Road Cycling Essentials
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Soldato
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Just had my second ride of this year to spin my legs over 20 miles and managed 15mph average on my mtb with knobly tyres.
Just how much faster is a road bike with a 23c tyre? I test ride bikes all the time at work but it's hard to tell without doing a longer distance. Having set up a hid mod synapse and a new felt Z5 today I reallly really really need a road bike in my life
All I ever hear is my boss and his mates who race talking about their speed but most of them are cat 2 racers with some in cat 1.
Just how much faster is a road bike with a 23c tyre? I test ride bikes all the time at work but it's hard to tell without doing a longer distance. Having set up a hid mod synapse and a new felt Z5 today I reallly really really need a road bike in my life
All I ever hear is my boss and his mates who race talking about their speed but most of them are cat 2 racers with some in cat 1.
Soldato
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Just how much faster is a road bike with a 23c tyre? I test ride bikes all the time at work but it's hard to tell without doing a longer distance. Having set up a hid mod synapse and a new felt Z5 today I reallly really really need a road bike in my life
I'm no racer but my average speed on my commute is up to over 20mph vs. 16mph on my MTB since getting my roadie within 2 weeks of riding.
My fitness is pretty poor currently and been off the bike for 3 weeks after my crash so pretty confident that will only increase given time.
I've rode my 15 mile route to work on a MTB with summer off road tyres (Specialized Resolutions) & semi slick tyres (Travel Contacts) and also a road bike with 23c tyres.
The average speed difference on the MTB going from off road to semi slick tyres was about 3mph up (15mph to 18mph) and on the road bike it was another 4mph up (22mph)
The other benefits of a road bike is the gearing when going down hills. My MTB tops out at about 34mph but on my road bike I can reach 42mph (on the same hill).
Obviously all of this is far from scientific
The average speed difference on the MTB going from off road to semi slick tyres was about 3mph up (15mph to 18mph) and on the road bike it was another 4mph up (22mph)
The other benefits of a road bike is the gearing when going down hills. My MTB tops out at about 34mph but on my road bike I can reach 42mph (on the same hill).
Obviously all of this is far from scientific
Those of you familiar with tourers, what's your opinion of the Surly Long Haul Trucker?
Been looking at this recently as an option for commuting and (eventual) moderate touring. Consensus seems to be that it's a solid frame, although quite heavy. My LBS stock it and would probably help me customise it a bit (sizings, seat, accessories etc). Standard model appears to be £999, might be able to knock a few pounds off though.
I've also had a look at the Dawes range which have a good reputation although the nearest dealer appears to be in London (90 min trip up there or so) so I don't know. I'm planning on getting one in a month or two and then making good use of it during the summer with week-long trips and the like.
Been looking at this recently as an option for commuting and (eventual) moderate touring. Consensus seems to be that it's a solid frame, although quite heavy. My LBS stock it and would probably help me customise it a bit (sizings, seat, accessories etc). Standard model appears to be £999, might be able to knock a few pounds off though.
I've also had a look at the Dawes range which have a good reputation although the nearest dealer appears to be in London (90 min trip up there or so) so I don't know. I'm planning on getting one in a month or two and then making good use of it during the summer with week-long trips and the like.
Soldato
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That's good to know then. If I can get those sort of speeds I'd be happy as If I went out with the bunch round the 60 mile loop I'd not be far behind them...well not THAT far!
Soldato
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It's the de facto standard which all other touring bikes compete against.
Sorry TreeTops, I somehow totally missed your post. I'm interested in hearing more about your experiences, especially with regards to using a bike that you've converted for touring duties. I've spent quite a lot of time looking at the more well known touring brands such as Dawes and Thorn, and they cost more than I can really justify. If I really get into touring then I may look into them further, but at the moment I am just keen on the idea.
I have an On-One Pompetamine that I am planning on using for touring, I just need to add a rack and change the chainring for something a bit smaller, and then I think it'll be good to go. The only thing that I am really unsure about is tyres. At the moment the bike has 700x24c Continental Grand Prix, which are way too narrow for touring on. I think the Schwalbe Marathon Supremes would suit the type of touring I want to do (exclusively on the road, I hate going off-road), however they are quite expensive. What did you tour on?
Suspended
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Slightly OT, but OMG! 
Soldato
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The various Schwalbe Marathon tyres are well loved by touring cyclists.
I'm pretty much sold on getting 700x32c Marathon Supremes for touring on. I've ordered some Schwalbe Kojaks in 26x1.3 for my commuter. I'm also replacing the panniers with a rack bag, so commuting should be a little bit quicker in the future. Exciting times 
Observations on my choice of bike to tour on:
- I already had the Trek 7.5FX, bought to help me recover from a hip resurface
- I started touring before I started getting into faster road riding
- Given the choice of buying a steel framed tourer or a faster road riding bike for the summer months, I spent my money on the road bike
I'm sure you can tour any almost any bike just so long as it is comfortable for very long days in the saddle. The limited modifications made were effectively for comfort. Mudguards, saddle and the butterfly bars might look odd, but with up to 10 hours a day in the saddle, all I care about is comfort.
Being between 18 and 19 stone, a set of handmade 36h wheels were pretty much a necessity - more so if you use some of the Sustrans routes where you can encounter some very rough paths (more suited to a mountain bike). Add on another 10kg of panniers/clothes/etc...
As for tyres, I use 32c Vittoria Randonneur Pro City Tyre. Just about the right balance between width, speed and grip. Another advantage to those tyres is that they are folding tyres, so easy to pack a spare tyre into the panniers for emergencies (it does happen, on one tour I destroyed the front and rear tyres after two blow outs).
If I were to be touring in more remote parts of the world, I’d consider getting a 26” wheel touring bike, probably steel framed (easier to weld than Aluminium), but I have no plans to do so. I would think seriously about the components used on the bike. There is nothing as bad as destroying your crank bearings mid-tour, or as happened to me last year, with 100miles left to cycle. Forget the lightweight stuff and go for durable gear. And it makes sense if your riding in a group or with your better half to use the same type & width tyres - you can share the tools, tyres and spares between the group.
I did start knocking up a site to cover our touring, cycling and other general malarky but never got close to finishing it. There is a page on it covering the bikes though:
http://www.malia.info/cycling/mybikes/
Let me know if you want any other information. I generally keep all the information from each tour - the planned route, actual route, packing lists, B&B’s etc
And for interest, the planned route for last years tour:
http://www.malia.info/cycling/cycle-tours/2010-cycle-tour-east-central-scotland/
Caporegime
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Have ordered a Montane Featherlite Velo for the commute, from the only place I could find that had a large blue in stock - Spa Cycles of Harrogate! £43 delivered. Will post back with pics / review when it arrives.
I needed something windproof and reasonably waterproof (it only needs to hold out for a 15 minute ride), but most importantly lightweight and breathable for summer rain showers.
I needed something windproof and reasonably waterproof (it only needs to hold out for a 15 minute ride), but most importantly lightweight and breathable for summer rain showers.
Last edited:
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Have ordered a Montane Featherlite Velo for the commute, from the only place I could find that had a large blue in stock - Spa Cycles of Harrogate! £43 delivered. Will post back with pics / review when it arrives.
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3131/press20velo20blue20rear.jpg[img]
I needed something windproof and reasonably waterproof (it only needs to hold out for a 15 minute ride), but most importantly lightweight and breathable for summer rain showers.[/QUOTE]
I've got a straight Monane featherlight smock in hi vis yellow. I didn't really want to buy it because I've already got a North Face Torpedo jacket at great expense, but the zip broke and I needed a stop gap while it's being replaced by North Face's ridiculous returns policy. It's an excellent windproof and very lightweight though.
Soldato
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What 'energy' bars do people use take when cycling/at the gym?
I did buy a couple of bars and some "energy shots" from H&B to test them out, but they just seemed like a normal chocolate bar and sweets.
Last time I went to the gym I grabbed a Boost and a Starbar: never seen one before, but it's 30% caramel (glucose) and 20% peanuts so seemed pretty good.
Question is, will any old high street brand high-glucose chocolate bar do or are the more 'specialist' options actually that much different?
I did buy a couple of bars and some "energy shots" from H&B to test them out, but they just seemed like a normal chocolate bar and sweets.
Last time I went to the gym I grabbed a Boost and a Starbar: never seen one before, but it's 30% caramel (glucose) and 20% peanuts so seemed pretty good.
Question is, will any old high street brand high-glucose chocolate bar do or are the more 'specialist' options actually that much different?
Man of Honour
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I've had the mulebars before and enjoyed them immensely, the struddle one is very tasty and gives a decent amount of energy. If you nibble them as you ride i find them much better than normal chocolate bars 
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When I was a kid there used to be a peanut Boost. It disappeared for years and resurfaced as the Starbar. W00T!!!
I just eat bananas and stuff. When I go on a 10K run or the like I take somethign like a smoothie made with milk, banana, Nutella and peanut butter. Yummy and jammed with good calories which is just what you need
I use Science in Sport (SiS) Go gels, PSP drink powder and Go bars.
The gels are awesome - they kick in instantly.
http://www.scienceinsport.com/
The gels are awesome - they kick in instantly.
http://www.scienceinsport.com/
£125 later I've gone from this:
to this:
Upgraded from rather bent Tiagra to 105 rear, new chain, new dropout, cassette seems to be fine so saved that and no jumping. He also serviced the whole thing including cables and brakes etc. Feels better than new.
Here's my ingenious bike stand for cleaning:
to this:
Upgraded from rather bent Tiagra to 105 rear, new chain, new dropout, cassette seems to be fine so saved that and no jumping. He also serviced the whole thing including cables and brakes etc. Feels better than new.
Here's my ingenious bike stand for cleaning:
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