Road Cycling

FT is one to ask about Pro4's as well as I believe Mitchelin sponsor him. ;)

1200 miles is nothing for most tyres, barely broken in! :D

Extra advice which I always struggle to follow - set everything bike related up at least a day before (not the night before or last minute the morning before). Do a short local couple of mile 'test' ride, low intensity but it'll be enough to iron out any niggles like gear problems, mudguards rubbing, or a flat tyre on the start line (been there & got the tshirts!)

lordrobs said:
I've only got two to go on but this inevitable leads to everyone bunching up for the first few miles as people drop their water bottle/have a puncture/snap their chain/derailleur falls off (delete as applicable) but after a few miles it will thin out and you can do your own thing. TBH I don't even mind the slow start as I try and keep the pace way down for the first hour anyway.
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I ride long sportives pretty much the same, usually try to find some others to chat to and some easy wheels to follow and work with, trying to 'lose' the first couple of hours without burning too many matches. I actually prefer a few climbs early so I'm off infront of those who hammer the start/flats but then can't ride any elevation (as find they're rubbish wheels to follow/unsuitable & unsafe to ride with).
platypus said:
Any suggestions for reasonable waterproofs for my legs? On my long ride in May I'll be wearing bib shorts all the way, but given British weather wouldn't mind something breathable, light, thin, waterproof, and of course cheap, to go over the top just in case. Given the long distances involved I really don't want boil in the bag, and I guess I might just have to contend with getting wet. Really keen to avoid kit being wet when getting back into it though.
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I have a selection of Sportful NoRain things (jackets, jerseys, warmers & shorts), all are good for showers and 2-3 hours riding but any heavy rain and wetter roads there's only so much they can do (as they're just coated fabrics, like Castelli Nanoflex).
  • Wet club rides I generally wear layers which will dry out easily, occasionally with my 'packable' rain cape (which is quite breathable). This time of year I find my windproof softshells with a windproof gilet is usually enough, heavier rain I tend to not ride in...
  • For commuting in heavy rain I have a DHB EQ2.5 jacket, it's pretty breathable (being 2.5 layer) and very waterproof. It's a bit of a bad fit on me (now) so it only gets used occasionally in spring/autumn. I have got a pair of DHB mono waterproof overtrousers, they work well but are non-breathable. The fit isn't great (I wear a set of snowboarding bracers holding them up as had to buy Large to fit my thighs), but they're loads better/closer/adjustable fit than your standard 'outdoor' waterproof over-trousers. For audax type rides (low intensity) they'd be ok, but only for heavy cool rain.
I find in rain that most of the water/wetness seems to be my thighs and feet, not really my arse/legs (legs dry out fast I'm betting & bum is mostly covered by jacket). I recently picked up a pair of Endura Hummvee shorts to wear when MTB'ing (they also do some Lite ones), they have a waterproof coating (I'm betting similar to Sportul's NoRain/Castelli Nanoflex) and feel like they'd keep most of 'normal' rain off, maybe even heavy rain over some bib shorts, at least from the thigh area. I bet wearing a pair of those over shorts, knee/leg warmers with some quality overshoes would be somewhere near the best you could reasonably get without boiling in the bag. I'm still loving my Sealskinz, they've got one of the best 'tops' to stop rain running in from the leg opening, but the toe needs some additional covering from road spray/front wheel+puddle. My foray into 'winter boots' (have some Sidi Hydro) worked but the design of them is poor comfort wise and feet easily overheat in them. No rain got through when I've ridden them in the wet, but equally I've only worn them a dozen times in 2 years/winters. I'd recommend Northwave Celsius/Fahrenheit rather than my Sidi's (much more comfortable).

Nikwax Tech Wash is recommended for washing 'waterproof' layers (cheapest place is Tesco), it revitalised my Norain/Nanoflex arm & leg warmers, but I've not tried it on other things (yet). There is a TX.Direct which is intended to wash into non-waterproof fabrics to make them waterproof, I may try it out at some point and wash a pair of padless winter tights to see if it's a cheaper alternative than buying Castelli/Sportful/DHB 'norain' type tights. Will wash my overshoes in either/both as well, forgot to throw them in last time! ;)
 
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Roady said:
FT is one to ask about Pro4's as well as I believe Mitchelin sponsor him. ;)

1200 miles is nothing for most tyres, barely broken in! :D

Extra advice which I always struggle to follow - set everything bike related up at least a day before (not the night before or last minute the morning before). Do a short local couple of mile 'test' ride, low intensity but it'll be enough to iron out any niggles like gear problems, mudguards rubbing, or a flat tyre on the start line (been there & got the tshirts!)
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Thanks Roady.

I'm not binning my current tyres - merely giving them a rest :p till summer - I'll get another 1,000 miles out of them at least before they go in the bin - I just don't fancy having trouble with them on Sunday (including traction trouble cos it'll sure as hell be a wet one). It's the same with my MTB - I have two sets of tyres for that - one set half worn that are awesome for summer when the ground is rock hard and one set virtually new for rest of the year when tread depth is needed cos the ground is mushy.
 
I'm a fat knacker and I do a lot of miles with a pannier too. Generally replace when I start to feel them "going off" or start getting a lot of punctures.
 
Not sure how many miles I get from a tyre, having multiple bikes means miles are spread out. But I probably do get 2500 miles+ I had to replace both but one blew out, the other sidewall was bulging and had plenty of tread left, and was using it for about a year everyday. Maybe 5K out of a set? Less for rear.
 
Saytan said:
I'm a fat knacker and I do a lot of miles with a pannier too. Generally replace when I start to feel them "going off" or start getting a lot of punctures.
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Punctures are what make me replace. There's always a point around the 1500 miles mark where they'll suddenly start puncturing incredibly frequently.
 
FrenchTart said:
Punctures are what make me replace. There's always a point around the 1500 miles mark where they'll suddenly start puncturing incredibly frequently.
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I guess riding style will have an impact just as driving style would on a car? I'm not saying it'll make such a big difference but would attribute to some I expect.
 
Talk to me about overshoes people....

So first two days of my new commute and it's going well so far, managing my pace well I think and been getting use to the roads and certain spots where I need to be extra careful. That said what isn't ideal at the moment is how bloody cold my feet and toes are getting. Plenty of puddles I can't avoid so have to cycle through and the heavens opended on the way in this morning too, not only rain though, it snowed and due to the cold when I got to work it looked like I'd had someone just throw a few slush puppies all over me!

So think I need to get some overshoes. Anyone able to recommend a pair? Don't want to spend anymore than £20-30 ideally.
 
IndigoGorilla said:
Talk to me about overshoes people....

So first two days of my new commute and it's going well so far, managing my pace well I think and been getting use to the roads and certain spots where I need to be extra careful. That said what isn't ideal at the moment is how bloody cold my feet and toes are getting. Plenty of puddles I can't avoid so have to cycle through and the heavens opended on the way in this morning too, not only rain though, it snowed and due to the cold when I got to work it looked like I'd had someone just throw a few slush puppies all over me!

So think I need to get some overshoes. Anyone able to recommend a pair? Don't want to spend anymore than £20-30 ideally.
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wiggle have bbb overshoes going cheap. PIcked up some artic ones at £25, the biggest 47/48 size and good fit (wear 9/10)

jeez they've gone back up to £50!!
 
Saytan said:
get about 2500 miles to a "durable fast" tyre on the rear (GP 4 seasons etc), easily get double that on the front
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I've been running a GP 4 season on the rear since the start of the year - just over 1,000 miles up now and it's still looking good.
 
4000/4500 Miles on my rear Conti GP4000SII , & the front is still on the bike with a good amount of tread left on around 5500 miles.
The above is all summer miles @ 77kg.
One puncture in the above mileage.
 
merlin said:
Looks great, really nice average speed there bearing in mind all that climbing! They've got a free feedstation half way (ish) this year, plus further free food and drinks at the finish too. It's eating breakfast that I'm going to struggle with - I usually feel sick if I eat breakfast so forcing porridge/cereals etc down at 6.30am is going to make me feel completely ill but I know I've got no option.

Very tempted to bring forward a new set of tyres - don't really want to take any chances. The roads I ride on are rough as hell - there's not a smooth piece of tarmac anywhere near me so I suspect my tyres at 1200 miles haven't all that much left in them - indeed I checked them over last night and they're both full of cuts.
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Aye, it was free for us to (should have worded it better), essentially a big hall full of cake, muffins, fruit... it's glorious! :D

I'm the same as you with breakfast, I can never get anything down me for at least an hour after getting up, makes it difficult for early Morning sportives, what I normally do is bring a jam sandwich with me (normally half) and a bar, and after my body has woken up and gets adjusted, start slowly eating them, a coffee beforehand helps too.

New tyres sound like a good idea, the lanes aren't too bad that you'll be riding on, some parts are quiet B roads which are nicely tarmac'ed.

Enjoy the bacon sandwich at the end! :)

PS: Look for the guys in red/green/white (Beacon RCC), club I ride for, they know the route like the back of their hand, so will be a a decent bunch to leach off for a bit. :p
 
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