jpescatore

For the past 7 or 8 years, I've been able to think of a cycling "toy" I wanted to buy over the winter to play with or upgrade the bike(s) with - Kickr trainer, Wahoo Roam, Zwift, upgrade bags or seat or shoes, switch to SPD-SL cleats, move to GP-5000 tires, and last year the Varia radar/taillight.

This year the only thing i can think of is maybe some cushier bar tape on my road bike. My credit card company will issue a fraud alert for lack of use over the winter...

shelbyfv

Power meter

Pop N Wood

N+1

Jno

I don’t know if wheels qualify as doodad-esque upgrades but with so many options, researching them will give you many hours of entertainment, and buying them will give your credit card company a boost during these difficult times.

Retro Grouch 

Now see, that's what happens when you do too much shopping on line. They only show you the stuff that you already know about and are actively looking for.

You need those retro paper catalogues with pictures of all the neat and necessary stuff that you didn't know existed.

bruce19

You are hereby banned from BF.

Lemond1985

For the man who has everything, I would suggest a Cycliq Fly 12 CE, for recording your near-misses and close passes. I ended up buying two, and won't ride these days without one.




They record at an incredible 60 frames per second at 1080p, so you can always pull good clear still shots from the video.

delbiker1 

The last 2 winters I had bike projects to work on. I keep looking at bikes/frames but I already have a couple of bikes that I can work on, if I choose to. Also,I have too many bikes already and want to subtract, not add. The only thing I really need is a new headset for my Lemond Poprad. Instead of impulsively buying bike things, I am putting stuff on hold for overnight, at least, and that helps me to realize the item might be something I want in the moment, but do not need, and maybe no longer want the next day. Buyers remorse is not a good feeling.

freeranger

How about a dually diesel truck with an eight foot bed, with trailer hitch and mount in the bed for the bike, for times when you can't ride the bike to your starting point? Could also serve to haul mulch, dirt, etc. Should only set ya back about what a house used to cost.

hsuBM

Everyone should have full cold weather cycling clothes and a fendered winter training fixed gear road bike.

mstateglfr 

One day, I hope to not have the itch to buy stuff thru the winter. Unfortunately I enjoy building up frames, so I think a winter when I dont buy stuff is a long way off.

tkamd73 

Time for a new hobby.
Tim

mstateglfr 

It sucks that you have so many close passes you feel compelled to document them. That doesnt seem like fun riding.
What do you do with these clear shots though of vehicles passing closer than what makes you comfortable? Whats the end game?

WhyFi

In addition to the previously mentioned power meter and Cycliq, if I were riding a Trek, I'd be tempted by the new Bontrager carbon wheels that were released this year.

Also, one thing that I've added this winter is studded tires for the gravel bike - I get stir-crazy and being able to get out of the house is nice. Bustin' my ass on the ice the last couple years? Not so nice. I'm actually looking forward to rumblin' down the road when the ice comes.

Lemond1985

LOL.

WhyFi

If a pass is egregious (or, heaven forbid, there's a collision), having the footage for the authorities is obviously beneficial. There's still a lot of shoulder-shrugging among law enforcement, but that's slowly changing with more and more evidence. Making cycling cameras ubiquitous would also go a long way in preventing vehicular asshattery - if I driver knows that there's a good chance that they're being filmed, it'll put a big ***** in the their armor of behind-the-wheel invincibility.

Along those lines, Cycliq has a sister site, UpRide.cc, where you can document and log dangerous/aggressive behavior. While it may not help in cases where no charges are pressed, it can help to establish a pattern of a driver's aggression if they should ever hit someone. "I didn't see them," is a lot easer to dismiss if a database can be queried and it shows several close passes.

Koyote

Maybe it makes even more sense to have cameras in all motor vehicles, since they are involved in 100% of MV accidents.

WhyFi

This is true, but then there would be cries of "nanny state," "big brother," etc. Voluntary adoption would be much easier in the short-term. Plus, cameras are fun for documenting cool rides, whether it's great scenery or crushing your friends at the town sign sprint. I really got my camera for the fun of it, but I justified it with the spouse with the more serious aspect.

Koyote

Yep, agreed on all counts. But since my only near-death experience was being rear-ended while in my car, I can see the value of having cameras on all MVs. Just like police officers wear body cameras.

The technology really shouldn't be all that expensive, since even many mid-priced new cars have some of the tech already built-in -- in the form of those accident-avoidance systems.

WhyFi

It would be wonderful, but at the same time, I think that there's the significant hurdle of sifting through millions of hours of footage for aggressive behavior/close calls that don't result in damage/harm. Drivers aren't going to volunteer a timestamp so it would be up to the aggrieved to identify them; making a mental note of plate numbers is almost always impossible, so without a camera, we're back at square one.

mstateglfr 

I'm familiar with the skit.
I really am not sure what I would do with footage of a vehicle passing closer than I like. You suggested buying the camera so I figured I would see what you do with the footage.
Do you email it to police??
Do you post it on YouTube as a compilation?
Do you try to dox the drivers on forums?

Based on the MP vid, it appears you do nothing with it.

phughes

Forget the doo dads, get a thingamabob.

mstateglfr 

Fully agree a camera could help in a collision. The other poster mentioned documenting close passes which is why I asked whats done with those.

As for an online database of selective video to show a pattern of behavior in court, I dont know about that.
I would think there are some significant issues that would need to be worked out for such a process to work.

A camera to document fun rides is great! I find myself watching multiple documented ride segments on readit each week. Anything from a 4yo riding their first clamshell to someone tearing down a run at breakneck speed and hitting all their jump perrectly- its neat to see ride videos.

WhyFi

What significant issues? You upload the video. You enter the license plates. Authorities can then search the database for the license plates and have video evidence. If someone has an established pattern of trying to brush cyclists with their mirror, it's hard to argue that there's not intent.

Lemond1985

OK, I'll bite. I'm an aspie AV geek type. I love electronic stuff i can tinker with, and I also like playing around in Photoshop, FWIW. Bikes and computers are my two main hobbies, and the Cycliq satisfies both quite well.

Also, I like to go back and review footage, to see if the person passed as close as it felt at the time. Usually the evnets i found terrifying at the time turn out to be pretty benign (like the truck crossing the center line above) so I feel safer after seeing I probably overreacted. I don't give videos to police, since they generally need to witness the incident personally before they will do anything (unless death or serious injury result). Close passes in my state are a $30 fine, not worth their time.

If I go on a particularly scenic ride, I will save the videos, they're fun to watch later on a big screen TV. Very relaxing. No commercials (other than the embedded logo).

And if I'm killed some day on the road, or seriously injured God forbid, there will be a record of what happened. And there will be a good chance of the driver being caught, regardless of whether I survive. That's not a big selling point for me, but probably worth mentioning.