Soldato
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Were they at a blokes house down your street?
Road Cycling Essentials
- Thread starter Matutu
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Were they at a blokes house down your street?
FAO Garmin 800/810 owners - is it possible to have a couple of data fields over laid on the Nav screen?
Thanks
Yes it is.
Might have caused a little incident on the way home.
Very light winds tonight so I was sprinting up the "hill" from Stockwell tube to Clapham North, vaguely aware there might be a couple of guys behind me but not sure how close.
Anyway, a small truck decides it wants to turn left, indicating this and stopping in the road. It will need to cross the bus and cycle lane to enter the side road. Here I probably could have continued on as the truck didn't actually try to cut me up by turning and I was going reasonably quick. Instead, my reflex was to stop, which I did rather abruptly without calling out because I wasn't expecting a guy near enough drafting me.
Next thing I hear a crashing sound and shout of a cyclist behind me who has hit the ground. He was mostly okay, although his palms were pretty messed up from not wearing gloves. He wasn't angry although I can see him having reason to be since I sort of emergency stopped without warning.
Very light winds tonight so I was sprinting up the "hill" from Stockwell tube to Clapham North, vaguely aware there might be a couple of guys behind me but not sure how close.
Anyway, a small truck decides it wants to turn left, indicating this and stopping in the road. It will need to cross the bus and cycle lane to enter the side road. Here I probably could have continued on as the truck didn't actually try to cut me up by turning and I was going reasonably quick. Instead, my reflex was to stop, which I did rather abruptly without calling out because I wasn't expecting a guy near enough drafting me.
Next thing I hear a crashing sound and shout of a cyclist behind me who has hit the ground. He was mostly okay, although his palms were pretty messed up from not wearing gloves. He wasn't angry although I can see him having reason to be since I sort of emergency stopped without warning.
I agree, his own fault.
It's always a bad idea to be sitting on a wheel if the person in front doesnt know you're there.
Yep, after all that stressing! It just would've been nice if parcel force had told me that!
I have enough problems riding with people who do know I'm there who randomly slow down to admire a fence post or a sheep or a pretty cloud...
But yeah, I take your point, given it's a heavy ass chunky aluminium frameIt's still cheaper than buying a decent new bike, though, and given it's only a winter bike/commuter/beater I'm not too fussed about it being heavy - I'd just rather get it a bit more presentable. If I'm going to ride it with panniers or in the winter then an extra kilo on the frame is hardly the end of the world.
And hey, maybe I'm sentimental with it being my first road bike
The TDF is similar to the Virtuoso if I remember - a mash of Claris, Sora, Tektro etc. I get what you're saying about it 'lasting' but I can see tidy versions of mine selling on the 'bay for ~£200 (when I only paid £300 for it in 2012!). I really need to get a wheel & cassette and I'll happily use my Giant on the turbo... Then again I've not even sold the Hybrid I've not ridden for 8 months yet! Should prob do that, buy the wheel and cassette then sell the other!
I guess I'm more than happy for my 'good' bike to be the one I use for commuting and the winter... I've not been cycling long enough to fully appreciate the seasons and the effect they can have over time (first winter on a road bike)
Result!
Might have caused a little incident on the way home.
Feel sorry for him, or more accurately his lack of group riding etiquette - if he was drafting and relying on you he should have asked or at the very least announced he was there!
I have no group skills, then again I don't really find anyone riding the same speed as me on my commutes - if they're slow enough to catch; I'm quick enough to overtake!
Those of you who group ride, what's the usual call when you catch someone and want to sit behind them? Would feel strange shouting "Hi!" to a rider who probably doesn't know I'm there, I wouldn't want him/her to take their eyes off the road!
Other news, commute home was good, really paced myself and hardly pushed (except when racing through a changing light
). Kept my cadence down and concentrated on trying to keep my HR hovering around 150bpm rather than the 170-180 as normal... My achilles I thought I'd hurt on the Turbo is much better but my calf on the same leg is feeling more 'tired' than the other. ACL is fine now too, can only feel it and my achilles when I walk, they're fine when riding?! 
Those of you who group ride, what's the usual call when you catch someone and want to sit behind them? Would feel strange shouting "Hi!" to a rider who probably doesn't know I'm there, I wouldn't want him/her to take their eyes off the road!
I would also love to know this as what little cycle infrastructure Leeds has doesn't generally allow for over taking.
I did 20 miles this evening. Not a bad average speed, though I know I can do better on that circuit. I came storming up to a roundabout early on and saw a car coming from the right and had to brake quite hard and managed to lock my rear wheel up a bit and skidded to a halt. Fortunately there was only minor pants pooping and I was able to finish off the ride.
I've had a look at my single speed wheels. They don't look to be amazing quality. The rims are only pinned so there's a massive obvious join in them which was covered up with little stickers that I've taken off. Still, they'll do. They've got Novatec hubs at least, so that end of things should hold up OK. They came with a 16t freewheel and a 16t fixed gear. I've got an 18t freewheel on hand which I'll be using, and the freewheel that was on there looks like garbage so I've taken that off and it'll be going on ebay for a fiver or whatever. It didn't even have proper notches for a freewheel tool to remove it, but I managed to get it off with a screwdriver and a hammer. Now I just need to wait for the end of the month to pick up the frame and the brakes and then I'm in business.
Oh yeah, I ordered a spare mini pump bracket for my new bike from Tredz and it came with a bag of Haribo in the jiffy bag. Everyone wants to be Wiggle...
I've had a look at my single speed wheels. They don't look to be amazing quality. The rims are only pinned so there's a massive obvious join in them which was covered up with little stickers that I've taken off. Still, they'll do. They've got Novatec hubs at least, so that end of things should hold up OK. They came with a 16t freewheel and a 16t fixed gear. I've got an 18t freewheel on hand which I'll be using, and the freewheel that was on there looks like garbage so I've taken that off and it'll be going on ebay for a fiver or whatever. It didn't even have proper notches for a freewheel tool to remove it, but I managed to get it off with a screwdriver and a hammer. Now I just need to wait for the end of the month to pick up the frame and the brakes and then I'm in business.
Oh yeah, I ordered a spare mini pump bracket for my new bike from Tredz and it came with a bag of Haribo in the jiffy bag. Everyone wants to be Wiggle...
Yeah, the TDF was one down the scale from the Virtuoso. At stock it was all 2300 with Tektro brakes. I think my one now has a Sora rear derailleur (after the stock one got inexplicably thrown into the rear spokes and annihilated) and a couple of other upgrades, not least Claris shifters, which was an inspired upgrade - proper two lever shifting without upgrading the whole thing to second hand 9 speed Tiagra or whatever. I've also upgraded the wheels, though obviously they're transferable.
I only paid £230 for it (with a free pair of shoes!!) second hand, so even selling it for £200 I wouldn't be losing much, even allowing for having replaced the cassette and cables and bottom bracket - those things need replacing no matter what bike you have. The thing is, while I might be able to sell it for £300, and then tack on another £200 that I'm prepared to spend on it, am I going to get a much better bike for £400? Not really. Whereas if I spend £200 on getting it repainted and replacing some parts I'll have a bike that is eminently mine, and tragically I think that counts for something! I'm embarrassingly attached to a naff bike
Still, it's not far off being like my grandfather's axe at this point... The only stock parts left are the frame, the seatpost, the seat clamp, the stem and the bars. Literally everything else has been replaced. If I'd gone ahead with swapping the frame out for a Dolan Preffisio, the only original parts left would have been the stem and the bars!
I'm being lazy, but my brother is looking to spend about £1k on a new road bike, currently has an old bianchi with campag, (circa 15 years old)
Boardman Pro Carbon
Planet X Pro Carbon (Ultegra 6800, seems very good value)
Canyon/Rose Offerings
What else is there out there, I reckon I can get him to up his budget by couple of hundred, would ideally like him on something with 11sp 105 and full carbon. More for sportives and enjoyment riding than something super quick.
Boardman Pro Carbon
Planet X Pro Carbon (Ultegra 6800, seems very good value)
Canyon/Rose Offerings
What else is there out there, I reckon I can get him to up his budget by couple of hundred, would ideally like him on something with 11sp 105 and full carbon. More for sportives and enjoyment riding than something super quick.
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Von, don't expect too much from freewheels. Lots of people complain about the lack of quality in them these days. I have to admit, though, I've always used those Dicta ones and not really had a problem with them. What wheels were they?
These are the wheels: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=281482529183
I'd already picked up a sturmey archer (sunrace) freewheel separately. As you say, I hear they're all not that great unless you spend silly money for one by white industries.
I've got the Board Team Carbon which was just under a grand and it's really very good. Fairly light carbon frame (whole bike is 8.7kg according to my bathroom scales) but obviously that involves a trade off with components. I plan on eventually upgrading to an Ultegra groups and fancy wheels so it was a decent choice for me, but if I wanted better equipment straightaway I'd have gone with a Canyon.
Soldato
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I usually shout "on your wheel" if I am behind them, or "on your right/left" if I am overtaking them or moving into a position parallel to them, such as on club rides, etc.
Soldato
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You say that, but I bought a new chain and some socks from Wiggle recently and got no Haribo!
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