Road Cycling

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Roady - if you've set up your bike by following online guides and you're not getting any dodgy aches/pains/knee soreness then you can probably get away without a fit for now. If you do have any of those and you're going to continue upping your miles then it's worth it.
 
FrenchTart said:
Back on the bike after a weekend of not doing much (though my laughably short 2 mile run has left my legs knackered :rolleyes:). Ran into OneMoreSolo on the way in - though riding with his wife so technically not "solo". What a liar :p
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:p

Good to meet you this morning finally! Kudos on the run, I had to run for the bus yesterday and my legs were feeling it after. Pathetic as I used to be a (semi) decent runner till my legs and hips fell apart...

Club 10 yesterday was a bit of a disaster, got a PB but 24:49 was not the time I was hoping for on a TT bike (PB by only 10 seconds vs a month ago on the road bike with no aero kit). Plenty of excuses but they don't count for much! I've got a 25 on Saturday so need to sort my position out and hope my legs forget they've been on holiday soon.

The bike itself was faultless though, it's a dream to ride. :)

Hoping to get out for a metric century after work and tick that off for June, weekends are a struggle at the moment with moving house and other events so going to take advantage of a dry windless day while we have one. I love the long evenings. :D
 
FrenchTart said:
Roady - if you've set up your bike by following online guides and you're not getting any dodgy aches/pains/knee soreness then you can probably get away without a fit for now. If you do have any of those and you're going to continue upping your miles then it's worth it.
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I am occasionally getting pains in my knees and quads, but these tend to be generally far between and not specifically after long rides - my hard/fast 12.5 mile in headwinds sunday has my quads suffering more than the numerous other fast ~30 miles I've done the last months. I think that's more conditioning than anything else, I'm sure the carrying heavy furniture and being up & down a step ladder before didn't help. I was also punishing myself for not giving 100% (stitch and stomach cramp) and it felt slow (but wasn't, headwinds do that). Also going harder up a couple of hills than I normally would (my self inflicted punishment for wimping out doing a shorter ride!). Gunther von Agony would be proud (or whatever his name is!) ;) :p

The longer ~30 mile rides I have been getting occasional numbness in my right foot, I lose feeling in my outside couple of toes. I've tried numerous cleat positions (intentional and not - lost a bolt & had to redo my cleat position from scratch) and they have made little difference.

Now I've lost some weight (down to near 80kg!) and I'm loads fitter I'm probably due some advice on what I should work upon, I'm unsure if my pedaling is good, I'm unsure if my position is right or how accurate my 'basic fit' is (which came from a 15 min shop fit before I bought my new bike back in December). I'm hoping it would also sort my cleat issue once and for all - would be nice to know where I'm going wrong! :)
 
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Roady said:
What kind of fit are you going for and if you don't mind saying how much it's costing?

I'm considering one, I've never had one and not really sure I can justify over £100 on one...

(I consider anything an improvement over the self adjustments I've been doing, but I'm not a million miles out - I hope!) ;)
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http://www.velocitybikes.co.uk/index.asp?upid=34

£200 Precision Fit. See the above link for more info.

I had a bike fitting done last year, using another company that used the Retul system. I wasn't overly impressed though, they didn't even check my cleat setup, despite asking specifically for them to be checked out. This other company seems a lot more professional. Hoping to get rid of the aches and pains in my thighs, I find after about 50+ miles they just collapse. Had to call for the support car on Sunday :P
 
janp said:
http://www.velocitybikes.co.uk/index.asp?upid=34

£200 Precision Fit. See the above link for more info.

I had a bike fitting done last year, using another company that used the Retul system. I wasn't overly impressed though, they didn't even check my cleat setup, despite asking specifically for them to be checked out. This other company seems a lot more professional. Hoping to get rid of the aches and pains in my thighs, I find after about 50+ miles they just collapse. Had to call for the support car on Sunday :P
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Adrian Timmis at Cadence Sport is probably the best fitter in the UK. Ex-TdF Pro who spends a lot of time getting the foot stable.
 
Berger said:
Rear dérailleur froze this morning leaving me stuck in gear, rode 60km though fog which froze on my bike and body!
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I've once ridden in freezing fog, in November a couple of years back. I'd gone out for a ride to ramsbottom with a guy I know. It was cold to begin with, but manageable. We came back over rivington, and it was icy but we just about got down in one piece, though I did skid on a huge patch of ice and nearly pooped my shorts. Then heading along the a6 towards home a load of fog suddenly appeared. Visibility was down to about 10m, it was horrendous. I was terrified we'd get hit by some idiot driving too fast in those conditions. I got home and had ice all down the front of my gloves, my head tube, forks, cables... It was awful.
 
Vonhelmet said:
I've once ridden in freezing fog, in November a couple of years back. I'd gone out for a ride to ramsbottom with a guy I know. It was cold to begin with, but manageable. We came back over rivington, and it was icy but we just about got down in one piece, though I did skid on a huge patch of ice and nearly pooped my shorts. Then heading along the a6 towards home a load of fog suddenly appeared. Visibility was down to about 10m, it was horrendous. I was terrified we'd get hit by some idiot driving too fast in those conditions. I got home and had ice all down the front of my gloves, my head tube, forks, cables... It was awful.
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Foggy almost every morning here in winter but not had a problem before, maybe it was just after being out for 2 hours caused it rather than a shorter ride.
 
Just had a quick look at the Cadence Sport Bike Fit, seems to include SIDAS footbed insoles.

Do many people here use something like an insole? on occasional longer rides 3hrs+ the outer edge of my feet can start to tire/hurt a little but I think this is more due to an inexpensive shoe (Specialised £80 or so), technique and also my powerlifting habbit of power distribution/pronation to the outer edge taking its toll.
 
George Hincapie said:
So I have managed to tear my hamstring; sprinting at my son's Sports Day. I am a warrior, but 'Ow!'
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Lack of training?! See, running = dangerous, much safer on 2 wheels! ;)

Vonhelmet said:
I got home and had ice all down the front of my gloves, my head tube, forks, cables... It was awful.
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I've experienced it a couple of times on my work commutes, getting ice on your lights with the fog makes visibility even worse! I've felt before that I needed brighter lights, but in reality it was the ice buildup. If we'd had a prolonged cold foggy winter I may have purchased new lights (I've only using 100 and 120 lumen as my commute is 95% under streetlights).

booyaka said:
First short sleeved ride of the year!!

https://www.strava.com/activities/331154773/overview

Nice to not have to take arm warmers, leg warmers, hats, waterproofs etc!! lo
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Welcome to the tanline club! I'm still wearing legwarmers and occasionally arm warmers (when not full sleeve) on my morning commutes. Afternoons have been shorts and short sleeves for the best part of a month or more! :cool:

Dunks said:
He's not too far from me so I'm quite tempted to make an appointment and pop along. Heard good things!
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Stafford kinda area, there must be good places around here (Hereford - really West Midlands/almost Wales) as tons of good and semi-pro (NFTO) riders are around here.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Woohoo, bike frame back from the powder coaters:

eRjnBQb.jpg

They've made a really good job of it. It's really smooth and well finished, and it looks like they've done their job masking all the threads and so on. I'll probably put it back together over the course of this week and then give it a ride sometime, see if it's any faster now it's red ;)
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Was that your TdF? Looks like a great job! Fingers crossed it gives it a nice new long lease of life! :)

Of course it'll be faster now it's red, that's why I wear red when commuting ;)

Roady said:
Had a weak and senior moment last night and spotted the Blue Gabba 2 in stock on CRC.

My birthdays coming up so that's the only way I could justify the £150 price tag... Ordered an XXL.
After placing and paying for the order I thought 'lets just check wiggle' and sure enough they were back in stock! Doh! Also get my Platinum discount there (making them £132)... :rolleyes:

So if it doesn't fit perfectly it'll go back to CRC and I'll order the different size from Wiggle lol :D
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Gabba 2 came and the XXL is slightly too large for me, I would keep it but from this point I'm not intending on putting on weight - meaning it'll get even bigger on me! I'll return it to CRC and then I'm back to Wiggle to order an XL. If I want to spend over £130 on a jersey. Again. Gah! It's a lot of money so I'm in 2 minds to hold off buying until they have more than my platinum discount off on Wiggle... Of course then they'll be out of stock :rolleyes:

Ordered some other kit from Wiggle which arrived too, some of that's going to go back too! Typical! :rolleyes:

  • Northwave Logo Jersey XL - Got this to match the shorts as I'm tired of having a mix-match of jersey/shorts. Assumed the fit would be tighter than it is (having worn XXL shorts), going to return and try an L. Colour match is brilliant with the shorts (went for blue/red shorts and the Red/Black/Blue jersey).
  • Northwave Logo Bib Shorts XL - Have a couple of pairs of XXL of their 2014 shorts and they're getting a bit baggy 'up top'. Thighs fit fine so tried these a size smaller. Thighs are tight but top/waist is perfect! Thighs are bearable (like a strong compression) so keeping them! :)
  • https://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-momentum-roubaix-long-sleeve-jersey/ - L, grabbed one of these for autumn/winter commuting while they're selling off 2014 stock. Sadly the L is a little large and they have no medium in stock (and won't as they're EOL). The Windslam Blade I also looked at I may order in Medium. The material and quality of the Momentum is superb for a spring/autumn top.
 
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Yeah, it's my old tdf. It's nearly all built up now; just waiting on some longer drop brake calipers from ribble. They should arrive tomorrow, so I'll finish it off and post some pics. It's red with a black fork and black finishing kit, and it looks pretty badass if I say so myself. It's got whitewall tyres at the moment, as I had a hardly used pair lying around, but I may swap them for black as well.
 
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