Road Cycling Essentials

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FrenchTart said:
BBQ and 1.5 hour turbo session are my plan. Just trying hard to resist pushing it today as my legs are pretty knackered. Need to have my muscles recovered enough that I can maintain power for the sweet spot intervals.
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Think I will be restricted to the Turbo too, which is a shame as Maxeh and I were planning a ride on Sunday :(

Though my 500 + HRM + GSC arrived this week so I will be able to have an 'effective' session.

But then again squatting & deadlifting 3 times a week currently has the lower half of my body, adductors especially, hanging off.
 
One More Solo said:
Agreed. We're in the middle of buying a new house and one of the first purchases will be one of those epic Asgard bike sheds as there's nowhere to store bikes inside. They're expensive but the peace of mind is priceless.
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My bikes are currently in the conservatory, so anyone wanting to get them would have to break a window or force a lock to get at them, which is about as much as you can hope for. I need to clear some space in there, but there's no way they're going in a wooden shed, so I'm going to pick up an Asgard shed at some point. Yes, it'll cost £5-600 but I'll be putting a grand worth of bikes in there from the get go, and adding more in the future.

There is a review of an Asgard box at road.cc and there's loads of comments from people saying they wouldn't trust one of them, but I'd probably be more confident having my bikes in there than in the house. Our burglar alarm is never on, and no one listens to alarms anyway, and if someone really wanted to get into our house it's just a matter of smashing a window or breaking a door lock, which isn't rocket science. Assuming you get a decent padlock, a bike box is going to require some serious power tools, is going to take a decent amount of time and it's going to make a noise getting in there. The only other way they could make off with the bikes is to get a forklift truck and try to pick the whole thing up, but if it comes to that you're pretty much screwed no matter what you do.
 
BennyC said:
Think I will be restricted to the Turbo too, which is a shame as Maxeh and I were planning a ride on Sunday :(

Though my 500 + HRM + GSC arrived this week so I will be able to have an 'effective' session.

But then again squatting & deadlifting 3 times a week currently has the lower half of my body, adductors especially, hanging off.
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That last bit is my issue too. I'm not doing super heavy weights at the moment but 5*7 on squats twice in the week and 5*7 on deads (just DB deads so not as crazy as it sounds) has left my legs really dead.

You should look into Trainer Road if you haven't already. You'll just need an ant+ stick for your PC and you'll be good to go.
 
Vonhelmet said:
My bikes are currently in the conservatory, so anyone wanting to get them would have to break a window or force a lock to get at them, which is about as much as you can hope for. I need to clear some space in there, but there's no way they're going in a wooden shed, so I'm going to pick up an Asgard shed at some point. Yes, it'll cost £5-600 but I'll be putting a grand worth of bikes in there from the get go, and adding more in the future.

There is a review of an Asgard box at road.cc and there's loads of comments from people saying they wouldn't trust one of them, but I'd probably be more confident having my bikes in there than in the house. Our burglar alarm is never on, and no one listens to alarms anyway, and if someone really wanted to get into our house it's just a matter of smashing a window or breaking a door lock, which isn't rocket science. Assuming you get a decent padlock, a bike box is going to require some serious power tools, is going to take a decent amount of time and it's going to make a noise getting in there. The only other way they could make off with the bikes is to get a forklift truck and try to pick the whole thing up, but if it comes to that you're pretty much screwed no matter what you do.
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Hmm... *starts monitoring your rides on Strava a lot more closely* :p
 
Turbo time this weekend indeed!

Anyone got any guidance for turbo work outs without an app/HRM/cadence currently?

I've done tabata style work outs but they tend to last less than 10 minutes.

I'd like to spend around an hour on it but want to make it worth while time.
 
Maxeh said:
Turbo time this weekend indeed!

Anyone got any guidance for turbo work outs without an app/HRM/cadence currently?

I've done tabata style work outs but they tend to last less than 10 minutes.

I'd like to spend around an hour on it but want to make it worth while time.
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Sufferfest is great. You would need to purchase/download though. You can use the perceived effort scale (which it describes at the start of the video) rather than needing a proper monitor/etc.
 
Maxeh said:
Ah yes!

I think you get a month free when you buy Strava premium which I was planning on getting anyway...
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Yeah. I think you might be slightly limited in choice but for a single session that doesn't really matter :) I believe you have to play the video through your phone/tablet though (when using the Strava premium offer).
 
Yeah I just checked, with Strava premium you get a few videos which will do for the time being and its a bonus as I was considering it anyway.

I can use my iPad or bring the turbo trainer indoors and use the TV (when no ones looking :p)
 
Maxeh said:
Yeah I just checked, with Strava premium you get a few videos which will do for the time being and its a bonus as I was considering it anyway.

I can use my iPad or bring the turbo trainer indoors and use the TV (when no ones looking :p)
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Sounds good. If you do like it then it's definitely worth picking up a few more.

Of the three you get access to I've done Fight Club and Revolver. Both are really good but you might find Revolver easier to manage your effort levels on. It's gruelling but the intervals are really simple (i.e. go at top speed for a minute, go at at a rest speed for a minute, repeat forever). As you're going at 100% a good portion of the time you also have less time to get bored.

Fight Club is really good too but you'll need to think about what you're doing more.
 
The videos have changed on Strava premium now

They are : The Hunted (1 hour and decent) , Long Scream (35 mins and used in conjuction with others generally) , Blender (utterly nasty and disgusting 1hr 40 mins)
 
ShiWarrior said:
oh I love my Altura night vision soft shell
I wear it every time I go out

they call it a jacket, but its not quite a jacket, its not a Jersey either its a mid way

http://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL21NVI
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They're on a good wiggle sale atm - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/altura-night-vision-long-sleeve-jersey/ £32

Personally I don't like the design and I did try a Nevis I I and didn't like the fit but for high vis they're good and see a lot of them around :)

booyaka said:
The videos have changed on Strava premium now

They are : The Hunted (1 hour and decent) , Long Scream (35 mins and used in conjuction with others generally) , Blender (utterly nasty and disgusting 1hr 40 mins)
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Hunted isn't great without being able to judge your efforts, you're better looking at some of the YouTube trainer/spin class vids.

Also check your tablet will play the vids, I've tried with my Tab 2 and failed several times (at the same point about 4 mins in - really annoying!). Should prob screen share from my S5 at some point if the Strava app will let me...

Side note - tons of snow in Andorra overnight and through the day, 15-20cm on the slopes! I wore my DHB thin jersey and padded shorts under my boarding trousers & jacket and they worked perfectly!

Had a "DHB, good" & thumbs up from some Russian when stopped for a coffee... Can only assume he's a cyclist and not that DHB means something else?! :rolleyes:
 
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Anyone swapped the bearings in their hubs to ceramic? Recommendations? Are they ok for daily use (i.e. getting wet and filthy during commuting) or do they wear out quickly? Maintenance needed?
 
Anyone here do 5x5 Strong Lifts? Looking at starting this program but not sure how the squatting will affect the ol' legs for cycling!
 
Anyone got any ideas about setting up TRP HY/RD hybrid disc brakes?

I've had braking issues on my whyte suffolk since i've had it - At first the lever throw was far too long and even then I still didn't have much power. I've managed to shorten the throw but now the brake seems even less effective. There's very little clearance between the pad and the disc and the bike has only done around 1000km so I can't believe it's a case of wear, unless they used really bad cables?
 
Dunks said:
Anyone here do 5x5 Strong Lifts? Looking at starting this program but not sure how the squatting will affect the ol' legs for cycling!
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Currently squatting and deadlifting 3 times a week on a DUP programme, whilst in a calorie deficit....you'll be fine :p
 
Dunks said:
Anyone here do 5x5 Strong Lifts? Looking at starting this program but not sure how the squatting will affect the ol' legs for cycling!
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A few of us do it regularly and squats and deadlifts really do knacker your legs so the day after a session don't expect to be going at crazy speeds.

oli collett said:
Anyone got any ideas about setting up TRP HY/RD hybrid disc brakes?

I've had braking issues on my whyte suffolk since i've had it - At first the lever throw was far too long and even then I still didn't have much power. I've managed to shorten the throw but now the brake seems even less effective. There's very little clearance between the pad and the disc and the bike has only done around 1000km so I can't believe it's a case of wear, unless they used really bad cables?
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I've owned some HY/RDs for about a year now and it took me a long time to get my head around them.

First off, check out the technical bulletin here:

http://www.trpbrakes.com/category.php?productid=1198&catid=206&subcat=0

Basically, if you can't engage the black screw to lock the brakes then they will start to perform worse and worse. This is something that is very easy to make a mistake on as when the lever throw feels bad you'll naturally want to tighten the cable. Too tight and you run into the kind of issues you're seeing though.

Aside from that the pads that come with the HY/RDs do wear fairly quickly. Probably worth double-checking that they're not too worn.

Finally, compressionless cable outers will improve your experience/reduce your lever throw. Worth moving to if you have the time/energy/money.

Actually, the real final point is that the lever throw on the HY/RDs when properly set up will always be quite long. It's just an unfortunate part of the product design. It would be even worse if you had old Tiagra gearing.

edit: Once you adjust your cable length if you squeeze the levers a few times the brakes should start to readjust btw.
 
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FrenchTart said:
I've owned some HY/RDs for about a year now and it took me a long time to get my head around them.

First off, check out the technical bulletin here:

http://www.trpbrakes.com/category.php?productid=1198&catid=206&subcat=0

Basically, if you can't engage the black screw to lock the brakes then they will start to perform worse and worse. This is something that is very easy to make a mistake on as when the lever throw feels bad you'll naturally want to tighten the cable. Too tight and you run into the kind of issues you're seeing though.

Aside from that the pads that come with the HY/RDs do wear fairly quickly. Probably worth double-checking that they're not too worn.

Finally, compressionless cable outers will improve your experience/reduce your lever throw. Worth moving to if you have the time/energy/money.

Actually, the real final point is that the lever throw on the HY/RDs when properly set up will always be quite long. It's just an unfortunate part of the product design. It would be even worse if you had old Tiagra gearing.

edit: Once you adjust your cable length if you squeeze the levers a few times the brakes should start to readjust btw.
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Cheers - v helpful! They are really odd things - It doesn't help I got used to running callipers about 1mm off the rim on my other bike that I got used to for hammering it down descents.

I'll have a look through the documentation and look at the cable tension again as I expect I've made a mess of it!
 
oli collett said:
Cheers - v helpful! They are really odd things - It doesn't help I got used to running callipers about 1mm off the rim on my other bike that I got used to for hammering it down descents.

I'll have a look through the documentation and look at the cable tension again as I expect I've made a mess of it!
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I totally messed them up several times until I finally got it right. Good luck :)
 
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