Road Cycling Essentials

topgun06 · 3 Nov 2013 at 15:51

Beugh!! Had one of my least enjoyable rides ever today.

Got drenched in the space of 20mins at about the 1hr 50m (moving time) mark. It was all down hill from there...

Seemed to dry up a little once we got to Macclesfield, the sun came out. So we decided we would continue to do the Cat and Fiddle anyway. About 10 minutes from the top the heavens opened again, wind, hail. It was horrendous.

Okay, so the fastest route home was opted for. The wind didn't relent. Soaked gloves and biting wind turned my hands into what felt like balloons. I couldn't change gear. No strength in my fingers. I had to use my whole hand to move the gear triggers. Eughhh.

Got back into my home town and the roads were dry. Such a joke.

http://app.strava.com/activities/92962191

Makes me want to spend £100s on clothing.

nydryl · 3 Nov 2013 at 15:51

Vonhelmet said:
What do we reckon to the new Planet X winter bundle? Still worth a go? My current winter gloves are cheap aldi ones from last year that have shrunk a bit, my bbb overshoes are coming apart, I don't have a hat for under my helmet and I usually just wear two pairs of socks when it's really cold... I'd be tempted if the gloves are any good.

I wore the gloves for the first time today in dry but cold and windy weather. They were comfortable, good grip, fairly flexible and with my gore undergloves my hands were nice and warm. Not tried them on their own or in the wet, but so far they seem pretty decent.

oli collett · 3 Nov 2013 at 16:16

Did a short ride up a mountain today:
http://www.strava.com/activities/92967856

Was going well until I hit 1500m then I started to struggle!

Razor-BladE · 3 Nov 2013 at 16:25

Disco Boy said:
Get latex tubes and you can pump them up every day

Haha.

Well, after a quick clean yesterday, quick test on the road today and the gears are just about ok. Rear are fine, front's clunky (will need to tighten it a bit) but usable. If the weather's nice tomorrow morning I think I'll go on a nice long ride to test out my first outing on a road bike!

SoliD · 3 Nov 2013 at 16:41

oli collett said:
Did a short ride up a mountain today:
http://www.strava.com/activities/92967856

Was going well until I hit 1500m then I started to struggle!

I like the elevation graph on that

One More Solo · 3 Nov 2013 at 16:58

topgun06 said:
Beugh!! Had one of my least enjoyable rides ever today.

Got drenched in the space of 20mins at about the 1hr 50m (moving time) mark. It was all down hill from there...

Seemed to dry up a little once we got to Macclesfield, the sun came out. So we decided we would continue to do the Cat and Fiddle anyway. About 10 minutes from the top the heavens opened again, wind, hail. It was horrendous.

Okay, so the fastest route home was opted for. The wind didn't relent. Soaked gloves and biting wind turned my hands into what felt like balloons. I couldn't change gear. No strength in my fingers. I had to use my whole hand to move the gear triggers. Eughhh.

Got back into my home town and the roads were dry. Such a joke.

http://app.strava.com/activities/92962191

Makes me want to spend £100s on clothing.

I have endured some gruesome conditions up on top of the Cat, it's so exposed up there that the weather can turn really quickly. I remember one day where it was sunny and relatively warm in Macc but there was sideways snow and hail up there.

oli collett · 3 Nov 2013 at 17:02

SoliD said:
I like the elevation graph on that

The descent was great - sadly my mate, who normally descends like a demon - was struggling with his braking on the hire bike he was using, so I had to keep slowing down for him.

Only worry now is the seat on the hire bike isn't exactly comfortable. My right glute is in some pain today. Going for a short, flatter ride tomorrow and then back up Teide for a longer one Tuesday.

uniQ · 3 Nov 2013 at 17:37

oli collett said:
Did a short ride up a mountain today:
http://www.strava.com/activities/92967856

Was going well until I hit 1500m then I started to struggle!

Biggest Climb 5,325ft

Epic.

oli collett · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:11

uniQ said:
Biggest Climb 5,325ft

Epic.

Over 3 times my previous biggest :eek:

fraseredwards · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:21

Wet ride this morning. The weather report said it would best in the morning and bad in the afternoon. Totally the opposite ! Pretty wet and cold.

Thinking about a cx bike. My winter triban 3 is fine, but brakes are pants even with swissstops.

Cx bike will allow me to race in a league and also winter riding with discs.

Thinking about

Boardman cx team 2013
Caadx tiagra disc 2014
Planet X xls.

What you got and views welcomed

grudas · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:28

fraseredwards said:
Wet ride this morning. The weather report said it would best in the morning and bad in the afternoon. Totally the opposite ! Pretty wet and cold.

Thinking about a cx bike. My winter triban 3 is fine, but brakes are pants even with swissstops.

Cx bike will allow me to race in a league and also winter riding with discs.

Thinking about

Boardman cx team 2013
Caadx tiagra disc 2014
Planet X xls.

What you got and views welcomed

XLS has the best kit

but boardman is 200 cheaper.. right now with the 10% discount..

ShiWarrior · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:29

ShiWarrior said:
my cadence sensor came off my winter bike today (although its still sticking on the my carbon bike)

what do I replace it with? I know you guys have linked to it several times..

thanks

should have said I have a Garmin Edge series

thanks

Shamrock · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:36

oli collett said:
Did a short ride up a mountain today:
http://www.strava.com/activities/92967856

Was going well until I hit 1500m then I started to struggle!

Looks awesome!

I did a Wiggle sportive today. Not the longest ride ever, but a bit more bumpy than I'm used to. I'm knackered now and somehow managed to get 2 slow punctures. :mad:

http://www.strava.com/activities/92989254

uniQ · 3 Nov 2013 at 18:55

Just got this email about tomorrows club night:

Following tea, coffee and chat, the agenda will be as follows and start at 8.30pm:

1. Kicking the tyres! – Danny Cox – 20 mins
Danny will lead a discussion on tyres in order to understand why we use the tyres we do.

Good timing after yesterdays tyre discussion

One More Solo · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:04

ShiWarrior said:
should have said I have a Garmin Edge series

thanks

Do you mean the sensor or the magnet has come off?

fraseredwards · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:12

grudas said:
XLS has the best kit but boardman is 200 cheaper.. right now with the 10% discount..

Britsh cycling brings it down another 10% to £656 :-0

ShiWarrior · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:42

One More Solo said:
Do you mean the sensor or the magnet has come off?

the magnet that goes on the crank/pedals

thanks

uniQ · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:48

eBay. Just search for what you wrote above and you'll find plenty.

ShiWarrior · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:57

uniQ said:
eBay. Just search for what you wrote above and you'll find plenty.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DISCREET-...K_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item23315d6ddf

?

touch · 3 Nov 2013 at 19:57

Berger said:
What meter are you using Touch? 200w and 140bpm isn't to be sniffed at!
How does the trainer compare to on the road power wise?

Its a powertap hub.

Trubo trainer feels harder because of the heat (and sweat) that builds up. Its much easier to ride at a specific HR/power zone though. Hills make it very difficult, i need to crawl up them at walking pace to keep HR low enough and spin like crazy on the way back down to keep HR up.

fraseredwards said:
Thinking about a cx bike. My winter triban 3 is fine, but brakes are pants even with swissstops.
Cx bike will allow me to race in a league and also winter riding with discs.
Thinking about
Boardman cx team 2013
Caadx tiagra disc 2014
Planet X xls.
What you got and views welcomed

I have the PlanetX XLS. Did my first CX race on it today, and its a nice bike. Comfortable over the rough stuff and quite stable through the corners.