Road Cycling

janp said:
Any recommendation on bib shorts guys? I'm trying to buy an 'expensive' pair every month to build up my collection. I don't really know what to go for this month, nothing in Wiggle's sale strikes out at me.

My favorites so far were the NFTO bibs I think Roady recommend a fair few months ago, but their shop closed down (I think!). I tried the Castelli Velocissimo last month, but I couldn't find a size that fitted well.

I seem to get on better with wide pads, as I think I have a fairly big arse.

Thanks :)
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NFTO Shop closed but they will still be selling stuff when their webstore is back online. Outside of that the store manager from NFTO has opened his own shop (VeloShop), he'll be stocking the NFTO 'team kit' but I don't know about the NFTO 'own brands'.

There is an NFTO 'end of season sale' on but it was all team kit, none of the NFTO own branded stuff. I'll ask around though, would be surprising if somewhere isn't stocking the kit as one major part of it was the outdoor hiking coats/jackets which were very engineered and well regarded.

As for other recommendations, I'm loving the BodyFit Pro pads in much of Sportful's range at the moment. Actually prefer them to the KISS pads in Castelli, I find them wider and overall softer on long rides where the Castelli pads I have start to get uncomfortable at the edges.

Sportful Gruppetto shorts are no longer available (on Wiggle), but the Fiandre Light NoRain's pad are equally as good. Depending on your legs, the grippers are very wide (I have to be careful getting them on with big thighs). They also have a 'different' rain flap at the back, where an extra layer of short overlaps the top/rear of the pad to stop rain getting to it. Untried but: Spark & Giro (last pair in medium!) could be worth trying.

kiteloopy said:
Assos T.cento
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He said 'spread the cost', not 'sell a kidney' :p ;)
 
Nice little ride out in the new forest today, planned to meet some mates and went complete Pete Tong trying to arrange to meet when you don't know where you are or where you need to get to and have no phone signal :D found them eventually for lunch, where the weather went from bright sunshine to biblical rain about 5 times, went back for pudding to avoid getting wet :D Legs feeling a wee bit tired now, so easy day tomorrow after a busyish week. Bike tinkering time tonight :D Pictures will come later.

https://www.strava.com/activities/729879469
 
Typical... rain forecast for 11 so went out early planning 60 miles. 45 minutes in the heavens open so I cut it short to 36 miles...

I was not prepared for rain at all... fortunately had a little sandwich bag in my saddle bag that I could use to wrap my phone up and then I just embraced the cold, wet, frozen feet, fog etc... :rolleyes:

Would have been a perfect opportunity to test Aldi waterproof socks!
 
Nice little ride out this morning - https://www.strava.com/activities/730649263

The sticky out bit was where I scoped out a ferry crossing for a route I had in mind. While I was having a drink a group of cyclists turned up to cross so it is obviously OK to take bikes on!

On the narrow track down to the ferry I turned a corner to find an Audi gunning it along. One car width road, approaching a blind bend and they must have been doing 45+ in the middle of the road. No way I was going to get it stopped in the rapidly decreasing gap between us so I threw it on the tiny strip of grass verge between the road and a ditch sliding all over the place on the brakes. The Audi... barely even slowed down :rolleyes:

That slight annoyance aside it was a nice ride. I normally find cooler days a bit of a challenge with clothing but my cheap base layer did the trick under a thin long sleeve jersey.
 
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Picking up 2016 Defy 0 on Monday, can't wait. Been knocking about on a Kona Dew for 4 years now. Never missed a beat except for a new chain and cassette.

Wanted a proper road bike for a while now and to get into cycling a bit more.

Thought they were a cracking price now the 2017 line ups out. Sat on one and it seems to fit the bill for what I'm after.
 
So glad I had planned to do diy today. Been horrible most of the day! Think I'm more exhausted than riding tho!
 
SoliD said:
So glad I had planned to do diy today. Been horrible most of the day! Think I'm more exhausted than riding tho!
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Turbo today, showers & grey here. Outdoor ride tomorrow afternoon once it's warmed up & the sun's out :cool:

Slowly tapering up turbo time as the inevitable bears closer.
 
BennyC said:
Turbo today, showers & grey here. Outdoor ride tomorrow afternoon once it's warmed up & the sun's out :cool:

Slowly tapering up turbo time as the inevitable bears closer.
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Getting ready for turbo rides in the week soon too. That's where my weekly mileage plummets especially as the turbo is harder to pedal for same effort than being out on the road :rolleyes: quality over quantity I guess.

Todays ride here didn't go too bad - one forecast had heavy rain and thunder mid afternoon, BBC said dry till late afternoon, got mainly dry with light showers but missed some big downpours at least. Autumn has arrived :(
 
I'm entirely prepared to ride in the wet and the cold to keep up the mileage through the autumn and winter.

I've been out in snow, sub zero, rainstorms - you name it - I won't be put off, mountain biking kinda puts you into that mindset. Hail or lightning is the only no no.
 
I'll carry on riding on weekends unless it's full on snow or icy, it's just the dark nights curtail getting out for rides during the week.

Least I can do some structured interval sessions on the turbo instead, 2 decent weekend rides (daylight permitting) should still keep the mileage ticking along.
 
merlin said:
I'm entirely prepared to ride in the wet and the cold to keep up the mileage through the autumn and winter.

I've been out in snow, sub zero, rainstorms - you name it - I won't be put off, mountain biking kinda puts you into that mindset. Hail or lightning is the only no no.
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My problem with winter riding is the maintenance required. 10 miles on a wet and muddy country lane and the bike is trashed. Add a few after work rides where it is too dark to do anything about cleaning up when you get back and by the weekend the bike is in a right sorry state.

My solution is to just run my old dog of a hybrid and give the chain a weekly wipe and relube but I am considering just throwing guards on the road bike but I'm not keen on trashing my 'best' bike :o If I do go that route I'm going to try running dry lube and re lubing the chain after every wet ride to try and keep the grime in check.
 
lordrobs said:
My solution is to just run my old dog of a hybrid
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During the proper winter I'll be moving to my second bike which I don't look after whatsoever. 105 and Spyres, so it's good enough, but I don't wanna trash my steelie with di2 on the snowy days with grit on the roads!
 
uv said:
During the proper winter I'll be moving to my second bike which I don't look after whatsoever. 105 and Spyres, so it's good enough, but I don't wanna trash my steelie with di2 on the snowy days with grit on the roads!
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Noob. It'll be fine. When have either of us come off in grit or ice conditions?
 
Blimey it was cold this morning at 6am! Went out with summer socks and shoes on, numb feet the entire ride!

I've had killer tooth ache the last week and a bit so i've barely been eating or sleeping, its absolutely killing me going out for rides. Some climbs today compared to my PR's were 8:05 / 8:26 & 6:32 / 6:11 respectively...so far off my normal pace!
 
tl45 said:
quality over quantity I guess.
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Definitely, I'll still keep a similar volume/TSS during the winter that's not an issue just it's significantly less stimulating for the mind!

Can see the difference from a week with 3 structured turbo sessions compared to 3 outdoor rides. Will get 2-3 hours in this afternoon too but time in power zone 3/4 benefiting massively. Still seeing a 10% turbo/road power drift which isn't uncommon, quite evident in my HR zones though :p

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Kimi said:
I'm in Mallorca. :D

I'm knackered!
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Staaaaaahp. 13 days to go :p
 
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Another mere twenty miles (strava) for me after breakfast. The wind was blowing from the side pretty much all the way so I didn't benefit from a tailwind at all. Forecast was for winds up to 25mph this morning and it did feel blustery.
I'd have gone further but my mum and sister had come to visit and I wanted to get home before they left.

Apart from the shadows, there are at least two other deliberate errors on this picture.

click picture for a larger version

My average speed is increasing nicely, probably helped by increasing fitness/stamina and the new tyres may have something to do with it as well.

Yes, I know it's a hybrid in a road cycling thread. Yes, I'm pretty much exclusively riding on combined cycletracks/footpaths and the road. Yes, I expect I'll end up with a road bike ;)

/edit - My current rides really aren't very exciting, relive it here.
 
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