c/canadian-riders-hub

Rant: Got roasted by a shop in Vancouver for my chain tension.

I took my bike into Dream Cycle on Main Street for a tune up last month. The mechanic handed it back and said my chain was so loose it looked like a skipping rope. He told me to ditch the 1 inch slack rule and go for just a quarter inch of play. Now my shifts don't clunk and I lost that annoying slap sound. Has anyone else been running way too much slack for years?

I finally figured out why my bike kept dying in the rain

Was on a group ride up the Sea to Sky highway near Squamish last fall. About 20km in a big storm hit and my 2005 Kawasaki started sputtering bad. Pulled over with three other guys and one of them spotted my spark plug boot was cracked right at the base, letting moisture in. A quick wrap with electrical tape from his pack got me running again and I made it home fine. Anyone else carry emergency tape or have a similar highway breakdown story?

That trail marker confusion cost me 5 hours on Seymour

I was riding the Baden Powell trail on Mount Seymour last Saturday and hit a split where two different colored markers pointed in opposite directions. Ended up going down a washed out gravel path that was unrideable and had to hike my bike back up. Has anyone else had a similar issue with the trail markers on the North Shore being inconsistent?

Old timer at the Tim Hortons lineup told me I was overthinking my gear ratios

He said he's been riding the same beat up 10-speed since the 80s and just pedals harder up hills, and now I can't stop wondering if I wasted $200 on that cassette swap last month, anyone else ever get told something simple that stuck with you?

Chat with a retired courier made me rethink my whole gear setup

I was swapping stories with a guy named Pete at the Tim Hortons in Thunder Bay last Tuesday. He told me he's been riding for 30 years and still uses the same $200 rain suit he bought in 1995 because he says layers beat expensive gear every time. Has anyone else found that cheap rain gear actually holds up better than the high-end stuff?

The day I finally swapped my stock pedals for clipless ones on my commuter bike

I rode with flat pedals on my old Norco for nearly two years, thinking clipless was just for racers. Then last month I borrowed a friend's hybrid with SPDs for a week. The difference in my hill climbs was like night and day, I could actually pull up on the stroke instead of just mashing down. My commute dropped by about 4 minutes each way on a 20 minute ride. But the real shocker was how much less my knees ached after three days of using them. Now I'm eyeing a set of Shimano M520s for my own bike, the ones that run about 60 bucks at MEC. Has anyone else made this switch late in the game and regretted it or loved it?

Overheard a guy at the Tim Hortons in Sudbury saying he shaves 2 minutes off his commute by not using cruise control on the 69

So I tried it myself for two weeks and my mileage actually dropped by 1.5 km/L, anyone else find that trick doesn't work on hilly stretches like up near the French River?

Spent 3 months fixing my route through the Rockies

I used to plan my rides from Calgary to Vancouver on a map and end up wasting 2 hours on bad backroads. Switched to the Canadian Riders Hub route tool and found a cutoff near Revelstoke that saves me 45 minutes each way on my delivery runs. Has anyone else found a hidden shortcut that totally changed their regular trip?

PSA: found out the average tow truck wait time in rural Ontario is 2.5 hours

I was stuck on Highway 7 near Sharbot Lake last Tuesday after my bike died on me. While waiting I looked up stats on the Canadian Riders Hub forum and found a post breaking down average response times by region. Apparently in rural Ontario it's 2.5 hours compared to just 45 minutes in the GTA. That blew my mind because I always assumed tow trucks were faster outside cities. Has anyone else noticed this difference or had a longer wait than expected?

Rant: Found some numbers that changed my mind about riding in the rain

Looked up accident stats on the Transport Canada site and saw that only 8% of bike crashes happen in wet conditions. Everyone in this group acts like rain is a death sentence but the data says dry roads are way more dangerous. Anyone else feel like we overhype the rain thing?

I called bull on 3D-printed bike parts until my derailleur hanger broke in the middle of nowhere

I was riding near Banff last summer and my derailleur hanger snapped on a gravel section. A buddy I was with pulled out a little plastic one he'd printed himself and it got me home 40km back to town. I figured it would fail in the first 10km but it held up fine through some bumpy stuff. Now I carry a spare in my pack, cost me $3 in filament to make. Has anyone else actually pushed 3D-printed bike parts hard on a real ride?

Realized after 5 years I was lubing my chain wrong the whole time

I was over at my buddy's place in Vancouver last Saturday helping him tune up his old Trek. He grabbed my chain lube and goes 'dude, you're supposed to wipe off the excess after you apply it, not just leave it dripping'. I've been doing it the thick and wet way since I started riding. Now I get way fewer grimy drivetrain issues. Anyone else have a basic maintenance habit they had to unlearn?

A 25-year rider from Calgary told me my suspension setup was completely backwards

PSA: Saw a moose casually walking through a gas station lot in Sudbury

I stopped at the Esso off Highway 17 last Thursday and this big fella just strolled past the pumps like he owned the place, no one even blinked except me. Has anyone else had a wildlife encounter that made you question who really runs the show up here?

Overheard a guy at the Tim Hortons in Kamloops say 'hub caps are for posers' and it got me thinking

I was grabbing a coffee near the Husky station on Tranquille Road and this older rider was talking about how he never bothers with fancy hub caps on his old Goldwing. Said he just runs bare steel rims because they're tougher on gravel roads. Made me wonder, how many of us are buying extra chrome parts that just add weight for no real benefit? Anybody else out there strip their bike down to the basics after hearing someone else's opinion?

Switched to full-face helmet after a deer hit me on Highway 17 last fall

I used to wear a half-shell for years, thought full-face was overkill. Now I won't get on the bike without it. Anyone else have a close call that changed your gear?

Used to think pre-ride bike checks were pointless until my chain snapped on the 401

I used to just hop on and go, never checking tire pressure or bolts before a ride... that changed last month when my chain snapped near Kingston and I ended up stranded for 3 hours waiting for a tow. Now I spend 10 minutes every morning checking everything over with a torque wrench. How many of you actually do a full pre-ride check before heading out on a long trip?

Crossed 2,000 kms on a brand new gravel route in Ontario last weekend

I mapped out this loop near Bancroft that linked a bunch of old logging roads and rail trails. Hit exactly 2,034 kms over three days and my legs felt like lead by the end. I thought I planned enough water stops but ran out with 15 kms left on day two. Has anyone else done a long self-supported ride and miscalculated their supplies that badly?

Finally figured out I was gripping my clutch wrong after 10,000 km

I was riding my Kawasaki Vulcan for about two years and always had a sore left hand after long trips. Last month at a group ride near Kelowna, this older guy named Steve watched me pull up and said 'you're holding that clutch like a death grip, eh?' He showed me to use just two fingers and keep my wrist straight instead of curling it. Tried it on the way home and my hand didn't hurt at all for the first time ever. Now I feel stupid for ignoring that ache for so long. Has anyone else had a basic riding habit suddenly click for them like that?

Heard a kid at a bike shop say something that made me feel old

I was at MEC in Toronto last week dropping off my old Kona for a tune-up, and this teenager was asking the mechanic if they could get disc brakes on a bike that clearly only had rim brake mounts. The guy explained it politely, but it hit me that I've been riding since before disc brakes were standard on mountain bikes. Back in 2003 we just accepted that wet rims meant no stopping. Has anyone else had a moment where you realized the gear you grew up with is basically ancient history now?

Group rides vs solo training - which actually builds better skills?

I've been riding with the Vancouver Riders Hub crew for about 8 months now, and I keep going back and forth on this. Group rides are awesome for pacing and drafting, but I find myself just following the pack instead of reading the road myself. Solo training though, I spent last June doing laps around Stanley Park on my own and my cornering got way sharper because I had to pick my own lines. But man, solo gets boring after a while and you miss out on learning from faster riders in the group. What do you guys think actually makes you a stronger rider for the long term - group pace or solo grinding? I'm trying to plan my summer schedule and I'm stuck on this.

Hated the idea of chain waxing until a buddy broke it down

I always thought waxing chains was just extra hassle for no gain, but my friend showed me his drivetrain after 800 km and it was still spotless, so I caved and tried it. Now I'm kicking myself for all those years of greasy messy chains, anyone else hold out on this method for too long?

I remember when route planning meant paper maps and highlighters

Back in 2012 I used to print out Google Maps directions and tape them to my gas tank. If I missed a turn I was stuck pulling over and flipping through pages like a fool. Now I just plug coordinates into my phone and it reroutes me in seconds. My old binder of laminated highway maps feels like a relic from another century. Does anyone else still keep a paper map in their saddlebag just in case?

Biked through the Cabot Trail last fall and the shoulder lanes were a mess

I rode the Cabot Trail in October and nearly got clipped three times because the paved shoulders just vanish without warning in the middle of a curve. For a route that's supposed to be a world-class cycling destination, the lack of consistent bike lanes is dangerous. Has anyone else found a safer way to ride that stretch?

Just realized my riding posture was way off after chatting with a retired courier

I was at a coffee stop near Vancouver last week and an older guy saw me stretching my wrists. He said I was gripping the bars like I was hanging onto a cliff, and showed me how to relax my elbows and use my core more. It hit different because he wasn't just some random dude, he used to ride 200 km a day delivering packages downtown. Now my shoulders don't ache after a 60 km ride. Has anyone else had a random conversation that totally changed how they ride?