Road Cycling Essentials

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I don't weigh anything to be honest. I just go 'that feels light' and go from there.

I lift my stock cannondale front wheel and think 'that's not too bad really' then lift an R-Sys front wheel and be like 'that's a bit lighter but I don't think £1,000,000 lighter'
 
booyaka said:
Cheers - think I'll go with the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season 25mm for now
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tbh I find tyres are very subjective.
I've a mid range shwalbe on the front which came with the bike (2nd hand, must have a few k on it already), had the same on the rear but I caught it on a bit of metal and lost a chunk of the rubber so swapped it with this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-ultra-race-road-tyre/ (was £13 at the time). people say it's crud but I've done more than 4k over winter/last year or so with only 1 puncture.
tempted to get conti gators for winter tho,
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-ultra-gatorskin-road-tyre/
but then
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-plus-performance-folding-road-tyre/
and
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-s-performance-folding-tyre/
are only a little more and have good reviews!
 
Aren't the strava heatmaps a premium only feature?

John O'Keeffe's multiple ride mapper (google it) can do the same thing, if you're not a premium subscriber...
 
uniQ said:
If I worked in a bike store I would WEIGH ALL THE THINGS. And spend the rest of my time browsing Madison B2B :D
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I don't really care for weight when things don't work properly. Bike shops only see nice kit when the nice kit isn't working. Wilier cento SR will be a nice one to test ride when I fit the new chainset.

Madison on the other hand, I see the credit limit as a 'I've got X left to spend'. My boss loves me.
 
K13LCC said:
Are the Continental 4 Seasons best for wet weather riding (commuting)?
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The gp4000s offer more grip, the 4 seasons are tougher. I personally use 25mm gp4000s on my summer/lighter bike and 28mm gator skins on my winter/cross bike with proper guards (with a wheel/tyre change for cross use) as it feels slow anyway so I might as well have tough tyres. The gp4000s grip very well in the wet but seem to pick up a lot of crap so punctures could be an issue in town.
 
Notice we have a few posts about clothing now the weathers starting to turn a bit.

I don't do a big commute (it's actually small enough that I won't mention distance for fear of being mocked). Only back riding after around 10 years break about a month/6 weeks ago and riding a complete POS 5/6 year old BSO but for the commute it'll do for now.

What would be a decent suggestion for staying dry (waterproof + breathable) with a mild amount of warm for the commute? Definitely a LONG way from road warrior, the bike was a freebie, my helmet was £20 and a newer comfier seat another £25. Just looking for something clothing wise that'll let me keep up the commute till we get white stuff on the roads.

Was thinking something like http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-eq25-waterproof-cycling-jacket/ for the top. Anything in long leg trousers that's similar?

What's suggested for a decently cheap set of lights too?

I noticed a post about a cheap floor pump (with gauge) from tesco's a few pages back too. Anything similar at the moment?
 
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Does anyone know what event is going on in Hyde Park today? I saw a couple of racing tandems and lots of serious aero bikes on my way in.
 
I've been having FD woes on my Ti :(

Cross chaining big/big the chain skips up on top of the front chainring every couple of rotations. I've changed cassettes/chain/shift cables. Realigned the clamp on FD more times than I care for. Reindexed and readjusted every barrel adjuster and B-Screw going.

I think the chainrings are worn. Can I replace the standard double chainrings w/ compact double rings on the same cranks?
 
Mercutio said:
Notice we have a few posts about clothing now the weathers starting to turn a bit.

I don't do a big commute (it's actually small enough that I won't mention distance for fear of being mocked). Only back riding after around 10 years break about a month/6 weeks ago and riding a complete POS 5/6 year old BSO but for the commute it'll do for now.

What would be a decent suggestion for staying dry (waterproof + breathable) with a mild amount of warm for the commute? Definitely a LONG way from road warrior, the bike was a freebie, my helmet was £20 and a newer comfier seat another £25. Just looking for something clothing wise that'll let me keep up the commute till we get white stuff on the roads.

Was thinking something like http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-eq25-waterproof-cycling-jacket/ for the top. Anything in long leg trousers that's similar?

What's suggested for a decently cheap set of lights too?

I noticed a post about a cheap floor pump (with gauge) from tesco's a few pages back too. Anything similar at the moment?
Click to expand...

I love my Altura Night Vision jacket for this time of year when the weather starts turning a bit. Waterproof (as much as any jacket can realistically be) and warm as well. You will still get a small amount of build up of condensation from heat on the inside but this will happen with any jacket, no matter how cleverly designed and expensive it is.

Lights wise, for fronts I recently grabbed a set of these Cree Q5's on eBay:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200868096027?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

£12 and very good. I've not responded in the thread I posted within a few days ago :- http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18537682&highlight=lights about my thoughts on them but so far impressions are excellent. For rear reds you want something like a SMART Superflash or Blackburn Mars coupled up with a backup rear light should the main one fail. You won't know its stopped working until some idiot shunts you from behind so it pays to have that backup fitted. I also have a couple of small red LED lights set to alternate strobe fitted into a couple of the rear vents on my Giro Monza helmet.
 
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