Road Cycling

[Nutty_Death]

Sorry last message.

I'm off to Majorca tomorrow and I've rented a bike for the 2 weeks.

Staying near Pollença and realistically can't be out for more than 2 hours as it's a family holiday, so just some 6am rides.

Any recommendations on points I should try cycling to?

 

[SoliD]

Lighthouse with 2 hrs. About the only good place you can get to and back in that time.

 

[Nutty_Death]

Lighthouse with 2 hrs. About the only good place you can get to and back in that time.

Thanks,
Might need to try my luck and see how fast I can get to Sa Calobra and back too, or perhaps arrange meeting the family somewhere in a sweaty mess.

 

[AndyCr15]

Shimano Ultegra R8000 Crankset - Stop That Creaking Sound!

Shimano Ultegra R8000 Crankset - Stop That Creaking Sound!If you find the videos helpful and would like to make a small donation to help support the channel ...

youtu.be

He does some of the best guide videos I've watched. Albeit at about half the talking speed of other videos.

Thanks, useful video. Removing the crankset isn't something I've done before, not sure I really have all the tools necessary (soft mallet, the plastic tool for the cap bit). I may try dashing some GT85 around it on the off chance it gets in to lubricate the same areas?

Thanks,
Might need to try my luck and see how fast I can get to Sa Calobra and back too, or perhaps arrange meeting the family somewhere in a sweaty mess.

I was going to say lighthouse. Sa Calobra, I think you might need a pass one day to actually do the climb. Looking at my ride there, even just coming back from Sa Calobra took an hour and that was mainly descending.

If you had maybe 3 hours, you might get down to Petra. There's an optional small climb there too (Puig de Bonany?) but you'd have to move pretty quick.

 

[Shoeyuk]

I tested positive for coronavirus last friday and its been a pretty bad weekend but were now 5 days in and still testing positve but am feeling like im on the mend compared to what i was. How long from when you felt recovered/tested negative was it until you got back on the bike? So far all i can gather from reading online is not to rush as you can risk long covid/chronic fatigue, but without any real figures to go on. I wasn't looking at going into anything full bore just some gentle low intensity spins on the turbo just to keep me ticking over, my current thinking was waiting till next week before i try anything.

 

[fez]

I tested positive for coronavirus last friday and its been a pretty bad weekend but were now 5 days in and still testing positve but am feeling like im on the mend compared to what i was. How long from when you felt recovered/tested negative was it until you got back on the bike? So far all i can gather from reading online is not to rush as you can risk long covid/chronic fatigue, but without any real figures to go on. I wasn't looking at going into anything full bore just some gentle low intensity spins on the turbo just to keep me ticking over, my current thinking was waiting till next week before i try anything.

I tested positive for COVID on Saturday, just before I was supposed to be going to a wedding

I think based on government guidelines (which are basically "who cares, crack on") I could have gone and I would wager that very very few people are still testing. I've had a bit of a sore throat, stuffy nose and felt a little under the weather but I am quite knackered a lot of the time from work and having 2 nippers to take care of which is a 24/7 job.

I went out on a 40km ride on the Sunday and it was OK. I was probably at 80% of normal but normal is quite hard to quantify right now. Didn't cause me any issues the next day despite it being somewhat gruelling at the time.

I still have some vague hangover from it now but I think its 95% gone. I did lose quite a lot of my sense of smell for a few days which I haven't had with COVID before.

 

[Liefrich]

Sorry last message.

I'm off to Majorca tomorrow and I've rented a bike for the 2 weeks.

Staying near Pollença and realistically can't be out for more than 2 hours as it's a family holiday, so just some 6am rides.

Any recommendations on points I should try cycling to?

There are loads of little loops you can do around Puerto Pollenca. If you look on Strava you will see tons of small roads and you can easily make a 25 miler out of those. You could head to Alcudia old town (not the resort). A longer route would be to Muro and back which is a lovely town.

Lunch Ride - Richard D's 47.5 mi bike ride

Flatter route taking in lovely Muro

www.strava.com

That is what I did. You can cut up to Sa Pobla rather than go via Inca which would shorten the route.

If you have 3 hours and don't stop you can do the climb up Coll de sa Batalla and then descend down Coll de Femenia (you can reverse that loop too).

The roads are lovely so you should be able to map yourself some decent routes via Strava.

 

[SoliD]

Thanks, useful video. Removing the crankset isn't something I've done before, not sure I really have all the tools necessary (soft mallet, the plastic tool for the cap bit). I may try dashing some GT85 around it on the off chance it gets in to lubricate the same areas?

I was going to say lighthouse. Sa Calobra, I think you might need a pass one day to actually do the climb. Looking at my ride there, even just coming back from Sa Calobra took an hour and that was mainly descending.

If you had maybe 3 hours, you might get down to Petra. There's an optional small climb there too (Puig de Bonany?) but you'd have to move pretty quick.

don't use gt85 you'll wash the grease out of the BB.

 

[SoliD]

Thanks,
Might need to try my luck and see how fast I can get to Sa Calobra and back too, or perhaps arrange meeting the family somewhere in a sweaty mess.

Probably 4 hours not hanging around at best.... 85k minimum depending where you're staying. Could loop up to Lluc, but best to get yourself met at the petrol station or dropped off at the petrol station, do the descent then back up and ride back to Pollenca!

 

[SoliD]

I tested positive for coronavirus last friday and its been a pretty bad weekend but were now 5 days in and still testing positve but am feeling like im on the mend compared to what i was. How long from when you felt recovered/tested negative was it until you got back on the bike? So far all i can gather from reading online is not to rush as you can risk long covid/chronic fatigue, but without any real figures to go on. I wasn't looking at going into anything full bore just some gentle low intensity spins on the turbo just to keep me ticking over, my current thinking was waiting till next week before i try anything.

I raced CX world masters champs (December 2022) with it (tested positive when I got home) and previous year national champs (Jan 2022)with it. first time it was a sniffle and I took 2 or 3 days easy, and then was fine the next weekend and got on the podium. but in December it hit me for six the day after, and I had a cold about 2 and a bit weeks later and although still training/riding and getting on with life I didn't get back to what I'd call normal until March/April. But I doubt having rest off the bike would have affected this whatsoever.

 

[fez]

******* cycling. I go for a nice relaxed ride and avg. 25kph. I go for a much harder effort on the same route and average 27-28kph. Its not a long route at 32km but still. I felt like I was going to have done 22-23kph based on taking it so easy.

Don't know why I bother

 

[Calpol]

First time fitting Tubeless to my cross bike ahead of a gravel event next week. Was apprehensive as have heard some horror stories from mates. Tyres went on easy, loaded up with some Stans and managed to avoid any bukakke incidents. Few of hard, fast full strokes of the track pump and I got a seal. So much easier than I thought. Even wasn't too angry when I noticed the froent had been put on in the wrong direction so quickly changed it. I might just now be a convert.

 

[One More Solo]

I think tubeless tech has moved on a long way. I’m tempted to give it a try again on the road myself. I’ve already set my wife’s e-bike up tubeless with liners because it’s such a PITA to fix a flat that it gives two additional layers of security to at least get her home and fix it here. My own experiences weren’t so great because the couple of flats I did get didn’t seal which makes the whole thing a bit redundant, but this was 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[Trifid]

First time fitting Tubeless to my cross bike ahead of a gravel event next week. Was apprehensive as have heard some horror stories from mates. Tyres went on easy, loaded up with some Stans and managed to avoid any bukakke incidents. Few of hard, fast full strokes of the track pump and I got a seal. So much easier than I thought. Even wasn't too angry when I noticed the froent had been put on in the wrong direction so quickly changed it. I might just now be a convert.

It can be a huge pain on road bikes. Getting 25mm GP5000's on my UST carbon rims required 2 men using all their strength, an oven, large tyre grips and our strongest tyre levers. Once we had that knowledge, the second one went on in about 5 minutes. Pre-heating an oven and cooking a tyre to make it supple shouldn't be part of the instructions.

 

[manic111]

Hey everyone - I'm vaguely wondering about a new bike, having got back into cycling during the summer. I'm currently on a Decathlon Triban RC500, so obviously there's lots of space to improve on that.

I generally go out for rides in the region of 60-100km, usually with a group of friends of varying speeds of which I'm somewhere in the middle. That said, I've got a 100 miler planned in May which I'll be training for so those distances will increase. I don't want anything with too aggressive a geometry as I get fairly sore, and I really don't need that geometry for the rides I do. That said, I'm after something more exciting and quicker to ride than my current bike (which I understand is probably most things...).

I'm happy to spend in the region of £2k, and more like £2.5-3k if there's value in it. I'm also probably not going to purchase until at least October or so, with a view to getting the bike in time for early Spring at the latest, so if there are going to be new versions that it makes sense to wait on then I'm happy to.

Thanks!

 

[blairw]

Does your workplace offer cycle2work schemes? Depending on your salary you could almost double your budget + be paying it monthly over the year - worth investigating.
Bikes at price ranges are much a muchness in my opinion, what separates them is getting it to fit you properly. Well worth getting a professional bike fit., perhaps one that does a pre purchase assessment and offers you a range of frames/sizes that are well suited

 

[manic111]

Does your workplace offer cycle2work schemes? Depending on your salary you could almost double your budget + be paying it monthly over the year - worth investigating.
Bikes at price ranges are much a muchness in my opinion, what separates them is getting it to fit you properly. Well worth getting a professional bike fit., perhaps one that does a pre purchase assessment and offers you a range of frames/sizes that are well suited

Yup, I can get cycle 2 work, although I don't trust myself to be at the company long enough for it to be worthwhile, so I'd rather buy outright.

Do you have any recommendations for decent bike shops? From what I can tell, most places are either a bit of a chain and possibly not great (Evans etc), or are individual brands like Giant, Ribble etc meaning I'd have to do a bit of a trawl and couldn't compare directly in the same shop.

 

[blairw]

A good local bike shop is golden - I'd avoid a chain as much as possible. Most bike shops will have individual brands that they stock, like I said - you won't find much between the major bike brands at each price point so you're better getting with a bike shop that can look after you. Use cycle 2 work, it's literally free money - if you leave during the repayment period have some money set aside for the final amount as it's just taken from your final wage.

 

[manic111]

Thanks! I'll scout around for a decent shop.

Just done a cycle to work calculator, and can get a £3k bike for under £2k. Thanks for the advice!

 

[SoliD]

I think tubeless tech has moved on a long way. I’m tempted to give it a try again on the road myself. I’ve already set my wife’s e-bike up tubeless with liners because it’s such a PITA to fix a flat that it gives two additional layers of security to at least get her home and fix it here. My own experiences weren’t so great because the couple of flats I did get didn’t seal which makes the whole thing a bit redundant, but this was 3 or 4 years ago.

still dont think the road justifies tubeless for most cases. the amount of punctures I have with well maintained tyres is so low. had 1 this year when my tyre was due to be replaced.