Road Cycling

Status
Not open for further replies.
Went out with the bunch on tuesday night in really crappy conditions and woke up on wednesday morning with a horrendous eye infection. Not sure if it's just coincidence, or whether all the crap getting thrown up of the wheels in front caused it.

Now we seem to be having the first spell of dry weather up here since april and i can't get out. My eye is swollen right up and v sore and i look like i've been punched in the face. Can't wear my contact lenses so no cycling either as my glasses are no use for riding with. Gutted.
 
tedmaul said:
Went out with the bunch on tuesday night in really crappy conditions and woke up on wednesday morning with a horrendous eye infection. Not sure if it's just coincidence, or whether all the crap getting thrown up of the wheels in front caused it.

Now we seem to be having the first spell of dry weather up here since april and i can't get out. My eye is swollen right up and v sore and i look like i've been punched in the face. Can't wear my contact lenses so no cycling either as my glasses are no use for riding with. Gutted.
Click to expand...


Hope it gets sorted soon mate, get some eye drops from the docs to clear it up before it gets any worse. Eye infections can rapidly deteriorate, so be careful!

Are your glasses not good enough to go out riding some quieter roads with some friends and stay mid-group for safety? I have to wear glasses for driving/cinema etc (short sighted) but I cycle without them and feel perfectly safe - you don't quite need the distance vision you do when travelling at higher speeds.

So you're stuck at home shopping online for some eye protection for when riding (I hope?). I can't understand how some of you ride without any, I've had enough instances of getting stuff in my eye even with wrap-arounds on...!
 
Roady said:
Hope it gets sorted soon mate, get some eye drops from the docs to clear it up before it gets any worse. Eye infections can rapidly deteriorate, so be careful!

Are your glasses not good enough to go out riding some quieter roads with some friends and stay mid-group for safety? I have to wear glasses for driving/cinema etc (short sighted) but I cycle without them and feel perfectly safe - you don't quite need the distance vision you do when travelling at higher speeds.

So you're stuck at home shopping online for some eye protection for when riding (I hope?). I can't understand how some of you ride without any, I've had enough instances of getting stuff in my eye even with wrap-arounds on...!
Click to expand...

Cheers. I have eye drops from the optician but they haven't really made much difference.

I wear contact lenses normally as i'm extremely short sighted and never cycle without cycle specific glasses - i've had a pair of triple lense BBB ones for a couple of years now and they're excellent. But when you're sitting on a wheel in a large bunch in a downpour on a mucky road they still aren't going to prevent some stuff hitting you i guess.

I wouldn't trust my regular prescription glasses to stay on properly on the bike and the lenses are quite small, so don't really offer very good eye protection. Not sure i'd be comfortable riding with them.
 
OK Silly Question time
I've realized it's cheaper to replace the whole crank and maybe the BB at the same time rather than buying new chain rings on their own (and a BB next year).
Question is, if I've older SRAM Apex S100 (Power Spline) can I replace the whole lot with this:
FSA Omega Crankset incl. Pressfit 86 bearings cups
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/fsa-omega-road-bike-crankset/aid:695857

or is it not going to fit etc?
 
VeNT said:
OK Silly Question time
I've realized it's cheaper to replace the whole crank and maybe the BB at the same time rather than buying new chain rings on their own (and a BB next year).
Question is, if I've older SRAM Apex S100 (Power Spline) can I replace the whole lot with this:
FSA Omega Crankset incl. Pressfit 86 bearings cups
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/fsa-omega-road-bike-crankset/aid:695857

or is it not going to fit etc?
Click to expand...

power spline uses a BSA threaded shell, so you need something compatible with that
 
Last edited:
PermaBanned said:
From what i hear it's absolutely fine in the wet as long as you do reapply after every ride and don't use any sort of specialised degreaser.

Click to expand...

That is interesting and it obviously works for him but that is almost the polar opposite of how I clean my bikes. I'm normally squeezing rides in when I don't really have the time so cleaning after every ride isn't really an option for me anyway.

I saw a can of Muc Off spray on and leave quick drying drive train cleaner in TK Maxx of all places. Never seen it before but wondered if it is any good for a slightly dirty drivetrain? At the moment I use degreaser with a chain cleaner, hose off and then liberally apply GT85 or WD40 to displace the water. Wipe down, leave for 10 minutes then apply chain lube. That Muc Off stuff would be much quicker.

Ordered myself a pair of Garmin sensors while overseas and just downloaded Zwift. Hopefully I won't use it much until BST ends but it opens up a few options when I get home too late to get out and ride. They say they will be implementing training pans in the winter so it could work quite nicely for me, if not I'll give trainer road a punt. At the moment Zwift looks more fun and more game like which is fine for me as I'm not "training".

Should have tried to get out today but 9 hours on a plane and over 5 hours of sitting around in airports has left me with dead legs :(
 
Just went for a ride out to Box Hill. Stunning views! Although my plan was to return the same way I came out. I decided after the thrilling descent down Ranmore Common that I'd rather not ascend it and ended up returning via Leatherhead, Esher, Kingston and finishing with a lap of Richmond Park.
 
Does anyone have any tips for improving hill stamina? I'm fine on flats but hills wipe me out, I know the best thing is to ride hills more but is there a method like lots of hills slow and steady or lots of hills flat out or maybe interval style? I'm 100kg so hills are always going to be more difficult until I can drop some of the weight off
 
Lakeland said:
Does anyone have any tips for improving hill stamina? I'm fine on flats but hills wipe me out, I know the best thing is to ride hills more but is there a method like lots of hills slow and steady or lots of hills flat out or maybe interval style? I'm 100kg so hills are always going to be more difficult until I can drop some of the weight off
Click to expand...

I would say a good mix tbh so you can get short Sharp inclines sprints and longer slogs. Will definitely get easier as the weight comes off.
 
Lakeland said:
Does anyone have any tips for improving hill stamina? I'm fine on flats but hills wipe me out, I know the best thing is to ride hills more but is there a method like lots of hills slow and steady or lots of hills flat out or maybe interval style? I'm 100kg so hills are always going to be more difficult until I can drop some of the weight off
Click to expand...

The only way to improve hill stamina is to cycle up hills.

If you can lose some weight it really will help, other than that just think about technique. As soon as you start climbing change to a high gear, think about maintaining a fast (~90rpm) cadence and just keep it going.
 
Cheers guys. My problem at the moment is that my HR just goes through the roof as soon as I see an incline, quite regularly in the lakes! I can chill at a constant 150bpm on flats but even a 1 mile hill will see me at 200bpm unless I go mega slow, my max is 205. I need to get out more so I'll see how I get on using your advice and the videos.
 
Been having a great time over in Belgium on holiday this week. Bikes on the bike rack, and drove over to an airbnb apartment in the countryside near Oudenaarde. My other half is a beginner, so we've cycled a fair bit around the countryside, enjoyed the cafes and frankly amazing cycle path network. The Ronde museum is great - well worth a visit too.

Best bit - managed a day out in search of cobbles! Tackled the Paterberg first, and made it (just!) to the top. Koppenberg next, as it's just a km or two round the corner... Made the steepest bit, but felt like I was about to blow just before the final steep bit to the top, so made the decision to climb off - I'll do it next time. The Oude Kwaremont at the end of the shortish ride was the most enjoyable - I think my legs had got going, the steep section was fine, recovered through the village and felt able to push myself to the top.

Great fun, well recommended - it's less than 2 hours drive from Calais to the area, and all the famous cobblestone sections are in one pretty concentrated area :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom