OriginalArea

sammysnyders Good reference on the nexus. You seem to have it all worked out. A lot of good input in here. I side with the spin more argument. It is helpful in lo-speed tight manuvering. Very common in the urban landscape. It also makes stronger legs. Win, win. With a front brake you can go bigger but the issue becomes knees. I mentioned that earlier because it's easy to overgear for your fitness level. You ride enough to know what is comfortable so that should be your guide to proper selection. It is always good to spin though because as you move up to heavier gears you are able to spin a larger gear as fast as the lighter gear and thus become, wicked fast. This is acheived by increasing leg strength without stressing the knees improperly. Which is important because you want to be an old guy who rides his classic 80's pista when all the other old timers are pushing walkers at the 12oz nursing home. Just like poor grandpa simpson! Hope some of this is helpful too.

sammysnyders You must take into account a few things. Where are you riding? Hills or flat or a little of each. Do you have a brake? Do you ride alot?(leg strength, how's yours?) If you are riding a road bike, what is your most comfortable gear? All this is important for getting it right and saving your knees a little "discomfort". In my experience I used to ride a 48 - 19. All day in traffic in Boston. A larger cog in the rear engages more chain and teeth for more control and prolonged cog tooth life. In comparison to a 16 T or smaller. 48 - 16 is a steep gear if you have a 16 I would suggest starting at 42 and work your way up. Fill out the questionaire and I can help further.

CTC Hey I missed the SnowValley Team. Word! those guys develope many riders into the pro ranks. Very good. Saw them at all the big stage races. See you at Fitchburg, Altoona, Green Mountain.....Hahahahahahah, you're doin' some ridin' next year!

Hello CTC804 Congrats, 11th is nice. Good work. I assume 1st U23? Yes I'm racing this weekend, not sure about Saturday. If the weathers bad and I can get 2 rides then You'll see me twice. Snow would be the shit, we'll see. Have 2 pictures for you email if you want them. Travel safe see you this weekend. area_mz@hotmail.com

^^^^^ Isn't that the greatest. Thanks CTC804

Hey cloner Great pictures that's some jumping. You're crazy. There's some shit like that around where I live. Right next to the subway. super tight. mad trees and endless connections. It's funny everytime I ride by it's empty. Someone made it and keeps it up. The secret locals hiding in the trees and shit! It will take a bit but I'll furnish the pictures, OK. You'll be impressed, I promise. Later

Hey CTC804, Anything in the Elite field is respectable, but I know a true competitor doesn't want to hear that shit. For cross; the place to be is up hurr. There's alot of racing and training races. These people are cross crazy. You'll see this weekend. The big "G" buddy! Are you ready? Two days of pain! Ah HA HA HA !!!!! See you there CycloCrossWorld.comski! Area(I want a top 10)MZ

CTC804 I rode the local training cross race wed. nite. McCormack is always there. He talks in the back for a lap and then works his way to the front. So when he passed me I stayed with him for a 1/4 lap. Fast course but I NEVER road that fast through corners on a cross bike, EVER! Quite a learning experience. He lost me at the barriers. The best part was I used him to bridge the gap to the next group. I was an Elite racer for 2 min.!!!!! HaHaHa Later

Hey SteveAustin No other names for me. I've been sneaking around on here for like 2 years. King of hell hipped me to the Bicicletas. My hometown thread isn't worth posting in. Channel Zero is cool, funnier than sitcoms! And the bicycle channel. Kidlugz Thanks for the info that is a very special bicycle. I was interested because a friend of mine had a similar frame different Builder.(I'm not sure but I think it was a cyclops) The base of the seat tube was crimped like an old steel chainstay. Very coolsuper short wheelbase. Thanks Later

OK Bike People, General Announcement. Or Constructive Criticsim. When you take flicks of your fly pista you must do it justice. 1. Photo the drive side of the bike to show off the nice cranks. 2. Rotate the crank so the non-drive side crank arm is hidden by the seat-tube. This shows off most of the frame decals. 3. The finishing touch, make sure the valve stems on the wheels are in the same position. This lines up the tire labels as well. Assuming you have the labels lined up with the valves. Follow these three steps and you will have proffessional style photos of your pro setup. Just like a catalog. Now you're really the envy of your 12oz buddies. But seriously I have seen a few pictures up here that don't show the bikes in the best view. It's a shame cause there are some nice bikes people are sharing and we don't get to see the whole show. Hope this is helpful. Kidlugz nice ride. Details, Man, Details... are those low flange Campy hubs to match the cranks. Complete Campy gruppo? If so those hubs are excedingly RARE. The saddle is hot with the underside sealed up. What tubing? Columbus? We gotta know these things. I have that pegged for 83' but 85' tops. What's the story. A bike like that always has a history. In very nice condition too. Good post. Area..(T)...

Yo SteveAustin, The best way to get in shape IS to compete! Get out there and have fun! Cross is more of an individual race anyway. Sometimes the only person we compete with is ourselves but that's ok. Just finishing a race is respectable, and fun! How often do you get to go all out on a Closed course. No cars no nerds running in front of you. That's the real fun. What about the beer? Around here the beer is an important part of the cyclocross. How bout where you ride? It's still early season don't throw in the towel now! Go get muddy and stuff. OArea....(T).

Hello Bike Nerds Cloner, too bad on the rain, got pictures of your fullpipe spot. Sounds fun. Race Report for CTC804. First off bring that shorty to Gloucester Please! Verge New England Series #1 First ride with the "B's". Bad staging, TOUGH course wet, muddy lots of long wet grassy steep off-camber strips 2 run ups slightly down hill barriers. So easy to pop over them with the extra speed on the dismount. Short asphalt uphill, killer headwind and a twisting finish loop Crit style. Deep field 60 or so. 15 DNF's and a couple were lapped. I stayed in the middle and worked forward a bit but could only muster 27th at the end of the day. Not a bad entrance in the "B" field though. I only have to get better than Half of these guys! HA! Still have the work cut out for me. Like the road season wasn' long enough. Elite Men's McCormack is CRUSHING it! McCormack pulled away on the second lap and finished 2+ min. on these guys. His Cross A game is back in effect. Your nemesis Jesse Anthony put in an amazing ride, duking it out with the Canadian National Champion for 2nd place. J.Anthony was in third and with one to go he squashed a 15 second advantage made the pass for second and proceded to put like 20 seconds or so into the Canadian. The next guy was 20 or so seconds down in forth and the next gap to a real group(of 6) was huge. Yo, Eat your Wheaties and rest up Gloucester is gonna be Off Tha Hook! Area MudZones....Ha.Ha.Ha.

Hello CinnamonToastCrunch804 Congrats on the podium. Judging by the low number on your jersey you're racing Elite? Gloucester is gonna' be real tough. People are already talking about it. McCormack is flying already, he crushed everyone last week. Ran the run up once. Rode up it every other time! Amazing! Hey, I got second in my first race last week. Leaving "C" for "B" next week. Good luck out there get your miles in. Area (T) MZ

UCI Points Hey CTC Good to hear about your World Team ambitions. I'll see you at the races as I will be jumping into cross this year and doing as much of the NE calendar as possible. No more spectating for me. How's the road racing going? Are you racing Altoona? I will be riding the points race. If you want to bike talk you can get at me via area_mz@hotmail.com Ride safe. Area

Word Cyclocross this up coming cyclocross season i will be riding for www.cyclocrossworld.com they are sending me 2 ridley crosswind frames to use for the season, a rediculous discount on parts they cary and a full team kit (jersey shorts ect.) Hey CinnToastCrunk Congrats on the sponsorship. Not easy to obtain. I have been reading your race reports and it does not surprise me. You're young with potential. Will you be traveling up the coast to New England? Gloucester is a very big race among others. Worth the trip, all the heavy hitters show up and the courses up here are nasty. Even the local competion has depth. Gotta go grab some miles now, Ride safe nerds! *AREA*MZ*KBN*SWS*