Road Cycling
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First ride on the bike yesterday, was a bit wet and rather windy but wanted to get out. Did 17 miles which i was quite happy with and by the end my legs were a bit jelly like.
Only issue i had was with the pedals, i've used mountain bike spds before with no issues but found the single sided entry ones quite difficult. Getting out was fine as it's just the same but there was a few times where the pedal ended up upside down and me struggling to get it the right way.
I'll give it a handful of rides and if i don't get the hang of it i'll grab some wahoo speedplay ones
Only issue i had was with the pedals, i've used mountain bike spds before with no issues but found the single sided entry ones quite difficult. Getting out was fine as it's just the same but there was a few times where the pedal ended up upside down and me struggling to get it the right way.
I'll give it a handful of rides and if i don't get the hang of it i'll grab some wahoo speedplay ones
They were fine once i got the pedal the right way but i seemed to knock it round rather than flat.
I think very quickly you get the hang of it. They're weighted so they hang the same way each time, so it's not like you looking down, trying to spin them round to get them the right way. Tbh, I don't think I've ever had them upside down under my foot? Any problem is more about just missing the point you press into and trying again.
Do your shoes have a protruding front to them? The ones I have with a grip on the front often spin the pedal over, but my other pair which is flat at the front underside rarely cause problems.
Tough tyres, even cheaper for the winter is well recommended. I say winter, but generally this time of year once there's more rubbish washed out on the roads, more hedge cutting etc. Just generally slower/heavier/tougher tyres so you're not shredding more expensive soft & fast summer tyres. Obviously much easier to do if you have summer & winter wheelsets (a 'pinnacle' of bike ownership is having fancy summer wheels!). Also links in quite well if running tubeless (I know you're not) where changing sealant every 6-8 months is just a ballache/messy/hassle. You can just spend time doing that over several days/weekend while riding your other wheels, then when 'ready' just swap them straight over when you're ready. A little lazy maybe, but also gives you a set of 'backup' wheels with tyres generally mounted too.
Everyone I know with a Radar loves them. I fail to really 'see the need' myself - but am quite accustomed to riding in busy work traffic when commuting so quite biased.
This. Full/fixed guards are well recommended.
I used SKS 'Raceblades Long' well before (other half has them on her commuter still) and would recommend for something cheap & cheerful. But they're far from perfect.
I'm in the rare 'its ok' camp. I wouldn't rush out and buy another tomorrow if it broke in the same way I would with say power meter pedals.
I've only had 3 punctures in 3(?) years on tubeless which didn't seal. 2 of them just some more air got me home with a couple of top ups on the way. The other was similar, it probably would've sealed enough to get home but I took the tyre off and put a patch on the inside, then got my pump stuck on the valve head (it came unscrewed inside the pump), so needed a rescue. Try as I could, couldn't get it off and ended up breaking the valve and pump. Not technically a tubeless issue - just a learning curve - tighten your valve cores enough and don't have a screw on portable pump!
I carry a tube with me, sometimes 2 on epic all day-ers. I've never used one myself for Tubeless and must have used a dozen tubes for friends/clubmates running tubes who'd run out/not got one/got wrong size/got holes in their spares during that time.
Only times in those 3-4 years I've run tubes, once when I broke my rear wheel had 3 punctures in 8 weeks on it. The other time (2 weeks recently) didn't have any.
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My lad was around yesterday so showed him the bike and setup, he asked about the pedals and it was when showing him i realised why i struggled. so on my mountain bike ones you jut kinda stamped into them where as these are more about slide up into them. makes sense why i was struggling. if the wind drops this week i;ll get back out.
Having not cycled for a while the clothing i had was to small so i got some new bits. Got a delivery from Galavier of some tight type things, jacket, short sleeve jersey and gloves. later the same day my long sleeve jersey from Le Col turned up which looks really nice. i had a £50 voucher through strava to use so got use of that.
Just need to not be fat anymore then i might find it slightly less figure hugging.
Having not cycled for a while the clothing i had was to small so i got some new bits. Got a delivery from Galavier of some tight type things, jacket, short sleeve jersey and gloves. later the same day my long sleeve jersey from Le Col turned up which looks really nice. i had a £50 voucher through strava to use so got use of that.
Just need to not be fat anymore then i might find it slightly less figure hugging.
Has anyone tried the new superlightweight innertubes? I'd seen the ones sold in the UK by Pirelli and Tubulito but at £30 each I thought they were far to expensive.
Then I got an email from the slow-shipping Chinese marketplace and thought it was worth a punt.
At £31.68 for 4 innertubes I ordered them. After shipping costs, it was £42. They took ages to arrive as expected but came a couple of days ago.
After swapping out the old bog standard ones, I could clearly notice the difference in weight just holding the wheel. Ive only used them on 2 rides so far but they feel good, seem to roll a tad better (prob in my head I know
). I'll see how they do for puncture protection, but last night I went over a few nasty stones and after hitting them, I was waiting for the air to go from the wheel but all was OK.
Ive seen a few people complaining of the Tubulito ones losing air from the join of the valve, but these don't seem to be losing any air so far.
The biggest benefit for me is how tiny they are when folded up. Ive recently changed my seat bag for a tiny Silca one and I had to cram a standard innertube into it. These ones I can stick 2 in and there is still loads of room.
Then I got an email from the slow-shipping Chinese marketplace and thought it was worth a punt.
At £31.68 for 4 innertubes I ordered them. After shipping costs, it was £42. They took ages to arrive as expected but came a couple of days ago.
After swapping out the old bog standard ones, I could clearly notice the difference in weight just holding the wheel. Ive only used them on 2 rides so far but they feel good, seem to roll a tad better (prob in my head I know
). I'll see how they do for puncture protection, but last night I went over a few nasty stones and after hitting them, I was waiting for the air to go from the wheel but all was OK.Ive seen a few people complaining of the Tubulito ones losing air from the join of the valve, but these don't seem to be losing any air so far.
The biggest benefit for me is how tiny they are when folded up. Ive recently changed my seat bag for a tiny Silca one and I had to cram a standard innertube into it. These ones I can stick 2 in and there is still loads of room.
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Road pedals being '1-sided' can take some getting used to. The pedals are weighted so they always orientate themselves rotated 'back down' (where the mechanism is heaviest). So clipping in becomes more of a 'toe in and push down' to get the front part of the cleat in the top of the pedal, rotating it around in the same action, then the rear hinged/sprung part clips onto the rear of the cleat.
They're not double sided pedals like most SPD, nor are they sprung 'both sides' of the cleat like an SPD. But that also gives them their strength, firmness and wide area of power transfer when road riding.
How To Use Clip-In Pedals & Cleats | Clipless Tips For Beginners
Clip-in or clipless pedals are a great upgrade for your bike. Ollie and James run you through their tips on mastering the clipless pedal and how to make sure...
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See I read that the wrong way - cyclists should be aware of their surroundings enough not to get unexpected passes without a radar! I've had very few, the times I do they have tended to be into a block headwind (so wind noise drowns out road noise) or in busy traffic when a small electric car overtakes slowly so you can't hear it's road noise. A Nissan Leaf caught me out a number of times when towing the trailer on a windy day - overtaking slowly so wouldn't hear it until it was alongside. The radar only 'fixes' one of those problems - loud ambient with no other vehicles around.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not having a dig at you, or radars. It is a fantastic useful amazing tech to have, but really that's it isn't it? It's so useful and easy you then become reliant on it, when you really shouldn't.
That's it - 'sliding' into them.
Are really 'normal' people really doing this in the UK on their social/commuter/weekend bikes? Get enough punctures on UK roads with 'normal' innertubes! I wasn't aware spending £30 on an inner tube to save 100 grams was a 'thing'. I get it on maybe a TT bike, or a hill climb setup, maybe even a 'best weather bike', but not really on a wheel/tyre being exposed to normal UK roads the rest of the time... It wouldn't make sense to compromise some toughness just to save some grams. If that's really a thing then run tubulars. It'd probably work out cheaper!Has anyone tried the new superlightweight innertubes? I'd seen the ones sold in the UK by Pirelli and Tubulito but at £30 each I thought they were far to expensive.
Then I got an email from the slow-shipping Chinese marketplace and thought it was worth a punt.
At £31.68 for 4 innertubes I ordered them. After shipping costs, it was £42. They took ages to arrive as expected but came a couple of days ago.
After swapping out the old bog standard ones, I could clearly notice the difference in weight just holding the wheel. Ive only used them on 2 rides so far but they feel good, seem to roll a tad better (prob in my head I know
Ive seen a few people complaining of the Tubulito ones losing air from the join of the valve, but these don't seem to be losing any air so far.
The biggest benefit for me is how tiny they are when folded up. Ive recently changed my seat bag for a tiny Silca one and I had to cram a standard innertube into it. These ones I can stick 2 in and there is still loads of room.
My usual 3-4ish hour club ride was closer to 5 hours this weekend due to someone getting 2 punctures. His tyres didn't look/feel old but he'll likely replace them. Continental Sports as well so not what I'd call a crappy soft summer rubber and standard tubes. A pig to get on his Hunt rims. Yes that may say much for the roads around much of the rural area here, but I imagine much of the UK is the same, it's not like you're in London with all their perfect roads!
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Soldato
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Prime Day (13th???) cycling deals have started, keep an eye on https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/cycling to see if anything comes up that really is a deal.
eg. Garmin Varia is £120
eg. Garmin Varia is £120
Maybe I have poor hearing but with the sound of the wind and the general road noise of tyres etc, I don't know a car is coming up on me until later than I would like quite often and I don't know if its 1 car or 3.
I don't get passed without hearing the car but I know its there from about 200m+ away with the radar instead of 15-20m. I know when the road behind me is almost certainly clear. I still check but its good for my piece of mind.
Exactly this. It's surprising how noisy wind can be and how quiet some cars are. Even if it's quiet, the radar is normally aware before I am. And... as you do, I pretty much always check behind too, but normally it's a quick glance at the radar first. The only time it doesn't show someone is if they're going (and have been for a while) the same speed as you, in which case, they aren't so much a danger!
I've found that even when someone is following me for a while it doesn't lose them at all. Its also really useful for knowing just how close they are to you.
I think one of the best features is that it flashes faster as a car approaches which if nothing else makes them wonder if you have got some sort of tech on board perhaps recording them. Who knows. Either way, it definitely makes me feel safer and I can't put a price on that. Even if its only a few %.
Not arguing with Roadys opinion on them, just my personal feelings.
I'm really torn. I want one cause it's a gadget but even at that price I'm hesitant as I'll mostly be cycling indoors for the foreseeable.
Though one would benefit me for all the wrong reasons. When I cycle by myself I like to wear my AirPod Pros and listen to music or podcasts. The annoying thing about the airpods is that if you have it on transparency mode you get lot of wind noise. Tunring the ANC on reduces that but also means I can't hear that much.
The simple solution is to not listen to things when I cycle, but I am an idiot and like doing things that aren't very sensible.
Though one would benefit me for all the wrong reasons. When I cycle by myself I like to wear my AirPod Pros and listen to music or podcasts. The annoying thing about the airpods is that if you have it on transparency mode you get lot of wind noise. Tunring the ANC on reduces that but also means I can't hear that much.
The simple solution is to not listen to things when I cycle, but I am an idiot and like doing things that aren't very sensible.
I usually wear Shokz, so at least your ears aren't covered/blocked.