Dork Discs - The debate

[Anonymous]

well theres no thread yet so lets have one

new bike came with one, so there is the debate on wether to remove it..

reasons to remove:
other cyclists take the ****
it looks crap
if your RD is properly adjusted it shouldnt be needed
other cyclists take the ****

reasons to keep:
its not actually doing any harm
its not heavy
and it could prevent damage to the bike



seems to me the only actual reason to remove it is to stop getting the mick taken out of yourself..

 

[ViaPagliano]

yeah get rid of that thing. not easy on the eyes. like braces.

 

[titan_90]

well theres no thread yet so lets have one

new bike came with one, so there is the debate on wether to remove it..

reasons to remove:
other cyclists take the ****
it looks crap
if your RD is properly adjusted it shouldnt be needed
other cyclists take the ****

reasons to keep:
its not actually doing any harm
its not heavy
and it could prevent damage to the bike



seems to me the only actual reason to remove it is to stop getting the mick taken out of yourself..

As you have said, if your RD is set-up correctly they are completely redundant and they make you look like a Fred.

 

[usedtobefast]

my around town Fredbike(a Specilaized Hardrock) has all the reflectors and yes the Dork Disc, too. back when i was hardcore bikeracing man, we used to call people Fred and make fun of anything that was not "pro". now i am in touch with my 'inner Fred'. it helps to remember why you ride a damn bike to begin with. and boy does it make some guys mad when i am on a 35 pound mtb and
they cannot drop my on any of the climbs. "i fart in your general direction,monsieur!" so nowadays i revel in the Fred Factor. life is too short.

 

[titan_90]

my around town Fredbike(a Specilaized Hardrock) has all the reflectors and yes the Dork Disc, too. back when i was hardcore bikeracing man, we used to call people Fred and make fun of anything that was not "pro". now i am in touch with my 'inner Fred'. it helps to remember why you ride a damn bike to begin with. and boy does it make some guys mad when i am on a 35 pound mtb and
they cannot drop my on any of the climbs. "i fart in your general direction,monsieur!" so nowadays i revel in the Fred Factor. life is too short.

I believe everyone has a bit of Fred in them. I have a Topeak Road Morph(I hate having my arms go numb after pumping 300 times with those little mini pumps and still not reaching proper pressure) hanging next to one of my bottle cages and I don't carry CO2 at all(I did at one time and ran out of extra cartridges and didn't have a mini pump with me). Some of my riding buddies laughed until they needed to borrow it on a ride. I plan on getting a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HPG pump this Spring to replace it as the Lezyne looks better and can be rebuilt. But I draw the line at reflectors and dork disks

 

[L29205]

First to the post, I would get rid of the disk. It serves no purpose on a well maintained bike. It also starts to look like cr@p after a year or two.

On embracing your inner fred, I have come to pass with the fact that in my youth I was a judgmental and immature individual. I feel the longer you are in the sport, the more you become a closer to the Fred inside. You start to care less about what others think and more about getting what you want out of the sport of cycling.

Maybe since I have renewed my USCF license for the first time in 15, I will start to regress from my inner Fred.

 

[cyclegeek]

I take everything off that isn't required to gain weight. I need all the help I can get climbing.

 

[usedtobefast]

I believe everyone has a bit of Fred in them. I have a Topeak Road Morph(I hate having my arms go numb after pumping 300 times with those little mini pumps and still not reaching proper pressure) hanging next to one of my bottle cages and I don't carry CO2 at all(I did at one time and ran out of extra cartridges and didn't have a mini pump with me). Some of my riding buddies laughed until they needed to borrow it on a ride. I plan on getting a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HPG pump this Spring to replace it as the Lezyne looks better and can be rebuilt. But I draw the line at reflectors and dork disks

i still have my lightweight racing bikes, but i still laugh about my 'fredbike' it is like a freaking tank. so big and heavy, but very stable in 'santana winds' and comfy. and it climbs great, so i peeve all the young guys by clamping down on their wheel and letting them drag me up the hill.

plus i always wear the team kit.

 

[usedtobefast]

here is me and one of my bikes, it is a custom one off.

 

[cyclegeek]

That bike rules! It that a belt drive? HA HA!

 

[titan_90]

i still have my lightweight racing bikes, but i still laugh about my 'fredbike' it is like a freaking tank. so big and heavy, but very stable in 'santana winds' and comfy. and it climbs great, so i peeve all the young guys by clamping down on their wheel and letting them drag me up the hill.

plus i always wear the team kit.

I have been thinking about building myself this summer a Touring or Audax bike for centuries and one or two day trips. The whole nine-yards steel frame and fork, fenders, racks, a Brooks B-17 saddle, leather bartape, a triple crank and a 9-speed MTB cassette and rear derailleur and it has to have down-tube shifters. I am just afraid that it will be so comfortable it will be the only bike I ride.

Something like this, it's not too Fred, right

Edit: Still no reflectors or dork disks will be installed

 

[usedtobefast]

I have been thinking about building myself this summer a Touring or Audax bike for centuries and one or two day trips. The whole nine-yards steel frame and fork, fenders, racks, a Brooks B-17 saddle, leather bartape, a triple crank and a 9-speed MTB cassette and rear derailleur and it has to have down-tube shifters. I am just afraid that it will be so comfortable it will be the only bike I ride.

Something like this, it's not too Fred, right

Edit: Still no reflectors or dork disks will be installed

nice ride. you do have lights, so reflectors are not as necessary.

 

[TheDude]

Take off the disk. Now I say that as I'm adding a shark-tooth on the front from one too-many dropped chains from the small chainring. I may need to pull a couple of chain links out - everything else is set-up just right and I'm not sure what else to try.

That Bridgestone looks way comfortable. I test-rode a Cannondale touring bike last summer. It was way comfortable, but just not right for me. I look the complete Fred as I ride my son to school in the morning on a seat added to the back of my cyclo-X bike. Nice thing is, he is now big enough to hold my work bag.

 

[karlboss]

I like the dork factor. I want to see a TDF winner with a beard.

 

[L29205]

I like the dork factor. I want to see a TDF winner with a beard.

What qualifies as a beard?

A nice goatee
A small soul patch
Or are you a talking full blown Santa Clause

Go to a wind tunnel with a full beard and show that there is an aerodynamic benefit and everyone will be sporting one.

 

[karlboss]

What qualifies as a beard?

A nice goatee
A small soul patch
Or are you a talking full blown Santa Clause

Go to a wind tunnel with a full beard and show that there is an aerodynamic benefit and everyone will be sporting one.

full blown santa, Sean eadie did ok, and surely its worth more watts at that speed. I am good with numbers, I'm near sure I could create a protocol that proves beards are aerodynamic. Hell with enough length and product I reckon it'd make a great fairing.

 

[usedtobefast]

full blown santa, Sean eadie did ok, and surely its worth more watts at that speed. I am good with numbers, I'm near sure I could create a protocol that proves beards are aerodynamic. Hell with enough length and product I reckon it'd make a great fairing.

get to work then man!

 

[ravens]

here is me and one of my bikes, it is a custom one off.

is that a club in your hand or are you just....

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

About dork disks and reflectors, depends on the bike. On my race bikes, absolutely not, they add weight and cheapen the look of your bike, totally unneccesary. On my daily ride, commuter bike, I say hell yeah. They aren't hurting anything. Besides it's nice to blend with the recreational hybrid crowd every once in a while.

As for embracing your inner Fred, you shouldn't take yourself too seriously in any sport, especially cycling. It's important to laugh at yourself. Otherwise, you're just a bike snob blowing up a weekend club ride, begging to be humbled by that guy with chain grease on his right leg and a jersey tucked into his bibs (okay maybe not that far).

 

[Anonymous]

no reflectors but for now the dork disc remains..

for the sake of a 1oz peice of plastic and the risk of not looking cool, it doesnt bother me that much.Not nearly as much as a knackered chain and rear wheel would do, despite how well the RD may be adjusted..

 

[ravens]

no reflectors but for now the dork disc remains..

for the sake of a 1oz peice of plastic and the risk of not looking cool, it doesnt bother me that much.Not nearly as much as a knackered chain and rear wheel would do, despite how well the RD may be adjusted..

If I ever get to cat 3, I promise to show up at a race with one. eff the ocd herd culture of cycling.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

no reflectors but for now the dork disc remains..

for the sake of a 1oz peice of plastic and the risk of not looking cool, it doesnt bother me that much.Not nearly as much as a knackered chain and rear wheel would do, despite how well the RD may be adjusted..

I know what you mean, a 1oz plastic ring doesn't seem like much, but if it came loose or cracks, you won't hesitate to yank that thing off....just be careful around those spokes

 

[usedtobefast]

'frieda' in all her unwashed glory...

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

We all have that bike we just can't part wit it.

What about saddle bags? Are those in the same category with dork disks and reflectors?

 

[CycloErgoSum]

Serious cyclists aren't much for democracy, much less diversity. How can a touring bike be uncool? A cyclotourist a 'fred'? Those guys and girls can ride hundreds of miles everyday. Right across continents. Unaided. Anyone with that kind of stamina, attitude and self-sufficiency ought to be applauded. In some countries they are, too.

Anyone who judges another to be a 'fred' or worries about their own degree of fredness is callow and immature, elitist, impractical and unoriginal, not to mention unhealthily obsessed. Tim Krabbe's seminal cycling novel The Rider sums up the delusion well:

Hot and overcast. I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of those lives shocks me. (p.1)

The lives of non-cyclists and less-serious cyclists aren't empty, and their personalities are much more likely to be well-rounded, free of the neurotic obsession of the central character. If you want to discover who you really are, or to do something important, you'll need to stop being a follower.