Road Cycling Essentials

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While picking the new shoes up at Ribble i had a look at the Sportive 365, enquired about sizing as i seem to be between both.
Their inside leg calc has me on a 49cm and the chart says 5ft 8in should be on a 52cm.

The current bikes i ride are a mix of the 2 geo's really....leaning towards the smaller with 120mm stem rather than the bigger with 100m stem, just dont want a load of spacers on the 49cm.
Found an Excel spreadsheet someone has created to work out stack and reach as Ribble dont quote any for it and put the numbers in but i'm missing a few numbers for the fork length and rake so its not 100% but better than nothing i guess.
Probably get away on the 49cm with the Ribble headset cap @ 10mm tall and a 10mm spacer i reckon....if i order with 20mm of spacers and the 10mm headcap it gives me a bit of leeway.

Was thinking of ordering it with Ultegra 6800, compact, 11-28, RS11's (sell on and re-use my Zonda's) or Fulcrum Quattro's (give em a whirl), Deda Zero 100 bars, stem, seatpost, GP4000S 23mm (no 25mm option), re-use my Fizik Arione and SPD-SL pedals.
 
One More Solo said:
The cog spacing can be annoying, but even on 11-32 the middle of the block isn't too bad. I sometimes wish you could get a 13-32 or something to minimise the jumps between gears though. I don't really use the 11t.

I either use an 11-26, 11-32 or 12-30 depending on the ride. I actually like the 12-30 best I think.
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I found my 11sp 12-28 Dura Ace cassette was perfect (its a 12-25 with the 28 as the 11sp extra cgo) but they dont do that in the Ultegra or the new 5800, they are adding an 11t on as extra! :(
Sold the Dura Ace replacement after the original started creaking so will be sticking with 11-28 for now, no 16t with that though.
 
Are the fulcrum quattros any good? I'm looking at new wheels for my new bike and I'm thinking of spending £200-£250 and the quattros fall somewhere in there. How are they? Any other recommendations?
 
Vonhelmet said:
Are the fulcrum quattros any good? I'm looking at new wheels for my new bike and I'm thinking of spending £200-£250 and the quattros fall somewhere in there. How are they? Any other recommendations?
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Campagnolo Zondas get good reviews at the higher end of that price range. I've just ordered a set to stave off a desire for a new bike for a while. I'll let you know how they feel.
 
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Right, can any of the pointy hatted, disc wheel brigade talk me through TT bike sizing?

I'm contemplating selling the Scott and the Burls and getting a TT bike instead from eBay.
 
InQ said:
I found my 11sp 12-28 Dura Ace cassette was perfect (its a 12-25 with the 28 as the 11sp extra cgo) but they dont do that in the Ultegra or the new 5800, they are adding an 11t on as extra! :(
Sold the Dura Ace replacement after the original started creaking so will be sticking with 11-28 for now, no 16t with that though.
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That sounds ideal actually, shame they stopped doing it!

I've heard about the creaking Dura Ace cassettes - something to do with the carbon spider I heard?
 
They look good but i think they might be a bit susceptible to side winds which isnt ideal.
Trying to find out some 'real world' weights for the wheel....
tbh it would make more sense just using the Zonda's and selling the RS11 it would come with as default.
Or selling all and going with some handbuilts...hmmmm.

If you are looking to spend that sort of money consider the Zonda's, about the best price/performance off the peg wheelset there is.
Or go handbuilt, Cycleclinic do some nice wheels, go for Miche hubs which are cheap and robust and easy to service. Not the lightest hub but doesnt matter so much, the rim/spokes will make the difference to on the road feel. Might be an idea to go with 23mm wide rims for extra comfort?

Cycleclinic options

eg Velocity A23
http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk/Whe...ocity_A23_wheelset/velocity_a23_wheelset.html

Or the H Plus Son Archetypes rims (he sells on ebay as well, infact best looking at his wheelsets on ebay).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handbuilt...cycling_bikeparts_SR&var=&hash=item68d8767013
 
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One More Solo said:
That sounds ideal actually, shame they stopped doing it!

I've heard about the creaking Dura Ace cassettes - something to do with the carbon spider I heard?
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Yep, some have broke, mine was creaking so got it changed under warranty and sold the new replacement on and switched to Ultegra 6800, even the pro teams use the Ultegra...
 
Cheers. I read a review saying the quattros suffered a bit with crosswinds. I guess the same would be true of any deeper aero rims?

Handbuilts are tempting, not least because it's easier to get them with a sensible number of spokes!
 
Vonhelmet said:
Cheers. I read a review saying the quattros suffered a bit with crosswinds. I guess the same would be true of any deeper aero rims?

Handbuilts are tempting, not least because it's easier to get them with a sensible number of spokes!
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You arent mega heavy though, are you? 75kg rings a bell? If so you'll be fine on any off the peg wheelset really and handbuilt i'd go 20h/24h for a nicer wheelset although to be fair 24h/28h wont make much difference.
 
Yeah, about 75kg. I guess I worry more about banging into a pothole and knocking low spoke count wheels out of true, but I guess I can mitigate that by not hitting potholes!
 
Vonhelmet said:
Yeah, about 75kg. I guess I worry more about banging into a pothole and knocking low spoke count wheels out of true, but I guess I can mitigate that by not hitting potholes!
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been banging my khamsin's for 4k+ miles over london roads :o still as true as they were on day one!

and I do break wheels like no other.. I'm @75kg too.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;26349539 said:
Right, can any of the pointy hatted, disc wheel brigade talk me through TT bike sizing?
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Go by the centre to top of seat tube size.
top tubes are very short on tt bikes, and dont compare at all to normal road bikes. You dont need to fiddle about with different size stems either, the aero extensions have a lot of adjustment so you can fit just about any bike to your reach as long as you get the right seat tube length.
 
physichull said:
Maybe that's where I'm going wrong, perhaps I need a 11-32! :D
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Don't entirely discount it. If you're used to riding along the flat at a high cadence then you'll struggle more on hills if your fitness/gearing only allows you to mash slowly up them rather than spinning slowly up them.

I'm over in Rochdale for the weekend visiting my parents so had a run out on the r872 before the rain and it feels quick. I also noticed that I didn't actually use the 32t cog at all but the ride only really featured steady climbs but I'm sure with the new bike effect I was in a gear or two lower than I would be normally.
 
grudas said:
been banging my khamsin's for 4k+ miles over london roads :o still as true as they were on day one!

and I do break wheels like no other.. I'm @75kg too.
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Mine have done about 5k km on rough northern roads and occasional bridleways when I've been exploring and haven't needed truing at all. I tend to avoid the worst potholes but I'm also 120kg ish so any I do hit make the wheels suffer. The only issue with them I've had was breaking the pawl spring in the freehub which cost about £1 to fix.
 
Khamins are a decent entry level wheelset but at that price point and he is wanting an upgrade on his R501's (?), the Zonda's are a much better wheelset for example.
 
Talking of wheelsets, I'm looking for a pair for commuting. Don't want to spend much, and want them to be pretty much bomb-proof as I've got a habit of nailing potholes. R501 are going for £70 at Planet X.

Anyone see any better deals around?
 
Day 1 of the tour of Wessex:
https://www.strava.com/activities/145005902

Probably the worst day I've had on the bike. Horrendous weather, it just poured all day and I spent the entire ride drenched! The elevation on Garmin is wrong, water must have screwed the pressure sensor as there was more like 2500m ascent

Tomorrow is further but supposedly a little easier, but more importantly dry. Bracing myself for punctures though as there will be no end of stones washed into the road
 
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