Road Cycling

madindehead said:
Thankfully I am safe!

My mini reviews of the 100:

Did I enjoy it? Bits of it.

Would I do it again? Probably not.

I don't pretend to be the best at riding in a group, but some people were just plain impatient/dangerous. For example, coming through Kingston, I went to move left (yes, I should have double checked) and some guy came flying past me. When there was space on the right. Some chain gangs were maybe not as clear as they could have been passing on the right, but a lot of people could have moved left a LOT sooner than they did, especially on climbs and descents. Lots of people being impatient when we passed a crash, and just trying to weave through people who were walking.

We got held up for around 1.5 hours because of a really serious crash around mile 39. I must admit, I missed Leith Hill and Box Hill: When I got to the base of Leith Hill, someone said there had already been 3 crashes. The number of crashes just really put me off.
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Pretty much why I've not been interested in doing it or many other sportives
 
oli collett said:
Pretty much why I've not been interested in doing it or many other sportives
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Yeah, I really don't blame you. Also, it's meant to be a fun event: but no one speaks to you. I was chatting to guy on the train on the way back who was telling me how he'd done the Tour of Flanders sportive: people there were super chatty apparently.
 
Did RL100 too, agreed that once was definitely enough even though parts of it were amazing fun. The middle 50 miles or so was mega twitchy around the Surrey lanes. Came across the crash at Pyrford shortly after it happened, probably one of the grimmest things I've ever seen, so much blood and people with awful road rash. Then saw a bloke in a neck brace at Thames Ditton. Too many people with shocking bike handling and observational skills whose ambition far outweighed their ability. It'll be interesting to see what format the event takes next year.
 
One More Solo said:
Did RL100 too, agreed that once was definitely enough even though parts of it were amazing fun. The middle 50 miles or so was mega twitchy around the Surrey lanes. Came across the crash at Pyrford shortly after it happened, probably one of the grimmest things I've ever seen, so much blood and people with awful road rash. Then saw a bloke in a neck brace at Thames Ditton. Too many people with shocking bike handling and observational skills whose ambition far outweighed their ability. It'll be interesting to see what format the event takes next year.
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That sounds pretty brutal. How many were actually involved in that crash then?! Yeah, the Surrey section was very twitchy. I was glad to get back onto the road back into London. A lot more space.

Whilst I don't pretend to have the best bike handling skills, I leave plenty space to make up for it.

Apparently they want to increase the number of riders next year...I don't think that's wise.
 
Also did ride London, was far enough at the front that I only saw two crashes, one of which was because of a car on the course ffs. Thankfully at fairly slow speed, and the other on a climb which narrowed more than people were expecting.

Good fun riding on closed roads and happy to go sub 4 hours. Would I do it again, no probably not.
 
Thomas. PLease. said:
Also did ride London, was far enough at the front that I only saw two crashes, one of which was because of a car on the course ffs. Thankfully at fairly slow speed, and the other on a climb which narrowed more than people were expecting.

Good fun riding on closed roads and happy to go sub 4 hours. Would I do it again, no probably not.
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Good job man! You probably had a much better experience than most, being near the front. The closed element was nice, but does get ruined by people being idiots :(
 
The one thing I really enjoyed: The road side support was incredible. Especially on the way back, as people had been cheering on the pro race.

Some sections had proper barriers with the Continental hoarding, and you really felt like you were on a proper race. People were cheering, really encouraging every rider who went past. Really incredible.
 
Great morning, firstly broke the strap on my exposure bracket, second one that has failed. Shame as the product is so good apart from them. Will try to get wiggle to send another.

Then had some hilariously angry guy in a Toyota Aygo brake test me. Just laughed it off as he tried to accelerate off, then thought he's probably angry as his life has led him to drive a Toyota Aygo... :D
 
madindehead said:
Good job man! You probably had a much better experience than most, being near the front. The closed element was nice, but does get ruined by people being idiots :(
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Yeah it was good fun, drilling it leading the entire peloton through Knightsbridge I'll not forget, and that run in along embankment. Won the sprint of the second group in, so had to be pleased with that :o
 
FrenchTart said:
Lol...I know what you mean. I'd feel a little bit dirty mixing them up too :p

Could look at Rotor or one of the main other options?
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Got a used Cervelo branded Rotor set on FB with GXP BB for $135! With used aero SRAM rings. See when it turns up, bought and sold a few things on FB bike market group and had no problems but it's always a bit dodgy.

My Rapha Pro Team bibs stitching came loose, bought March last year. Emailed them at 6pm, Aus close at 5pm, but I had a reply in 5 minutes! Sent them a photo, repair agreed & post back tomorrow. Good service!

Got my new front wheel today for training on, always been using cheap wheels so this should be sweet!

White Industries T11 hub, Saipim spokes, hplusson achetype rim, weight with rim strip and no skewer 760g.

I drilled a 2mm hole in the rim on either side to drain water, found my other would fill up the box section after riding in the rain.

Looks great while the rim is all black, so so when the brake track wears to silver.

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ThaReaperGuy said:
- Does anyone know where I can get replacement cleat bolts (using Look Keo's), I've lost 2 now, don't think my puny cycling arms managed to tighten them enough. Or should I just buy new cleats in preperation as I'll need them eventally. Keo's being £9.99!
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Not many places outside of a LBS will sell just 'cleat bolts'. My local has given me 2 after losing them on club rides! You're better buying spare cleats and investing in some loctite (found Blue cheapest from Halfords in a pritstik style thingy). I do mine up to 6nm with my torque wrench - but be careful not to strip any threads. Most (normal!) people tend to do 4-5. I'm a beast (and would rather not remove bolts until it's time to change cleats!).
Berger said:
Hard to find shifters and you have to get a Force crankset to get 53/39 which is $$$ Rival cranks are all compacts!
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What about your old crankset? Wasn't it just the shifter you had a problem with? Mix&match or did you have enough of that before? ;)
jpaul said:
Indexing on the rear derailleur was becoming unreliable so took both mechs off and teflon lubricated the pivot points, working backwards/forwards and using Q tip to get as much dirt off in the vicinity, is there a better approach ?<snip>
Remarked some play in the jockey wheels (not ball race variety) and wondered if there is a rule of thumb for replacing them (eg. after 'n' chains )and whether play could contribute to some lateral chain movement causing indexing issue or occasional roll up of chain on top of its cog ?
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You can replace jockey wheels - I even bought myself a set (after one of the sleeve-type bearings in my 5800 was rough and wouldn't really spin freely). But after spending ~£16 on jockey wheels it is probably cheaper (especially with your unreliable indexing) to just replace the rear derailleur.

I 'clean' mine with a spray of GT85. When it's really mucky I'll wipe as much grime off as I can (an old toothbrush can be good to get in to the spring). Just make sure you lubricate freely afterwards. Some thick grease on the spring internal is good too (they tend to come with some there from new).
whyscotty said:
Specialized - Short Chainstay System - (SCS)

Has nothing to do with the front wheel, it will only effect you if you want some new wheels.

http://specialized.desk.com/custome...ptions-for-road-disc-wheels-with-scs-spacing-
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Ahhh thanks, good info, I had wrongly assumed the 'SCS' system listed for wheels also incorporated the 142mm thru-axle with their ratchet/spindle arm. No idea what the specific name for it is! :rolleyes:

Some horror stories about sourcing some aftermarket wheels due to the increased frame spacing... Which was one thing I wanted (an on-road wheelset & an off-road one!). Thankfully a set of the Roval CLX40 would be one of my choices anyway, leaving the AXIS 4.0 Disc my Diverge came with (and their high spoke count) as the off-road wheels.

Also wonder if I'm going to have any different problems indexing to avoid chain rub. Time will tell!

BennyC said:
Logically Ultegra brakes makes more sense but part of me just wants lots of blingy DA goodness...
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Just use the 105 until you can save enough pennies for the DA? Probably won't be many huge deals on current DA until the new is stocked... ;)
 
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