Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Shamrock said:
Got any basic tips on what to aim for? I appreciate it'll be different for everyone. I've just been looking at google images of people on TT bikes!



It makes my leg muscles look more defined and I enjoy caressing their smoothness.:D
Click to expand...

Helps you tan loads better as well!
 
Gearing up for my first metric ton tomorrow, I went out for a 33 mile ride last night that (if it wasn't for the last hill) would have averaged around 16/16.5mph. Not massively speedy by any stretch of the imagination however more of this type of ride and I'm sure I'll improve. How do i manage the tiredness in my legs from about 20/25 miles, slow the pace a little, or should i look to increase/decrease cadence?

http://www.strava.com/activities/160947633

Going on how shattered my legs were after the last hill (not sure it can even be classed as a hill!) my 100k ride is going to be tough...
 
Can't see your cadence so its hard to comment. The general rule of thumb is that the higher your cadence the higher the proportion of work is being done by your cardiovascular system and not your legs though. Higher heart rate moves more oxygen to your muscles and removes lactic acid faster.

Just had a look back through by last 5 or 6 50 mile rides and i averaged between 76 and 83 rpm on those.
 
iguanoid said:
Can't see your cadence so its hard to comment. The general rule of thumb is that the higher your cadence the higher the proportion of work is being done by your cardiovascular system and not your legs though. Higher heart rate moves more oxygen to your muscles and removes lactic acid faster.

Just had a look back through by last 5 or 6 50 mile rides and i averaged between 76 and 83 rpm on those.
Click to expand...

I dont have anything to measure my cadence but I think overall i was grinding more than spinning. So I will aim to keep to a higher cadence tomorrow, would slowing the pace a little from the outset help, especially the first 20km features the most climbing - 1 grade 4 and 4 grade 5's.
 
That Canyon looks nice, will take a lot of cleaning!

The Cannondale, why have such a huge negative drop on the stem, then a stack of spacers under it unless you just don't want to cut it, looks silly.

Been shaving my legs for about 9 months now! Seems odd with hairy ones which look really ugly (gayyyy) IMO! I'd rather see some tanned legs than manky hairy ones.
 
sHo0sH said:
Won't be doing much standing on the pedals for the foreseeable though as I had a very lame accident with a clothes drying rack...



I can get a shoe on and cycle, but there's not a lot of power in the left foot!

(Excuse the manky toes)
Click to expand...

I broke the middle toe on the same foot on 2nd June. Hasn't really stopped me cycling though as I could only just feel it on the bike. MTFU :p
 
robjf said:
I dont have anything to measure my cadence but I think overall i was grinding more than spinning. So I will aim to keep to a higher cadence tomorrow, would slowing the pace a little from the outset help, especially the first 20km features the most climbing - 1 grade 4 and 4 grade 5's.
Click to expand...

Looks like you only live down the road from me :)

One piece of advice I was given just under 2 years ago whilst struggling on a 30 mile ride coming down the A6 back to Derby. Get out of the big chainring more often and up your cadence . Longer rides will be a bit easier if you're not constantly grinding away in a high gear. This really helped me to begin with, not only with being able to ride for longer, but also less stress on my dodgy knees :D
 
I don't think I could even shave my legs without clippering them right back first. I don't know where I got my Yeti legs from, it's just a shame it's not like that on my head any more :p
 
BTW Grudas, got those Aldi shorts, and for the money they're excellent. Probably better than the £25 dhb ones I had previously been using. Probably going to pick up another pair next time I'm in if they have any left!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom