Road Cycling Essentials

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[DOD]Asprilla;22624556 said:
How about an SRAM S100 1.1 crankset with a gxp bb? Will be 48t though.

You can probably get the lot for £70.

That's based on it being an external bottom bracket. You might also need to borrow a bb removal tool if you don't already have one.
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Jonny69 said:
I used one of these on a singlespeed mountain bike I built:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251078742693

It took plenty of punishment on one of my weekenders. Check with the seller because they do it in quite a large range of teeth. I think I used 44/17 on the mountain bike.
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Thanks for the help, will look into it!
 
I got out and did 28 miles this evening. By the halfway mark it was seriously dark, so I had to miss a few bits I wanted to do. I either need some hefty lights (mine are of the "be seen" variety) or to just stick to well lit roads in the evenings.
 
My first road bike:

ms1x6.jpg


I've only done a few short (10mi) rides so far, need to get some new grip tape for the bars but so far it's been great.
 
you will almost certainly need a bike fit done on that .....

and if thats a 42/52 chainset your not going to like hills either :)

nice bike tho, how much?
 
Dribbles said:
Thanks for the help, will look into it!
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Some other options on SS cranks are track cranks. They will cost you more like £75 and up and will have straight cranks rather than bent ones, which makes them narrower. Good for Q but you might find them uncomfortable. Any of the hipster/fixie SS cranks will also be suitable and will come with smaller chainrings than track cranks will have available, but will cost more because they're trendy at the moment.

eXist said:
and if thats a 42/52 chainset your not going to like hills either :)
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Don't be silly. MTFU :mad:
 
VeNT said:
2nd hand's the way to go at that price point really, look for an something in your size on the bay or gumtree.
if not then you're looking at the ones you've said, and sora/2300 at best.
as a curveball how about steel?
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-mid-2012/

Anyone use handlebar bags?
I'm drooling over this atm
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51680
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That bag looks excellent, but Im not sure it would fit without touching my wheel, will have to measure up..
Im desperate to get rid of my rucksack as my back is killing me by the time I finish my ride - it is an old injury rather than ride position as without the rucksack Im fine..

edit - just realised, it will hide the front lights... :mad:
damn, as I really liked it
 
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Right, question. I have fairly small hands, so when I'm riding in the drops I find it quite a stretch to reach the brakes. Is there anything that can be done about this?
 
Lakeland said:
You could spend 50quid on some Chinese lights that will light up any road. Head over to he led torch thread :-)
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The chinese surefire/ultrafire torches are pretty good. I have 3 of them, 2* 900lumens + 1* 1200 lumens (i'm not convinced that the firgures given for lumens are entirely accurate though).
I can ride in the pitch black with just a single 900lumen light but i usually use all 3. 2 on the bars and 1 on my helmet.
I did a 24hour MTB race ealier this year and had no trouble seeing where i was going with them despite the darkness of a forrest on a January night.
 
I've just been down to lidl. Picked up a track pump for £5, a pair of bib longs for £10 and a little reflective vest for £4. There's plenty of other clobber on sale that might suit someone on as tight a budget as me - various bits of clothing, gloves, lights, etc.
 
Vonhelmet said:
I've just been down to lidl. Picked up a track pump for £5, a pair of bib longs for £10 and a little reflective vest for £4. There's plenty of other clobber on sale that might suit someone on as tight a budget as me - various bits of clothing, gloves, lights, etc.
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I've got a trip planned to my local one today, hope there is plenty of stock left!
 
Vonhelmet said:
Right, question. I have fairly small hands, so when I'm riding in the drops I find it quite a stretch to reach the brakes. Is there anything that can be done about this?
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What shifters do you have? I know Shimano do some shims that bring the levers closer to the bars, I've been thinking about getting some but I think they're something like £15 which seems more than a bit steep to me.

Vonhelmet said:
I've just been down to lidl. Picked up a track pump for £5, a pair of bib longs for £10 and a little reflective vest for £4. There's plenty of other clobber on sale that might suit someone on as tight a budget as me - various bits of clothing, gloves, lights, etc.
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I really like the bib tights I got from Lidl. really comfy and warm for a tenner.

The arm/leg warmers are good as well.
 
touch said:
The chinese surefire/ultrafire torches are pretty good. I have 3 of them, 2* 900lumens + 1* 1200 lumens (i'm not convinced that the firgures given for lumens are entirely accurate though).
I can ride in the pitch black with just a single 900lumen light but i usually use all 3. 2 on the bars and 1 on my helmet.
I did a 24hour MTB race ealier this year and had no trouble seeing where i was going with them despite the darkness of a forrest on a January night.
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They are ok for off road, but for sharing the road with on coming traffic (including cyclists) they are down right dangerous.
 
I'm sure they would be ok if you angle them at the ground?

I dont ride on the road when it gets dark though, i stick to the MTB.
 
eXist said:
you will almost certainly need a bike fit done on that .....

and if thats a 42/52 chainset your not going to like hills either :)

nice bike tho, how much?
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£250

The saddle has been put up higher, I suspect the frame is a tad too large though in terms of stand over but the rest fits nicely according to the competitive cyclist calculator (using the Eddy fit). It's 52/39 up front and 12-25 at the back, can't say I've had a problem with hills around here but I haven't tried the truly steep ones yet.
 
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