Caporegime
Damien has a 120mm stem on his canyon. It looks crazy long.
Road Cycling Essentials
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Soldato
On what size frame though?
Most of my frames are 54s with 110mm stems (I know that's simplifying frame geometry a lot) but this is a 56. I put a 100mm on it thinking anything else would too long to start with. It looked weird and it turns out it was too short.
110mm on now but the reach still isn't as long as the Pug.
Most of my frames are 54s with 110mm stems (I know that's simplifying frame geometry a lot) but this is a 56. I put a 100mm on it thinking anything else would too long to start with. It looked weird and it turns out it was too short.
110mm on now but the reach still isn't as long as the Pug.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Nov 2004
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- 10,646
Decent speed all the same though, you'll be flying again in no time. Deffo give me a shout once the nights lighten up if you fancy a spin for an hour or so in the evening.
And cheers again for the work on the bike, it's running great. And before you ask, yes i did swap those wheels off it when i got home.
I was going to comment on your ride saying it better be another wheel!
I took it for granted the base that commuting each day brought me before. I'll get back there.
Got myself 3 points and a £100 fine earlier so I should stick to cycling
Man of Honour
40ish/pair that's a bit more than I want to spendI go through tyres in no time.. if I was to buy gatorskins(which get random reviews tbh) i'd spend 5x more than I do now heh..
gp4000 looks great but again the price.. something from schwalbe I guess
Don't get gators - I thought my awesome summary of my experiences the other day would be enough to put you off
Associate
i have gator skins on mine atm but did have specialised armadillo's which i prefer. The gators seem unstable, a bit slippy. Will go back to the spec armadillo when these die.
i also managed the first trip out for 6 months due to injury of my hip and moving house and business to the south.
Only did 10 miles but i was knackered and my hip was quite sore
i also managed the first trip out for 6 months due to injury of my hip and moving house and business to the south.
Only did 10 miles but i was knackered and my hip was quite sore
100km Scratch race today, I signed up for B grade as I am listed borderline A/B. Last week was really tough and it was only 25km, so I didn't fancy 100km of being absolutely smashed, would rather roll turns in B grade and do the distance in a bunch. Pretty small groups, bad weather and 100km put people off! We only had about 10-12 in each grade.
Race was really well organised with follow cars in A and B grade. One of the guys drove the course yesterday and even printed off little course guides to help out and look pro, his distances were a little short but it was still a help to know what was coming up! I need a longer stem though!
Fitting in with the spring classics theme, we had a bit of everything. Wet road to start, pretty windy, about 250-500m of very wet gravel/sand, then some rain and a nasty headwind to come back to!
I had a nightmare start, after only 3-4km the race passes over a set of train tracks. My second bottle sat vertical in the cage jumped out on the second rail, and either someone ran it over or it landed on its end as almost all the drink came out. Typically this was the electrolyte High5 zero bottle... luckily being right at the start the bunch sat up for me (one guy had gone off on a crazy solo attack after 2km) and I went back and grabbed it, was about 200ml left in the bottom, I raced back on and we continued.
We had a fairly long steady climb after 7km or so, I paced up in second wheel turning over about 320w which is about threshold for me, I was pretty happy to stay together for most of the race. I knew at 50km there was a pretty long slightly steeper climb which I thought would prove decisive.
After 20km there was another climb known on Strava as "the wall" its 1km at an average of 9%. We had pegged the guy who attacked early back now, so I thought I would have a dig and see if anyone would go with me and bridge to him. Kicked pretty hard, I was seeing 600-700w 3 second average and struggled with a bit of wheelspin, sat down and rode at about 350w, I pulled the leader back 200m or so from the top, sat on his wheel and looked to see who was following. One guy was a couple of hundred back, but we had dropped the others. Going over the top I took the time to have a gel and we waited for the third guy.
All came back together after that, the solo guy wanted us to work and smash along, he seemed really strong, but I wasn't sure on pacing for the distance, with only 25km gone I was happy to sit together in a slightly reduced bunch.
We rolled along fairly steady, going over the gravel without too many dramas, it was pretty boggy and crudded everyone up a bit, I was sliding around, 23c tyres and being heavier I was sinking a bit.
At 50km I knew it was going to be decisive, we had a group of 6 here, 1.2km climb at 5% average, not too tough, bit of a headwind though made it tough. One of the other riders was really quick on the flat, but not so much on the hills, I was keen to try and drop him, seemed the other guys did too. The three of us from earlier rode up steady and gapped the others by 25-30 seconds. After talking together we decided to smash it for 5-10 minutes and build a gap they wouldn't catch back up.
Fairly undulating, then the course joins up with a route we race regularly, so when we got here I knew where we were at, one not too difficult longer climb and a pinch before it was all downhill to the end. The weakest of the three of us, we started to drop him on the longer climb, I was happy to press the advantage here and make it two of us. We got 30 seconds or so and he sat up, so knew it was just going to be two of us to the end.
The other guy let me lead for a bit, then coming onto the pinch he hung back and got a huge run at me and the climb to try and build a gap. I kicked as hard as I could, almost 1100w instant and 750w+ for 20 seconds to hold the gap he had got. Going over the top it was then downhill all the way. He sat on the top tube super aero, I'm too big to do that, so went on the drops and pushed as hard as I could, over threshold for 2 minutes after 85km. I knew if I didn't close the gap then I would be second. I got across and kept quiet, he kept pushing hard not realising I was behind him for a couple of minutes which gave me a breather. Then as soon as he knew I was there and sat up, I attacked him straight away and got maybe 300m. I wasn't sure what to do now, we had about 10km from the finish almost all of it into a nasty headwind, so opted to ride 280-320w about threshold power and see if I could build the gap. After 4km or so it was clear that he was pushing harder as the gap had closed up, but I was hoping this had tired him out.
One little pinch then it was tailwind all the way to the end, went up side by side doing maybe 450w. Top of my leg felt like it wanted to cramp, I was regretting losing all my High5 now! We rode side by side for the remaining distance until about 1km to the finish, one person not wanting to let the other follow.
We got about 1km out, I stood up to do a soft attack, and he went too, so I just slotted into his wheel, but he was going like a bull at a gate, I did 850w just to stay on the wheel, 5 seconds more and I would have blown! Fortunately as we came into the finish he started to fade a bit, I was still doing over 400w sat in, but no way was I going to lose now! Stayed in the wheel then came round him only needing 500w to get past now he was fading, to win by a bike length.
Fantastic bike race and amazing last 20km trading punches!
Breaking it down, 96.9km, average speed of 33.6kmh, average power of 245w, max of 1078w, elevation who knows as everyone's shows different but 1085m on my Garmin.
Turns out that A grade only went 6 minutes faster than we did, if I had known that I might have given it a go, as if I had been dropped from A grade I could have sat on the back of B grade or climbed in the follow car. Unfortunately I think that is the last time I'll be allowed to race B grade now so I'll enjoy my winnings while I can have them!
Race was really well organised with follow cars in A and B grade. One of the guys drove the course yesterday and even printed off little course guides to help out and look pro, his distances were a little short but it was still a help to know what was coming up! I need a longer stem though!
Fitting in with the spring classics theme, we had a bit of everything. Wet road to start, pretty windy, about 250-500m of very wet gravel/sand, then some rain and a nasty headwind to come back to!
I had a nightmare start, after only 3-4km the race passes over a set of train tracks. My second bottle sat vertical in the cage jumped out on the second rail, and either someone ran it over or it landed on its end as almost all the drink came out. Typically this was the electrolyte High5 zero bottle... luckily being right at the start the bunch sat up for me (one guy had gone off on a crazy solo attack after 2km) and I went back and grabbed it, was about 200ml left in the bottom, I raced back on and we continued.
We had a fairly long steady climb after 7km or so, I paced up in second wheel turning over about 320w which is about threshold for me, I was pretty happy to stay together for most of the race. I knew at 50km there was a pretty long slightly steeper climb which I thought would prove decisive.
After 20km there was another climb known on Strava as "the wall" its 1km at an average of 9%. We had pegged the guy who attacked early back now, so I thought I would have a dig and see if anyone would go with me and bridge to him. Kicked pretty hard, I was seeing 600-700w 3 second average and struggled with a bit of wheelspin, sat down and rode at about 350w, I pulled the leader back 200m or so from the top, sat on his wheel and looked to see who was following. One guy was a couple of hundred back, but we had dropped the others. Going over the top I took the time to have a gel and we waited for the third guy.
All came back together after that, the solo guy wanted us to work and smash along, he seemed really strong, but I wasn't sure on pacing for the distance, with only 25km gone I was happy to sit together in a slightly reduced bunch.
We rolled along fairly steady, going over the gravel without too many dramas, it was pretty boggy and crudded everyone up a bit, I was sliding around, 23c tyres and being heavier I was sinking a bit.
At 50km I knew it was going to be decisive, we had a group of 6 here, 1.2km climb at 5% average, not too tough, bit of a headwind though made it tough. One of the other riders was really quick on the flat, but not so much on the hills, I was keen to try and drop him, seemed the other guys did too. The three of us from earlier rode up steady and gapped the others by 25-30 seconds. After talking together we decided to smash it for 5-10 minutes and build a gap they wouldn't catch back up.
Fairly undulating, then the course joins up with a route we race regularly, so when we got here I knew where we were at, one not too difficult longer climb and a pinch before it was all downhill to the end. The weakest of the three of us, we started to drop him on the longer climb, I was happy to press the advantage here and make it two of us. We got 30 seconds or so and he sat up, so knew it was just going to be two of us to the end.
The other guy let me lead for a bit, then coming onto the pinch he hung back and got a huge run at me and the climb to try and build a gap. I kicked as hard as I could, almost 1100w instant and 750w+ for 20 seconds to hold the gap he had got. Going over the top it was then downhill all the way. He sat on the top tube super aero, I'm too big to do that, so went on the drops and pushed as hard as I could, over threshold for 2 minutes after 85km. I knew if I didn't close the gap then I would be second. I got across and kept quiet, he kept pushing hard not realising I was behind him for a couple of minutes which gave me a breather. Then as soon as he knew I was there and sat up, I attacked him straight away and got maybe 300m. I wasn't sure what to do now, we had about 10km from the finish almost all of it into a nasty headwind, so opted to ride 280-320w about threshold power and see if I could build the gap. After 4km or so it was clear that he was pushing harder as the gap had closed up, but I was hoping this had tired him out.
One little pinch then it was tailwind all the way to the end, went up side by side doing maybe 450w. Top of my leg felt like it wanted to cramp, I was regretting losing all my High5 now! We rode side by side for the remaining distance until about 1km to the finish, one person not wanting to let the other follow.
We got about 1km out, I stood up to do a soft attack, and he went too, so I just slotted into his wheel, but he was going like a bull at a gate, I did 850w just to stay on the wheel, 5 seconds more and I would have blown! Fortunately as we came into the finish he started to fade a bit, I was still doing over 400w sat in, but no way was I going to lose now! Stayed in the wheel then came round him only needing 500w to get past now he was fading, to win by a bike length.
Fantastic bike race and amazing last 20km trading punches!
Breaking it down, 96.9km, average speed of 33.6kmh, average power of 245w, max of 1078w, elevation who knows as everyone's shows different but 1085m on my Garmin.
Turns out that A grade only went 6 minutes faster than we did, if I had known that I might have given it a go, as if I had been dropped from A grade I could have sat on the back of B grade or climbed in the follow car. Unfortunately I think that is the last time I'll be allowed to race B grade now so I'll enjoy my winnings while I can have them!
Soldato
19.3mph average over 101mi!
The profile looks largely flat except for the one bump but still, chapeau!
Cheers. Yeh it was pretty flat but I put that one hill in for a challenge. I'm still getting my fitness back so I didn't want to go nuts!
I'm off out with the club for a 60 miler today.....well at least that's the plan. Legs feel pretty good so we'll see how it goes.
Likewise, congratulations!
Associate
After a new bike guys, had my Boardman hybrid stolen from town last week.
Got £1k max to spend. Doesn't have to top end of the budget.
Would prefer a road bike as generally do 80-90 miles a week (commuting and pleasure)
Got £1k max to spend. Doesn't have to top end of the budget.
Would prefer a road bike as generally do 80-90 miles a week (commuting and pleasure)
Caporegime
£1k? Planet X have a carbon ultegra bike for a grand, if the geometry suits you.
Underboss
What an EPIC ride I did today !
shame I got the wall around 35 mile mark
I think I've done the most climbing in one day of all time !
51 miles today , with almost 3000ft of climbing
happy I finished it despite my legs didn't want to !
im Clearly not ready for 100 miles yet !
http://app.strava.com/activities/117206257
food/fuel wise...
I had a massive plate full of Pasta last night
This morning I had a big bowl of porridge
during my ride I drank 750ml of an energy drink + 3 cereal bars
shame I got the wall around 35 mile mark
I think I've done the most climbing in one day of all time !
51 miles today , with almost 3000ft of climbing
happy I finished it despite my legs didn't want to !
im Clearly not ready for 100 miles yet !
http://app.strava.com/activities/117206257
food/fuel wise...
I had a massive plate full of Pasta last night
This morning I had a big bowl of porridge
during my ride I drank 750ml of an energy drink + 3 cereal bars
Last edited:
Soldato
Also had a tough day today:
Just got back from a week in Tenerife last night, decided to do a cyclocross race today. I thought it would be a fairly gentle pace, it was a low-key event organised by a local charity - and the cyclocross season finished a while ago.
A pro MTBer turned up and smashed the field! Course was short so i got lapped by him 5-6 times....and nobody else came past me!
The entire field is going to be at least +5 laps on this guy.
Good to see the lines he was riding, but i couldnt stay with him for long each time he passed.
Far from the easier race i was expecting!
Just got back from a week in Tenerife last night, decided to do a cyclocross race today. I thought it would be a fairly gentle pace, it was a low-key event organised by a local charity - and the cyclocross season finished a while ago.
A pro MTBer turned up and smashed the field! Course was short so i got lapped by him 5-6 times....and nobody else came past me!
The entire field is going to be at least +5 laps on this guy.
Good to see the lines he was riding, but i couldnt stay with him for long each time he passed.
Far from the easier race i was expecting!
Man of Honour
Just finished my second ride of the day in order to hit my mileage target for the week. Managed 258 miles...which I'm pretty happy with
My average speed is creeping up and the (very small) hills around here have gone from being an effort to just being somewhere for me to accelerate so I definitely feel I'm making progress. Hopefully I can continue to shift blubber whilst maintaining muscle and improving my cardio.
My average speed is creeping up and the (very small
) hills around here have gone from being an effort to just being somewhere for me to accelerate so I definitely feel I'm making progress. Hopefully I can continue to shift blubber whilst maintaining muscle and improving my cardio.
Soldato
I'd probably ride more If I didn't have a crazy heavy leg day on saturday
Man of Honour
I'd probably ride more If I didn't have a crazy heavy leg day on saturday
Yeah, balancing beefcake and riding is hard. I was meant to go to the gym tonight but I'm pretty knackered now so I'll probably leave it until tomorrow - I imagine my squats would suck if I tried much tonight
Soldato
Yeah, balancing beefcake and riding is hard. I was meant to go to the gym tonight but I'm pretty knackered now so I'll probably leave it until tomorrow - I imagine my squats would suck if I tried much tonight
yeah.. gym on it's own wrecks me, especially leg day.. add cycling to it and I'm dead by the end of week! so I got to take sunday off and do nothing! or go for a ride on saturday and skip leg day but I do like squats way to much to do that!
Associate
I'm about 85kg and 6' 2"
Soldato
Racked off another 70 miles today.
170 miles for the weekend is pretty good going I think. Hope I have enough energy for the commutes next week!
170 miles for the weekend is pretty good going I think. Hope I have enough energy for the commutes next week!
Soldato
1st ride of the year - steady 28miles! Only got to train for 10x that for when I do the Scope L2P24 in July!
37mph top speed though after I sprinted after someone! Slight downhill but was still doing 30+mph on flat which I'm quite chuffed about.
Had my legs burning on the climbs because I was pushing myself. Got told to slow down a few times.
37mph top speed though after I sprinted after someone! Slight downhill but was still doing 30+mph on flat which I'm quite chuffed about.
Had my legs burning on the climbs because I was pushing myself. Got told to slow down a few times.
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