Road Cycling Essentials

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Did the Exmouth Exodus last night (Bristol - Exmouth 105 miles Night Ride). Averaged just under 15mph in the end which I was quite pleased with considering it poured down for a good 40 miles of the ride and I had a puncture at about 30 miles in which I had to change in the pitch black :( apart from that great ride again this year.

Stats if anyone is interested:

Finished Cycle: 5 Aug 2012 06:16:16
Route: Exmouth Exodus 2012
Google Maps URL: Map Link
Ride Time: 7:03:07
Stopped Time: 2:21:36
Distance: 104.61 miles
Average: 14.83 mph
Fastest Speed: 44.03 mph
Ascent: 5621 feet

I started tracking at 8:50pm as we planned to leave at 9pm but it started to pour down for about 30 mins so we didn't leave until 9:30ish. Arrived at Exmouth at 06:10am.
 
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ethos said:
25 mile bike ride/race in 6 weeks, help me with training!
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I would go for:
-5-10 miles hard
-20-30 miles longer ride
-easy day, maybe just riding to work, maybe another 5-10 miles at an easy pace.
Repeat.

Maybe adjust mileage if your finding it excessively hard/easy
 
You just need the brake blocks that allow for changing pads only. They will have a small screw in if they do otherwise you need to replace both block & pad. If you have the screw any road pads will fit.
 
I did 25 miles last month with a month's practise, only a week of which was on a road bike, and it was easy. I was doing 15 mile rides for practise. Try to get a mix of flat and hills. 6 weeks is plenty, definitely. Remember to drink a decent amount and have something with you to eat. Bananas or cereal bars, or pick up some gels. Electrolyte drinks wouldn't hurt.
 
I wouldn't bother with Gels or Electrolytes especially for a 25 mile ride. Just eat a banana and take some water.
 
uniQ said:
You just need the brake blocks that allow for changing pads only. They will have a small screw in if they do otherwise you need to replace both block & pad. If you have the screw any road pads will fit.
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Is that what reviews mean when they refer to "cartridge" brakes?
 
Vonhelmet said:
Is that what reviews mean when they refer to "cartridge" brakes?
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Yep. As uniQ said, you undo the small screw and the pad slides out of the holder. It saves the hassle of having to re-align the pads against the rim again like you had to do on older style brakes.
Especially handy if you swap wheels often (alu training rims and carbon race rims, for example) and you need different pads for the different rims.
 
Just went for a ride around Surrey hills and it was pretty much a thunderstorm the whole way.

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This is not tan, it's just road grit!
 
touch said:
I would go for:
-5-10 miles hard
-20-30 miles longer ride
-easy day, maybe just riding to work, maybe another 5-10 miles at an easy pace.
Repeat.

Maybe adjust mileage if your finding it excessively hard/easy
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Thanks :)

Just drove the route and it looks extremely hard and most of it's uphill...!
 
Just discovered this thread and I can see this gettin expensive. Dusted off my old mountain bike and went for a quick 11 mile ride yesterday and another 16 mile one today which killed me - got over excited after a big climb and "bombed" it along a 5 mile flat bit at 20mph+. Nothing compared to you guys but not a bad start

Going to do these again for a few weeks and then decide if I make the plunge, got my eye on a boardman team comp (halfords though :() although I'm not 100% sure Ill even use the cycle to work so open to anything. Anything else I would need to get started? A decent helmet would be about it right? Doubt I can pull of a top/shorts yet at my snails pace
 
Distorted84 said:
Im not sure if Shimano style pad inserts are compatible with SRAM breaks, but I use Koolstop Salmon Compound break pads and find them very effective.
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Yes, they are. It's the same fitment.

I used to use Koolstops. Swissstop Greens are better and last longer IMHO.

Did the Altura Compact 50 today; 50 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing. Not too bad but included on reasonably long 21% in the middle which was a mare. Persisted down from start to finish including thunder storms and the signage wasn't great leading to a couple of detours, one in Dorking of about 1km once I'd navigated the one way, and then one of about 5km near the end. For the second one there was a group of us 'working' (me leading everyone else following) at 40kph, no one saw a sign and I didn't hear the gps buzz off course. Metric ton all in.
 
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