Road Cycling

Vonhelmet said:
Practise doing 40-50 mile rides with that amount of climbing. That way when it comes round to doing the 72 miler with that elevation it'll feel easier.
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The closest I've come to doing what awaits me early March is:

https://www.strava.com/activities/792076850

That wasn't too bad, kept up 15mph average - and half of that was just on the big front ring because my front derailleur had a meltdown and left me with just 9 gears on the ride home.

I think tbh my biggest issue atm is a mental one - just not ever having done more than 35 miles in a single run so I'm concerned about how 70+ miles is going to do down with my arms legs and other bits. I've got to somehow get my hamstrings stretched out properly because atm they're super tight and pulling on my lower back like a mofo. I swear it's the winter - my body feels about 15 year older than it is in the winter, I feel fantastic in the Spring and Summer.

Not sure if this link will work but here's my sportive:

https://www.strava.com/routes/7143755
 
randomshenans said:
Haha hydro seems a bit of a ballache/ costly?
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Hydro are more expensive initially and are a little more involved to set up, but mech disk brakes are a massive ballache on a day-to-day basis. I could never get my Spyres set up perfectly for more than a week at a time. My RS685 hydros on the other hand were setup by a complete noob (me) last August and haven't really required any adjustment since. You don't really appreciate the self-adjusting pad clearance of hydros until you've commuted using cable disks :D
 
If you are doing your riding solo then the mere fact that you are in a sportive environment will help. I found my 75 mile solo rides really hard work, the 100 mile sportive was a piece of cake in comparison.

I've got a 2014 Dolomite 3 and it is a cracking bike, zero issues (not even a cable adjustment!) In over 2500 miles. Since then they have tweaked them (for the better) by making them a little less harsh and fitting discs to all bar the Dolomite one.
 
merlin said:
The closest I've come to doing what awaits me early March is:

https://www.strava.com/activities/792076850

That wasn't too bad, kept up 15mph average - and half of that was just on the big front ring because my front derailleur had a meltdown and left me with just 9 gears on the ride home.

I think tbh my biggest issue atm is a mental one - just not ever having done more than 35 miles in a single run so I'm concerned about how 70+ miles is going to do down with my arms legs and other bits. I've got to somehow get my hamstrings stretched out properly because atm they're super tight and pulling on my lower back like a mofo. I swear it's the winter - my body feels about 15 year older than it is in the winter, I feel fantastic in the Spring and Summer.

Not sure if this link will work but here's my sportive:

https://www.strava.com/routes/7143755
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If you can ride 50km, you can ride 100, especially in a group.

Past an hour and a half I just aim to eat every 45 mins, so something at 90 mins and from then on.
 
Merlin, whilst the advice to cover similar elevation on a shorter ride is good it's equally important to try and practise similar length and gradient climbs.

All very well sitting and spinning up 5% but if your sportive is regularly going to have you on 15-20% kicks & out the saddle it'd be wiser to get some more relevant prep done.

With regards to the mental side of things, prepare well and there's no reason for self doubt. Eat 10 or so minutes before climbs if you can even though largely I expect your climbs will be so short Cat 3/4 it won't make much difference physically but psychologically it might help.
 
lordrobs said:
Bike shop must have fitted digital brake levers rather than analogue, easy mistake to make ;)
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I've worked on hundreds of bikes as I work in bike shop. Yet to find a bike with control of a rim brake. Do wear out rims after a few years but with hassle of mudguards/disc brakes, easily contaminated pads I'll stick to rim brakes for myself.
 
Thing is rim brakes are good in the dry, but vary between OK and scary in the wet depending on rim & pad choice, but they are only ever OK, they are never good!
 
Berger said:
Thing is rim brakes are good in the dry, but vary between OK and scary in the wet depending on rim & pad choice, but they are only ever OK, they are never good!
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And how good is the grip between the tyre and the road in the wet?

If you think rim brakes are "good" in the dry then you haven't used a bike with well sorted brakes, easily go over the bars on my campagnolo rim brakes.

I agree braking in torrential rain on deep drop 57mm rim brakes just "slows you down"
 
I'm on mech discs atm and they've needed zero adjustment in 7 weeks. Hassle free reliable stopping for me - i cant see my next bike having anything other than discs (maybe hydro next but mech again wouldnt trouble me one bit).
 
hornetstinger said:
I've worked on hundreds of bikes as I work in bike shop. Yet to find a bike with control of a rim brake. Do wear out rims after a few years but with hassle of mudguards/disc brakes, easily contaminated pads I'll stick to rim brakes for myself.
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Pretty much agree. Every other disc brake that I see is contaminated and the people don't know why.

When I get a bike next year it'll be esomething with 'normal' brakes. Shimano lever with a shimano caliper is awesome.
 
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