Road Cycling Essentials
- Thread starter Matutu
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Soldato
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- 17 Sep 2006
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LOL! I could have done with that earlier today with the state of some of the roads I went on, and the fact that most were under water too!
cheers it looks good
I was going to suggest the Pinnacle Arkose Three (which I own) for £1000, but to be honest, I'd rather have the Croix De Fer. The Pinnacle has a slightly better spec and is a fair bit cheaper, but the Reynolds 725 frame is nicer than the aluminium frame used on the Arkose.
I'v been trying hard at this challenge. Been going out on road rides in the pitch black after work. I'm well lit up at the back and my front lights are good enough to see where i'm going up to around 22-23mph, but i still dont feel comfortable on the road in the dark. I'v never done it before and i probably wont be doing it again after i'v finished the 500.
I'v joined the January base miles challenge as well, but im not going to give it a serious effort like i'v done for the Festive500. They are good motivation for getting out on your bike in these cold months, but i'v realised that it's silly to be risking it in the dark on the road when i can get the same workout off road in the woods where there are no cars, only with less miles.
Planet-X have some great deals on frames just now if you decide to build yourself. The Uncle John cyclocross frame looks good for just £175. Only problem is that it has mounts for disc brakes only and there is currently nothing with road style shifters that works with hydraulic discs (unless you're spending huge money) and cable discs are not particularly good.
cheers. will take a look. would it be worth waiting a while and try and get my budget up to 1500/600 ?
that looks good http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBOODDRIV/on_one_dirty_disco_cyclocross_rival
![[DOD]Asprilla](/styles/overclockers/avatars/8.png){kind=avatar}
Soldato
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Lack of guard mounts would kill it as a winter ride for me.
[DOD]Asprilla;23454677 said:
It's a very nice bike, but it looks like a full-on CX race bike, which isnt really what you are after if you want a winter bike that can do a bit of gentle off-road.
As Asprilla said, it doesnt have mudguard mounts (you cant use mudguards in a CX race), rack mounts, etc. I would personally prefer to go for the cheapest possible option for a winter bike and put the money saved towards a new summer bike or some fancy upgrades for it.
Soldato
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holy moly! Looking out the window now I can see this weird bright object in the sky, I think it's the sun.....not entirely sure as I havent seen it in the last few weeks!! 
Still looks a bit breezy though.
Oh well....today's the big one. At least 80 miles, and possibly 100 to finish off my Strava 500 challenge.
Still looks a bit breezy though.
Oh well....today's the big one. At least 80 miles, and possibly 100 to finish off my Strava 500 challenge.
Picked my trax satori up for £120 this year. Sure you can find one second hand for about £80–90
Don
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
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head wind today, but still managed to get a PB on a hill climb!! 
The endemondo OcUK challenge is almost over, theres no way i can do 200 miles to go up to 15th in 1 more day!
just a shame i got the bike as late as i did , otherwise id be in the top 3
Roll on 2013
The endemondo OcUK challenge is almost over, theres no way i can do 200 miles to go up to 15th in 1 more day!
just a shame i got the bike as late as i did , otherwise id be in the top 3
Roll on 2013
Good luck!
My MTB ride this morning didnt go to plan. Did half a lap then mangled my jockey wheel on a rock and had to walk back to the car. Ended up doing 6 miles
So i'm now planning a road ride to get the last 48 miles done that i need.
Tough ride out Hamilton way today - wild and v windy! Went to do a quick loop over the hill at Whitehill wind farm and got there to find i couldn't even see it due to the cloud of sleet and hail sat over it. Felt good to hit the top though.
http://app.strava.com/activities/34736153
Didn't see any other roadies out at all today either. Unusual for a sunday round here. Just a couple of mountain bikers coming off the hill as i went up it.
http://app.strava.com/activities/34736153
Didn't see any other roadies out at all today either. Unusual for a sunday round here. Just a couple of mountain bikers coming off the hill as i went up it.
Hi guys. I spent most of the morning changing the tyres and brake pads on my Specialised Allez. I spent forever trying to get the rear brake pads positioned and aligned nicely. As I was fitting the pads I realised my back wheel is slightly buckled, meaning I can't put the pads too close to the rim.
I've done the best I can but it means that when pulling the brake lever (Shimano 2300 STI) I have to pull it pretty much all the way to the bar. If I tighten the cable any more then it moves the pads too close to the rim and it rubs on the bent patch.
Obviously the best thing to do ere is straighten the wheel/buy a new one. But in the meantime, is there any temporary fix I can do? I'm hoping there's a screw somewhere that means moving the lever a little bit pulls the cable a lot. There's a couple of screws around the shifters but I'm not sure what they do
I've done the best I can but it means that when pulling the brake lever (Shimano 2300 STI) I have to pull it pretty much all the way to the bar. If I tighten the cable any more then it moves the pads too close to the rim and it rubs on the bent patch.
Obviously the best thing to do ere is straighten the wheel/buy a new one. But in the meantime, is there any temporary fix I can do? I'm hoping there's a screw somewhere that means moving the lever a little bit pulls the cable a lot. There's a couple of screws around the shifters but I'm not sure what they do
Soldato
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- 29 Dec 2004
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I felt the same after Christmas and just picked up the the Tacx Satori plus mat and wheel stand for £129.99 at Decathlon. The same set is £240 at Wiggle. Incredibly good value compared to what else you get at that price point.
Top marks to Decathlon for this as well: my other half bought a pair of shorts from there in summer and the stitching came lose around the chamois recently. They have been pretty well used but Decathlon exchanged them with no receipt and no questions asked for a new pair. I doubt you'd get the same service had you bought a pair of Altura shorts from Evans.
Hi guys. I spent most of the morning changing the tyres and brake pads on my Specialised Allez. I spent forever trying to get the rear brake pads positioned and aligned nicely. As I was fitting the pads I realised my back wheel is slightly buckled, meaning I can't put the pads too close to the rim.
I've done the best I can but it means that when pulling the brake lever (Shimano 2300 STI) I have to pull it pretty much all the way to the bar. If I tighten the cable any more then it moves the pads too close to the rim and it rubs on the bent patch.
Obviously the best thing to do ere is straighten the wheel/buy a new one. But in the meantime, is there any temporary fix I can do? I'm hoping there's a screw somewhere that means moving the lever a little bit pulls the cable a lot. There's a couple of screws around the shifters but I'm not sure what they do
Sounds like it's just out of true?
If you are not a mechanic then just take it to a bike shop and ask them to true it for you... shouldn't cost much or take long. Any more than about 1mm of variance and I'd say it needed doing.
Cable pull ratio is fixed, Shimano's good brakes use 3:1 I think but lower end not sure, maybe 4:1? Anyway there's no changing that!
Soldato
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- 23 Nov 2004
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Rather you than me! At least it wasn't too cold as that stables back road gets very frosty.
Fair play going up the rig in this weather, most guys are going to the velodrome quite a lot due to the weather.
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