Road Cycling

Soldato
Joined
27 Feb 2003
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7,171
Location
Shropshire
Lovely hubs, you can actually just pull the freehub off with the cassette in place if you wanted to save a step.

I didn't think of that - still, I took the chance to give the cassette a good scrub so that's all shiny again.

I also finally changed the front tyre. I think I posted an image before about how I was getting strange "growths" on the tyre after plugging a puncture which the sealant couldn't quite seal properly (it never went totally flat on the road, so never stranded me). The tyre had done just under 4000km.

The blue circle is where I stuck the Dynaracer plugs in - the red is a bit of the weird rubber growth that would build-up and then fall off whilst riding.

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This is inside the tyre with the tips of the two plugs still there:

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Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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14,761
Location
Barnet, London
Looks lovely, congrats :cool:

Was actually quite nice early this morning. I was out before 8am and up to about 10am it was beautiful.

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Quite a few broken trees and such, but a lovely ride.

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Clouded over a bit on the way home, but back by 11am and a downpour started around lunch time, so it was timed well!
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
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25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
I nearly went out yesterday as the morning was beautiful but by the time I got around to be ready it was already starting to cloud over and look angry so I thought it was best avoided.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2003
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10,855
Location
Wigan
Not worth riding outside. Think I’ve only been out 4 times this year, 1st and 3rd of Jan were two of those!

Stick to the trainer and maintain fitness even gain some, don’t go out, have an accident and set yourself back weeks, months or worse.

My neighbour just spent 3 weeks in hospital after a car pulled out on him when he went for a ride after work! Stick to the turbo until it’s light and dry.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
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8,617
Location
Southampton
Turbo won again, not as bad as Friday but still gusty. My next recreational ride is going to feel so weird, I've done one since 10th October, the day before my 4 week flu began... Almost three months ago!:eek:
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
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11,088
Location
Bristol
I've started clucking this week as I've only been out for 1 lunch time ride and it's the least I've ridden this year. Not a fan of the current weather at all. I wouldn't even mind riding in the rain as I've got some wet weather gear it's just the wind I'm really not a fan of and just seems a bit too dangerous for my liking. Even though it's been tempting to look outside abs think "oh it doesn't look that bad..."

Really excited to get my turbo trainer tomorrow. I've no idea how I'll cope on it and I feel the Dyson fan we have will not be up to the task of cooling me down but I'm just looking forward to getting back on my bike and turning my legs over even if it is virtually.

A bit undecided as to what platform I'll use. I've set up a Zwift account and will use the trial but I also like the look of RGT and being able to add in real road routes and cycle them virtually. I'll stick with Zwift for a while as it has a few workouts I'd like to do and I suppose it's more popular for a reason. Just excited to get going
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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14,761
Location
Barnet, London
I'll stick with Zwift for a while as it has a few workouts I'd like to do

I think this is something I wish I'd known about when I started out. I think workouts are a very efficient use of cycling time.

Mind you, indoor cycling (to me) is not a good substitute for outdoor riding :(

Weather wasn't great, but wanting to not miss any opportunity to ride outside, I went into London yesterday, for a bit of a different ride.

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I forgot how stop/start it is...
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
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11,088
Location
Bristol
I think this is something I wish I'd known about when I started out. I think workouts are a very efficient use of cycling time.

Mind you, indoor cycling (to me) is not a good substitute for outdoor riding :(

Weather wasn't great, but wanting to not miss any opportunity to ride outside, I went into London yesterday, for a bit of a different ride.

The workouts, in general, are what got me into the idea of a power meter. I got a 2018 Kickr for less than i would've paid for a set of power meter pedals and I guess it would be a lot easier to train indoors without distractions than it would be on the open road. Also helps that we have our baby due in 4 weeks so being able to do some form of cycling exercise without leaving the house is going to be worth its weight in gold soon.

I really want to find out my FTP... But the test looks grueling! I also know it wont be that high (if it was higher than 180-200 I'd be shocked) so I wonder if it's just worth doing the 4 week booster workout plan and doing a test at the end.

Really cool shots from London! I've been on the hard sell with a friend trying to convince him to get the Canyon Endurace the last few days. He was looking at a Giant TCR, I think it was. Such poor value for money compared to the Canyon equivalent.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
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8,617
Location
Southampton
I really want to find out my FTP... But the test looks grueling! I also know it wont be that high (if it was higher than 180-200 I'd be shocked) so I wonder if it's just worth doing the 4 week booster workout plan and doing a test at the end.

My advice if using Zwift would be do the standard ramp test (warmup, starts at 100W, +20W every minute) and continue for as long as you can turn the pedals at 70rpm+ while staying seated. If you don't manage to complete an interval above 250W, maybe look at doing the lite ramp test (warmup, starts at 50W, +10W every minute) towards end of the week.

But sometime around the middle of the week, try and join a 16.1Km TT event at Tempus Fugit, head out aiming for ~25W below the FTP estimate you got off the first ramp test and after turning the loop to head back start thinking if you could increase the power a bit.

20min FTP tests, where you judge the pace completely, take at least a few attempts to judge what you can manage and are capable of.
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
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25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
Really cool shots from London! I've been on the hard sell with a friend trying to convince him to get the Canyon Endurace the last few days. He was looking at a Giant TCR, I think it was. Such poor value for money compared to the Canyon equivalent.

I'm not sure its that simple at the moment. I looked at a lot of reviews and the TCR gets great reviews and its not that poor value IMO. I just got a 2021 TCR 3 for £1600 brand new and the only place I can see that they have saved a bit of money is the groupset but the tiagra works perfectly. Think it would have been £2100 at full RRP which would get you 105 and a similar setup elsewhere on a Canyon.

Currently the biggest argument against Canyon is that you can't get hold of the damn things! :p
 
Associate
Joined
22 Dec 2005
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1,196
Location
Cardiff
Really cool shots from London! I've been on the hard sell with a friend trying to convince him to get the Canyon Endurace the last few days. He was looking at a Giant TCR, I think it was. Such poor value for money compared to the Canyon equivalent.

The Canyon equivalent would actually be the Ultimate, rather than the Endurace. The Defy is Giant's endurance model. That said, the TCR is a brilliant all-around bike and if he is lucky enough to find one in his size then he won't regret the purchase.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
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11,088
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Bristol
The Canyon equivalent would actually be the Ultimate, rather than the Endurace. The Defy is Giant's endurance model. That said, the TCR is a brilliant all-around bike and if he is lucky enough to find one in his size then he won't regret the purchase.

You're right, it was the Defy Advanced 2 or potentially Defy Advanced 1 that he was looking at. I just had TCR in my mind.

Either way the Endurace looked like it provided more bang for the buck but the issue was availability. I was luckily to get my Ultimate and it wasn't even in the colour I really wanted.
 
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Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,088
Location
Bristol
My advice if using Zwift would be do the standard ramp test (warmup, starts at 100W, +20W every minute) and continue for as long as you can turn the pedals at 70rpm+ while staying seated. If you don't manage to complete an interval above 250W, maybe look at doing the lite ramp test (warmup, starts at 50W, +10W every minute) towards end of the week.

But sometime around the middle of the week, try and join a 16.1Km TT event at Tempus Fugit, head out aiming for ~25W below the FTP estimate you got off the first ramp test and after turning the loop to head back start thinking if you could increase the power a bit.

20min FTP tests, where you judge the pace completely, take at least a few attempts to judge what you can manage and are capable of.

Will do, are the TT competitive or just competing against yourself? I had a brief look at the categories and I really don't know if I'd even have the w/KG for the lowest class!

I did think the ramp test looked a bit more of a gentle way in but never heard of it before Zwift so wasn't sure if it was worthwhile. I only really started cycling in August and even then I've only covered 800 miles so I'm as fresh as they come but that means the only way is up :p


edit: Does anyone bother with an ANT+ receiver for their set up, assuming they're using their laptop/desktop?

I was going to use my laptop connected to a spare monitor as the AppleTV is all wired up in the bedroom and I don't really fancy setting it up in front of my PC.

I've seen people say that Bluetooth is a bit hit or miss when you have a few devices connected? Wondering if it's worth spending the £20 for a ANT+ and an extender or just trial Bluetooth? I guess it'll be the Kickr, Bolt v2 and Tickr all connected. Wasn't going to bother with the cadence sensor as it seems like that's now possible to do on the device itself.
 
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Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
Posts
14,761
Location
Barnet, London
I really want to find out my FTP... But the test looks grueling! I also know it wont be that high (if it was higher than 180-200 I'd be shocked) so I wonder if it's just worth doing the 4 week booster workout plan and doing a test at the end.

Definitely do the ramp test right at the beginning. For me, seeing progression in my FTP was a big motivating factor, so I think it's good to know where you start. Never be afraid of seeing a result just because you might perceive it as a negative. Do your best, get your FTP and then work hard to make it better! :) You'll probably be surprised how well you do, given you've done some cycling and you'll have a little in the legs already. Also look at W/kg, as as you have noticed, this is how Zwift will rate you. My FTP might sound reasonable at 306W, but when you consider I'm 97kg, it's not so great :cry:

edit: Does anyone bother with an ANT+ receiver for their set up, assuming they're using their laptop/desktop?

I do. I think generally it's considered more reliable.
 
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