Road Cycling Essentials

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JoeMama said:
That does sound like your wheel is off centre. Should be just a simple case of loosening the wheel nuts and repositioning the wheel centrally then tightening up. Sometimes if it's a little but to one side you can just loosen the wheel nut on the other side, push the wheel over and hold in place whilst re-tightening that nut.
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Thanks, I'll give that a go later :)
 
Jonny69 said:
Having not cycled all year round before I have encountered a new hazard. Conkers. Not only are they all over the road but the bleeding things are falling out the sky at me :eek:
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Haha, I ride under a lot of trees on my way to work and I had an epic moment where they were falling from the sky like World War II and not one of them got me and I avoided all of them that were on the road.

My main hazard at the moment is a 1.5 mile stretch of road where the tarmac has been lifted and it's like riding on a cobbled street. It's awful and it's on a slight incline on the way to work. There's now rather tall ironworks and various holes to avoid, I'm scared my bikes gonna fall to bits but then I do ride quite fast over it just to get it over with. Should carbon forks be OK with this kind of abuse, I assume yes given its properties but I don't wanna induce premature fatigue if I can avoid it.

Got these and these ready to use, I just haven't got a 15mm spanner and have misplaced my allen key set to fit them.
 
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Can someone recommnd me a cleaning/maintenance kit for my new bike please?

The Muc-Off kit looks decent, with all the brushes etc, is it any good?

What other oils and lubricant type things do I need to keep on hand to ensure tip top running condition?

Thanks,
Jonny
 
Rusty_Noob said:
Can someone recommnd me a cleaning/maintenance kit for my new bike please?

The Muc-Off kit looks decent, with all the brushes etc, is it any good?

What other oils and lubricant type things do I need to keep on hand to ensure tip top running condition?

Thanks,
Jonny
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I have the Muc-off kit and it's very good, you don't really need to use all the brushes if you regularly clean your bike because there shouldn't be that much build up of dirt.

The only thing the kit is missing is a degreaser, I use Muc-Off Water Soluble Degreaser which works very well, the dirt and grease literally falls off the chain onto the floor.

I first clean my whole bike using the muc-off spray cleaner, then I degrease the chain and gears etc. Then finally apply a small amount of muc-off lubricant that comes with the kit.
 
Dup said:
My main hazard at the moment is a 1.5 mile stretch of road where the tarmac has been lifted and it's like riding on a cobbled street. It's awful and it's on a slight incline on the way to work. There's now rather tall ironworks and various holes to avoid, I'm scared my bikes gonna fall to bits but then I do ride quite fast over it just to get it over with. Should carbon forks be OK with this kind of abuse, I assume yes given its properties but I don't wanna induce premature fatigue if I can avoid it.
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Ugh, don't talk to me about road works. They've had the surface up for over a month down my route. I've had a pinch puncture and a broken spoke no thanks to keep bashing up and down the surface.
 
Siliconslave said:
I've got a Topeak Aero Wedge with the quick clip (medium) and i'm very happy with it.
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platypus said:
I have the same bag as Silicon. Fits everything I need.
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Thanks guys, I've just ordered a medium Topeak Aero Wedge, it seems to be ideal. I also ordered a couple of bottles and bottle cages, and also another Cateye cycle computer to go on the new bike. I also picked up spare mounting brackets for the computer and lights that I have, so that I can use the same accessories on all of the bikes without messing around with brackets. I'm going to figure out which mudguards to get this weekend, which leaves just a rack for the commuter to sort out.
 
BlackDragon said:
After clicking on that link for the M520 pedals, I decided to buy a set of M540 pedals! Along with a load of other stuff.
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Haha, sorry about that. Just fitted them tonight had had a quick peddle up and down the street. Amazing difference, never used them before. I've got the pedals set to the loosest setting for the moment so I can get used to them but I love the feeling that I'm connected to the bike and all my effort is being transmitted to it. The shoes feel nice and stiff too which I think contributes a lot to it.


At the moment my lower legs are very skinny and I want to get a bit of muscle on them. Is there anything I should be looking at upping my diet or any kind of supplement I can take to help this? I'm very average build normally but I do seem to have a bit of a belly and nearly B cup boobs, not a nice look I tell you and odd when people say how skinny you are otherwise! Hoping to use the cycling to help me out as it's my main exercise, I don't want it to take over my life though.
 
Dup said:
I don't want it to take over my life though.
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It probably will ;)

Bit annoyed at the BBC weather forecast for today, I decided that I'd skip the morning ride today as they said it'd rain heavily. I've been up for two hours and not a drop of rain in sight, but the clouds are looming ominously overhead and I don't want to chance it now. I'll probably have a go on the exercise bike this evening instead.

I am hopelessly addicted to this cycling lark now :|
 
I was really hoping to get to get out on my bike today but the sky is leaking. Not normally an issue however I only have one set of riding gear and need that for commuting. Will have to get myself some more soon, as as you say it probably will take over considering what I've spent on kit so far, and I've only bought DHB clothing and some pedals. Picked up a Cateye wireless computer and a carbon boardman bottle cage to match the bike tho!
 
Dup said:
I was really hoping to get to get out on my bike today but the sky is leaking. Not normally an issue however I only have one set of riding gear and need that for commuting. Will have to get myself some more soon, as as you say it probably will take over considering what I've spent on kit so far, and I've only bought DHB clothing and some pedals. Picked up a Cateye wireless computer and a carbon boardman bottle cage to match the bike tho!
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I started off pretty much the same way, with just one set of gear, but now I have spares of most things. Just for fun, I decided to make a list of all of the cycling accessories I've purchased. So far the total is over £600, and it feels as though I am just getting started. :eek: I just tell myself that I used to throw this sort of money at PC hardware all the time, and at that this is far better for me - physically at least!

I rather foolishly decided to go for a walk, about half an hour in to it the first drops of rain started to fall, but I was wearing my waterproof coat and proper walking shoes, so I pressed on. An hour into the walk, those few drops turned into a downpour. I decided to head home at that point, by the time I returned my trousers were soaked. My biggest mistake was trusting the BBC weather site; the heavy rain they promised for this morning failed to appear, and the light rain they forecast for this afternoon is somewhat more than that. A complete shower of ********!
 
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The annual cost of using the tram to get to work is only £560, so I'll have to keep the bikes and gear I've purchased for nearly four years until I break even. Then again, I used to spend over £5k a year on PC hardware which I no longer do; as a hobby this is a bargain in comparison.
 
Dup said:
I was really hoping to get to get out on my bike today but the sky is leaking. Not normally an issue however I only have one set of riding gear and need that for commuting. Will have to get myself some more soon, as as you say it probably will take over considering what I've spent on kit so far, and I've only bought DHB clothing and some pedals. Picked up a Cateye wireless computer and a carbon boardman bottle cage to match the bike tho!
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I went out today to buy stuff for my commute, finally realising my kit isn't up to the job, especially with all the rain recently. With the cold weather coming I need to make sure I'm prepared for that too. I have literally had a lycra-fest this afternoon.

I've now got:
  • 3/4 length North Face Lightning Capri lycra shorts
  • Full length Karrimor lycra tights
  • Trespass black Scotchgard quick-drying roll up trousers
  • Rab Polartec fleece/shell thing

Sounds a bit of an odd list of stuff but my commute is only part on bike. The rest is standing around on train platforms getting cold, so I need the bare minimum of cooling to get me to the station, then another layer to get on quickly before I get cold. I'm forseeing with the cold weather I need a bit more leg insulation, hence the tights etc for under my shorts or these new trousers. Plus I can switch between it for running.

I clicked the wheel round on the Yellow Peril and rode fixed for the first time. It's pretty strange to ride. The bit I can't explain is why the bike doesn't slow down when you stop pedalling. Normally if you want to shave off a tiny amount of speed you just coast, but I felt myself grabbing for the brake quite a lot because it didn't slow by itself. Got soaked btw :D
 
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