All right, all right… the last one: He is pulling our legs!. He is usually more serious than that, but today Chain seems especially happy with the idea of getting that bike… He´s head over heels (the very last one, I promise) in love with the damn full suspension bike! A dog behind me? No. Thinner tires? No. Reducing weight? Good try but NO!. Just think about it. What makes my hybrid slower than a rodie?. My train of thoughts was more or less as follows. 25% is about weight, 5-8% is about friction… and the rest is ABOUT AERODYNAMICS, isn´t it?.:scratch So you have two important clues. It´s a device and has to do with aerodynamics when riding… Keep it simple. You get it?. :wink: A E R O B A R S LOL After reading this: http://www.foromtb.com/showthread.php?775100-ACOPLES-BARATOS-DEL-DECATHLON Found a real bargain: http://www.decathlon.es/prolongador-tipo-triathlon-id_8084773.html Why don´t give them a try???. I will check it out and post a thread... I will be as objetive as I can, but my position when riding on those aerobars is lower, so it´s a good start... More to come.
Today I rode 60 kmts with the aerobars installed and as promised here are the first figures I took: Distance: 60 Kmts. Weather conditions: Sunny, slightly windy, 27.5 degree. % of the time riding on aerobars: +- 60% Average Speed: 24.7! I usually average 22.3 or so without the device My average speed has been increased 2.4 Kmts/h riding on the aerobars not all the time. Not too bad taking into account that I want my pace to be relaxed and confortable -remember is a hybrid that I ride-. I definitely like them for my hybrid. It´s not a rodie (I don´t wanna her to be!), but the gap is not so wide now Aerodynamics makes a difference for sure!. :fumador Cheers!
Ey Kona! Long time no see! How r things doin´ mate? Yeah, It´s the Sunny Spain... It should be colder but this year summer seems to last more than ever... Great time tho to ride a bike yet. Soon it will be the other way around, just like the weather over there... So we have to take advantage!.
Not great over here, son not been well:sad::sad: Had to sell my hei hei frame as to big, gutted. On the look out for a nice 19" kona frame or a manitou full suspension frame.
Sorry to hear that. I hope your son is ok now. Things will look up, you´ll see. Cheer up man! Sometimes being on the look is better than getting things. The world is full of bikes waiting for you to get them!. Keep your spirits high!
They´ll do. I´m sure they´ll do. Well, Not me, but Chain. He is looking for his first full suspension bike after riding in the dirt in Galicia on summer. As an expert on the full-suspension subject you can always give him some tips!. He is enjoying & listening to people to buy a decent one. So, a UK opinion will be welcome as well! If you had to buy something new, what would u go for? A new Kona I presume!...
New wise i wouldn't know as i only ride old school bikes. I did have a new kona hei hei full suspension , but sold it to my friend and it is a great bike. He says it is great bike and i was stupid to sell it on.
Tonight Chain will be reading this. Having that reputation you are so keen on as an old school biker, he can never rule out Kona´s new bikes. http://www.konaworld.com/bikes.cfm Peace be with us mate.
No, I´m not. I haven´t decided yet what my style is. I like riding on the road a lot, but sometimes I feel like going on the dirt. You Konw, i´m a hybrid man. Not good at anything. For the moment my hybrid is just perfect for me... Very nice Kona´s there, you are rigth. See U!
Hello Konanut! Good to hear from you again. Interaptor, an aerobar on a hybrid bike? They usually go on road bikes. By the way, I really think you ought to get one of those. I'd say get a decent road bike and then a bit later down the road, go for a decent mountain bike. Well, that's what I did. First my hybrid, then my road bike, and now I'm rolling on the dirt. I mean, if you're thinking about aerobars, why not get a road bike to go with it? I'm going to have to put my project to buy a full suspension bike on hold for a bit: the funds just aren't there now But happily, I have four bikes I can ride so I suppose I can bear the wait.
Yeah! That´s it. I came across the idea when I saw several models from Novara´s “multi-posture-bar” –let´s call it that way- of their hybrid bikes. I also was skeptical about it, kind of a strange thing an aerobar on a hybrid… but I used photoshop to figure out what my bike would look like… and found it original and even attractive. I had another problem to work out. Sometimes my wrists are in pain when riding too long on my standard bar. So, I needed that problem to be solved. Two birds in the bush! For instance, take a look at these hybrids to see what I mean by multi-posture-bar: http://www.rei.com/product/807245/novara-safari-bike-2012 http://www.koga-america.com/traveller-g1.html After riding an AeroHybrid (first word in use to describe my bike now) I have to say i´m really glad to see how effective it can be. I usually go on relaxing rides but when I need an extra-speed I go down on my bars and get boosted! Same thing when I need to rest my wrists. I also think that my standard hybrid has a pretty sportive image. So these aerobars are not so strange to her… I have a third reason to keep the aerobars installed. You can feel the bike closer to you. I mean, when you ride on the aerobars your position allows you to hear, feel and see almost every part of your bike working. It´s a new feeling when on the road that I like so much. My hybrid is of course slower than a road bike, but is not so hard to ride. If I had a road bike I would probably suffer a lot because I´d challenged and would be challenged by other bikers. I mean, I would be pushing my limits all the way.. I will take into consideration to buy a rodie sometime in the future, but for now I prefer to ride in a relax mode when I want to and to ride in a sporty-mode on my aerobars when It´s necessary to have that extra speed that allows me to seem like a bike champ singing: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE… la-la-la-la-lá ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE… la-la-la-la-lá LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED … and an AeroHybrid! and an AeroHybrid... Cheers!
David, I´m curious about something. Do you really need a 5th bike?. I mean, Isn´t your mtb enough to take control of the descents on the mountain decently? Will a full suspension bike noticeably more efficient and will it please you in terms of time or comfortability when you go ride on the mountains? What a difference does it makes? Big deal? Cheers!
Hi guys, I keep reading you time to time, but I dont feel like writing in english most of the times Interaptor, for most of bikers I would say a hardtail is more than enough, and actually at same price range is better than a full suspension one (less weight, no loose of strength when pedalling, better components). The problem comes when you start going on REALLY difficult places, and maybe you can go with a hardtail (in fact we do) but you notice you need something more. First, for a security matter, and then because is much more fun... Have you seen this? [video=vimeo;29100324]http://vimeo.com/29100324[/video] This is a good reason to get a full suspension...:cunaoo
Doohan, good to hear from you in English! And posting that video was a great idea. Interaptor, do you remember a couple of pages ago I was raving about a bike ride down the Carril del Gallo, well, this is a video of that ride. Both Doohan and I are there (and five others): I'm easy to pick out because I'm the only one in red. In any case, this was advanced stuff, especially at the speed the pros were going. I tell you, it sure got my adrenaline going. And bear in mind that from the video you don't really appreciate how difficult it is. In any case, for this kind of enduro ride, a good full suspension bike makes the descent smoother so you gain more control. And control is what it's all about if you don't want to be maimed for life, or worse! In any case, Doohan aptly sums up the arguments in favor of a fully: when you really start getting into the rough stuff, you need all the help you can get. By the way, Doohan, I still haven't managed to download this video. Every time my computer crashes. I've signed up for Vimeo, I go to Peter's page and click on the video, I scroll down and push the download button. Then it says it's buffering, and after a few seconds nothing else happens. If I keep messing with it my whole computer crashes and I have to reboot :angry So Interaptor (or should I start calling you AeroHybrid Man?), I was surprised to see areobar-like things on hybrid bikes. I was thinking of something more like this where it looks like the guy is praying
Ey Doohan! Nice video there mate!. Chainring is right. Concerning bikes filming whatever the difficult is, it seems less dangerous than it actually is. Wow! I can feel it! Adrenaline all over you, epic rides baby!!!. I´m not at home now, Everywhere ADSL connection, and the video downloads slowly but ok. Not the best video in terms of speed but I´m able to see all of your descending technique… I´m pretty sure those rituals require expertise enough and a responsive bike. I see, a hardtail bike can get the job done but that´s the job of a full suspension one!. I have searched the web to see if there have been “Aerohybrid men” before me. In fact, it´s not a common idea, but I was not certainly a pioneer in doing so. At first it´s difficult to go straight, aerobars are so sensible… but overall I´m glad to have them installed. On October I´ll put them to their limits. I want to know what difference it makes riding 100% of the time on the aerobars. I´m under the impression that I can easily increase my average speed up to 4 or 5 Kmilometers/h. In the meantime, I will think of another term to add to the proper name that describes me better. Aero-Hybrid-Man… Perhaps I will run exclusively on fruit, so I will become Aero-Hybrid-Fruit-Man!!! Cheers!
Hi Aero-Hybrid-Man! So why are you thinking of running exclusively on fruit? Are you a vegetarian? Actually it may surprise you to learn that I am; actually a pescatarian because I occasionally eat fish. In any case, I gather you've already got the aerobars on your bike? So how's it working? Are you now speeding along in an aerodynamic position, passing up all the others? By the way, you mentioned a while back that you had a fall. Well, it was my turn last weekend. Going down an enduro style downhill, my front tire got caught on a rock and I went over the handlebars and landed on my left side and back, but I was incredibly lucky because I was trying out some elbow guards, and when I landed you could hear a loud "thwack" of the elbow guard hitting the ground. I think it saved my ass :scratch No, my elbow. Lucky, lucky. Today I've got muscle pains and I feel like I'm a thousand years old, but thankfully I'm in one piece. I think I'll always wear those elbow guards on any kind of ride that's a bit challenging. And maybe I'll get knee guards too. Actually my little fall was video taped, so when it's hung up I'll send you the link so you can see me flying :rolf Meanwhile, here's a photo from the ride, which by the way was in Patones, new territory for me. Very pretty! Uploaded with ImageShack.us
