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Anybody here with positive
Anybody here with positive experience of tubeless?
Yes me!
Is it worth the hassle, or for normal, non competitive, road cycling, would it be better to go back to tubes?
I think so, in my unscientific experience, I went from 120psi (with lightweight tyres and tubes) on a set of rollers pushing hard to get the 50/11 spinning … to schwalbe pro one tubeless @ 110psi which left me spinning out rollers – simply less resistance pushing the pedals without an innertube. So in my opinion – they make me go faster.
How long / how much hassle, is it to clean up a sealant covered wheel to fit a new tyre?
Getting it off the wheel and tyre isn’t too bad, getting sealant off your bike frame and brakes is a sodding nightmare!
Do you still carry a tube and CO2 cylinder when out cycling, or do you assume that a catastrophic failure won’t occur?
I carry a spare tube and all the stuff I carried before I went tubeless, just in case, however I’ve not used any of it yet and I’ve been running tubeless since July last year. I did have one big puncture which was too large to seal, I called the family broom wagon to collect me as I couldn’t be arsed to put a tube in.
I’ve learned a few things with tubeless, 1) always shake the bottle before topping up with sealant 2) you CAN repair a tubeless tyre 3) remember to top up sealant now and again or it’ll dry out 4) Schwable Pro Ones are very soft and wear out fast (hasn’t stopped me buying more though) 5) fitting the tape to the wheel is a labourious task, it HAS to be done well or it’ll come off when you next change the tyre.
All in I’ve learnt my lessons with tubeless, I’ve had numerous punctures which have sealed and I’ve either not noticed as they’ve sealed so quick OR they’ve sealed within a min or two – never have I had to ‘pump up’ a tyre on the roadside since I’ve been using them.
To me, if you’re the type of rider who is happy using gatorskins in the summer – then you’re a luddite and should stick with clinchers.
If you’re the kind of rider who isn’t afraid to try and learn something new, then go tubeless.
I’m super paranoid though, to the extent that I’ve practiced getting the tyre off and a tube in while in a cold shower to make sure that I can do it out in the rain if I absolutely have to.err…. excuse me… that’s not normal!
You won’t go wrong with the
You won’t go wrong with the Fulcrum 3’s – excellent value at the prices you can pick them up for.
Also consuider Campy Zonda’s, basically the same wheels, see which you can get the best deal on.
I always try and raise a hand
I always try and raise a hand, whether it’s reciprocated or not I don’t mind. But I figure it’s my way of trying to keep just a tiny bit of politeness on two wheels.
Weight distribution on a road
Weight distribution on a road bike as a rule should be ‘about’ 60/40 saddle/bars. (You can measure this by propping one wheel on a yellow pages and the other on a normal bathroom scale – if you can be bothered.)
I used to get hand pain, they went numb after a while. I was cutting off the circulation to my ulnar vein in my hand. Brought gloves with a padded gel area between thumb and forefinger and changed my saddle/position. Worked for me.
Joint pain could be vibrations from the road, try looking at your bar tape, add another layer, or get thicker bar tape (I think 3.5mm is about the maximum – I run 2.5mm thick tape).
You can also get gel inserts which sit underneath your bar tape to dampen vibrations and soften thngs up a bit.
Agree the forum is a bit
Agree the forum is a bit quiet, however £15 ain’t much and I’ll renew for a new pair of socks and some more member only competitions.
The baited breath every friday to win some a dvd and a t-shirt (schwagaway) has become something I look forward to.
I think Rapha offer a ‘longer
I think Rapha offer a ‘longer’ leg option on some of their shorts for people like you.
No easy answer here, the’re
No easy answer here, the’re all good bikes.
Seems your budget is circa £1000-£1300.
Out of thoese, for me the Focus Cayo AL 105 would get my cash, but I like the look of the Eastway also.
Both will serve you well commuting and for a speedy weekend ride.
I presume you’ve looked here – http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/179459-2016s-hottest-disc-equipped-road-bikes
…and here – http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/174231-10-best-%C2%A31000-%C2%A31500-road-bikes
Personally, I’m a big fan of the Giant Defy’s, I’m always banging on about them, but that’s because there are millions of them, they win gazillions of awards, they are a steal second hand, they are always well specced for the price.
Simon, that sounds awesome!
Simon, that sounds awesome! LOL
They’ve cancelled my local closed circuit cat4 crits, and we’re a bit thin on the ground where I am to get racing now. couple of open road races, but one is ‘brutal’ with three reps of edge hill in it (too hilly for me) and the other I was looking at entering is cat 2/3/4… all the skinny kids gave me a funny look and told me it was really, really fast, so that’s out now too.
There is I think a month of cat 4 crits at Mallory park a little later in the season, which I’m going try and get to, but it’s mid week evenings, and about 1.5hrs away so not too hopeful I’ll get many of them in.
Looks like I are mostly armchair racing this year, again 🙂
Why not just go down the disc
Why not just go down the disc brake route?
Cx bike or a second hand
Cx bike or a second hand giant defy (cause there are millions of em and therefore cheap second hand – not withstanding the fact the bike has won a gazillion awards)
Well, first planned ride of
Well, first planned ride of the year is done, 66 hilly miles, The Rawlinson Bracket – I discovered I need to get some longer miles in my legs… got dropped on a hill at mile 46, bonked at mile 55, and puked all over myself at mile 56, it was a very miserable last ten miles home I can tell you… I ended up being towed along by two middle aged women, unable to speak or put a turn in at 13mph… the shame!
Obvs not as fit as I thought I was… lol
Have you read Dave’s blogs on
Have you read Dave’s blogs on getting in shape on this site?
Try cutting out carbs (it’s what I’m doing at the moment, haven’t got working scales but I think I look and feel a bit thinner).
You sound like you’re time poor like me, I’m trying to do three sessions on rollers in the week and a hour or two on the road at the weekend. 2x sessions are based around high intensity training 1x longer one based around my FTHR rate.
Consider mixing things up if you think you’re doing enough to be losing weight – generally your body gets stuck in a rut with excersise and diets, making a radical change be that in your training or diet should shock your body into action again.
Get up early and ride fasted? It takes a few weeks but you’ll be burning stored fats as fuel soon enough (apparently).
Don’t gorge yourself on food after a big session. Try protein shakes directly after a ride (these can be quite filling).
My mate wrote a blog about losing weight, you could say he knows a bit about it!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/peter-dropped-150-lbs-and-become-a-new-man
I’d like to say get a new
I’d like to say get a new bike… but it’s all a matter of degrees..
If I were you, I’d swap out the tyres for some £60 25mm ones, can’t go wrong with Conti GP2 tyres (I use schwalbe pro ones but same thing really).
However you will lose comfort with smaller tyres and it’ll be noticable over 100miles.
My issue you have is that your bike is a little on the how to say this nicely… ‘big boned’ side of the scale. I don’t know the weight but I’d hazard that large sized £1000 specialised with metal fork and triple chainset is probably touching 12 kilos. A typical road bike of the same budget will be more like 8kgs. So unless your bro in law is less fit than you, you’re at a significant disadvantage, regardless of new tyres.
Take a look at some of the buying guides on road.cc for new bikes, budget – Triban 3 / bit more – Giant Defy / bit more – Carbon Giant Defy.
Note you’ll pick a decent hardly used Giant Defy up for about a third of the RRP on fleabay.
Oddly enough my bro in law rides a large specialized tri cross also and can make it round a lumpy 40 miles, but he just blows out of his arse on the hills. I personaly admire his tenacity and endurance.
Depends on budget.
Depends on budget.
Usually you’ll fair better value for money by buying ‘expensive’ factory built wheels (most are hand built after a certain price anyway).
I found my Panceti SL23’s on Novatec hubs handbuild at a tad over £400 couldn’t be beaten for price/weight and I’d like to think performance at the time.
Budget: Factory built Shimano 500’s which are just bombproof and can be found for about £50/£70 a pair.
For deeper wheels, price wise, I fancy the Swissside Hadrons which always seem to be on sale at about £8/900 a pair.