Road Cycling Essentials

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touch said:
Nobody really cares about weight so much anymore. All of these pro bikes are well under the minimum weight anyway so they have to load them up with power meters and di2 shifters to bring them up to weight otherwise they'd just have to stuff the crank axles full of lead weights anyway.
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In the Pro-Peleton yes, you're right. But outside of it then everyone cares about weight. The lighter the better in pretty much every situation. Not all of the Pro bikes are under the limit any way, I'm sure I read that the Dogmas were around 7 - 7.5KG with pedals and SRM. The UCI limit is 6.4 - 6.5 KG isn't it?

It's funny actually, I've noticed a clear trend with carbon frames in recent years; there was a race to the lightest frame, then a realisation that generally means uncomfortable as ****, and now the frames seem to be slowly gaining a little to give just that bit more compliance. The Colnago C59 is hardly a light weight, but is the most comfortable frame I've ever ridden. There's more to it than just numbers.

I'm not convinced by the aero frames either. Give me a Tarmac over a Venge any day. A Cervelo R5 over an S5 etc.

The thing that's always put me off buying one of these Chinese frames is the lack of knowledge of precisely how they are constructed. is the carbon cheaper? Is the layup the same? Is the resin of the same quality and applied in the same manner?
 
IIRC the UCI limit is 6.7kg.

As for the Chinese carbon frames, there is obviously an inherent risk in that they are without a real warranty, but at the same time you don't hear many stories of these frames actually failing.
 
A heads up anyone looking for some wheels. Planet X have got a deal on there 60mm carbon clinchers. The wheelset, tubes and valve extenders for £399.
 
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[Damien];23510750 said:
Yeah, I remember that. I just hadn't shifted down that's all. There was a few times I shifted into that gear when going up towards belmont but none of those hills were particularly steep so I'd have felt a bit of a coward using my easiest gear all the time.
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I think I've figured out why our cadences didn't look right when we were both in our low gears at the same speed. According to the specs I can find online, your chainset is 46/36 and your cassette is 12-27, so in your lowest gear you'd have a ratio of 36/27 = 4/3. My chainset is 50/34, and my cassette is 12-30, I think, though I'd have to check with Walt as it was one of his upgrades, so at my lowest I'm doing 34/30. So I've got a lower ratio than you at the bottom end. In theory, I should have a higher top speed than you in the big ring, and better gears for low speed high cadence climbing. In practice, you're just stronger than me so you beat me at both ends of the scale :p
 
One More Solo said:
IIRC the UCI limit is 6.7kg.

As for the Chinese carbon frames, there is obviously an inherent risk in that they are without a real warranty, but at the same time you don't hear many stories of these frames actually failing.
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The worst I've seen is someone had a big crash and photos showed the forks were filled with newspaper!
edit: http://weightweenies.starbike.com/f...sid=5ea5ad9fcdd7b45595d1cceeba8cb9a0&start=15

How much was she Kimi? And what's your budget for groupset? I've seen some SRAM Red 2013 gruppos new for a shade under 1k. Otherwise I would be looking at Ultegra 6700 or SRAM Force. And you can mix most bits from either AFAIK the main parts that have to match are shifters and rear mech's. Someone else will probably be able to clarify though.
 
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If anyone has had trouble with the Garmin HRM getting funny readings using the soft strap, I'd recommend buying the Polar Wearlink strap, and putting your Garmin transmitter on that strap. The Polar strap has solved a months worth of funny readings, I even replaced the transmitter battery to try and solve the problem to no avail.
 
Vonhelmet said:
I think I've figured out why our cadences didn't look right when we were both in our low gears at the same speed. According to the specs I can find online, your chainset is 46/36 and your cassette is 12-27, so in your lowest gear you'd have a ratio of 36/27 = 4/3. My chainset is 50/34, and my cassette is 12-30, I think, though I'd have to check with Walt as it was one of his upgrades, so at my lowest I'm doing 34/30. So I've got a lower ratio than you at the bottom end. In theory, I should have a higher top speed than you in the big ring, and better gears for low speed high cadence climbing. In practice, you're just stronger than me so you beat me at both ends of the scale :p
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Nicely investigated :)

I'll have to consider a new full crankset then at some point. I'll see how I go on up the rake this week. I definitely couldn't do it at anything resembling a 'proper' cadence with the gears I've got.

Also, it's my birthday on Fri and the GF has 'persuaded' (read: badgered) me to open my present early. She's got me a Contour Roam helmet cam!

I'll get some use out of it when I go out and let you all see the hilarity of me failing to climb a hill.

Edit: Stop it arsey! Stop riding! I'm fed up of being 2nd!:(
 
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Two sets of Kool Stop Dura 2s in the post today. I think Thursday night, when the wife is out, will be an evening of bike fixing, between those and my mudguards that I'm yet to fit.
 
[Damien];23519224 said:
She's got me a Contour Roam helmet cam!
I'll get some use out of it when I go out and let you all see the hilarity of me failing to climb a hill.
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I got a GoPro for christmas :D Still havnt used it yet, they dont work too well in the dark and i havnt had a daylight ride since xmas :(
I'm planning on riding up the Bealach na ba sometime soon (probably Feb) so i'll try and film that :D

One More Solo said:
Is the willhub on here the same one on Strava? The guy is a machine! :D
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I believe so. Also a big poster on the bikeradar forums.
 
He's KOM on every segment near me! He managed almost 50km/h average on a 0.7km stretch on my ride to work.

Edit: I'm still waiting on my eBay light from Tomtop, been over a month now. I've contacted the seller and will raise a dispute if necessary. I'm not concerned because I know I'll get my money back eventually but I really wanted it for riding the country lanes around Watford next week. :(
 
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I assume that with Strava everything is automatic? I stick it on, and at the end it will tell me my overall time, time for specific segments etc. Like a mapmyrun for cycling that includes leaderboards for specific routes? It sounds like a good motivator.

e: just noticed it does running too, that'll be fun.
 
nydryl said:
I assume that with Strava everything is automatic? I stick it on, and at the end it will tell me my overall time, time for specific segments etc. Like a mapmyrun for cycling that includes leaderboards for specific routes? It sounds like a good motivator.

e: just noticed it does running too, that'll be fun.
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Yup, it's very clever.
 
George Hincapie said:
Ha! Alasdair is a legend! :D

Before I climbed the Tourmalet last year he sent me a very nice motivational letter, including a couple of photos of him at the summit of the Tourmalet when he climbed it himself.

He rubs a lot of people up the wrong way and can be cantankerous, but I think he's awesome. I have a lot of time for him. Oh, and he's ******* fast for a man in his 70s as well, could show many a younger man a clean pair of heels ;)

Let's take further discussion off-forum. Send me an e-mail: hincapie[dot]george[at]gmail[dot]com and we can make some arrangements.
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oh yeah, hes well fit, last sunday we did a 50 mile run, but they failed to tell me they were going to up the pace a LOT, so they left me ! lol

im not as fit as anyone on HWCC, but i still give it a go! :)
 
Question here

Im looking to try getting into some races for the first time, but have no idea where to start.

I imagine its like my running, i didnt have a clue untill i joined a club then got involved in races via them.

question is, any good clubs near EN11?? that do races.

want something to aim for(ofc dont wish to crash badly either in these crazy amatuer races too lol)
 
shadowcreaper said:
Question here

Im looking to try getting into some races for the first time, but have no idea where to start.

I imagine its like my running, i didnt have a clue untill i joined a club then got involved in races via them.

question is, any good clubs near EN11?? that do races.

want something to aim for(ofc dont wish to crash badly either in these crazy amatuer races too lol)
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Most decent clubs will participate in your local Winter/Summer racing series. You'll need to apply to British Cycling for a racing license, but if I were you I'd just join a club first. Go out on a few Sunday runs before attending any racing, they can be quite competitive in themselves and will teach you some basic basic riding skills. Racing is stressful and aggressive, so best to get a basic understanding of hand signals, positioning and tactics before your first race.

Google suggests this club is near you: http://www.southgatecc.org.uk/

Good luck!
 
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