Road Cycling Essentials

londonbairn · 21 May 2013 at 18:01

I have that top peak one on my commuter stead, it's been through harsh winters, and is absolutely fine. Never ever had to adjust it or anything!

[Damien] · 21 May 2013 at 18:57

My legs are so stiff. I'm really feeling not having a day off last week. I think Pete might show me up tonight. Come on legs, just keep going until sat then you can rest...

Fuzz · 21 May 2013 at 19:21

Ha, my legs aren't too bad today, it's my bruised butt cheeks that hurt most, oh and that totally drained feeling, like I've had a dose of horse tranquillizer or something.
The only thing keeping me going on Monday was coffee, lots of coffee!

Fuzz · 21 May 2013 at 19:36

My Garmin (500) is pretty spot on if you ask me.

Here's one hill I've done (twice)

Here's the year before (again, twice)

Here's Googles elevation map of it

Shamrock · 21 May 2013 at 19:42

My garmin seems to be accurately measuring the elevation profile of the ride. It's the total elevation gain/loss it comes out with that is utter nonsense!

VeNT · 21 May 2013 at 20:44

Did I post my first audax?
last 20km are missing, ended up at 75miles total ride, back to start.

http://app.strava.com/activities/55135839

totally forgot to order those shutt bib shorts but missed the deal, need to figure out what to get instead.

[Damien] · 21 May 2013 at 21:48

Just got out for the third ride of the day with Pete, including a tasty hill. My stiff legs didn't slow me down too much thankfully.

http://app.strava.com/activities/55550999

Vonhelmet · 21 May 2013 at 22:31

I won't tell everyone how long you took recovering at the top of there

SoliD · 21 May 2013 at 22:41

Congrats uniQ, I'm hoping to hit the mileage on Sunday if all goes well between now and then, still got a whopping 200 miles to ride though :S

[Damien] · 21 May 2013 at 22:42

Vonhelmet said:
I won't tell everyone how long you took recovering at the top of there

Haha, cheeky sod. It's true though. That hill is tough.

weta · 21 May 2013 at 23:32

Berger said:
I'm not a fan of your custom paint job and graphics, but talking of lubing up and taking it to bed goes a bit far.

grudas · 22 May 2013 at 08:20

weta said:

i know right.. the lube would make your bedding dirty in no time jeez.. some people :rolleyes:

Shamrock · 22 May 2013 at 08:34

I can't believe how much they charge for photos of events! I won't be buying.

Anyway here's a thumbnail of me descending:

oli collett · 22 May 2013 at 08:47

Shamrock said:
I can't believe how much they charge for photos of events! I won't be buying.

Anyway here's a thumbnail of me descending:

I got a shock with that as well! You don't even get full rights either. My mum ended up buying one anyway though!

daveski · 22 May 2013 at 08:59

SoliD said:
Congrats uniQ, I'm hoping to hit the mileage on Sunday if all goes well between now and then, still got a whopping 200 miles to ride though :S

190 for me. I should still do it. I'm up to 790 miles in May so far.

[Damien] · 22 May 2013 at 09:10

I reckon I'll be about 100 miles short by the challenge end. I can't get out at all this weekend.

rogan · 22 May 2013 at 09:16

My garmin 500 was reporting me descending from -50m to -110m this morning... what??

Shamrock · 22 May 2013 at 09:24

Rogan's going underground (going underground), well the brass bands play and feet start to pound!

Last night I re-calibrated my Garmin by inputting the known elevation of my street. Hoping this will improve the readings.

helpimcrap · 22 May 2013 at 10:18

What RPM/speed would people advise for long distances?

I'm a relative novice (road bike for about 20months and been going out with the cycling club for less than a year). I can do 18mph 50mile stints but pretty sure I won't do that for 24hrs.

I've recently got a 2nd hand Polar CS400 which has heart rate/cadence/speed etc and i have found is very useful!

Peak heart rate was about 207 last time out (when i hammered it up a hill @ 25mph+!) and it averages about 160-170 when at 15-16mph.

I'm thinking to maintain 15mph for 40mile stints for 24hrs I should be hitting 80-90 RPM to keep the load/stress less?

tedmaul · 22 May 2013 at 10:28

helpimcrap said:
What RPM/speed would people advise for long distances?

I'm a relative novice (road bike for about 20months and been going out with the cycling club for less than a year). I can do 18mph 50mile stints but pretty sure I won't do that for 24hrs.

I've recently got a 2nd hand Polar CS400 which has heart rate/cadence/speed etc and i have found is very useful!

Peak heart rate was about 207 last time out (when i hammered it up a hill @ 25mph+!) and it averages about 160-170 when at 15-16mph.

I'm thinking to maintain 15mph for 40mile stints for 24hrs I should be hitting 80-90 RPM to keep the load/stress less?

Everyone's style is slightly different, but I think it's generally thought to be better to have a higher cadence rather than grinding big gears. Certainly feels much better on my knees anyway!

I aim for a cadence between 90-100 on the flat. Climbing I'm around 85-90 on anything under 10%. Much over that I can't keep the cadence that high without running out of gears currently - if it gets much over that I'm probably going to end up out of the saddle at some point as well which tends to stick me down around 65-70.