Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
We did the marmotte route
We did the marmotte route last year except it ended up about 10miles longer somehow (I think because we wanted to stop at a specific artisan bakery in saint sorlin!). It’s “only” four big climbs. We rode it sensibly, stops for water after every climb cos we were using two large bottles every climb except the telegraphe due the heat. Stopped for lunch in Valloire. We were out for about 12 hours in total – that was holiday pace, not smashing it silly.It’s a fantastic route! I imagine the sportive would be amazing!
I think it doesn’t seem
I think it doesn’t seem inclusive if you let yourself think that way. It is very easy to think like that, I have done now and again but just get on and race with the kit you’ve got.Cycling is quite an equipment driven sport so it will naturally seem like that, and racing even more so, unlike say running where you need some trainers and a pair of shorts plus t-shirt.
Training with power is just a time effective way of training, so people will talk about training and power naturally. Everyone does say CX is more inclusive though, and this is probably also because it’s not effectively race over if you get dropped like it would be in road racing.
BB30’s are notorious for
BB30’s are notorious for creaking and I don’t have one, but I bet appropriate use of grease or studlock compound (for mating surfaces that aren’t meant to move against each other) would reduce the likelihood of creaking next time.I don’t find Shimano bb86/92 to be any worse than threaded external bb cups but it does irk me that they often cost more than threaded cups, yet manufacturing costs will be less with plastic cups and no thread machining
What kind of bearing press
What kind of bearing press are you looking at? I paid around £50 brand new for my Park one and a quick google suggests there are other options for just over £30 (Wiggle Lifeline) and I bet you might even find someone selling a home made one that would do the job on ebay.
It’s probably been intimated
It’s probably been intimated but once you get beyond buying a basic serviceable bike, spending more up front doesn’t necessarily mean things last longer. Some stuff will, some stuff won’t. That’s why people often have cheaper “winter” bikes where replacing lower grade parts is cheaper. Riding a bike through winter with all the road salt and muck, gradually destroys bikes.That said, I’d be a bit annoyed if a bike shop wouldn’t just do the single task I had asked them however.
Things like the headset, they should be able to demonstrate the play to you. Or with just a suitable Allen key and a check on how to do it on the web you would be able check for yourself if it needs replacing or not.
If you’re happy with the function of gears and brakes then don’t get the cables changed but whilst you can adjust gunky cables and worn shifting, as a bike shop I could understand if they said they’d adjusted the gears and you were straight back there the next day saying they hadn’t – purely because worn/stretched/gunky cables are the problem, not just adjustment.
Other than the BB, you should more or less be able to adjust/check everything mentioned yourself with just a well featured multi tool and then decide for yourself if you want to pay for the parts needed to get smooth fresh gears and brakes or are happy as they are.
I mostly acknowledge other
I mostly acknowledge other riders, but at the same time I sometimes wonder why I do it. I suppose it feels like there is perhaps already enough grumpiness and hostility in the world already. But then I don’t wave to other Skoda drivers when I’m in the car, or other pedestrians carrying shopping bags…..
I don’t care about the response I get. Those people who don’t respond, might just be riding their bike for a purpose, like doing the shopping or commuting – they might not feel part or want to feel part of the cycling community – whether they’re wearing stuff or riding a bike that could mark them out as having made a choice to buy proper kit rather than a bso. Or the other rider might be concentrating on the traffic, the road, on a training effort or whatever.
Aside from this thread and the time I’ve just thought about it, why do people worry about it?
Do the review(s) give actual
Do the review(s) give actual weight or catalogue weight?
The manufacturer might weigh an actual bike for a given size, and the component manufacturers do it differently (minimum weight of one from a batch of components)?
5 – 10% weight discrepancy is not a lot.
Pick a training plan either
Pick a training plan either from Trainerroad or off the BC website.
Riding regularly every week will make the most difference, you don’t necessarily need to batter yourself with intervals. When I started training properly, following a plan (rather than what I fancied day to day), it was the regular riding that gave the biggest improvement from the start.
And if you can up the riding whilst not increasing calorie intake, the weight will fall off and add to the improvement.
I ride probably 6 days out of 7 but some of those won’t be much more than half an hour to an hour easy spin.
I had KTM Revelator which was
I had KTM Revelator which was ok, but felt a bit soft compared to my alu Giant TCR SLR. Maybe the Revelator just muted the bumps better?
I now have a Genesis Zero which feels a bit more direct than what I remember of the Revelator.
But its all subtle and subjective.
If it was Gran Fondo/Sportive orientated then maybe it was more focussed on comfort than stiffness.
At £1500 for a full bike, I’d be reading the reviews carefully because its at the lower-mid end of the carbon bike price spectrum.
Why would they not be “up to
Why would they not be “up to winter use”? In what way? Grip in the wet? Surely you can offset as possible loss of grip through being able to run slightly lower pressures with tubeless?
I like my Pro Ones and have no qualms about running them in winter or manky conditions but others have grumbled they don’t last long.
We did it this year in July,
We did it this year in July, riding from Alp d’Huez over the Croix de Fer into Saint Sorlin d’Arvres rather than to the top of the Glandon. There is a nice artisan bakery on the left at the bottom of Saint Sorlin main street 🙂
We didn’t go crazy, stopped in Valloire for a decent lunch and we were out of the appartment for the best part of 11 to 12 hours, with stops in Saint Sorlin, top of the Telegraph and then Valloire for lunch. It was that hot that I was going through two bottles of water between every inhabited point – that will be your main issue, keeping stocked up on water.
Riding in the Alps is different to the UK. Destroy yourself on the first climb and you will have a miserable day.
So, so long as you ride within yourself and pace it sensibly then its “only” 3 big climbs plus then you’ll get up the Alp at the end even if you’re on your hands and knees won’t you! 😉
Why do you need the older 5
Why do you need the older 5 arm version? The only reason I can think is that you’ve got some spare rings?
Because the newer 4 arm versions will work even though they’re badged as 11 speed and you might be on 10 speed?
I’m on my 5th Stages under
I’m on my 5th Stages under warranty – all with declining battery life after the first battery is changed. The current one is a G2 which touch wood seems a bit better.
Just bought a Pioneer single leg which is cheaper and claims IPX 6 and IPX 7 (or is it 7 and 8?) which means it should be jet wash proof and immersion proof up to 1m.
The 4iii single side is cheaper than both those. I don’t think I’d buy another Stages unless it was for the mtb, which 4iii and Pioneer don’t do.
I run Speedplay pedals too.
Agree, you don’t need 28mm
Agree, you don’t need 28mm tyres. I have 28mm Conti GP 4Seasons on one bike, but they’re not any wider than the 25mm Schwalbe Pro One’s or the 25mm Conti GP4000s I have on other bikes. That’s because the 25mm tyres are fitted to wider rims.
23mm Schwalbe Pro Ones on my race bike measure up at 26mm…
Think it will be a 52-36
Think it will be a 52-36 chain set also unless you’ve changed the rings, cos an 18 tooth gap will be pushing what a front derailleur is capable of. The biggest gap is normally 16t, so 50-34, 52-36 or less with the likes of 52-39 etf
