Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Saundie said:
I am also considering buying a new bike for roughly the same activities, and have roughly the same budget, so I'd be interested in seeing some suggestions.
Click to expand...

I bought a Giant Defy 4 for just under £500 a few months back. Don't get me wrong, I love it, and it is a perfect starter bike but...they are obviously made to a price point, and it shows (as with all lower end road bikes). If you want to do some serious miles then you will need to spend some money replacing some of the shoddy factory supplied kit.

Here is a run down of what I have swapped out so far;

- Tyres - the factory supplied ones were very poor and offered no puncture protection. So after 5 punctures in as many days these needed to go - cost me 50 quid to replace them with decent tyres.
- Brake Pads - these were fine for the first 100 miles, but after a few wet rides they soon became useless - worryingly so. 30 quid to replace these with decent ones.
- Inner tubes - again, they loved to get punctures. £16 for 2 new tubes, and 2 spares for my saddle bag.
- Pedals - came with standard crappy pedals, £40 to replace these with SPD pedals - although I guess I didn't need to replace them with SPD ones, or at all. But clipless pedals are a must on long rides.

So guess what I am saying is, 'buy cheap, buy twice'. As long as you have realistic expectations of the kit that comes on a cheaper bike, you will be ok. Just remember to put some money aside for replacing the rubbish bits and bobs as the miles rack up.

But again, I love my bike - it has rekindled my love with cycling, and I am glad I went with a lower specced bike initially. Allowed me to be sure I still liked cycling without spending $$$ on a carbon speed monster.

The Allez gets good reviews, and it was on my shortlist, I only got the Giant, (gay moment coming up) because I preferred the colour scheme ;)
 
Winter jackets...

What kind of waterproof gear do you guys wear and do you bother with overtrousers or just get changed?

I should hopefully get my voucher soon, still waiting although I went to size up the Boardman Road Comp and I'm quite impressed with it. I want to get myself a decent jacket that's not going to act like a parachute but will keep the weather off. I don't want to go mega expensive and I'm not sure where to look. What sites would you guys reccomend to look around on?

Also, what computer are people using? Seens some fancy Garmin GPS ones but a little out of my range. I do have an iPhone 4, is anyone using one as an alternative?
 
Last edited:
fluiduk said:
I bought a Giant Defy 4 for just under £500 a few months back. Don't get me wrong, I love it, and it is a perfect starter bike but...they are obviously made to a price point, and it shows (as with all lower end road bikes). If you want to do some serious miles then you will need to spend some money replacing some of the shoddy factory supplied kit.

Here is a run down of what I have swapped out so far;

- Tyres - the factory supplied ones were very poor and offered no puncture protection. So after 5 punctures in as many days these needed to go - cost me 50 quid to replace them with decent tyres.
- Brake Pads - these were fine for the first 100 miles, but after a few wet rides they soon became useless - worryingly so. 30 quid to replace these with decent ones.
- Inner tubes - again, they loved to get punctures. £16 for 2 new tubes, and 2 spares for my saddle bag.
- Pedals - came with standard crappy pedals, £40 to replace these with SPD pedals - although I guess I didn't need to replace them with SPD ones, or at all. But clipless pedals are a must on long rides.

So guess what I am saying is, 'buy cheap, buy twice'. As long as you have realistic expectations of the kit that comes on a cheaper bike, you will be ok. Just remember to put some money aside for replacing the rubbish bits and bobs as the miles rack up.

But again, I love my bike - it has rekindled my love with cycling, and I am glad I went with a lower specced bike initially. Allowed me to be sure I still liked cycling without spending $$$ on a carbon speed monster.

The Allez gets good reviews, and it was on my shortlist, I only got the Giant, (gay moment coming up) because I preferred the colour scheme ;)
Click to expand...

What brake blocks did you get?
You should have tried some koolstop pads, they're about 12 quid for 2 sets and are perfectly fine, even the cheap Shimano standard brake blocks are fine.

And you don't need to spend 50 quid for decent tyres.

Same with inner tubes, just standard inner tubes that fit are perfectly fine.

One More Solo said:
The chain, cassette and rear derailleur have probably less than 200 miles on them and still look brand new (no shark teeth and so on). I'm thinking it's a minor alignment issue but I don't have the kit to check that so I've booked it in for a service tomorrow afternoon.
Click to expand...

If it's an allignment issue all you need to do is twist the the tension adjuster on the rear mech, or get a screwdriver and make sure the limit screws are set ok. (That is if that is what you're talking about, the rear mech not being aligned properly with the sprockets causing the chain to be at an angle making horrible noise.)
 
Last edited:
You are right Willhub, I didn't need to go as high spec with the kit as I did, but my point remains the same, the stuff that comes with lower end bikes is a false economy.

I went for the highest spec stuff I could afford, in the hope it will work better, and last longer.
 
Dup said:
Also, what computer are people using? Seens some fancy Garmin GPS ones but a little out of my range. I do have an iPhone 4, is anyone using one as an alternative?
Click to expand...

I use my iPhone 4 with Endomondo to track my training routes both on the mountain bike and on the road bike. I just switch on GPS, start Endomondo and stick it in my pocket. As far as a computer goes, I use a Cateye Micro wireless on both my Cube Acid and my Pinarello road bike. :)
 
I use my Garmin 405 GPS watch.

Got a friend that uses MapMyRide on his iPhone and he says it is pretty good.

I use a Cateye Strada on my bike. Pretty good, but doesn't do Cadence.
 
fluiduk said:
You are right Willhub, I didn't need to go as high spec with the kit as I did, but my point remains the same, the stuff that comes with lower end bikes is a false economy.

I went for the highest spec stuff I could afford, in the hope it will work better, and last longer.
Click to expand...

But going the highest spec you can afford does not always mean better/ last longer. For example, getting Conti GP4000 tyres, they're quite expensive but you can get better tyres for cheaper. And brake blocks, 30 quid overkill especially when they'll wear down as quick as cheaper ones which brake perfectly fine.
 
Agree on that, so I spent some time looking at reviews to make an informed decision.

Hopefully it will be a good decision, if not, lesson learnt, won't buy it again

On another note, I see you are in Manchester, do you belong to any of the cycling clubs? CTC Manchester, or Manchester Wheels? Looking to join one, bored of long rides on my tod ;)
 
I recently bought myself a Trek 1.2 which is a racer style bike. I use it to commute to work and I'm a bit concerned about how the narrow tyres will fare in the winter particularly when there might be ice.

Does anyone have any advice on cycling with a racer style bike in the winter to avoid any mishaps?
 
BlackDragon said:
I recently bought myself a Trek 1.2 which is a racer style bike. I use it to commute to work and I'm a bit concerned about how the narrow tyres will fare in the winter particularly when there might be ice.

Does anyone have any advice on cycling with a racer style bike in the winter to avoid any mishaps?
Click to expand...

You'll be fine in all weathers but you should think twice about taking any bike into the city with ice and snow around - you won't have a problem if your council is kind enough to grit the roads though.
 
Perhaps I should fix up my Giant Rock mountain bike and fit some big knobbly tyres to get through snowy/icy conditions.

Is it bad for my Trek 1.2 if I cycle in the rain? I don't want to ruin my new bike by cycling through bad weather.
 
Dup said:
Winter jackets...

What kind of waterproof gear do you guys wear and do you bother with overtrousers or just get changed?
Click to expand...

I know the Gore Bike Wear Jackets have a really good rep, but will set you back between the £100-£200 mark I think. Some people prefer Waterproof, some just Windproof which generally have more breathability.

I use a Endura Laser II jacket. It's done its job of keeping my torso dry and warm for a year now, lot of nice features too.
It may not be as breathable as a Gore, but you get what you pay for, does my short commute well :).

As for overtrousers, I've not used them as all I've heard about them is you just end up boiling hot. So it's either get wet from the rain or your sweat :). I just take a change with me in my rucksack if I get soaked (fantastic bag btw if panniers are a bit overkill for your needs (Link).

Not sure on the more higher end waterproof trousers though.
 
Kazz said:
I know the Gore Bike Wear Jackets have a really good rep, but will set you back between the £100-£200 mark I think. Some people prefer Waterproof, some just Windproof which generally have more breathability.

I use a Endura Laser II jacket. It's done its job of keeping my torso dry and warm for a year now, lot of nice features too.
It may not be as breathable as a Gore, but you get what you pay for, does my short commute well :).

As for overtrousers, I've not used them as all I've heard about them is you just end up boiling hot. So it's either get wet from the rain or your sweat :). I just take a change with me in my rucksack if I get soaked (fantastic bag btw if panniers are a bit overkill for your needs (Link).

Not sure on the more higher end waterproof trousers though.
Click to expand...

How does that bag prevent you from getting a sweaty back? Is it waterproof?
 
Tube wheels are much lighter, the tyres have less rolling reistance and better grip. However, if you have a puncture you need to carry a whole spare tyre and they are difficult to patch yourself.

Obviously the oppositesapply to clinchers. Most folks with tubs use clinchers for training and tubs for racing.

You could also look at tubeless clinchers which I've started to experiment with.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;17287834 said:
However, if you have a puncture you need to carry a whole spare tyre and they are difficult to patch yourself.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that roadside repairs are not really possible with tubs. I thought it needs several hours to dry when you glue on the new tyre?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom