Author Topic: Chat!  (Read 38561 times)

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Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #20 on: March 03, 2011, 04:20:21 PM »
And check your email.
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Offline sanders

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #21 on: March 03, 2011, 04:22:12 PM »
already sent it.
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Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #22 on: March 03, 2011, 04:46:14 PM »
Crap, should have read this one first.  Oh well.
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Offline sanders

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #23 on: March 04, 2011, 08:08:23 PM »
http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-201103-new-york-bike-commuting-sidwcmdev_154507.html

The whole article is a good read if you have a couple minutes i recommend checkin it out.

 Here is one snipit I took from the article I know we have discussed bike infrastructure before on the message board but this brings up some good points.

"In thinking about how to improve driver-cyclist relations in America, the easiest thing is to simply get more people on bikes. Growing up in the small Wisconsin town of Twin Lakes, Mionske notes, he "didn't see more than two road bikes in my entire childhood." Now, he jokes, "you've got packs of 40 guys riding around pissing people off." But with each new cyclist, he says, it's no longer "the Other; it's us."

Few American cities have done a better job of getting people on bikes than Portland, Oregon, where around 7 percent of the population bikes to work and children cycle to school in huge "bike trains." And yet, last year, like many recent years, no cyclist was killed. (By comparison, Tampa, Florida, a city where fewer than 1 percent of the population commutes by bike, had nine cyclist fatalities in four months in 2009.) Greg Raisman, a traffic-safety specialist with Portland's Bureau of Transportation, says one key to getting people biking is providing infrastructure—actual or symbolic. The city features "bicycle boulevards" and bike-only traffic signals, and it's planning new six-foot-wide bike lanes. It recently put some 2,100 "sharrows" bike symbols on 50 miles of residential streets. He says the symbols send messages to motorists and are, as many Portlanders have told him, changing "people's mental maps of the city."

"We need to get people to change the way they think about transportation," Raisman says. While all road users need to step up in terms of behavior, he believes, calling for cyclists to be licensed, as some critics have lately done, isn't the right place to start. "I recently got my driver's license renewed," he says. "They just asked me if my address was the same." Among the things he was not asked was whether he was aware of traffic-code changes like the 2007 Vulnerable Road User law or a new Oregon rule that makes it legal for cyclists to pass on the right so they can filter to the front past queues of cars stopped at traffic lights."

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Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #24 on: March 04, 2011, 08:49:39 PM »
I think I'm partway through reading the article in the magazine.  I think that last paragraph holds a very good point: why are we not retesting (on paper) drivers when they need their licenses renewed?  It could be something as simple as a pamphlet when you walk in the door, you read it while you wait in line, and you answer some softball questions--but at least it makes you understand that there have been some traffic law changes.

And DC's argument that we need multimodal transportation information pamphlets when you buy your parking pass at UND.
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Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #25 on: March 05, 2011, 01:17:31 AM »
The saddest part about life is simply growing up to understand the world.

There will NEVER be license retesting, because seniors VOTE! Driving in this country is more of a joke than the spandex wearing leg shaving cyclists getting mowed down every day.

I'm bitter.
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Offline OUWxGuesser

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2011, 11:14:06 AM »
Quote
There will NEVER be license retesting, because seniors VOTE!

I got "tagged" by an elderly lady this past summer so ya, you won't find me disagreeing with licence retesting.  This town seems especially bad.  Besides the lady that hit me (rolled a right turn on red, even after making eye contact with me),  I've seen elderly drivers MULTIPLE times driving down the wrong side of Demers... and that's a divided road!  You really have no further to look than the story this past summer of the 92 yr old who killed the motorcyclist.  I've been forced to hit the brakes in my vehicle because they switch lanes into me.  You honk and they are completely oblivious.   

I just hope that if I get to that stage in my life,  I'm not an ornery, hypocritical bastard and voluntarily stop driving.





« Last Edit: March 05, 2011, 11:14:50 AM by OUWxGuesser »

Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #27 on: March 05, 2011, 08:07:40 PM »
All my parents said the same thing. However there driving is HORRIBLE, and I told them that it was time to take a refresher, and they flipped out.
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Offline OUWxGuesser

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #28 on: March 06, 2011, 03:11:52 PM »
Any of you go out on the greenway today?  Saw a bunch of tracks including a fatbike, some MTB, and perhaps a thinner 700c .  Nothing like making some fresh tracks in the snow!


Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #29 on: March 06, 2011, 03:40:51 PM »
I suspect that the fat trax were Dave Sears (Godfather). Since he was debating whether or not he was well enough to go or not, and I don't even think he owns a bike without 4" tires on it? lol...
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Offline redtailin

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #30 on: March 06, 2011, 04:08:08 PM »
However their driving is HORRIBLE

ftfy
3 gears of single speed....sit, stand, walk.

Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #31 on: March 06, 2011, 05:35:39 PM »
These people plan on giving people the ol' one-two by having pamphlets called "Hate Cyclists?" laying around, and then when you open them up, BAM you get to read a story about someone who has died.

http://saveacyclist.wordpress.com/about/
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Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #32 on: March 29, 2011, 07:34:02 PM »
There's a little bit about Buffalo in this one...

MBA: Highway Removal from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Offline sanders

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #33 on: March 29, 2011, 08:43:58 PM »
umm, interesting topic. This is part of the reason i want to get more into the transportation engineering side of civil. but there are parts of transportation engineering that i don't really want to deal with also...would be cool to be able to implement this though
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Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #34 on: March 29, 2011, 09:33:13 PM »
fwiw... its not strictly true that you can't see lake erie from Buffalo. Because you very clearly can. However for some reason (Robert Moses (as mentioned)) decided to rip out one of the greatest parks ever created (Part of the olmstead park system) and put in the 33. The 33 is rather useful... but my dad complains about it alot. And it is now essentially the division of the city... The skyway sucks. Always has, always will, and with our newfound resurgence to our waterfront, it has become the #1 target. Plus... it really doesn't go anywhere at all?
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Offline Sal Atticum

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Offline OUWxGuesser

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #36 on: March 31, 2011, 01:00:57 PM »
With graduation approaching this summer and the thoughts of FINALLY making some real money... I foresee a new bike on the horizon. 

I was thinking long and hard last night about what I wanted.  A road bike would be great, however, if you give me the option of taking the road vs the road less traveled, I would choose the latter.  Perhaps my favorite trip I've done so far was to the Pembina Gorge last summer.  Lots of gravel roads + double track ATV trails.   My 26" MTB got the job done ok but usually by the time I get to mile 20 or so, comfortableness starts dropping.  With the wind almost always present out here, drop bars would be nice.

After browsing the internets I stumbled upon the Salsa Fargo frame.  http://salsacycles.com/bikes/farg/   Seems almost exactly what I want.  With wider tires, it would be perfect for the off-road adventures of this area.  With a pair of slicks, however, you're set for racing  around on the pavement, greenway, etc.

Thoughts?  Are there other frame only options out there I could go with that you guys are aware of?


Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #37 on: April 01, 2011, 05:21:52 PM »
OU Search for CX or Cyclocross bikes. There are dozens of frames out there... I've recently had experience with the Raleigh One Way, and the All City Nature Boy.

Finding a "road bike" (aka cross bike) to go off road is no problem, finding one to go on road is no problem, finding one that has what you want on it is tricky... in terms of fenders, rack mounts, chainguards etc...
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Offline OUWxGuesser

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #38 on: April 02, 2011, 12:50:44 PM »
Quote
Finding a "road bike" (aka cross bike) to go off road is no problem, finding one to go on road is no problem, finding one that has what you want on it is tricky... in terms of fenders, rack mounts, chainguards etc...

For real - the Fargo is  tour oriented as it has bazillions of mounts for things.  It seems to me that steel might be the way to go for these cross type frames?  I'm a bigger guy so I'd be skeptical of the durability of carbon, etc.  Not to mention these push the price up quite a bit.  I suppose aluminum is always a possibility like my current MTB but I would imagine the durability isn't as high as the steel. 

Offline Plantains

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Re: Chat!
« Reply #39 on: April 02, 2011, 03:25:06 PM »
Firstly, you'll hear many a things about material durability.

All of them have their strengths and weaknesses.

Carbon is easily the strongest. EASILY. But in a crash, I'd be wary of riding it again without having it inspected fully by a professional. I know people who have been KILLED by riding carbon bicycles that had some sort of structural compromise that wasn't inspected properly, and their bicycles folded up on them at the worst possible moment. Granted... that's a rather extreme circumstance.

Aluminum is great because it doesn't rust, and it's strong and lightweight... you'll notice this by standing on top of an empty pop can and noting that it will support your weight easily. But once someone dents the side, it will instantly crumple.

Steel is the heaviest, it rusts, and is generally mushier. But it's a little more resilliant. That should be read as forgiving. Steel is a workable metal. So you can bend things back and ride with some damage that would compromise another frame type (generally). Though I wouldn't really ride a frame that is dented, because steel is just as susceptable to folding up on you that aluminum is.

What I would suggest is... reading THIS article: http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html (also available in our resource thread btw) read it THOROUGHLY and COMPLETELY and UNDERSTAND that Sheldon Brown is regarded almost unanimously as THE authority on bicycles. There are a couple more articles at the end of that one. I suggest looking through those as well.

In short... once you realize that your biggest concern should be finding a bicycle with the correct geometry for your purpose. You'll end up with a bicycle that fits you, is comfortable, compliant when it needs to be, yet sharp when it needs to be. I can tell you that the BEST bicycle that I have EVER ridden was a hydroformed aluminum bicycle (read: generally stiff and painful (you'll know better if you read that article I posted)) and it was EASILY by far and away the BEST bicycle frame I have ever owned. In fact, even though I crashed very badly and wrecked the from completely, I still keep the frame. I'm hoping that someday someone will invent some technological wonder that can repair it :) .

Seriously though. The FRAME is the most important piece of the puzzle. Material is only one VERY small component of the process. If you get a frame that is designed properly for YOU, you'll find a bike you'll have forever. I can tell you that I'm still looking for such a bicycle and I'm no rookie either. I've owned (off the top of my head) 11 bicycles since that one amazing bicycle (1999 Marin Juniper Trail in case you were wondering) in all materials except carbon (though I've ridden a few carbon bikes), and I'm STILL looking for something that is even half as close to perfect as that one was.

Ask more questions... I'm bored and am unemployed. :P
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