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Cyclist wrote:
All in theAll in the garage ready for my autum winter project.
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How can you wait?! I’d be taking time off work/phoning in sick to get it on the road!
Merlin cycles doing half
Merlin cycles doing half price Campag wheels at the moment…Can we have pictures of all
Can we have pictures of all these Aitheins please?! I would love one myself…bashthebox wrote:Jesus. Ok I
Jesus. Ok I can see the reason people ride with cams – if there’s a need for evidence in the case of an accident, all good. But to post up little barely anything events like this every time you ride – christ. Seriously, nothing better to do? It’s not going to change driver behaviour, it’s not going to result in a prosecution. All it does is make people think cyclists are boring nobbers.I can’t believe I’m reading this, do you ride a bike on roads? The driver was making the wanker sign at him, just because he was riding a bike?! Never mind the closeness of the pass, the forcing the oncoming Land Rover almost off the road, the fact that he is paid to do a job and yet behaves like that?!
I disagree that it is not going to change driver behaviour. He shouldn’t be driving, and if his company throw the book at him, that’s a good thing. And the more publicity incidents like this get (and the one where the car turned across the cyclist) the better. So many of us (and yes I am guilty of it too) get behind the wheel of our two ton tanks and don’t concentrate, don’t treat the act of driving with the care or thought we should, we all need a wake up call.
Sme for me – I parked at
Sme for me – I parked at Surrey Quays and getting to the start was a joy. So many other bikes around you didn’t need the signs, and the mood was great. It helped make it the fantastic day it turned out to be.Bottlenecks – I didn’t start til 7.58 last year (I don’t think the supposed stagger worked; people who said they would take longer than me started before) and none of the hills were a problem. Leith was the worst but it was possible to find a way up past the walkers and wobblers. The feed station at Newlands was though; top of the hill, they make you walk and it is quite a long way in and out.
Punctures – it may be worth
Punctures – it may be worth practicing at home before you get caught out beside the road. If you are out on a ride, just take your time and do a proper job; I’ve lost track of the times I’ve tried to do an F1 pit stop stle puncture repair, only to have the tube deflate the minute you set off again.I try and find a lay by or gate to get away from the road. You won’t be in a good mood, and having traffic whizz by a few feet away will make it worse. Plus you may need to be able to hear the air escaping and you can’t with close traffic.
I always take a new virginal tube with me and fix the holed one when I get home. There will be rides when you get two or even three punctures though, or you may give your new tube to someone else in the same boat as you.
Before you take the wheel off the bike, have a look to see if you can see the entry point and whatever caused the puncture, and try to see where it is in relation to the valve. Usually punctures when out on the road are quite big and easy to spot, but not always, and it is very frustrating when you’re sat beside the road and you can’t find the damn hole. If you’re at home you can dunk it in a bucket of water which will find the tiniest hole, but then you have to dry the tube and mop up the mess in the kitchen.
Always always have a good long slow deliberate feel round the inside of the tyre before you put the tube back in, it’s amazing how a small piece of flint/thorn can stay in there just to trash your nicely mended tyre.
I find the self-adhesive patches don’t always stick enough, I have them and an old school patch and glue kit on both bikes.
Tubes sometimes have a pronounced seam, if your hole is near it, sand the seam down to get a flat area for the patch. Don’t sand too much away though.
Presta valves can be a pain in the ass; when you unscrew the little bit at the top/outside edge, you can sometimes unwittingly unscrew the whole valve out of the metal part, very annoying.
As for clothing, I don’t have any of the high end stuff (apart from Castelli socks!) so can’t comment. I can say that Lusso shorts are great as is a lot of DHB stuff. I don’t understand the “bib-shorts are best brigade” – I never have a problem with builders bum in normal Lusso cycling shorts, and the comments you get from non-cyclists about mankini shorts will put you off. As will having to go to the loo and all the stuff in your jersey pockets falling out on the loo floor because you can’t get the straps off your shoulders any other way.
Shades wrote:I’ve just been
I’ve just been in France for 2 weeks and did 8 rides of varying distance (climbs, flat, heat!, altitude all included). Was on my first day back of commuting and was absolutely flying!…and I’m on a steel bike so nothing special in the weight/aero ‘department’. Got into the top 50 (out of 1000) on a Strava segment so was pretty pleased. <:PI’d say this too, varied training makes the biggest overall difference. Might not be what you need for your Richmond Park challenge but it will on Ride London. You also need to look at recovery; some day(s) off the bike, some days riding for a couple of hours at 65% of your max HR, roughly. Both of these will help long term.
I’m doing Ridelondon too, and I know if I do any cycling in the week before (after Sunday August 3rd) it will have to be very gentle and not far.
Maybe have a proper bike fit
Maybe have a proper bike fit done? I have just booked one for myself, mainly because I am stuck with my current bike for the foreseeable future and although the £120 for a bike fit isn’t cheap, it is a lot cheaper than any other upgrade.
Maybe lose some weight?
Do lots of different cycling; if you just do laps of Richmond Park your times will drop quite fast initially but then it will get harder and harder to see an improvement.Haven’t entered for a couple
Haven’t entered for a couple of years, but left at 6 am the last time I did, and loved it. Rode back too, which was a hell of a stretch for me back then! Going through Crawley was murder…but then it usually is…
I live near Brighton, so pottered over to the bottom of Ditchling Beacon to watch the spectacle. It got too much when a young-ish guy on a Pinarello who was passing folk quite easily bailed out at the bottom of the hill and walked his beautiful machine up the hill…Think I would rather cut my legs off than walk a bike like that up a hill!mrmo wrote:mooleur
Merlin have some super duper cheap ones! 😀 http://www.merlincycles.com/sensa-mountain-bikes-58874/Thinking of moving to the dark side this winter, too, let us know how you get on! I’d be interested to know how power on the road bike translates to the MTB :)
As a mountain biker???… ok I have ridden it 7 times this year!, who happens to spend most of their time on the road these days. My observations, first power gets you into trouble very quickly! speed can be your friend but a lack of skill* can be a real issue. *mtb is a different skill set to road.
Biggest difference though is how you ride, on road it tends to be fairly steady state riding constant power for mile after mile, off road is much more akin to sprint rest sprint rest intervals. Off road, I suspect, but don’t know, you need to produce far more power but the average power is far lower.
Where you ride will have an affect but the climbs tend to be shorter but steeper, because tracks are narrower you do tend to coast a bit more.
One thing to learn is to let the bike go, some roadies tend to get a bit tense when the bike starts to drift on gravel and mud, off road it will happen.
Oh and always look where you want to go, NEVER look at the trees or rocks because you will go where you look!
Would agree with all of the above, maybe not having to produce more power off road though, the gear ratios are so different off road. Climbing off road is way more complicated than on road, it is all about technique and terrain. Keeping the back wheel turning, even if only slightly, and not slipping is key. When you are on a difficult climb off road, if you break traction at the back wheel, chances are you’ll stop very quickly and you’ll found out how good you are at unclipping instantly! Once you’ve done that, getting going again can be very difficult; if you’re in the 30 tooth at the front and similar at the back, you don’t go very far for a half turn of the cranks and if you don’t clip back in first time it’s very hard to keep the thing moving.
I’m in the South Downs, and the hills off road that I go up are longer and harder than on road. I do a lot more road than MTB these days, but if I want to do hill repeats I have to go quite a long way on the roads to find hills, but off road I’m surrounded.
Switching to off roading for the winter can be problematic too. The trails stay wetter & muddier longer than the roads so you will get covered in shite and your bike will need cleaning after every ride, which you can avoid in the winter on the roads.
For me, off road riding is like football or squash, burts of sprinting/all out effort, but quite a lot of jogging about. On road cycling is like distance running, holding a constant speed, monitoring how you feel and what you’ve got left, and keeping something in reserve for the finish.mrmo wrote:…
Moral, I need…Moral, I need bigger gears.
Huh, you never see this in the compact v standard debate! 👿
What a refreshing change to
What a refreshing change to read something about drafting and not have all the holier-than-thous coming on saying you shouldn’t do it, it’s dangerous, what if yadda yadda happened…I don’t draft as often as I used to, because I am an old git now and less confident of my abilities. I used to like tractors because they wouldn’t go much over 25 and that was enough for me. Buses are annoying because they stop too often and don’t seem to be able to modulate the brake pedal, and the exhaust is usually right there at the back. Lorries and vans can be trickier because they usually speed up outside of my spinning envelope and the break-off can be a fright.
If you can ride 100 miles in
If you can ride 100 miles in a week, you will be able to do 100 in one go, especially as Ridelondon is closed roads and a fantastic atmosphere – the crowds alone will give you a boost and if you can get in a bunch with folk going around your pace and share the workload that is another help.A lot of folk say you don’t need to train as far as 100 (or maybe even 80) to do a ton, which is true, but you will be much better prepared if you have done one or two full distance try outs. You’ll know more about how you’re feeling as the ride goes on; some days it will feel effortless, others it will feel like torture, and if you have only done 60-70, you won’t know how to pace yourself for the last 30. I did Ride London last year, and did 115 on my tod a couple of weeks before; the last hour in particular was gruelling and I was really questioning what the hell was I doing. It took me 7.25 hours, but the actual main event I managed under 6 and could have maybe pushed myself close to 5.
It isn’t just physically conditioning your legs and heart to keep going for 100 miles, it’s getting your contact points used to that time, and getting your head used to pushing you on. For example, my wrists ache after about 4-5 hours which never happens on a 2-3 hour ride, and of course you need to know your shorts are comfy for that duration. You’ll learn when you need to stop for fuel, what you are comfortable to carry with you and what to pick up on the way.
Don’t forget basic spares for the bike; inner tube, tyre levers, patches, pump, maybe a chain link or two.
I seem to remember last year the feed stations had tons of bananas and water and not much else; but I was in the last but one wave to start so the other goodies may have gone by the time I got there. I skipped the first big stopat Hampton Court, it looked too busy and I was in a good bunch. The next big one was at Newlands Corner and I lost a lot of time there. We were made to walk into the car park pushing our bikes, on a long hairpin, and the food and drink was on the reverse side as you came out.
Take a variety of food and drink, I can’t stand more than one or two gels and bars, I crave “normal” food after a bit. Fig rolls are good, small and easy to scoff on the move.
If you can, do a variety of routes and lengths, and try and get some experience of riding in a bunch so you are familiar with the shouts and signals. It’s one of the best things about the day for me, the feeling of being in a bunch all working together.
Do you know how long your
Do you know how long your batteries last, and how long you are expecting the ride to take? Also how much time before and after will you need your lights? How much fluoro clothing have you got? Food and drink too, shops will probably be closed, so you’ll need to allow for that.52-36 is a new-ish combo and
52-36 is a new-ish combo and not that easy to get hold of.Changing the cassette (and usually the chain) is the cheapest and easiest option; changing the crankset will cost lots and you’ll probably have to change lots of other bits too.
I’ve got a 9 speed Campag set up, and recently went from a 12-25 to a 12-27 and find it helps my climbing a lot. I think there are only 4 options though, not sure how much bigger you can go. There are Campag-compatible parts, mine is a BBS (something like that) but Miche also make them, and it works fine. A proper Campag cassette might run a little smoother I guess.
