Official non-motorized motorcycle thread.

[number9]

I've been trying to get these stupid pedals off for a few days now...

Tried pb blaster, socket and ratchet, 5 lb sledge...

Tell me an impact is a bad idea.

Attachment 54687

The last time I had a stuck pedal, I had to use a pedal wrench and a length of PVC pipe to act as a breaker bar. Trying to use an Allen key wrench on the back side of the pedal spindle is probably going to result in stripping the head of the screw...

Remember that you always want to turn the pedal wrench in the direction of the rear wheel to loosen a pedal. Ask me how I know!

[csmutty]

The last time I had a stuck pedal, I had to use a pedal wrench and a length of PVC pipe to act as a breaker bar. Trying to use an Allen key wrench on the back side of the pedal spindle is probably going to result in stripping the head of the screw...

Remember that you always want to turn the pedal wrench in the direction of the rear wheel to loosen a pedal. Ask me how I know!

I don't have a pedal wrench. Always thought it was a dumb tool... Now not so much...

See if I can fuck up the internal hex with the pneumatic impact.

[number9]

I don't have a pedal wrench. Always thought it was a dumb tool... Now not so much...

See if I can fuck up the internal hex with the pneumatic impact.

The Park Tool version is pretty cheap, maybe $10? Or you could get a regular 15mm wrench if it's narrow enough

[nhbubba]

I am an ignorant broke-dick when it comes to bicycles. Even I bought a park-tool pedal wrench.
At one point I had been looking to buy a narrow ground crescent wrench that would probably do the deed too. It would pull double duty when pulling (motorcycle) forks apart too.

[eboos]

The Park Tool version is pretty cheap, maybe $10? Or you could get a regular 15mm wrench if it's narrow enough

I got a cheap one at Walmart a few years ago for the same reason.

[csmutty]

First ride on the new wideboi tires. Man I should have done this a while ago. So much more comfortable! Went with the WTB byway 34's as the max I can fit in my frame is 35's.

[maxim_X]

Can we talk about seats? Is there anyway to get a clue about them before just buying and suffering? Any recommendations?

[Frankenstein]

Can we talk about seats? Is there anyway to get a clue about them before just buying and suffering? Any recommendations?

Lots of shops have demo seats you can borrow, and some have more substantial setups that measure your ass and recommend a specific size/style. If you haven't already, I recommend measuring the width of your 'sit bones' so you're at least trying seats that are in the right width range for your ass. More info on that: https://blog.bikefit.com/sit-bones-w...dle-selection/

[maxim_X]

Lots of shops have demo seats you can borrow, and some have more substantial setups that measure your ass and recommend a specific size/style. If you haven't already, I recommend measuring the width of your 'sit bones' so you're at least trying seats that are in the right width range for your ass. More info on that: https://blog.bikefit.com/sit-bones-w...dle-selection/

I didn’t know any of that was an option. I’ll try to get the wife to measure my big ass bones.

[eboos]

I made this one shorter, added my brand intro screen and a voice over. This was my first attempt at this, and I have the tendency to be self conscious.


Tomorrow I have a great opportunity and I will be filming the Natchaug Epic gravel race. This will be a great way to stretch myself creatively. I will be riding my Sportster with my son filming off the back and interviewing a local pro.

[number9]

I made this one shorter, added my brand intro screen and a voice over. This was my first attempt at this, and I have the tendency to be self conscious.

Who is your target audience? If it's people actually familiar with racing, the voiceover is probably fine; but if you're looking for people who have never raced and don't really know what goes on, you could definitely add more commentary to describe the situation (and, ideally, your plan for it).

My old man was a fairly successful sports commentator back in the day. His golden rule when doing TV coverage was that "you want to explain the things that are not immediately obvious just by watching". Yeah, we can see that a group crashed, but we don't know why it happened: maybe it was ice/sand, or maybe a guy in the middle of the pack ran out of talent and took everyone else out. We can see that you lost a breakaway, but we don't know why it happened: maybe you were already out of gas, maybe you were saving yourself for the next attack etc.

[JettaJayGLS]

I will add my opinion. Take it for what its worth.

I've never understood the outside draw to watch amateur bike racing footage, other than:
1: being invested in the local racing scene (likely as a racer)
2: physically being in the race and wanting to catch a glimpse of yourself
3: there was a mega crash you heard about (such as when my friend got the through axle stuck in his leg).
4: trying to explain the event to a family/friend that has no idea what's going on

The fact that channels like "The Vegan Cyclist" go viral from posting videos of mediocre results in office park crits is hard to comprehend.

This extends from the cat 5 fields to the cat 1s to the legit pro races in the US (of which their are very few). I could watch the last couple laps of Justin Williams on board camera, but other than that, on board footage does not actually show anything in the race. I've raced 1.5 hour long Pro US crits. Its boring most of the time, just waiting for the last 5 laps.

On the other hand, I absolutely LOVE watching bike racing. But I'm talking about actual, filmed events, from outside the peloton with a helicopter (or corner cam's in the US pro crits). The view from inside the amateur peloton is just boring with significantly limited view, no idea who the other racers are in someone else's local scene, and no idea what's going on other than the 3 riders in front of you. I probably know 90% of the riders in that frozen 4 B race yet I can't tell who a single person is, or any form of tactics going on. Its just lost without having the personal experience and frame of reference to tie back to.

My view is exactly the same for local motorcycle racing, or track days, or the guy riding XC MTB with a helmet cam by himself.

Now, I know other people enjoy watching amateur biking racing, I have friends that subscribe to some channels and re-watch races on the trainer. The population is small and I just don't get it.

There is plenty of personal satisfaction of doing the videos. I like taking photos just for the enjoyment. I get it as much as I don't.

[JettaJayGLS]

On the other hand, I'm back west and outside riding again. Very, very slow, heavy, and out of shape. Time to do something about it.

[eboos]

I totally get that there is a lack of broad appeal in watching a bunch of local dudes do circles around a parking lot. The YouTube thing for me is a learning experience and will evolve over time. I will be offering much more varied content and I aim to steer away from on board race footage as a mainstay. I just finished editing the Natchaug Epic video and it is quite unlike my previous videos. Big thanks to Ben Wolfe for the interview! On a humorous note: my gimble quit on me right at the beginning of the interview and I had to reset without it.



The motorcycle footage was all unusable. I had a mini freakout when I thought I didn't have enough footage to complete this project. I didn't eat or drink the whole day and was going back and forth from Eastford to Thompson on the Sportster in a full motorcycle kit. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I had to bail out on my race the next morning. Didn't view the footage until Tuesday morning, and when I did I was pissed that I may not have enough.

[DirtDawg21892]

I've been trying to get these stupid pedals off for a few days now...

Tried pb blaster, socket and ratchet, 5 lb sledge...

Tell me an impact is a bad idea.

Attachment 54687

you have any luck getting that pedal off?

[csmutty]

you have any luck getting that pedal off?

I got a pedal wrench and no not yet. Have yet to try the pipe on the end of the wrench though.

[number9]

Bit of a long shot, but can anyone recommend a good pedal with SPD on one side and a cage on the other? This would be for the in-laws' Peloton to make sure everyone can ride it.

[Frankenstein]

Bit of a long shot, but can anyone recommend a good pedal with SPD on one side and a cage on the other? This would be for the in-laws' Peloton to make sure everyone can ride it.

Not sure you'll find anything that comes with cages but you could probably add them to these: https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/produ...0/PD-M324.html

[csmutty]

Bit of a long shot, but can anyone recommend a good pedal with SPD on one side and a cage on the other? This would be for the in-laws' Peloton to make sure everyone can ride it.

https://www.amazon.com/Wellgo-WPD-E0...8177556&sr=8-5

[number9]

https://www.amazon.com/Wellgo-WPD-E0...8177556&sr=8-5

Thx brosef

[DirtDawg21892]

This year has been a huge explosion for mountain biking. I told myself last year that I would keep a positive attitude and welcome all the newcomers, and I'm genuinely glad that more people are coming to the sport, but I'm really starting to get annoyed with the crowds. I just had a look at Highland's booking schedule, the mountain won't even open for several more weeks and most of the weekends through the end of june are already sold out. I got a season's pass like usual, but between the crowds and the covid restrictions, the lift line was regularly 45+ minutes long on the weekends. Having graduated and taken a job with a fairly rigid work schedule, weekends are going to be pretty much the only time I can go. The season hasn't even started yet, but I'm starting to regret buying the season pass.
Granted, the whole pass was less than two track days, but still, I would like to actually use it to ride rather than just stand in line all day.
How do you guys feel about the riding spots being full of new riders and parts being totally unavailable? have you guys been affected too or am I just turning into a karen?

[Tricky Mike]

Yeah, I can see some of that. My local spot (that's been my local spot for over 30 years) is busier than ever. The flip side is that there are more trails, and in better condition than ever.

Sucks about Highland. They really could use more than one slow lift, but I'd say that too many customers beats the hell out of too few. Lots of younger people out riding, MTB tech is through the roof, etc... Meanwhile Yamaha discontinued the R6 due to sales. I typically see ZEEERO young people out riding motorcycles. In some ways global cooling is way scarier than global warming.

[nhbubba]

Having graduated and taken a job with a fairly rigid work schedule, weekends are going to be pretty much the only time I can go. The season hasn't even started yet, but I'm starting to regret buying the season pass.
Granted, the whole pass was less than two track days, but still, I would like to actually use it to ride rather than just stand in line all day.

Not an avid enough MTB'er to comment on this specifically. Hell, I'd love to just get out once; too many competing priorities.

But this, quoted here. It is the way of the world my friend. Figure out a way to get out of that 9-5 grind or get used to it. I went through this with skiing. But the time I was making enough money to pay for a nice season pass I was too busy to use it. Distinctly remember my buddy and I pulling off a random exit from 93 one morning to take turns calling in fake sick on a fresh powder day. We didn't dare call from the road as we figured the road noise would be a dead giveaway.

In short, my solution has to be come a curmudgeon Karen. Welcome to the working world ma boy!

[JettaJayGLS]

Traffic is definitely up. I don't mind it. There is enough space here and everything is really one-way. Crowds in New England would be worse as most trails are more XC oriented and two directions. Worrying about heads up traffic sucks. A busy day at KT was especially awful.

They have started to ban E-bikes on a lot of the legal trails out here. They results in 2-3x more runs. Combined with the extra weight, they really beats the shit out of everything. Could easily do 2-3 seasons worth of damage in 1.

[OneCheekRider]

Since COVID, I have been mountain biking significantly less or basically not at all. A large part of that is me moving away from trails that I could ride to combined with my 9-5. I've noticed not only more bicycle traffic but also more hiking traffic, the latter making me a little weary on some trails despite my rather loud bell.

I keep saying I'm going to get a season pass to the mountain bike park but looking like it may be more wise to pay as I go. Last year when the park was open, I ended up riding the dirty bike bc the lift-line was extremely long on the weekends. I've been commuting on my road bike M-F so the desire to cycle on the weekends is coming down. I'll keep up the 9-5 thing until I figure out a better way to make money or win the lotto.