Stories

Going To Work On A Monday?

May 16, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Mondays… fun for some, not so much for others. One way to at least make part of the day fun; ride your bike there. You’ll arrive more excited about your job regardless of what it is and you will have a sense of accomplishment before you even start your workday. Give it a try at least once and see what differences you feel. Commute too far or dangerous? Drive part way on quick, traffic free roads and then ride a route that’s ideal for cycling. It will give you good roads to ride on to make for a stress-free, enjoyable ride before the workday.

Runs On Fat And Saves You Money

May 15, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Which side of the equation do you prefer to be on? As cyclists we know which side we would prefer to be on but it doesn’t always happen for far too many reasons: poor weather, kids to pick up from school, too far to commute to and from work, laziness, you name it, it’s an excuse. Some things we can’t change but a lot of them we could make small alterations to for them to work. What’s one thing you could change to your normal transportation regime to include one extra bike ride and one less car ride? A trip to the grocery store? A short or long ride to work in the morning or evening? Make this a goal once a week and plan ahead to make it happen; you will burn fat and save money. Let us know your plans on riding more and driving less in the comments below.

Cycling Quote by Ernest Hemingway

May 14, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Ernest Hemingway is dead on with this quote but it goes deeper than remembering the contours. A bicycle allows you to experience each place on the road as not only are you not traveling at warp speed, you are placed directly in each moment and not removed by metal doors and glass windows. You can hear the wind, the cows moo, people say hi, the hustle and bustle of a town. The best way to explore someplace new is by bike, be it the countryside or a city. You can find the small dirt roads, the back allies, the places the locals revere. You can take the time to ‘stop and smell the roses’. Experience someplace new by bike. Make it happen this weekend close to home. Maybe someplace not too far away next week and within the next year, explore a far off land. A bicycle will create great memories that can’t be found with any other medium.

Why We Ride

May 13, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

There are so many reasons why we ride. For ourselves, for others, for just the sake of riding. It doesn’t matter the reason, just that you get out and ride and enjoy it. Let us know in the comments below why you ride.

Cycling Is Just Like Church…

May 12, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

“Cycling is just like church – many attend, but few understand.” A very good quote indeed. Whether it’s riding leisurely around town, on the trails close to home, or racing on the road, cycling is a complex endeavor that takes on its own meaning for each and every rider. There are a lot of different dynamics in each and you may know what each consists of but the feeling and meaning each gives to a rider is different. Understanding cycling as a whole can be strived toward but it’s one of those things that can never be fully understood. You can understand parts of it, particularly that of your chosen discipline be it mountain, road, commuting, or leisure, but few understand nearly all of it.

Making A BikeIt List

May 10, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Making a bikeit list can be a fun way to expand your cycling horizons and experience new places near and far. The first step is finding what you’re looking for. Do you want to find awesome rides on back farm roads? In the mountains? Along a beach? Then once you know what you’re looking for and how far you want to travel, start searching and asking other cyclists where their favorite places to ride have been. Additionally, there are a lot of online resources where you can find more information on routes in different areas. All it takes is a little Googling. Additionally, you should also make a list of places you want to check out that’s rideable from your doorstep. Regardless of where you are in the world, there’s certainly cool things close by that you haven’t found yet. See how long your bikeit list gets and let us know what a few of the top ones are in the comments below. We’d love to hear!

Oval Mountain Bike Chainrings Review – Absolute Black Oval Chainrings

May 9, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Whats with Oval Chainrings?

Absolute Black sent us a sample of their stunning Absolute Black Oval Chainrings. Why oval you ask? The benefits to oval rings have been discussed and tested for over 100 years. Do they work? Some labs say they do. In fact some of the latest Tour De France winners use them! But there is some contradictory evidence out there saying the benefits are negligible but a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

In the article where we featured oval chainrings, the basic idea of them is that no human can produce a perfect pedal stroke. When a cyclist’s legs are at the 6, and 12 o’clock part of the pedal stroke it is impossible to produce the same amount of power as one would produce while on the down or upstroke (3 or 9 o’clock). The oval chain ring is designed to make this process smoother by effectively reducing the gear (or making it easier) during these stages of the pedal stroke.

Absolute Black Oval Chainrings

Absolute Black claims that not only are their chainrings more efficient but they are also easier on knees and joints. These bio-mechanical benefits can be denied but in the mountain bike world you also have the benefit of increased traction on soggy days (as the force is spread out more evenly throughout the pedal stroke reducing ‘spin out’) but they also come in a 1x or narrow-wide options AND in fantastic colors!

Initial Impressions and Setup

The Absolute Black oval chainrings we received are beautiful. The machining is extensive, and its obvious there has been a lot of thought and work put into these rings.

Installation is very straight forward. Mechanics are rejoicing everywhere with the emergence of not only the single ring set up, but also direct mount crank systems such as Race Face and Sram where you effectively attach the chainring directly to the crank, as opposed to a ‘spider’ . The benefits are lighter weight, clean look, and to be frank, it has less that can go wrong. The Absolute Black Oval Chainring went on in mere minutes and has been solid ever since on my Race Face crank.

Performance and Final Thoughts.

When doing the first few meters on oval rings the sensation is terrible. Its hard to describe, but its almost as if your bike is trying to buck you off! I considered turning around and taking the chainring off but stuck with it in the spirit of the test.

After mere minutes that feeling oddly dissipates and you are left riding with ‘normal’ riding sensations. Its a mystery to me why this happens but it does!

While its hard to say if the benefits of the chainrings are real from a power output point of view, the traction benefits are apparent. On a duel suspension sometimes it feels as if you are fighting the bike while on steep climbs. I found the chainrings smoothed out the pedal stroke and generally made for a better ride with more traction. I would go as far to say that I will continue to ride with oval rings from now on as there are many benefits with no real down side.

Chain retention with Absolute Black Oval Chainrings is fantastic. In 2 months, I never lost a chain once, despite having it on both a duel suspension and hard tail bike frame leaving the clutch mechanism off! This goes to show Absolute Black have made a great ring, as they have been ridden primarily on some of the roughest trails of British Columbia.

In conclusion this ring is fantastic. It’s light, it’s pretty, it works very well. I can’t really say a bad thing about it.

5/5 Hearts

Happy Mother’s Day From I Love Bicycling!

May 8, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at I Love Bicycling! Mother’s are instrumental parts of our lives and everyday’s a day to say thank you but today’s an extra special thank you. If you’re a mom, hopefully you get to enjoy the day with your children and doing what you love and maybe a bike ride. If you’re a daughter or son, take mom out on a ride to spend time together and to say thank you. Enjoy the day!

Coffee Shop Ride – How and When To Do It

May 7, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Why do cycling and coffee go so well hand in hand? Perhaps because one fuels the other, and that goes both ways. Both bring people together for great conversation while enjoying something they love. Both bring a connection whether between long time buddies, significant others, or someone you just met. Yet why do so many people forgo the coffee shop ride? The most likely culprit is not enough time for both but the basis of the ride is for enjoyment. The coffee shop stop just adds to it.

How To Have A Great Coffee Shop Ride

Of course what encompasses a great coffee shop ride can vary greatly from one rider to the next but there are a few similarities that go with any. The first is that it should fit within your ride plans. If you’re busy doing intervals up a climb all ride, stopping part way through for a nice coffee probably isn’t going to be the most relaxed and enjoyable. After however is another story. Also, if you’re trying to knock out a century or long ride in a descent amount of time, stopping for an enjoyable cup of joe with nice conversation also probably isn’t the most efficient way to have a nice stop.

Pick a Good Mellow Route

The best coffee shop rides are the ones where you’re just riding to ride; to enjoy the company your in, the roads you’re on, and the places you’re seeing. Then stopping for a little while is a great way to continue those thoughts and engage in even more conversation. The epitome of this is when you’re stopped at a coffee shop for longer than your total ride time. You’re not out for a big hammer day, you’re out for the enjoyment on all ends.

Find a Good Shop to Frequent

Finding a good coffee shop can be a challenge in some places. Either there are too many to choose from or hardly any. A few prerequisites are:

They have coffee (or any drink) up to your standards of taste.
They have a seating area that can be thoroughly enjoyed. (Drive-thru’s or tiny coffee shops that never have any seating aren’t going to cut it.)
If it’s a nice day, they have quality outdoor seating to enjoy the day.
They have, at a minimum, an okay selection of pastries and other goodies to be enjoyed if desired.

How To Look Like a Natural in a Coffee Shop – Coffee Shop Etiquette

Whether you live in an area where there aren’t many cyclists around or the coffee shops are already full of them, you want to have proper etiquette while there. If not, you will stand out and look out of place as well as potentially embarrassed. The key is no matter what, act like you belong. This is easier in some places than others but regardless, do it with authority.

Where To Park Your Bike

Your first hurdle at a coffee shop is where to park your bike. You want it in a visible place to people in general as well as in a location where you can see it from where you are sitting. Some shops that are frequented by cyclists have “bike parking stands” which can be super useful. If not, the best place is probably against a window along the front of the building. Make sure it’s not in the way of the doors or people walking in and out.

Where To Put Your Helmet

After you park your bike, take your helmet off, buckle it and hook it on the stem and drape it over the handle bars. This looks good and will keep it from falling or getting caught on anyone walking by. Additionally this leaves your hands free to carry a coffee, pastry, etc. and removes the situation of having your helmet on inside where you look goofy. Under no circumstances should you place your helmet on the table, face up or down. You sweat in that thing and it’s nasty. No one wants it on the table that they eat off of.

What To Be Careful Of

The biggest thing to be careful of while stopping at a coffee shop is slipping in your cycling shoes on the tile, wood, whatever slippery surface of a floor the shop has. This is very easy to do depending upon your shoes, cleats, and any spilled coffee potentially already on the floor. Take shorter steps and never make any sudden turns. You’re not playing football after all.

The Dreaded Ride Home

Depending upon your ride and how long you’ve been stopped, getting moving again to ride back home can be a struggle. Your legs will likely have tightened up and particularly if it’s chilly out, you will want another cup of something to just sit and relax some more. When you do finally get out the door, start slow as if it were the beginning of your ride. Warm up for a few minutes and then ease back into your normal pace.

How Often Should You Go On A Coffee Shop Ride

Obviously this is personal preference. Some would say daily, others weekly, others monthly. Coffee shop stops are a way to continue the pleasures you get from riding through a different medium while adding a few. If you never really have time for a coffee shop stop you should maybe slow down a bit and take a day just to enjoy the ride and company. It’s what cycling is all about anyway. Let us know in the comments below what your favorite coffee shop ride is and how you enjoy it.

Dangerous Road – Watch For…

May 3, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Roads can come with all sorts of dangers. Some are small, some are large, some are easy to avoid, while others aren’t. What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve come across while riding? Snakes, missing man-hole covers, guns, and irate motorists are a few that come to mind.

« Previous Page