Road Cycling Essentials

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I've just got back from a quick Sunday afternoon ride - very pleasant!

I had a bike fit in London on Friday and it seems to have improved my position for sure. I definitely need to lose my *ahem* winter weight though ;)
 
collisster said:
where is the best place to start saving weight on a stock road bike ?
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Most people say moving components, such as the crank set or wheels as these are what undergo the most accelerations. But drinking a bottle of water before you ride will probably put more weight onto the bike, I see little difference in hill climbing speeds of my bikes when the weights are about 1-2kg different.
 
platypus said:
First time back on the bike since my hip injury. What a glorious day it is too :).
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It would seem that your signature is quite apt, as always :)

It makes me wish that there were some way to ensure that we always got good weather on the weekend. I didn't get out on the bike yesterday as it was a miserable day, and yet here I am stuck in the office on an ideal day for cycling. It really is quite unfair.
 
Plantar fasciitis

Covered 45 miles commuting last week after a 4 month break, and paid the price...nice bout of plantar fasciitis :(. My first ever bike-related 'injury'; it wasn't severe from Googling other people's experiences of the pain that can accompany this ailment, but was certainly uncomfortable and annoying.

I think what did it was starting to climb hills aggresively out of the saddle on Friday, so I'm going to go the shorter route for a few days until it calms down. Used ice, streches and ibuprofen over the weekend and this morning's ride in was fine (mostly downhill though).

Only 30 as well, guess I'm getting old sooner than I thought :( :p.

Plantar is here for anyone that cares / doesn't already know:



It presents as a fairly acute aching just in front of the padded part of the heel.
 
collisster said:
where is the best place to start saving weight on a stock road bike ?
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Ditch any gear you don't need for a start. Steel handlebars to alloy, if it's old and got steel cranks go to alloy, same with wheels. Narrower wheels are generally lighter and older alloy wheels can be lighter than carbon. Carbon give you better aerodynamics though. I shaved 300g by swapping from normal 23mm road tyres to 23mm kevlar band road tyres (Michelin Pro 3). Cut your handlebars down, change your seatpost to a thinner alloy aero section.

Past that, ditch the gears and go single speed. This saves a LOT of weight if you cycle on the flat and don't need the gears.
 
ok fair one, single speed is off the cards because bristol is quite hilly! Who's saying I'm a salad dodger anyway!! ?? :p

The bike is going to be fairly decent to start with, I just like the idea of adding lighter bits here and there. I think the Hg50 cassette is pretty heavy to start with and a cheap alternative is much lighter.

In reality I'll only replace stuff as it breaks, but its nice to look

collisster
 
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