Road Cycling Essentials

platypus · 1 May 2013 at 13:26

[Damien];24209704 said:
That's my biggest problem. I only stand up on the really steep hills (20-25ish%) but even when I'm seated I tend to shift my weight forward and grind up using my quads. I'm usually pulling on my bars to get extra leverage and forcing my feet to the floor. Vonhelmet's rode with me plenty of times and I'm sure he'll say I'm anything but delicate when climbing.

I should really focus more on learning to spin efficiently because when the inclines are long my technique really lets me down.

My climbing technique must be pretty awful, I can't really do hills as I do ~150miles/week on the flat

.

grudas · 1 May 2013 at 13:27

olv said:
Ok so we get a lot of wheel talk on here but I'm now paranoid my front wheel is worn out and I'm going to smash my face into the ground next time I do a descent. Which wheels shall I get? Fulcrum 7? Shimano RS30? Mavic Open Pros? Totally lost on the subject.

why do you think your wheel is worn out?

platypus · 1 May 2013 at 13:28

Er I've just found an 2012 S5 frameset for $700. Fake? What am I missing?

[DOD]Asprilla · 1 May 2013 at 13:29

platypus said:
Er I've just found an 2012 S5 frameset for $700. Fake? What am I missing?

A link?

Mr Jones · 1 May 2013 at 13:30

What is the "correct" technic to tackling hills then?

I do spinning and try and keep my candence high - Failed on last 2 attempts. Not sure about 'standing up' as it'll just swing left and right too much, no?

rogan · 1 May 2013 at 13:31

Climbing is keep cadence high and swap between positions, drops, hoods, standing, sitting just use all the muscles you can

[DOD]Asprilla · 1 May 2013 at 13:32

Mr Jones said:
What is the "correct" technic to tackling hills then?

I do spinning and try and keep my candence high - Failed on last 2 attempts. Not sure about 'standing up' as it'll just swing left and right too much, no?

Spin until you get too slow, then get out of the saddle and mash those pedals.

platypus · 1 May 2013 at 13:33

http://www.dhgate.com/2012-cervelo-...arbon/p-ff8080813916f36a01395e44cb7f6b65.html

InQ · 1 May 2013 at 13:33

DuraAce 9000 C24?

Budget?

grudas · 1 May 2013 at 13:35

platypus said:
http://www.dhgate.com/2012-cervelo-...arbon/p-ff8080813916f36a01395e44cb7f6b65.html

duh i was just looking at this..

fishy.

touch · 1 May 2013 at 13:35

Probably a chinese copy. They have been selling frames from the same mould as the S5 for a while but recently they seem to be less shy about it and put 'cervelo' in the titles of the ebay adverts and sometimes even have them badged up with cervelo stickers.

edit: seen the link, almost definitely a copy

One More Solo · 1 May 2013 at 13:36

Mr Jones said:
What is the "correct" technic to tackling hills then?

I do spinning and try and keep my candence high - Failed on last 2 attempts. Not sure about 'standing up' as it'll just swing left and right too much, no?

Totally depends on the hill:

Short and steep: just smash up it out of the saddle if necessary

Long and shallow: seated, cadence above 80rpm and ride just below your threshold (i.e. the point where the effort becomes too much to sustain). Your legs will begin to burn so when they do it's a case of going up a gear to slow your cadence and getting out of the saddle to clear the lactic acid. You want to spend 90% of your time seated and 10% out of the saddle I'd say.

You need to try and keep your pedalstroke smooth and not mash. You may find moving forwards in the saddle every now and then will give your quads a break.

olv · 1 May 2013 at 13:36

grudas said:
why do you think your wheel is worn out?

Because the wear marker has gone from one size and there's a definite concave lip on the braking surface.

[DOD]Asprilla;24210009 said:
Budget?

Under £300. £200 would be preferable as I'm under no illusion that I'm fit enough for lighter wheels to make me any faster.

Vonhelmet · 1 May 2013 at 13:36

[Damien];24209990 said:
Edit: Are you not out with us this weekend? We need to start publishing routes you know. It's starting to get silly with the guys at the front having no clue where they're headed and the guys that know sat at the back.

I'm away this weekend, so not going to be out.

I agree about routes. On Saturday we ended up down near Dunham Massey. I was leading the charge on the way back but had to slow down before every junction and wait for someone to shout to me where we were going! It's all well and good when we're sticking to places where most of us have been before, but when only one or two of us know where we're going it can be hard work.

Route wise, I reckon we should give the IMUK Triathlon route a go sometime. The loop is about 31 miles, and there's a segment on Strava that starts from Adlington, which would be ideal for us. You could do the 10 miles to Adlington along the A6, do the 31 miles loop back to Adlington, 2 miles to the Barn for coffee and cake, then another 10 miles home, which comes to about 50 miles, which fits pretty well for us. The IMUK circuit takes in Belmont, but after that I don't think there's anything too dramatic, so we should all manage OK.

I'd also like to head out towards Parbold sometime, to try Parbold Hill, which is quite a long climb, but I don't know if there's much else worthwhile out that way, and it does kinda leave you in the middle of nowhere.

[Damien] · 1 May 2013 at 13:45

olv said:
Ok so we get a lot of wheel talk on here but I'm now paranoid my front wheel is worn out and I'm going to smash my face into the ground next time I do a descent. Which wheels shall I get? Fulcrum 7? Shimano RS30? Mavic Open Pros? Totally lost on the subject.

I've no idea how much you weigh or what kind of riding you do but I got some 32h Open Pro rims on 105 hubs a few months ago (done about 1500-1600 miles on them so far) and despite the abuse I give them they're still true. It looks like the price has gone up since then though. I got mine from here when they were about £75 each. They're £90+ now.

PermaChanged · 1 May 2013 at 14:01

On the gearing discussion I used to ride 50/34 with a 12/25 cassette. When I built up my new wheels though I went with an 11/23 cassette - I seem quicker with it but the wheels are a few hundred grams lighter and more aero though.

olv · 1 May 2013 at 14:07

I remember you posting about those months ago and managed to find them with the search. I'm <80kg and mostly commute with a few weekend rides a month.

Ribble have an extra 10% off wheels at the minute making a set of Shimano RS30 about £120 which is pretty much use them for a year and bin them money. Solid plan?

Mr Jones · 1 May 2013 at 14:17

[DOD]Asprilla;24210061 said:
Spin until you get too slow, then get out of the saddle and mash those pedals.

One More Solo said:
Totally depends on the hill:

Short and steep: just smash up it out of the saddle if necessary

Long and shallow: seated, cadence above 80rpm and ride just below your threshold (i.e. the point where the effort becomes too much to sustain). Your legs will begin to burn so when they do it's a case of going up a gear to slow your cadence and getting out of the saddle to clear the lactic acid. You want to spend 90% of your time seated and 10% out of the saddle I'd say.

You need to try and keep your pedalstroke smooth and not mash. You may find moving forwards in the saddle every now and then will give your quads a break.

Will try shifting as I climb to work different muscles then. I suspect this is why my quads was burning when I blitz up my home hill then die when I walk into my house.

Robzere31 · 1 May 2013 at 14:39

Time to pull my finger out now as I just checked my mileage stats for the year & I'm nearly 700 miles down on this time last year.
I'd put in just over 2,000 miles by the end of April 2012, just over 1,350 this year.

Just not had the motivation so far this year, but that is going to change.
I've promised myself a new Canyon CF by July/August providing I get my mileage back on track..... Bribing myself.....works for me!

[Damien] · 1 May 2013 at 14:58

Robzere31 said:
I've promised myself a new Canyon CF by July/August providing I get my mileage back on track..... Bribing myself.....works for me!

Haha, I promised myself a new bike if I got my weight down to 180lb. I'm a fair bit short of that but I still cracked and bought one.