JohnPowell said:

I decided to switch my Giant SLR 1 wheels to using a tube. Holy shit it’s hard to get a tire on these things. I’ve never had so much trouble... I struggled for a while and just had to give up. Any suggestions?

I’m at the point of my patience where I might sell them and get something simpler. This is madness.

There's a video by the Boyd Wheels guy on how to best to install tires, particularly on tubeless-ready rims.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fanzxl9sykE

I assume you have tubeless tape already installed.  Good start.  I sometimes think I'm stretching the tire bead a bit by first installing the tire completely before installing the tube.  Talc can help.  The Crank Brothers Speedier Lever is excellent, maybe the best I've used.  The Quik Stik is pretty good, too.

I'm in the midst of writing on this topic, but the tl/dr is the following: tubeless, wide rims, and carbon have upended clincher wheel design, particularly when it comes to bead seating.  Everyone is supposed to build to 621.95mm bead seat diameter, but in practice, it's not the case.  ISO, international standards organization, is working on a solution, but it's unclear when that will be complete.  Maybe later this year.  Maybe next year.

I was looking into getting a set of HED Ardennes to have a solid off-season wheelset that wouldn't destroy my wallet when I came across a review of the H Plus Son Archetype rim. Builds using them seem to be pretty reasonably priced and the reviews seem positive. Opinions?

JohnPowell said:

I was looking into getting a set of HED Ardennes to have a solid off-season wheelset that wouldn't destroy my wallet when I came across a review of the H Plus Son Archetype rim. Builds using them seem to be pretty reasonably priced and the reviews seem positive. Opinions?

both are great! chat with Ilya, he'll hook you up.

I own a H plus Son rear wheel with a PowerTap hub for thé last 4 years and I can assure you that it has been stellar.

I built up a set of Archetypes a few years back for my CX bike, and then another single for a PowerTap hub.  
I went with them because I wanted wide and didn't want to pay the premium for the Hed when their offering seemed heavier in addition to more expensive.  

The three rims I built weighed in at 470, 480, 480.  Advertised weight is 470g.

The build was easy.  They seem to be plenty durable. (btw, go with tubeless tape regardless) 

They're not tubeless compatible, but I don't think that's important.  At least not yet.

If there's one thing to question, it's whether or not you'd prefer an even wider rim.  Hed's C2 Plus has a 25mm external width.  Which can be helpful for wider tires and/or if you have a set of race wheels that are that wide or wider.

Just a  thought $720 , wheelset

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/hed-ardennes-plus-sl-disc-brake-wheelset-clincher?skidn=HED999E-BLA-S1212SHSR&ti=UExQIENhdDpSb2FkIEJpa2UgV2hlZWxzOjE6NDpjY0NhdDEwMDA2OA==

Sorry wrong set, these are the rim versions

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/hed-ardennes-sl-plus-wheelset-clincher?skidn=HED001W-BK-SHI&ti=UExQIENhdDpSb2FkIEJpa2UgV2hlZWxzOjE6NDpjY0NhdDEwMDA2OA==

@JohnPowell Redbeard built me a set of H Plus Son rims, Industry 9 hubs, 28 spoke rear / 24 spoke front for a very reasonable price.  For the past ~18 months, they've been bomb proof (not once needing to be trued) and have absorbed both Houston and Bay Area roads.  Thumbs up on my end

Anyone have a GPS-based bike computer that I can borrow for last couple weeks in Aug (or rent for $$$)?

Question: Does Kissena has a RideWithGPS subscription? Every once and a while I found that I want to create a route, with cue sheets and stuff. Paying an annual subscription for the few times I use it seems unnecessary. I knew the 5 Borough Bike Club has an account member can use. Does Kissena have an account?

DotanGreenvald said:

Question: Does Kissena has a RideWithGPS subscription? Every once and a while I found that I want to create a route, with cue sheets and stuff. Paying an annual subscription for the few times I use it seems unnecessary. I knew the 5 Borough Bike Club has an account member can use. Does Kissena have an account?

I don't have a subscription but can create a ride and send it to my Wahoo.  I would think you could do the cue sheets as well without paying, not that you shouldn't pay if it's a worthwhile service.

You can create routes on Strava or (if you use one) Garmin connect and import it to your GPS. I’d bet Wahoo has one too? 
I’ve also imported premade RWGPS routes to my Garmin without an account. 

Ridewithgps creates cues as you create the route, but some of the cues are wrong, others are unnecessary. I would like to edit the cue sheet and you can do it for $80/y. Now, Ridewithgps is not the best route creater program there is out there, I think Strava's interface is much better, but if you want turn-by-turn directions on your wahoo - Strava won't work, but Ridewithgps will... 🤔

i’m a rwgps subscriber — this one is easy, yes, it has plenty of flaws, but if you want the paid functionality, there’s a pretty simple path: get a paid subscription. You can start/stop/pause the subscription if you are not gonna use it for a while.

I rode out to Long Island friday , with a route from ride with GPS , and found the cues , slow often adjusting well after i made the turn and sometime completely inaccurate , i ended just following the line and not cues, which i could barely read as the  font was to small for my old man eye sight, i was wondering if it was a fault of the route creator or some software issue with RWGPS 

Google Maps with one earphone in?

JohnMalcolmson said:

Google Maps with one earphone in?

always a good option when you are lost & your garmin unit cannot seem to find the route again haha

JohnOlsson said:

JohnMalcolmson said:

Google Maps with one earphone in?

always a good option when you are lost & your garmin unit cannot seem to find the route again haha

and have a supplemental phone charger

Mark Taylor said:

I rode out to Long Island friday , with a route from ride with GPS , and found the cues , slow often adjusting well after i made the turn and sometime completely inaccurate , i ended just following the line and not cues, which i could barely read as the  font was to small for my old man eye sight, i was wondering if it was a fault of the route creator or some software issue with RWGPS 

The free version creates the cues for you. What I would like to do is to mark the cues myself. I don't need too many, and I need them before the upcoming turn. The new Wahoo Roam will soon be able to read turn-by-turn directions from Strava, but until then...

If there's no workaround the cue edits, than yes - paying for a subscription is the easy path. The fact you can stop and start is good to know because in the past year I think I used it two or three times...

And the answer is "no" Kissena has no Premium account at RideWithGPS. Got it.

@DotanGreenvald, if Adventure riding were more popular among the membership then maybe there would be more of interest in the club paying for a 'club' ridewithgps mnembership. Best thing you can do is RIDE BIKES & promote interest in the the types of rides that require turn-by-turn directions. Lmk if you find any good routes...always up for some adventure riding...especially this time of year

As some have suggested, unless I am a bit lost or come to a multiple road intersection, I don't find a big need for the cues, I mostly just follow the dots. The few times I used a strava route, did not really miss the cues.

I do love being able to add custom cues, specially for "FOODS" as those that rode with me around Harriman and Garrison/Cold Springs experienced. Good fun stuff.

When I have run into dead ends, fallen bridges, "there maybe was a road here 20 years ago, but no more", etc, I have used all the above -- from google maps on speaker, to wahoo's "take me too..." but if you are truly lost, murphy's law will make sure there's no cell signal, so the ridewithgps app, subscribed, lets you download maps, this has usually been the best option to find my way back home.

ymwv

I know that if you download a section of the map on Google Map. I personally do this when I am in unfamiliar areas. When I was riding in the Berkshires in the winter and I inevitably got lost, it lets you see the dead end roads and re-route yourself if the road ends up being an un-rideable ice chunked dirt road. Call me old school but you can really rely on a downloaded map and memory a lot better than a cue sheet that is not really dynamic. It also makes for a better ride because the whole time is a bit more unstructured.

^ Getting lost isn't that bad, think of your most memorable rides. Also, your brain will thank you.
“If we are paying attention to our environment, we are stimulating our hippocampus, and a bigger hippocampus seems to be protective against Alzheimer’s disease,” Bohbot told me in an email. “When we get lost, it activates the hippocampus, it gets us completely out of the habit mode. Getting lost is good!” Done safely, getting lost could be a good thing.

agree, some of my best rides were when I got lost with a couple of friends...

that said, as I get older, the no idea if this trail connects back to civilization, are these bear tracks, ran out of food, tubes, walk/push the bike 2.5 unrideable km, and specially the took me 3 hours longer than expected to get back, raises the stress/danger/bonk/spouse-support to levels i'm not interested in visiting much. 

Better to ride and explore a whole loop of sweet new roads mostly uninterrupted, including a good sense on how long it will take. It is still getting lost in a way. This is where all these tools shine. 

Jeremy Powers did a GCN video on planning rides, w/ some great tips.
https://youtu.be/Y26TSFGWqXo

I'll add my tip of putting rwgps in satellite view, labels off, do you see a road? if not, assume there's no road.
https://forum-archive.kissenacycling.com/discussion/489-p11.html#Comment_100454

I tend to use a combination of RWGPS and google maps street view to actually see the road i'll be on.

EBikes. Perhaps someday it'll deserve it's own thread but I thought I'd share a quick report from our recent trip.

We rented bikes and Lisa opted for an Orbea Gain which we both sort of rolled our eyes over. With a week of riding in the Spanish Basque hills we figured it would be the only way we'd stay together.

It was a game-changer. She rode with us, and dropped us on the climbs. The batter never ran down (4+ hour rides) and she had to work plenty hard to keep up. To hear her tell it the bike let her a) close gaps and b) keep up on climbs.

So - if you've got a significant other that isn't likely to ride at your level any time soon and you'd like to share some challenging (ie: uphill) longer rides I'd say you should seriously consider a bike with a battery.

As it is, I'm now researching conversion kits.

Phil Maronilla said:

I tend to use a combination of RWGPS and google maps street view to actually see the road i'll be on.

The googlie street view guy/girl is your friend, even when the road doesn't have street view, I tend to put on the intersection to the nearest street view to see what's up

@Jules
that is so awesome!! my uncle rides an Orbea Gain, usually on the french side of the same country.

eloy said:

@Jules
that is so awesome!! my uncle rides an Orbea Gain, usually on the french side of the same country.

#orbeacountry

Orbea!  And Orange!