Road Cycling

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I went out last night - gorgeous weather, but those midges (or flying things, whatever they are... perhaps they're too big to be midges?) Whatever they are, swarms of them near every puddle/slightly damp bit in the sunshine... like hitting a wall of beasties.

Anyway, This was my first ride on my bike since I did the Vale Velo sportive thing on a demo bike. A few thoughts:
My bike is SO uncomfortable compared to a nice carbon one.
I'm not convinced my saddle is right for me.
Rim brakes (105, with swiss stop pads) are ****e compared to discs. They still stop ok but you have to really pull hard on the levers and there really is very little/no modulation.

I went for a run at lunchtime; my first in over 20 years (longer than about 300m, a distance that usually requires me to have a lie down afterwards) - Was 2.3-2.4 miles and I only walked for 0.2 of those... so my legs didn't start off in perfect condition.
My right calf cramped up after about 9 miles, and I had to stop. Nearly failed to unclip, so that was fun. But after that relaxed a bit it never felt quite right for the rest of the ride - as soon as I started trying to push/pull/whatever I do through the whole stroke to be more efficient.... it started to cramp up again... so that was annoying...

Here's a similar ride I did a while ago - albeit with some people - was on my lonesome this time as no one else turned up :(
https://www.strava.com/activities/518823860

And here's last night's ride.
https://www.strava.com/activities/550533050

It was a headwind all the way home pretty much home from Masham, which didn't help, and it's not the hilliest route... but somehow I managed to average 16mph... which is about 1-2mph faster than I usually average on a typical/similar ride.

I don't know if I should put this down to being on my own, or because I had a bike fit at the weekend - ended up with +20mm saddle height, -10mm stem length, bit of inward rotation on the shifters, and possibly +/- 5mm saddle fore/aft - not sure about that.

Although my bike is not comfortable, these changes do seem to have helped quite a lot.... even with tired legs :)
 
I get kudos all the time from random blokes in the likes of South Korea, Singapore and also some dude from Atlanta in America.... He was weird though as his profile was genuine and neither of us follow each other, yet he was giving me kudos on every ride for about a fortnight.
 
xdcx said:
I get kudos all the time from random blokes in the likes of South Korea, Singapore and also some dude from Atlanta in America.... He was weird though as his profile was genuine and neither of us follow each other, yet he was giving me kudos on every ride for about a fortnight.
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Maybe he's gay. For you.
 
randomshenans said:
Even when you ride like ****, I'm nice like that :D
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You're too kind :p

Have actually been riding like cack lately. I was hoping to pop out tonight on a Manchester Wheelers ride (one step up from the noob ride I went out on at the weekend so hopefully not quite so painfully slow/so filled with unpredictable new cyclists) but I'm pretty knackered today for no good reason. Bah.
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
So, my butt hurts.
Not saddle sores, skin is fine, and I feel like I could ride for hours if it was not for my butt getting sore!
It feels like pressure in just all the wrong places. I have tried two saddles, varying saddle heights and tilting the saddle etc.
It's really ruining the fun..
I don't feel like I can ride much more than an hour before it just gets really uncomfortable.
I have a few different types of shorts with padding but it does not seem to help much.. Any ideas?
I have a 6 hour ride coming up next month and I feel like I'm just going to be crippled by the end!
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Buy some Assos shorts ;)

In all seriousness the shorts should take a lot of the pain out. Other than that, your bike fit could be wrong.

Vonhelmet said:
New shorts this morning - some own brand Evans ones that I got on my cycle to work deal. I got medium and they're a bit on the race fit side of things - curse my childbearing hips!
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Glad to see I'm not the only one here with wider hips!

About the Strava kudos thing: I don't give people kudos for every single ride they do. And I don't expect it back. Like commuting for example. I don't see the need to kudos that. Does that make me a bad person?
 
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DanF said:
Current tyres are GP 4 seasons
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You found the schwalbe one's grippier than GP4Seas? What are they like in the wet? I found the GP4's grippier than the Mitch Pro4E and they were pretty darn good! :)
xdcx said:
I am man. Chloe will be requesting me over and over tonight.
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Kudos! Hope you and Chloe are happy together as I'm sick of her!
lordrobs said:
So I've just ordered a set of Khamsins :o TBH there is nothing wrong with my current wheels but I was looking at getting a turbo wheel anyway and for the small amount extra to get the Khamsins it seemed like a no brainer.
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Good choice, you'll be happy with them! :)
physichull said:
New bike:
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Looks great, so smart! Maybe I do need one after all (house things are afoot... 'New' place will be 2 miles from work so I'll be riding home for lunch... :o:eek:
Malt_Vinegar said:
It feels like pressure in just all the wrong places. I have tried two saddles, varying saddle heights and tilting the saddle etc.
It's really ruining the fun..
I don't feel like I can ride much more than an hour before it just gets really uncomfortable.
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Changing shorts does little more than slightly adjust the pressure over time, the pressure points themselves only tend to change with saddle. Well worth measuring your sit bones!

I went for a more narrow saddle (Arione) even though the online Fizik guide didn't recommend it (which comes from flexibility, no actual measurements). I went narrow because although my sit bones are 'normal' (from Bike Fit) my thighs are large and I tend to rub my legs more (and get more sores) on wider saddles. I was still getting some sores but not usually until 3+ hours, after dropping my saddle (less rocking as I pedal) I now don't get any, just soreness from sit bones which comes at 4-5 hours or more. Not much to combat that (as it's duration, not fit) except hardening up over time in the saddle...

Local chaingang got pulled over by a copper last night for riding two abreast, he told them they were only allowed to ride single file... :rolleyes:

11 guys on my Strava, so probably at least 20 riders! :eek: Comes to something when the Police don't even know the Highway Code! :confused:

Nearly knocked off this morning while commuting by some idiot kid who was riding on the pavement and then suddenly 90 degree turns to cross the road without even looking. Felt his front wheel brush my shoe/pedal as I swerved past screaming "Funking look you flipping considerably naughty child" are probably the closest translation to my exact words.
 
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physichull said:
The only issue I'm having is that the rear mudgaurd creaks and groans a fair bit which is annoying.
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Sure it's not your knees? Singlespeed woes... ;)
Vonhelmet said:
I got medium and they're a bit on the race fit side of things - curse my childbearing hips!
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Less cake, more commuting! :D
physichull said:
In addition to people getting friend requests on Strava, has anyone noticed they are getting kudos on rides from total randommers?
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Always but I'm in some quite generic large groups so I always figure they're from riders from those. Still get some from people who are not linked in any way. Given up caring after Chloe.
Jono said:
I went out last night - gorgeous weather, but those midges (or flying things, whatever they are... perhaps they're too big to be midges?) Whatever they are, swarms of them near every puddle/slightly damp bit in the sunshine... like hitting a wall of beasties.
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Knats. Mix them with gel for a nutritional boost. Marginal gains.
madindehead said:
About the Strava kudos thing: I don't give people kudos for every single ride they do. And I don't expect it back. Like commuting for example. I don't see the need to kudos that. Does that make me a bad person?
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Same as me, I generally only kudos regular riders on my feed if they have trophies from segments (commuting and leisure). Less regular riders I don't know don't tend to get anything unless the ride is impressive, less regulars I know I tend to kudos every ride/run as encouragement! I'm nice like that! Some very infrequent I'll even comment on their rides/runs when they appear! :D
 
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