Road Cycling Essentials

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touch said:
It's ok, let it all out. You can come out to use, we'll be gentle.



I dont think so tbh (but i'v never had a singlespeed, so i could be wrong). The main difficulty in riding a fixed gear is the lack of a freewheel, not the lack of gears. There are so many situations that you use the freewheel and dont even think about it. Things like bringing your pedal up to the correct position to push off, pausing for half a second to get your other foot clipped in once you start and bringing your inside foot up when you lean round a corner.
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You adjust pretty quickly. Much like going from flat to clip in pedals. it soon becomes second nature.
 
Bumped into a bloke on a bike this weekend, think he has won a few things recently, anyone know who he is?
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its the bloke in the yellow helmet with sideburns!
 
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uniQ said:
You adjust pretty quickly. Much like going from flat to clip in pedals. it soon becomes second nature.
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Yep, you do.
But every time i try to freewheel on my geared bike i get a split second of panic because i forget which bike i'm on :p.
 
Ringo said:
Bumped into a bloke on a bike this weekend, think he has won a few things recently, anyone know who he is?
004.jpg

its the bloke in the yellow helmet with sideburns!
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Did you do the ride? How was it? A couple of the guys I ride with were going along. One of them had got free entry somehow!
 
touch said:
Yep, you do.
But every time i try to freewheel on my geared bike i get a split second of panic because i forget which bike i'm on :p.
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Haha. That sounds like how when I was out on my mountain bike with flat pedals the week the road bike was out of commission, I kept getting puzzled when I stopped at the lights or whatever and tried to lift the right pedal up. I had this weird phantom pedal feeling, and had a brief "WTF" moment before realising I'd have to hook under it and get it into position.
 
OK, so I put some Shimano SPD SL Pedals (PD-R540) on earlier and had a quick play around the block clipped in.

Nearly came off several times, but they felt pretty good. Question is, do I attempt to use them tomorrow on my commute with such little practice on them?!

Also, I think I need to adjust the cleat position as it was hurting my foot and knee a tad.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Did you do the ride? How was it? A couple of the guys I ride with were going along. One of them had got free entry somehow!
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had planned on riding but wife ended up in hospital a few weeks ago so i had to give it a miss, only live 400yds from start too. Steven Burke was there to, he only lives just down the road
 
Spec me a wheelset for under 1k. No Cosmic Carbones or similar Aero wheels. Looking for light/fast and durable.

Currently considering:
Mavic Ksyrium Elite
Mavic R-Sys SL (stretching budget)
Fulcrum 0's/1's

Any others worth looking at?
 
I'v heard that American Classic make very smooth bearings/hubs. Looking at their site, they have a magnesium clincher wheelset that weighs 1100g. No idea if they are any good as a wheelset though, but maybe something to look at? Could always get something custom built as well with some nice hubs.

I'm not really understanding your obsession with weight though. There's a lot more to going fast than just the weight of your bike. I would much prefer a deep set of aero rims to a little pair of lightweights.
 
When I was researching it seemed like Ksyrium Elites always came up as the recommendation for being the best combination of price, weight, durability and performance.

I just wanted the Cosmics though for the bling.
 
Shamrock said:
When I was researching it seemed like Ksyrium Elites always came up as the recommendation for being the best combination of price, weight, durability and performance.

I just wanted the Cosmics though for the bling.
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I agree the Ksyriums do seem to very good performers at their price point and get lots of glowing reviews.

touch said:
I'v heard that American Classic make very smooth bearings/hubs. Looking at their site, they have a magnesium clincher wheelset that weighs 1100g. No idea if they are any good as a wheelset though, but maybe something to look at? Could always get something custom built as well with some nice hubs.

I'm not really understanding your obsession with weight though. There's a lot more to going fast than just the weight of your bike. I would much prefer a deep set of aero rims to a little pair of lightweights.
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It's not about an obsession of weight but rather the best tool for the job and style of riding. My understanding is lighter/low profile wheels are better for hill climbing and group riding to do with physics and rotational force etc. where as aero wheels are better suited for flats and time trials.

http://www.cycling-inform.com/equipment/177-cycling-equipment-to-help-you-climb-hills-faster
 
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daveski said:
A friend may be interested in my MTB. If I can sell it I'll have maybe £4-500 to spend on a road bike.

I'm thinking second hand but don't really know what I'm looking for. How do I know if a bike is a good deal or not?
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How tall are you? I've got a bike for sale if it's any interest., it's a 56cm Fondriest Max Carb 04 with full Ultegra groupset, carbon fibre forks, carbon fibre seat stays and carbon fibre seat post. It has brand new Giant PR-2 wheels on it taken from my Defy 0 that I swapped them over from my Ksyrium SL's I had.

It's in good condition, never been dropped or crashed.

Drop me an email if you're interested or want a test ride, happy to meet up.
 
uniQ said:
It's not about an obsession of weight but rather the best tool for the job and style of riding. My understanding is lighter/low profile wheels are better for hill climbing and group riding to do with physics and rotational force etc. where as aero wheels are better suited for flats and time trials.
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Lightweight wheels are better for hill climbing. As that link says, if you're doing a competitive hill climb (race from the bottom to the top) then lightweight is definately the way to go.

If you're doing anything else which involves riding to/from the hill, then my choice would be aero rims.
Look at the Vuelta yesterday, 4 categorised climbs (2 3rd cat, a 2nd cat and a hilltop finish at the top of a 1st cat) but around 90% of the field were running aero rims. The winner had 50mm Campag Boras.

edit: in fact, that link you posted seems to say that a light aero rim can be better than a full-on lightweight rim
Don't discount aero rims for hill climbing providing you can find light ones. At the moment this means carbon. I was reading some wind tunnel data the other day which suggests that on moderate grades riders with good power outputs can still gain an advantage with light aero wheels through reduced aerodynamic drag. Unfortunately on steeper grades where speed drops, this advantage almost disappears.
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(i also dont agree that lighter wheels are better for group riding. Heavier wheels are slower to accelerate but the weight doesnt make a difference if you're riding at a steady pace)
 
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