What are your cycling gear pet peeves?

[Tony S]

Ever wondered how those "known elevations" on (even remotely fine enough for cycling) map grids were established?

It certainly wasn't through land-based survey.



There is, however, software that references a grid to determine where your actual sea level is. The grid is based on the EGM96 model.

EGM96: The NASA GSFC and NIMA Joint Geopotential Model

cddis.nasa.gov

I just want to know how tuna has such in depth knowledge about freaking EVERYTHING. I've been watching this for something like a decade now. Either he never sleeps or pugski is his full time job.

 

[scott43]

I just want to know how tuna has such in depth knowledge about freaking EVERYTHING. I've been watching this for something like a decade now. Either he never sleeps or pugski is his full time job.

I'm thinking he's a Joe Turner type... A book about oil that never sold..that was translated into Spanish not Russian...

 

[Ross Biff]

Yes, yes, yes! Especially now that a few companies have figured out a little channel under the downtube with a slick, lightweight plastic cover to satisfy the aesthetes.



I do enough of this that it's no big deal, but agree it is annoying if you haven't developed the "touch".

FWIW, some of the new Hayes brakes use simple grub screws to align the pads. Great concept, but I haven't actually put hands on them.

Oooohhh! Tiny grub screws and dirt! Let's see how that pans out. Could be my next pet peeve!

 

[Tom K.]

Oooohhh! Tiny grub screws and dirt! Let's see how that pans out. Could be my next pet peeve!

Certainly a concern, but I at least find the concept of perfectly aligning the pads without having to grab a 5 mm t-handle hex wrench to do "the dance" kind of seductive!

 

[coskigirl]

New pet peeve and a sign of the times. My mask makes my sunglasses fog. I only wear the mask while riding if I'm on a busy multi-use path. That only happens on rare, short segments. In 36 miles yesterday it was less than 1/2 of a mile. I do it there because my area has become a hornet's nest of indignant and self-righteous people and you'd think I was the spawn of the devil if I don't wear it there. Anyhow, when I put my mask on my sunglasses become a foggy mess and I have trouble seeing at times. Oh, I also wear it when I happen to have my llama mask with me and I pass some llamas at a farm.

 

[markojp]

This bothers me too - imagine loop rides where you regularly descend 200 feet more than you climbed - even though you wind up at the same point?

My Garmin gps/speedo is all over the map on speed for any and all riding under trees. But having started cycling before speedos (and anything other than hair net helmets ) were even a thing, I don't get too bent out of shape by speedo funk.

 

[markojp]

New pet peeve and a sign of the times. My mask makes my sunglasses fog. I only wear the mask while riding if I'm on a busy multi-use path. That only happens on rare, short segments. In 36 miles yesterday it was less than 1/2 of a mile. I do it there because my area has become a hornet's nest of indignant and self-righteous people and you'd think I was the spawn of the devil if I don't wear it there. Anyhow, when I put my mask on my sunglasses become a foggy mess and I have trouble seeing at times. Oh, I also wear it when I happen to have my llama mask with me and I pass some llamas at a farm.
View attachment 102571

If possible, try pinching the nose brace together a bit to move the bottom of your lens out and away from your face a bit more.. mask under rather than over?

 

[coskigirl]

If possible, try pinching the nose brace together a bit to move the bottom of your lens out and away from your face a bit more.. mask under rather than over?

I do move my sunglasses out a bit when I'm actually riding. There is no metal in this particlar mask so nothing to pinch together on that which is good for a mask that I shove in my jersey pocket just for these small amounts of time. The photo here was a super fast one and I didn't mess with the sunglasses at all.

 

[scott43]

My Garmin gps/speedo is all over the map on speed for any and all riding under trees. But having started cycling before speedos (and anything other than hair net helmets ) were even a thing, I don't get too bent out of shape by speedo funk.

It is funny telling clients you need at least twenty minutes on a point with analysis after to get a proper survey point using GPS. Trees and towers make it worse. We once had someone pull points for trees with an iPhone and dozens were in the lake...

 

[Rudi Riet]

I found the old diver's trick for keeping masks fog-free works for glasses: spit (kinda ick but it works) or a slight smear of hair conditioner (obviously wiped to be clear for viewing) works wonders. The anti-fog stuff for ski goggles (Cat Crap, et al) also works.

The adjustment of the nose brace helps, as well, as does breathing downward out of your mouth. Trust me: same problem here. And when I use a Buff-style neck gaiter, the fog problems are mostly gone, in general, as they are more form-fitting to the face. I am discovering, though, that only the lightweight ones (regardless of fabric type) will be remotely tolerable once the heat sets in for the summer.

Note that I'm avoiding any and all multi-use paths on weekends these days, as well as during prime time" for outdoor workouts on weekdays (e.g. 3:30-5:30pm). Early mornings and late afternoon/evening tends to find them less crowded.

 

[Rudi Riet]

It is funny telling clients you need at least twenty minutes on a point with analysis after to get a proper survey point using GPS. Trees and towers make it worse. We once had someone pull points for trees with an iPhone and dozens were in the lake...

It really helps if a GPS unit has more than one network for reference. The most modern units use both GPS and either Glonass, Baidu, or Galileo to provide a more accurate track. The difference between my Garmin Edge 500 (GPS-only, and an older chipset that's known to be less accurate) and my Edge 520 (GPS+Glonass, with the GPS chipset being a more modern Sony unit) is marked: the newer unit is far more true to actual track. Things like tree cover and "steel and glass canyons" within cities will make any satellite track less accurate. Often cell phones will be more accurate in the latter scenario as they do additional triangulation of location using cell towers in addition to the GPS - easier to do in an urban setting than in most rural locations.

And back to the Edge 800: it's possible to disable the audio cues on any Garmin device. Both of mine run silent. It's lovely.

 

[scott43]

I did some app dev on some mobile apps and it seemed after my testing that even relatively modest consumer grade GPS-Glonass units could easily get sub- metre accuracy in clear terrain. And if you're on the move those trees areas are not terrible when plotted. The vertical was questionable but I discarded that information anyway. Nevertheless I built a fair number of algorithms to test for sensible points.

 

[Rudi Riet]

The combo of GPS+[secondary satellite system] seems to be the key. Once Galileo is completely fleshed out it should be the go-to for most consumer-grade navigation as its accuracy is far higher than GPS, Glonass, or Baidu at the non-military implementation level. Until then, combining two or more systems seems to work quite well.

Living in the District of Columbia, the GPS system is purposely more crippled than in other parts of the U.S. due to the density of high-importance governmental facilities. It takes a long time for the GPS-only Edge 500 to acquire a strong enough signal to start my rides (I live approximately equidistant from the White House and the Naval Observatory, where the VP lives). I'd often have to wait at least 4-6 minutes to get a signal lock.

The Edge 520, on the other hand, uses GPS+Glonass. It locks onto a strong signal within 40-50 seconds, and often less than that. Sure, the GPS chipset in the unit is more modern than in the 500, so it should be faster to acquire a signal. But testing the unit with only GPS in play shows that it still takes 3-4 minutes to get a strong enough signal to go - so there's obviously some obfuscation muddying the triangulation.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I just want to know how tuna has such in depth knowledge about freaking EVERYTHING. I've been watching this for something like a decade now. Either he never sleeps or pugski is his full time job.

I too have noticed this phenomenon. I suspect he has Eidetic memory. Or waaay too much time on his hands and an obsessive desire to learn. Maybe both?

 

[Rudi Riet]

I too have noticed this phenomenon. I suspect he has Eidetic memory. Or waaay too much time on his hands and an obsessive desire to learn. Maybe both?

We get bored easily here in the greater D.C. area, so we buck up on knowledge (some of it rather useless except for hyper-specific application) to pass the time.

 

[Tricia]

I just want to know how tuna has such in depth knowledge about freaking EVERYTHING. I've been watching this for something like a decade now. Either he never sleeps or pugski is his full time job.

There are a few minds on this site that you don't want to know how they work.
It's kind of like sausage. You enjoy eating it, but you don't want to know how its made.

 

[firebanex]

I disengaged the clutch on my GRX rear derailer the other week.. didn't remember that I had done so and spent the last 10 days wondering why my bike was rattling so much more. I had specifically built this bike up as a 1x11 GRX because the chain noise and shifting the front derailer on my old bike irritated me so much. I pretty much rebuilt the same bike but with a newer frame, had a 2018 Trek Crockett with a 2x11 and bought a 2020 Trek Crockett frame for the 1x build. So to all of a hear the chain again made me seriously question the amount of money I had spent over the winter getting the new bike built up. Felt really dumb when I noticed that the clutch was disengaged last night when cleaning the bike..

Other current annoyance is I installed a Oneup EDC tool kit in the steerer tube on my FS mtb, which means I lost the location where I had previously mounted my gps and my stem is too short to mount there with the rubber band type mounts. I hate having lights or other things mounted on my bars unless they are centered or symmetrical so mounting the gps on one side of the bar is also a no go. I'd rather go through the hassle of keeping the gps in a pocket or in my backpack than have it off on one side of my bars. My solution pending wife approval is to upgrade my fitbit Ionic to a Garmin Forerunner 945. I have other reasons beyond this, but the gps mount on the bike is a really big one.

 

[princo]

...had a 2018 Trek Crockett with a 2x11 and bought a 2020 Trek Crockett frame...

2020 Trek Crockett = T47 Threaded Bottom Bracket!!! So no more PressFit BB90 madness. If you were sensitive to chain noise, a creaking BB90 would have made you gone bonkers (or set the bike on fire). The T-47 alone was worth the upgrade.

 

[firebanex]

For real, I'm letting a friend borrow the 2018 right now and when we ride together I'm just blown away at the amount of noise that bike makes compared to the 2020 one I'm on.

I got the Garmin Forerunner 945 today, it solves a couple other irritations I didn't even know were bothering me. It's so much more comfortable, easier to use, and even half set up It does way more useful things than my fitbit did!

 

[Ross Biff]

Clutches! I'm still not convinced that the reduced noise is a good trade off for the poorer shifter feel. When I tune a clients bike I turn the clutch off. I do turn it back on again before returning the bike but I wonder why there is an "off switch" at all! Maybe the "on" position should just be the way they are made if it's such a beneficial feature.