Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Welcome to bike riding!
Welcome to bike riding!
It never gets any easier, you’ll just go further and faster, who knows where and on what adventures you and your bike will take you!
In my local area (Warwickshire) there are beginner rides which would be ideal for you.
Riding in a group makes a massive difference to your confidence on the road, how far you ride and personally I find it hugely enjoyable having a natter and a coffee midway or afterwards too.
racingcondor wrote:
Peted76 – You should try my 8 year old Condor Leggero. Huge mileage, plenty of other bikes ridden but it’s by far the best I’ve tried, feels amazing.Don’t get me wrong, I love my Giant TCR Advanced SL 0, it’s probably the fastest bike I’ll ever own, it goes like a rocket, but it just does one thing and one thing well. It’s a thouroughbred race bike which is what I always wished for, but the reality is that I’d like a bike I can just ‘ride’ sometimes and that, I believe, I will get from a steel or ti frame 🙂
I know what you mean, having
I know what you mean, having 2x entry level carbon bikes and now a top flight carbon bike. I can feel a difference with the new one, BUT even my top end carbon frame is a little bit dull, you get on and it’s like a lightweight rocket ship but there is no personalilty there.
I think my ‘next’ road bike will be steel or Ti endurance type, I’d love one of Dom Mason Resolutions (steel) and I covet my mates Van Nicholas (Ti). I also keep thinking about Rourke for a custom frame.
There are loads of really good bike builders out there at the moment (apparently). Have you considered getting a frame and putting your old groupset/wheels on? For £1500 you could get a cracking steel frame! In fact for about a grand you could get a hand made Rourke and that’d be a bike for life http://www.rourke.biz/custom_framesets.php
Should be as simple as
Should be as simple as changing the chainrings and adjusting the chain.
Normal shorts and Sportful No
Normal shorts and Sportful No Rain knee warmers which come down to mid calf on me, with some TIC winter socks this leaves virtually no gap and kept me going all winter last year.
If it’s below zero then I put some tights with no padding over the top of this, can’t remember the make, they are a bit ‘meh’ but I usually cycle in all weathers apart from pouring rain. and it’s a combo which works.
My best bit of winter wear is a rapha merino long sleeve base layer, just awesome!
A decent merino base layer is a thing of magic, I would’t care what brand it came from but don’t skimp on this and it pays dividends.
I’ve been running the
I’ve been running the Schwalbe Pro One tubeless for a good year now and I must concurr, they don’t wear well, but that’s the trade off for performance I guess.
I have heard good things about the IRC tyres, although the range isn’t easy to navigate, give Malcolm a call at the Cycle Clinic and he’ll tell you what’s what – http://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collections/road-tyres
Have a read of this – http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/182561-buyers-guide-tubeless-tyres-%E2%80%94-all-your-options-new-technology-rubber
If you act crazy and DON’T
If you act crazy and DON’T decide to sell both bikes and get a new one…. then Superpython nailed it.
Forget the Bianchi, it’s a dog in celeste clothing.
Sell both and get a stupid
Sell both and get a stupid deal on a Scott Addict – http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p73146/Scott-Addict-30-2015-Road-Bike.aspx?awc=6160_1474990237_66920fa3166b221532c80fca4c1b579d&source=aw&utm_source=AffiliateWindow&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=158016
Have this problem also..
Have this problem also..
a) pull em up higher
b) size down
c) wear shorts with more silicone grip around the legs
You’ll be fine, I rode it
You’ll be fine, I rode it this year and I’m a fat little hobbit! Weather hit I think 28c on the day at times, but was markedly cooler for most of the day.
Gasman is right though in 2015 the heat was apparently awful and I think a lot of people didn’t even start, never mind finsh.
The only thing to worry about is pacing on the climbs… just 1mph too much and you can blow up really easy.
Traffic is sparse, drivers are used to bikes on the roads and the few KM’s of highway on the route has a hard shoulder (sort of thing) which is used for cycling in.
Personally, I wouldn’t do the whole ride without it being a ‘sportive’ or organised ride. It’d be far ‘nicer’ to cherry pick the course highlights or tackle the Telegraph and Galiber on one day, Alpe d’Huez time trial in the morning of another, then at the top follow it over the back of the alpe to find the lakes, and then tackle the Croix de Fer another day.
I did consider the Roubaix however on the Specialized website they all have disc brakes as does my hybrid. I wanted to move to rim brakes as there are more wheel upgrades avaliable should I wish to do so in the future.If I was to purchase the tarmac and found it was too low, is it easy enough to add spaces to raise the bars a bit?
Off the shelf disc wheels are here and more coming in their droves.. you’ll have just as many options to upgrade with disc brakes. Rim brake bikes are still lighter though as disc brakes are a bit heavier. However there’s no real big reason for you to go one over the other.
You can add spacers as far as the fork steerer tube will allow, BUT your bike will look a bit goofy with a big stack of spacers under the bars, just search for a picture of Alan Sugars Pinerallo F8 for a race bike with a comfortable position.
RE: neck pain.. above comments apply, you can condition yourself to it, and you’ll get used to the positions. Also shoulder aches, hand pains, wronst pain, arse pain, chaffing in your nether regions, knee pains, swollen feet, welcome to my world…
That Tarmac is a lovely bike.
That Tarmac is a lovely bike. It’s a pure race bike, so that means 1) it’ll force you into a longer lower position 2) you’ll feel road bumps a lot more than your current hybrid – that may not sound like an issue if you’ve not experienced it before but over 20miles that extra bumping and jostling about will knacker you out.
Have you considered the Rouxbaix? It’s still a road bike with a great pedigree, but you’ll be in a ‘slightly’ less extreme position and they are designed to be more compliant to the bumps.. you’ll also be able to get bigger tyres on it if you wanted. An endurance road bike.
However, note both types of bikes (road/endurance) can be set up to be a bit less race or a bit more race orientated if you wished.
Depends on the type of riding you do. Both will be a major upgrade from your hybrid. I should also say that you should try both out on a test ride.
Also, Sheldon’s site isn’t the final wisdom to end all wisdom when it comes to bike tech. As Sergio points out above, for the use of certain lubricants (i.e. wax-based, like ‘Squirt’) you *have* to completely degrease the chain first. And it’s worth it because ‘Squirt’ is an excellent lube, not just for your dry weather best bike.The key to the best way of applying it is incidentally the same as for factory grease: heat. Take the completely degreased and dried chain and put it on a radiator, wait for it to warm up and apply the wax-based lube. Wait a bit till it’s soaked through, turn the chain over and apply again. Repeat for another one or two applications.
After doing that once, all you ever need to do throughout the life of that chain is to lightly brush off the dirt (it never really sticks as would be the case with any other lube) and re-apply once (on the bike, no need to put it on the radiator again).
Your reward is a drivetrain completely free of that nasty destructive black gunk typical with conventional lubes, which means less time spent on cleaning and maintenance, and a longer life of all drivetrain components.
I regularly get asked if I’ve put on a new chain, no matter how long it’s been on the bike.
Really? That’s amazing.. I’d be up for a bit of fettling like this!
Stu – A suitable topic for a
Stu – A suitable topic for a tech Q&A methinks!
Is that one of ‘the rules’ ?Never put WD40 anywhere near your bike, let alone on the chain for goodness sake
WD – good for cleaning but it breaks down other lubricants, so as you state on a rag and then wipe the chain is probably okay as you can wipe off the residue easily enough afterwards.
A NO NO is squirting WD into a chain or soaking chain in WD as when ‘normal lube’ is applied on top of any wd residue it will dillute it. Ergo it won’t last as long and everyone knows the lube/grease you can’t see on a chain is the stuff you want to stay in place.
Personally I run my chain every or every other ride through some kitchen roll (instead of a rag), it picks up all the excess grease and most surface dirt, doesn’t disintegrate or leave any bits on the chain, I find it very effective routine. It allows me to ‘check’ the chain for bits, hair and amount of grease left on the chain. Takes about two mins to do. I’ve also got some ‘Purple Harry’ pipe cleaners which are made for getting inbetween the cogs of the cassette, if I see any ‘bits’ lurking in the cogs, a quick shimmy with a pipe cleaners gets em out.
I might squirt chain cleaner through my chain and cassette and give it a thourough clean once every two to four weeks dependant on riding and conditions.
