Road Cycling Essentials

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physichull said:
Weird that. I've had my current chain on for 18 months during which time it has done nearly 6000 km in all kinds of weather and I've never had rust on my chain. Maybe its the lubricant that you use? I use Finish Line Green for the winter and Finish Line Red for the summer.
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You generally don't cycle in bad weather though right?

I don't tend to get rust on my chain but I'm normally quite good about cleaning it and re-lubing it.

@Roady. You only need to apply lube to the links. Use a cloth to wipe of all the excess lube. Like, every single bit you can get off. Also give the jockey wheels a wipe too.
 
I've only cleaned and re-lubed my drivetrain 2-3 times in the past 4 months whilst doing 18 miles a day 5 days a week :o

Bike is looking a bit neglected.
 
One More Solo said:
http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/02/seat-height-how-hard-can-it-be/
http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

Those two articles are the best places to start, IMO. Steve Hogg can be a bit wacky with some of his proprioception stuff but his core fitting principles are very good.
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Thanks for those mate, perfect! I'd only come across the ones on parktool/sheldon B before :)

Dunks said:
No offense, but no one would want to sit and watch commute after commute :p

Upload the interesting parts and cool rides!
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Exactly my thoughts! Very tempted to record & keep all of my nice leisure rides along with a .gpx as I know people with virtual trainers love that kinda thing! A good incentive to get fitter and track down some more difficult rides around here... ;)

My rides will never be as interesting as grudas'!

grudas said:

interesting crash eh!
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The amount of lane swapping going on around there I'm surprised to see so little damage! Bike wheel is stuck into the wheel arch of the merc?! :rolleyes:

FrenchTart said:
I don't tend to get rust on my chain but I'm normally quite good about cleaning it and re-lubing it.

@Roady. You only need to apply lube to the links. Use a cloth to wipe of all the excess lube. Like, every single bit you can get off. Also give the jockey wheels a wipe too.
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I'll take a pic tomorrow, I cleaned and lubed last sunday, rode mon+tues, rest wednesday, rode thurs+fri (with a bit of rain one journey).

topgun06 said:
I use the Finish Line Red and Green stuff too. Good lube. The green lube is very good for winter cycling but makes the chain look black so quickly!
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Maybe it's the lube I'm using then, I went from using Halfrauds own branded stuff to some Decathlon 'all weather' (with ok reviews for winter riding). I've only used the teflon all weather oil on my Giant's chain.
 
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Roady said:
My rides will never be as interesting as grudas'!


The amount of lane swapping going on around there I'm surprised to see so little damage! Bike wheel is stuck into the wheel arch of the merc?! :rolleyes:
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my rides are quite boring too ;)

I know the biker, seen him a few times riding like a crack head..! but this time it looks like the merc driver is at fault :) but the whole front of the bike was jammed in the wheel arch, arch ripped off too! bonnet was ripped open a bit! looked expensive, being a merc and all that!

I have another video where i had to brake really hard to avoid hitting a guy and my rear wheel went up in the air before banging back on the ground lol! hate people who don't pay attention! I Think the comfort of a car just makes people seriously sleepy and inattentive! :o
 
Vonhelmet said:
What's the deal with bmx'ers? Why no brakes? Do the pros not use them, or are all the kids just too cool for school?
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it's "cool" my bmx still has the rear brake on and I'll keep that ;) rode brake-less for two weeks around london streets and you can imagine how stupid that was!
 
Vonhelmet said:
10cm!! You must have been rocking like crazy!
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Okay it maybe wasn't 10cm but it was certainly at least 6. I knew it was wrong but sorting it out was one of those things I kept putting off because I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to bike stuff. I've been riding round with just a front mud gaurd on because I haven't got round to fitting the rear one yet and in the 8 months I've had my bike I've only washed it* twice :o



*I've cleaned/lubed the drivetrain much more often though.
 
grudas said:
my rides are quite boring too ;)

I know the biker, seen him a few times riding like a crack head..! but this time it looks like the merc driver is at fault :) but the whole front of the bike was jammed in the wheel arch, arch ripped off too! bonnet was ripped open a bit! looked expensive, being a merc and all that!

I have another video where i had to brake really hard to avoid hitting a guy and my rear wheel went up in the air before banging back on the ground lol! hate people who don't pay attention! I Think the comfort of a car just makes people seriously sleepy and inattentive! :o
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Does sound expensive but clearly the merc's fault (and that's the way the insurance will see it) but I expect (from your comment) the bike was travelling slightly faster than he should have so slightly to blame. Amazing shot to get his front wheel inbetween the arch and wheel like that lol, wonder if it was planned/aimed?! :D

Vonhelmet said:
What's the deal with bmx'ers? Why no brakes? Do the pros not use them, or are all the kids just too cool for school?
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Too cool-to-live-without-brains?

Dunks said:
Riding like that around London is madness :o
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Edited for you ;)

Vonhelmet said:
Brake shoes, ho ho ho.
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See what you did there (beat me to it!) :D

EDIT: Another Seat/Saddle guide on CW
 
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physichull said:
I use Finish Line Green for the winter and Finish Line Red for the summer.
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topgun06 said:
I use the Finish Line Red and Green stuff too. Good lube. The green lube is very good for winter cycling but makes the chain look black so quickly!
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Red and Green?

I'll grab some Green when Wiggle have it in stock, is it worth getting Red now and using it even though the weather might be cold & wet still?

Anyone have a saddle they don't get on with Charge Scoop/Spoon/Selle etc?
 
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Dunks said:
Riding like that around London is madness :o
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oh yeah.. seriously dangerous! as said, I did it for two weeks and had to get my brakes back on as it was just too risky! going down a hill at 30mph + with no brakes and a junction at the end... ?!

Vonhelmet said:
Yep, I always see them putting their right foot back and stopping the wheel with their shoe. They must go through a lot of shoes.

Brake shoes, ho ho ho.
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heh! shoes seem to last ok tbh!

Roady said:
Does sound expensive but clearly the merc's fault (and that's the way the insurance will see it) but I expect (from your comment) the bike was travelling slightly faster than he should have so slightly to blame. Amazing shot to get his front wheel inbetween the arch and wheel like that lol, wonder if it was planned/aimed?! :D
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dunno! but it was in there lol! as you can see the bike was literally stuck in there, wonder how they ripped it out..
 
@FrenchTart sorry for the random follow, I've decided to set myself a goal of at least 100 miles a week (should acheive that by tomorrow morning), which looks to be less than you're averaging!

I'd like to by mid summer be able to cycle from my house in Bristol to my mums in Swansea, which according to Google is about 106miles.

Doable?
 
PaulStat said:
@FrenchTart sorry for the random follow, I've decided to set myself a goal of at least 100 miles a week (should acheive that by tomorrow morning), which looks to be less than you're averaging!

I'd like to by mid summer be able to cycle from my house in Bristol to my mums in Swansea, which according to Google is about 106miles.

Doable?
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No worries. I did wonder who it was but if you can take my commute ride spam you're more than welcome to follow me :)

My riding has actually dropped off a bit lately (and I'll be taking a break for a couple of weeks very soon). Should be out this weekend though.

I'd say that if you're doing 100 miles a week and try to get out for some longer rides at the weekends (get a couple of 50s and build up so you've done at least one 75 before you attempt the 100 (or alternatively 60 on Sat, 60 on Sun, so less time to recover, which will help with your endurance) you should be able to easily do an imperial century by the summer. You may want to check the route that google suggests thoroughly though - normally it will suggest hideous A roads or mud tracks so I always take the time to route around those. It's also worth getting a rough idea of where you can stop to buy food/drink along the route and where toilet facilities are.
 
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