Showing posts with label cycling tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cycling tips. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Tidak Ada Matahari Di RA

Sungguh! Ga Bohong!
Matahari di RA hari Sabtu 17 Juli 2010 kemarin seakan enggan muncul menerangi kawasan Puncak dan sekitarnya, sama seperti seluruh kawasan Jakarta hari itu yg mendung sejak subuh dan awan tebal menggayut diangkasa sana. Entah kenapa anomali ini terjadi, sungguh musim yg tidak menentu, para pakar klimatologi pun dibuat pusing olehnya. Bagaimana tidak, April – Oktober adalah periode dimana seharusnya bangsa ini mengalami musim panas dengan hujan yg amat jarang, bukannya seperti saat ini dimana hujan terjadi hampir setiap hari. Aneh tapi nyata.
Hari itu kami 6 gowesers CCC chapter The Address (Om Beny, Om Wisnu, Om Eman, Om Adi, Om Daniel, sy sendiri) mulai loading sepeda ke atas Pick Up-nya Om Daniel pukul 05.00 WIB pagi, tujuan gowes hari itu adalah ke Rindu Alam atas permintaan Om Adi yg baru saja meminang Trance X4 sebagai istri keduanya, ia ingin menjajal dan membuktikan keistimewaan produk ini yang disuarakan lewat kata-kata Om Joe Giant dan advertising dari Giant sang produsen…hehehe…piss Kang Joe! Loading selama kurang lebih 15 menit dilakukan dengan sangat hati-hati agar keperawanan sang Trance X4 benar-benar terlindungi. Bak Pick Up dialasi dengan matras setebal 1 cm, sehingga menjamin sepeda untuk didudukkan dengan nyaman dan empuk. Kedua sisi sepeda dilindungi juga dengan kertas koran tebal sehingga senggolan genit sepeda-sepeda yang lain dapat dihindarkan. Lantas ban sepeda diikat dengan tambang plastik ke kaitan yang ada di badan bak pick up, dan dipastikan sepeda cukup kokoh berdiri tanpa ada kekuatiran sepeda akan terjatuh.
Kira-kira pukul 05.30 WIB kami memulai perjalanan dengan tujuan pertama ke Gadog untuk parkir kendaraan pengangkut goweser di area Mesjid Gadog, dan setelah kurang lebih 30 menit perjalanan kami tiba di Mesjid tersebut. Namun apa yang terjadi berikutnya adalah pemandangan yang cukup mengejutkan ketika kendaraan kami ingin berputar arah untuk masuk ke lingkungan mesjid, kami melihat dari kejauhan parkir mesjid telah dipenuhi banyak sekali mobil-mobil milik goweser yg akan menuju RA. Namun demikian masih banyak sekali kendaraan para goweser yang berusaha untuk tetap masuk ke lokasi mesjid. Macet pun akhirnya terjadi karena kendaraan yang berputar arah tidak bisa bergerak maju karena terhalang oleh kendaraan de depannya yg berusaha memasuki Mesjid. Kendaraan Kijang Inova di depan kami yang berputar arah itu pun akhirnya melintang di jalan dan menghalangi lalu lintas dan membuatnya stuck alias tidak bergerak. Klakson bersahut-sahutan, dan emosi para supir pun mulai terusik. Tapi tunggu sebentar…kaca mobil supir Inova pun kemudian diturunkan….dan tanpa dinyana…terlihatlah sosok wajah sang supir yg sudah terlihat sedikit panik dan ….Hei!!!…itu Om Slamet Goweser CCC Chapter Explorer Bukit Golf…Hwuakakakakakakakakak…kami pun tertawa poll melihat raut wajah Bro Slamet.
Kondisi parkiran yang penuh itu membuat kami terpaksa mencari lokasi parkir lainnya dan pilihan jatuh ke seberang RM Sederhana. Lantas kami menyewa angkot untuk naik ke Rindu Alam. Namun apa daya, perjalanan dengan angkot menuju Rindu Alam terhambat arus lalu lintas yang padat merayap sehingga kami baru tiba di Rindu Alam pukul 08.30 WIB. Herannya kenapa langit di atas masih saja diselimuti awan gelap….seakan masih seperti suasana subuh. Dinginnya suhu saat itu pun masih seperi ketika waktu subuh; sangat dingin karena tidak ada sinar matahari yang menghangatkan tubuh. Suasana di sekitar warung Mang Ade pun layaknya suasana perparkiran di Mesjid Gadog. Pelataran warung Mang Ade sudah dipenuhi oleh begitu banyak goweser yang berniat gowes di jalur RA. Kami pun merapat ke deretan warung di bagian atas.
Setelah unloading dan sarapan kami pun bersiap memulai gowes dengan briefing dan berdoa agar tujuan perjalanan yg fun dan safe bisa tercapai. Sesaat sebelum memasuki lokasi perkebunan teh Gunung Mas, kami bertemu rombongan om Rudi CCC hapter Explorer Bukit Golf yang membawa 30 orang pasukannya, dan juga Om Fery Kaligis goweser CCC chapter Cimanggis beserta istri yang membawa 8 orang rekannya dari kantor. Wow..seakan CCC mengadakan acara Gowes Bareng lagi, dan kali ini treknya adalah jalur RA. Kami juga tahu bahwa pagi sebelumnya Om Yani goweser CCC chapter Raflless Hill bersama 4 orang rekan lainnya gowes ke jalaur Telaga Warna. Juga kami lihat Om Joe goweser CCC Chapter Giant Cibubur yang sedang berstirahat di depan Taman Safari Cisarua, rupanya Om Joe gowes up hill dari Gadog. Senang sekali melihat bendera CCC dibawa oleh begitu banyak teman.
Gowes akhirnya dimulai dengan memasuki kebun teh Gunung Mas, dengan membayar Rp 2000,-/orang kepada bapak tua yg menunggu pintu.Kondisi trek lumayan kering di awal, dan perlu kehati-hatian untuk mengindari bebatuan lepas sebesar kepala manusia Sampai lokasi Paralayang, semua berjalan dengan lancar bahkan surprise juga melihat Om Adi yang sukses tanpa kesulitan melintasi turunan paralayang. Mungkin tingkat kepercayaan dirinya bertambah di atas tunggangan barunya. Selanjutnya gowes diteruskan melewati jalur berbatu dengan tingkat kemiringan yang lumayan curam. Di sini tidak ada yang berubah, kondisi trek masih tetap sama seperti dulu. Dan selanjutnya kita memasuki jalur bak kontrol air, dan kita dapati 80% bagian ini tidak dapat digowes..rusak parah…air tumpah ke tengah jalur dan jalur air ini membuat erosi jalur sehingga pada bagian tengah jalur menjadi cekung dan yang paling ekstrem membuat jalur seperti got panjang dengan kedalaman 30 cm. It’s really not gowesable…Lantas diujung jalur bak kontrol ini ada turunan curam yg dipenuhi batu besar yang merupakan batuan lepas. Kondisi ini lebih parah dari waktu yang lalu karena bebatuan lepasnya semakin banyak. Bagian ini juga direkomendasikan untuk tidak digowes. Selebihnya lintasan menuju Pabrik Teh Gunung Mas dalam keadaan baik dan tidak berubah sama sekali. Hanya saja, warung-warung di belakang Pabrik Gunung Mas tempat kita biasa beristirahat sekarang ini sudah dibongkar dan tempatnya di penuhi timbunan akar pohon teh yang dicabut dan dipotong karena sudah terlalu tua dan tidak produktif lagi. Akhirnya di sini kita hanya beristirahat sebentar dan mengecek kondisi rem belakang saya yg sedikit bermasalah karena strokenya amblas sampai ke grip ketika direm. Setelah adjusternya diubah, rem sudah membaik dan kemudian perjalanan dilanjutkan.



Jalan bebatuan menanjak landai yang lumayan panjang di tengah kebun teh dilalui perlahan sambil menjaga efisiensi pedalling untuk menjaga ban tetap rolling…lumayan melelahkan…dan dilanjutkan ke jalan aspal. Di sini kita dapatkan pemandangan kebun kol di sebelah kiri…pemandangan yang hijau dan mengagumkan. Namun setelah melewati kebun kol ini, seorang rekan kita terkapar tak berdaya dan sekilas seperti pingsan di pinggir jalan. Rupanya dia tidak pingsan hanya sedikit kunang-kunang dan sesak akibat gastritis. Kita putuskan untuk beristrahat sejenak sambil memulihkan kondisi rekan kita itu. Setelah 10 menit beristirahat kita kembali gowes menuju Gerbang Taman Safari, dan langsung lanjut ke tanjakan Ngehe 1 menuju Saung pertama. Sensasi gowes nanjak di Ngehe 1 tidak pernah berubah, masih selalu mengasyikkan untuk mengontrol efisiensi pedalling dan mengatur irama gowes. Namun sayang kenikmatan itu harus diakhiri ditengah jalan karena ada sebuah bus yang entah dari mana asalnya sudah dibelakang goweser dan memaksa kita untuk menepi dan berhenti….hilang sudah rolling dan irama gowes kita. Dan ketika gowes dilanjutkan, sungguh berat menggowes di tanjakan tanpa awalan. Akhirnya terpaksa dikeluarkan jurus pamungkas: TTB alias Teknik Tertinggi Bersepeda alias TunTunBike…hehehe…sampai ujung Ngehe 1, lalu disambung gowes singkat ke Saung seng. Kita beristirahat sesaat juga di saung ini dan kemudian mulailah berdatangan kawan-kawan CCC lainnya seperti Om Dodo Abdullah dan rekan, Om Rudy dan Om Slamet. Istirahat di Saung 1 ini menjadi ajang guyon dan senda gurau warga CCC karena sudah lumayan lama kami tidak gowes bareng dengan rekan-rekan itu. Nah ditengah senda gurau ini ada seorang rekan yang tidak bisa menahan hajat buang air besar…itu lho si Om yang tadi terkapar akibat gastritis…hehehe…bermodalkan sebotol air dalam botol aqua si Om ini mulai mencari tempat strategis di tengah kerimbunan pohon teh dan sesaat kemudian menghilang dibawah pohon teh…hwuahahahahaha…si Om ini memang edan bukan kepalang.
Di sini matahari masih belum muncul, dan waktu sudah menunjukkan pukul 11.00 WIB. Mungkin itu juga sebabnya fisik kita tidak terlalu terkuras akibat dukungan udara yang sejuk dan tidak adanya panas matahari yang menyengat yang biasanya selalu hadir ketika kita sudah sampai area Ngehe. Setelah beristirahat sejenak, dan fisik sudah segar kembali, diputuskan untuk tidak ke kiri ke Ngehe 2 dan 3, tetapi gowes ke kanan dilanjutkan menuju jalur Kondangan melewati trek Hutan Lindung Pangrango. Hutan Pangrango selalu menjadi tempat yang sangat mengasyikkan dengan pemandangan hutan tropis yang sangat lebat sehingga terasa sangat adem ketika kita berada di dalamnya. Ketika kita keluar dari kawasan Hutan Lindung kita bertemu rombongan Om Fery Kaligis dan rekan-rekannya dari kantor di warung di pertigaan jalan. Kita minum teh manis hangat di sini dan kemudian memulai sesi gowes on road menuju Gadog. Kita semua sampai di Gadog dengan selamat dan kemudian mandi di lingkungan Mesjid Gadog. Di sini kita bertemu Om Reza goweser CCC chapter Bogor yang gowes juga bersama rekan-rekannya. Lantas kita makan siang bersama di RM Simpang Rawi. Canda dan tawa menemani saat makan siang itu sambil me-review perjalanan gowes barusan…hehehe…semua tertawa lepas, kita sudah dapatkan fun dan safety…luar biasa! doa kita dikabulkan olehNya..Thank God.
Dan sampai Gadog pun matahari masih belum muncul….sungguh TIDAK ADA MATAHARI DI RA hari itu.
Berikut ini beberapa foto yang diambil dari kamera handphone:

Pelajaran berharga dari trip ini: JANGAN PERNAH GOWES KALAU BELUM BUANG HAJAT DI RUMAH…hehehe
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Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Collection of #tipsepeda for tweople

tweet bird Capture
For you the cyclist who already have Twitter account, please share your skill, knowledge and your experience of cycling so everybody will have simple guide on the bike and on their ride. Share it with hash tag: #tipsepeda on Twitter.
Here I have some copies of the tips :
DAFTAR TOKO SEPEDA bisa dilihat dihttp://bysikill.blogspot.com #tipsepeda
Aliran bersepeda bisa terlihat dr jenis Handlebar bin stang-nya juga, wide and raised utk AM/DH/FR, narrow and flat for XC #tipsepeda
Fullsusers! Your suspension travel is your id; XCer, DHer, AMer, FRer #tipsepeda
Tips membeli sepeda: #9 simpan baik2 semua dokumen pembelian: kartu garansi, kwitansi, n manual #tipsepeda

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Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Do I need Clipless pedals? Which ones? How much will they cost? Will they cause me to fall over when I stop?

Whether you're looking at a road, mountain or hybrid bike, there may be a clipless pedal in your future. But before we get into details, we need to point out why pedals & shoes are so important, and then define what a clipless pedal is!


The pedals on your bike really serve only one purpose- as a means to transfer power from you to your bicycle. For riding around the block, they don't need to be very fancy...just plastic blocks with grooves or teeth to plant your feet onto. But if you want to go on longer rides (anything over 10 miles), you'll benefit greatly from something better, because:
Without something holding your foot securely to the pedal, it would be easy to slip off the pedal and send your foot into the wheel. Not so likely to happen on a trip around the block, but on a longer ride, when you're tired...
There is a correct placement for the position of your foot over the pedal axle
A good pedal/shoe system has to be able to transfer all of the power from your leg to the pedals without trying to bend your foot over the top of the pedal, which causes both fatigue and pain
You shouldn't have to think about how your feet connect to the bicycle while you're riding. You should be concentrating on having fun, not technique!

In the old days, bike pedals either were plain (with no straps to hold your foot in place) or they had toe clips & straps. The toe clip was usually steel (most are now plastic) and formed a space, or box, at the front side of the pedal that you slid your foot into. Keeping your foot there is the responsibility of either a leather or nylon mesh strap, which you can pull tight when you wanted to make sure your foot stays in place, or loosen so you can get your foot out when you stop.

Toe clips & straps are still the norm for nearly all bikes between $350 and $1000. They're very inexpensive and don't require the use of a special shoe. But when used with conventional shoes, they tend to focus pedal forces onto a small part of the bottom of your foot, creating fatigue & pain on longer rides as your foot tries to bend itself around the pedal. Also, if the straps are not loosened as you come to a stop... Of course, you can always leave the straps loose, but then your feet don't stay in place without conscious effort to keep them on the pedals. And if you've tightened them down, you need to reach down and loosen them prior to stopping (a somewhat risky operation).

It's time to enter the clipless pedal revolution!

With a clipless pedal system, you wear special cycling shoes (but don't let "special" put you off...many look similar to normal hiking or walking shoes!) that allow a "cleat" to be mounted to their sole. This cleat literally snaps into a receptacle on the pedal, allowing you to quickly (and without having to reach down!) connect your shoes to the pedals and take off.

But, of course, you weren't worried about taking off...you're more concerned about stopping without falling over! Well, that's far more easily accomplished with a properly-chosen and adjusted clipless pedal system than it would be with toe clips & straps. With nearly every clipless pedal on the market, all you need to do is pivot your heel outward and you snap right out of the pedals. It's that easy!

What about the shoes? What makes them so special?

A high-quality cycling shoe is designed to be lightweight, comfortable (some optimizing comfort for both riding and walking, while others are made for riding only), and efficient at transferring power from you to your bicycle without pain & fatigue. Popular brands include Nike, Shimano & Sidi (which, not coincidentally, are all lines Chain Reaction carries!), and prices range from $70-$350. Their durability is very good, and the workmanship is generally as good as, and sometimes better than, normal street shoes selling in the same price range.

And the different pedal systems?

There are two basic choices-
Cycling-only pedal/shoe systems, which will have a cleat that mounts below the shoe and is optimized for cycling (and will send you sliding across the freshly-waxed floors at Robert's supermarket in Woodside if you're not careful...just grab for something in the middle of one of those row-end displays on your way down!). These were designed originally for road bikes, and are inappropriate for mountain bikes, where getting off and walking occurs frequently.
The newer systems featuring a cleat that's recessed into the bottom of the shoe, allowing you to walk normally when required. These were initially designed for mountain bikes, but find their way onto more than half of the road bikes we sell as people like the convenience of being able to walk around without slipping or sounding like a tap dancer (which is what exposed cleats sound like on wood or concrete floors).

Why would you want a shoe that has an exposed cleat (making walking around impractical) when you can opt for one that's recessed? Mostly because the shoes will be a bit lighter weight (there's no extra rubber on the bottom of the sole, just a plastic bottom that the cleat mounts onto) and also because, with some systems (LOOK & Speedplay, for example), the interface between the shoe and pedal is larger and gives a more solid feeling while pedaling. However, great strides have been made with the recessed cleat designs, and they are now almost as light and efficient as the non-recessed designs.

What do the pedals cost?

For non-recessed (cycling-only) designs, very high quality pedals start around $80 for a basic LOOK pedal, to $125-$200 for the newer, lighter Shimano SL and Speedplays. All represent excellent choices and offer what's known as a "floating" cleat. This type of cleat is one of the most wonderful things to come along to cycling in years; it allows your foot and knee to determine their own alignment on the pedal, which is extraordinarily important in reducing knee stress and pain. Prior to these designs, an improperly-set cleat could actually cause serious knee injury!

For recessed-cleat designs, there are a number of designs out there, but it's tough to do much better than the basic Shimano SPD. Prices have come way down, with just $50 buying a great pedal (Shimano's M520). These are all dual-sided, meaning that you can step in from either the top or bottom, and, while originally designed for mountain bikes, are equally at home on road bikes. They also have rotational float, which makes them much easier on the knees than earlier designs.

Great deals that aren't. There are many other recessed-cleat pedals, but we generally don't recommend them because, in our experience, they are frequently far more difficult to get into and out of (Onza and Tioga are great examples from the past) and difficult to find cleats for due to continuous running changes in their designs. We've also seen some copycat Shimano-like pedals made for a major mailorder company. At first inspection they look pretty nice, but they interface very poorly with shoes. Check it out...a recessed-cleat pedal/shoe design requires that the shoe be supported at the outside edges of the pedal to keep from flopping around. But on these pedals and many shoes we've tried, the sole of the shoe sits well above the pedal, so the only thing supporting your foot is the tiny cleat itself. This is not enough for proper support; you get an uncomfortable, excessively-wobbly feel while pedaling. And they're not even that cheap, at $40/pair...sure, it's maybe $10 less than some others, but it's a bad place to save a small amount of money.

Proper cleat placement is important, even though the new floating-cleat designs have made it far less critical. There are basically two things to set up- approximate cleat angle and fore/aft positioning.

For the angle, we generally set up the cleats so that, when the shoe is moved inwards, your ankle won't quite hit the crank. With this position, all the pedal systems we offer allow a significant outward angle from neutral (in line with the bike), meaning that your foot can go just about anyplace it wants to. The only reason for changing the cleat position so it allows less outward movement is for those who have difficulty moving their heels out far enough to exit the pedals.

For fore/aft, we start by positioning the cleat so the ball of your foot is centered over the pedal. This position generally results in high energy transfer from foot-to-pedal without undue stress on the knee. However, for those who've experienced knee problems, the first thing that should be tried is to move the cleat towards the back of the shoe, dramatically reducing the amount of leverage that the pedal can exert against your foot and knee.

But will I fall over?

OK, we'll finally answer the BIG question. Once you get used to clipless pedals, the chances of coming to a stop before exiting your pedal (and thus falling over) are greatly reduced. BUT...chances are, in that first day or two, you'll forget that you need to twist your foot to the side (instead of pulling back) to get out. By the time you recognize your mistake, it's too late, as you've lost all forward speed. And, with no place to go but down...you get the picture. You will, in very slow motion, and nearly always with people around to see it happen, fall over. You're not likely to get hurt, but it's terribly embarrassing. And most likely there's nothing that makes you so special that you'll avoid the fate shared by just about everyone else. Just try and remember this...

It's almost impossible to come up with a truly original way to embarrass yourself on a bike. The rest of us have already, as they say, been there, done that.

(dikutip dari http://www.chainreaction.com/pedalfaq.htm)
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Wednesday, 10 December 2008

Tuesday, 2 September 2008

Ho do I Choose A Right Bike?

A common misconception is that a new rider needs more suspension because of the added control. While the added suspension may instill confidence in some technical sections, often time the relaxed geometry is not suited to less experienced riders.

On the other hand, it is just as hard to avoid the temptation of the ultra-light bike. The benefits of light weight are undeniable, but a novice rider will find XC racing bikes can be difficult to control when the trail gets rough.


XC Racing Bikes



Often called Cross Country bikes, XC Racing bikes are designed to tackle a mountain from the bottom. Lightweight and efficient, XC bikes often sacrifice comfort and control as luxuries you can’t afford when racing to the top.

XC bike frames are either hardtail or short travel, semi-active suspension designs. Long and low, XC bikes put the rider in a stretched out position. Best suited to gradual terrain, XC racing bikes are popular in areas without a lot of rocks and roots and among competitive riders.

If your idea of mountain biking is fitness and endurance you may want to consider a XC Racing bike. If you consider the best rider the one who made it to the top first, then your choice is made.

XC Trail Bikes



Often called all-purpose, XC Trail bikes are what most people think of when they hear the term “mountain bike”.

XC Trail bikes are designed to climb with control and comfort and descend with speed. With active suspension, knobby tires and low gearing the XC trail bike is slightly less efficient than an XC Racing bike but can be more enjoyable to ride downhill. As terrain gets steeper, trails tend to get rockier and the ultra-light XC Racing bike may ride roughly, but the XC Trail bike is right at home.

If you like the idea of challenging yourself on a rocky climb, enjoy extended singletrack descents and want to battle it out with your friends going uphill or down, an XC Trail bike may be for you.

All-Mountain Bikes



Some riders just need more. As adventures get longer and trails more remote, many riders see increased value in reliability and downhill control.

The bigger tires, plush suspension and powerful brakes of the All-Mountain bike are an insurance policy against accidents and mishaps and can be just plain fun to ride. With geometry suited to steep terrain and small drop-offs All-Mountain bikes can inspire confidence, however, on more mild terrain they can feel sluggish.

If you are an all-day adventurer or ride harsh trails you may be an All-Mountain rider.

Freeride Bikes



Freeride bikes are designed to ride the most extreme types of terrain. Steep chutes, large rocks and roots, big jumps and drop-offs, and just about anything else, natural or man-made, that you can imagine.

With only the occasional concession made for even the thought of riding uphill, freeride bikes are mountain biking’s version of monster trucks. Blurring the line between bicycle and motorcycle, bikes with eight inches of rear wheel travel, three inch wide tires, and eight inch diameter brake rotors are commonplace.

If you are attracted to the challenge of going big and see mountain biking as a source of individual expression, Freeriding will appeal to you. And what does any extreme athlete need? Well, a Saint to watch over him, of course.
taken from bike.shimano.com
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