Road Cycling Essentials

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Goldy said:
I like the SIS Go bar. They're soft and chewy, and quite tasty. They do a small 45g bar which is easy to eat whilst riding.
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SIS Go was going to be my suggestion - I had one the other day and was surprised how tasty it was. I also quite like some of the Mule Bars.
 
uv said:
Last night I was swapping out the tyres on my spare bike (Triban 3 red) from Vittoria Rubino's to Michelin Pro4 SC..

Turns out the front tube was still the original one, without any patches - meaning the front Vittoria did ~1,400 miles without a single puncture!
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Shh! Don't tell Grudas...

platypus said:
No my weights not accurate either :p.
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Lol :p Might be worth trying to update it... :D
 
helpimcrap said:
Am I right in thinking that Defy 2 2012 has a 12-30 FSA compact Tiagra?

My rear wheel inc skewer and cogs/cassette = 1615g roughly. (kept fluctuating?), and the cassette weighs about 329g.

This means the wheel inc skewer weighs 1286g. How much does a skewer weigh?

I'm assuming about 1200g for SR-4 rear wheel v 945g of a Fulcrum 7?

:confused:
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Anyone?
 
helpimcrap said:
Am I right in thinking that Defy 2 2012 has a 12-30 FSA compact Tiagra?
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Got a feeling the original cassette on mine might have been a 32! Can't remember for sure though, swapped it out ages ago.

EDIT: Nope, looked it up and apparently it was a 12-30.

Front and rear derailleur were the Tiagra 10 speed, with FSA Omega compact crankset and megaexo bottom bracket (which was made of cheese!).
 
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Got my saddle today, gave it a quick fit and adjustment on the rollers and had a short ride on it.

More comfortable, but a 50km ride will show it more, gave it a further adjustment at home after riding too. Seat post down a couple of mm and pushed the saddle forwards too. Felt a lot less nervous riding and less weight on my arms. Let's hope my junk agrees too. Got the Tuesday morning bunch tomorrow unless we have a weather disaster and I stay in bed again.

Got two coats of glue on my tubular rims and tyres now, will do a third coat tomorrow and then maybe fit them. Not sure, 3 coats seems to be the agreed magic number, then into diminishing returns I think. Have the tubs stretching out again on some spare rims after the glue had dried as they can shrink a little after applying glue.

If all good I need to think about adding stans to my punctured tub, and if it seals, super gluing up the slit in the tyre. Then I'll have to put it on the spare wheel and make sure it stays inflated or I believe the stans can set and ruin it if it's flat?
 
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platypus said:
Anyone got suggestions for a Clif Bar alternative? They taste ok, but I find the prospect of eating them on a long ride unappetising, rather than wanting to use them to refuel.
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Peanut butter and jam in brown bread, one slice folded over for least messiness. Just can't stomach those energy bars.
 
Maybe a banana or banana bread?

I like muesli and oat bars but they can be a little dry and chewy which is ok unless your working hard and need to breathe too!
 
Banana Soreen! Can't beat it for the price! I usually just go with Bananas/odd cereal bar, unless I've got an especially big ride. If I'm on the mountain bike, usually peanut butter and Jam in a Brown/wholemeal Bagel in the bag is perfect!
 
Took advantage of being "home" in Norwich this weekend by taking a ride out to the North Norfolk coast.

http://www.strava.com/activities/171534039

First thing to note, where were the cyclists? Seems that cycling/tour fever hasn't reached East Anglia, on a four hour ride I didn't see a single cyclist.

Can only say, they're missing out. Compared to riding in London/Surrey, the roads were good quality and relatively free of traffic. The route out of Norwich through quiet lanes, tiny villages and the broads was lovely.

The ride until Hickling was really comfortable, and I was feeling great on the bike, however, once the ride turned NE along the coast at Sea Palling I hit a wall of wind. I've just come back from a week of riding in the Alps, I can honestly say, this pushed me as hard as any ride I did in the mountains. Riding solo there was no hiding from the wind and I suddenly felt like I had run out of steam on the bike. I took a quick stop to down all my energy gels and sweets (sugar overload) in Bacton that gave me a boost and the ride soon turned South towards North Walsham and Norwich.

The return in to Norwich brought quiet undulating lanes, open fields, passing mills and people bathing in ponds and a very pleasant/welcome tail wind. I was struggling slightly with aching limbs and a sore back, but the enjoyment of the ride kept me going. Even picked up a 3rd place segment - perhaps on another day without the battle up the coast I would have been able to place a position or two higher....

Finally made it back to Norwich and my bemused parents who had no idea I was coming back for the weekend. Think they were shocked to see me, and the state I was in. Couldn't understand why I would "bury" myself for four hours on a solo ride and then extol the virtues of it. All in all, a great ride and a welcome change from Richmond Park and Surrey.
 
So I'm down relatively near the Pyrenees next week, is it worth the 3 hr drive for the Tormalet? It's just under that for the Aspin, so would probably aim to look at both on the same day (a tad ambitious I realise).
 
platypus said:
So I'm down relatively near the Pyrenees next week, is it worth the 3 hr drive for the Tormalet? It's just under that for the Aspin, so would probably aim to look at both on the same day (a tad ambitious I realise).
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Have a look at my strava the day after I did the pau - hautacam stage, that takes in the tourmalet and aspin

https://www.strava.com/activities/158774494

Tourmalet from that side is beautiful, plus the road will be much smoother after the resurfacing they did for the tour. It's a v long steady climb but never gets above around 8% until the very last corner. Aspin is very steady until the final 6km
 
Is got to be worth it if you have a chance to get there. Even if it turns out not to be as good as your alpine climbs just the fact that you've been there and done it is worth it.
 
touch said:
Is got to be worth it if you have a chance to get there. Even if it turns out not to be as good as your alpine climbs just the fact that you've been there and done it is worth it.
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Yeah you're right of course, I'm just hoping I can make it a good ride - I've had quite a lot of stomach issues recently whilst on the bike and I don't want to necessarily do it just to do it, if I do it poorly!
 
platypus said:
No I can't either. Maybe I need to expand my home made energy supply range into bars.
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Is it you who makes flapjacks? You can slather in peanut butter, nuts and dried fruit for extra eNeRgYz.

Basic recipe I use is: 100g butter, 100g caster sugar, 5 tbsp syrup all melted together, add 200g oats, bake for 15-20 mins at 170 deg.

Add to that a handful of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, couple of tbsp peanut butter, branflakes, cornflakes, crushed Wheetabix, whatever goes really :)
 
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