14 replies to this topic

[john]

did anyone get a chance to check it out today?

[bordercolliefan]

We went to Sac to see it. It was fantastic! We sat on a curb under some shade trees on the triple loop before the finish. What other sporting event can you go to -- for free!-- where the world champions pass just a few feet in front of you?? Afterwards we went and checked out the team buses -- got an autograph from a Cervelo rider, talked to a helper on the QuickStep team who explained that Boonen was "extremely upset" about his fall...

Sacramento looked beautiful, there was a fantastic crowd... and think of the natural beauty the riders will see over the next few days. It is a great event to show off California.

[mac_convert]

I caught the action at Latrobe and White Rock today.

[john]

good to hear - also great to hear of a terrific turnout...

[EmpireRanchCyclist]

 Team_Radio_Shack.jpg   95.23K   21 downloads

The view along White Rock and Scott Raod was great. Two hours of waiting was worth the 15 seconds of watching the riders speed by.

Edited by EmpireRanchCyclist, 17 May 2010 - 06:28 AM.

[Thinkingoutloud]

We caught the riders at Old Placerville and White Rock. We had a great view of them winding down White Rock so saw a good 5 minutes of action before they all sped by. Very cool!

[supermom]

Sucked, sucked sucked.

Cant believe I forgot about this dang race.

Drive the kids to the new relish burger joint for lunch after church and get stuck there for godawful time--to watch a bunch of people ride past on their stupid bikes in tights. AHHRGGG!!!!!!!!!

Ok--I let that out....I feel better now.

Actually, some of those bikes looked a little cool.

And the dang kid wants to take up the sport.

I'm mortified.

I wonder if its cheaper than football and cheer?

[eVader]

I shot a video and a few stills but they rode by so fast after waiting and waiting they aren't worth posting. I have seen many very good pictures and video from those with better locations and it was alot of fun watching.

Versus did a great job of covering Salmon Falls Rd to the finish but missing the tight criterium of Nevada City and Auburn and the KOM challenge climbing out of the Amer Rvr Canyon on 49 was a bummer.

BTW it was cool to hear Versus comment how great of a job the CHP and Sac PD did keeping the riders and spectators safe and how beautiful the route taken is. Can't disagree - we live in a very beautiful area.

[bordercolliefan]

Owee, owee, oweee!!!

Boonens crash:

[eVader]

Owee, owee, oweee!!!

Boonens crash:

Page not found. Video deleted error msg

That was a nasty crash though.

Found a few Stage 2 videos from friends and it was a cold but dry day for them on one of the KOM sections yet Versus could only cover the last .5 km at the finish. Disappointed again.

[olivia]

Sucked, sucked sucked.

Cant believe I forgot about this dang race.

Drive the kids to the new relish burger joint for lunch after church and get stuck there for godawful time--to watch a bunch of people ride past on their stupid bikes in tights. AHHRGGG!!!!!!!!!

Ok--I let that out....I feel better now.

Actually, some of those bikes looked a little cool.

And the dang kid wants to take up the sport.

I'm mortified.

I wonder if its cheaper than football and cheer?

I bike, the boy plays football, Nope...

[Bill Z]

And the dang kid wants to take up the sport.

I'm mortified.

I wonder if its cheaper than football and cheer?

Good bikes aren't cheap, modifing them for what you want can get real expensive.

Example ( and this is cheap by racing bike standards)

I bought my son a cheap Walmart bike for $99.

But, it's a one speed and I want to give him a 2-speed.

So it's ~$80 on ebay to find an old Bendix 2-speed kickback hub like I had as a kid.
It's another $80 to find a the right size rim to fit the bike I just bought that has the necesary 28 spoke holes for the 28 spoke holes in the hub (existing rim on the bike has 44 spokes). so it then needs 28 spokes of the right length and paying the bike shop to spoke up the new rim, true it up proper and stuff, add another $100. So when it is all said and done, $99 for a bike and $260 to replace the rear wheel with what I want to give my son.

And I know this is still cheap compared to what some bikes cost brand new.

[Dave Burrell]

Good bikes aren't cheap, modifing them for what you want can get real expensive.

Example ( and this is cheap by racing bike standards)

I bought my son a cheap Walmart bike for $99.

But, it's a one speed and I want to give him a 2-speed.

So it's ~$80 on ebay to find an old Bendix 2-speed kickback hub like I had as a kid.
It's another $80 to find a the right size rim to fit the bike I just bought that has the necesary 28 spoke holes for the 28 spoke holes in the hub (existing rim on the bike has 44 spokes). so it then needs 28 spokes of the right length and paying the bike shop to spoke up the new rim, true it up proper and stuff, add another $100. So when it is all said and done, $99 for a bike and $260 to replace the rear wheel with what I want to give my son.

And I know this is still cheap compared to what some bikes cost brand new.

I got a 21 speed nice GT mountain bike for $199, best dang bike I've ever had.

[tony]

Good bikes aren't cheap, modifing them for what you want can get real expensive.

Example ( and this is cheap by racing bike standards)

I bought my son a cheap Walmart bike for $99.

But, it's a one speed and I want to give him a 2-speed.

So it's ~$80 on ebay to find an old Bendix 2-speed kickback hub like I had as a kid.
It's another $80 to find a the right size rim to fit the bike I just bought that has the necesary 28 spoke holes for the 28 spoke holes in the hub (existing rim on the bike has 44 spokes). so it then needs 28 spokes of the right length and paying the bike shop to spoke up the new rim, true it up proper and stuff, add another $100. So when it is all said and done, $99 for a bike and $260 to replace the rear wheel with what I want to give my son.

And I know this is still cheap compared to what some bikes cost brand new.

Your big mistake was buying the $99 Walmart bike. Good kids bikes start in the $200-$300 range, but they are really easy to find used for much less. The problem with cheap bikes is that...well, they are cheap. While they may look just like more expensive bikes, you'll quickly find out that the reason they are cheap is because they have cheap parts. And those cheap parts will not last and tend to be very hard to fix/adjust. They also tend to have cheap rims on which the tires don't seat well, making it impossible to pump them up past about 30 psi.

One thing about cheap bikes, though, is that you get more for your money. Unfortunately, that is more steel! The cheaper the bike, the heavier it will be, and the difference can easily be 10 or 15 lbs between a good kids bike and a cheap one. And the weight difference is far more important to kids than to adults, if you expect them to actually ride anywhere. A 30-lb kid riding a 20-lb bike is going to have a very different experience than if he's riding a 35-lb bike, both from an ease of pedaling perspective and a bike-handling perspective. Light bikes are wasted on adults. Kids are the ones who need them!

BTW, we have a half dozen or so kids bikes that we have picked up from garage sales or were given to us (and a couple that were won at RFAR). There is a dramatic difference between the good ones and the cheap ones, and we only use the cheap ones as a last resort.

[supermom]

Your big mistake was buying the $99 Walmart bike. Good kids bikes start in the $200-$300 range, but they are really easy to find used for much less. The problem with cheap bikes is that...well, they are cheap. While they may look just like more expensive bikes, you'll quickly find out that the reason they are cheap is because they have cheap parts. And those cheap parts will not last and tend to be very hard to fix/adjust. They also tend to have cheap rims on which the tires don't seat well, making it impossible to pump them up past about 30 psi.

One thing about cheap bikes, though, is that you get more for your money. Unfortunately, that is more steel! The cheaper the bike, the heavier it will be, and the difference can easily be 10 or 15 lbs between a good kids bike and a cheap one. And the weight difference is far more important to kids than to adults, if you expect them to actually ride anywhere. A 30-lb kid riding a 20-lb bike is going to have a very different experience than if he's riding a 35-lb bike, both from an ease of pedaling perspective and a bike-handling perspective. Light bikes are wasted on adults. Kids are the ones who need them!

BTW, we have a half dozen or so kids bikes that we have picked up from garage sales or were given to us (and a couple that were won at RFAR). There is a dramatic difference between the good ones and the cheap ones, and we only use the cheap ones as a last resort.

Well the kid is taller but still lighter than me. She is 5 10 at 140 . And she does have a decent bike. A specialized hard rock. The question-how much to equip kid for season on highschool frosh team? What season do they compete? How much travel is required?