Road Cycling Essentials

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[DOD]Asprilla;17781951 said:
Saundie, wondering if you can help with an alfine issue I'm having; changing is fine most of the time although I do occasionally have to stop pedalling to change, but when it rains the shifting turns to crap and yesterday in the rain I couldn't get to the bottom four gears.

Any ideas?

The yellow marks line up in 4th.
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Do they still line up after going to 1st then to 5th and then into 4th?

Is the cable feeling like it has any resistance to it?
 
Jonny ///M said:
Do they still line up after going to 1st then to 5th and then into 4th?

Is the cable feeling like it has any resistance to it?
Click to expand...

When it's dry, yes. I must admit, when it's been peeing down I've not checked.

I've been thinking that it's grit and rubbish in the cable lining. I'm thinking about changing both the brake and gear cables to gore ride-on.
 
Anyone had the pleasure of commuting in strong winds over the past few days?

Sometime early last week I went onto a straight downhill road where the wind was blowing hard against me, and even with a lot of effort I was almost blown to a standstill! Then Friday morning's commute I was up against a constant headwind which was pretty gruelling.

Why is it the wind always changes to become a headwind rather than a tailwind :(

Almost had a fall when I got back on Friday. Went up on the curb on my roadie just outside of my apartment block, and I oversteered slightly to avoid a large pine cone, and wheels ended up on the grass which was covered in leaves. Both wheels go from underneath me, and somehow I managed to unclip both feet and managed to run with my right hand still gripping on my bike to ensure it didn't hit the ground. I was amazed I didn't end up in a heap, and relieved I didn't damage my bike :)
 
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I hate wind!!!. Rain, don't mind but wind can be a nightmare sometimes. There is one particular part of my commute where it seems to be the case that the wind blows from 360 degrees all round rather than from one direction!.
 
BlackDragon said:
Anyone had the pleasure of commuting in strong winds over the past few days?
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Yep. Had to do it on a Brompton as well. Not only difficult, but the shame of it as well :D

BlackDragon said:
Almost had a fall when I got back on Friday. Went up on the curb on my roadie just outside of my apartment block, and I oversteered slightly to avoid a large pine cone, and wheels ended up on the grass which was covered in leaves. Both wheels go from underneath me, and somehow I managed to unclip both feet and managed to run with my right hand still gripping on my bike to ensure it didn't hit the ground. I was amazed I didn't end up in a heap, and relieved I didn't damage my bike :)
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Lol, I crashed into the hedge outside my flat last night. The first 6 km of my ride home was fine but the alcohol obviously kicked in as I rolled in. I was pretty drunk though :D
 
Im not proud of the fact but i may also have been slightly "Drunk in charge" on friday night! The plan was to just stop off at the pub for a quick goodbye pint for the girl who was leaving the job...1 pint ended in 10+ and atleast 5 sambucas. The 18 mile ride home at 3am was pretty damn amazing! ;)
 
I just don't get what's funny about riding while drunk. Poppy, how would you feel if you'd veered into the path of a car? Giving them no time to avoid you and potentially scarring a driver for life? Would it be funny if you were killed?
 
Did the Colomba Chemo Classic at the weekend.

I thought it was a great day. Stronger wind to last year but sunnier. Got caught in a massive downpour at park rash, but it soon passed. I tried to keep with club mates but got dropped in the first 5 miles - they went on to do it in the best time of the day at 3:45!

Actually saw a lot of the pro's this year. Alex dowsett (still in trek kit) passed me on the grinton moor climb as if I was stood still, then they all waited at the summit for each other. They passed me again later on at flying speed - think they decided to make a race of the last 10 miles. It's amazing how they look like full size people in the magazines / tv but are tiny in real life.........Lizze Armitage is seriously hot though. Wish I could have kept on that wheel

Went on to do it in 4:50, with 4:32 riding time. Reasonably happy with that - bit faster than last year against a tougher wind and didn't really get into any groups. Met some nice people along the route too - always seems a nice atmosphere this ride
 
My "road" bike is finally built.

Cotic_x1.jpg


Cotic X frame with carbon Cotic fork
Deore FM, shifters
Tiagra RM, cassette
Conti Cyclocross 700x35 tyres
Magura Julie HP brakes with 140/160 Hope rotors

First commute tomorrow. 8 miles each way. :)
 
Defo needs drops :D

In other news I replaced the two broken spokes on my Raleigh yesterday. Typically, they were on the driven side so the cassette had to come off and I took the opportunity to strip it down to bare gears and clean it. Can't believe how much crap it had picked up.
 
You think the bars look odd? The whole thing looks odd to me! :p

The Magura brakes feel like someone has replaced the pads with blocks of wood. Hopefully they will feel a lot better once they have bedded in.

I can see why drop bars would be good, but the higher riding position of flat bars has it's merrits. It might try flipping the stem round to get it where I want.

Looking forward to blasting down the big hill on the way home. :D
 
I accidently put a bid on a flip-flop hub on eBay and surprisingly won it at a sensible price. Let the wheel building begin :)

flipflop.jpg


So I just need to find a pair of narrow classic-looking polished alloy rims with 36 holes and I'm good to go.
 
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