Road Cycling Essentials

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So is having for example 1L of water on your back better than having 2L of water on your bike? Im thinking of the weight of the bike and how it effects the climbing.

Why have I just shelled out for a bike which weighs less than a nats **** then put 2L of water on it.... It makes no sense.

SDK - I have just signed up for the Wiggle Newforst 100 miler on the 2nd Oct.
 
janesssssy said:
So is having for example 1L of water on your back better than having 2L of water on your bike? Im thinking of the weight of the bike and how it effects the climbing.

Why have I just shelled out for a bike which weighs less than a nats **** then put 2L of water on it.... It makes no sense.

SDK - I have just signed up for the Wiggle Newforst 100 miler on the 2nd Oct.
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It's not just the weight of the bike that affects climbing, it's the weight of you, the bike, your clothes, the gel in your pocket, your water and so on all added together. In terms of climbing it doesn't matter whether you've got 2L in your bidons or 2L in your backpack, it's exactly the same.

I've mentioned before in this thread that people shouldn't really start worrying about frame weight until they get down to ~5% body fat. Wheel weight is a different kettle of fish all together since that's rotational weight and momentum.
 
Thats alright then as I have light wheels. New bike is a lot faster than the heavy old one.
I will stop asked stupid questions and get another bottle cage.
 
touch said:
A camelbak can make a difference. But, to be fair, you'd probably need a support team size of Frank Schleck's to get it set up right and get full advantage from it.


???
Racing is all about aerodynamics.
Time trialling most obviously where riders do everything they can to reduce drag. And road racing where the tactics revole around trying to minimise the time spent in the wind.
Aerodynamics have a massive effect on how fast you can cycle. The land speed record for a bike is 167mph which was achieved by riding behind a drag racer and therefor having very little air resistance.
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TT is about aerodynamics yes but road racing is about tactics and the ability to cope with the changing pace more than aerodynamics, wearing a camelback won't give you advantages in road racing that's for sure.
 
I don't normally make this public, but I'm obsessed with the former Soviet Union. Imagine my glee when I accidentally spotted this:

http://www.trikotexpress.de/en/Professional-Teams/CCCP-Soviet-Union/

cccptrikot1p1.jpg







WOOP :D

The question: what are the consequences of losing a race while wearing CCCP livery? Even as kapitalists. Death by hard labour in a Gulag? Interrogation by the Politburo, followed by Gulag? Humiliating public trial followed by a life in solitude in Siberia?
 
Another Leopard Trek rider, Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara, was accused last month of using a revolutionary system on his bike that gave him a substantial advantage over his rivals when he was racing with the Saxo Bank team.
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Thats his hidden motor right :p?
 
platypus said:
Thats his hidden motor right :p?
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Haha. :p Apparently a company gave him magical bearings that offer an improvement of 2.5s/km, which seems an utterly ridiculous claim given that the bikes the pros ride are probably already 99% efficient.

As a random aside, why is all the clothing in the classified section on BikeRadar L or bigger? Don't these people ride their bikes? :p
 
where do you buy your clothing from?

im thinking of getting a saxo bank jersey and maybe bib shorts but wiggle had just the jersey at £80 but ebay was much cheaper (and im guessing fake)
 
One More Solo said:
As a random aside, why is all the clothing in the classified section on BikeRadar L or bigger? Don't these people ride their bikes? :p
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I think it's great :D
I ride regularly, but often compared to as a bean pole!
So a L often fits me across the chest, but then is too short, where as a XL is perfect length yet flappy on the chest!

I would generally go for XL in the proper italian brands as they often come up small!
 
Last night I went on a chain gang, and it got going I was just about hanging on the back, how much extra effort would I be wasting with a mudguard and a big saddle bag on the back of my bike?
 
take them off and find out? :p

as long as its not rubbing on your wheel, then it shouldnt make too much difference. The extra weight of a mudguard + saddlebag cant be much?
 
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I nearly ran over a squirrel on my ride home from work tonight. Stupid thing was crossing the road, saw me, froze then turned to run away. Halfway back towards the curb it suddenly turned back and bolted back right in front of me. I missed it by maybe 3 inches. I don't think it would have done too well under my wheels... Nor would my slicks have gripped it too well. I wonder if it would have thrown me off my bike? Probably not.

Anyone hit any livestock on their racing bike?
 
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