Road Cycling Essentials

Saytan · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:06

physichull said:
But even then, there are weight limits in professional racing so it must be a bit of a moot point for the pros.

True enough, but it's only relatively recently that those weights became an issue. As recently as the early 2000s, a pro's bike might have been as much as 8kg

What I'm really getting at is that any other level than Pro, fitness and body weight are faaaaar more important. At pro level these are already optimised so bike weight becomes the thing

SDK^ · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:08

Saytan said:
the short answer is that a lighter bike is faster up hills, but never really enough to be important*

http://www.training4cyclists.com/how-much-time-does-extra-weight-cost-on-alpe-dhuez/

*Pro-level racing excepted

I definitely notice the difference between my winter wheels and tyres to my summer setup. Both general riding and climbing. Weight saving about 250g per wheel with faster rolling tyres.

Saytan · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:10

SDK^ said:
I definitely notice the difference between my winter wheels and tyres to my summer setup. Both general riding and climbing. Weight saving about 220g per wheel with faster rolling tyres.

there's definitely a difference to be felt there, but that is primarily about acceleration. At a constant effort it'll be minimal. There's also the different rolling resistance of the tyre to consider.

daveski · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:44

I know the 2015 KOM's are a bit of a con but still nice to get 7 of them on my commute home

physichull · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:48

daveski said:
I know the 2015 KOM's are a bit of a con but still nice to get 7 of them on my commute home

I'd prefer not to see them to be honest, to me they are a bit pointless.

Calpol · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:55

physichull said:
I'd prefer not to see them to be honest, to me they are a bit pointless.

Agree. Not an improvement in my book.

daveski · 12 Feb 2015 at 22:01

I agree completely.

FrenchTart · 12 Feb 2015 at 22:03

They're really annoying. As are the "fastest time this year"-style PRs. Spamtastic.

Vonhelmet · 12 Feb 2015 at 22:19

I thought it was a good idea when they announced it, but in practise I'm not so impressed. At the moment I'm on my slow bike and I'm off form so I'm just picking up the odd PR and then random top 10 in 2015 stuff. In a month or so, when the fast folk come out of hibernation, I'll be nowhere near the top 10s and I'll just be picking up the odd PR again.

I'll be keeping an eye on John O'Keeffe's strava annual summary, which includes a page which charts your best times year on year. I'll be hoping to get the best overall times over into the 2015 column by the end of the year. Easier to see what's going on when it's summarised like that.

Lakeland · 12 Feb 2015 at 22:32

They would have been better splitting it so it was PRO KOM (POM - Pro of the Mountain?) and everyone else KOM.

Vonhelmet · 12 Feb 2015 at 22:57

Lakeland said:
They would have been better splitting it so it was PRO KOM (POM - Pro of the Mountain?) and everyone else KOM.

Nah, that doesn't bother me. If you're second behind Laurens ten Dam I'd say you're doing alright.

Jimbeam3678 · 12 Feb 2015 at 23:21

grudas said:
just ride it! its not going to fall apart.. I've done 3.5k miles on my new bike and everything is still going, only thing that failed first time was the front spoke that's it
.

I know you tend to be the exception rather than the rule but would you really take out a £1800 Carbon frame bike out in winter on a regular basis with an Ultegra groupset?

topgun06 said:
I assume you have another bike which you are using for this less desirable weather??

I assumed most cyclists did who commute and ride thorough the harsh winter months?

My rationale on this is I don't own a car so I can justify a fairly decent winter bike.

grudas · 13 Feb 2015 at 00:19

Jimbeam3678 said:
I know you tend to be the exception rather than the rule but would you really take out a £1800 Carbon frame bike out in winter on a regular basis with an Ultegra groupset?

I assumed most cyclists did who commute and ride thorough the harsh winter months?

My rationale on this is I don't own a car so I can justify a fairly decent winter bike.

Totally!

a bike is a tool and IMO if I invest in something, I want to use it as much as possible

little rain or road salt is not going to kill it, give it a good clean after winter months or even a quick rebuild and it'll be golden

Jimbeam3678 · 13 Feb 2015 at 00:31

grudas said:
Totally! a bike is a tool and IMO if I invest in something, I want to use it as much as possible little rain or road salt is not going to kill it, give it a good clean after winter months or even a quick rebuild and it'll be golden

Everyone has an opinion

grudas · 13 Feb 2015 at 01:10

Of course.. But 30 miles is just ridiculous.. In my opinion

touch · 13 Feb 2015 at 01:31

grudas said:
Totally! a bike is a tool and IMO if I invest in something, I want to use it as much as possible little rain or road salt is not going to kill it, give it a good clean after winter months or even a quick rebuild and it'll be golden

Just like any other tool, you need to look after it if you want it to perform at it's best. A good clean after winter is not enough to keep it working well. You really should clean it any time it gets salty water on it.
There's no reason not to use a carbon bike in winter if you want (although mudguard clearance may be an issue).

grudas · 13 Feb 2015 at 02:00

Well yeah, of course

I normally rebuild mine for the summer for the sake of it really

FrenchTart · 13 Feb 2015 at 07:36

Jimbeam3678 said:
I know you tend to be the exception rather than the rule but would you really take out a £1800 Carbon frame bike out in winter on a regular basis with an Ultegra groupset?

I assumed most cyclists did who commute and ride thorough the harsh winter months?

My rationale on this is I don't own a car so I can justify a fairly decent winter bike.

I personally would do (and intend to with my next bike upgrade). My current one was only about 1250 with the upgrades I put on it but I have ridden it constantly no matter the weather.

Part of my rationale is that I simply don't have space to store multiple bikes. I'm also not 100% sold on the winter vs summer bike thing. I like the idea of my bike being versatile enough that I can use it in any weather - this often means compromises I guess but it seems that the way things are going that the compromises are becoming less and less of an issue.

platypus · 13 Feb 2015 at 08:19

Jimbeam3678 said:
I know you tend to be the exception rather than the rule but would you really take out a £1800 Carbon frame bike out in winter on a regular basis with an Ultegra groupset?

Agreed.

I take my £1500 carbon bike with ultegra groupset out in winter instead. In fact it's been a while (a good 5 years) since my Ribble was "demoted" my commuter

. Provided you clean it properly and regularly salt is far better being on a carbon frame than it is steel/aluminium...you just need to make sure to thoroughly clean the components. Which I do at least once a week during winter.

FrenchTart said:
Part of my rationale is that I simply don't have space to store multiple bikes. I'm also not 100% sold on the winter vs summer bike thing. I like the idea of my bike being versatile enough that I can use it in any weather - this often means compromises I guess but it seems that the way things are going that the compromises are becoming less and less of an issue.

It was useful training wise to have a heavier bike in winter and then reap the benefits in summer, the theory being that you do slow base mileage, but given that a lot of people nowadays just turbo indoors its less useful I suppose.

Roady · 13 Feb 2015 at 08:32

daveski said:
I know the 2015 KOM's are a bit of a con but still nice to get 7 of them on my commute home

Tell me about it, I thought I'd be in with a chance at a couple commuting and riding through winter and I only managed 1.

Lakeland said:
They would have been better splitting it so it was PRO KOM (POM - Pro of the Mountain?) and everyone else KOM.

Lots of the riders around here are faster than the pro's... There is a certain 'elite military base' just up the road with lots of young guys in peak fitness! (perfect excuse for me) :rolleyes:

Jimbeam3678 said:
My rationale on this is I don't own a car so I can justify a fairly decent winter bike.

grudas said:
Totally! a bike is a tool and IMO if I invest in something, I want to use it as much as possible little rain or road salt is not going to kill it, give it a good clean after winter months or even a quick rebuild and it'll be golden

FrenchTart said:
Part of my rationale is that I simply don't have space to store multiple bikes. I'm also not 100% sold on the winter vs summer bike thing. I like the idea of my bike being versatile enough that I can use it in any weather - this often means compromises I guess but it seems that the way things are going that the compromises are becoming less and less of an issue.

I'm with Tart and grudas on this really, although my opinion is somewhat biased as I got my good bike in mid december and there was no way I wasn't riding it! I've also not had a single bike over a year yet (except my hybrid) so the change in seasons is kinda 'new' (or more the impact they can have)

I'd like to think those of us using our 'good' bikes regularly during winter are predominantly commuters with at least 50% of our average winter weekly miles from commuting. We save enough money from not having/running our cars that we can 'afford' to run our bikes instead. Certainly now my girlfriend and I both cycle to work we are considering selling one of the cars and the running/fuel costs have made a huge difference. Car depreciation/maintenance before was approx ~£2500 per year without the cost of fuel, with that halved (I'd think) and the saving on fuel, spending ~£1500 per year on bikes/maintenance is still a much cheaper option!