Road Cycling
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Soldato
On a club run there was an obligatory silverback charge for a village 30 some two miles out. We were going pretty quick and a couple of lads had already been dropped when a rabbit comes out and I don't know how but the fella that it tangled into his bottom bracket then rear wheel kept upright. Unlike the cat in @Lethal` s tale, it didn't move when I glanced back. It was worse than a scene from watership down. We had a chuckle at the coffee stop..
Soldato
Be careful out there everyone, dangers can come out of anywhere. What was going to be my first ride out after completing a 200 miler last Thursday ended half a mile in when a cat bolted across the street. I now have 6 fractured vertebrae in my spine.
All the best for getting sorted and back on the bike. I've had a sphincter twitch from a cat shooting across a road when out last summer - I just managed to grab some brake to avoid it.
Soldato
After some pre-ride fettling on Saturday afternoon, I had expected to be writing a post asking why micro-adjust on my Ultegra 80x0 Di2 front mech wasn't working. Adjustments work fine on the rear but pressing either button on the front shifter wasn't moving the mech, though the red LED on the Di2 control box would flash. As I was riding an evening/night sportive on Saturday, I figured it wasn't the time to totally screw-up the front shifting so left it alone for another day. However...
About 30km into my sportive, I was happily spinning my way up in hill in the granny ring when suddenly I started to get some horrible chain crunching and I could hear/see the front-mech going in & out, despite not touching the shifter. Thankfully I managed to stop before my chain jammed, so jumped off to look at the front mech.
"Houston, we have a problem..."
From what I can tell, the plastic bit I'm poking with the screwdriver should be attached to the silver bar above it
A quick test showed I was going to spend the rest of the ride in the granny, so I set off with the couple of other riders I'd being working with. Uphill was fine, downhill was okay if I could tuck to carry speed but working on the flat meant 100+ RPM (Di2 doesn't let you go into the two smallest cogs when in the granny). Strava shows I hit 130rpm a few times.
Bar the occasional ghost shift I was going okay and got to the feed station at Powys Castle (80km in) so decide to keep going. As it was dark by then, a bigger group of us left the castle together and headed back through Welshpool. We had to stop at some traffic lights in the middle of town and as we pushed off, I got another massive crunch and then silence as my chain had snapped
I do carry spare missing links but on extracting my multi-tool, I realised it didn't have a chain breaker (doh!) The event did have a mobile mechanic and my luck was in as the car with him in passed me, so I managed to ring him. I was sorted within 10-15 minutes but the group had long gone, so I settled in for the last 25 to 30k on my own. In the dark. Oh, and it rained all the way back to the start as well
TL/DR - From searching, it seems Di2 front-mechs are not user serviceable - is that right? Sigma, Tredz and Certini claim to have them in stock (my first worry I'd be waiting weeks for one) but they are... £199!
Seeing the price this morning got a "Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey" out of me.
I've not swapped any Di2 bits before, so can this be done with just the basic Di2 USB charger for setup via a PC? Is the Di2 cable tool for £4 essential?
About 30km into my sportive, I was happily spinning my way up in hill in the granny ring when suddenly I started to get some horrible chain crunching and I could hear/see the front-mech going in & out, despite not touching the shifter. Thankfully I managed to stop before my chain jammed, so jumped off to look at the front mech.
"Houston, we have a problem..."
From what I can tell, the plastic bit I'm poking with the screwdriver should be attached to the silver bar above it
A quick test showed I was going to spend the rest of the ride in the granny, so I set off with the couple of other riders I'd being working with. Uphill was fine, downhill was okay if I could tuck to carry speed but working on the flat meant 100+ RPM (Di2 doesn't let you go into the two smallest cogs when in the granny). Strava shows I hit 130rpm a few times.Bar the occasional ghost shift I was going okay and got to the feed station at Powys Castle (80km in) so decide to keep going. As it was dark by then, a bigger group of us left the castle together and headed back through Welshpool. We had to stop at some traffic lights in the middle of town and as we pushed off, I got another massive crunch and then silence as my chain had snapped
I do carry spare missing links but on extracting my multi-tool, I realised it didn't have a chain breaker (doh!) The event did have a mobile mechanic and my luck was in as the car with him in passed me, so I managed to ring him. I was sorted within 10-15 minutes but the group had long gone, so I settled in for the last 25 to 30k on my own. In the dark. Oh, and it rained all the way back to the start as well
TL/DR - From searching, it seems Di2 front-mechs are not user serviceable - is that right? Sigma, Tredz and Certini claim to have them in stock (my first worry I'd be waiting weeks for one) but they are... £199!
Seeing the price this morning got a "Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey" out of me.I've not swapped any Di2 bits before, so can this be done with just the basic Di2 USB charger for setup via a PC? Is the Di2 cable tool for £4 essential?
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Nov 2004
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Swapping it out is simple as unbolting it and unplugging it. You won't even need to plug it in to update firmware but wouldn't be a problem. The tool makes you feel better inside but isn't essential, the way the front one goes in with that plastic guide I'm sure you just push the guide and it'll click into place.
All you'll need to do is set the height, angle and the high screw and then go into the micro adjust mode to make sure the mech is clearing the chain in easiest gear.
All you'll need to do is set the height, angle and the high screw and then go into the micro adjust mode to make sure the mech is clearing the chain in easiest gear.
Soldato
If anyone is after bib shorts, Amazon have the Gore C5 for £49.xx on Prime Day offers:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075S2Q65L?psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
Different sizes / colours come in at different prices. I got a L in black for £49.52 and a M in white (well, some white bits on the bottom of the legs - I'd never buy all white bib shorts!) for £49.58.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075S2Q65L?psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
Different sizes / colours come in at different prices. I got a L in black for £49.52 and a M in white (well, some white bits on the bottom of the legs - I'd never buy all white bib shorts!) for £49.58.
Soldato
Great spot. I need a new pair so thats perfect!
Actually after some advise or a favor if anyone can help me out?
I want to try a slightly shorter Stem length before buying one, and my LBS is really TERRIBLE for customer service so I don't even want to ask them.
Does anyone fancy lending me a 90mm stem (I can arrange postage or collection etc.?) - cheeky ask I know, but if you don't ask...
Soldato
The have a few different Gore Wear bits. C3 and C5 jerseys too, also half price. Annoyingly, the C5 bibs in my size are the ones £10 more than all the others...
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 10,646
No actual photographer photos of my crit as yet but a club guy took a photo before he left. Think its first lap and I'm off the front, did attack again on second lap and many more laps. Team mate went hard up the drag when I was on his wheel so got him to go full gas, I slowed up a bit and kept people on my wheel to slow them up. An ERC boy managed to bridge across so it meant his 2 team mates and myself did nothing. Was a good bit of team work going on.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 10,646
Aye I've changed to a prologo zero so can ride in about 3 positions on that rather than locked in place with the dimension. 120mm stem just always brings a bike to life for me and saddle up a bit as I'd dropped it thinking it was too high and ripping the inside of my left leg to bits.
Team mate got 2nd in a photo finish and I was a few bike lengths back in 4th. Could have ridden it differently to be fresh rather than still trying to split it with 2 to go
.
Entered again for Thursday night which has two 3/4 cat races and generally a bigger field so should be interesting. First Thursday night one was 27mph average compared to 25.5mph roughly for Sunday. Doesn't sound like a big difference but it is.
Team mate got 2nd in a photo finish and I was a few bike lengths back in 4th. Could have ridden it differently to be fresh rather than still trying to split it with 2 to go
.Entered again for Thursday night which has two 3/4 cat races and generally a bigger field so should be interesting. First Thursday night one was 27mph average compared to 25.5mph roughly for Sunday. Doesn't sound like a big difference but it is.
Ha, I quite liked the colours but then I am quite a fan of blue and crazy loud colours/designs, some of the stuff I used to wear lol #rave
Ouch! Damn! Rest up and recover well, that sounds brutal!Be careful out there everyone, dangers can come out of anywhere. What was going to be my first ride out after completing a 200 miler last Thursday ended half a mile in when a cat bolted across the street. I now have 6 fractured vertebrae in my spine.
Having family and commitments really puts things into perspective but that's a great mindset and outlook to have. I'd like I think I'm at a similar point myself - where I know I can't get much better due to lack of commitment while the lad is small, but equally I'm getting older. With quite a bump from lockdown last year and a drop off now I'm not commuting while WFH it's turned into more of a battle of maintaining any gains I've made and just trying to keep the few times I ride hard balanced performances. It's kinda working - I've not had a big drop off over the winter (Zwift miles are up a huge amount), but equally I've not really climbed much this spring/summer due to a lack of mileage.I am riding part health/training and part for fun during the pandemic. Its a good excuse not to be roped into the club rides yet as I know I will get a beating first few group rides back. Im in no hurry but hope to be racing again some day. I have a young family so they take up much time, when I broke the back initially my wife found out we were pregnant with our youngest! When they get a bit older I will be able to put in some long miles again. To race A3/4 you should be able to batter 50 miles at pace so I know where I need to be, its some reality check you get though when your lying in a brace worrying about being able to walk again..
All you can do it not worry about it - else you'll not leave the house! It's all luck based. I've had a squirrel run straight across the road before now infront of a car and somehow 'through' me without me feeling it. I still maintain it went between my wheels! Couple of years back on a group ride a badger ran out of a hedgerow and into a group of us, at least 3 of us hit it but it only brought 1 guy down. It just rolled down the road, got back up and wondered off. Thankfully he was ok. A few days later he had a blowout on a carbon rim and no idea if that was related to it hitting the badger. Thinking about it, I've not seen him recently (the badger, not the guy lol).Not that it matters, but was it avoiding or hitting the cat that caused the accident? I'm always worried when I see a dog nearby, but you've got little chance when a sneaky cat springs from the shadows!
Rubbish. Where'd you get it from or S/H like mine? Mines still going strong barely used on the turbo bike so if you get stuck finding one give me a shout. Although I still see plenty of 4iiii pop up on ebay for ok prices, so there's no shortage of those (yet...)!
Lol that's grim! I've heard of people making a mess of rabbits in spokes before too. Also of a guy on a club run that went back to get the rabbit and take it home for dinner. He is a South African chef! I guess you can't get fresher and safer than that...
Ouch! Damn that has really snapped. Don't bin it - keep it for parts/repair. You see them pop up quite regularly on the 'bay with unresponsive motors or broken cages, so might be able to savage a working one. Pricing is pretty crazy still, I've been looking for a S/H deal on one and not quite snagged one yet. Prices around £120-150 will get you a tidy one, the occasional price below £100 for those which don't look perfect with scuffs etc.
What Sportive was this? I'd not really heard much of any organised rides that direction.Bar the occasional ghost shift I was going okay and got to the feed station at Powys Castle (80km in) so decide to keep going. As it was dark by then, a bigger group of us left the castle together and headed back through Welshpool. We had to stop at some traffic lights in the middle of town and as we pushed off, I got another massive crunch and then silence as my chain had snapped
Equally I'm so out of touch, now I don't really scour many cycling sites like I used to and really no time for socials I likely miss much advertising for anything. Most of the local charity related ones here all seem to still be cancelled so may need to venture further away and find some, just not sure where to start...
Soldato
Will have a look on eBay to see what's around. To finish off my wallet, the USB port on my Edge 800 has started to play-up - to get it to sync needs some cable wiggling. Seems to be a reasonably common issue with water / moisture corrosion on the connector. I've just ordered up some electrical contact cleaner and a new mini-USB cable to see if they avoid the need to dismantle it.
Next year's event is up already:
https://www.adrenalinesportingevents.co.uk/midnight-ride-cycling-event/
There's another ride from Oswestry in July but I'm busy that day:
https://www.adrenalinesportingevents.co.uk/pedal-the-borders/
Soldato
Next front mech' question...
I think I've sweated the front-mech on my old Planet-X to death on the turbo. The cable releases to shift outer to inner but unless you hit/tap the cage, it doesn't move so I think after 13 years of use it's possible seized up. At some point I'll take it off to clean and give it a soak in something to see if that helps but I might as well get a spare in as well.
I have Dura-Ace 7800 shifters and the front-mech is the original DA matching as well. From searching I've seen comments that Shimano changed the cable ratios from DA 7800 to 7900. I know a rear Ultegra 6700 mech works as that is what I've been using for years now - will a 5700 105 front mech work with 7800 shifters?
I think I've sweated the front-mech on my old Planet-X to death on the turbo. The cable releases to shift outer to inner but unless you hit/tap the cage, it doesn't move so I think after 13 years of use it's possible seized up. At some point I'll take it off to clean and give it a soak in something to see if that helps but I might as well get a spare in as well.
I have Dura-Ace 7800 shifters and the front-mech is the original DA matching as well. From searching I've seen comments that Shimano changed the cable ratios from DA 7800 to 7900. I know a rear Ultegra 6700 mech works as that is what I've been using for years now - will a 5700 105 front mech work with 7800 shifters?
Soldato
To answer my own question, after looking at many PDFs from https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/archive, I need either:
FD-7800
FD-6600
FD-5600
I found a new 6600 on ebay but the clamp size is wrong (think I need 34.x)
I sent mine to some bloke on ebay to fix in the end as the internal bit was only about 2 or 3 quid less.
@Roady thanks for the offer, it's oging back although the battery tab has snapped after they advised to bend it back (how it got bent I have no idea), but think I had a slightly duff one from the factory, hopefully the supplier will sort me out a replacement, they seem to have been good so far but won't name them until resolved.
Thought I'd killed my Vectors Sunday too, but seem to have got those back to life somehow! Riding the CX bike again for first time in what seems forever
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Soldato
I had six months where I never put leg over the frame and went outside, too much going on, pandemic meant nobody was competing or group riding at the time. The die hards in the club will start training from October for the season starting in March, some even never stop training as they blend from road race season into cyclocross. I didnt beat myself up this time round and happy to take the relaxed approach as some day I will no doubt get lots of time to dedicate to training - which lets face it in the amateur stage is very competitive now and people have either coaches or subscribe to countless platforms/tools that the bar in my opinion is definitely raised from the era of maybe just using a HR monitor to supplement your training!