I cycle on the farm roads to the northeast of Austin, Texas USA. Due to the heat, I've switched my weekday rides to 5:00 am for now. This morning was the first day of dove hunting season, and the area where I ride is great for dove hunting.

On my way out, well before dawn, I saw some of the hunters setting up in fields along my route, and on the way back from my 2-hour ride, it was getting light and the hunters were starting to shoot.

I've lived in this area a long time, so I was aware that 1 September is the start of the season. I also understand that bird shot doesn't travel very far, so hunters shooting close to the roads aren't really dangerous. But it was interesting nonetheless.

Where I live it's widely accepted that one or two cars, sometimes more, will regularly run the light after it turns red every cycle. Why is this sort of thing seen by pedestrians as predictable and therefore not dangerous? Like everyone knows you should wait a second after getting the walk signal because someone might be flying through the intersection - and yet somehow cyclists running reds and biking on sidewalks is seen as more dangerous and pedestrians hate us more for it?

For context im 5,9 157kg ive been cycling back and forth on my street sprinting for training.its hard to describe how it felt but my legs felt stronger and my lungs felt huge like i could cycle forever i went past my stopping point and just kept going.before i realised i was in my main town centre i came down and cycled back it was alot harder but I've been thinking about it non stop i wanna chase that feeling again tomorrow

First of all: I really like this group

But sometimes I read questions or experiences and then my first thought is "wtf". But then I always realize that I'm Dutch and every dutchman (or woman) cycles from day one. We learn cycling when we are 2 yo and before that we are in our dads or moms bike. It is a second nature.

I think it would be nice if this group would have flairs so we know where you are from. Cycling in the flat, windy and rainy netherlands is just different from cycling in Zambia, west Virginia or rural england.

Today I almost got involved in a bad accident, through genuinely no fault of my own. On a relatively quiet road only minutes from my home, a bus almost T-boned me.
at the junction where the bus should yield, the driver did not stop and for some reason must’ve assumed there was no one coming and turned without looking. He was already travelling at speed towards the junction, I approximate 35kmh - I probably would’ve been crushed.

I was the only person on the road, in broad daylight and with blinking front lights. If he even looked for a split second he would’ve seen me.

Somehow I managed to swerve and brake quickly narrowly avoiding the bus - thankfully he was turning the way I was travelling rather than into me. I screamed which is the only thing that caught the attention of the driver, and in that split second I saw the shock on his face on what he almost did.

I’ve got in accidents before but even though this technically wasn’t one, this was the scariest experience I’ve had yet in many years of cycling and commuting in a super busy city, which has taught me to be ultra alert and defensive - probably what saved me here.

I think I’m still in a bit of shock… I almost can’t believe it even happened. Interested to hear how people have processed their own serious incidents.

I had a professional bike fit for my Canyon Grizl XL. I was complaining hand, knee, and lower back pain. We set the saddle to where it feels quite comfortable, so I’m happy with the lower body. But then he rotated the handlebars extremely high up to address my hand pain. Like were talking my hoods are at like a 45° angle from the ground. My drops are no longer comfortable at all since they’re twisted up so high, my hands are only slightly better off in the hoods, and my wrists were killing me on a ride I took after these adjustments. He told me not to change anything for awhile and try to get used to these adjustments, but I feel ridiculous with my bars pointed to the heavens, not to mention the new wrist pain. I guess I’m looking for validation that this method of alleviating my hand pain is pure nonsense.

EDIT: image here

I’ve been cycling pretty consistently this year, usually 3-4 times a week between Zwift and outdoor rides. I’ve worked my way up from shorter 20-30 km rides to being comfortable doing 50–65+ km, and I’m currently training for a 75 km ride with about 700 m of climbing. My fitness and confidence on the bike have improved a lot, but bike handling is still something I’m working on. I’m clipped in, and I’ve had a couple of stupid low-speed falls from unclipping too late, but otherwise I’ve been getting much more comfortable riding outdoors.

Yesterday I had my first actual crash. On a relatively flat section I tried getting out of the saddle while pedaling, something I haven’t really practiced much. As soon as I stood up I felt extremely off balance, lost control and went down hard on my left side. I scraped up my knee and elbow, bruised my outer thigh, scratched up the bottom of my brake levers and hit my helmet on the pavement. I was checked out by a doctor afterward and thankfully have no concussion or broken bones. I’m trying to figure out what I likely did wrong when I stood up and, more importantly, how to safely practice riding out of the saddle so I can get comfortable with it instead of being afraid to try it again.

I'm riding a 2006 Cannondale Carbon Synapse 1 with Campy Proton wheels (rim brake) and GP5k clinchers. 150-200mi/wk; one group ride, two quick rides before work, one solo long ride (50-75mi). Pace is usually 17-20mph, 25% bike path and the rest on roads.

Will I notice any difference going to these SunRise carbon wheels from Amazon? Does anyone have experience with them vs. the Superteam set?

As the title suggests, I'd like to buy an endurance bike with the above features. Ideally the internal storage door is NOT also where the bottle cage is mounted (possible rattling with bottle). A gravel bike with similar geometry can work as well.

Some options that come close include: Scott Addict, BMC Roadmachine, Grizl CF 6, and Light Carbon lcr018-d.

Looking to see if the community has other suggestions.

Sorry about the writing. I have ADHD and autism. I wrote it this way because I hated how it came out when I tried writing it the normal way.
Be me

Male 24 280 pounds heavy smoker for 4 years.

-Haven't ridden anything accept the car seat in over 6 years.
-Get prescribed antidepressants and start to feel normal for the first time ever.
-Feel great
-Feel better than great
-start going for walks
-Space them out every 2 days to recover
-First few walks 1h
-After that, a 3-hour walk
-the next one a 5 hour walk.
-Decided to go cold turkey on smoking
-Decide the day of making that decision, that now would be a great time to try riding a bike again.
-Proceed to go for a ride
-Immediate regret

-Convince myself to keep going

-The bike trail im on ends and theirs no sidewalk nearby either.
-im on the side of a 4-lane highway.

-Decide to continue
-The only thing I have to safely bike on is a white line so close to the curb that it was barely a foot and a half in width.
-Currently, tired as hell

-Starting to rethink my life's decisions

-Decide to head home

-Get off the bike and walk with it in the ditch.

-Too scared to use the little lane I neivly thought I could ride on.

-Total ride time 1 hour 
-Then comes today
-I'm 3 days into quitting smoking
-Feeling like absolute shit
-Decided I'd feel better if I tried riding 1 more time on an actual bike trail this time.
-Proceed to go out and start my adventure
-Things feel different
-Notice I'm not struggling as much. 

-Legs feel lighter, lungs feel better
-Realize that my lungs are starting to recover
-Make the decision to ride my walking trail

-The trail goes all the way around the lake I live by

-Everything feels good

-Take a break at the halfway point 

-Start to notice how weird my knees feel 

-Push on anyways

-Not too long after, regret hits.

-My lungs are burning, my mouth is dry, and I still have 2.8 miles out of 6.8 miles left.
Proceed to regret every decision made till this point.

-See long incline

-Die inside

-Decide now's not the time to be a hero and walk most of it.

-Get back on when the incline is more manageable

-The more manageable incline goes on for longer than I thought it would. 

-Tough it out because I'm almost home 

-Make it back 

-Dead at the door 

-Takes 30 min to stop breathing like the air is an all-you-can-eat buffet.

-recover

-Take a shower

-Feel accomplished

-Plan to keep doing it until i no longer need to walk up the incline.

I'm planning to add fenders to my all-road bike, and SKS makes 35, 45, and 55mm width tires. I'm currently using 40mm diamond-tread slicks, and will likely switch to 35mm slicks at some point. I'm only going to be riding in the rain (not mud). While the MFG suggested tire width is 28-37mm for the 45mm fenders, can I run my 40mm slicks underneath until I switch over to the 35s? Tires have no knobs and measure out to be exactly 39.5mm at their widest. I suppose 50mm might be ideal, but those seem to be hard to find.

I'd like to have a bike computer/gps instead of using my phone. I ride paved or crushed gravel trails. I already have a Garmin gpsmap 65s. It looks like I can record rides and sync with My Rides app or Strave via bluetooth. Anyone use something like that?

About to get my FIL second bike and wondered if I needed to actually buy bike shoes for it.

Question arose after I took his bike for a run a month ago and ended up fucking up my knee because of the bike not being to my measurements mostly from what I've read. Shoes have come up too.

Reading other posts seem to show no need for it, I just don't want to fuck up my knee again when I'll start using that bike.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I recently ordered my first road bike; a Cube Attain Pro 2027, and based on feedback im getting im concerned ive gone for the wrong size.

I am 188cm tall with an 86/87cm leg. I followed cubes official page which advised a 60" frame, however other cyclist have suggested I should have gone for a 58.

The only reference points I have are i am between an L and XL on a giant revolt and I own a GT Avalanche mountain bike which is an L frame.

Do I need to return this and go for the 58? Some have suggested cube frames run small so it may be ok?

Would appreciate any feedback.

Do i need to take special care of my bike after riding in the rain? I read online that the chain needs a full cleaning with degreaser and lube after every rainy ride. Is this true? Seems like a lot of work…

Going to my first cycling event in a few weeks time and I feel kinda nervous. I heard the cycling event I'm going to tends to be crowded. So I'm worried about the toilet situation as the queues would be very long and being a woman I can't just pee in the bushes. Anyone has any experiences or solutions pls share.

I am looking to buy my brother's first road bike. It just started and to stay within the budget, I am looking either for a used bike or a new Triban 520.

Would it be better to go with a used Cannondale Synapse with a Sram Apex groupset and rim brake, or a lesser quality Triban with disc brake?

The price is the same.

Noted that the Triban 520 is the only one available in my region

Thank you for your input!

According to a quick search, nearly every canal in the uk is very shallow, around a metre deep in the middle, and shallower near the sides, around knee deep, which is where someone would fall in. The water is still and canals don't have fast currents, etc

Seems like standing up would be no issue in knee deep water but my friend is adamant canals are lethal and said loads of people fall in and drown.

Sizing help: 175 cm, long torso, 780m is touching, so ~770 mm standover limit — Aeroad S vs longer stem vs other bikes?

175 cm / ~72 kg. Longer torso, shorter legs. Old 2007 Tarmac Pro 56.5 (56.5 length, 56 tall) cm feels huge, overreach and was too long for my short legs.

Fit (mm from BB):
• Frame stack/reach target: 570 / 395
• Saddle (80 mm-wide point): 671 stack / 193 setback
• Bar clamp: 665 / 478
• Hoods: 663 / 577
• Suggested bar/stem: 40 cm / 90 mm
• Want 165 mm cranks
• Goal: Eventually add clip on TT bars, nothing too crazy. Mostly want to use this for 70.3 in the future.

Stand-over: a bike with 770 mm published SO already leaves me ~1 cm. So most 56 / M aero bikes are out (Aeroad M is 801).

Looking at Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 AXS in S (539 / 390, SO 775). Reach is a bit short of 395/478. Stock PACE on S is 90 mm; I’d need 100 mm or Aero Drops (+10 mm) to get close.

54-class examples I’m comparing:
• Tarmac SL8 54 — 544 / 384, SO ~768
• Madone Gen 8 M — 546 / 384, SO ~762
• Aeroad S (Endurance standover is way too tall unless I get XS) — 539 / 390, SO 775, but stock cockpit is 90 mm integrated
• Giant Propel M — 545 / 388, SO 770
• Lauf Úthald S — 537 / 378, SO 753 (clears; reach looks short → ~110 mm stem?)
• Lauf Úthald M — 564 / 389, SO 779 (reach is closer; stand-over is tight)
• Others with two-piece bars in the same stack/reach band

I rode about 50 miles in my old Tarmac in a single session. It addresses earlier issues I had with overreaching and butt soreness. Now my back is slightly sore, but I am wondering if it is a training issue or bike issue. I was thinking overall I could benefit from sizing down. I am also debating on maybe focusing on budgeting and go with Lauf

I'm planning a 21 day round trip with a road bike and would love to hear your feedback for the route and any tips and recommendations you might have since im pretty fit bur not super experienced. i will be going by car from berlin to slovenia and then cycle slovenia, italy, croatia, albania, montenegro, bosnia back to slovenia.

i will be riding an aero road bike and sleep in apartments/hostels/hotels no camping. one bag on the bike with a minimalistic setup.

route:
https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/4671105/-balkan?share_token=a7BmwRfZMy3kCcJNe76t8H73jl6xha84Gciv0TVVbR0L5paEQ5&ref=collection&t_s=referral&t_cid=collection_share&t_ref_username=234722405100

I’m 20F, and this summer I decided I wanted to get into cycling again. On my second ride, I did 30 km, but towards the end I started feeling pain in my knees.
It’s been a few weeks now and I've stopped cycling since then. I didn’t know much about the technique at the time, but after doing some research, I’m pretty sure my cadence/RPM was too low during parts of the ride. I think my bike fit is fine because I never got any pain before when I used to go on rides with my dad.

The pain feels like it’s underneath/around my kneecap. Right now, it doesn’t hurt when I walk, and I can squat normally as long as I don’t go too deep. However, if I do a deep squat a few times, I start to feel a kind of burning sensation in my knee.
I’ve been trying some knee strengthening exercises but I'm worried that this pain might not go away. Fitness is a big part of my life and it helps with my mental health a lot. I've been skipping leg days at the gym and it's making me sad. Am I screwed?

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did it eventually go away, and what helped you recover? I’d really appreciate any advice, thank you!

I am considering these RXR 360 aluminium wheels.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFWBJGMY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Any experience here?

https://www.dtswiss.com/en/support/product-support?matnr=W0G1800NIDMSA21294

https://bike.shimano.com/products/components/pdp.P-CS-HG710-12.html

Are those compatible ?

Whenever I degrease and lube my drivetrain, I end up with a rubbing sound for several days. I have recorded the sound by putting my phone next to the rear wheel (please listen to link below). The odd thing is that there is still a noise when I am not pedalling so I'm confused why the drivetrain would make a noise even if I'm not pedalling. Unless the sound is coming from elsewhere and not the drivetrain?

https://vocaroo.com/1e9b9SfK6iCh

How can I avoid this noise? What am I doing wrong? I clean the chain and cassette with Muc-Off degreasing spray and then add one drop of all weather lube to each link. I then wait a few minutes then I turn the pedals backwards many times to get the lube worked in. Then a few hours later I wipe all sides of the chain so there is no visible lube. Basically I follow the instructions from YouTube videos.

Found this useful field for wind, which changing direction of wind depends on your driving...if anyone needs: https://apps.garmin.com/sl-SI/apps/dd0d924e-5f8b-4d60-990b-ab56d38837a2