Road Cycling Essentials

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Well that was an extremely annoying ride...

I got as far as 8 miles and heard one almighty bang over the sound of my music (riding on ex wagon way before the headphone haters start)

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R.I.P metal bolt that lasted about 700miles under the tension and rip metal bushing I couldn't find

Had to zip tie my seat so it wouldn't wobble all over the place or try to tilt... but my saddle bag seemed to be doing most of the work holding it in place lol..

I rode about 5 miles standing up before I thought **** it and just sat down.. to my amazement the seat was pretty firmly in place as long as I was sitting dead centre on it.

It took me ages of millimetre adjustments to get my saddle exactly right last time :(


I bet you can't just buy a single bolt and washer either :Z

Will I likely have to buy a whole new seat just to get what I need from a LBS?
also is it possible to have the bolts to tight? it lasted about 700 miles since I lasted adjusted my seat though
 
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grudas said:
fatty
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13.5 stone , I was 16 stone when I got the bike last year ;)

The first real thing that has broke on me so far :D if you don't count me over tightening the chainring bolts :p

all my spokes are still totally fine even though I'll ride into kerbs at 12mph :D wheeling the front wheel up naturally but the rear still gets a clout
 
One thing about Strava, I really bombed it home tonight and if it weren't for traffic lights could have been home quicker. It was a fast ride and got my new personal best for my commute home to 26 minutes, but, in doing so there are very few segment improvements or PRs! Oh well! :)
 
arknor said:
I bet you can't just buy a single bolt and washer either :Z

Will I likely have to buy a whole new seat just to get what I need from a LBS?
also is it possible to have the bolts to tight? it lasted about 700 miles since I lasted adjusted my seat though
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A decent lbs will be able to sell you the bolts, or at least be able to dig in a box of spares and old bits to find something. When I was adjusting my stem on my new bike I popped the head off a bolt and stretched another one - cheap crap stock bolts! - and the serious lbs near me had a whole range of bolts including the ones I needed. They were like 50p each or something.
 
physichull said:
One thing about Strava, I really bombed it home tonight and if it weren't for traffic lights could have been home quicker. It was a fast ride and got my new personal best for my commute home to 26 minutes, but, in doing so there are very few segment improvements or PRs! Oh well! :)
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I find that sometimes. The thing is you might get a PR on one segment on an otherwise fairly unsuccessful ride, and over time the whole lot get good as parts of overall less good rides. A whole ride of silvers will be excellent overall, even if the individual bits aren't your best.
 
Looking for a front light to replace the hopeless joke of a twin AA battery thing I am using at the moment. Seen that these Cree lights on ebay seem to get the nod and that they are surprisingly cheap. Any warnings before I buy? Any preference between a single larger light or twin small lights?

Cheers
 
mark66 said:
Looking for a front light to replace the hopeless joke of a twin AA battery thing I am using at the moment. Seen that these Cree lights on ebay seem to get the nod and that they are surprisingly cheap. Any warnings before I buy? Any preference between a single larger light or twin small lights?

Cheers
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Buy decent batteries for them. The low capacity ones run out super quick.
 
mark66 said:
Looking for a front light to replace the hopeless joke of a twin AA battery thing I am using at the moment. Seen that these Cree lights on ebay seem to get the nod and that they are surprisingly cheap. Any warnings before I buy? Any preference between a single larger light or twin small lights?

Cheers
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I have the same light. Very good for the price. I got some spare batteries at the same time but they are not as bad as i was expecting.
On the low setting, which is enough for up to around 20mph in the dark with no other light sources (streetlights, etc), it'll last around 3 hours. The higher power settings drain them pretty quickly though.
 
I should have said, if you need lights to see where you're going, the ones you linked are great.
If you want lights so that you can be seen, they are too bright.
 
Talk to me about saddles.

I've gone from a Carrera saddle on my TDF (though I think it's actually the stock saddle from a Carrera vanquish fwiw) to a 4ZA Stratos saddle on my new Planet-X bike and after ten or so miles I feel like my perineum has been hammered by an embittered dominatrix. Is there anything I can do with my current saddle - fore/aft, or tilting it? - or is it time for a new saddle? If so, what do I look for? And how do I know what's going to suit me?
 
grudas said:
I bought a full jagwire kit not long ago - 24ish quid, brakes, gears etc! REALLY nice kit and literally transformed the way my bike shifts/brakes!

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Jagwire-Racer-Brake-Gear-Kit_33423.htm

this.. cheapest I could find! do mind tredz take 2-3 days to dispatch.
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Good to hear, thanks :) I was looking at that exact kit, though from an ebay seller that claims they can get it to me by Friday. Probably worth the extra £2 over Tredz if they're not full of it... Hmm...
 
Vonhelmet said:
Talk to me about saddles.

I've gone from a Carrera saddle on my TDF (though I think it's actually the stock saddle from a Carrera vanquish fwiw) to a 4ZA Stratos saddle on my new Planet-X bike and after ten or so miles I feel like my perineum has been hammered by an embittered dominatrix. Is there anything I can do with my current saddle - fore/aft, or tilting it? - or is it time for a new saddle? If so, what do I look for? And how do I know what's going to suit me?
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Could it be the position of it? Tilt, how far forwards it is, maybe height of saddle?

I couldn't get comfy before my bike fit but now its spot on.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Talk to me about saddles.

I've gone from a Carrera saddle on my TDF (though I think it's actually the stock saddle from a Carrera vanquish fwiw) to a 4ZA Stratos saddle on my new Planet-X bike and after ten or so miles I feel like my perineum has been hammered by an embittered dominatrix. Is there anything I can do with my current saddle - fore/aft, or tilting it? - or is it time for a new saddle? If so, what do I look for? And how do I know what's going to suit me?
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Presuming that the saddle is at the 'correct' angle (i.e. horizontally level) I would probably consider moving it forward a little. You could also try tilting it forward a tiny *tiny* amount - I did this after my bike fit (literally 1mm up at the back) and it improved my comfort level a lot.

How is your general cycle position? If you have a bad (too aggressive) set up you'll probably be leaning forward too much, which will put more pressure on your perineum.

How is the padding in your cycle shorts/whatever?
 
Vonhelmet said:
Talk to me about saddles.

I've gone from a Carrera saddle on my TDF (though I think it's actually the stock saddle from a Carrera vanquish fwiw) to a 4ZA Stratos saddle on my new Planet-X bike and after ten or so miles I feel like my perineum has been hammered by an embittered dominatrix. Is there anything I can do with my current saddle - fore/aft, or tilting it? - or is it time for a new saddle? If so, what do I look for? And how do I know what's going to suit me?
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Check the saddle is level and that your sitbones are being "engaged" by the widest part of the saddle. Assuming they are, the saddle may not be right for you. If the Carrera saddle suits you I'd say look for a saddle that looks similar to it. Finding the right saddle is a dark art that few have mastered - be prepared for trying countless saddles trying to find the right one. I think I'm currently on about my 10th saddle trying to find the right one.

I'd add that the right shorts will turn a saddle from a good one to a perfect one. I'd really underestimated just how good some shorts could be.
 
Vonhelmet said:
A decent lbs will be able to sell you the bolts, or at least be able to dig in a box of spares and old bits to find something. When I was adjusting my stem on my new bike I popped the head off a bolt and stretched another one - cheap crap stock bolts! - and the serious lbs near me had a whole range of bolts including the ones I needed. They were like 50p each or something.
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yea I see halfords sell a bolt that seems to fit the description of what I need.
£1.89 but I lost another bit like a shim/bearing whatever that was a bit of an odd shape, not sure how much its really needed :S
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_233587_langId_-1_categoryId_273941#tab1
maybe I should have spent more time looking for it :| It's not exactly a tiny piece of metal and I found everything else :(

actually never mind halfords I found a titanium one for £6 which looks identical to the one that snapped..
 
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physichull said:
One thing about Strava, I really bombed it home tonight and if it weren't for traffic lights could have been home quicker. It was a fast ride and got my new personal best for my commute home to 26 minutes, but, in doing so there are very few segment improvements or PRs! Oh well! :)
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Know how you feel.

15mph+ tailwind home on Tuesday night. Thought for sure I had some PRs, but nope.

Doing the same commute for 2 years means you really have to target segments, have a tailwind, and be at your strongest to be in with a chance.
 
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