Road Cycling Essentials

physichull · 16 Nov 2014 at 15:18

Jimbeam3678 said:
I've got one only had limited riding before winter kicked in and that was recovering from my accident so the limiting factor was me.

Its certainly light and seemed responsive and comfortable. If you want to know anything else let me know

Ahhh cool!

What made you buy it, over all the competitors?

Also, what is the sizing like, going from their website? If it gets delivered and the size isn't right, are they reasonable with returns? I did their online calculator and it recommended I get a Small (53) which I was really quite surprised by. I really expected a M (56) as that is what my Giant Defy is.

(Sorry, lots of questions!)

Thanks for all the other suggestions. Its a minefield with so many options to go with.

FrenchTart · 16 Nov 2014 at 15:50

Fun Sunday ride today. Stopped in a nice coffee shop in Altrincham (almost nice enough to forget I was actually in Altrincham) on the way back.. which is where I stopped recording the main bit of the ride. Worked out at just over 80 miles so I'm quite happy with that. Certainly a lot easier than last time I did this route whilst hungover/ill.

http://www.strava.com/activities/219856986

Roady · 16 Nov 2014 at 16:39

Roady said:
You mean buy a garmin, not a garmin mount for my S5?

Anyone?

Roady said:
Let me know how the new Garmin speed/cadence is - I just swapped my GSC10 from road to hybrid (trainer) and really can't see me calibrating it properly every time... My average speeds and cadence were all over the place!

Setup my hybrid with its turbo tyre and had a blast at 'Sufferfest - S Club'... Really struggled after half way so sacked it off at 30 mins and watched some YouTube for a long cool down, then felt strong again so did an intensive end standing sprint!

^^^ Edited to include picture & Strava link.

Derek W said:
Did you choose that one in the hope that the sound track was by S-Club 7

Derek W said:
Don't stop movin!

Of course, an inspiration to us all!

Derek W said:
Minor achievement by me today. At the start of the year I weighed in at around 15.5 stone so it pushed me into reducing the intake of crap (chocolate with my cup of tea at work) and also got me into getting a bike to get a bit fitter. At May, I got my bike and started cycling again, but at the same time (sept - nov) i was roped into the Football Fans in Training (think this is a scotland thing just now) and took half hour sessions with the club manager to lose inches round the waist. I weighed myself this morning and I'm now down to 14stone When i started the FFIT stuff i was 97.7kg and 102cms around the waist, fast forward to this Monday past and I'm 91.9kg and 98cms waist. I'm hoping to get down to nearer 13 - 13.5stone in weight but I'm happy with my progress so far. Apologies for the mixture of metric and imperial measurements

Awesome work mate, keep up the good work!

AndrewP said:
I use silk liners (~£8-10 from eBay IIRC) inside my cheapy Aldi/Crane 'winter' gloves and they're fine down to about 5C - I don't tend to go out if it's much colder than that or for much over an hour though. Worth trying for the extra flexibility they give you I think.

After my bike fit in the summer I finally got round to getting some short reach/compact drop bars, straight away they're more comfortable with less stretching and having to shift hand position .

Any pics/link for the short drops? Think this is the way I'm going to have to go...

Oh and I found the Aldi/Crane gloves fine last 'winter'... Although we hardly had any freezing temps! This winter will be their real test! If they struggle I've got snowboarding mits I'll wear anyways!

Anyone used Sportpursuit.com? Great lights on a good deal there atm: Exposure Flash & Flare (inc batteries) £40

FrenchTart · 16 Nov 2014 at 16:46

Yup, we mean a Garmin rather than a Garmin mount for your phone

810s are fairly cheap these days if you need navigation - and you can save a fair bit of cash by just using the OSM maps, or dodgy maps if you're that way inclined.

If you don't want navigation then the older Garmins are fine. Alternatively the Wahoo RFLKT isn't too expensive and hooks up to your phone.

One More Solo · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:00

Might be worth waiting for Amazon's Black Friday deals w/c 24th November - there were a couple of cheap Garmins on that last year.

Thomas. PLease. · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:16

Anyone know if these are worth paying for?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=171207865812

FrenchTart · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:21

I used to use those kind of lights and I don't rate them personally. They last a long time though and if you're mostly riding on lit roads I guess they're okay. I prefer having something a bit brighter myself.

AndrewP · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:29

Roady said:
Any pics/link for the short drops? Think this is the way I'm going to have to go...

These Chinese carbon ones, plus a new stem.

Thomas. PLease. · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:31

FrenchTart said:
I used to use those kind of lights and I don't rate them personally. They last a long time though and if you're mostly riding on lit roads I guess they're okay. I prefer having something a bit brighter myself.

What do you use now? I want something without a remote battery pack really.

One More Solo · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:34

First ride on my Sprinter Gatorskin tubs today, impressed with them for the money. Not as nice as a latex tubular but perfect for winter riding duties.

AndrewP said:
These Chinese carbon ones, plus a new stem.

Are those anatomic or normal drops (i.e. are the drops angled or curved)? Look good though for the money!

I've got FSA Wing Pro Compacts, really nice bars.

Edinho · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:42

One More Solo said:
First ride on my Sprinter Gatorskin tubs today, impressed with them for the money. Not as nice as a latex tubular but perfect for winter riding duties.

Tubs in winter? Please explain. :confused:

One More Solo · 16 Nov 2014 at 17:46

Do they explode when they get cold or something?

Jimbeam3678 · 16 Nov 2014 at 18:35

physichull said:
Ahhh cool!

What made you buy it, over all the competitors?

Also, what is the sizing like, going from their website? If it gets delivered and the size isn't right, are they reasonable with returns? I did their online calculator and it recommended I get a Small (53) which I was really quite surprised by. I really expected a M (56) as that is what my Giant Defy is.

(Sorry, lots of questions!)

Thanks for all the other suggestions. Its a minefield with so many options to go with.

Best bang for buck , I would go a size up I did and it fits fine. Returns are good within 30 days I believe.

Only thing is ask for the normal seat post and not the fancy V2 one as they have had loads of problems with it! Plus you get a £90 back as well

Maxeh · 16 Nov 2014 at 18:54

Picked it up at last, got some double sided Shimano pedals too.

Just need to do a few miles, see how the seat is and get used to the gears etc.

Vonhelmet · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:04

Nice! Which one is that? Road comp with 105? Carbon?

Maxeh · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:20

Yeah road comp with 105 and carbon forks.

FrenchTart · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:25

Looks very shiny, even if it doesn't have discs

Am I right in thinking that you're fairly new to cycling? It will be interesting to see how your lifts translate to it.

grudas · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:28

FrenchTart said:
Looks very shiny, even if it doesn't have discs

Am I right in thinking that you're fairly new to cycling? It will be interesting to see how your lifts translate to it.

meh I think it doesn't do much! raw power for short bursts is all I can think of really..

Maxeh · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:29

Complete noob to road cycling yep!

FrenchTart · 16 Nov 2014 at 19:29

grudas said:
meh I think it doesn't do much! raw power for short bursts is all I can think of really..

It made a big difference to me. More the core strength side of things - endurance in the form of my back not utterly dying when I went on long rides.

edit: That said, perhaps it was just the move from sedentary > commute cycling > commute cycling + core strength > tons of cycling + core strength.