Road Cycling Essentials

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Yep I've got one. I used it for my 400 mile ride through France on my carbon bike (no eyelits, which I assume is the same reason you're looking at it). Was very very good. Carried a lot of stuff for the week with the side frame and panniers too and even survived a crash.

Considering it's only got one point of contact with the bike it was extremely stable.
 
Russinating said:
Yep I've got one. I used it for my 400 mile ride through France on my carbon bike (no eyelits, which I assume is the same reason you're looking at it). Was very very good. Carried a lot of stuff for the week with the side frame and panniers too and even survived a crash.

Considering it's only got one point of contact with the bike it was extremely stable.
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Which model have you got and which bag?
Would it fit on the Forme Longcliffe 3.0?
 
Russinating said:
I *think* I've got the E-Type - http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/MTXBeamRackE-Type - but I'd have to check. They're all the same, the only difference is the kink in the bar to make sure it sits above your back wheel.

I've then got this bag: http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/MTXTrunkBagEXP plus the side guards.

No idea about it fitting on certain bikes, I just took mine into Evans and fitted it there and then to check.
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Have you by any chance got a picture of your setup?
 
godinman said:
Is it best to swap to a triple groupset or change the rear cogs if your struggling on steep hills?
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What have you got at the moment? A double (53/39 tooth rings) or a compact (50/34 tooth rings)?

Going to a triple would give the biggest range of gears, but it's a lot more expensive than swapping the cassette.

A new cassette would be around £40-£60 and thats all you would need.

to swap to a triple, you need a new crank, front derailleur, and shifter. Propbably over £300.

I would stay with what you've got up front and get a cassette with a bigger sprocket on it. Triples are a bit old fashioned now. A double/compact is also lighter and easier to set up.
 
Russinating said:
This pedal and shoe combo is quite a popular pair for beginners. It's what I'm still using a year+ on.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3760
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55382

£80.99 all in. Easy enough to replace the pedals as long as you've got a large enough hex key and remember that the left pedal is reverse threaded (ie unscrew clockwise).
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You can get the M520s for £20. Still double sided but more plastic and less metal. Yet to have a pair fail on me after 4 years.
 
Russinating said:
This pedal and shoe combo is quite a popular pair for beginners. It's what I'm still using a year+ on.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3760
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55382

£80.99 all in. Easy enough to replace the pedals as long as you've got a large enough hex key and remember that the left pedal is reverse threaded (ie unscrew clockwise).
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How trippy are those shoes? I was looking at ones with recessed cleat spaces so it was easier to walk on?
I'm half tempted to get those single sided ones you can use with normal shoes, anyone tried those?
 
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Dimple said:
Have you by any chance got a picture of your setup?
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rKA2l.jpg


And with tent:

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[DOD]Asprilla;22045767 said:
You can get the M520s for £20. Still double sided but more plastic and less metal. Yet to have a pair fail on me after 4 years.
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That's what I meant to post and that's what I use. Was obviously in a rush, doh!
 
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VeNT said:
How trippy are those shoes? I was looking at ones with recessed cleat spaces so it was easier to walk on?
I'm half tempted to get those double sided ones you can use with normal shoes, anyone tried those?
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I have Shimano A530 pedals on a couple of my bikes, so that I can use normal shoes when I want to ride to the shop or something. As for the shoes, I went for a pair of Shimano M087 instead of proper road shoes, as they're a lot easier to walk in, and it's easier to get the wide sizes.
 
VeNT said:
How trippy are those shoes? I was looking at ones with recessed cleat spaces so it was easier to walk on?
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It's obviously a lot easier to walk in shoes with recessed cleats but the advantage of those shoes is that they will take road cleats as well so you can use mtb cleats which are easier to release whilst you're learning then switch over to road pedals when you're more confident.
 
Stats from my steel framed commuter this month

Approximately 1 month, 5th May - 1st June

Dist: 193km
Time: 8h55m
Max : 64.4km/h
aver: 21.6km/h
Cal (approx):3875

With the talk of gears I use a 30-42-53 on the front and 13-21 7 speed rear. My cadence would be very low on one of the hills of the commute without the triple. Got a 12-28 replacement hg 50 as CRC was selling them for £13, couldn't actually find a 13-21.
 
Thanks for the links Russinating, will see what the shop has to offer and compare it to those (or the other ones posted after), I don't mind paying a little bit more for him to do it as it's nice to have a local person to go and see and moan/ask advice at. Shall see.
 
VeNT said:
How trippy are those shoes? I was looking at ones with recessed cleat spaces so it was easier to walk on?
I'm half tempted to get those single sided ones you can use with normal shoes, anyone tried those?
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If you get the MTB clipless pedals, then it's real difficult to walk with the MTB style cleats on road cycling shoes, as the bottom of the shoe is flat, no recessed cleat space, and the cleat is quite small.

On my commuter, I have the M540 double sided pedals, and use a MTB shoe as the cleats are recessed and allow you to walk.

If you went for road clipless pedals (such as these), the cleats that go on them are big enough that you can walk on them.
 
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