Road Cycling Essentials

[grudas]

I think so. There are a lot of canal routes around Gloucester which are dusty and not ideal for road cycling hence I thought of going for a Hybrid.

you will regret buying a hybrid like I do.
phantom_shadow rides the same route I do and he has 700x23c tyres or whatever are on his road bike.

many of the cycle paths are dusty paths or smooth dirt paths and I see loads of road bikes on them it's rare to see anyone on a mtb or hybrid

getting a road bike next summer for sure
probably keep the hybrid for winter though

omfg the bike your looking at has 700x45c tyres! holy slowmobile!

I thought my 700x35c tyres were bad those things must be like tractor wheels.

as you will see on the last page I'm wanting thinner tyres with less rolling resistance

EVERYONE ON HERE TOLD ME TO BUY A ROAD BIKE! I DIDN'T LISTEN! HOPEFULLY YOU WILL

unless you are going over wet grass or really bumpy terrain you won't need a hybrid most people get hybrids because they want to go where mountain bikes do on mtb trails etc.
you do not need front suspension either I ride around 90% of the time with mine locked because it just sucks energy from you that could be used to go faster

the upright riding position on a hybrid is a killer when it's windy as well you will find your self trying to seek a low down road bike position because just ramming your head into the handlebars can add atleast 20% to your speed

not much else to add! get a road bike

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red-road-bike-id_8274036.html

best bike for 300-ish you can get(make sure its the red one) and if you can find one in stock around you GET IT..

I rode through snow etc on 23c tyres and some dirt etc never killed my bike

 

[Disco Boy]

Managed reasonable speed on some downhills on the way home which scared the bejesus out me! Ah well confidence will come with practice i suppose.

The bike is in the garage at the moment but I don't own a lock. Any recommendations? I was thinking a 'U' lock but not really sure..

Thanks

Rule #64
// Cornering confidence increases with time and experience.

This pattern continues until it falls sharply and suddenly.

Isn't your bike secure in your garage?

 

[arknor]

all the rules are here BTW
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

 

[grudas]

sram force or shimano 105?!?! I like the hoods on both but what will shift smoother/last longer etc?

 

[One More Solo]

Force is higher quality and more expensive than 105 which is more comparable to Rival. I'd say Ultegra is probably the closest in the Shimano range. Force for example gives you carbon shifters and chainset whereas 105 is alu/plastic. I'd expect longevity to be identical but Force feels a bit crisper to me and the Force brakes and chainset in particular are excellent.

 

[grudas]

Force is higher quality and more expensive than 105 which is more comparable to Rival. I'd say Ultegra is probably the closest in the Shimano range. Force for example gives you carbon shifters and chainset whereas 105 is alu/plastic. I'd expect longevity to be identical but Force feels a bit crisper to me and the Force brakes and chainset in particular are excellent.

I was looking at this -;

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPWHT/planet_x_pro_carbon_franko_bianco_race_road_bike

and while it has force shifters etc it doesn't have a full force groupo so no chainset or brakes by the looks of it which you've mentioned to be the "good" bits about it..

then again the alternative -;

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT2/planet_x_pro_carbon_shimano_ultegra_road_bike

kinda has a mix of ultergra/cheaper shimano components so all in all they will be very comparable?!

and then there's this -;

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT57SH105/planet_x_rt_57_shimano_105_road_bike

similar to the others but 105 groupo and FSA chainset..

I kinda want to move away from shimano and get SRAM but as an all-year round bike its hard to chose really..

or get a CX -;

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLS105/planet_x_xls_shimano_105_cyclocross_bike

not a fan of 46/36t chainset at the front tho.. but as a winter/summer/all year round bike it would probably do a better job.. eh choices choices.. so much to choose from for 1k budget

 

[Vonhelmet]

Does anyone here patch their punctured tubes, or does everyone just chuck them?

I've just had a crack at my knackered tubes. Out of four, two seem to have taken pretty well, one had a hole right by a seam on the side of the tyre and I couldn't get the patch to stick and it made a total mess of things, and one turned out to have a dodgy valve anyway, so I gave up before I started on that one.

Two out of four any good? I've left them with some air in and I'll see how things are looking tomorrow.

One thing I found tricky was that the patches were quite big. That's all well and good on a mountain bike tyre, which has huge flat faces, but some of these tyres were good down to 18c, so they're incredibly skinny. Is it possible to get really quite small patches, or are you then at risk of them not holding once you inflate the tyre? I also found it incredibly hard to get the paper backing off the patches, but I don't know whether that isn't just because they're about a billion years old so have probably started to all fuse together...

 

[One More Solo]

Those FSA chainsets are pretty awful but the RT-57 is a nicer frame than the Pro Carbon. Realistically, to get these bikes in the sub 1k bracket they have to cut corners somewhere but the Ultegra specced one looks the best of the bunch given it has a full groupset unlike the others. Definitely very good value.

I've recently upgraded from Rival shifters and brakes to Force and while the Force shifters are undoubtedly nicer than the Rival ones, they're definitely a luxury upgrade as the Rival ones are perfectly capable. I felt a big improvement going from Rival to Force brakes though and think they justify the extra cost. If I was going to make up a top VFM SRAM groupset it would be:

Rival shifters and rear mech
Force brakes, chainset and front mech
Shimano 105 cassette
KMC X10 chain

 

[grudas]

Those FSA chainsets are pretty awful but the RT-57 is a nicer frame than the Pro Carbon. Realistically, to get these bikes in the sub 1k bracket they have to cut corners somewhere but the Ultegra specced one looks the best of the bunch given it has a full groupset unlike the others. Definitely very good value.

I've recently upgraded from Rival shifters and brakes to Force and while the Force shifters are undoubtedly nicer than the Rival ones, they're definitely a luxury upgrade as the Rival ones are perfectly capable. I felt a big improvement going from Rival to Force brakes though and think they justify the extra cost. If I was going to make up a top VFM SRAM groupset it would be:

Rival shifters and rear mech
Force brakes, chainset and front mech
Shimano 105 cassette
KMC X10 chain

Thats the thing.. the spec sheet does say that it has a FULL ultegra groupo but the video and the pictures show completely different thing? now the spec sheet matches the pictures on the other bikes..

Will have to do more research! or maybe look into building a custom bike.. eh

 

[touch]

Does anyone here patch their punctured tubes, or does everyone just chuck them?

Depends what sort of puncture. Snake-bites usually get binned - its difficult to reliably patch both sides of the tube in the same place unless the 2 holes are very close together. Pretty much everything else gets patched though.

One thing I found tricky was that the patches were quite big.

Cut them to size then?

I also found it incredibly hard to get the paper backing off the patches, but I don't know whether that isn't just because they're about a billion years old so have probably started to all fuse together...

I had some patches like that. Silver paper (tin foil) on the sticky side and brown paper (baking paper) on the other side. It was difficult to get the brown paper off, so i always left it on - it wont do any harm.

 

[Phantom Shadow]

Does anyone here patch their punctured tubes, or does everyone just chuck them?

I just use a puncture repair kit from halfords, has small and large patches.

I have a tube in each tyre and a spare in my saddle bag. When I get a puncture I just swap in the tube from the saddle bag and continue (checking the tyre ofc). Then when I get home patch the punctured tube and put it in the saddle bag. No need to buy a new tube after every puncture, cycling is expensive enough as it is.

I do also carry the puncture repair kit with me in case of more than 1 puncture, or if another cyclist doesn't have a repair kit.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Cut them to size then?

Didn't know you could do that! Will keep that in mind for next time!

 

[grudas]

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/focus-culebro-sl-2-0-ultegra-c-13

not bad for the price eh?

 

[Berger]

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/focus-culebro-sl-2-0-ultegra-c-13

not bad for the price eh?

Heavy. Not sure on the quality of the wheels?

Maybe aim for a 105 spec bike with better wheels?

 

[physichull]

I just use a puncture repair kit from halfords, has small and large patches.

I have a tube in each tyre and a spare in my saddle bag. When I get a puncture I just swap in the tube from the saddle bag and continue (checking the tyre ofc). Then when I get home patch the punctured tube and put it in the saddle bag. No need to buy a new tube after every puncture, cycling is expensive enough as it is.

I do also carry the puncture repair kit with me in case of more than 1 puncture, or if another cyclist doesn't have a repair kit.

Same, I carry a spare inner tube in my saddle bag, along with self-adhesive patches just in case and also a tyre gauze in case my tyre gets badly torn by glass of whatever.

 

[Bri]

I'm looking to get my 1st road bike since a Raleigh Pursuit I got in the late 80's (which I still have incidentally but it's too small at 52cm).

It'll not be until Spring next year as I'll be getting it through the cyclescheme at work, from my local bike shop which is great & have (I think) narrowed it down to 2 which are similar,

http://www.cyclingandrunning.com/co...erida-scultura-alloy-901-men-s-road-bike-2014

http://www.cyclingandrunning.com/co...de-lite-alloy-91-mens-road-sportive-bike-2014

I'm leaning more towards the 1st linked rather than the sportive. My logic behind this is that I think I'd regret getting the sportive over the other in terms of speed etc. My question is, is my logic flawed? Would the sportive be just as fast & a bit more comfy & is therefore the one to go for?

 

[iguanoid]

Did my first metric century yesterday. Surprisingly my legs feel absolutely normal today, so much so that if i hadn't uploaded it to strava i would be question whether i actually did it or just thought i did it!!

http://www.strava.com/activities/85402945

On another note, has anyone got any experience buying carbon wheels direct from China? I am speaking to a company there which seems to be very switched on, has lots of good reviews on various cycling forums, appears to use decent components and is a decent price in my opinion...

Looking at a set of 50mm "U" profile carbon clinchers on novatec carbon hubs, 20 / 24 spoke for 600usd plus shipping.....

 

[ChrisD.]

not much else to add! get a road bike

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red-road-bike-id_8274036.html

best bike for 300-ish you can get(make sure its the red one) and if you can find one in stock around you GET IT..

I rode through snow etc on 23c tyres and some dirt etc never killed my bike

Thanks.

 

[Womble]

Did my first metric century yesterday. Surprisingly my legs feel absolutely normal today, so much so that if i hadn't uploaded it to strava i would be question whether i actually did it or just thought i did it!!

http://www.strava.com/activities/85402945

On another note, has anyone got any experience buying carbon wheels direct from China? I am speaking to a company there which seems to be very switched on, has lots of good reviews on various cycling forums, appears to use decent components and is a decent price in my opinion...

Looking at a set of 50mm "U" profile carbon clinchers on novatec carbon hubs, 20 / 24 spoke for 600usd plus shipping.....

That is possibly the flattish century going! Very nice average for the first 100km mind

 

[iguanoid]

I live in the desert, there isn't much going in the way of hills round here