Road Cycling Essentials

[FrenchTart]

Aye, true, but I felt like I was going to fall off because the turbo was wobbling, not because I couldn't have pushed a bit more power out! I need a wattbike...

What turbo do you have? I don't think I could sustain enough of a power output to make my turbo feel like it's going to fall over...and as a bigger guy that's quite a lot of power compared to smaller people

I bet you can squeeze a beat or too more out of it
I am getting back into TrainerRoad. The Sweet spot sessions are a nice balance of stressing me a bit but not destroying me and putting me off going back for the next session. If it wasnt so expensive I'd do the http://www.thesufferfest.com/tour-sufferlandria-2015/
Also picked up a new saddle to try. Been suffering with a troublesome saddle sore that just wont clear up completely so I have used my £10 Evans voucher to try
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fabric/scoop-flat-elite-saddle-ec072155
Couldnty find a Fizik Antares for under £60 new or used so will try this. Got it for £29. Praying it works otherwise I am going to have to go to the quack and get my nads out!

I'm totally a convert to TR these days. The sweet spot sessions are nice indeed and as you say, not quite as utterly destroying as some of the SF videos...

The Fabric saddles are the new versions of the Charge Spoon/Scoop, right? They look quite good.

 

[Vonhelmet]

What turbo do you have? I don't think I could sustain enough of a power output to make my turbo feel like it's going to fall over...and as a bigger guy that's quite a lot of power compared to smaller people

Minoura B60. Super cheap... Not very sturdy. Maybe it's just me rocking about too much on there! I'm gonna sell it fairly shortly to fund the bike I'm currently accruing parts for, and then I'll buy a decent fluid one next Winter if I really fancy it, and if I can clear enough space in the conservatory that I can use it in there instead of in the kitchen which results in no end of moaning from her indoors...

 

[Vonhelmet]

The Fabric saddles are the new versions of the Charge Spoon/Scoop, right? They look quite good.

Yep. Some of them are incredibly expensive, though. They have a few Fabric variants of the Scoop, which I know we both use, which go up to like £150 or something stupid. That's like Fizik prices. I'm pretty sure they're still making them under the Charge brand, though, so I think you'd have to be pretty sure that the extra money was worth it.

road.cc review of the Fabric Scoop Flat Pro saddle.

 

[FrenchTart]

Minoura B60. Super cheap... Not very sturdy. Maybe it's just me rocking about too much on there! I'm gonna sell it fairly shortly to fund the bike I'm currently accruing parts for, and then I'll buy a decent fluid one next Winter if I really fancy it, and if I can clear enough space in the conservatory that I can use it in there instead of in the kitchen which results in no end of moaning from her indoors...

Ah right. I've not used any other turbo trainers but I guess I can see how the smaller/less sturdy ones would be a bit more alarming to ride on if you're an experienced cyclist. I guess they're built with more occasional cyclists in mind?

Yep. Some of them are incredibly expensive, though. They have a few Fabric variants of the Scoop, which I know we both use, which go up to like £150 or something stupid. That's like Fizik prices. I'm pretty sure they're still making them under the Charge brand, though, so I think you'd have to be pretty sure that the extra money was worth it.

road.cc review of the Fabric Scoop Flat Pro saddle.

Yup. I've owned a Madison Flux (I think - it was a while ago) and a Charge Scoop. Both very comfortable saddles but I completely agree that the new range is getting into silly money territory. There's no way I'd pay that much for one of those particular saddles unless they had done something drastic to it...like made it out of Unicorn hide or something.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Yup. I've owned a Madison Flux (I think - it was a while ago) and a Charge Scoop.

What a coincidence, I have a Charge Scoop on one bike and a Madison Flux on the other. The Flux is the same as the Charge Spoon, and I've also got one of them sat in a box waiting to go on my new bike when that gets built.

 

[PermaBanned]

Fabric saddles look interesting, £40 for the cheapest one isn't too bad. The Charge Scoop is like £30 though, guess we'll see what happens when the full range is released. The higher end is getting into Brooks territory, which could be interesting. Probably not aimed at most consumers though.

The interesting thing about that site is the sizing guide though. Based on height and waistline rather than trying to leave an imprint on the stairs with your butt which never works.

 

[SoliD]

Aye, true, but I felt like I was going to fall off because the turbo was wobbling, not because I couldn't have pushed a bit more power out! I need a wattbike...

Sounds a bit ropey, I can push about 130rpm/500W on mine before I get a bit of wobble, I suspect this could be down to your core strength lacking and your wobbling at higher cadences putting instability into the turbo?

I bet you can squeeze a beat or too more out of it
I am getting back into TrainerRoad. The Sweet spot sessions are a nice balance of stressing me a bit but not destroying me and putting me off going for the next session.

I'm actually starting to enjoy the trainerroad sessions now. Done 5 in the past 2 weeks, following the 40k TT 12 week low volume plan(along with commuting 4 days a week and club run on a Sunday instead of the sunday workout), hour or so sessions a time after I get in from work actually is quite nice, plug the laptop in and watch some TV whilst doing them and getting a sweat on.

I always struggle with the FTP type workouts but getting used to them now and seem to be able to push the power I'm used to expecting on the road now. Will be continuing after I get back from Majorca.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Sounds a bit ropey, I can push about 130rpm/500W on mine before I get a bit of wobble, I suspect this could be down to your core strength lacking and your wobbling at higher cadences putting instability into the turbo?

Entirely possible. I was only at 112rpm, and I don't have enough powers for it to even be worth measuring.

I also think the saddle may be a tiny bit too high on that bike, which would lead to me rocking a bit.

 

[SoliD]

Entirely possible. I was only at 112rpm, and I don't have enough powers for it to even be worth measuring.

I also think the saddle may be a tiny bit too high on that bike, which would lead to me rocking a bit.

Definitely sounds it. With the power and movement you're making a small wobble soon get bigger and bigger

 

[Berger]

Thanks, its at Hillingdon circuit, which is apparently fairly renowned for crashes, especially in Cat 4 races.

I'd ride almost on the front to try and avoid the carnage if that's the case!

 

[Roady]

Urgh. Got my heart rate up to 192bpm on the turbo but then felt like I was going to fall off so backed off. Not sure I could have got it any higher. I'll have to try it on the road sometime I think.

My max HR i've hit a couple of times on turbo (186) and can't sustain it, or anywhere near it. Yet on the road i'my sometimes around 180 for much longer periods. Bear in mind on the turbo i'm watching it (IpBike) and on the road i'm not (no phone mount, no garmin).

Snowboarding videos incoming?

"tyre" out?

Glad someone appreciated it!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fznkkecwnd0wnin/AABEpUgaQmXdJMHuF_6IaHzha?dl=0
No videos yet i'my afraid... Hotel wifi is slow (took me 2 hours to get 10mb of pictures uploaded) and Andorra is stupidly not included in Vodafone Europe zone 1 & 2 any longer (so £30 per 5mb!)

Dont forget your garmin to strava it!

Got no garmin and i'm not using my mobile on the networks here (see above). None of the runs we've done yet would be worth recording either! Maybe next time

I always struggle with the FTP type workouts but getting used to them now and seem to be able to push the power I'm used to expecting on the road now. Will be continuing after I get back from Majorca.

When do you head off mate? Next week?

To be honest there is no snow in the villages here in Andorra, the roads are fantastic and the temps have been similar to those in the UK with very little winds and some amazing sunshine... If only there was a place to hire a bike!

Entirely possible. I was only at 112rpm, and I don't have enough powers for it to even be worth measuring.

I also think the saddle may be a tiny bit too high on that bike, which would lead to me rocking a bit.

I can push 110/120 rpm on the turbo with very little wobble, going upto 130 induces more but it's controllable! Unsure if that's me or the turbo, RMII on my patio so it's a very stable surface. I can't/don't sustain cadence above 110 on the road but nenever really aimed to!

 

[janp]

I wobble like mad on the turbo, but then again the physio told me I moved around quite a bit on the saddle without realising. I think like SoliD was saying, it's core strength for me. I used to do a lot of core exercises, but replaced them with more cycling
I've seriously cut down on my evening cycling now, and am trying to get back into improving my core. I just wish I had more time, to fit some turbo sessions in.

In other news, my Garmin 1000 no longer charges :/ I've been having strange problems ever since I got it. It sometimes caused my work PC to randomly shutdown, but always worked from home. Which was odd, as I built my work PC with the exact some components. Anywho, about 2 months ago the motherboard died on the work PC. I'm suspecting the Garmin to be the cause. Interestingly, if I plug it into an old XP-based machine, I get a warning "Power surge on USB Port". Definitely something not right.
Garmin support were pretty good, but it's a minimum 14 days turnaround. Going to be feel pretty lost without it. Wish I hadn't given away my old 500.

 

[FrenchTart]

Fabric saddles look interesting, £40 for the cheapest one isn't too bad. The Charge Scoop is like £30 though, guess we'll see what happens when the full range is released. The higher end is getting into Brooks territory, which could be interesting. Probably not aimed at most consumers though.

The interesting thing about that site is the sizing guide though. Based on height and waistline rather than trying to leave an imprint on the stairs with your butt which never works.

I really like the Scoop and for the price it seems pretty hard to beat in terms of comfort. It has done me fine on longer rides too.

What a coincidence, I have a Charge Scoop on one bike and a Madison Flux on the other. The Flux is the same as the Charge Spoon, and I've also got one of them sat in a box waiting to go on my new bike when that gets built.

Yup. The Flux and Spoon being the same is the reason I went for the Scoop (which is supposedly similar...I found it quite different but I guess I can see some similarities).

Entirely possible. I was only at 112rpm, and I don't have enough powers for it to even be worth measuring.

I also think the saddle may be a tiny bit too high on that bike, which would lead to me rocking a bit.

Were you running at maximum resistance and highest gear? Dropping your cadence down might make it feel a bit more stable. Though I guess if your having to push more power through your legs it might negate any stability improvements anyhow.

I wobble like mad on the turbo, but then again the physio told me I moved around quite a bit on the saddle without realising. I think like SoliD was saying, it's core strength for me. I used to do a lot of core exercises, but replaced them with more cycling
I've seriously cut down on my evening cycling now, and am trying to get back into improving my core. I just wish I had more time, to fit some turbo sessions in.

In other news, my Garmin 1000 no longer charges :/ I've been having strange problems ever since I got it. It sometimes caused my work PC to randomly shutdown, but always worked from home. Which was odd, as I built my work PC with the exact some components. Anywho, about 2 months ago the motherboard died on the work PC. I'm suspecting the Garmin to be the cause. Interestingly, if I plug it into an old XP-based machine, I get a warning "Power surge on USB Port". Definitely something not right.
Garmin support were pretty good, but it's a minimum 14 days turnaround. Going to be feel pretty lost without it. Wish I hadn't given away my old 500.

What are you doing for core strength out of interest? Squats and deads I hope

That sounds annoying about the Garmin. I'd feel pretty similar if mine had to go back. In just the few months I've been using it I've gotten so used to it that it's hard to imagine going back to the old days of just having my phone in my bag recording.

Glad someone appreciated it!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fznkkecwnd0wnin/AABEpUgaQmXdJMHuF_6IaHzha?dl=0
No videos yet i'my afraid... Hotel wifi is slow (took me 2 hours to get 10mb of pictures uploaded) and Andorra is stupidly not included in Vodafone Europe zone 1 & 2 any longer (so £30 per 5mb!)

Looks pretty fun. Certainly more so than the view I have of my windowless office

 

[janp]

What are you doing for core strength out of interest? Squats and deads I hope

That sounds annoying about the Garmin. I'd feel pretty similar if mine had to go back. In just the few months I've been using it I've gotten so used to it that it's hard to imagine going back to the old days of just having my phone in my bag recording.

Just body weight exercise, and stretches really. Push-ups, lots of different planks, pull-up/chin ups, crunches, dips, that sort of jazz. I have lots of specific exercises given to me by my physio, mainly to strengthen my left side, as I favour my right. My hamstrings get extremely tight, so a lot of stretches for that.
I will move on to squats and dead lifts, I have some weights. Just wanted to break myself back in gently

As for the Garmin, really really annoyed. Tempted to pick up another 500, but I can't really afford. I know I can use my iPhone for recording rides, but it's the cadence sensor I'll really miss. If I don't keep and eye on my cadence, it goes out of control. I had to buy new sensors last year, and in the 2 weeks where I didn't have the sensors, my averages cadence had crept up to 135rpm :O

 

[FrenchTart]

You could try keeping yourself in an uncomfortably high gear? It'll force your cadence to stay a little lower.

 

[grudas]

yup!

 

[FrenchTart]

yup!

Another one you should forward to the police tbh.

 

[topgun06]

I cant see the video as it is blocked at work, but I can guess its content. grudas, you must attract danger. You haven't had this cam long and the number of incidents seems so high! Either that or cycling in London is completely ridiculous and it is the norm.

 

[FrenchTart]

I cant see the video as it is blocked at work, but I can guess its content. grudas, you must attract danger. You haven't had this cam long and the number of incidents seems so high! Either that or cycling in London is completely ridiculous and it is the norm.

Grudas wasn't in any danger. He was waiting at a red light whilst a number of cars completely ignored it and went through.

I see similar stuff in Manchester all the time without putting myself in any danger.

 

[grudas]

Another one you should forward to the police tbh.

funny thing, its the same red light haha! I know it takes a while to go green but cmon.. some patience haha! I would forward that over to the police but I agree with what you said previously.. its a lot of work from my end to get anything done about it!

I cant see the video as it is blocked at work, but I can guess its content. grudas, you must attract danger. You haven't had this cam long and the number of incidents seems so high! Either that or cycling in London is completely ridiculous and it is the norm.

nothing dangerous as such in the above video, just complete lack of patience I only post some of the stuff I see everyday... there's a lot more haha! london + cycling is a very bad combo, like every big/busy city with complete lack of cycling infrastructure.