Road Cycling Essentials

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Anyone ever heard of DNA Cycling?

They're an American company and my work (head office in the US) have designed their own kit for employees to purchase. A jersey and bib shorts with discount would work out at about £60, which I think is a pretty good bargain (even if I end up advertising for them).
 
Not heard of them, my team has used many different suppliers for our kits over the years (in the US).

Sounds like you're not going to get access to the fit kit, sizing has always been accurate from the different suppliers we've used.
 
Thanks for the info, just now got to figure out what my size is for them as their chart is different to ones I've used before.

On the Lezyne torch, disabling the rear is very easy. Hold the button for 5 seconds, then push to cycle the modes. Once it's off (or on mode you want) hold for 2 seconds to turn off, and it's saved.
 
Ciao Tutti!

Back in the UK (again). I need a new bike. My other half said to me when I showed her the Cervelo I was eyeing up "Your not a pro, what do you need the best bike for?". She's right :( so I'm looking for something decent but modest. Any bargains about?


Welcome home :)


your not going to be like Asprilla are you? lol
 
My other half said to me when I showed her the Cervelo I was eyeing up "Your not a pro, what do you need the best bike for?". She's right :(

She's wrong.

You're not a pro because you dont have the best bike. :p

Buy the cervelo.
 
Aren't clipless pedals designed to unclip in exactly that situation? When your legs move beyond a certain angle they'll come out.

When a 70 kilo bloke is doing 40 kph and his bike pretty much stops dead the his foot angle doesn't really matter.

Somewhere on your pedals, unless you have Keo Blades, there is a mechanism to adjust the spring tension on the pedal clip. If the force pulling the clear against the clip is higher than the spring tension then your foot will just come straight out of the pedal regardless of its position.
 
Nasty fall, any idea how the road debris threw the bike up in the air like that?! Or how it ripped it out from under him! :eek:

Looks like whatever it was could have got caught up in his wheel spokes.

Yep, it's a stick that gets into his spokes. Once that gets round to the back of the fork it's goodnight Vienna. Even before you get to damage sustained in the bike getting thrown up in the air, I imagine the wheel would be fairly mullered, and I'd have my doubts about the fork.

EDIT: Here's the video at road.cc. The articles says it went into his rear wheel, but I'm not sure that would flip a bike in that way. There's another article at cycling weekly saying it was a metal bar that went into the wheel and broke the fork off.

Looking at the video you can see it was his own front wheel that flicked the stick up. What are the chances.
 
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When a 70 kilo bloke is doing 40 kph and his bike pretty much stops dead the his foot angle doesn't really matter.

Somewhere on your pedals, unless you have Keo Blades, there is a mechanism to adjust the spring tension on the pedal clip. If the force pulling the clear against the clip is higher than the spring tension then your foot will just come straight out of the pedal regardless of its position.

Ah right. Don't actually have clipless pedals so i'm just going by what i've read. But still, is that by design? Is it beneficial to not be attached to your bike in a crash? I guess it could avoid getting tangled/twisted in odd ways, but it seems kind of contrary to what i've heard about holding onto the handlebars during a crash so you don't brace with your arms, which is how you cause real damage (like a broken radius, sprained wrist and blood in your elbow joint that you need to keep stretching to avoid losing movement in it). But then i guess it depends on the speed of the crash...
 
Ah right. Don't actually have clipless pedals so i'm just going by what i've read. But still, is that by design? Is it beneficial to not be attached to your bike in a crash? I guess it could avoid getting tangled/twisted in odd ways, but it seems kind of contrary to what i've heard about holding onto the handlebars during a crash so you don't brace with your arms, which is how you cause real damage (like a broken radius, sprained wrist and blood in your elbow joint that you need to keep stretching to avoid losing movement in it). But then i guess it depends on the speed of the crash...

Being fixed to your pedals in the event of a crash sounds like a great way to break your ankle or something. Hell, if he'd stayed bolted to his bike in that front flip he might have come down on it upright. Now, by 52 he's probably had all the kids he wants to have, but others might still have aspirations regarding functional genitalia.

More seriously, on the rare occasions when I've had to unclip RIGHTEFFINGNOWOHNO I've just wrenched my foot out of the pedal any way it'll come out. When it comes to the crunch you don't always have the presence of mind to do it properly, instinct is just to get your foot where it needs to be.
 
Decided to change the height of my stem as was finding I was getting a slight neck pain after being on the bike for 2+ hours plus I now have the dreaded 'tiny bit of play when applying the front brake' ergh!

Any advice for completely removing the play in the headset? Done the usual of tightening the top cap first before the stem bolts but there is still a bit of play when applying the brake. The top cap bolt is one of those self expanding ones which I haven't had any experience of before, any tips??
 
Caved in and ordered a Castelli bib whilst it was still on offer at £52 :p

You're welcome ;)

This is what plenty of squatting & 90KG looks like squeezed in to Aero bib shorts :p

IX7aFyD.jpg

Looking forward to seeing how they perform on Sunday :cool:
 
On the Lezyne torch, disabling the rear is very easy. Hold the button for 5 seconds, then push to cycle the modes. Once it's off (or on mode you want) hold for 2 seconds to turn off, and it's saved.

A definitive answer, thanks! Still waiting for mine from the sub to turn up... :rolleyes:

Looking for a new pump for keeping at home, so either a track pump or foot pump. Anyone got any recommendations for around £15? Must have a gauge.

You'll struggle to get a good one with a gauge for that price without a sale/discount, Planetx had one on a daily deal a day or two ago so depending on your urgency it might be worth checking there every day until they do again.

When a 70 kilo bloke is doing 40 kph and his bike pretty much stops dead the his foot angle doesn't really matter.

Somewhere on your pedals, unless you have Keo Blades, there is a mechanism to adjust the spring tension on the pedal clip. If the force pulling the clear against the clip is higher than the spring tension then your foot will just come straight out of the pedal regardless of its position.

EDIT: Here's the video at road.cc. The articles says it went into his rear wheel, but I'm not sure that would flip a bike in that way. There's another article at cycling weekly saying it was a metal bar that went into the wheel and broke the fork off.

More seriously, on the rare occasions when I've had to unclip RIGHTEFFINGNOWOHNO I've just wrenched my foot out of the pedal any way it'll come out. When it comes to the crunch you don't always have the presence of mind to do it properly, instinct is just to get your foot where it needs to be.

I have my cleats quite loose (loosest on my left which I put down) and only once in my cleat falls/knock off has a foot remained clipped in (4 falls, 1 knock off). I guess what it takes for us to fall at the very least twists enough to pull a foot (or both) out. Wrenching a foot out, even if it's vertical seems to be enough to pull free from cleats in most instances. The vertical pressure on them when pedalling is obviously less force and slightly more gradual - depending on your pedalling style lol! :D:p

To me the debris in the video looks more than a branch, something off a vehicle or such. It doesn't look like it goes into his front wheel spokes so it must have been the rear that caught. My guess is the sudden huge loss in momentum of a ruined wheel/huge force on the rear seat stay/calipers etc is enough to throw him over. The momentum of the rider suddenly rotating forwards at 40 kmph I'm guessing is what threw the bike so high in the air? :o

The only other explanation I can think of was the debris somehow attached to the road! :confused:

Do we know how the rider was after the incident? Although a huge crash at some crazy speed his head didn't look to hit the road (at least not very hard) and he ends in the sitting position! :eek:

Back on the bike this morning for my commute, nearly got knocked off AGAIN in exactly the same place as before in exactly the same circumstances:
  1. I approach button roundabout from the south going north
  2. car approaching from the west heading east
  3. There is more than enough room for me to move across the roundabout as the other car is still approaching (my right of way anyway)
  4. Car doesn't see me and nearly T-bones me as he doesn't stop to give way (doesn't see me)!

Actually this morning the approaching car stopped at the roundabout (there was traffic behind me but I guess it all turned left/west). I was already moving across the roundabout (assuming he'd stopped as he'd seen me), when I'm crossing the front driver side wing he begins to move. I realise this and sit upright pushing heavily down on my downward leg in an attempt to get out of his way, turning my head (with my helmet light) directly towards him and he slams his brakes on (and doesn't hit me! Only around 3"-6" inches clearance between us).

I'm lit up like a christmas tree (front light, helmet light, high viz jacket, high viz rucksack cover, 2 rear lights) so this is just drivers 'not looking for a cyclist' when there is other traffic on these dark mornings. What do you guys do in instances like this? Stop & confront them? Avoid the route? Be paranoid and stop for all traffic until it's stopped for you? I don't know what else I can do to make myself more visible! :confused::(:eek:

Rest of my ride was good, felt strong on the 'Acre' and pushed myself, got a '5th Overall This Year' on the longest segment :D
 
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Are there any good guides on road positioning when approaching roundabouts and more complex junctions?

Or is it simply a case of moving over in good time and making your intentions clear.

(I have a motorcycle license so have been on the roads on two wheels before)

Sorry if this is stupid or obvious!
 
Are there any good guides on road positioning when approaching roundabouts and more complex junctions?

Or is it simply a case of moving over in good time and making your intentions clear.

(I have a motorcycle license so have been on the roads on two wheels before)

Sorry if this is stupid or obvious!

I'm not sure if there any decent guides online but the advice is generally pretty simple/the same - take control of the lane and make sure you are visible. Blocking traffic might seem like a bit of an arsey thing to do but if you don't do it you run a much higher risk of people "not seeing you" and putting you in danger. If you give a driver even a tiny hint of enough space to squeeze past you you'll eventually run into the one idiot that will actually attempt it.
 
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