Road Cycling

[SoliD]

What a day yesterday was! Bloody glorious weather. Pushed out an easy 50 with a friend, just enjoyed being in shorts and jersey, with loads of suncream!!!

Went out after to practise some aero on my TT bike, which just turned into a bit of a brutal interval session. Legs are definitely feeling it today!

 

[Lethal`]

Any suitable similarly priced alternatives to the tacx vortex smart trainer?

I can get 10% cashback on Wiggle with Halifax until end of month making it £230 so I am quite tempted unless it's likely to come down over Summer anyway.

 

[FrenchTart]

Weather forecast for today is awesome. I'm also not too hungover from stag festivities so...might have to get out and about.

It's a shame that tomorrow is even better looking and I can't get out of work though.

 

[Thomas. PLease.]

I need one for my TT bike though as I have to be able to carry 4 bottles for the Ironman!

I actually think I'll go for the ghetto option of taping them in.



They are only £12 and they retain a Camelbak design you can longer buy from Camelbak which is better than the new design IMO.

Why carry four bottles? I only ever had one which was full of gels and one with water/zero tabs. Water gets replaced from feed stations, and gels gets steadily used throughout the race.

Carrying 4 bottles is madness, probably an additional 2kg of pointless weight.

edit: I also found to my detriment that behind the saddle mounts are bottle launchers, unlucky on the lost bottle. My bike for IM I had one normal cage on the downtube, and one between the arms, which is actually an aero aid too, and isn't going anywhere.


You can't even see the BTA bottle here, but photo because IM

 

[Berger]

My mate did the full 180 just using one bottle & grabbing one at each station, about every 30km he said they had gatoraid etc.

Went alright, he got a Kona spot & he went the wrong way and did an extra 5k on the bike!

Couple of hours in the rain this morning. Tan lines from road dirt and a wet arse. No guards because racebike....

 

[Bear]

Car was pulling up on the zigzag lines - surely the car drivers at fault?

Plus isn't it always a BMW drivers fault

It doesn't absolve responsibility of the cyclist to actually look where he is going. Even if a car is illegally parked, if you drove into it, you are at fault in the eyes of an insurance company.

But yes, BMW drivers seem to think laws don't apply to them so they are always at fault

 

[FrenchTart]

Looks like I need some new bib shorts. Are there any decent deals on for shorts suitable for 100+ mile rides? As cheap as possible ideally as I burn through shorts super quickly.

 

[The Mad Rapper]

Who spends 15 quid on a rapha bottle?

Because Rapha.

Besides, it's £15. Not like a lot of money.

Looks like I need some new bib shorts. Are there any decent deals on for shorts suitable for 100+ mile rides? As cheap as possible ideally as I burn through shorts super quickly.

I always fine Endura a superb balance of performance and cost. Their bibs were well regarded and within budget, but it's been a while since I last looked.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/shorts/endura-fs260-pro-bibshorts-64-99

 

[DanF]

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/shorts/endura-fs260-pro-bibshorts-64-99

have the older version of those and they are pretty nice. Just the straps are a bit tight for me as I'm using medium and 6". Pad is nice though and the leg material is really nice.

Last weekend and this weekend I've felt like total %$^& on Saturday with cold/flu like symptoms then been pretty much fine on the Sunday, so weird. Hopefully will get out for a 1-2 hour light spin later on.

 

[Berger]

Anyone know a Ribble discount code?

Wiggle no longer ship SRAM to Australia and Merlin don't ship High5.....

 

[Vonhelmet]

Why carry four bottles? I only ever had one which was full of gels and one with water/zero tabs. Water gets replaced from feed stations, and gels gets steadily used throughout the race.

Carrying 4 bottles is madness, probably an additional 2kg of pointless weight.

edit: I also found to my detriment that behind the saddle mounts are bottle launchers, unlucky on the lost bottle. My bike for IM I had one normal cage on the downtube, and one between the arms, which is actually an aero aid too, and isn't going anywhere.


You can't even see the BTA bottle here, but photo because IM

I recognise that bridge...

Weather forecast for today is awesome. I'm also not too hungover from stag festivities so...might have to get out and about.

It's a shame that tomorrow is even better looking and I can't get out of work though.

I'm all sore after spending about 6 hours re-felting my shed roof yesterday. I was gonna get out this morning but gave it a miss as I woke up feeling cack. Gonna go out after tea, I think. Can't decide between doing 20ish hilly miles or 35 flat ones.

 

[BennyC]

26 degrees

https://www.strava.com/activities/569316408/segments/13807766599

 

[The Mad Rapper]

26 degrees

https://www.strava.com/activities/569316408/segments/13807766599

28 in Hazlemere. Was 30 in Penn - dying. Far too hot

 

[Kimi]

Similar area Benny, amazing weather, had a head wind on the way back, stupidly I only took one bottle. Run out of water about 35 miles!

 

[maklabouhlel]

De Havilland Way

Hi. can you cycle on De Havilland Way, Bolton? There is a green cycling path on the pavement but what if you prefer to ride on the road? Today some guy kept shouting at me to get off the road and onto the cycling path.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Hi. can you cycle on De Havilland Way, Bolton? There is a green cycling path on the pavement but what if you prefer to ride on the road? Today some guy kept shouting at me to get off the road and onto the cycling path.

Yep, I've ridden on it before now. Not the most fun road in the world. Cyclists can use any public road in the country with the exception of motorways. Cycle paths are not at all compulsory, and indeed you're advised that it may be better to avoid them if you're going to be going faster than 18mph. Motorists sometimes get in a tizz if you don't use them, as they figure they've personally paid thousands for them and then you're ignoring them, never mind the fact that most cycle paths are crap.

 

[jimmynaetroots]

Hey guys, After a bit of advice if I may. I am looking to upgrade my current bike (2007 Specialized Allez Sport), and I have a £1k budget. I have been specifically looking at the Planet X RT-80 Shimano 105 which seems to tick all the right boxes, but should I be looking elsewhere? It seems amazing value for a full carbon 105 setup, but I am relatively new to all this so thought I'd ask you all!

Thanks in advance.

 

[PermaBanned]

Hey guys, After a bit of advice if I may. I am looking to upgrade my current bike (2007 Specialized Allez Sport), and I have a £1k budget. I have been specifically looking at the Planet X RT-80 Shimano 105 which seems to tick all the right boxes, but should I be looking elsewhere? It seems amazing value for a full carbon 105 setup, but I am relatively new to all this so thought I'd ask you all!

Thanks in advance.

Lot of people seem happy with their Planet X bikes, as long as you don't have to deal with their customer service. This came up the other day, full carbon Dolan L'etape with either 105 or Rival 22 for £850:

http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bikes/dolan-l-etape-carbon-road-bike-sram-rival-22.html

http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bikes/dolan-l-etape-carbon-road-bike-shimano-5800.html

Could be worth looking into. Or this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/mach-720-carbon-road-bike-105-id_8339670.html

 

[The Mad Rapper]

Hey guys, After a bit of advice if I may. I am looking to upgrade my current bike (2007 Specialized Allez Sport), and I have a £1k budget. I have been specifically looking at the Planet X RT-80 Shimano 105 which seems to tick all the right boxes, but should I be looking elsewhere? It seems amazing value for a full carbon 105 setup, but I am relatively new to all this so thought I'd ask you all!

Thanks in advance.

Carbon frame, Mavic wheels, Deda finishing kit and full Ultegra for £1K:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-evo-pro-special-edition-ultegra-6800/

 

[FrenchTart]

Because Rapha.

Besides, it's £15. Not like a lot of money.

Still, seems a bit silly when you can get a bottle for almost 1/10th the price

I always fine Endura a superb balance of performance and cost. Their bibs were well regarded and within budget, but it's been a while since I last looked.

Cheers for the suggestion. I've been eyeing up some Endura bib shorts - I'll compare them to the ones you've linked to. Hopefully the pad is up to snuff as I'll be taking them on my 300 mile ride next month.

I'm all sore after spending about 6 hours re-felting my shed roof yesterday. I was gonna get out this morning but gave it a miss as I woke up feeling cack. Gonna go out after tea, I think. Can't decide between doing 20ish hilly miles or 35 flat ones.

I'm fairly tired from running around Manchester city centre for some weird espionage stag do game thing (not to mention Fri night and all the other stuff on Sat) so I just popped out for a very slow one with a couple of people and a friend's gf that hasn't cycled in ages. Despite how slow it was I really enjoyed it - nice to be out in the sun and just soaking it up.