Road Cycling Essentials

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janp said:
So I'm going to do my first 60min FTP on the turbo tomorrow night, any tips :)

I've done a 20min before, and threw up at the end! So fully expect to collapse after 40mins tomorrow. Should certainly be interesting :)
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If you think you can't manage it then you are going to fast. If you think you can manage it then you are going too slow.
 
Went down to the LBS tonight (open late due to late night shopping) to say thank you for their help (took biscuits!) and they've talked me into a Giant Defy 1 2015, which I had kindof been looking at before as it fell into my 'soft' budget for the new year. They've sorted my old bike out (except I'll need to get some bar tape myself) for 'free' (had quoted me £108, but 50 of that was helmet cost) and given me £50 off the list price of the Defy 1 (so I'm getting it for £850, including fitting and 2 services). Obviously a large chunk of that cost is the insurance payout, but it's ment me getting 105 rather than Sora for less than £100 difference with what they had on offer there (both a good upgrade over my mix of Sora/Claris/Carrera-unbranded).

Fingers crossed I'll have it on saturday as they'll build it to my size tomorrow - with a change in the stem to make the Medium a better fit for me (I'm between sizes, a large-small or a small-medium :D).

defy1-2015.jpg
 
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janp said:
So I'm going to do my first 60min FTP on the turbo tomorrow night, any tips :)

I've done a 20min before, and threw up at the end! So fully expect to collapse after 40mins tomorrow. Should certainly be interesting :)
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Tip: if you can't hold your FTP for 60 mins, your FTP is wrong. ;) If you can hold it, it will be really tough.

What are you trying to achieve? I don't know anyone that does 60 min sessions at FTP really, that's a really tough session that will likely leave you wrecked.
 
ShiWarrior said:
I don't think its a 60 min block
2 x 20 mins ?
or 1x 40 mins or something ?

(im trying to remember trainer Road)
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It's a bit confusing because the total time of the '20 min' test is roughly 60 mins including warmup and cooldown. There is also a '60 min' test which has a total time of over 90 mins with a full 60 mins at ftp.
 
I'm doing the full 60mins, so 20 mins warm-up, 60mins test, 20 mins warm down.

I'm just following a training plan really. I've got time to do the full hour test, so may as well get a more accurate benchmark. Will be interesting, and probably painful :)
 
I wasn't looking to get a new bike but work e-mail has just gone round reminding us that the Cyclescheme is now open again. A quick look on their website and Evans on Deansgate is listed on there.

I'd be looking for a winter/wet weather bike really for sub £1000. I like the look of Genesis Equilibrium 10 (2015) - any thoughts or recommendations of better bikes?

Not too fussed about discs tbh. Am I right in thinking a lot of people here don't think cable discs are worth it? As I don't think you can get hydraulic discs in this price range...

Edit: Quite like the look of Charge Plug 4, despite my comments above regarding discs, plus it has 105 over Tiagra on the Genesis. Thoughts?
 
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Two friends have CP4s and they're nice enough bikes.

The disc brakes on it aren't great given that it's an almost £1k bike. They're still better than a lot of rim brakes though. The tyres it comes with are great if you enjoy zero wet traction and coming off your bike so be sure to swap those out immediately if you plan to ride any time when it has rained in the past year. It's very pink - so if that's a factor, consider it.

The Whyte Suffolk (if you can get it that cheaply) or the Dorset are better choices imo.
 
What are people getting their bikes for Xmas?

Thinking of treating mine to some new cables, bar tape and maybe some pro name badge stickers!
 
Berger said:
What are people getting their bikes for Xmas?

Thinking of treating mine to some new cables, bar tape and maybe some pro name badge stickers!
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I'm getting a SPOT tracker. It updates my location live on their website via a satellite connection. I need it for doing the HiglandTrail race in May.

Annoyingly, I already have it but i'm not allowed to open it until xmas :p
 
janp said:
I'm doing the full 60mins, so 20 mins warm-up, 60mins test, 20 mins warm down.

I'm just following a training plan really. I've got time to do the full hour test, so may as well get a more accurate benchmark. Will be interesting, and probably painful :)
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My only advice, based on recent experience is to ensure you have your turbo set up well and are comfortable with how it will relate to the data you are using. If you are using Trainer Road as I am please don't fall into the trap of doing the FTP test and then altering the turbo resistance. I ended up doing this and started with an FTP of 314W but then nearly killed myself trying to do the subsequent workouts after I had adjusted the turbo/wheel interface.

I have ended up manually adjusting my FTP to 250W which seems more realistic given my fitness. 60 minutes at threshold and above ain't gonna be easy - good luck.
 
Berger said:
What are people getting their bikes for Xmas?

Thinking of treating mine to some new cables, bar tape and maybe some pro name badge stickers!
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Nothing for me. In the back of my mind is a plan to sell the Wilier in spring and get a new summer bike. Longlist is
Cervelo S3 or maybe R3
Bianchi Sempre or Infinito
Basso Astra - if I could find one anywhere!
Might consider a Canyon if they had a colour that wasnt so dull

I have bought the Mrs an epilator as requested and I reckon I might get a go of it too :)
 
touch said:
I'm getting a SPOT tracker. It updates my location live on their website via a satellite connection. I need it for doing the HiglandTrail race in May.

Annoyingly, I already have it but i'm not allowed to open it until xmas :p
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No mobile coverage I'm guessing!

Have used one at work and found it OK but a little fiddly sometimes, software might have moved in in the few years since. :)
 
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