Road Cycling Essentials

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oli collett said:
On a doping note, I'm hearing that there are going to be more positives to come from the Giro after Santambrogio's EPO +ve.

Has someone got around the issue of microdosing?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23347069/
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Interesting. How stupid do you have to be though to still be using EPO. :o

Someone like Santambrogio as well, goes from nothing to Giro top 10 at the age of 29 and expects it to go unnoticed. :o
 
[Damien];24391202 said:
I've had to come to work on the Canyon today. I've somehow cracked the seatpost collar on my CX. :confused:

I did get my best ever one way commute time though which is nice.
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I think that warrants you to buy a new bike, Canyon as your daily hack and perhaps a nice S-Works Venge or Cervelo R5 as the weekender?

One More Solo said:
Interesting. How stupid do you have to be though to still be using EPO. :o
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It's always been a fair race at the front end of bicycle racing.
 
^ Or a bargain Scott :p

Think I'll try my first 10M TT tonight. Going to cruise down to the course and do a casual lap this afternoon so I know where the turns are :p
 
One More Solo said:
Interesting. How stupid do you have to be though to still be using EPO. :o

Someone like Santambrogio as well, goes from nothing to Giro top 10 at the age of 29 and expects it to go unnoticed. :o
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Well I suspect many have been microdosing in the last few years given its v hard to detect, especially in teams outside of the pro tour
 
Guys I know this question gets asked a lot. And the most common answer is the Btwin Triban 3. But I think I am after something a little "better" but not by much.

I am looking to get myself a road bike. I am already a rather keen MTB'er (well XC rides and single track stuff mainly but I can rack up the miles and my fitness ain't too bad). My intention is to get a road bike for riding to work at least twice a week, and to join in on my mates longer road rides.

All my mates have above average road bikes, but i don't think my budget will stretch that high, and considering my MTB is my main hobby I don't think the misses will let me splash loads on a roadie too ..

I have about 500ish to spend and am probably going to look for something second hand. But this is where I am struggling. I have checked pink bike but there is not much about at the moment that I can see. And I also know NOTHING about what is good parts on a roadie.

I am guessing, from my measurements, that I would be a 58cm Frame. I have ridden my mates 58cm Felt F85 (I think from memory) and it was an OK fit but I know all bikes are different.

Anyone suggest some places to look (already checking pink bike and ebay) and also any suggestions on a good starting bike would be helpful. Also if anyone is looking to get rid of an old one that fits my requirements then you have my attention.

Cheers!
 
oli collett said:
Well I suspect many have been microdosing in the last few years given its v hard to detect, especially in teams outside of the pro tour
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It's a good point on the microdosing, and if they were caught off the back of a new test then that's good news. If they were just doping using prodigious quantities of EPO like in the good old days then they're just idiots.

The DS has tried to claim total ignorance which is interesting, never a good sign if two of your riders are caught within weeks of each other. Either suggests you have very lax controls (at best) or an organised doping program. Neither is good news for him.
 
Took 3 minutes off my best time over 50km. A minute down almost on each of the categorised climbs, but rattled along with decent speed on the flatter sections which more than made up for it.

Need to ride more, but its now pitch black at 5:30, leaving work much earlier than 3:30 is a bit cheeky... I have decent lights but don't want to ride in the dark really, risk of being run over.
 
Musty Pie said:
Anyone suggest some places to look (already checking pink bike and ebay) and also any suggestions on a good starting bike would be helpful.
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Pinkbike isnt great for road bikes - it's mainly MTBers on there. Try bikeradar forums and gumtree/local paper as well.

You should be able to get something with at least Shimano 105 groupset (or SRAM rival/SRAM apex) for £500.
 
touch said:
Pinkbike isnt great for road bikes - it's mainly MTBers on there. Try bikeradar forums and gumtree/local paper as well.

You should be able to get something with at least Shimano 105 groupset (or SRAM rival/SRAM apex) for £500.
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Thank you for the advise. I know what I am doing in my lunch break now ...
If anyone comes across anything though, please let me know :P
 
Anyone got a link to a really good guide/video for doing bar tape?

My new handlebar should be arriving soon so I'll be redoing mine. They're sending some Canyon bar tape with it but considering how much of a muck magnet it seems to be so far I've decided to get some Fizik performance tape instead as it's apparently pretty easy to clean.
 
Musty Pie said:
Guys I know this question gets asked a lot. And the most common answer is the Btwin Triban 3. But I think I am after something a little "better" but not by much.

I am looking to get myself a road bike. I am already a rather keen MTB'er (well XC rides and single track stuff mainly but I can rack up the miles and my fitness ain't too bad). My intention is to get a road bike for riding to work at least twice a week, and to join in on my mates longer road rides.

All my mates have above average road bikes, but i don't think my budget will stretch that high, and considering my MTB is my main hobby I don't think the misses will let me splash loads on a roadie too ..

I have about 500ish to spend and am probably going to look for something second hand. But this is where I am struggling. I have checked pink bike but there is not much about at the moment that I can see. And I also know NOTHING about what is good parts on a roadie.

I am guessing, from my measurements, that I would be a 58cm Frame. I have ridden my mates 58cm Felt F85 (I think from memory) and it was an OK fit but I know all bikes are different.

Anyone suggest some places to look (already checking pink bike and ebay) and also any suggestions on a good starting bike would be helpful. Also if anyone is looking to get rid of an old one that fits my requirements then you have my attention.

Cheers!
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Keeping it with new bikes from Decathlon...

£430 gets you the Triban 5 with Sora 2013 shifters - perfectly respectable at that price point, and leaves you some cash for pedals and shoes. £500 gets you the Triban 7 with Tiagra shifters.

I can't think of any better new bikes for that money. You'd have to spend £200 more to get something as good from Ribble or one of the other cheaper bigger brands.

Second hand is of course a whole other ball game.
 
Musty Pie said:
I have about 500ish to spend and am probably going to look for something second hand. But this is where I am struggling. I have checked pink bike but there is not much about at the moment that I can see. And I also know NOTHING about what is good parts on a roadie.
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You're in luck! Road.cc did a roundup of the best road bikes for under £500. That Vittesse Sprint Race 700c Road Bike (Special Edition) looks especially tasty - I can see many people here being tempted by it.

[/trollface] ;)
 
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[Damien];24392245 said:
Anyone got a link to a really good guide/video for doing bar tape?

My new handlebar should be arriving soon so I'll be redoing mine. They're sending some Canyon bar tape with it but considering how much of a muck magnet it seems to be so far I've decided to get some Fizik performance tape instead as it's apparently pretty easy to clean.
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Stick with the Canyon stuff if its black mate, i got some of that and its great tape, i know what you mean about it being a muck magnet tho, i got white on my Canyon and its pretty dirty, the black stuff i ordered for my other bike tho is a dream

Youtube has good wrapping videos, watch a few and remember to put the tape up the handlebar hole about an inch before you start, most videos miss that:D
 
Kimi said:
Stick with the Canyon stuff if its black mate, i got some of that and its great tape, i know what you mean about it being a muck magnet tho, i got white on my Canyon and its pretty dirty, the black stuff i ordered for my other bike tho is a dream

Youtube has good wrapping videos, watch a few and remember to put the tape up the handlebar hole about an inch before you start, most videos miss that:D
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Cheers for the tip! It's the white stuff I'm getting, to replace the standard white tape that came with it. I'll have a look at a few videos when I've got time. I can't see it being that difficult. I'm just a perfectionist when it comes to that sort of stuff though. I'd get to the end then notice something off and have to start again...
 
[Damien];24392245 said:
Anyone got a link to a really good guide/video for doing bar tape?

My new handlebar should be arriving soon so I'll be redoing mine. They're sending some Canyon bar tape with it but considering how much of a muck magnet it seems to be so far I've decided to get some Fizik performance tape instead as it's apparently pretty easy to clean.
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Re-Wrapped my old bikes tape a few weeks back, this video is pretty good:-

All in all it was pretty easy and make sure you leave enough tape overhanging the end of the bars before you start. I didnt do and couldnt use the bar plug to trap the tape cleanly in the tube so had to unravel it but as it was "sticky" (just a gel tack to stop it moving) it wasnt an issue.
 
Musty Pie said:
Guys I know this question gets asked a lot. And the most common answer is the Btwin Triban 3. But I think I am after something a little "better" but not by much.

I am looking to get myself a road bike. I am already a rather keen MTB'er (well XC rides and single track stuff mainly but I can rack up the miles and my fitness ain't too bad). My intention is to get a road bike for riding to work at least twice a week, and to join in on my mates longer road rides.

All my mates have above average road bikes, but i don't think my budget will stretch that high, and considering my MTB is my main hobby I don't think the misses will let me splash loads on a roadie too ..

I have about 500ish to spend and am probably going to look for something second hand. But this is where I am struggling. I have checked pink bike but there is not much about at the moment that I can see. And I also know NOTHING about what is good parts on a roadie.

I am guessing, from my measurements, that I would be a 58cm Frame. I have ridden my mates 58cm Felt F85 (I think from memory) and it was an OK fit but I know all bikes are different.

Anyone suggest some places to look (already checking pink bike and ebay) and also any suggestions on a good starting bike would be helpful. Also if anyone is looking to get rid of an old one that fits my requirements then you have my attention.

Cheers!
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I got my Boardman Team Carbon 2nd hand and its great value IMO.
I paid a bit more than £500 but have a look on ebay.

eg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boardman-...UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4173b5d0f3#ht_938wt_1399

Also you are best getting the older SRAM Rival groupset instead of Shimano 105 which the later ones come with, again IMO. I think the later ones had "Boardman" bars and stem and seat post but the SRAM Rival ones have Ritchey items.
 
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