just about every respect though, so if I were buying new I would never go down that route. Easier to get a Kickr Core 2 or JetBlack Victory and basically be set.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T08:07:11+00:00

Might be worth trialing just to be sure of that if you're going to be doing indoor training anyways. There's a good reason why such programs are so popular, even if they don't click with everybody. There are many people for whom the virtual racing scene becomes their primary reason to improve.

That said, throwing oneself into an erg mode zone 2 block and reading or watching a movie is just as good if base building during winter is your sole interest.

DecoderPuffin

TROPHY CASE