Road Cycling Essentials

uniQ · 30 Dec 2012 at 15:31

I did it! Experienced everything today. Rain, sun, hail storm, rain, gale force winds, more rain but I knew it wouldn't be easy. Still knocked out the 90 miles I needed to complete the challenge

In the last two days I've pedalled 170 miles :eek:

but honestly if it wasn't for touch and Shadowness laying down the gauntlet I wouldn't of found the motivation to get through the last couple of days, so cheers fellas.

Couple of pics of the bike during the epic journey

Day 1:

Day 3:

Final Ride:

Draeger · 30 Dec 2012 at 15:46

Well done!!. The last time I rode mine was a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to start 2013 as I mean to go on though, major blitz begins in January all building up to my target of completing the Trossachs Ton in June.

grudas · 30 Dec 2012 at 15:55

ShiWarrior said:
head wind today, but still managed to get a PB on a hill climb!!

The endemondo OcUK challenge is almost over, theres no way i can do 200 miles to go up to 15th in 1 more day!

just a shame i got the bike as late as i did , otherwise id be in the top 3
Roll on 2013

eh i forgot i entered that!

my mileage went up by ~800miles the last two months.. so in around 9months that year i only had done ~500 miles on my bmx

but then again i only started recording everything not long ago. Tbh i still cba to record my weekend rides on my bmx because those would only add ~10 miles if that..

im 13th btw.. next year will be a lot better - hoping for around 4-5k

if i get riding on the weekends that will be closer to 6k

Mad old tory · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:12

40k for me this afternoon in a frankly pathetic 2hrs 03m moving time. Was blooming windy and really ran out of steam after an hour 20, should have brought some sweets or something along with me. Still, onwards and upwards!

oli collett · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:19

One More Solo said:
You'll feel the benefits if you keep it up. Going to invest in a TrainerRoad setup myself so glad to hear it works.

I hope I do! Just checked my bike over and realised I had the rear brake catching on the wheel rim, might not have helped my power outputs!!! One things for sure, they're not kidding about having a bucket close by when doing those videos :eek:

Mad old tory · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:24

On the turbotrainer thing, how much vibration / noise does the Tacx make? I live in a top floor flat with hardwood flooring in the living room where I would use it but wouldn't want to annoy the neighbours...

tedmaul · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:34

Jonny ///M said:
Rather you than me! At least it wasn't too cold as that stables back road gets very frosty.

Fair play going up the rig in this weather, most guys are going to the velodrome quite a lot due to the weather.

Yeah, i've been away over xmas but was out a few times a couple of weeks back during that cold snap we had and there was some pretty nasty ice patches about. So much water run off on the roads round here eh, so you end up with it frozen an inch or so thick just randomly across the road sometimes. Nearly caught me out a couple of times. Nothing like that today though - just mingin'!

uniQ said:
I did it! Experienced everything today. Rain, sun, hail storm, rain, gale force winds, more rain but I knew it wouldn't be easy. Still knocked out the 90 miles I needed to complete the challenge

In the last two days I've pedalled 170 miles but honestly if it wasn't for touch and Shadowness laying down the gauntlet I wouldn't of found the motivation to get through the last couple of days, so cheers fellas.

Great effort!

Shadowness · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:42

I DID IT TOO!!!! Managed 101 miles. Last century of the year. Felt really good all the way through too, even now I feel like I could go out and rack off another 50 miles!

Super chuffed with myself if I may say so. Still bloody windy today too!

http://app.strava.com/activities/34770005

Nice one UniQ!! That's why I really like Strava, if it wasn't for this challenge, in the weather we've been having, I probably wouldn't have gone out at all, let alone done 500km!!

EDIT: Right, how do I get one of those Rapha badge things?! I didn't do all that effort for nothing you know!

grudas · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:48

that is the problem with weekend rides for me! i can't think of any routes to take really :/

putting 20 or so miles a day is feels a bit of a waste of time.. 50 or so would be better

rogan · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:50

decided the new sidis i got for a bargain on ebay are too small

this is annoying, had some late 90s 42's that fit fine, then went for mid 2000s that were too big, then 18 month old 42's that are too small!

Dam you SIDI.

uniQ · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:57

Shadowness said:
I DID IT TOO!!!!

Good job fella. Your avg speeds over distance are obscene, seriously you must have been out wearing full on scuba kit & snorkel! Riding flat out through the floods?

Request your badge here mate:
http://www.rapha.cc/the-festive-500--2012

Vonhelmet · 30 Dec 2012 at 16:59

Well done all. I've signed up for their January challenge, though I can't imagine my effort will be spectacular. I want to start knuckling down early, though, as I want to hit 3,000 miles this year and in particular I want to do a 90 mile ride in July.

Shadowness · 30 Dec 2012 at 17:09

uniQ said:
Good job fella. Your avg speeds over distance are obscene, seriously you must have been out wearing full on scuba kit & snorkel! Riding flat out through the floods?

Request your badge here mate:
http://www.rapha.cc/the-festive-500--2012

Done

I did pick a fairly flat route to be honest. Apart from that big climb 28 miles in, there wasn't much else challenging. Still had almost 5k ft of climbing too though, so certainly not Holland-like

I'm definitely getting quicker, and able to go for longer too. Really looking forward to doing the same sportives next year that I did this year to see the improvement.
When I did a 100k ride near the beginning of the year, I used all the food stops etc, and was pretty average. Now I could quick easily bash out a 100k ride without stopping at a respectable pace. Although getting a super aero lightweight bike may have helped a bit too lol

Hamster · 30 Dec 2012 at 17:12

I'm thinking of getting the Tacx Satori trainer as recommended earlier but I've not used a trainer before. Is there any point using a cycle computer with this to gauge distance travelled, averages etc?

rogan · 30 Dec 2012 at 17:27

worth getting a cadence and speed averages for training

distance you can work out roughly from your speed average and time training i guess? but not really that important

Hamster · 30 Dec 2012 at 17:49

Thanks rogan. I guess road experience will allow me to gauge whether the resistance level is similar to riding on the flat or inclinces. Cadence sensor is an optional extra for my Sigma computer so might pick up one of those too.

NotAGolf · 30 Dec 2012 at 18:14

chanjy said:
Sounds like it's just out of true?

If you are not a mechanic then just take it to a bike shop and ask them to true it for you... shouldn't cost much or take long. Any more than about 1mm of variance and I'd say it needed doing.

Cable pull ratio is fixed, Shimano's good brakes use 3:1 I think but lower end not sure, maybe 4:1? Anyway there's no changing that!

Thanks for the advice. Yep it's just out of true. Buckled makes it sound worse than it is, but I couldn't think of the right word! Looks like it do-able if I buy a spoke socket, but I don't trust myself tbh, so I'll take it to the LBS asap.

Mad old tory said:
On the turbotrainer thing, how much vibration / noise does the Tacx make? I live in a top floor flat with hardwood flooring in the living room where I would use it but wouldn't want to annoy the neighbours...

I can't speak for the Tacx as I haven't used it, but I've used this trainer and there's no way I'd consider using it in a flat. I used it in my bedroom in my parents house and you could hear it in the kitchen which is at the other end of the house, and it's not a small house! It was unbearable in the adjoining rooms. Although the trainer you mentioned is a better make so I'd expect it to be a little better.

Draeger · 30 Dec 2012 at 18:19

I have a Tacx Flow and it makes a fair bit of noise when in use. I'd be reluctant to use it in an upstairs flat, depends on how much your neighbours like you!!

DIABLO · 30 Dec 2012 at 18:35

mpledge52 said:
Hi guys. I spent most of the morning changing the tyres and brake pads on my Specialised Allez. I spent forever trying to get the rear brake pads positioned and aligned nicely. As I was fitting the pads I realised my back wheel is slightly buckled, meaning I can't put the pads too close to the rim.

I've done the best I can but it means that when pulling the brake lever (Shimano 2300 STI) I have to pull it pretty much all the way to the bar. If I tighten the cable any more then it moves the pads too close to the rim and it rubs on the bent patch.

Obviously the best thing to do ere is straighten the wheel/buy a new one. But in the meantime, is there any temporary fix I can do? I'm hoping there's a screw somewhere that means moving the lever a little bit pulls the cable a lot. There's a couple of screws around the shifters but I'm not sure what they do

Cost me £15 to get a wheel trued last time i think so you might as well get it sorted.

oli collett · 30 Dec 2012 at 19:43

Mad old tory said:
On the turbotrainer thing, how much vibration / noise does the Tacx make? I live in a top floor flat with hardwood flooring in the living room where I would use it but wouldn't want to annoy the neighbours...

If you need something quiet, the kurt kinetic road machine is about as quiet as they come, especially with a trainer tyre. They're not cheap but seriously impressed with mine - really has an excellent road feel too.