Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Man of Honour
Joined
16 May 2005
Posts
31,299
Location
Manchester
[DOD]Asprilla;26303536 said:
http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/...down_cyclist_after_argument_in_Richmond_Park/

£100 fine and £25 victim surcharge for deliberately running a cyclist off the road in Richmond Park.

The five points and £500 were court costs and for failure to stop.

I despair sometimes.

Amazing :/

I don't like commenting on things without knowing all the details but it's really hard to imagine how that is a reasonable sentence for someone convicted of purposefully knocking someone down with a car.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
10,042
Guys, can anyone point me in the direction of something simple to help me understand bike prices.
It's my brothers 40th birthday soon, and the family plan to buy him a road racing bike, but our knowledge on current bikes is from the 1996 Shimano Halfords range.

I have had a gander and to be honest, I cannot see much change in design, with £700+ bikes still using rubber brake blocks, I just don't see what is making them so expensive.
I am reading a lot about Ultegra, but can't work out what exact benefit that is.

Obviously reducing weight, i.e carbon fibre, is understandably a little pricier but gearing systems costing hundreds more is ludicrous to me.
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Nov 2003
Posts
14,034
Location
Surrey, by the river
It's mainly about weight, comfort and aerodynamics. There are some differences in effectiveness, but not much.

Lighter costs more.
More comfortably doesn't have to, but if its an innovation that no-one else has then it can add to the price (See Trek Domane)
Aerodynamics are big at the moment and the top end bikes are concentrating more on this.
The only examples I can see of improved effectiveness are the move from 10 speed to 11 speed gears, electronic shifting and direct mount dual pivot brakes, which are much, much improved.

Name also place a major role.

There isn't a formula I'm afraid, but feel free to ask questions and we'll try to help.

Do you have a budget in mind?
 
Caporegime
Joined
28 Jun 2005
Posts
48,104
Location
On the hoods
Guys, can anyone point me in the direction of something simple to help me understand bike prices.
It's my brothers 40th birthday soon, and the family plan to buy him a road racing bike, but our knowledge on current bikes is from the 1996 Shimano Halfords range.

I have had a gander and to be honest, I cannot see much change in design, with £700+ bikes still using rubber brake blocks, I just don't see what is making them so expensive.
I am reading a lot about Ultegra, but can't work out what exact benefit that is.

Obviously reducing weight, i.e carbon fibre, is understandably a little pricier but gearing systems costing hundreds more is ludicrous to me.

Those gearing systems are orders of magnitude more accurate, lighter, faster, more reliable than what you had in the mid-90s. I'm sure someone on here has been riding since then and would be happy to tell you how much better things are now!

For £700, go to Evans or similar and get a decent aluminum framed bike with Sora or Tiagra groupset.

This looks good.

If you're happy to buy online, you can get better deals. I ride one of these and it's great.

All this being said, £700 is a lot to spend, so I'd want to be sure he was into it, so I'll assume you're certain of this!
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
10,042
Those gearing systems are orders of magnitude more accurate, lighter, faster, more reliable than what you had in the mid-90s. I'm sure someone on here has been riding since then and would be happy to tell you how much better things are now!

For £700, go to Evans or similar and get a decent aluminum framed bike with Sora or Tiagra groupset.

This looks good.

If you're happy to buy online, you can get better deals. I ride one of these and it's great.

All this being said, £700 is a lot to spend, so I'd want to be sure he was into it, so I'll assume you're certain of this!


It is a lot, but unlike myself he and his wife are pretty well off so that's not such an issue (since I'm sure she will be putting in the most and she seems to think he does)
He rides to work everyday so it's a step up from a cheap road bike.

My confusion is the accesories/gearing. A fully carbon bike is going to be around the 500+ mark but are the gears really an issue that warrants another 500quid. Forgive my ignorance but gear systems are not complicated things, unless they have changed.
What for instance makes this worth £1200
http://www.merlincycles.com/felt-f65x-cyclocross-bike-2014-70138.html

It still has gears on the back with a chain and a derailleur, that look no different to something you'd buy for £100, flick shift gears that I had on my bike back in 1998.
I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt here but it seems like lots of fancy names and lots of fancy prices.
 
Caporegime
Joined
28 Jun 2005
Posts
48,104
Location
On the hoods
It is a lot, but unlike myself he and his wife are pretty well off so that's not such an issue (since I'm sure she will be putting in the most and she seems to think he does)
He rides to work everyday so it's a step up from a cheap road bike.

My confusion is the accesories/gearing. A fully carbon bike is going to be around the 500+ mark but are the gears really an issue that warrants another 500quid. Forgive my ignorance but gear systems are not complicated things, unless they have changed.
What for instance makes this worth £1200
http://www.merlincycles.com/felt-f65x-cyclocross-bike-2014-70138.html

It still has gears on the back with a chain and a derailleur, that look no different to something you'd buy for £100, flick shift gears that I had on my bike back in 1998.
I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt here but it seems like lots of fancy names and lots of fancy prices.

Yeah, a decent low end carbon frame and forks costs around £500, sure, and then the groupset does cost a lot on top of that. A carbon framed Ultegra bike can be had for a grand from Planet X, which is an astonishingly low price, considering how expensive Ultegra gear is. Derailleurs haven't changed all that much, granted, though they can now be made very light. The shifters are the really expensive bit. Putting brakes and gears in a light, reliable package is no mean feat. And having ridden with bottom end gears for two years and now moving to something roughly mid-range it is a vast improvement. I'm sure there are diminishing returns further up the range, but that's where a few hundred grams of weight becomes an issue, which is pro/loadsamoney territory. If you want maximum bang for buck then 105 or Tiagra is where to aim for.

That Felt bike is expensive because it's light for a CX bike, and it's got very good gears on it - SRAM stuff is highly desirable because it's very light and it's mechanically simpler than Shimano stuff, so arguably more reliable. It's also a fairly expensive brand.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2006
Posts
12,456
Location
Sufferlandria
Has anybody tried making these Team Sky rice cakes.

I'm going to give it a go tonight... do you think you'd be able to freeze them?

I have done something similar. Instead of mixing cream cheese into it, i made 2 layers of rice cake with blueberries + choc chips between them.

It's difficult to wrap them and get them to stick together properly. The silver wrapping in the photos is tinfoil lined with grease-proof paper, which is worth getting if you can. I tried it with tinfoil only (rice sticks to the inside), grease-proof paper (unfolds itself and doesnt hold the cake together properly) and grease-proof paper with a layer of tinfoil on top (best option, but still not perfect).

I know that you shouldnt re-heat rice but i dont know if you can freeze it or not?
 
Caporegime
Joined
22 Nov 2005
Posts
45,166
That Felt bike is expensive because it's light for a CX bike
loads of cx bikes are around 21lbs even aluminium ones I looked at?
I think it's so they are competition legal?

caadx 105 with aluminium frame is 10kg or 9.48kg for the ultega model and seemingly every other cx bike is between 21-22lbs as well
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2006
Posts
12,456
Location
Sufferlandria
It still has gears on the back with a chain and a derailleur, that look no different to something you'd buy for £100, flick shift gears that I had on my bike back in 1998.
I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt here but it seems like lots of fancy names and lots of fancy prices.

It's the same as most things - small advances build up over time and the prices reflect the cost of materials and development that go into it.

I own 2 cars: one built in 1990 and one in 2005.
They both have 4cylinder petrol engines, they both have disc brakes all round, they both have synchromesh gearboxes.
Despite this, the 2005 car is much more refined, the engine is smoother, the grearbox is easier to shift and the brakes are sharper and more powerful. None of the basic technology has dramatically changed but, overall, the feel of the car is hugely improved.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
10 Nov 2003
Posts
14,034
Location
Surrey, by the river
It still has gears on the back with a chain and a derailleur, that look no different to something you'd buy for £100, flick shift gears that I had on my bike back in 1998.
I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt here but it seems like lots of fancy names and lots of fancy prices.

Most of the cost is associated to weight and materials (use of carbon fibre and titanium) in place of plastic, steel and aluminium. Also, there are some innovations that are very different from your 20yo bike but you might not notice unless you are using them on a regular basis.

I leant a mate of mine one of my bikes the other day and he said he couldn't believe how different gear changes were from when he was riding. He said it was smoother, instant and never missed, and this was with bottom of the range Sram Apex kit.
 
Caporegime
Joined
28 Jun 2005
Posts
48,104
Location
On the hoods
[DOD]Asprilla;26304137 said:
I leant a mate of mine one of my bikes the other day and he said he couldn't believe how different gear changes were from when he was riding. He said it was smoother, instant and never missed, and this was with bottom of the range Sram Apex kit.

I'll see your bottom end SRAM kit and raise you my wife finding 2300 shifting incredible compared to the downtube shifters she had when she last rode a bike 15 years ago.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Mar 2007
Posts
4,297
Location
Glasgow
You have taken all the bolts off it so it should be free to move now. Tap the back end of the bolt with a hammer and the whole thing should slide out the front.

Also, once you get it out you'll probably need to drill the hole on the rear side of the fork a little bigger to get modern calipers in there. Check that you have the correct 'drop' before you drill anything (make sure the pads can line up with the braking surfaces with the brake in place)

You were right, it just need a good whack! I was being far too tentative last night and worrying about buggering anything up. I'm reluctant to drill the frame so using the front brake at the rear, and installing the rear brake at the front, with the recessed nut securing the bolt in the hole at the top of the fork. There seems to be some debate as to whether that's a good idea or not but I'll give it a whirl. It was good enough for Sheldon Brown, but the new guy doing the website doesn't seem to agree.
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2006
Posts
12,456
Location
Sufferlandria
Using the front on the rear is fine but i wouldnt like to use the rear on the front with the bolt only through the front edge of the fork.

It's a long time ago but i think when i had a similar age frame i was running it with 2 front brakes. One on the rear with a hex nut instead of the allen nut and i drilled the fork and used a normal front brake there too.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Jul 2003
Posts
5,664
Location
floating down the Liffey
Hi guys,

Which of these 2 seat posts would you go for, I cant decide whether to stick with Aluminum or try cheap carbon. Alternatives around the same price are welcome as well.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SPPXSLT3D/planet-x-superlight-team-3d-forged-alloyseatpost
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SPSF90CS/selcof-90-carbon-seatpost

How much seat post do you have showing?

Unless it's for the bling I'd say alloy. You'll get more comfort improvement from changing to 25mm tyres and/or ensuring you are running at an appropriate tyre pressure.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom