Road Cycling Essentials

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WAs doing a session on Trainer Road tonight and about 30 minutes in I got the most horrific cramp in *both* calves :(

Anything I can do to avoid this in future other than making sure I'm really hydrated? Should probably get a bike fit at some point too...
 
FishFluff said:
WAs doing a session on Trainer Road tonight and about 30 minutes in I got the most horrific cramp in *both* calves :(

Anything I can do to avoid this in future other than making sure I'm really hydrated? Should probably get a bike fit at some point too...
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do you drink a lot of water each day?


You could start stretching when you get off the bike and make sure that before you get off the bike , you cool down properly
 
FishFluff said:
WAs doing a session on Trainer Road tonight and about 30 minutes in I got the most horrific cramp in *both* calves :(

Anything I can do to avoid this in future other than making sure I'm really hydrated? Should probably get a bike fit at some point too...
Click to expand...

Hydration will help - and not just water if you're sweating a lot. You'll want some delicious salty goodness in there too (hydration tabs).

A bike fit is the best thing since sliced bread so you'll do well to get one too, yeah...However, cramp isn't that common a symptom of a bad fit (I think - someone else may be able to better comment).
 
FrenchTart said:
Hydration will help - and not just water if you're sweating a lot. You'll want some delicious salty goodness in there too (hydration tabs).

A bike fit is the best thing since sliced bread so you'll do well to get one too, yeah...However, cramp isn't that common a symptom of a bad fit (I think - someone else may be able to better comment).
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Really need to get my bike fit sorted, inner knee pain when I push hard which I can't seem to get rid of by tweaking my saddle/cleats :mad:
 
Dunks said:
Really need to get my bike fit sorted, inner knee pain when I push hard which I can't seem to get rid of by tweaking my saddle/cleats :mad:
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Do you have a weak glute on the same side?
That could well be contributing. Or perhaps under developed vastus medialus.there are plenty of exercises to help fix.
Clams, lunges to open upshot flexors, bridges. One leg squats.

I get it sometimes early in the season but it goes away as i get stronger.

Don't mess about too much with sales and cleats unless you have an experts help.you'll prob make things worse.
 
Wheeee, managed to sell an old guitar I wasn't playing any more on ebay, and the buyer has confirmed it arrived OK and he's happy with it, so I've just ordered a bunch more bits for my single speed bike. I just need to wait for the end of the month for a bit more money to come in and then I'll be able to order the last few bits - brakes, levers, seat collar, bottle cages, mudguards... Oh yeah, and the actual frame. All being well I can get it built up in March sometime. Exciting times.

The stuff I've just ordered includes the wheels and a pair of rigid tyres, so that's gonna add to a fair bit more clutter in the conservatory, joy.
 
topgun06 said:
Ever happened before??
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Interestingly it happened towards the end of a 12 minute section where TR wanted me to use a cadence about 10 below my usual one and at 90% of my FTP. I've had it once before on an outside ride when I pushed pretty hard.

I haven't drank much water today but have drank lots of diet coke which will not have helped.

Gonna do the workout again tomorrow and make sure I'm well hydrated.
 
Dunks said:
Really need to get my bike fit sorted, inner knee pain when I push hard which I can't seem to get rid of by tweaking my saddle/cleats :mad:
Click to expand...

Where are you based? If anywhere near Manchester/Stockport then Freeride Cycles in Disley will sort you out with a really basic bike fit for ~£35. It's not quite as good as a proper fit but on a scale of no fit to proper fit it's well over the half way point.

FishFluff said:
Interestingly it happened towards the end of a 12 minute section where TR wanted me to use a cadence about 10 below my usual one and at 90% of my FTP. I've had it once before on an outside ride when I pushed pretty hard.

I haven't drank much water today but have drank lots of diet coke which will not have helped.

Gonna do the workout again tomorrow and make sure I'm well hydrated.
Click to expand...

Now *that* sounds like it's very much down to fit. Lower cadence generally speaking = more pressure being put on your joints when you cycle so it's often likely to make issues with your set up worse.
 
grudas said:
What frame did you go for?
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I'll be picking up the on one pompino for £200. It's low end steel, with a steel fork, but it's cheap and it's got proper track ends, so it'll do the job. It's also got mudguard mounts, which I want. It's got canti mounts, so I'm fitting mini vs, which will be a bit weird. I'll let you know how it turns out next month...

It'll be the first bike I've built from scratch. The main bit worrying me is fitting the headset, but I've got a press so it should be ok. That and sawing the fork, but that looks doable.
 
Vonhelmet said:
The main bit worrying me is fitting the headset, but I've got a press so it should be ok.
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Nothing to it. I usually just bash the cups in with a hammer and a block of wood. With a press, it'll be a doddle.

Vonhelmet said:
That and sawing the fork, but that looks doable.
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If you know what height you need (from taking measurements off your other bikes) then cut it to that height. Otherwise, leave it full length and run it with a stack of spacers above+below the stem for a week or so and cut it when you've worked out what height suits you.
I'd use a saw guide when cutting a steerer if you dont have a pipe clamp or similar. It's difficult to get a straight cut by hand because the steerer wont lie parallel to the ground if you lay the fork on a flat surface. It's not actually a big problem if you cut the steerer squint, you wont see it anyway.
 
ShiWarrior said:
Just come back from the Doctors, he said I might have Glandular fever :(
no biking for me still then :(
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Rubbish! Although you're fit, follow doc's guidance/meds and you'll be sorted in no time! Stay positive - at least you know now what it is (and not just a head cold!) :)

FrenchTart said:
I think if you follow the training plans on Trainer Road you'll get the most cycling improvement for your time buck. This will leave you with more time to enjoy the fruits of your labour - at least when you're not recovering from the horribly painful sessions at least :p
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That's the plan! Although didn't get on the turbo last night as TR doesn't want to connect from my Laptop (Windows Vista... :rolleyes:), not had time for a proper troubleshoot yet...

Dunks said:
Really need to get my bike fit sorted, inner knee pain when I push hard which I can't seem to get rid of by tweaking my saddle/cleats :mad:
Click to expand...

Tried reducing tension on cleats for more float?

FrenchTart said:
Where are you based? If anywhere near Manchester/Stockport then Freeride Cycles in Disley will sort you out with a really basic bike fit for ~£35. It's not quite as good as a proper fit but on a scale of no fit to proper fit it's well over the half way point.

Now *that* sounds like it's very much down to fit. Lower cadence generally speaking = more pressure being put on your joints when you cycle so it's often likely to make issues with your set up worse.
Click to expand...

A basic fit/measure up should work wonders for you. I tried and tried to get my old bike sorted, read every guide online and spent hours trying to get it right. Thought I had. Had a basic measure/sit on my new bike on the shop (took <10 minutes) and when home I adjusted my old bike to the same fit and it was totally different and 100% better! :rolleyes:

Ok commute in this morning, wrongly didn't look at weather app and wore too many layers as temps were around 1/2 degrees not the minus figures I was dressed for... :o

I pushed a bit too hard at the start of 'Kings Acre' (felt a semi-bonk starting) so dropped a cog and upped cadence to compensate, with the multi-layers I was melting when I arrived at work, ooops! :D
 
Roady said:
Tried reducing tension on cleats for more float?
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Wont make a difference with SPD-SL's, I'm pretty sure I get the 6 degree float regardless of spring tension which just affects clipping out/in.

Really annoying this morning, pain got quite bad when pushing hard which held me back, even on my short 8 mile commute.

FrenchTart said:
Where are you based? If anywhere near Manchester/Stockport then Freeride Cycles in Disley will sort you out with a really basic bike fit for ~£35. It's not quite as good as a proper fit but on a scale of no fit to proper fit it's well over the half way point.
Click to expand...

Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire! I've heard good things about http://www.bike-science.com/pages/derby-bike-fit-bookings . Pricey but hopefully worth it...
 
Vonhelmet said:
I'll be picking up the on one pompino for £200. It's low end steel, with a steel fork, but it's cheap and it's got proper track ends, so it'll do the job. It's also got mudguard mounts, which I want. It's got canti mounts, so I'm fitting mini vs, which will be a bit weird. I'll let you know how it turns out next month...

It'll be the first bike I've built from scratch. The main bit worrying me is fitting the headset, but I've got a press so it should be ok. That and sawing the fork, but that looks doable.
Click to expand...

yeah I was looking at that too! looks quite good in raw/no paint option! :)

not sure about mini-v's never tried them but I've heard good things about them!

this morning was a hell, snowing-ish + headwind + rain + cold.. couldn't feel my hands, need thicker gloves :o
 
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