Good work fitting the miles in on your lunch break. Which winter tights did you use? I bought some from Wiggle (own brand) but the fitting is shocking and they weren't all that warm either so looking for a couple of pairs as a replacement.
Absolutely booked it home tonight as wife was going out and I was on a meeting call, hoping that no one would ask me a question while I was riding. Made it home in time to say good bye to meeting people and wife!
Wind out there is seriously brutal though. First parts of the commute, I just really struggle to keep it in a straight line, but got on a nice straight through the forest and was hitting 48km/h along the flat. Was a peach.
Haha, think he was expecting stability from someone holding his saddle and then nobody did! Doh! Look at the disappointment/disbelief in his face afterwards while the lad sat at the table is trying not to burst out laughing!
Absolutely booked it home tonight as wife was going out and I was on a meeting call, hoping that no one would ask me a question while I was riding. <snip>
Would've been hilarious if they asked you a question @180bpm & 27-28 mph!
I elected to drive in today, forecast was for -4 and the strong/cold winds to continue (so -6/-8 windchill). Woke up and hardly any frost (quite a 'dry' freeze) and certainly no ice! Ambient around 0 and no strong winds for windchill... Oh well, at least my legs will be rested if I decide on the club ride tomorrow! Going to see what the rain brings later/overnight. 'Thanks' for sending the rain our way Ross!
I'm back to looking at PWM's, partly as my tax return is done and partly because we've refixed our mortgage from March to a 10 year term and if anything our monthly is going down!
I'd kept my savings ready to pay a chunk off it, but wasn't any option for that (also retains a large early repayment fee). I'm not going to say how much my savings are, but suffice to say I could afford any PWM I want (but I have told the other half 'I'm spending less than a thousand on one, hopefully around half')!
I'd been looking at Quarq/Power2max/Powertap P1/C1/Vectors and had even considered 4iiii/Stages.
I'd previously removed Stages/4iiii from the equation as I didn't want to lock myself into a set of crankarms, unless I could get a Stages for <£400 (NFTO sold off their S/H team ones or buy one over in the States), but then got scared of the warranty side of things after reading some expensive horror stories online.
I then wanted to go the pedal route for transfer, dual sided and compatibility but then reached the conclusion that I'm a '1 bike for everything' kinda rider. The likelihood of me going on a cycling holiday is quite low, so paying 'double' what some more crank/spider based power for pedal based power seemed silly. Then Wiggle started selling returned P1's on Ebay for around £500 and I hoped to grab a set for <£550, but the more recent ones have been selling for ~£600 (and higher).
I am now back to Quarq, Power2Max and Powertap C1.
I'd always read that power2max were one of the cheapest and most reliable of the 'crankset' based systems and heard lots of good stories about them. Including FT's positive comments over how accurate and reliable his has been I began pricing one up (current 'Type S' model). Reading lots of p2m info I was hopeful the Praxis Works crankset on my Diverge would be compatible as I was hopeful of buying one without crankarms. But, even though Praxis are the providers of chainrings to many of the p2m sets, p2m don't do one compatible with Praxis cranks! (Confirmed by emailing and asking them).
Power2max sell directly to the end user, so not really any savings to be found by shopping around...
power2max Type s with Rotor 3d24 - €870 (£740)
power2max Type s for Rotor 3s24 without crankarms - €720 (£613), Rotor crankarms (£150-170) - so cheaper to buy with from them, than without.
Both similar prices to Vector 2 (2 sided) £750. Powertap P1's are £800+
So now I'm back to considering the Powertap C1 (chainring) as they're £579 on wiggle.
I'm not 100% sure it's compatible with praxis, but would be surprised if not (I do have a 105/5800 I could use if not that's defo 100% compatible)! Battery life issues with the C1 (some even getting as little as 40 hours out of one) are the only thing putting me off currently. Over £150 saving over the power2max, if prices were closer I'd discount it, but for £150 that's a lot of batteries. Also closer to my 'half of a grand'. Also buying from Wiggle, I'd get their fantastic returns. Ho-hum.
I need to keep the other half sweet as this year I can see me N+1'ing with a fullsus MTB to ride trails with some friends and/or possibly trying some TT'ing.
I need to keep the other half sweet as this year I can see me N+1'ing with a fullsus MTB to ride trails with some friends and/or possibly trying some TT'ing.
Then your basis for a non-pedal/wheel based system is void? unless you plan on not wanting to ride with power on these theoretical N+1's or use your existing bike...
No need for power on MTB and if I go TT I'd just slap some clip on bars onto my current for 'trying TT' purposes...
If I want a N+1 then I'd just make sure it had BB30 to switch out the cranks (which is almost as quick/easy as switching pedals on a workstand)! I'd buy a frame and do a build anyway!
Yes I will be doing it. I agree on the cost point and that's why I am not going to do the Velothon this year. The £20 for this ride is pretty decent value as I would probably spend a tenner on drinks/food on a 80 mile ride in any event.
I'm not bothering with the Velothon this year either. Last year was good but the sheer number of people on the narrow climbs got a bit annoying. (Yes I could start earlier but I could just go over on my own accord and do the climbs with mild vehicle traffic). A workmate was trying to convince me again but not too fond of the near £200 overall cost (with driving there, accommodation, food etc).
I'm not bothering with the Velothon this year either. Last year was good but the sheer number of people on the narrow climbs got a bit annoying. (Yes I could start earlier but I could just go over on my own accord and do the climbs with mild vehicle traffic). A workmate was trying to convince me again but not too fond of the near £200 overall cost (with driving there, accommodation, food etc).
I agree. It is very expensive for what it is and the roads from Newport to Usk were too narrow for the amount of riders especially as there had been no climbs by that time to break the field up.
It's also, barring a few sections, not really that pretty compared to some routes you can do around South Wales i.e the road from Cardiff to Newport and the dual carriageway to Caerphilly.
Roady : power meters
If I was looking to buy a PM now it would be the Powertap P1 pedals.
They seem to be the best dual sided solution - cheap and with the least number of issues.
No need for power on MTB and if I go TT I'd just slap some clip on bars onto my current for 'trying TT' purposes...
If I want a N+1 then I'd just make sure it had BB30 to switch out the cranks (which is almost as quick/easy as switching pedals on a workstand)! I'd buy a frame and do a build anyway!
Roady : power meters
If I was looking to buy a PM now it would be the Powertap P1 pedals.
They seem to be the best dual sided solution - cheap and with the least number of issues.
A few hundred pound premium, if affordable - which it is in this instance - even if not necessary now, is a no brainer. It gives you the freedom to acquire more bikes and retain the ability to capture data and equally when abroad have the same capability.
Even if it's not your intention to tour or holiday on two wheels, when on a family holiday with an afternoon to kill taking your own pedals & shoes and renting a bike to get some miles in should always appeal
I agree. It is very expensive for what it is and the roads from Newport to Usk were too narrow for the amount of riders especially as there had been no climbs by that time to break the field up.
It's also, barring a few sections, not really that pretty compared to some routes you can do around South Wales i.e the road from Cardiff to Newport and the dual carriageway to Caerphilly.
Yep that dual carriageway dragged on for a while only lit up by the odd supporter on the footbridges. Caerphilly wasn't horrific with getting past riders but the first section of the Tumble before cattlegrid almost had a few foot down moments. People walking up on the right hand side too.
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The comma threw me off yo.
unless you plan on not wanting to ride with power on these theoretical N+1's or use your existing bike... 
