I'm going to do this bike up.
Then I'm going to ride it at sportives next year, with the sole aim of beating a rider on an expensive bike up a steep climb.
Make sure it isn't you 🙂
Stay tuned for the restoration…
The Gauntlet
Tue, Nov 01, 2011 12:57
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Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He’s won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
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Gm_Crop 2 hours ago
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
IanGlasgow 2 hours ago
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Bill H 4 hours ago
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
pbunyon 4 hours ago
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
chrisonabike 4 hours ago
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
belugabob 4 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
Astralstroll 7 hours ago
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
Mr Anderson 8 hours ago
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
MaxiMinimalist 8 hours ago
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
18 thoughts on “The Gauntlet”
Can you pubish your calendar
Can you pubish your calendar for 2012 please Dave, so I can avoid you at every opportunity 😀
I know you would beat my lardy arse up a hill, even if you were on a Raleigh folding shopper!
Are those 700c wheels Dave?
Are those 700c wheels Dave? If they’re 27″, that would be the most awkward part of the restoration. Unless you plan to keep them.
I thought you were already leaving expensive bikes in you wake on our Genesis Equilibrium.
they’re 700cs so shouldn’t be
they’re 700cs so shouldn’t be too bad. i might re-lace them cause the spokes are past their best. the rims and hubs are fine though.
the equilibrium is currently undergoing a transformation into a ‘proper’ audax bike. i did overtake a couple of cervelos on the bwlch last time i did the dragon on it. but it’ll be even more fun on this 🙂
perhaps i should get some retro kit too. or is that taking it too far?
Not much room for a motor in
Not much room for a motor in the bottom bracket dave 😀 Though like othello you’ll probably drop me no matter where 🙁 the retro kit will be a nice touch. Looking forward to following the restoration and bragging 😉
I count the number of carbon
I count the number of carbon bikes I pass on hills during sportives on my Brian Rourke steel frame and then see if I can pass the same amount on the descent as it just fires away downhill given its weight.
Ups and Downs.
Lets say bikes under £1000
Lets say bikes under £1000 don’t count as expensive.
Then, I don’t need to be ashamed when you beat me up the easiest of climbs on every sportive.
Seriously, like Othello, I too would like to know your sportive calendar for next year. Wanna see what the strongman of road.cc is riding 🙂
Nice that it has 700c wheels.
Nice that it has 700c wheels. Gives you so many more options, tyre choice etc…
Only other gotcha I can think of is the threaded headset. When I tried, most decent replacements (with cartridge bearings) had too big a stack height, which wouldn’t leave enough steerer to thread onto at the top. We had to settle for a cheap replacement.
What about cheap carbon
What about cheap carbon bikes? 😉
Quote:Wanna see what the
you’re confusing me with mat 🙂
Mostly I’m going for madones and cervelos, stuff like that. need to drop a few pounds though 🙂
Quote:I too would like to
Dunno for sure. but probs i’ll be at the Lionheart, FoD spring classic and the Dragon. Fred Whitton hopefully, but probably *not* on the BSA 🙂
I’d like to try some ones i’ve not done before too. who has recommendations?
@ Dave – Innishowen, Causeway
@ Dave – Innishowen, Causeway Challenge are two that spring to mind both over in Ireland. The causeway challenge has one climb that will make you weep!! At least I did!! Flat out in the Fens – yes it’s flat but when the temp hits the 30’s and you’re trying to maintain a decent cadance and there’s a brisk wind that always seems to be in your face, well ‘nough said 😉
Dave – Dartmoor Classic
Dave – Dartmoor Classic highly recommended. Any plans for a mayhem timed sportive this year?
yep Dartmoor Classic, easily
yep Dartmoor Classic, easily the best ive done in the last two years (and better than the Dragon i reckon)…mind you the FoD spring classic was tougher, even though it’s got less total meters in climbing the hills are unrelenting (all 18) and all short (ish) and steep-er.
Dunkery Dash audax could be a good ‘warm-up’. 😀
plenty of power climbs on the
plenty of power climbs on the Chiltern 100 – full of home counties carbon
The Dartmoor Classic is not
The Dartmoor Classic is not for the feint hearted have done it three times…only once on a carbon. I am happy to give you a prize from the top shelf if you can beat me up any of the hills next year!! But I do like your bike…makes me think I could dust off my rusty Raleigh and try for a gold medal on that B-) Note the big words with months to go…won’t be so cocky the night before :&
If you’re really serious
If you’re really serious about riding that thing, try L’eroica?
I used to turn out for some of our fast club rides on an old Gios Compact that weighed about 22lbs – ride was predominantly E, first and second cats and we’d go for a 90 mile thrash around the Surrey Hills. Always a degree of satisfaction getting to the top of those hills first.
Is that the VC Meudon monty
Is that the VC Meudon monty dog?
That’s me safe in the Hell of
That’s me safe in the Hell of Ashdown, then – mind, my Ribble doesn’t count as ‘expensive’ 😀