Road Cycling

Soldato
Joined
25 Mar 2008
Posts
9,180
What lumen light(s) do you guys generally ride on the front? As it's gonna be getting a lot darker soon and nearly dark by the time I'm home from work I think I might look at another light on the front - currently got a NiteRider Swift 350. Do quite like the look of some of the Lezyne 1100-1300's and the Cateye Volt equivalents.
What do you need the lights for? Stupid question, but I was slow to realise that lights to-be-seen are much dimmer than lights-to-see.

I had a commute with unlit sections and got a 1000lm Fenix BC30 which was a revelation. That was some years ago.

Sorry to sound like a broken record mentioning Planet X again (I promise I get no commission! It's just because I get their newsletter, honest!) but they're offering what looks like good deals on some lights that look like my Fenix, but are much brighter... 2000 and 3000 lumen stuff for £20-40.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/deals
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
10,637
What do you need the lights for? Stupid question, but I was slow to realise that lights to-be-seen are much dimmer than lights-to-see.

I had a commute with unlit sections and got a 1000lm Fenix BC30 which was a revelation. That was some years ago.

Sorry to sound like a broken record mentioning Planet X again (I promise I get no commission! It's just because I get their newsletter, honest!) but they're offering what looks like good deals on some lights that look like my Fenix, but are much brighter... 2000 and 3000 lumen stuff for £20-40.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/deals
This light will be to see, I can use my NiteRider on flash to be seen as well.

Have seen the Planet X ones, although a little picky I do prefer my lights to have the rubber band connection so I can easily swap them between this bike and the Brompton. Not the end of the world, but just think it looks cleaner being able to remove the fixtures :)
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Sep 2009
Posts
13,911
Location
France, Alsace
Ahhahaha. Nevermind the more recent definition of windmilling, what was that guy on that funny scetch about windmilling when brawling's name!? Anyone know the one I'm on about? What ever happened to him.
This is me on a daily basis! I ******* love this clip.

Did a nice 50km ride yesterday while pulling Harper in the trailer. Jesus that hurts for a longer distance :D
 
Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
326
Location
London
i used to ride in the dark with just back light and accept my eyes can adjust quick enough, but since i start commuting in London, my route includes a series of quick succession of totally unlit then super brightly lit sections. i tried Cateye 100lm but it wasn't quite enough, now i use a 200lm and i found it is just about ok without blinding incoming traffic/cyclist.

https://www.evanscycles.com/cateye-volt-200-usb-rechargable-front-light-200-lumen-EV241686
i think it has been updated sincei first got it. the one i got has some special reflector design which has split the light so most of it goes to the front beam while some will reflect downwards and light up the front of the bike to allow people to see you (and not just a very bright LED dot)

Moon is another brand i quite like.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
326
Location
London
Ahh, I see now, they're both *hers*! She's got good taste! :D

Really like the look of those ATR650b. That size with those 28mm's on they look massive!

There's a saddle bracket thingy (Topeak?) which would give you bottle bosses on the seattube to mount a bottle cage to. Chuck the spares/tools one on there. Or just grab a cheapy saddlebag. Both loads cheaper than the saddle mounted cage options that every Tri/TT rider spends a small fortune on. :)

EDIT: Found it. £4. Props to Steve for that one!

Yes, they are massive, haha, but I wrote to Reynolds and they dont recommend go any narrower than 28mm (we had some 25mm Schwalbe Pro One previously when she was still using MTB wheels on that bike)

She has been using the A1r for her triathlon so far, so we have one of those Supacaz saddle mount for bottle cage, quite a slick design. Depends how she wants to run her setup, we may just move that to the new bike. We also have an entry level Xlab one but that swings left and right a lot, so probably will end up on ebay.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
8,420
Location
Hereford
Yesterday I took the bravefoolish decision to ride The Tumble. After riding Gospel Pass a couple of weekends ago, on a nice upward trajectory of fitness/form I'd kinda stalled for the last 2 weeks (too much other stuff going on). So to really kick myself back into it I considered them a kinda taper leading to it. I also have a mindset at the moment - a lack of the usual couple of 100 mile sportives I've done the last few years as an alternative I wanted to cross off these couple of climbs which I've not ridden since 2016/2017. With the hopeful aim to also hunting out a few more I've not ridden before, to actually 'achieve' some milestones this year! :D

With gusty winds around and a cool start I went out fairly well covered. At times the sun came out and I was feeling overdressed but with a cross-wind I didn't feel that too often - unless I was out of the wind or moving slowly. I had also chosen a non-direct route to avoid winds on the wide open usual main roads while trying to keep things z2/3 to really save my legs and power for the climb to come. I'd ear marked myself 1.5 hours there (and the same back) with around an hour for the climb/descent/stops. So 4 hours total ride time. On the ride out it became obvious the wind and rolling terrain was killing my average speed and increasing my ride time. I diverted to the main road and it felt like a relentless headwind. Average was good, but I took another diversion to a road I thought would shelter me, it did but was far too rolling to help. Whoops! Thankfully by then I'd nearly reached Abergavenny. I stripped off arm & knee warmers, pocketed with my Gilet and headed over to The Tumble. Took a wrong turn and ended up on a dual carriageway sliproad. Dammit. Retraced steps and found a different way to Llanfoist but did spot the cycle path below the dual carriageway I'd aimed for. Next time! Tweaked kit on the road just before and still had to stop at the bottom to get a stone out of my shoe.

Annoyed with all the stops and the busy traffic I started the climb a bit hard. Through the sheltered trees at the bottom things where very warm, further up past the cattle grid/trees things opened up and there was more relief from the air, but the sun was out there in force! I reined myself in knowing the bottom switchbacks are brutal. They didn't disappoint! I sat wherever possible and just paced things by power, trying to hold below 250W but at parts it became a paced stood grind in 34*30 just to keep moving before sitting in the 32t to recover. I had expected this so was sure not to bury myself too much, yet looking back at the data now I was at the top end of my Z4 HR (166-184bpm) for the entire climb (182bpm avg). Surprised I didn't blow! :o

There was a vintage car rally on ('Two Rivers Tour') and much of the climb you could smell oil and clutches. All the different cars did make for some nice distractions through the pain! Just at the cattle grid - anyone riding The Tumble will know at this point you've done the steep ramps of 'Fiddlers Elbow' but are about to leave the shelter of the trees for the top slog. You normally don't want to lose traction here as stopping just as things ease off feels strange and hurts. There was temporary traffic lights! Slowed to a crawl to avoid stopping, but had to when a car in front stalled. Only a couple of seconds, I got going again and as things opened up I could see a couple of riders up in front. I had a couple of carrots to chase! Settled into the grind, counting pedal strokes until gradient eased enough to spin out & recover a little before the lower gradients of the top drags. As things eased I caught the first of my 'carrots', giving him a couple of words of encouragement as we passed another of the vintage cars broken down in a lay-by (was maybe 3 or 4 of them scattered over the climb!). He was struggling, looked like he was under-geared really grinding it as I was able to pass him sat at 80+rpm. I'm sure he secretly hated me! I settled into a good rhythm, recovering enough while keeping the cadence up so I slowly increased the power. I caught carrot #2 just before the false flat and lower gradient of the top. Exchanged a few words with him about the smell of clutches nearly all the way up. Manged to empty the tank a little towards the line, but was pretty cooked at that point. Had a good chat with the guys at the top before taking a couple of pictures.

EDIT: Really enjoyed the descent, trying to clear a few fears I have of descending at speed. Very confidence building, breaking 40mph! Found the traffic lights annoyingly at the cattle grid, but also probably helped me not to hit it a little too fast. Also had to slow up on the descent for an accident which had happened near the bottom, gutted to see a nice old car with a huge scrape from bumper to bumper from a caravan who'd obviously been decending too quickly and sideswiped him. :(

Trying to navigate from Komoot on my mobile (mounted to the bars) I came unstuck where a cut through road I'd used on the way in was only 1 way... I didn't find the maps on Komoot great for finding streets so just loaded Google Maps instead. Far more familiar with that and easily found my way back to the road I wanted. The cross headwinds on the ride back really sapped my energy. Was firstly trying to maintain speed, then had to settle on pacing by power, but realised even at fairly Z3 power I was cooking myself so had to settle by pacing with HR. I thought I'd eaten enough but hit the wall once back on the rolling terrain at Wormbridge. I figured it was a lack of sugar and crawled to Locks for an ice cream to get me home. Ride home was a real slog, but that £1.20 ice cream and a Boost Duo really helped, my HR being lower, speed & power feeling easier after the stop. Couple of instant brain freezes from the ice cream really indicating I was probably overheated and dehydrated. With the winds feeling cool I obviously hadn't been drinking enough!

Think he just uses gigantex rims and novatec hubs. Last set I worked on were certainly **** hubs and narrow/deep rims. OK for £700 but the bullets at £620 feel better made to me. Prime wheels are the same, light but **** bearings and freehub body.

My mate has standard bullets and they don't feel a million miles away from the dura ace c50s I was using.
The campag bullets? Nice wheels but thought they where quite outdated now?

May have had a result with my Zipp. Realised Zipp wheels have a '2 year warranty', bought mine November 2017, so currently waiting to hear back from LBS if they think it's covered (fingers crossed!)... :o

I've got a set of 50s on rs4 hope hubs using his blue pads. They've been great. I would have gone slightly wider rim if I could, but it's borderline my frame taking 28s so stuck with 25s. They arrived running what looks perfectly straight by eye and still the same a good few thousand miles later. The blue pads I was sceptical of, but they're very good for carbon rim braking. Brake track is still unmarked. Weight is good as well, around 1500g for the pair I believe. Nice and easy to fit tyres onto as well unlike some rims.
Are those from Wheelsmith? Branded rims or?

Offft, fair play that's some ride! Kudos! Lucky to have a guy like Greig but I bet you where sticking it to the others too on the climb haha! ;)

Makes my ride look like childs play! :o

This is me on a daily basis! I ******* love this clip.

Did a nice 50km ride yesterday while pulling Harper in the trailer. Jesus that hurts for a longer distance :D
That's the one! Can never recall his name as every time I just keep thinking 'lemon' but that's Keith Lemon... Dennis something? Dennis Pennis. Wow. Didn't even clock it was him in Game of Thrones! :o

Ouch, check some of the gradients out in this - 3 peaks CX.
 
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Associate
Joined
26 Oct 2002
Posts
1,063
Location
Lincoln
DA chainrings. Will a 34t R8000 Ultegra inner fit on there as a swap?
Also if it does, what grease do you use for the studs/screws and is that the same as you would use on pedals?
Thanks.
JB
 
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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,617
The difference between the best aero wheels and merely good ones is a few seconds over 25 miles. So don't worry about it and enjoy your new bling.

And unless your name is G. Thomas, you can definitely pedal a bit harder to make up that difference
 
Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
326
Location
London
DA chainrings. Will a 34t R8000 Ultegra inner fit on there as a swap?
Also if it does, what grease do you use for the studs/screws and is that the same as you would use on pedals?
Thanks.
JB
Yes. i have the other way round, R9100 inner ring on a R8000 Crank. also 9000 on 6800 crank.


Don't say that :( . mine are coming tomorrow :) Recommended to me by someone I consider a bit of an expert...

So I've had a cold since last Friday. Do you keep riding, or take a break? (I've kept riding...)

They are fine wheels. i was at dualthlon on Sunday. there are so many pairs i lost count. 50s and 80s. i was using them too. The GP5000 23mm fit them rather well. i came 8th in the bike leg out of a wave of 50. my ftp is barely 200w at the moment (because im trying out some weird diet). Apart from the top 2 in that bike leg, im within 1 minute of all other people (over 21km), i have the wheels to thank. probably can come higher it i stop messing around with the garmin gps for the first 30s.

h3m8PKW.jpg
 
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Associate
Joined
26 Oct 2002
Posts
1,063
Location
Lincoln
i was replacing 36 with 34 on mine, so the bolts already have some threadlock on it, i didnt use extra grease when i did the replacements.

Ok but never used any of this stuff before, just trying to learn.
Was looking for a link or something so I know I’m getting the right stuff
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,617
i tend to use copper grease on bolts if i can find my tube, lithium grease if i cant. if it's tightened correctly then it shouldnt need threadlock.

if there's titanium in there, you really need copper grease, unless you want galvanic corrosion (which you really dont)
 
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Associate
Joined
26 Oct 2002
Posts
1,063
Location
Lincoln
i tend to use copper grease on bolts if i can find my tube, lithium grease if i cant. if it's tightened correctly then it shouldnt need threadlock.

if there's titanium in there, you really need copper grease, unless you want galvanic corrosion (which you really dont)

Cracking, just the job thanks
 
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