Road Cycling

Status
Not open for further replies.
Definitely make sure you're getting a decent intake of vegetables. Iron deficiency is quite common in a lot of endurance athletes (and can often be a sign of over training too). Spinach is a good shout though my favourite vegetable is purple sprouting broccoli. So delicious :)

I'm glad you found it informative too Roady. Looking back over it I was clearly very tired when I wrote it. Some awful typos and dodgy grammar :p

I also found it informative and useful, so thanks for posting it from me, too :)
 
Thanks FT, really informative and interesting to read. I'll comment further hopefully this evening, after work.

Regarding iron deficiency it's possible I suppose, am I right in thinking I can get a test done to verify this? I think one of the supplements I take contains iron, but I'll check.

Simple blood test. Ferritin and Hemoglobin levels can be ID'd from that and used to establish a iron specific deficiency. The only issue I would say you might have is the NHS, the second you mention it relates to sport or what not and you want tested, they will get all funny about it.

If you can get a proper private blood test done and analysed it will cost you of course but would definitely be worth it for the less hassle and for it to be tailored to what you need to know rather than standard GP/NHS approach.

I cured it by eating 2 handfuls of raw spinach before every meal and supplementing on liquid iron and vitC to boost absorption. It took a very long time but now I just ensure I get iron from diet using many of the foods which are rich in iron. I would say even if you were to not be deficient, your levels will likely be low, vast majority of endurance people are! So good practice to get good sources of iron into your diet :)
 
Simple blood test. Ferritin and Hemoglobin levels can be ID'd from that and used to establish a iron specific deficiency. The only issue I would say you might have is the NHS, the second you mention it relates to sport or what not and you want tested, they will get all funny about it.

If you can get a proper private blood test done and analysed it will cost you of course but would definitely be worth it for the less hassle and for it to be tailored to what you need to know rather than standard GP/NHS approach.

I cured it by eating 2 handfuls of raw spinach before every meal and supplementing on liquid iron and vitC to boost absorption. It took a very long time but now I just ensure I get iron from diet using many of the foods which are rich in iron. I would say even if you were to not be deficient, your levels will likely be low, vast majority of endurance people are! So good practice to get good sources of iron into your diet :)

Thanks xdcx, you're right about the NHS, they won't help. I had ligament problems last year, and they told me I'd need to go private. I'm guessing it isn't stupidly expensive, will have a look around.
 
Damn cold commute this morning at 5 degrees so got my Windslam Blade out again, love this 'jersey' but paranoid about wearing it commuting as it's very Black! If only there were more colour options! :(

Guess it's safe enough on these clear light mornings but not once we're in the wet and dark, I'll be wearing it under my highviz jacket this winter for sure! :)
 
Last edited:
Damn cold commute this morning at 5 degrees so got my Windslam Blade out again, love this 'jersey' but paranoid about wearing it commuting as it's very Black! If only there were more colour options! :(

I only ever wear black :) as long as you have good lights, you'll be fine!

yesterday got into an epic road rage war, all behind me so no cam action sadly!

driver randomly decided to overtake traffic by literally driving in the cycle lane, milimiters from the curb/mirrors, I had a little moan with "what are you doing??" and then over-took him once he got back into his lane.. only for him to pull right next to me, pull his window down, with his middle finger out, having a go at me in some jibberrish, then he started tailgating me while laughing and running me off the road, had to pull down on a kerb so he could pass me... - all this in a cycle lane :o literally using his car as a gun.
 
Damn cold commute this morning at 5 degrees so got my Windslam Blade out again, love this 'jersey' but paranoid about wearing it commuting as it's very Black! If only there were more colour options! :(

Guess it's safe enough on these clear light mornings but not once we're in the wet and dark, I'll be wearing it under my highviz jacket this winter for sure! :)

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457515300403

Review of various bicycle safety studies shows wearing hi-viz does not reduce your chances of being involved in an accident.
 
Thanks xdcx, you're right about the NHS, they won't help. I had ligament problems last year, and they told me I'd need to go private. I'm guessing it isn't stupidly expensive, will have a look around.

When I was in France training on top of a mountain in a tiny little village, even there you could walk into a docs and pay a small fee to get your bloods tested and results back the next day. As easy as pie! The same thing over here is just insanely difficult for what it is and I have no idea why that is....

and I have been there with NHS, go in with a problem and as soon as it relates to a hobby/sport they are not interested and fob you off. Smoke 120 fags a day or eat your own body weight in pizza every day and slowly kill yourself off and they are all over you offering you all the medical treatment and help they can. The system & logic is ******!
 
Nope! Why would you want a Bianchi that doesn't come in Celeste!?

This.

Confirming linked above Bianchi is against the law.
I just passed a bloke on a Bianchi on way back from lunch in the car and it was black. I hope you are all impressed, I made a valiant effort and sucessfully managed to NOT run him down for his wrong-doing in life.
 
You know of any guides about for doing this? Really keen to get it set up perfectly.
I think from what I've read about the subject now, that I wouldn't recommend one guide. There is very little actual science involved in what is published and there is a LOT of opinion. There is also a lot of in-fighting, with a lot of fitters trying to 'debunk' each other (e.g. Hogg vs Bontrager vs LeMond etc etc) and handing out poor advice, so try to take what you read with a pinch of salt. Particularly if you come across extremes of fitting (e.g. Steve Hogg), try to read past the waffle which serves just to confuse you into understanding their science, but do try to understand what they are trying to achieve and how they are going about it!
 
Last edited:
From a car driver's perspective, I can't see how this is true.
If I can see a cyclist approaching I'm 99.9% less likely to crash into them than if they're wearing black in the dark.

This has been discussed before. Reflective clothing works assuming that the car has lights - and the colour doesn't matter at all. If you don't have lights then you won't see them even if they're wearing neon pink with assless chaps.

Lights, reflective gear are all that matters.
 
Bike fitting is a bit tricky purely because it's not prescriptive in any way, everyone functions differently and your functionality can change over time. My approach is always:

-Set saddle height. The best way to do this is on a hill. When riding up a hill, you should not feel like you are reaching in any part of your pedal stroke. If you are already, then drop your saddle a couple of centimetres and try again. If you're still reaching, then drop it again (but I doubt your saddle height is that wrong). Once you're at a point where you're definitely not reaching, keep raising your saddle a couple of mm at a time and ride up the hill again. Eventually, continuously raising the saddle will result in a point where you start reaching through the bottom of your pedal stroke again. As soon as you reach this point, drop your saddle 6mm.

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/02/seat-height-how-hard-can-it-be/

-Set handlebar reach/drop. Set your handlebars so you can reach the hoods without stressing your shoulders (they shouldn't be rotated right forward) or elbows (they shouldn't be either locked out or bent at 90 degrees). Generally a sore upper back indicates your reach is too great. You should feel relaxed and comfortable on the hoods. Your drops should be high enough that you can ride on them relatively comfortably, even after a couple of hours in the saddle. Your hoods should be set at an angle where your wrists are neutral (imagine keeping the bones in your hands in a straight line with your arm).

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/07/behind-bars-bar-and-brake-lever-positioning/

Once you have your saddle and bars set, you can make tweaks to cleat position and saddle setback which are a bit more fiddly (IMO). If you're interested I can write a bit more spiel about that, but only if you are.
 
Pfff in London, it doesn't matter if I have lights, neon pink Rapha and my 140dB cycle horn! Drivers and pedestrians still don't see you or give a ****

I hate how it's a cyclist's responsibility to "be visible" by wearing nodder yellow rather than for drivers to bother taking a moment to look before performing a maneuver like you learn in your driving test.
 
Pfff in London, it doesn't matter if I have lights, neon pink Rapha and my 140dB cycle horn! Drivers and pedestrians still don't see you or give a ****

I hate how it's a cyclist's responsibility to "be visible" by wearing nodder yellow rather than for drivers to bother taking a moment to look before performing a maneuver like you learn in your driving test.

As above, it doesn't make a difference so wear whatever you like. Driver education is the way forward.

Cyclist education would help too. I've currently got a real bee in my bonnet about this junction in Manchester (hopefully the link works):

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.4...cmBPo05dFU8ygFweOw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

I always approach this junction from the direction the truck is taking and turn right. As you can see, there is a cycle lane which crosses the junction to join up with the cycle lane across the road. This is clearly marked with a give way line as cars are forced to turn right across the cycle lane as the road opposite is one way. Every bloody morning at least one dozy cyclist will amble out across traffic and force cars/buses to stop, despite the cars/buses having right of way. Someone will get killed or seriously hurt here one day and it will more than likely be their own bloody fault.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom