Road Cycling Essentials

[arknor]

I reckon they were about £13 grand worth of bikes. Didn't clock how well they were riding but they sure looked the part.

most people I see with carbon wheels and carbon bikes are fat office workers doing their commute home that's less than 5 miles and not worth getting changed into rapha for

guy from the newcastle "big ride" campaign


aren't they £500 wheels?

looks the part if you count pub rides

Half of them probably give up after a few months though so I should keep an eye on gumtree

 

[oli collett]

most people I see with carbon wheels and carbon bikes are fat office workers doing their commute home that's less than 5 miles and not worth getting changed into rapha for

guy from the newcastle "big ride" campaign

aren't they £500 wheels?

looks the part if you count pub rides

Half of them probably give up after a few months though so I should keep an eye on gumtree

He might be a bit big but any reason to believe he's not a pretty serious roadie?

And I still don't get carbon tubs. Having followed a v experienced rider around some hairy descents in the wet yesterday, there's no way that the 250-300g weight saving will outweigh the braking performance, especially for a non-pro

 

[arknor]

He might be a bit big but any reason to believe he's not a pretty serious roadie?

Those white arms and legs ?

Everyone in this thread surely has at least a slight tan for weeks now?

 

[touch]

I did a lot of indoor cycling over the winter. I have a spin bike, a turbo and rollers.
As you say, it's difficult to compare them. Speed/distance is completely meaningless. Time and heart rate is the best way to compare.
Indoor cycling is fine for improving your fitness. Interval training (i like the sufferfest videos) with short, hard intervals is good for increasing your fitness and speed.
It's very difficult to train endurance indoors though. 2 hours is the most I have ever managed, and that was a huge struggle. I cant happily go and ride 5-6 hours outside but indoors it gets so boring. Even with a tv set up in front of the turbo.

 

[oli collett]

Those white arms and legs ?

Everyone in this thread surely has at least a slight tan for weeks now?

I have a similar skin tone and don't ever tan...

 

[One More Solo]

He might be a bit big but any reason to believe he's not a pretty serious roadie?

And I still don't get carbon tubs. Having followed a v experienced rider around some hairy descents in the wet yesterday, there's no way that the 250-300g weight saving will outweigh the braking performance, especially for a non-pro

Because there's a lot more to tubs than braking performance? FWIW though, I was out on mine in the wet today and the braking wasn't nearly as bad as I expected down some 10%+ grades.

The weight is obviously nice but the ride quality of tubs is miles better than any clincher tyre I've tried.

 

[jak731]

The post winter commuter clean..

 

[arknor]

just let the wind and rain clean it for you

 

[Vonhelmet]

He might be a bit big but any reason to believe he's not a pretty serious roadie?

My neighbour is not the slenderest and he could kick my arse just about any day of the week on any ride we cared to go on.

 

[touch]

My neighbour is not the slenderest and he could kick my arse just about any day of the week on any ride we cared to go on.

2XU shorts and aero clip-ons? He's not a roadie, he's a triathlete

 

[SoliD]

Had my first ride on a weekend where I wasn't bothered how knackered I was afterwards in what seems like forever, good group out with the club today, and had a strong pace, managed to be one of the first 2/3 up every climb, and done a few stints on front, lots of PRs so obviously going well. Going to do some intervals and hill reps tomorrow to finish me off.

http://www.strava.com/activities/145324872

 

[Participant]

I'm glad to see larger guys on bikes, because I'd rather see fat people exercising than not, even if some people are jealous of others that can afford to buy expensive kit for a couple of months then Gumtree it .

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

I've been eyeing up a pink stealth for a while now. I think it looks great.

Me too. My new Tri clubs colours are pink and white, so it's bang on.

 

[Vonhelmet]

I'm glad to see larger guys on bikes, because I'd rather see fat people exercising than not, even if some people are jealous of others that can afford to buy expensive kit for a couple of months then Gumtree it .

I think the same when I see people out on not terribly good bikes like the Carrera TDF or zelos or the like. At least they're out and trying. Better than sitting home all day.

 

[FrenchTart]

When I started riding I was probably 15kg heavier than I am now so I can't really judge people being larger on bikes.

I do however judge people that are in stupid expensive gear and on stupid expensive bikes on a sunny day and clearly have little/no cycling ability. It's clearly a posery thing as anyone with half a brain would purchase something that is appropriate to their skill level. My first bike was about half the price of my current one and compared to many on here I'm still a massive noob on my bike I might consider doubling my bike cost again if I manage to improve dramatically.

 

[Thomas. PLease.]

To be honest I don't really get the whole, you need to be able to ride well to have a nice bike thing. If you're keen on the sport and you have cash to spare, crack on and buy a nice bike. In all reality spending any more than £1k+ will buy you such marginal improvements (probably excluding wheel upgrades) it makes pretty much no odds what you're riding.

I ride a £1kish road bike and probably £4.5k's worth of TT bike, and couldn't really care less what people think of me.

Its a bit like getting annoyed at somebody who isn't a racing driver owning and running a supercar imho.

 

[FrenchTart]

To be honest I don't really get the whole, you need to be able to ride well to have a nice bike thing. If you're keen on the sport and you have cash to spare, crack on and buy a nice bike. In all reality spending any more than £1k+ will buy you such marginal improvements it makes pretty much no odds what you're riding.

I ride a £1kish road bike and probably £4.5k's worth of TT bike, and couldn't really care less what people think of me.

Its a bit like getting annoyed at somebody who isn't a racing driver owning and running a supercar imho.

I don't think it's the "riding well" part that gets me but the "not using it aside from once a year on the one day it is sunny" part.

I can see your point - and yeah, there's no reason really why someone with lots of cash shouldn't spend whatever they want on whatever they want. I think it's hard not to judge a little though whenever you see someone struggling up a 1% incline with their 4k bike and ridiculously overpriced gear.

This is a PC forum though so probably we are more skewed towards the types that judge people based on their spec versus their knowledge/ability/need.

 

[Jimbeam3678]

Sometimes I do think the main thing about cycling is forgotten enjoyment.

Surely everyone should be encouraging cyclists in whatever shape or form ?

 

[FrenchTart]

Sometimes I do think the main thing about cycling is forgotten enjoyment.

Surely everyone should be encouraging cyclists in whatever shape or form ?

I'm fairly sure nobody on here jeers other cyclists or laughs openly at them.

People discussing their thoughts on a forum is quite different to how you interact with people face to face in real life. All the keyboard warriors you see on here are proof enough of that.

 

[DIABLO]

most people I see with carbon wheels and carbon bikes are fat office workers doing their commute home that's less than 5 miles and not worth getting changed into rapha for

guy from the newcastle "big ride" campaign
http://i.imgur.com/vRwGwkU.jpg[/

aren't they £500 wheels?

looks the part if you count pub rides :P

Half of them probably give up after a few months though so I should keep an eye on gumtree :P[/QUOTE]

To be fair though the deep section rims would hold up pretty well to a person of his weight. Plus i wouldn't really call him fat he has a bit around the belly but he also looks like he carrying quite a bit of muscle, bet he could sprint like a mofo.