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Call me kinky but going into my shed and smelling a lubed bike gets me fired up for a ride. The sound of my tires not quite gripping mid berm does it for me too.
Cooking brakes, which normally means a good descent was had.
Bunnyhopping with the wind behind you - silence.
The smell of fresh cake, and the sound of someone else paying for it...
Smell of a bacon roll before a ride! The smell of brakes at the bottom of a big descent is great as well.
swarfega
The clunk of my SPD clicking into the pedal
smells: gt85, new tyres, new clothes, pine forests.
sounds: the clicking of certain hubs freewheeling, a perfect shift, your mate ahead wooping, the near silence of a perfect landing.
tastes: all of the above
😀
The clunk of my SPD clicking into the pedal
+1
Also my Pro II on a fast descent
Smell - chain lube
Sound - actually the silence in between tyres leaving the ground and then reconnecting while riding fast and then jumping something (ah, what cycical said)
I love the sound of a loud cassette like the Pro II 🙂 Also the sound of tyres whooshing up the launch of a jump then the silence whilst in the air.
Forgot about new tyre smell, so nice! Another one is White Lightning (the lube not the cheap cider).
dog pooo then having to find were it is 😉
i like the sound of a knobbly on your tyre pinging back after being deformed by a rock or root. the smell of pine forest.
my calf on fire as my frame snapped pushing the wheel up against my calf ........... nice
Smell - Wild garlic
Sound - the whirring of brake pads against rotor at speed
the silence as your wheels leave the ground...
Smell - GT85
Sound - Tyres in a dense pine forest, Pro 2 hub clattering
sound, my CK hub at full chat... 🙄
smell, GT85.... the only bike perfume 8)
GT85, wild garlic, woodsmoke.
The sound [i]Bike[/i] makes when it lands on my doormat.
GT 85
The sound of my tyres getting loads of grip which means it is dry and I am going well
The sound of deer ripping through the forest out of knowhere or a buzzard taking off 🙂
Smells: Anything that reminds you how much you love being outside doing it.
Smells - green oil - honest it smells LUSH!OOh and wet wood mmmmm ahhh and not so much my new winter shoes ;-(
Sounds - gotta be the spd clunk, hope hub whirr and out of breath chat with your bike mates 😀 OOh and "Pub" shouted through any weather on a Tuesday night!!!!
pos. smell, The bacon and egg baps at Llandegla 😀
neg. smell, the septic tank at the finish of Llandegla 😮
pos. sound, forest machinery cutting new trails 😀
neg. sound, when your riding along in a world of your own, and someone shouts "comming through on the right" 😳
i like the sound your tyres make on really really dry heathery moorland singletrack, the ground sounds almost hollow. small block 8 skids sound wicked too, they proper scream!
smell has to be burning discs, as above
Rattly bike noises as I plummet though the knarl.
The smell of the earth
+1 for Pro II hubs, and the sight of the roost passing you as you rail a corner at full tilt!
[nerd] the 'skwoosh' from an open bath marzocchi fork.
Opening the cardboard that contains my new frame.
Sniff sniff!
Teflon lube
Sound - The silence as you get air on a swoopy singletrack. Not really a sound, I know, but you get the idea!
Smell - Bluebells on a warm may day, mixed with dry dusty trails...!
smell - new bike smell. i dont know what it is but it smells nice. and call me weird but i like the smell of mud 😀
sound - silence when in the air, clattering through rough stuff or my silent freehub
The smell of Bog myrtle. Unfortunately its found in boggy places.
Sounds - tyre beads popping into place, the perfect click of perfectly adjusted gears, the relative peace of riding a road bike (and the ease associated with it!) after several days on the mountain bikes, sheep munching.
Smells - GT85 every time, and conversely; proper fresh air - clean, pure, northern fresh air.
gt85. im a mechanic and i use the stuff all the time. but i still love the smell.
A pro2 rear hub
GT85
SPD clipping in
Road cleats clipping in
Silent shifting on the road bike and the effortless speed it affords!
gt85
Pine forest smell
Noise of knobbly tyres blipping off a rock.
Smell - bog myrtle. Usually on a warm summer's evening.
Sound - Curlew as they wheel across the moors (Oyster Catchers are a close second).
Neither specifically about bikes - just the experience of being outside on one.
i love the tone changes in my ck hub when i flow/pump singletrack
Sound That hollow earth sound
Smell Sheep poo on tyres
+ 1 for the silence as you get a bit of air. Smell of the woods first thing in the morning and a bacon sarnie at the cafe mid ride.
The sound of a Curlew on an open moor, speshly when there's no other sounds. Then that 'click' of your cleat/pedal interface as you pedal off into the distance.
Then the smell of a Chicken Balti my missus has made as I get home. Glorious!
Neither specifically about bikes - just the experience of being outside on one.Once your subconscious has linked the two they are, for you, inseparable and you will always associate one with the other..cool.
That hollow sound you get on rooty soil when it's really dry and rolling fast.
And wet disk brakes parping like a bunch of brass bandsmen plummeting down a steep slope (especially on a night ride).
Those early mornings when you Can actually smell the summer. The smell of pedros dry lube is quite somthing as well.
As for sound , the sound of the rear mech smacking itself senseless against a steel frame is nice if only just because it means I am enjoying myself.
Sound - The sound your tyres make when you pump the trail, plus the sound of fat tyres on tarmac and the sound of a hope Pro2 going faster
Smell - Used pads - just makes me think of riding.
GT85
Pine forest on a hot day.
Fast proII hubs. (Not ProII's being pushed due to a puncture. :cry:)
Tyres through fresh snow.
fresh rubber
Smell - GT85, bike shops
Sound - Ringle hubs, tyres crunching over gravel
hot aluminium after winding off a crank arm.
the hollow rumble of tubeless tyres on dry ground.
and I really truly hate the smell of GT85.
The freshness of spring time on my local trails, the smell of wild garlic and bluebells and me sweating....nice.
Triflow lube
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I quite like the sound of me giggling when i just got away with something that could have gone badly wrong 🙂
GT85 smells like fly spray! yuk
Smell: the yellow buds on gorse bushes, just lovely.
Sound: the swishing / swaying noise of wind in the high pine trees (whilst wild camping on the pine needles below - which is another glorious smell, full of memories)
sounds - my number being called at the tea shop and ripping the p**s out of each other on rides.
smells - not my manky shoes or musty van.
Taste: Donuts. It's something I really associate with cycling now. If I'm driving somewhere to cycle I'll usually stop in at Greggs and get a pack of donuts.
Soundz: The hollow thud and crunching of twigs in natural woodland trails.
Smells: Oily bike smell
The tinkle of cow bells as you anticipate your next alpine descent, it just gives you that summer feeling, good times with friends.
Pine forests for me too.
Those early mornings when you Can actually smell the summer.
That almost made me cry (what a wuss!)
Can anyone else smell summer coming at the moment? I tell you, she's on her way and this year she's got a bigger smile.
Wet forest smells great.
I love the sound of tyres rolling over fresh snow that is just right for riding on.
Spanish pre-ride coffee.
Sound: The quarry slate on the lakes when descending on it, it just says welcome back.
Smell: I was tempted by a lube but honestly it's the smell of outdoors be it woods, fields, water or good old sheep. Just the smell makes me happy and gives me a sense of freedom and no worries.
Ti29er - Member
Smell: the yellow buds on gorse bushes, just lovely.
Yes - just like coconut.
Sound: the swishing / swaying noise of wind in the high pine trees (whilst wild camping on the pine needles below - which is another glorious smell, full of memories)
And the call of Ravens - and they make so many different ones.
The sound of their wingbeats as they fly overhead on open moorland.
"Can anyone else smell summer coming at the moment? I tell you, she's on her way and this year she's got a bigger smile. "
- thanks Robdob. That just made my day reading that! I keep thinking I can.....
The fox poo you just rode through as it flicks onto your face....
The skin leaving your knee as you slide along the trail....
The pop of a knee as you take a high speed dab....
All great in their own special way.
But I had this earie silence whilst on a great decent and all I could hear was a perfectly setup bike and rider in harmony, the front tyre gently buzzing and tap tap taping on the rockery in a full high speed gnaaarr.
Feel free to add to the next verse of this classic Jam song
GT 85 and the silence of jumping
Tyres through fresh snow and disc brakes burning
That's entertainment, that's entertainment.
the sound of tyres ripping through fresh crunchy snow 🙂
the smell of wild garlic in the Spring
I always like the smell of new mown grass / hay, 'oft in that early evening dampness (I live at the bottom of a hill) you get when the dew starts to form. That to me is a summer smell.
sound - the crisp crackle of snow / frost under the wheels
smell - the slow cooker cooking up a casserole on returning home from a long ride
Strage but I just zone out when riding.......
Unless stationary I couldn't tell you about any specific smells or noises.
Hmm.
Must pay more attention 😆
Sounds - Deep, deep breathing as you reach the top of a technical/any climb. The splash as you careen through puddles when you know dry clothing is minutes away!
Smell - GT85
i love the sound of peeps down the trails (DJ)
that vrrroooom as they hit the compression, followed by a silent click click click click...
vroom
click click
vroom
and repeat.
I love the smell of muddy grass and wet leaves in autumn and early winter - what I call the cyclocross smell. (Cuz that's what I associate it with - even though I haven't ridden cross for years.)
Sound - knobbly tyres at high speed skipping down a gravelly trail.
Sound - birdsong as I climb up through woodland.
Smell - pine resin as I swoosh down through a continental forest towards the sea. (thinking back to rides in Greece & Spain).
I had my first whiff of wild garlic today though on the ride into work and that's probably my second favourite.
Sensation - the breeze ruffling through my leg hairs as I stand at the edge of a seacliff on a coastal trail, listening to the sound of the gulls and the sea.
Last weekend I was liking the hum of knobblies on the slats of a couple of little wooden bridges.
[u]Sounds[/u] - The silent purr of a well maintained bike. Everything running smoothly, with no annoying clicks. Goes double for a SS.
[u]Smells[/u] - The smell of trees/sap in the spring. The woods are full of it right now......nature bursting at the seams!
I'm with the OP, bike lube or GT85 for some reason is a wicked smell.
Tyres breaking traction on dry trails - like proper almost binned it lock ups where you end up fluking your way through a section quicker than ever even though you essentially cocked it up.
I love that earthy, peaty smell of damp forest, the sound of a proII getting faster and faster and the feel of the first bit of muddy water hitting my shins.