Road Cycling Essentials

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Jono said:
Can someone please spec me some winter riding clothes (road and mountain) for an overweight hot and sweaty person please?

I currently only own some fetching bib shorts and an altura night vision jacket that claims to be breathable, but either isn't at all, or just can't cope with my hot heftiness.
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Difficult too without a budget in mind. Eg the Rapha/Assos winter gear is second to non but it's ridiculously expensive. In the UK climate the best jacket bar non is the Rapha Softshell.
 
My rapha transfer gilet and country jersey turned up today, my neighbour signed for them yesterday but they were out last night. Ordered Thursday, free delivery by Tuesday is good going by DHL, they still ship from the UK despite having an Aussie store, but you can now return to Aus if you don't like it.

Gilet is super warm! Not sure if it will replace the pro team jacket, but I might wear it for training rides at a medium tempo, and use my pro team jacket on the faster rides. One big pocket on the back might be difficult to use, suck it and see, at $58 it wasn't too dear.

Country jersey is nice, I'd prefer a full zip and it shows off the tiny amount of winter excess I'm carrying round the middle (I sized down to a medium so expected it to be tight). Give it a month when I'm looking to wear it and all will be good.
 
ArmoVanBuuren said:
Anyone else here using Zwift (http://zwift.com/)? I applied to the Beta ages ago and finally got an invite last night.

Looking forward to giving it a go, the graphics and courses look awesome and will be good to compete against others (http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitn...revolutionary-turbo-trainer-game-video-150151)
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I've got an invite but I've not got round to trying it yet. Mostly because I need to get an extra cheap Ant+ speed/cadence sensor for it as I can't use my bluetooth one.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on :)
 
lukext said:
810 is a really nice piece of kit. Maps? Talkytoaster!! Try these free maps out first.

http://talkytoaster.info/ukmaps.htm#GPSRs-Only
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Thats for that, feeling reassured I don't have to spend another £60 on maps after buying a device! lol ;)

Jono said:
Can someone please spec me some winter riding clothes (road and mountain) for an overweight hot and sweaty person please?

I currently only own some fetching bib shorts and an altura night vision jacket that claims to be breathable, but either isn't at all, or just can't cope with my hot heftiness.
Click to expand...

As mentioned your budget will matter most of all. All the Rapha/Castelli/Gore/etc kinda wear you will have to be 'really serious' about your riding (ie have a healthy bank account).

If you're like me and spending £100+ on a glorified long sleeve tshirt is too much then there are other options. Cheap chinese imports along with some Supermarkets (specifically Aldi) do good quality jerseys for £15. Although I've ended up wearing almost exclusively DHB Active wear from Wiggle due to their customer support, free delivery, free returns and amazing sales.

As for the fit, I was a fairly stocky 5'8", 15 stone, 36" waist rider and the DHB Large fitted me perfectly. Now I'm 13 stone and a 32"-ish waist I'm still wearing a Large in DHB but considering a Medium for some summer jerseys - with the Wiggle no quibble returns you can happily order several sizes, try them on and return the ones which don't fit! :)
 
From what I've heard recently the OSM-based maps have reached the point where they're better than the Garmin maps anyhow.

I have a recent version of the Garmin maps that I acquired and they're okay. The only issues I've seen with my friend that used OSM maps were down to him not downloading all the areas he needed.
 
grudas said:

hehe
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Difficult to make out, but I guess the guy filtering into the pavement is wheelying/on a unicycle? :p

FrenchTart said:
From what I've heard recently the OSM-based maps have reached the point where they're better than the Garmin maps anyhow.

I have a recent version of the Garmin maps that I acquired and they're okay. The only issues I've seen with my friend that used OSM maps were down to him not downloading all the areas he needed.
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From the link provided the full map pack is only 700mb, with the cheapness of 16/32gb SD cards is there any excuse for not having them all/for all areas?

Edit: The 810 came in stock as did the VIRB mount so I pulled the trigger (along with another front light)!

Cateye Rapid X RC Front
Garmin Edge 810 GPS Cycle Computer Black
Garmin Handlebar/Rollbar Mount for VIRB
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I think it was more user error on their part to be honest. Be sure to check everything thoroughly :) The Garmin maps are more like 5GB iirc. As you say, easy enough to fit on with a cheap SD card.

I've been using the 810 since October and it's a nice piece of kit. I would feel a little lost without it these days.
 
Roady said:
From the link provided the full map pack is only 700mb, with the cheapness of 16/32gb SD cards is there any excuse for not having them all/for all areas?
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That 700mb covers the whole of the UK and Ireland with loads of POI and contour lines. I just use a 16gb as like you say they are cheap. Also allows you to download other maps for other areas (like european ones) and just keep them on there.
 
The Tour de Yorkshire routes have been released and with it my dream sportive route. It starts in Wakefield (where my parents live) and finishes in Leeds (where I live). Closed roads too.

The longest route I managed last year was a 70km ride. I totally have time to train between now and May to be able to handle the full 140km for this sportive right?
 
Jono said:
Can someone please spec me some winter riding clothes (road and mountain) for an overweight hot and sweaty person please?

I currently only own some fetching bib shorts and an altura night vision jacket that claims to be breathable, but either isn't at all, or just can't cope with my hot heftiness.
Click to expand...
Another vote for dhb kit from Wiggle. I've got Vaeon Zero bib tights and Blade Windslam jersey. Both are like a softshell and partially windproof and I'll wear them until it gets down a little below 10 degrees or so and then add a hat to keep the cold off my head and then a windproof on top when it gets really cold. I quite like the fact that the jersey completely unzips, which makes commuting in it all the more convenient than something you have to pull off over your head. The nipple vents are very effective at cooling. I also have dhb Extreme gloves from last year which are very good when it gets down to 5 degrees or below.

I'm 5'10 and 11st and wear a large, but like others have said, you can get a load of sizes from Wiggle and they'll take them back no quibbles.
 
FishFluff said:
The Tour de Yorkshire routes have been released and with it my dream sportive route. It starts in Wakefield (where my parents live) and finishes in Leeds (where I live). Closed roads too.

The longest route I managed last year was a 70km ride. I totally have time to train between now and May to be able to handle the full 140km for this sportive right?
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140km is do-able. I started riding properly in June 2012. The longest ride I did in 2012 was about 50 miles. In March 2013 I did a 63 mile ride for my birthday and in July 2013 I did a 100 mile ride. May should be OK weather wise - when I did my 100 miler it was ludicrously hot and sunny. I have a tanline on my right arm to this day, no word of a lie.
 
My tan lines from last summer are only just fading now too. It's nice not having the ridiculous "pasty white hands and dark brown forearms" look though I imagine in a few months I'll be back to how I was.

140km won't be hard to hit at all. Just start to do a few longer rides.

Pro tip though - bring too much food and drink.
 
To be honest, even though it finishes in deepest, darkest Leeds, that route looks quite fun. Wouldn't be too hard to get back from Leeds after either.
 
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