Road Cycling

[UTmaniac]

IIRC summer '18 was a dry heatwave in Hampshire, I had to stop chasing my times up hills unless by some miracle I got out early, otherwise I'd finish a 5-10mins "full beans" climb and then have to drink the best part of one of my two water bottles over the next ~5mins.

Can't recall much from '19 besides making a complete hash of changing to 3-bolt shoes and badly messing up one of my knees through awful cleat position for my bow legs (I was walking at ~6 months apparently, quite early). Had to spend a lot of the summer on the turbo recovering.

In '20 there was a crazy spring heatwave around start of lockdown, but I missed a lot of it because of the start of my partner's still ongoing long Covid. Then lost August because I was told not to cycle while my lanced back absess healed.

'21 weather is a complete blur to me. All I can remember is one health setback after another, cold in Feb; bad reaction to first Covid vaccine in April; not quite so bad reaction to second vaccine in June; ~3.5 week proper flu in October; second worst vaccine reaction in December.

As usual, besides commutes I hibernate on the turbo Nov-Mar depending on temp/rain. I don't go out on the road bike if rain is expected or the roads are still wet from earlier rain (all the agro of extra drivetrain wear if not cleaned). '22 so far since March feels very sporadic, temp maybe a bit down but I prefer ~15C, it feels like there's been an awful lot of wet/windy days since a nice week or so in mid March.

Speaking of which, rain forecast here almost relentlessly for next 6 days, starting from ~2000 tonight... Desperately trying to find some energy after work to head out to South Downs, something I've failed to do much this year so far, besides some really easy sub 60min local pootles... The E/ENE headwind ~25mph gusts heading out mostly uphill aren't exactly inviting!

 

[SoliD]

Last summer was pretty pants but last winter was quite warm and dry. Winter 18/19 was really wet and cold with a great summer afterwards. Hopefully weather will improve when I get home from holiday.

 

[Berger]

Kj there is a measure of the work done. In theory, you would divide by 4 to arrive at your calorie expenditure, but the human body is only c25% mechanically efficient on a bike. In other words, 1,000kj of cycling work requires 4,000kj of energy to be consumed. 4,000kj divided by 4 is 1,000 calories.

Efficiency will vary between riders and I don’t think Strava uses a round 25% but that’s the general principle.

Makes sense, but not sure what the value of providing both figures is then.

Been feeling flat all week; took the chance to heat mould my Bonts more and ride easy.

On weight weenies they recommended 100c for 10 mins or 120-140c using a heat gun! I went with 110c on the oven thermostat, when I compared with a meat thermometer it was pretty close.

Been working my way up as didn’t want to melt them but lower temperatures did nothing.

My right shoe is good as of this morning, but left I had a hot spot, gave them another mould when I came back, put a little bit of cardboard in to help push it out in that area.

The bont instructions are way out. The recommended 70c they do nothing.

If they did mould at such a low temperature you’d risk them melting if you left them in the car or behind a window on a sunny day!

 

[Lethal`]

Thanks for the route help @UTmaniac. Rode it on Friday: https://www.strava.com/activities/7249104627

In the end, I was quite early for the Hythe Ferry. It was literally all closed up when I got there and I think first one wouldn't leave until around an hour later so I rode into Southampton on the annoying shared use path. At least I wasn't on the dual carriageways until that point like last time. Getting out of Southampton was relatively pleasant at that time. It was a long old day in the end and very rolling but nice enough. A little gutted I didn't get the SW/W wind I had hoped for

 

[UTmaniac]

Thanks for the route help @UTmaniac. Rode it on Friday: https://www.strava.com/activities/7249104627

In the end, I was quite early for the Hythe Ferry. It was literally all closed up when I got there and I think first one wouldn't leave until around an hour later so I rode into Southampton on the annoying shared use path. At least I wasn't on the dual carriageways until that point like last time. Getting out of Southampton was relatively pleasant at that time. It was a long old day in the end and very rolling but nice enough. A little gutted I didn't get the SW/W wind I had hoped for

No probs, hope it helped a bit and maybe gave you the odd new lane to ride.

Wind direction was the straw that broke the camel's back for me on Saturday, got back from work feeling dead from the early alarm and workload, several coffees later the NE headwind stopped another well intentioned 2+ hour ride after work.

Ended up on turbo last night for first time in a while, so mentally tired all day and couldn't decide on what to do besides watch the delayed rain hit around 1600!

Annoyingly tweaked my lower back quite badly while getting the new turbo out of the way last night, feeling very sore and like the hunch back of Notre Dame today.

 

[Junglist]

Current cyclescheme all sorted and paid off. Immediately put in a request for a new one. Hopefully gets approved soon and I'll have new wheels before the end of the month

 

[Martynt74]

Out of curiosity, how much difference does a better bike make?

My current bike has hydraulic disc brakes which make a horrendous squeaking. I've changed the rotors and pads, and also had a bike shop check the hydraulics to ensure there's no leaks, to absolutely no success. There's no noise for light braking, but it's always the final stop from walking speed to stationary that it happens. Doesn't matter how slowly i come to a stop or using front/back brakes.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to the next steps, but it's very annoying and quite embarrassing when pulling up at a junction and everyone looks at you!

I've considered changing bikes for a while (as you'll all see from previous posts!). My current bike is a Pinnacle Arkose from 2017 with Shimano 105 groupset. Cassette is an 11-28 which i would also like to change as i do struggle up some hills. So cost wise i imagine about £200 with fitting. Which seems like a lot to throw at a bike which only cost £300 (plus around £100 in parts to make it roadworthy)

I've then been looking on Facebook at something like this

Facebook

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Now, as far as bikes go it has everything i would need (and looks awesome)

Or this one, it looks to have been built up using a Chinese frame, however the seller is in a few groups i'm in and looks to have covered Iron Man's on it so certainly not just someone skimping on something rubbish. At the price it seems a bargain!

Facebook

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The question is however, how much better would the general cycling experience be on one of the above bikes? I like the idea of DI2 shifting and having rim brakes doesn't bother me at all. I would assume i would be faster, given a lighter/more aero frame thats specifically a road bike rather than my existing gravel bike.

 

[UTmaniac]

The question is however, how much better would the general cycling experience be on one of the above bikes? I like the idea of DI2 shifting and having rim brakes doesn't bother me at all. I would assume i would be faster, given a lighter/more aero frame thats specifically a road bike rather than my existing gravel bike.

I think you need to quantify what you mean by "better."

Comfort or performance or something else?

Aeroad is marketed as a racey, aero bike, but looks like you will be severely restricted by how wide a tyre you can fit... Which is fine, if it's comfortable enough for the planned use you have for it.

Those bikes are both big frames. A bargain that springs to mind if absolute speed is not the goal is https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/YBOOFRRIV1700/on-one-free-ranger-sram-rival-1-carbon-gravel-bike for ~£1020 inc. postage. It can fit 50mm tyres, but you could swap the tyres out (or have another set of wheels) for something more road speed orientated ~30mm. Or for Force groupset, ~£1320 for https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/YBOOFRFOR1700/on-one-free-ranger-sram-force-1-carbon-gravel-bike (frame will take 2x front mech but sadly not sold as complete builds).

There's plenty of tweaks you can do to yourself and existing bikes to get more speed for your effort, but they will only go so far, when you have a frame with 388mm reach and 610mm stack like my "58cm" Cube Attain GTC Disc.

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah. I’m 6’3 so big frames are a must. It’s one of those benefits of going used whereby there’s a decent chance prices are lower due to less demand but also a lack of options!

It’s a tricky one. I’m not a huge cyclist (bar size!) and so speed/comfort over long distances isn’t massive really.

I think ultimately I fancy a change more than anything and so having something that would be a high end bike and leave less desires for a change would be nice.

 

[AndyCr15]

Personally, I love Di2 and discs. Those are two things I don't think I could do without and a reason my winter bike never came out of the garage last winter (it's not Di2). I don't think I would buy a bike without them both now, as you say, from a ride quality point of view.

As said, the Aeroad is very racey. I was looking at them myself recently, but I guess I worry about comfort and it might be too racey for my back. I currently have the Endurace, which is Canyons more comfortable model (with the Ultimate being between the Endurace and Aeroad).

Decide to finish work a little a little early yesterday and headed out for a quick 40 miles. Having not ridden since Sunday I felt very fresh and was pushing on at around an 18mph average as I arrived for my coffee and cake, which for me is pretty speedy. Then, a couple of miles into my return journey I remembered I'd spotted a bulge in the sidewall last time I was out (and had then completely forgotten about it) and checked it again... and it looked pretty bad! Sure enough, a couple more miles and BANG! The latex tube could hold it no more. Clearly a mistake here, I tried patching it with puncture patches and put in a new latex tube... 2 miles later... BANG! Next, in went a butyl tube and a ziplock bag I had with me, wrapped inside the weak sidewall. This time I only inflated to 33psi and managed to limp home the 14 miles remaining

 

[Junglist]

I have the ultimate but I think my next bike would be the aeroad.

Deep down I'd love a Tarmac or Madone but when you look at them compared to Canyon they're just so expensive. I mean this is a few years away at the least but I do like looking at them now and acting as if I was in a position to buy one!

Sounds like you had a bit of a palaver @AndyCr15 . I'm still running on very few miles at the moment but trying to get back into a routine. I've put my cyclescheme request in so I better get back to putting in some miles before the new toys arrive.

 

[Martynt74]

Personally, I love Di2 and discs. Those are two things I don't think I could do without and a reason my winter bike never came out of the garage last winter (it's not Di2). I don't think I would buy a bike without them both now, as you say, from a ride quality point of view.

I think this is my concern.

Whilst the second bike is obviously a big upgrade on mine being Ultegra and the dual sided power meter that I would really like and some deep rim wheels. It missing DI2 means there’s always going to be that part of me that would be looking at the next bike. However at the same time. It’s cheap enough that I think I could easily sell on without losing money should I decide to in the future.

There is a BMC Time Machine with both DI2 and a power meter, but it’s an older Ultegra 6700 and I think I’d prefer the newer 8000 series.

I would also prefer to keep it under £1500. For my level of riding I don’t think it makes much sense to go above that.
My current bike at £300 was good to prove I would use it as a safety net and so I think I need to be sensible on the next step too.

 

[Junglist]

I can't get these deep wheels soon enough. There is a segment I'm trying to do. Bristol-Bath ~17Km under 30 minutes. Did it in 31:08 today. There was a few moments I had to slow down for joggers/cyclists, 2 crossings and also some workmen but it was painfully close. Annoyingly so.

I don't think the wheels would save 69 seconds but they may gave me some pseudo speed

 

[AndyCr15]

There is a BMC Time Machine with both DI2 and a power meter

I wouldn't base anything on if the bike has a power meter or not as they are easily added (so I guess just factor into the costs)

I don't think the wheels would save 69 seconds

I'd be surprised if they didn't. (Mind you, I don't know what you have now?) I know when I first got aero wheels, PR's were falling everywhere. 69 seconds over 30 minutes should be do-able.

Also, someone at the local bike cafe was asking about my Canyon. I mentioned I had considered an Aeroad upgrade, but I wasn't sure about the riding position. He mentioned a place near Box Hill that rents Canyons, so I might head down there and do Box Hill on the Aeroad, see how it feels, although it looks like Medium is the biggest they have

 

[Junglist]

I'd be surprised if they didn't. (Mind you, I don't know what you have now?) I know when I first got aero wheels, PR's were falling everywhere. 69 seconds over 30 minutes should be do-able.

I've got the 23mm DT Swiss P1800 wheels. so from 23mm up to 58mm. I'm hoping it could do the trick. Though I think if I tried it again and hoped I get lucky with the crossings/it not being quite as busy. I should be able to do it.

Looking at my strava and those who I follow; Andrew Feather has done the same segment in 29:35 and averaged 34.5Km/h. My average speed today was 32.8Km/h. So it's without touching distance for sure.

 

[UTmaniac]

I've got the 23mm DT Swiss P1800 wheels. so from 23mm up to 58mm. I'm hoping it could do the trick. Though I think if I tried it again and hoped I get lucky with the crossings/it not being quite as busy. I should be able to do it.

Looking at my strava and those who I follow; Andrew Feather has done the same segment in 29:35 and averaged 34.5Km/h. My average speed today was 32.8Km/h. So it's without touching distance for sure.

Something to bare in mind is the wind direction would have been at least quite favourable for Bristol to Bath today, increasing the speed for your effort, but aero would still be important as wind speed doesn't look to be 30mph+.

 

[Junglist]

Something to bare in mind is the wind direction would have been at least quite favourable for Bristol to Bath today, increasing the speed for your effort, but aero would still be important as wind speed doesn't look to be 30mph+.

It was pretty nice wind wise. Even in the most exposed bits near saltford it seemed to be quite gentle. Usually I get bashed from left to right on that bit. Even on the way back it was still lovely. Basically had perfect conditions

 

[Junglist]

Anyone using/used the Schwable Pro One tyres? Any reason to avoid them? Seems the Continental GP5000S are out of stock in most places and Mantel have the Schwalbes for £75 a pair.

 

[SoliD]

I've had pro ones in the past. They were OK. Grip was good but they weren't that durable and needed replacing sooner than normal.

 

[Martynt74]

Well i decided to go with the cheaper bike posted above. It's built around this frame, the Ican A8 which is a chinese "unbranded" style

Carbon Bike Frames-Road Bike Frame

ICAN Road bike frame is one of the best carbon bike frame.Choose the best suitable one for you from the ICAN carbon frame list.

icancycling.com

What surprised me was how light the whole thing is. I had actually thought my old bike was fairly light compared to everything i'd had before, but got the luggage scales out and the old one was 11kg, and the new one being 8kg.

Took it out for it's maiden voyage this morning. Certainly some positive and negative points coming from the previous bike.

Positives
Speed - Average was at around 2mph faster than usual, this might be "new bike" impact though. My strava is showing a lot of PR's though.
Ultegra groupset - man this thing is precise when shifting compared to my old 105. This seems obvious, especially since it's the older 5800 vs the new 8000 range, but i hadn't expected this much improvement
Weight - As mentioned above, the carbon wheels are also a lot lighter than i was ever expecting
Comfort - again this is something that could've easily been adjusted on the old bike, but the bar tape feels much more cushioned which is nice, the drops also feel a better angle. Possibly due to it being a full road bike vs a gravel bike?
Power meter - As above, could easily have been added, but it's nice to have that on a display in front of me
Brakes - They no longer squeak when stopping. Always a benefit!


Negatives
About the only one is the brakes, it's removed the annoying squeak when stopping, but there's now a slight noise under regular braking which never used to be noticeable with the old discs. Sounds like the front brake might be rubbing slightly so need to check it's seated properly.
Coasting seems to cause a clicking in the hub too, i don't recall this on my other bike, so need to investigate it
Bar Tape - Whilst it's comfy, i've noticed a small rip on the drops and i think it'll annoy me, so needs swapping over.


Obviously, the fix to the negatives is to upgrade again at some point to a carbon bike, with Ultegra disc brakes In all fairness that's where i would've liked to have been (including DI2), however i stayed sensible to keep spend to a reasonable level. I'd want to be confident of doing decent mileage before dropping £2k+ on a bike.



The guy did throw in a cheap bike computer and mount too which gives power/cadence etc. I'll see how that goes, but think a Garmin 830 might be next on the list. Having that information up front certainly helps with motivation at times.