Road Cycling Essentials

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tedmaul said:
Looks awesome. Definitely a bike that I've got on my shortlist when i come to upgrade from the Defy 2 to something a bit more carbon and whizzy! :cool:
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Thanks. Can't believe the difference! Only been around my estate on it just while I had 2 mins to spare, feels so light and moves instantly. :D
 
InQ said:
10 1/2 stone, same as me, well usually, unable to ride at the mo and wont be until the end of the month as i'm on holiday (all inc, i'll come back with a few extra kg no doubt, was thinking of doing a bit of running whilst in Ibiza)....just when i was going so well. :mad:
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god you're all so LIGHT!
I'm gonna have to try and drop some more weight (he says, sitting here eating pudding)

my Shutt VR bib shorts turned up, damn tight fit but glad I didn't go large as they would be massive! have to go out for a ride tomorrow or sunday to see how they feel on the bike.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;24414283 said:
It's a great event. Unfortunately the year I did it the timing chips failed. To say I was disappointed to slog my guts out for 7 hours and not be given a time was a understatement.
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Nooo!

I'll be happy with under 9hrs, but I'll see how I get on. Bit worried as one of the lads I'm riding with has had knee problems the last 2 weeks
 
mr tommo said:
Thanks. Can't believe the difference! Only been around my estate on it just while I had 2 mins to spare, feels so light and moves instantly. :D
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What's the fit like? Have to say i get a bit put off by the idea that i can't try a bike out if i buy online. Interested to hear what height you are compared to the frame you bought, and if it feels right.
 
VeNT said:
god you're all so LIGHT!
I'm gonna have to try and drop some more weight (he says, sitting here eating pudding)

my Shutt VR bib shorts turned up, damn tight fit but glad I didn't go large as they would be massive! have to go out for a ride tomorrow or sunday to see how they feel on the bike.
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Well i was 12.5-13st 8-9 months ago, hard work and better diet and little alcohol (he says drinking Cidre...:D) helped me to lose ~2 stone in 2.5-3 months or so.
 
Great write up Vonhelmet, I am thinking of getting one done within the next few weeks if I can find somebody reputable down this way.
 
InQ said:
Well i was 12.5-13st 8-9 months ago, hard work and better diet and little alcohol (he says drinking Cidre...:D) helped me to lose ~2 stone in 2.5-3 months or so.
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Indeed, I was stuck at 73kg for ages but dropped 6kg over winter through better diet and not drinking. I think it's actually easier to drop weight when you're not riding as much as that tends to ramp up your appetite and make you crave carbs. Now I'm riding more I end up eating some absolute crap. :p
 
One More Solo said:
I'm around 67kg, not sure what that is in old money. I know you're a bit heavier than that (and I'm assuming most of those times are set on your old bike?) so they're absolutely awesome. Got some serious power. :cool:
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Yeah, most were on the old bike. I've only done one proper ride on the new one. It flew up the one decent hill I did though, which was the one at Anglezarke. I'll take the others on at some point to see how I do.

I'm 87KG/102lb at the mo. That's about 13.5ish stone. The weight's coming off (stalled at the moment though) but I can't seem to drop below the 190lb mark. Letting major carb binges get in the way...

Edit: Just fitted my new handlebars. Easy enough but bar taping is serious work. The Fizik stuff I'm using is super thick. I must have restarted about 5 times. I've only done one side and now it's all taped up I've noticed a gap near the bottom of the brake hood. I might sack the Fizik stuff off and just stick the new Canyon stuff on. It's way thinner and easier to work with.
 
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tedmaul said:
What's the fit like? Have to say i get a bit put off by the idea that i can't try a bike out if i buy online. Interested to hear what height you are compared to the frame you bought, and if it feels right.
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It's fine. They give you ways to measure yourself to get the right size depending on which model you buy. I'm no expert but it seems fine to me. They have a store in Preston where you can go and have a sit on the bikes etc.
 
[Damien];24415297 said:
Edit: Just fitted my new handlebars. Easy enough but bar taping is serious work. The Fizik stuff I'm using is super thick. I must have restarted about 5 times. I've only done one side and now it's all taped up I've noticed a gap near the bottom of the brake hood. I might sack the Fizik stuff off and just stick the new Canyon stuff on. It's way thinner and easier to work with.
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Which Fizik tape did you buy?
I have some Fizik Performance soft touch for my Boardman but havent fitted it yet, the Bontrager stuff i got for my older bike was cheap but to be fair seems good quality and is quite thick as well, much thicker than the stuff i took off.
 
Oh my.

I signed up for C-Grade, but got bumped into B-Grade today along with the guy who won the handicap (all grades) last week who went off from C-Grade scratch with me.

The jump from C to B is quite noticeable, I was expecting to be top 5 in C-Grade on the course today. But in B grade I got dropped on the last 400m of the CAT 3 climb (first time around), lost about 30 seconds on the bunch and that was it, race over.

Another rider got dropped at the same time, they had 5 seconds or so on me, but pulled out about a minute over the next 15km as it was really windy and being quite tall it makes me really suffer. I caught them on the second time up the climb so we stuck together and took turns for about 8km, but hadn't caught anyone by then (did expect a couple of others to get dropped) so just sat up and had a chat.

I set a new PB by over 2 minutes on the first time over the CAT 3 (20 minute climb in total), so shows how quick we were going compared, second time over when it was just me I still set my second quickest time so was still trying hard and I'm improving riding wise. Felt like I needed a lower gear to keep my cadence up, ended up in the bottom ring, when it kicked up to over 10% I was grinding too much which killed me and the others got a gap. Choices are either get fitter or smaller gears!

Last time I raced that circuit was the 18th of May when I rode most on my own after getting a gap on the climb and got third from a bunch sprint as I got caught at the end by 4 others. I did it (61km) in 2:05 then, this week 1:57, which is a mega reduction in time considering after 15km I was on my own, then did the last 20km with another rider.
 
InQ said:
Which Fizik tape did you buy?
I have some Fizik Performance soft touch for my Boardman but havent fitted it yet, the Bontrager stuff i got for my older bike was cheap but to be fair seems good quality and is quite thick as well, much thicker than the stuff i took off.
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Yeah it's the fizik performance stuff I've got. The problem is that apart from it being super thick, it's got a very defined pattern on it. It's got a flattish perforated bit about a third of the way across, then a raised bump bit, then a flat fizik logoed bit. That means you don't really have much leeway to vary the overlap. Also because of the thickness it likes to go baggy on the top edge as you tighten the bottom edge.
 
I've got the Fizik glossy tape and I found that pretty hard to apply because it doesn't stretch that much. It was the first time I'd applied bar tape which didn't help I suppose.
 
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