Road Cycling Essentials

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Another Sunday, another ride. Same issues as always; feet go number after an hour, saddle gets uncomfortable after about two hours. Not sure if I need to just MTFU and get more time on the bike, or if it's not set up properly, though I am starting to suspect it's a combination of both. I see quite a lot of people talking about getting a professional bike fitting, have any of you gone for it? I really want to cycle a lot more as the weather improves, including some weekend touring down to the south coast, so it seems that it might be worth investing in a proper fitting.

The Schwalbe Kojaks for the commuter have arrived, not looking forward to getting the Nexus hub off in order to fit them. I haven't got inner tubes narrow enough to accommodate them (they'll arrive sometime next week) so I won't be fitting them today. It'll be nice to finally have slicks on the commuter after one final week on the hybrid semi-slicks. Looking forward to receiving the rest of the bike stuff I ordered last week; I may even get around to photographing my bikes this time around :)

Edit: regarding energy\recovery bars, I tried some traditional Kendal mint cake during my ride this morning, but I can't really tell if it helped or not. I made sure to drink more than last time, which I suspect helped more than the sugar boost. On the plus side, the mint cake is cheap and delicious :D
 
can someone please explain road pedals and shoes to me please? I've ridden on look keo pedals before on some sidi shoes however I cant afford sidi shoes and shimano ones are cheap

can shimano shoes be attached to the look keo cleats? if not are shimano SPD SL pedals any good?

can someone tell me the pros and cons of both systems?

cheers
martin
 
Saundie said:
Another Sunday, another ride. Same issues as always; feet go number after an hour, saddle gets uncomfortable after about two hours.
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Could our shoes be ill fitting as well i.e. too tight which impedes circulation. Try loosening them a bit. As for the saddle - I know mine was pretty bad after only 30 mins but is now fine. I guess it just needed broken in a bit from new. If yours is still uncomfortable I would recommend a different saddle. Go to a place that can measure your "sit bones" and then try a few saddles that match the size....
 
If your feet are going numb your shoes are too tight. If your saddle hurts it doesn't match the size of your arse.

Cleats go with the pedals, you can put them on any road shoe you like.
 
It doesn't seem to matter what I do with regards to the shoes, my feet will go numb after an hour or. I cycle in a pair of Duffs skate shoes, and I have them as loose as possible without them falling off. They're probably the loosest fitting footwear available anyway, they're incredibly wide. I can't rule them out as the problem, but at the moment I'm not sure they can be responsible. One thing that I have noticed is that I tend to turn my feet inwards on the pedals, which I'd expect to cause knee or ankle pain rather than numb feet. To be honest, I have no idea what's going on with my feet.

As for the saddle, I'll look into getting measured up. I seem to put way too much pressure on my perineum, so it could be just a case of tilting the saddle forward a bit. I don't have a problem with the saddle on my commuter, but I only use that for 45 minutes a day and I have to stand quite a bit to see over traffic. The biggest problem is laziness; I get the saddle sort of okay and think "sod it, that'll do" and just get on the bike. I am not a very practical man (I am dreading getting the Alfine hub off of the "racing bike") so I tend to avoid doing anything remotely mechanical.

I appreciate the help guys, and I'll look into putting your advice into practice. With any luck I'll get this sorted soon and then I can focus on preparing for some decent self-supported Audax-style outings :)
 
Echo what others have said about having your sit bones measured. After running through lots of different saddles I finally nipped into my local Evans Cycles and had my sit bones measured there. I then plumped for a Specialized Alias 143 and its been fantastic since. The Alias isn't that much more heavier than the Toupe / Toupe Gel nor does it look hugely more padded but despite that, its an unbelievably comfy bit of kit. :)

Then again, saddles are a hugely personal thing so what suits one may not be ideal for another.
 
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Still been looking around for a good tourer. Mainly for a few light day/week tours in the summer, and then hopefully a longer one in Europe next year. Budget is around £1000 for the bike and necessities (racks, mudguards etc) and then over that for panniers and other things needed.

I've had a good long look at the LHT, and my LBS have it for £1k although it doesn't come with panniers and I might need to change a few things (seat, tyres etc) judging from what I've read which makes it more expensive. It's heavy too, and designed for full-on touring which I'm not sure I'll be doing for a few months or a year yet.

On the other hand, because it's my LBS they will be able to personally sort out fitting etc and will be a good place to go for advice, upgrades etc. I don't know.

I've also looked at the Kona Sutra which is quite well regarded and only £849.99 on Evans at the moment (down from £1k), with racks and mudguards. Again, quite a heavy duty tourer and apparently the geometry isn't as relaxed as, say, the LHT.

Anyone have any ideas for other bikes I can look into? Steel seems to be pretty much a must for touring and this is where the bulk of the weight is from. Have to say I'm extremely tempted by the Kona Sutra right now, but I need more help in coming to a decision!

Edit: The Kona Sutra is actually £779.99 at a London based store...very tempting as I can pop up there to take a look.
 
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6thElement said:
If your feet are going numb your shoes are too tight. If your saddle hurts it doesn't match the size of your arse.

Cleats go with the pedals, you can put them on any road shoe you like.
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cheers, so I can put a look keo cleat onto a shimano shoe? they are the same 3 bolt spacing?

any advantage of SPD sl over look keo?

cheers
 
Montane Featherlite Velo

Jonny69 said:
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.
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Well it arrived on Saturday and I wore it for this morning's commute, with only a t-shirt underneath. It scrunches up into something the size of an apple.

Despite the chill this morning, I warmed up quickly as I haven't cycled for a while now, but it was perfectly comfortable and kept the wind at bay. No waterproofing review yet as it's a beautiful morning, but so far I'm very pleased.

It's extremely light! Couldn't quite bring myself to go for the hi-vis colour :p. It's got reflective strips obviously and is quite a bright blue anyway.

There are no pockets, which is odd for £40, but then I knew that.
 
apeZ said:
Still been looking around for a good tourer. Mainly for a few light day/week tours in the summer, and then hopefully a longer one in Europe next year. Budget is around £1000 for the bike and necessities (racks, mudguards etc) and then over that for panniers and other things needed.
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Lots of people rate the Dawes Galaxy highly, it gets mentioned a lot when the topic of a touring bike comes up. I am not really sure how it compares to the LHT. I really like the look of the Kona Sutra, it's one of the few reasonably priced touring bikes with disc brakes (which is a requisite for me personally). There's also the Thorn Sherpa if you want 26" wheels (though I understand that the LHT can be specified with 26" wheels), though pricing may be an issue as I can't seem to find a cost on the Thorn site for it. As you're in the south of England, you may be able to get over to Robert's cycles and have a look at their touring range.

I have stopped researching touring bikes, instead deciding to convert one of my existing bikes to the task. I would be very interested in hearing what you decide to go for in the end though, as it may influence me into going for a dedicated tourer should my interest in the activity develop further. I'm still processing TreeTops' posts to glean useful tips, too.
 
I get numb feet after about an hour too. Not the whole foot, just from the ball forwards and usually not my big toe. I ride in Converse as they are the only ones slim enough to get in the tow clips. It's usually worse when it's cold.
 
Jonny69 said:
I get numb feet after about an hour too. Not the whole foot, just from the ball forwards and usually not my big toe. I ride in Converse as they are the only ones slim enough to get in the tow clips. It's usually worse when it's cold.
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It's probably not a good idea to tow anything by the pedals ;)
 
Saundie said:
I'm still processing TreeTops' posts to glean useful tips, too.
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Feel free to fire any more questions. I'm full of useless info when it comes to touring, from weights of different items to sat nav, route planning, places to stay, interesting UK routes and climbs, how to deal with incredibly painful *ahem* areas (tip: sudocreme doesn't just work for babies bums) :)

Interesting reading on what folks eat when riding. When we tour then it's Snickers bars, cereal bars, fruit, cups of tea, bits of cake etc... The only luxuries are Nuun tablets for the drinks bottles and a sachet of recovery drink at the end of the day (for an instant 1000 kcal hit). The pleasant thing about touring is you can stop for a good slap up pub lunch and a pint - not something I could do on a spirited road ride.
 
Saundie said:
Lots of people rate the Dawes Galaxy highly, it gets mentioned a lot when the topic of a touring bike comes up. I am not really sure how it compares to the LHT. I really like the look of the Kona Sutra, it's one of the few reasonably priced touring bikes with disc brakes (which is a requisite for me personally). There's also the Thorn Sherpa if you want 26" wheels (though I understand that the LHT can be specified with 26" wheels), though pricing may be an issue as I can't seem to find a cost on the Thorn site for it. As you're in the south of England, you may be able to get over to Robert's cycles and have a look at their touring range.

I have stopped researching touring bikes, instead deciding to convert one of my existing bikes to the task. I would be very interested in hearing what you decide to go for in the end though, as it may influence me into going for a dedicated tourer should my interest in the activity develop further. I'm still processing TreeTops' posts to glean useful tips, too.
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The Thorn Sherpa is very heavy for what it is though IMHO. If I was going for a dedicated Tourer, then I'd have a look at one of the hand-built steel touring frames from Enigma.

Beautiful :)
 
Velo Rapide said:
The Thorn Sherpa is very heavy for what it is though IMHO. If I was going for a dedicated Tourer, then I'd have a look at one of the hand-built steel touring frames from Enigma.

Beautiful :)
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Indeed, the Thorn Sherpa is a bit of a beast, though like most of their bikes it's intended to be the kind you can take touring anywhere. I had my eye on the Sabbath Silk Route too, then I discovered the Rohloff equip Van Nicholas Amazon and realised that I needed to cut up my credit card before I did something silly like buy one. I now also realise that we're creeping far beyond the budget apeZ specified ;)

Velo Rapide said:
Out of curiosity, and inspired by a sub-forum I've seen on a dedicated cycling board, would there be any interest in a 'Post Your Road Bike' thread?

Nothing like a little bike porn in the morning :)
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I think that'd be a great idea. We can try to persuade Johnny69 to take new photographs of his weird and wonderful creations, too :)
 
Mine are all quite sensible looking at the moment as it goes :D

Yeah, I'll post in a 'Post Your Road Bike' thread.
 
Cheers for the inputs on the touring bike, I'm going to try and head up to London to take a look at the Kona Sutra. I've read quite a lot of favourable reviews and apparently Kona have been improving it year after year to make it more suitable to touring.

Thorn Sherpa is nice too, but at that price range I'd be opting for a LHT due to its reputation. Right now the LHT feels a little out of my budget because of all the extra stuff I'd need to buy to convert it into a full tourer (racks, panniers, etc).

I'll also take a closer look at the Dawes Galaxy too, and keep you updated Saundie! Let me know if you have any recommendations too r.e. touring equipment.

Gotta head out, but adding more to this post later.
 
Jonny69 said:
Mine are all quite sensible looking at the moment as it goes :D

Yeah, I'll post in a 'Post Your Road Bike' thread.
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I tried to start one the other day!

Just remembered something pretty obscure I saw whilst riding this weekend; I was riding on a long flat stretch of road out in the countryside when I see a car stopped in the middle of nowhere which I is pretty usual as there are loads of walkers around, but as I approach the car I see the driver was still sat in it looking out the window. It wasn't till I was pretty close that I saw the driver was sat with a double barrel shotgun pointing out the window! It looked loaded so I didn't stick around!
 
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