Road Cycling

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Cosmic182 said:
Anybody recommend the best road bike for around £1000? Probably looking to take advantage of Evans 0% finance. Many thanks :)
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All of the main retailers will do 0% on 2015 bikes, not just Evans so don't limit yourself to their stock brands.

I was in your boat the other month. The 0% finance means you need to buy a new, as in, current year bike. Not reduced price bikes. Based on that, I done a lot of shopping, the best bang for buck bike out there and the one I got was the Cube Agree Pro 2015. Full 105, Fulcrum 77's and carbon frame of course, £1200 = £100 per month for a year.

£1400 on the Agree Race, only £200 more and you go full Ultegra and Mavic S. I wish I had done that now.

Giant, Trek, Specialized etc etc have no bike of this calibre in the 2015 range at this price point. Nowhere near it.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Ow, I've got some ITB pain after Tuesday's ride. Looking at my right cleat it is at a pretty silly angle. Maybe it's ok enough for 50-60 miles but 80 was just too much.
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FrenchTart said:
Time to get the foam roller out maybe? Enjoy the pain :p
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Same here after doing 110 miles last weekend, whats the best thing to do for it? Had it for 10 days now.

Not too really painful just an annoying ache, I've been doing these exercises

http://www.knee-pain-explained.com/iliotibial-band-stretches.html
 
grudas said:
got my chinese radarlocks delivered! very MEH tbh, quality is very average, seriously creaky plastic etc.. - case is nice tho! lenses look good too, but the most important bit, the frame is just.. meh?! I'll give them a shot but I can't see my self using them for long/at all.
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Which ones did you go for? Mine that were about £15 seem pretty reasonable. They compare well to the annoyingly expensive Tifosi glasses I also bought recently.

FishFluff said:
Had a pair of Chinese carbon bottle cages arrive today. I'm sure I'll notice the saving of 24g on the club run tonight!
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:p The Chinese carbon cages I have area decent enough but in some ways I miss my old cheap metal ones. They just felt a bit more bullet-proof.

Jimbeam3678 said:
Same here after doing 110 miles last weekend, whats the best thing to do for it? Had it for 10 days now.

Not too really painful just an annoying ache, I've been doing these exercises

http://www.knee-pain-explained.com/iliotibial-band-stretches.html
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Fit is the most important but if you're just getting an ache then it's probably nothing to worry about. I've started doing the below recently mostly due to upping my miles and not being 100% sure of my bike fit. Can't say I've noticed a difference but I certainly noticed the pain of rolling my quads/hams/ibt :)

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/i...n20140807-Physiotherapy-Foam-Roller-Routine-0
 
Cosmic182 said:
Anybody recommend the best road bike for around £1000 - £1500? Probably looking to take advantage of Evans finance. Around 6ft -5" tall and around 15.5 stone. Many thanks :)
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For a grand there's a strong argument to be made for going for higher end aluminium rather than lower end carbon. Something like the CAAD8 105 would be a good bet.

I think we need some more background... What is the intended use of the bike? Racing, sportives, commuting, general leisure use? Do you have much experience on a road bike? Are you wedded to a particular brand of gears, etc - Campagnolo, SRAM or Shimano? Do you want disc brakes? Do you want proper mudguard or pannier mounts?
 
grudas said:
got my chinese radarlocks delivered! very MEH tbh, quality is very average, seriously creaky plastic etc.. - case is nice tho! lenses look good too, but the most important bit, the frame is just.. meh?! I'll give them a shot but I can't see my self using them for long/at all.
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Got mine too! You're right about them mostly although I didn't expect much for €/$ 25 or whatever it was! ;)

For the price they're the best <£30 glasses I've ever seen/owned. On par with the DHB 3-lens ones (similar price).

Great case, great lenses, great accessories just as grudas says - the frames are a bit meh 'flexy'/cheap feeling. They grip my head well enough to be secure, although I have quite a large head. I've seen wearing them for 20 mins while eating my lunch and they are comfortable :cool:

I know when out riding they'll have their fair share of knocks. If they fly off and get broken at $25 I'll not be too bothered, at £180 or whatever else I would be! ;):p

Unsure if Oakley do replacement only frames without some kinda serial number/genuine check but could be worth checking out!

'I was on holiday and they got stolen, I have the lenses and case do you do replacement frames?' ;)

janp said:
Afraid so. It needed a new hanger, rear derailleur and chain. Came to £77, parts only labour was free. Hadn't touched the chain, apart from cleaning. So guess I was just unlucky. The bike is less than 6 months old, although it's done around 1400 miles during the winter.

Just pleased to have it back, hoping it stays dry, keen to do some off road exploring over the bank holiday.
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Glad you had a friend like that to sort it for you and it does sound like rubbish luck with the chain... Just one of those things I guess - at least you could walk away from it and no huge damage to frame/wheel/you etc! :)

Weather is cracking today, hope it holds like this for the long weekend too! I'm hoping to get out on the LBS run saturday morning, with my commuting, and ride last monday I should be around 80 miles again! One of these weeks coming I'll go over the 100! ;)

tedmaul said:
Yeah could be. I still much prefer it to the train though. And I'm faster door to door. :D
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I think that's one of the key things with commuting, you need some kinda external motivation so even if it's a rubbish slow ride in the stinky weather you still feel like you've accomplished something. Mine is the time saved (minimum of an extra 20 minutes I get when going home rather than sat in traffic), fitness I now have (I have to admit I'm slightly addicted to cycling now) and the money 'saved' (ok £15 a week in fuel hardly balances out the cost I've spent on bikes and gear but at least it's ongoing!) ;)

My citrus degreaser arrived too, along with my 105 5800 rear brake. I'll get the brake home tonight but the 10L bottle will have to wait until I'm driving! (might be tomorrow!) ;)
 
xdcx said:
the best bang for buck bike out there and the one I got was the Cube Agree Pro 2015. Full 105, Fulcrum 77's and carbon frame of course, £1200 = £100 per month for a year.

£1400 on the Agree Race, only £200 more and you go full Ultegra and Mavic S. I wish I had done that now.

Giant, Trek, Specialized etc etc have no bike of this calibre in the 2015 range at this price point. Nowhere near it.
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Your Cube is a great buy, but as is always the case you have those 'what if's' and to be honest £200 extra for that setup sounds really appealing! But you have to draw the line somewhere! ;)

My Giant Defy 1 2015 was £899 last December, fantastic bike for the money (full 105, high end alu, carbon forks & seat). The TCR would be on par with your Cube regarding setup and price, possibly without the wheels (has the Giant rims mine came with).

FrenchTart said:
I actually think lower end carbon has come on a long way in the last year or so (as has mid-high end alu of course) so personally I wouldn't let the alu vs carbon thing be a deciding factor.
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Exactly, I wouldn't rule out Carbon or Alu, so many benefits for each. For a 'first real road bike' and one to use for everything (commuting and leisure) I would generally advise people to choose a bike by the groupset and geometry. >Continued below<

Vonhelmet said:
For a grand there's a strong argument to be made for going for higher end aluminium rather than lower end carbon. Something like the CAAD8 105 would be a good bet.

I think we need some more background... What is the intended use of the bike? Racing, sportives, commuting, general leisure use? Do you have much experience on a road bike? Are you wedded to a particular brand of gears, etc - Campagnolo, SRAM or Shimano? Do you want disc brakes? Do you want proper mudguard or pannier mounts?
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One of the reasons I went for my Defy 1 2015 was the 'relaxed' geometry over something like the Caad8/10. I was predominantly using it for commuting with a pack on so comfort was better than racing. Also I've got quite a short body and arms so it suited me better - no need to change stems/bars etc. The Defy also came with mudguard mounts.

In hindsight it would've been nice to get disc's and wider rim clearance (better guard clearance & bigger tyres) but they were not within my price point - being CX orientated rather than road back then (December) :)
 
FishFluff said:
Had a pair of Chinese carbon bottle cages arrive today. I'm sure I'll notice the saving of 24g on the club run tonight!
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In my experience carbon bottle cages are crap. they just don't hold the bottle securely over our terrible road surfaces. Its a mistake I won't make twice.
 
Roady said:
Your Cube is a great buy, but as is always the case you have those 'what if's' and to be honest £200 extra for that setup sounds really appealing! But you have to draw the line somewhere! ;)
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My line was £1k. Then it became £1200 as the Cube was such a great value bike. Then it almost became £1400 as again, that spec for £1400 is insane. But I did draw the line at 1200 and played sensible for once in my life.

Soon as finance on this Cube is done though, I'll be after something MUCH better as I have taken well to the cycling. Canyon Aeroroad :cool::cool:
 
grudas said:
got my chinese radarlocks delivered! very MEH tbh, quality is very average, seriously creaky plastic etc.. - case is nice tho! lenses look good too, but the most important bit, the frame is just.. meh?! I'll give them a shot but I can't see my self using them for long/at all.
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Surprised with this, not noticed any creaks, not Oakley quality, but not £2 glasses quality a good middle ground. What colour you go for in the end?
 
Does anyone do any running as cross training? I've never been able to run in my life, but I'm wondering about having a crack at it and seeing I can push myself to actually get the hang of it. Any thoughts? I could run near my house in the evenings or go for a run from work at lunchtime, though that carries with it the obvious risk of being seen by people...

Any advice?
 
Vonhelmet said:
Does anyone do any running as cross training? I've never been able to run in my life, but I'm wondering about having a crack at it and seeing I can push myself to actually get the hang of it. Any thoughts? I could run near my house in the evenings or go for a run from work at lunchtime, though that carries with it the obvious risk of being seen by people...

Any advice?
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I took up running for a bit recently and didn't find it too bad. I'd watch several videos on form first off and make sure you treat every run as a chance to practice form. Also, don't go too crazy with distances at first as your cycling fitness will be a lot better than your joints/etc's ability to take the rigours of running.

I personally also wouldn't bother with mixing running/walking as that tends to be more for people that aren't already quite fit. Just run for shorter distances and get the important bit done.
 
Can't thank you all enough for such great information so soon! I have a mountain bike at the moment, and would like a road bike really for general leisure and racking up some nice summer country miles on it (no panniers, no mudguards, normal brakes - no discs etc) I have very little experience of a road bike so I aren't partial to anything in particular, really just the best bike available in the forums eyes and experience - for my budget :)

Thanks again everyone.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Does anyone do any running as cross training? I've never been able to run in my life, but I'm wondering about having a crack at it and seeing I can push myself to actually get the hang of it. Any thoughts? I could run near my house in the evenings or go for a run from work at lunchtime, though that carries with it the obvious risk of being seen by people...

Any advice?
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I came form the otherway, as a runner who took up cycling.

Firstly anyone can run, its just a question of how far. If you're a regular cyclist you should have good basic fittness so its just technique that needs working on.

A good tip I was taught is to start by running on the spot. What you notice is that you always land on the front of the foot never the heels. 'Heel striking' is what screws joints up and causes injury.

The next step is to then imagine that whist you are running on the spot someone is pulling you forward on a piece of string. If you can master running on the spot whilst moving forwards you're basically there.

I now commute 10K per day and do a 10K run each lunchtime. I also ride 50-100K per weekend.

Cycling is more fun 'cos you can go faster! Running is more practical 'cos you need very little kit and you can still do it if you're away lot on buisness.
 
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