Road Cycling

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BennyC said:
Thanks, pleased to see PlanetX use collect+ too. Free returns ftw :)

Quidco too :cool:
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I'm tempted to pick up the 500 or 600 lumen Arc in the hope that it throws out enough light for the country lanes but the only reason for me to use it over my current light is the lack of an external battery pack. I quite like the look of the Milkman cable locks too. My bike is normally left for a total of about 30 seconds in plain sight but a little cable lock just puts my mind at rest. I've got an Abus one... somewhere :o :rolleyes:
 
Vonhelmet said:
Base layers in the drying room :/
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Still wearing mine...!
madindehead said:
Had an interesting discussion yesterday regarding crank length: Basically, one of the guys at the Specialized Concept Store said that he felt that all things considered, crank length was probably one of the last things to change, and possibly wouldn't need changing at all.

I'm going to get a bike fit done at Stows: That should then allow me to see if there are any fit issues which would be fixed by changing crank length: Otherwise I'm sticking to 170mm.
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'Wouldn't need changing at all' - was that without him knowing you're already running 170mm? Hardly any bikes I see online come with anything other than 172.5mm, unless they are junior sized.

Shamrock said:
50% off all Knog at PX.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/access...e=web&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=Ban1Knog
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Have a Blinder1 rear I don't rate (battery life is poor & dodgy USB connection). Used a Blinder 4 rear where the strap broke after 2 weeks, I got a refund as battery life wasn't great and it wasn't as bright as advertised (meant to be ~50 lumen, was more like 10!). Really don't rate them for lights at all but will probably pickup one of their simple cable locks for carrying with me.
Lethal` said:
Only 'exciting' thing at our office is another business park's employees stealing our car park because so many of us just work from home instead of coming into the office so there's always spaces..
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Parking space politics here at our office too, but it's all our own staff! They have their 'space' (fair enough) but with staff starting at different times and some seasonal/bank staff parking willynilly there's usually some angry salesman who'd 'lost' his space. There's absolute chaos when I don't cycle in and take a space up! :eek::rolleyes::D
madindehead said:
I might also look at the Specialized BG system, not sure what that entails.
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I have had a BG fit and it was good, my LBS uses it and also offers RETUL. They actually do BG fits using much of the video equipment for RETUL as it's ace! Not sure what the software is but he recorded me cycling (on turbo) with the black dots stuck to me. The system was able to plot my joints/bone structure and overlaid a stickman over the various video angles which showed me rocking in the saddle due to my one arch collapsing.
 
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madindehead said:
Ace thanks. Closest Trek shop appears to be Milton Keynes :( Whilst it looks good, pain to get to.

I might bite the bullet and get the Sigma Sport one. £100 more, but less far to travel. I don't have a car, so need to rely on my bike/trains.

Edit: Turns out, Milton Keynes isn't that hard to get to for me: 2 hours on the train (most of it is actually getting to London, and waiting time in London)
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Depends whether 4+ hours on trains and the cost of travel to MK is equivalent to £100 or not...
 
madindehead said:
Ace thanks. Closest Trek shop appears to be Milton Keynes :( Whilst it looks good, pain to get to.

I might bite the bullet and get the Sigma Sport one. £100 more, but less far to travel. I don't have a car, so need to rely on my bike/trains.

Edit: Turns out, Milton Keynes isn't that hard to get to for me: 2 hours on the train (most of it is actually getting to London, and waiting time in London)
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You could ride there as it's about 50 miles?
 
This talk of bike fitting sounds like a load of snake oil to me.
When you're buying a bike, surely you know what your proportions are, which will factor in to the size of frame you choose and your stem length, right?
Surely it's just a case of setting your saddle height, position and height of your stem afterwards - ride with an allen key until you've dialled in your position job, surely?

I think people just love the idea of chucking money at things.
 
Finally got sent my track nuts yesterday to go secure the front wheel of my Genesis Flyer but it appears they have sent me the wrong kind. I requested 9mm instead of 10 mm ones and the 10 mm ones don't fit on! The rotating washer is too large for the front fork dropouts.

I then got sent some supposed 9 mm ones and on first inspection they look the same size. Got to wait till I get home to see if they fit or not but I suspect not.

This is getting rather annoying now.
 
Going to Cali said:
This talk of bike fitting sounds like a load of snake oil to me.
When you're buying a bike, surely you know what your proportions are, which will factor in to the size of frame you choose and your stem length, right?
Surely it's just a case of setting your saddle height, position and height of your stem afterwards - ride with an allen key until you've dialled in your position job, surely?

I think people just love the idea of chucking money at things.
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Most can get comfortable with all of the above but the majority want to get the optimal, which more often then not, will require an expert eye/adjustment.

I've not had a full fit yet, only my own adjustments since starting cycling at the end of 2014 covering around 4k miles for which I have been comfy enough. I had a quick 'size up' recently which was a slight taster in to what the full bike fit will be, I think £100-£150 is money well spent and can avoid unnecessary injury, aches and pains.

You don't need a bike fit but I definitely don't think they're a waste of money.

You could probably download the iPad app most places use and get a friend or family member to film you after each adjustment if you want to be that tight fisted :p but to some extent you need to know what to be looking for.
 
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Going to Cali said:
This talk of bike fitting sounds like a load of snake oil to me.
When you're buying a bike, surely you know what your proportions are, which will factor in to the size of frame you choose and your stem length, right?
Surely it's just a case of setting your saddle height, position and height of your stem afterwards - ride with an allen key until you've dialled in your position job, surely?

I think people just love the idea of chucking money at things.
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Not that simple I'm afraid. I didn't have a clue I was imbalanced through my pedal strokes until I went for the 2nd bike fit.
I also struggle to find a bike that fits, as I have long legs, but a short torso. Generally means I have to buy a bigger frame, and then reduce the stem length. But it means a lot of bikes geometry doesn't suit my body, a bike fit told me this. They also measured my buttocks, which I wouldn't have necessarily done at home.

Finally, if you ride a lot in the wrong position, it's going to cause injuries later one.
 
Bear said:
You could ride there as it's about 50 miles?
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65. Just checked it.

BennyC said:
Depends whether 4+ hours on trains and the cost of travel to MK is equivalent to £100 or not...
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It's £37 return. Not as bad as I thought it would be. So many options now!

Going to Cali said:
This talk of bike fitting sounds like a load of snake oil to me.
When you're buying a bike, surely you know what your proportions are, which will factor in to the size of frame you choose and your stem length, right?
Surely it's just a case of setting your saddle height, position and height of your stem afterwards - ride with an allen key until you've dialled in your position job, surely?

I think people just love the idea of chucking money at things.
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From what I've read about people here getting fits, and others online, they found that whilst their position didn't change vastly (only small tweaks here and there) it generally added up to a decent comfort/performance improvement for them.

Pro's spend a reasonable amount of time working on their on bike position, so there's obviously something in it.

But also, having someone look at your position on your bike can help you sort out some issues that are potentially harder to fix. I think bike fitting requires a reasonable amount of knowledge, and whilst it's definitely possible to get a "good" fit on your own with what feels comfortable, I think I will definitely benefit from it. I've read instances of people finding that their saddle height as still too low based on ideal angles, and then had more power going up climbs etc.

Roady said:
'Wouldn't need changing at all' - was that without him knowing you're already running 170mm? Hardly any bikes I see online come with anything other than 172.5mm, unless they are junior sized.

I have had a BG fit and it was good, my LBS uses it and also offers RETUL. They actually do BG fits using much of the video equipment for RETUL as it's ace! Not sure what the software is but he recorded me cycling (on turbo) with the black dots stuck to me. The system was able to plot my joints/bone structure and overlaid a stickman over the various video angles which showed me rocking in the saddle due to my one arch collapsing.
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I told him that I was already on 170mm cranks :)

So, I've got a few options then: Trek fit, BG fit, Stows own fit or Sigma Sport Dartfish fit.
 
madindehead said:
Could do :D 130 mile round trip on my end. Long day. Haha.

I might enquire more about the Stows Cycles one. Have you been pretty happy with your fit Lethal?
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Yeah. I can't really compare to no bike fit as it is my first road bike but I wasn't going to turn down the offer of a free bike fit with my bike purchase.

It was just under a year ago and 4500+ miles later and I'm not complaining. I was a little bit disappointed when he slated my flexibility but it was true :D So I ended up with pos degree stem flip and one spacer on top but I wasn't used to the position at all so fair enough. I think I've got better since so may experiment with flipping the stem back to negative soon.

The only discomfort I've really had on the bike has been the saddle, and even then only on the really long rides.
 
madindehead said:
But also, having someone look at your position on your bike can help you sort out some issues that are potentially harder to fix. I think bike fitting requires a reasonable amount of knowledge, and whilst it's definitely possible to get a "good" fit on your own with what feels comfortable, I think I will definitely benefit from it. I've read instances of people finding that their saddle height as still too low based on ideal angles, and then had more power going up climbs etc.
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I think this pretty much sums it up - having someone with experience (in what to look for) and the tools to test the 'usual' position problems/niggles/symptoms is a complete godsend. The majority of us won't have 'fitted' more than a handful (or couple of handfuls) of bikes to body sizes.
madindehead said:
Could do :D 130 mile round trip on my end. Long day. Haha.
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A good ride back to test the new position (but equally any sore bits from the ride there will be quite fresh still lol! ;)
madindehead said:
http://road.cc/content/tech-news/192770-canyon-launches-disc-equipped-endurace-cf-slx
*drool*
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Really really nice... Quite high price considering, hopefully that'll drop once Sterling recovers against the Euro!
physichull said:
That does it. I'm selling mine and upgrading. :)
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Don't show it to Ross! ;)
 
Phew, that was a tough ride home. I went a longer route to get a few more miles in. I had a good stretch trying to chase down a pair of cyclists, but one turned off and I only just caught the other before a set of lights that he turned off at. In the last couple of miles I had a guy on a nice cannondale, a supersix I think, following me. I kept in front of him, but when the road ramped up he came up alongside me and said "Come on!" so I put the hammer down and left him behind until the next set of lights :cool: Doubtless he wasn't even trying, but it was still fun to drop him on my single speed.
 
New bar tape and hood covers. The bike does look infinitely better with them I have to admit. Wonder how long they'll last for before they do the classic Shimano wearing out/getting loose though.

Played with my gears a little too. Probably still dodgy, will find out tomorrow. Cba doing anything else with the bike tonight however.
 
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