Advice, stories, and interesting things for the older rider – passion for riding to better health.
More Great Thailand Road Bike Ride Photos
Finishing up this year’s riding season with a bunch of meaningful photos. I hope you enjoy them.
Please check out the maps of the 10 Best Thailand Rides at https://youtu.be/zxF3jxCiJpY
And more Thailand Road Bike Ride photos at https://youtu.be/89hf53o201s
Interactive Map of Thailand Road Bike Destinations at https://dataexponent.shinyapps.io/kenthailandlocations/
Where have all the local bike shops gone?
A Decathlon Sporting Goods Store has opened up here in Chiang Mai. There are a lot of very good things about Decathlon; great selection, great price, and a good quality spread.
But, it’s means that our local bike shops now have competition and that is hurting their businesses.
Kind of sad to see them go but we all have to adjust to the times.
http://www.decathlon.co.th/en/c/101-chiangmai-store
Riding when sick may not be the smartest thing to do…
Sometimes I just have to get out. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing because my voice totally went and I had a good sore throat for the next two days.
But, I saw the elephants https://twitter.com/oldmanriderr/status/843294956487770113,climbed a mountain https://www.strava.com/activities/903482202, and feel better about everything today.
Ride without Bike Shorts? Here’s why not.
People, and a lot of YouTube videos, spend a lot of time comparing one brand of bike shorts with another. They compare a laundry list of features and decide what is best.
But, no one seems to talk about what features are actually important to the rider. Anyone can read a product tag and parrot back marketing talk.
This video looks at the four most talked about bike short features; cut, material, synthetic chamois, and leg grippers and decides that only three are important – because the fourth feature is common to all bike shorts.
Riding without bike shorts – you can if you want. I know why I’ll continue to wear mine…
I started hearing some chain noise and thought I needed to adjust my derailleurs. I knew my riding over the last several months has been focused on hills but I didn’t realize how fast that would wear the chain and cassette.
I’ve been getting about the expected 2,000KM per chain and cassette but this time the amount of wear took me by surprise. I hadn’t even gotten to the mileage where I thought I should start checking for chain stretch.
My good friend (and bike whisperer) Andrew looked at the bike for about 3 seconds from about 5 feet away and pointed out the problem – derailleurs look find but the chain was riding bad around the cassette in back. Hence the noise.
The new chain and cassette make all the difference in the world. A technical side note is that the new cassette isn’t the same as what I had before (11/30). It’s a bit smaller (11/28). That’s going to make it a bit harder on the hills and I had a secret hope to either not change or go the other direction.
The Thailand bike shop has ordered a drop hanger so I can go to a larger cassette. But, for the near future I’ll go back to exploring the flats and valleys…
Locations and links to photos of interesting places to ride around Chiang Mai, Thailand.
View WhereIRide in a full screen map
When I crashed my bike, I ruined the front Shimano stock wheel and had to replace it with a new wheelset as you can’t just buy one wheel here in Thailand.
The first wheelset I purchased was a Reynolds Stratus Elite set. Unfortunately, they were total junk and the freewheel failed within the first two weeks and after factory replacement the spokes pulled thru the hub. Not impressive.
What intrigues me is the difference between the stiffness between the Shimano and DT Swiss wheelsets. There are three types of wheel stiffness; lateral stiffness (side-to-side) stiffness, radial stiffness (towards the hub), and torsional stiffness (twisting around the axis). I don’t think I can tell the difference between the wheelsets with respect to radial stiffness, the road vibrations feel the same. My riding style doesn’t push the limits of lateral stiffness so I haven’t experienced any difference there.
Experts (see links below) write that there is very little, if any, measurable difference between the torsional stiffness of various wheels. However, I’m sure I feel a difference in how my peddling power is transferred from the crank to the wheel. The peddling impulse when riding the DT Swiss wheels feels sharper than the Shimanos.
That’s a bit of a dilemma. I’m really convinced I feel something that is too subtle to measure. I think that means that what I’m feeling is not exactly what is being reported by the experts.
I would really like to understand the subtleties.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Debunking_Wheel_Stiffness_3449.html
http://caravan.hobby.ru/materiel/Bicycle_Wheel_-_Jobst_Brandt.pdf
| Continental GatorSkin DuraSkin Folding Tire (All Sizes)These tires have stood up to thousands of kilometers of Thai roads in all the heat and junk that Thailand could put them up against. These are not subtle tires, nor are they especially light. But, neither have they worn out quickly. I can’t say that for the other tires I’ve used out here. |
How, why, where and when to use Chamois Cream – and my advice on the kind of Chamois Cream to use along with my specific brand recommendation.
| My favorite Chamois Cream. It comes in a tube so it stays clean and ready to use without mess. There is no extra tingly stuff in the product. | |
| The tube is good but it’s tingly. My second favorite brand. | |
| Jar and tingly. Not my favorite. |
Final Product Review: Garmin Edge 810 – Time to give up on getting a software update to fix the Garmin 810 crash. It does the basics but crashes when adding maps and live tracking on a real ride. The next tech purchases will be Bluetooth HR, speed, and cadence sensors to use with an old cell phone.
Alternative choices for Heart Rate and Speed/Cadence Sensors: https://oldmanrider.com/tech
Link to How to Crash a Garmin Edge 810 video.