Road Cycling

Maxeh · 31 Aug 2016 at 09:40

Currently in Tuscany for a holiday with the GF and family but managed to sneak a bike hire in for a few days, couple of rides so far:

https://www.strava.com/activities/694052003

https://www.strava.com/activities/693364068

Really enjoying Campagnolo, lovely feel to it and overall a very pleasant ride coming from my bulky PX London Road

Hoping to get one one more ride in tomorrow with a bit more elevation and distance!

booyaka · 31 Aug 2016 at 09:49

BennyC said:
Inb4 Tri lol crew.

Heroic. Recorded Part 1 last night to watch later this week.

http://www.discoveryuk.com/make-your-world-bigger/goseango/

TL : DR Rides 3,350m, Runs 800m, Swims 100m around the UK including Wales & Scotland.

was awesome to watch and on that bamboo bike was crazy - Bealach na Bà in that wind was mental (Bealach na Bà on my bucket list for next couple of years!)

randomshenans · 31 Aug 2016 at 10:11

I have boxers today, fear not. I also had a swearing altercation with a fat french woman, which was nice. But I'm also on the mountain bike today

I'll back out of here slowly...

Vonhelmet · 31 Aug 2016 at 10:19

I had a dream last night that the chain on my single speed fell off... Let's hope that doesn't come true!

ChrisD. · 31 Aug 2016 at 10:23

Vonhelmet said:
I had a dream last night that the chain on my single speed fell off... Let's hope that doesn't come true!

Either that or you are the weirdest sleep walker ever.

platypus · 31 Aug 2016 at 11:57

Any recommendations for a cyclocross style bike for a 7 mile commute over crappy paths and mud?

I've been looking at the Canyon Inflite AL but they've pushed prices up it seems. It will go on roads too so I want something thats not too heavy, but with a reasonable amount of a possible new commute across field and gravel paths I was thinking cyclocross might be best.

I'd like to not spend more than £1k, ideally.

ChrisD. · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:09

platypus said:
Any recommendations for a cyclocross style bike for a 7 mile commute over crappy paths and mud?

I've been looking at the Canyon Inflite AL but they've pushed prices up it seems. It will go on roads too so I want something thats not too heavy, but with a reasonable amount of a possible new commute across field and gravel paths I was thinking cyclocross might be best.

I'd like to not spend more than £1k, ideally.

My Whyte Suffolk 2015 has been brilliant on the road. It's got enough room to fit larger tyres and decent mud guards. I think Whyte do a similar model for slightly less (£1200 IIRC for the Suffolk) with cheaper parts on it.

I don't have any experience of other bikes I'm afraid, I bought it as it's British and I found favourable reviews on it.

Edit, found the 2016 model for £999.

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/whyte-suffolk-hyrd-16?bct=browse/bicycles/cyclocross-bikes

Roady · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:09

Maxeh said:
Currently in Tuscany for a holiday with the GF and family but managed to sneak a bike hire in for a few days, couple of rides so far:

https://www.strava.com/activities/694052003

https://www.strava.com/activities/693364068

Really enjoying Campagnolo, lovely feel to it and overall a very pleasant ride coming from my bulky PX London Road

Hoping to get one one more ride in tomorrow with a bit more elevation and distance!

Some good riding and elevation there! Nice bike too - great wheelset (I've got them, they're bombproof!) but not that light... Lots of good campag wheelsets, several here Zondas. Love a good looking Wilier!

BennyC said:
TL : DR Rides 3,350m, Runs 800m, Swims 100m around the UK including Wales & Scotland.

Crazy! Looks an interesting watch, bookmarked.

randomshenans said:
I also had a swearing altercation with a fat french woman, which was nice.

Nice to hear it's not just UK drivers! Had 2 numpties last night, one close pass on a totally open & clear road (wtf), the other pulled out of a side road across my path. Was enough room if I was doing 16 mph, but I was doing 24mph at the time. Luckily he put his foot down as I had no time to brake! :confused:

BennyC · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:09

Single sided P1 and enhanced app with Pedal Metrics

Looking forward to the App update as it'll negate the need for any TrainingPeaks add ons

SoliD · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:11

platypus said:
Any recommendations for a cyclocross style bike for a 7 mile commute over crappy paths and mud?

I've been looking at the Canyon Inflite AL but they've pushed prices up it seems. It will go on roads too so I want something thats not too heavy, but with a reasonable amount of a possible new commute across field and gravel paths I was thinking cyclocross might be best.

I'd like to not spend more than £1k, ideally.

Pinnacle Arkose for £1k or less. Single Speed could be a good option.

Roady · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:11

platypus said:
Any recommendations for a cyclocross style bike for a 7 mile commute over crappy paths and mud?

Specialized Diverge.

Just fitted full guards on mine and has enough clearance to go up to 32mm road tyres. With different guards you'd get clearance for 35mm. Frame is listed as supporting up to 35mm wheels but other people have fitted larger. :cool:

EDIT: but for your price range the Whyte and things like the PX London Road might be better options. Admittedly they're more 'road' orientated CX style bikes but the only real difference with these will be cable runs along the top tube, mudguard mounts and tyre clearance. Tyre type is obviously easily changed (road-knobbly) if required, but saves you money if you get the 'right' tyres to start with.

List of the bikes I made before settling on the Diverge (may give you some ideas/deals):
Kinesis Racelight 4S Disc
Pinnacle Arkrose/Pyrolite
PX London Road
Mango Point AR
Genesis Croix de fer
Whyte Sussex/Devon/Dorset

platypus · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:28

Dooksy said:
My Whyte Suffolk 2015 has been brilliant on the road. It's got enough room to fit larger tyres and decent mud guards. I think Whyte do a similar model for slightly less (£1200 IIRC for the Suffolk) with cheaper parts on it.

I don't have any experience of other bikes I'm afraid, I bought it as it's British and I found favourable reviews on it.

Edit, found the 2016 model for £999.

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/whyte-suffolk-hyrd-16?bct=browse/bicycles/cyclocross-bikes

Yes I was looking at Whyte as well actually - the thought of buying British appeals as well. I've long wanted a Whyte.

platypus · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:29

SoliD said:
Pinnacle Arkose for £1k or less. Single Speed could be a good option.

Seems to be very highly reviewed! Can't quite tell from the pictures, do they support pannier racks? Forgot to add that as a requirement.

platypus · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:32

Roady said:
List of the bikes I made before settling on the Diverge (may give you some ideas/deals):
Kinesis Racelight 4S Disc
Pinnacle Arkrose/Pyrolite
PX London Road
Mango Point AR
Genesis Croix de fer
Whyte Sussex/Devon/Dorset

Thats pretty much what I've narrowed it down too, save the Genesis (looking at it now). Thanks!

Might have to go for the Genesis simply because of the name. I used to live near the Col de la Croix de Fer

. Lower spec though. I'm ruling out the Canyon because of price.

SoliD · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:33

platypus said:
Seems to be very highly reviewed! Can't quite tell from the pictures, do they support pannier racks? Forgot to add that as a requirement.

Mine has been fantastic and yes rack and guards mount.

platypus · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:36

I guess the next question is what tyres to run to avoid punctures on a path with tons of little stones.

sHo0sH · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:36

Any recommendations on some 32mm tires? Need to be 700c. Main use will be commuting on a fixed gear, bit of tow path action but nothing major. Preferably hard-wearing and mostly slick.
I've seen the Gatorskins and Schwalbe Kojaks but would be interested to see what else may crop up by asking here...

topgun06 · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:46

The roads in France are rather superb! Some of the country lanes are beautiful. I managed to get out a few times while on holiday there last week.

Will be very interested in heading back.

FrenchTart · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:48

sHo0sH said:
Any recommendations on some 32mm tires? Need to be 700c. Main use will be commuting on a fixed gear, bit of tow path action but nothing major. Preferably hard-wearing and mostly slick.
I've seen the Gatorskins and Schwalbe Kojaks but would be interested to see what else may crop up by asking here...

Not Gatorskins. Almost anything else but not them.

Roady · 31 Aug 2016 at 12:52

platypus said:
I guess the next question is what tyres to run to avoid punctures on a path with tons of little stones.

Choices may depend on width you want to run and how much grip you need over said stones. Are they flint (sharp edges - high TPI count slick would be ok) or more of a loose gravel type (bigger volume, more grip required).

sHo0sH said:
Any recommendations on some 32mm tires? Need to be 700c. Main use will be commuting on a fixed gear, bit of tow path action but nothing major. Preferably hard-wearing and mostly slick.
I've seen the Gatorskins and Schwalbe Kojaks but would be interested to see what else may crop up by asking here...

I was looking at Continentals 28mm and bigger for my Diverge, the only 32's I could find were Gatorskins and I refuse to run them after all of the problems people have had in wet weather. I settled for 28mm Mitchelin Pro4 Endurance V2 as they were cheap (£22) and I'd run 23mm and 25mm previously on my road bike and knew they were good in the wet, fast and hard wearing. Easy commuting option for the money!

The 25x28mm Specialized Roubaix Pro tyres my Diverge came with I removed had much more grip, although felt quite soft. They had done <200 miles and had no problems, I will refit them next and get an idea of how they wear. I'll also refit them if I need more grip or go offroad at some point. May possibly get some more as I think they do a 32mm. For the money (£25-30 a pop) they seemed good but I have no experience of puncture resistance or longevity so hard to recommend.

Once looking at 32mm you'll find many of the popular fast road tyres are not available (Pro4, GP 4Seasons, GP 4000Sii's).