Road Cycling

sHo0sH said:
I'm after a new set of Carbon integrated Bars - I don't suppose anyone has a recommendation like this at all?
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My recommendation for carbon bars is "don't buy Chinese carbon". Unlike wheels, I've never heard good stories.

edit: I of course mean from random Chinese sellers rather than carbon bars specifically made in China.
 
The issue is you'll be paying Halfords prices and only able to get Halfords stock - costing you more and limiting your choice. So even if you do want to get it serviced by someone else rather than do it yourself it's a false economy.

If you buy from a local bike shop many of them will offer you up to three free services (including parts fittings). Plus they're not Halfords. Personally I'd go for something like that and then use that year to slowly learn how to do things myself. That's pretty much how I did it when I first got into cycling.
 
Maxeh said:
Take a look at my last Strava entry, far from road bike surfacing and this is just the start of the bad weather over here!

I did indeed own a PX but sold it before re-locating (wasn't planned).

Love the look of the Surly's/Genesis steel frame bikes.
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Ah right..so you're riding canal towpaths and such.

Surly Straggler is a nice bike but heavy. Genesis is a bit lighter usually. I'd probably go Genesis of the two just because I prefer bikes to be a little nippier.

A friend has just ordered a PlanetX Ti bike. Might be worth considering...

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXM...-titanium-disc-road-bike-shimano-ultegra-6800

edit: though they got the pro road, which is crazy light.
 
Vonhelmet said:
The image on Wikipedia shows that running through the fleshy part of the outside edge of the palm, which would fit. Any suggestions on how to reduce pressure on that part of my hand?
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Lean on your hands less through improved core strength and conditioning as per above. Regularly swap positions (for long rides I'll switch between drops, tops and hoods). Adjust the angle of your handlebars/hoods. Get better gloves. Probably other options too.

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Vonhelmet said:
Numb hands, what's the deal with that? Anything I can do fit wise to fix that?
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You can also 'floss'/stretch the nerve to help improve things. There's various videos on YouTube.
 
touch said:
You guys seem to be pretty optimistic with the rest time!
Riding for 15-24 hours is like a full day - you'd normally eat 3 meals in that time just going about your normal day. When you add in the cycling on top, you'll want to at least double the calorie intake.
In my experience, I would need at least 30 mins per meal to eat and allow it to digest a little before cycling again. I imagine it's very difficult to eat on the bike whilst doing this sort of thing, too. You pretty much need to have your hands on the bars the entire time for climbing and descending.
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I've ridden a 24 hour ride before. I factored in about 3 hours of rest, which admittedly is quite a bit on the low side but it's not like anyone claimed that those timings were perfect. Ball park at best. Posting the calculator is really for indicative purposes.

So essentially all the figures in the first ride I posted are unrealistic. I'd be looking at something more akin to 20+ hours, with expectation to go over. I also wouldn't be planning to maintain 200W all the way up every climb if I could possibly avoid it.

edit: reworded as I was in a rush and it came across more arsey than I intended.
 
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Vonhelmet said:
If you wanted something super shallow in the vicinity, you'd have to do Cragg Vale. 3.4%, 17.3m lap, 276m elevation per lap. 30 laps in total. The only downside with that is it's probably not steep enough for you to really fly down on the descents, so you'd need to pedal that bit more on the way down.
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Tbh I'm a wuss on descents since breaking my collarbone so that might not be a bad plan. How busy is the road?
 
I actually think Benny has a point to be honest. Common theory is that power is all that matters and it certainly seems to be the most important factor by some margin. However, I find it hard to believe (and I don't think I've seen any studies that conclude things one way or the other about this) that outputting the same power at a different HR does not lead to different calorie burn. Now, that could simply be because, as oli said, the difference in HR is simply an indication of a difference in efficiency. Or it could be that on a particular day you're ill, so your HR is elevated and you're burning more calories. Or even that your peddling style/positioning is engaging different muscles and so you're putting a different strain on your system.

I think the question really is how much of a difference does any of the above make. I'd guess (but again, I've not seen any evidenced studies) that the difference is small enough that it almost doesn't matter when compared to variance caused by PM inaccuracies, unknown efficiency of energy expenditure, etc. Could be wrong though.

edit: Also interesting point about effect on the body and recovery instead of kcal burn of the activity itself.
 
I never stated weighing more increases calorie burn as related to power output.

Increased HR at the same power output level burning more kcal is completely feasible. Claiming that it's obviously not the case because of thermodynamics is a very simplistic view. As already stated, it's possibly simply an effect on efficiency - which with power output vs kcal burn is already an estimate - hence the talk about the difference probably being small enough that the margin of error may dwarf it.
 
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