Road Cycling Essentials

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Thats what im considering but the fact that i will have 2 hours to get there with public transport worries me because the main road where the bus that takes me to the place will be closed meaning that i will have to walk or cycle 2 miles to the nearest bus stop and then take a bus and avarage journy time is said to be 1h38mins.. with the distruptions the olympic torch will bring it sound like i have no other choice just to cycle :-\

My injury is ok i was allowed to get back to work so im fine with that:-) and thanks! Hopefully ill get the place
 
Hehe yeah ill have to think of something or take a quick shower after work jump in some fresh clothes and ill be alright :-D
 
Argh, I have a creak from the headtube area that is driving me crazy.

It's not that bad normally, but was practising my climbing today and when standing up it does it a lot.

What am I best to do, check all the bolts for the headtube, where the bars meet the stem etc. Make sure they have a small amount of grease on them.

If the headtube has been over-tightened, how can I rectify this?
 
Choosing a road bike is so hard, it seems that there aren't any really awful bikes out there and it's mainly down to personal preference....

I've ruled out a Boardman. Whilst they are undeniably good value I have never ever had a good shopping experience at Halfords and particularly so when it comes to bikes. So that's not going to happen.

Test rode a Secteur and a 2012 Allez Sport. I am 6' and tried the 56cm frame. With the seat post raised a couple of cm and the saddle moved back a bit on the rails it felt really comfortable, I have quite a long reach and the staff said I didn't need a 58cm frame though I could probably go for either depending on my preference.

Really liked the Allez Sport, it feels so weird coming from a flat bar bike though.
The only thing that felt a bit wrong was my stomach which felt a bit compressed but that's probably because I was wearing jeans and a belt.

I don't really like anything I've seen from Giant, Trek or Fuji, so my main competitor to the Allez Sport is the Ribble Sportive 7005, which gets very good reviews and (I know I'm a tart) looks really cool (I'm quite taken with the Rodi Airline wheels and the choices in spec I can have)
Problem is I can't really test ride it. But I really do like the look!

I HATE MAKING DECISIONS LIKE THIS!
 
Lopéz said:
I've ruled out a Boardman. Whilst they are undeniably good value I have never ever had a good shopping experience at Halfords and particularly so when it comes to bikes. So that's not going to happen.
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Cutting off your nose to spite your face? All you have to do in is go in and pick it up. If you're that concerned then just get it built elsewhere, and at least if there's any problems/you need to return you can do so pretty easily without having to deal with shipping or telephone only.
 
Was gonna say... If Halfords bother you, buy the bike there and pay someone else to put it together. The Boardman Race reviews well and is great value, and the Boardman Comp is basically the same bike with full carbon steerer and better groupset - either of these are a great bet.
 
Wait for sales to really kick off. As more 2013 models come in 2012's will be reduced. I'm also speculating based on the wet summer sales will have suffered so expecting some pretty heavy discounts from the usually uncompetitive compared to most LBS, Evans, Wiggle etc.

Merlin Cycles also have a good range of bikes with almost unbeatable spec compared to any other UK Retailer.

Planet-X also have some decent offers with 10% off the whole site this weekend with code: UKBANKERS10
 
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The poor sales due to wet weather might be counteracted by the Bradley Wiggins effect!!!

I've got my eye on the Cube Peloton Pro for £799, seems well specced and importantly it's a lovely looking bike :)

Saving hard atm.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Does the shifter move at all? If the gears aren't adjusted correctly, then it won't change properly, but from what you're saying it sounds like the shifter physically isn't moving?

EDIT: Sora shifters and trying to go down on the front, so that means the little button isn't clicking in? That right?
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Jonny ///M said:
Don't worry I've got the same sora shifters and the front is used for double and triple chainsets so it has an extra click.

Push the small button really hard and it will shift back down, or if you want undo the cable pinch bolt first(i just push it hard whilst on the bike).

Re the 105 shifters, they should come with new inner and outer cables if they are retail packaged.
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I was trying all morning and then took it back to the shop.
They had the same problem and then all of a sudden it clicked and started to work.
He noticed that my little red marker was fully right when it shouldn't be there so I must have kept shifting one way and it stuck.
What they suggested was (and they are competitive cyclists) that at my level of experience I shouldn't be coming off the small cog and just go through the nine gears and that should be enough unless I'm going down bank.
I took it out for a ride and they were right, the only time I needed to shift was when I hit about 25 mph down bank so I free-wheeled until I was back at the speed where the top gear on the small cog worked so I didn't use the big cog for any of my ride.
They were describing pro cyclists and how they keep their rotation at an equal pace whether going flat, up or down so I will try it.

I also bought some Shimano SPD M064 shoes but I've got to wait for the pedals and I bought some padded shorts.
 
Hi all, work have recently reopened our cyclescheme and I'm thinking of getting a singlepeed to add to my bike collection. I'm looking around the £500 mark (bike would have to be at RRP due to cyclescheme) and I am pretty convinced by the Specialized Langster at that price. Anything else I should be considering?
 
Dimple said:
I was trying all morning and then took it back to the shop.
They had the same problem and then all of a sudden it clicked and started to work.
He noticed that my little red marker was fully right when it shouldn't be there so I must have kept shifting one way and it stuck.
What they suggested was (and they are competitive cyclists) that at my level of experience I shouldn't be coming off the small cog and just go through the nine gears and that should be enough unless I'm going down bank.
I took it out for a ride and they were right, the only time I needed to shift was when I hit about 25 mph down bank so I free-wheeled until I was back at the speed where the top gear on the small cog worked so I didn't use the big cog for any of my ride.
They were describing pro cyclists and how they keep their rotation at an equal pace whether going flat, up or down so I will try it.

I also bought some Shimano SPD M064 shoes but I've got to wait for the pedals and I bought some padded shorts.
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90 cadence is decent sustainable rate usually.
 
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