Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
Commissario
Yeah, that's what I figured. I think they'll take up to 115 but when I hit 95, they felt solid so I decided to stop there. I'm told that they're a decent set of tyres and I'm pretty sure I could tell the difference from the ones that came with the bike (I managed to blag some better ones than the originals when I got the bike).
I suppose I really ought to do some basic maintenance, even greasing/oiling the chain would be a start. I've done nothing so far!
I suppose I really ought to do some basic maintenance, even greasing/oiling the chain would be a start. I've done nothing so far!
Yes oil the chain, check the wheels and crank are spinning freely, slight bits of brake rub and sticky chain links etc will steal power from you, plus causes lots of wear. Also check your clothing - baggy stuff slows you down.
Associate
I'm planning to ride my first metric century tomorrow. I'm still quite new to this road lark and have previously only done up to around 50-60km.
I've planned a route that totals 112km, a couple of friends are tagging along that haven't done that distance either. All of us are more worried about the affects of the time spent in the saddle, rather than the distance itself mind.
Glad it's going to be a bit cooler than earlier in the week. Looking forward to it
I've planned a route that totals 112km, a couple of friends are tagging along that haven't done that distance either. All of us are more worried about the affects of the time spent in the saddle, rather than the distance itself mind.
Glad it's going to be a bit cooler than earlier in the week. Looking forward to it
All good miles!
I think water ingress would be the main one, things can't move around as the headset compression ring is still tight and doing it's job of keeping things together. So purely cosmetic/environmental concerns.
Lol yeah, thought that! I think the only real thing you could do is look for a shim that fits around the outside of the ring but if it isn't tight it would make noise (plus damage the frame/stem) but if it's tight it'll restrict the stem movement. Very marginal tolerances. Some adhesive to hold it to the headset if it's slightly too slim (better than slightly too wide) could work?I tried a rubber ring thing I had and it looked good but stopped the handlebars turning!
Failing that some kinda compression ring built into a low profile spacer, if there's such a thing? Looking at some TT headset parts rather than general bike parts might work?
Kudos for being a gentleman! Always nice when genuine helpfulness gets rewarded! Good mileage too! How many commuting miles?Plonked the tube back through his door with this afternoons ride + a clif bar and some harribo, least I could do
On par tip tip 4,000 total & recreational (no commuting) miles so far this year on Sunday
Welcome Wahooligan! Make sure you're aware of some of the 'features' of mapping/routing on the BOLT/ELEMNT before you use it - it's not quite as complete as some of the full featured Garmins as it cannot re-route. It literally follows (breadcrumb) a route from whatever map you've loaded, the turn-by-turn directions come from the route itself - using ridewithgps will put them in, routes from Strava won't. I'm not aware how much routing the Edge 25 has (any?), just noticed the difference coming from my 810.
It's not an issue, if you're aware of it.
You're doing very well, regardless! Doesn't matter your speed, power or even fairly broadly your effort levels - if you're riding regularly you'll improve. I was almost 100kg 4 years ago (14/15 stone) and from commuting I easily dropped down to around 80kg before having much interest in leisure cycling. I now tend to hover around 74-78kg depending on my riding volume (and pizza/beer/chocolate intake), so around 12 stone.
Weight loss is great as an initial measure but I soon found I plateaued, at one point I started to gain weight while still losing inches from my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat!
Changing to a cheap 'road bike' won't save you much weight. My old £350 Carrera Virtuoso (alu) was 11.5kg. My £900 Giant Defy 1 2015 (alu) was ~10kg with the stock wheels. My £2500 Diverge (carbon) is just over 9kg. The alu Defy with lighter wheels is very similar weight to the carbon Diverge. That gives you a very rough idea of the diminishing scale of weight loss the higher up you go, carbon does not mean lighter. Obviously none of them are geared towards 'lightweight' climbing (especially with all the tools I generally carry!) and none are pure 'race' bikes (all fairly relaxed/sportive/gravel geometry). But all are faster than my old hybrid!
Ouch! Steep! Not sure why, I just assumed cycling was loads cheaper in the States!?I did stop at the bike shop anyway to replenish my own supplies - $14 for an inner tube and co2
Not any reason to change from them, not heavy. Have to admit I've generally never looked for 'light' tubes, cost and quantity come first! Although saying that I've generally ended up with Lifeline/Mitchelin & Specialized tubes since the price hikes on the ITS bundles.
Associate
Sounds good! Bonus bonus!
Associate
We found
we found using a hair dryer on cool after application seemed to seal it and less chain clunk
Ouch! Steep! Not sure why, I just assumed cycling was loads cheaper in the States!?
Hmm. Not necessarily. Some stuff is.. especially American brands but Shimano can be pretty expensive and even an LBS here would charge a fair bit for an inner tube and co2. I paid £6 or £7 at Giant Crystal Palace before for a tube.
I actually bought some clipless pedals while I was out there as many of the rental places in North Carolina wouldn't supply them... all seemed to be more expensive in the US than UK. I ended up with a set of M530s as they were actually cheaper than the M520s.
I'll do a little write up of the rides I went on in the Cycling Holidays thread soon. Some extended road climbing + some flat pedal Giant Contend abuse + some Cannondale Lefty CX gravel riding.
More than enough. I'm running my Mitchelin Pro4E 28mm's at ~78PSI front, ~85PSI rear. But I value increased comfort over a little sacrifice of speed! Commuter & lots of potholes.
Yup! The time is the killer! I really suffer with it, I've even considered bringing a spare saddle to work and sitting on it all day at my desk lol
Looking forward to it, especially the Slate! (assume it was the Slate?)
Yes it was a Cannondale Slate CX1 Gravel (Sram Force)Looking forward to it, especially the Slate! (assume it was the Slate?)
Man of Honour
Had a week off riding due to the heat and other things coming up, so decided to make up for it last night do a decent ride
https://www.strava.com/activities/1049455059
Gave Chain Hill a go, Ben had told me to try it recently and having come down it a few weeks a go, it certainly looked like something worth doing. I was surprised at how easy I found it, it certainly wasn't Streatley, it's not that steep (the two main bits are 10-11%) but it's long.
I've found the last two times I've ridden with climbs in that I prefer to be out the saddle. I'm still at a level where seated, I have to spin in the granny gear or close to it, whereas standing I can go in a lot harder a gear, which allows me to pace my pedalling while maintaining a decent speed. I also find it easier to focus on breathing being stood out the saddle, so my heart rate stays well away from the red. So pretty much all of Chain Hill was spent out the saddle, nice and comfortable.
Rest of the ride was really nice, coming down Streatley is certainly interesting. Brakes on hard and still gaining speed in the steepest parts is very unnerving
https://www.strava.com/activities/1049455059
Gave Chain Hill a go, Ben had told me to try it recently and having come down it a few weeks a go, it certainly looked like something worth doing. I was surprised at how easy I found it, it certainly wasn't Streatley, it's not that steep (the two main bits are 10-11%) but it's long.
I've found the last two times I've ridden with climbs in that I prefer to be out the saddle. I'm still at a level where seated, I have to spin in the granny gear or close to it, whereas standing I can go in a lot harder a gear, which allows me to pace my pedalling while maintaining a decent speed. I also find it easier to focus on breathing being stood out the saddle, so my heart rate stays well away from the red. So pretty much all of Chain Hill was spent out the saddle, nice and comfortable.
Rest of the ride was really nice, coming down Streatley is certainly interesting. Brakes on hard and still gaining speed in the steepest parts is very unnerving
All good miles!
You're doing very well, regardless! Doesn't matter your speed, power or even fairly broadly your effort levels - if you're riding regularly you'll improve. I was almost 100kg 4 years ago (14/15 stone) and from commuting I easily dropped down to around 80kg before having much interest in leisure cycling. I now tend to hover around 74-78kg depending on my riding volume (and pizza/beer/chocolate intake), so around 12 stone.
Weight loss is great as an initial measure but I soon found I plateaued, at one point I started to gain weight while still losing inches from my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat!
Interesting... Did you find that the initial loss all came from your commuting or did that coincide with diet? I'm doing fairly well at the moment dropping from 112KG to 107 now and more crucially not putting any weight on during exam season.
I'm just worried that at some point I'm going to stop seeing losses. I haven't been this light for at least 4 years when I started dabbling in Stronglifts.
Soldato
Despite staying up stupidly late for me (~0015) last night and then waking up before my alarm at ~0500, I went for my second five cat4 hills fix of the week, but at a slightly brisker pace than Wednesday (~2hrs53mins vs ~4hrs3mins total time for the ~46.9 mile ride).
https://www.strava.com/activities/1050017806/segments/25815141615
Considering I was putting more effort in between the hills, the outward leg from the base of Beacon Hill to the top of Harvesting Lane went well with the slight wind assistance, just over 4mins better than my previous best effort from last Sunday. Then had the obligatory pit stop, scoffing a sandwich and mixed fruit and some fluid for ~6mins30secs, before jumping back on the bike to do the final two cat4 hills and then head for home against the breeze. These two climbs went ok considering the headwind, but I lost a bit of time (~52secs) between them, partly due to roadwork lights that weren't there on the outward leg! With the cat4 section done, which was my main focus, I limped home against the headwind... It's going to take a bit of time for my body to adjust to these 40+ mile rides I've only been doing for the last ~3 weeks, my longest ride ever was just under two weeks ago in the form of an unplanned 50-miler, especially when I'm now a glutton for cat4 punishment!
The scary thing is I've been back home ~4.5hrs, had my post-ride sandwich/malted drink/chicken slices, but who knows where the rest of the time went... I'm absolutely zombified, probably a combination of a lack of sleep last night and putting more effort into upping my average speed up in the South Downs.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1050017806/segments/25815141615
Considering I was putting more effort in between the hills, the outward leg from the base of Beacon Hill to the top of Harvesting Lane went well with the slight wind assistance, just over 4mins better than my previous best effort from last Sunday. Then had the obligatory pit stop, scoffing a sandwich and mixed fruit and some fluid for ~6mins30secs, before jumping back on the bike to do the final two cat4 hills and then head for home against the breeze. These two climbs went ok considering the headwind, but I lost a bit of time (~52secs) between them, partly due to roadwork lights that weren't there on the outward leg! With the cat4 section done, which was my main focus, I limped home against the headwind... It's going to take a bit of time for my body to adjust to these 40+ mile rides I've only been doing for the last ~3 weeks, my longest ride ever was just under two weeks ago in the form of an unplanned 50-miler, especially when I'm now a glutton for cat4 punishment!
The scary thing is I've been back home ~4.5hrs, had my post-ride sandwich/malted drink/chicken slices, but who knows where the rest of the time went... I'm absolutely zombified, probably a combination of a lack of sleep last night and putting more effort into upping my average speed up in the South Downs.
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The kindness of strangers
I'd always help a fellow cyclist out if needed and often ask anyone I pass stopped at the roadside if they're okay and to date haven't found anyone in need. What goes around comes around
Though I did find in California no one says hello... a bit like London/Surrey. They must have thought I was strange giving little waves to oncoming cyclists. Last time I was out was in October so I guess 'Winter' (CA Winter is 15C 'cold') and people were more friendly.The kindness of strangers
I'd always help a fellow cyclist out if needed and often ask anyone I pass stopped at the roadside if they're okay and to date haven't found anyone in need. What goes around comes around
Man of Honour
I say hello to anyone that cycles past when out on a ride, just feel rude if I don't. It's amazing the amount of people that either completely ignore you or look at you like you're odd
Had a week off riding due to the heat and other things coming up, so decided to make up for it last night do a decent ride
https://www.strava.com/activities/1049455059
Gave Chain Hill a go, Ben had told me to try it recently and having come down it a few weeks a go, it certainly looked like something worth doing. I was surprised at how easy I found it, it certainly wasn't Streatley, it's not that steep (the two main bits are 10-11%) but it's long.
I've found the last two times I've ridden with climbs in that I prefer to be out the saddle. I'm still at a level where seated, I have to spin in the granny gear or close to it, whereas standing I can go in a lot harder a gear, which allows me to pace my pedalling while maintaining a decent speed. I also find it easier to focus on breathing being stood out the saddle, so my heart rate stays well away from the red. So pretty much all of Chain Hill was spent out the saddle, nice and comfortable.
Rest of the ride was really nice, coming down Streatley is certainly interesting. Brakes on hard and still gaining speed in the steepest parts is very unnerving
You stopped pedalling quite a few times up that hill giving yourself a breather - don't do that - next time just keep spinning absolutely no rest, if your legs burn then sit down, if they burn again then stand up - keep mixing it to keep the leg burn at bay but never stop pedalling and you'll improve that time massively next attempt.
I say hello to anyone that cycles past when out on a ride, just feel rude if I don't. It's amazing the amount of people that either completely ignore you or look at you like you're odd
I alway acknowledge other cyclists either with a nod, wave or hello.
However I do get the occasional odd look or comment. The other night climbing a small hill, I overtook another cyclist climbing around 4 or 5mph slower than me.
I wasn't going for it or anything I just happended to be faster that day. Said hello to him & nice weather etc & continued.
Couple of mins later on the decent I'm doing 40+mph & approaching a T junction, he comes flying past me calling me all sorts of names for slowing down
Man of Honour
Really?
I don't remember a point where I stopped pedalling while going up the hill, that would have been the parts where it levels off. At least I'm almost certain I didn't, I wouldn't have been going fast enough to stop pedalling without coming to a halt quickly or falling off.