The biking thread

[W3H5]

Change of plan for my tour.

After getting the mountain bike for my friend and him doing the 6km home which nearly killed him we've revised the route and are now going to ride there and train it back.

This way we get the mountains out of the way on the first day and the rest isn't nearly so hard once we're up on the Tibetan plateau.

Super hyped now that I only have just over a week to go before heading out. I just hope the weather gives us a break.

 

[Neal]

Errr, someone take my wallet and card away from me. I couldn't resist.

Nice 👍 I love the their names, Cove Dirt(y) jump Sanchez

Well my test ride was a disaster today. The first jump I hit had been altered since the last time I rode it and was given a new lip, this sent me higher than normal and into a huge nosedive right onto the back of the landing, almost enough to knock me out. Had to call it a day then as I was too shook up to try again.

Doh, hope you and the bike are ok 👍

Quick question for Neal, where did you get that mudguard from? a friend of mine has been looking for something like that. thanks 👍

Either make your own as per my post below or buy them for £9 here > http://www.muckynutz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=113 they do different colours and version of it. Use zip ties to attach it rather than the supplied Velcro, much easier, neater and more effective.

They also do a Butt Fender and a Gut Fender

They are Called Mucky Nutz Bender Fenders are are brilliant as they stop the vast majority of crud getting thrown off your front wheel and into you face. Print the below off on A4 paper (actual size) and use it as a template to cut one out of thin flexible plastic (I used an A4 folder) then zip tie it to your fork brace and legs. 👍

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11915712/Mucky Nutz Bender Fender v2.pdf

Change of plan for my tour.

After getting the mountain bike for my friend and him doing the 6km home which nearly killed him we've revised the route and are now going to ride there and train it back.

This way we get the mountains out of the way on the first day and the rest isn't nearly so hard once we're up on the Tibetan plateau.

Super hyped now that I only have just over a week to go before heading out. I just hope the weather gives us a break.

Probably a good idea altering the riding to your mates abilities, will keep it fun. Enjoy pal 👍

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

That Cove is gorgeous...

... and so is the latest addition to my sporting arsenal!

I went with the triple because there are no flat surfaces here (and it's a recovery tool so I don't want to be killing my legs on rest days). I just want to go fast, ok? Can't you just accept that!

 

[W3H5]

I went with the triple because there are no flat surfaces here

I should have probably looked into something similar.

Still, sweet ride.

 

[Emptyone]

*snip*

Sexy bike 👍

Nice bit of 105 of there too, looks like a pretty good deal for that Cube.

 

[mp10]

Either make your own as per my post below or buy them for £9 here > http://www.muckynutz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=113 they do different colours and version of it. Use zip ties to attach it rather than the supplied Velcro, much easier, neater and more effective.

They also do a Butt Fender and a Gut Fender

Thankyou 👍 might consider getting one myself

 

[Gejabo]

Some day's you think sprimg is comming.

(Watch in HD)


Than it starts snowing and a few days ater it's 5 degrees C
And the snow melts.

.

Singlespeed and rigid is such a joy to ride 👍

 

[Shaun]

Hey guys, I'm pretty much a newbie to cycling apart from when I was a kid and short time of enforcement of having no car license in my early twenties.

As some of the Premo members will know I'm on a mission to lose some weight.
After around three weeks of using an exercise bike I decided I liked the exercise part but not so much the sitting still on the exercise bike bit.

So after a bit of looking and waiting on ebay this popped up. Being the only bidder I got it at a giveaway price compared to new, especially as it's virtually new since the guy after a few rides adding up to only 100km decided he didn't like cycling.

So here I am and after a couple of short rides to get the setup right (thanks Bram 👍) here's hoping there are many thousands of km's in front of me. It may be because it's new to me but at the moment I'm champing at the bit to get out for a ride at any opportunity. But as Bram warned me, be careful it's a good chance it's a sport you will fall in love with.

Here's hoping so.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[mp10]

Congrats on the new bike :tup: don't know much about road bikes really, never had one either. Then again i'm kinda a newbie, got my first bike last summer, and loving it.

 

[Emptyone]

Nice bike indeed 👍

Road biking and indeed all biking can suck you in very quickly But it is such a rewarding sport ... though do be prepared to spend a fair bit, as you get carried away with making the perfect bike, it is an expensive sport!

 

[Neal]

Hey guys, I'm pretty much a newbie to cycling apart from when I was a kid and short time of enforcement of having no car license in my early twenties.

As some of the Premo members will know I'm on a mission to lose some weight.
After around three weeks of using an exercise bike I decided I liked the exercise part but not so much the sitting still on the exercise bike bit.

So after a bit of looking and waiting on ebay this popped up. Being the only bidder I got it at a giveaway price compared to new, especially as it's virtually new since the guy after a few rides adding up to only 100km decided he didn't like cycling.

So here I am and after a couple of short rides to get the setup right (thanks Bram 👍) here's hoping there are many thousands of km's in front of me. It may be because it's new to me but at the moment I'm champing at the bit to get out for a ride at any opportunity. But as Bram warned me, be careful it's a good chance it's a sport you will fall in love with.

Here's hoping so.

Cheers Shaun.

Well done mate 👍 I can't believe you got that for $450!!11!!! They're a Pinarello brand which is what Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France on Seriously nice first bike and it looks properly sexy. If you haven't already get the Strava app as it does wonders for your motivation. I guarantee you'll have OCD (obsessive cycling disorder) before long and start getting bike bling delivered to work to try and hide it from the missus...not that it fools them

Also as you ride more you may feel you need to tweak your riding position a bit so have a read of this for ideas which has helped me in the past.

Very nice Cube Marina 👍


I'm off to The Peak District on Sunday for a fairly big ride which is going to kill me as I've only been on the bike for 9 hours this year due to breaking myself/bike, giving my wife priority to train for the half marathon and in the past 2 weeks my mum has been in hospital with pneumonia which has been quite hectic and stressful (she went home yesterday and is on the mend). I'm still really looking forward to the ride as it will be the first proper outing on the new bike since I built it up


Also for any Strava users check out this tool http://veloviewer.com/blog/about/

It does a lot with your ride data that Strava doesn't but the below gives you an idea of the main cool feature

... though do be prepared to spend a fair bit, as you get carried away with making the perfect bike, it is an expensive sport!

Very very true, I've spent a bit over £500 recently on a new frame and brakes etc and have already planned what else I want to do to the bike which will cost another £600ish Really can't afford anything much at the moment though so it'll just be getting ridden as it is for a while

 

[Emptyone]

Strava app

That thing is amazing! If you have an internet capable phone

Very very true, I've spent a bit over £500 recently on a new frame and brakes etc and have already planned what else I want to do to the bike which will cost another £600ish Really can't afford anything much at the moment though so it'll just be getting ridden as it is for a while

I picked my Scott up for 500, and I've spent that again in upgrading it all to Shimano Sora spec kit. And repairs

 

[Neal]

That thing is amazing! If you have an internet capable phone

You can use Strava (oe Endomondo etc) with a GPS logger and just import the GPX file using your computer to the Strava website, in fact a stand alone GPS logger is probably more accurate. Look for one of these on ebay, should be able to pick one up for £30ish

I picked my Scott up for 500, and I've spent that again in upgrading it all to Shimano Sora spec kit. And repairs

Since getting the new frame I thought it would be a good idea for insurance purposes to list all the parts with the full RRP cost, what started off as a £250 Halfords bike would now cost £2,000 to replace!

 

[Shaun]

Well done mate 👍 I can't believe you got that for $450!!11!!! They're a Pinarello brand which is what Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France on Seriously nice first bike and it looks properly sexy. If you haven't already get the Strava app as it does wonders for your motivation. I guarantee you'll have OCD (obsessive cycling disorder) before long and start getting bike bling delivered to work to try and hide it from the missus...not that it fools them

Also as you ride more you may feel you need to tweak your riding position a bit so have a read of this for ideas which has helped me in the past.

Thanks mate.

Yeah it surprise me that I picked it up also. Don't know what it was but maybe a lot of guys who were after that level of bike didn't know about Opera and were only looking for Giant, Trek ect.

I knew nothing about them until I did some research before placing a bid.
The parts labeled Pinarello does kind of give it away though.
Also if you dig a bit deeper the Most parts on it are, you guessed it, an offshoot of Pinarello.

I'll check out Strava 👍, currently I'm using this and it sounds like a similar app.

I think I already have the onset of OCD, I've been on the bike every day since the purchase. The month prior on the exercise bike was good but nothing beats getting out in the fresh air. As a bonus as well once I've finished my ride I swing past home and my eldest joins me for another half an hour or hour of relaxed riding. Gives us both some extra time together.

I hear you about the bling, I've already looked up the price of an Ultegra groupset just for giggles. I can see how guys get hooked. As it stands though there is no intention of any upgrades, the bike is virtually new and is also well above my fitness/skill level atm. You never know in the future though.

I'll have a good read of the setup link when I get the spare time, I think I'm ok though as Bram gave me a lot of advice via PM's.

Due to it's Italian heritage I am expecting it to be fast but also temperamental though.
Keep Pedaling.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[Neal]

Good stuff Shaun, I must admit I hadn't heard of the brand before as it's mostly mountain bike stuff I read up on but a quick Google showed it was as good as it looked. Most people, myself included, start off with a basic bike then slowly upgrade it until they reach a point where they want a better frame or new bike. You'll be set with that bike for a good while and when you do come to upgrade it you'll be doing so on a good base.

I'm jealous that you're getting out so much especially with your eldest. The weather is grim here and I've been strapped for time but hopefully that will improve soon and when my boys are older they'll be coming riding with me...even if I have to drag them

...I'll check out Strava 👍, currently I'm using this and it sounds like a similar app....

There are loads of GPS fitness tracking apps which are good but Strava is all about the segments and the competition. Have a look at this for an idea of the segments round your neck of the woods, there are loads of them! Basically the idea is you go on a ride and track it with Strava just like the Sports Tracker app but when you ride through any existing segments you automatically get added to the leader board to see how fast you are and then the next time you ride the segment you beast yourself to try and beat your time and climb the leader board, if you're at all competitive it is highly addictive

EDIT: Just a word to protect you pride and joy, all these GPS fitness apps can reveal information about what bike you own and where you live which can be used by thieveing scumbags to target bikes. Most of them have privacy settings so make sure you use them and create privacy zones for your home (and place of work if you ride there) plus give your bike a generic name like "Red Bike" rather than "Super Bling Carbon Bike". Also have a read of this and a watch of these for ideas on how to protect your bike if the scrotes follow you home after spotting your shiny bike on the roof of your car.

 

[W3H5]

Despite just returning last night from an awesome 450+km tour over 4 days of mountain and wilderness riding, one of my highlights was seeing a Cannondale Lefty in the flesh at the end city and trying to chat up the bloke to let me have a ride....and he did! Actually nothing special about the Lefty's ride, just a bit of a mind ****!

Report to follow once I've tallied up all of the data and sorted out the best pics.

 

[Shaun]

Starting to feel really comfortable on the bike now.

Up to 25km rides with plenty still left in the tank. Almost had an oops moment today, yesterday I purchased some shoes and put my good pedals back on. Quick ride yesterday to test them and all good. Anyway this morning as I approached my house I unclipped to get ready to get off, going over the gutter up my driveway the small jolt was enough to clip both shoes back in. Luckily I had my gate to grab onto as I had no momentum at all and it would have made for a rather ungraceful dismount.
What a difference clip in shoes make though.

On the other hand I have found that pumping up tyres to 700kpa with a hand pump is freakin ridiculous. I used some of my bush mechanic skills to braze together some parts to allow me to pump up my tyres now with the nitrogen bottle I have at home. That and with carrying a couple of co2 capsules when I ride I never intend on using a pump again.

It's seems there is some sort of cyclist code around here as well. Due to this morning being perfect weather my local roads were awash with riders. I noticed that when passing a fellow rider on the opposite side of the road it seems the done thing is to give short glance and a gentle nod.

Why oh why didn't I discover cycling years ago, having a lot of fun getting out there.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[W3H5]

Why oh why didn't I discover cycling years ago, having a lot of fun getting out there.

Better late than never, mate. 👍

It's always nice to give a little acknowledgement to another rider if he/ she looks in your direction.

EDIT: Rather than post a report here too, here's my tour report from this week.

 

[W3H5]

Small bump.

I need some advice from you mountain bikers. Here's the deal...

The bike my friend rode on the tour with me (Bog standard Merida mountain bike) has been given to me by the guy I borrowed it from because he's got my dirt bike on loan. Fair swap.

This minus the disk brakes.

What I want to do is kit it out with some cheap but nicer parts. I've got a budget of around 20-30quid - bear in mind I'm in China - which can pretty much replace most of the stock parts other than the frame.

I'm going more for a standard urban bike with no real specific usage in mind rather than a made for purpose machine. So far here are some components I've got bookmarked ready to buy:

(All prices include postage & I'm painting the whole thing matt black so ignore the colours)

Bars £3

40 teeth, single speed crank & arms £3.50

Saddle £4

Grips £2.50

Tyres £3.50 each

Stem £4.50

Travel arm covers £1.50

Speedo £4

I'm going to run the rear cassette as normal but only using the one gear on the crank, might go down to 32 teeth id I can find the right size. Also I'm going to set up a single brake on the back. Levers, seat post, bearings and cable I'll be getting from my local bike shop because I like to throw some business his way, he's a good guy. Trying to keep it simple.

Is there anything I should know about swapping parts out? I've checked most of them for sizes and compatibility. Just wondering if I've missed anything.

 

[Neal]

EDIT: Rather than post a report here too, here's my tour report from this week.

Just spotted this, very impressed mate Well done to both of you :tup:

Small bump.

I need some advice from you mountain bikers. Here's the deal......

Some thoughts...

Merida is a pretty big brand so it should be a decent frame even if it is basic.

Painting it all matt black might turn out to be a pain if not done properly as the paint is likely to flake/wear off. I sprayed a bottle cage and the paint is rubbing off quite quickly.

Bars & stem - What's wrong with the existing ones and why are you replacing them?

Chainset/cranks - If there's nothing wrong with the existing cranks you could just remove the granny and big ring leaving the middle ring on to turn it into a single ring set up and this will likely be 32 teeth. If you do this you may find the chain drops off the chainring due to the ramps on the teeth, a single ring specific chainring and/or a top chain guide would sort this (eg 1 & eg 2)

Saddle, grips, tyres - All look fine

Fork travel arm covers - I wouldn't bother, better to clean and lube them regularly.

Computer - Looks fine.

Other stuff...maybe new lighter wheels?

 

[Bram Turismo]

Nice bike indeed 👍

Road biking and indeed all biking can suck you in very quickly But it is such a rewarding sport ... though do be prepared to spend a fair bit, as you get carried away with making the perfect bike, it is an expensive sport!

I often feel cycling is a sport where you can test yourself mentally often more than physically. It's often creeping way down the saddle, and putting yourself to the test how long you can sit at the tip of the saddle. Whether you a pro or an amateur, a mindset can accomplish so much.

I've had some brutal rides last year where I set myself a distance and told myself to go as fast as I can possible do this ride without dying. Speedo below 35km/h? Punch it! Tired or not, I don't care, just punch it!

And other times I go out with a mindset of "I am not returning home before I have done 75km today", and come back home with a traveled distance of 100km.

For me personally it's a lot of fun exploring my own limits, and improving them. It makes you mentally stronger as well as I generally feel a lot more comfortable throughout the day during the summer. I just sense such a great feeling of freedom on the bike.

And then there are those off-days where you being so hard on yourself comes back to bite you and you can hardly get up from your chair in the living room. Worth it!

 

[Emptyone]

I often feel cycling is a sport where you can test yourself mentally often more than physically. It's often creeping way down the saddle, and putting yourself to the test how long you can sit at the tip of the saddle. Whether you a pro or an amateur, a mindset can accomplish so much.

I've had some brutal rides last year where I set myself a distance and told myself to go as fast as I can possible do this ride without dying. Speedo below 35km/h? Punch it! Tired or not, I don't care, just punch it!

And other times I go out with a mindset of "I am not returning home before I have done 75km today", and come back home with a traveled distance of 100km.

For me personally it's a lot of fun exploring my own limits, and improving them. It makes you mentally stronger as well as I generally feel a lot more comfortable throughout the day during the summer. I just sense such a great feeling of freedom on the bike.

And then there are those off-days where you being so hard on yourself comes back to bite you and you can hardly get up from your chair in the living room. Worth it!

It is definitely a mental game, as well as a physical one. You have to endure through the burn in the calf's going up hills, push yourself into the red and come out again fighting on the other side.

Without a strong mentality, its so much less rewarding!

Feeling the freedom is great, and yeah, pushing yourself so hard you can barely walk is so worth it 👍

Also, it's not too long till us roadies will be getting disc brakes for our bikes. Shimano and SRAM are both working on it at the moment. Linky

 

[Greycap]

More enthusiasm than skills once again. Everyone probably knows what happens when the front wheel drops off the packed surface and catches the snow bank to finish the situation, it took some work to get out (of the quickly constructed foxhole beyond the top tube) when my ankle was still under the down tube and my shoulders ~30 cm beyond the snow surface without any hope of getting a firm grip of anything as the snow was almost a metre deep in all...

 

[W3H5]

Riding in thick snow? You crazy!

Disk brakes for a road bike? Are they necessary? At 50kph I'm pretty sure my cantilever brakes have more stopping power than your average bike without running the risk of eating road by front flipping over the bars.

My first thought is surely the stopping power's main ally is the tyre performance and not the brake?

 

[Bram Turismo]

The problem with disc brakes is that, yes they are indeed better than normal brakes, but they are so strong that you can easily lock them. And that's certainly not something I want to experience on a roadracing bike.

 

[W3H5]

I'm quite happy with my brakes and wouldn't go to disks for that exact reason. Locking up on at a busy junction in an evasive manoeuvre is bad enough when the back starts to come around and the bike goes into a drift. I wouldn't even like to think what would happen if I grab a hand-full of front and superman across the junction after flipping the bike.

Besides, how much does a road rider use the rear brake anyway? I know I only use in in emergencies for maximum stopping power and when I'm cornering if the bend tightens and I'm too fast.

My whole motivation for riding a bike is its brilliant efficiency and using the brakes is just a waste of energy in my book; I use them a little as possible.

 

[Shaun]

I'm not sure about disc brakes to be honest, haven't used them enough to really have an opinion. Did go for a quick ride with my father in law the other week on one of his flat bar road bikes. It had disc brakes and it stopped fine enough but once they warmed up a bit they made a horrible almost scratching like sound. Probably the pads on it I assume.

As for the the previous discussion about the mental game I couldn't agree more.
After work on weeknights I always go for a small 15km loop. The past week every day when I have come home from work it has always been in the mid 30c temperature range. No problem the heat doesn't bother me that much.
One night I rounded the corner at the end of my street to start my ride I was faced with what felt like a gale force wind. After about a km of pedaling into it while going downhill just to keep forward momentum I though this is a joke. Many things went through my mind about turning around and going home but in the end I thought c'mon you weak so and so push through as best as you can.

When I got home even after such a short ride my legs felt like jelly. Felt bloody good though.


I'm slowly starting to stretch out my distance that I can manage in comfort. This morning I went for 35km and felt really good when I got home. Had a fair bit more in me but had an appointment I had to keep. Getting close to being able to do the 50km to work one morning without being a pool of jelly once I get there.

God I love this sport.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[Sam48]

Okay, big questions lie ahead for me, but first, a little background on my situation. I'm in the process of selling my 2012 Trek 7.1 FX. I bought it in April last year, and I love it. Being a college student in a big city, it gets me around great. However, after riding it in cycling groups, I've now realized I love bikes a lot. So, to keep up with all my friends on their Madones and CAAD 10s, I need to upgrade. I'm selling my FX for $400 (I've put over $100 into it and only had one accident, so it's in good shape). Anyway, being a college student, I'm on a budget. Assuming I get the $400 for my FX, I'll have another $900 to spend, so $1300 total. I want road bike that I'll keep for at least 8 years. So, here's what I've been looking at.

-Trek 1.2
-Trek 1.5
-Trek Domane 1.4
-Trek Madone 2.1
-Specialized Allez Sport
-Cannondale CAAD8
-Cannondale Synapse

Now, I'll be test riding a few of these bikes in the coming weeks, but what I'm most worried about is that some of these bikes come with a compact only, while others allow for triples or compacts. Given that I'm from an extremely hilly area, I thought the triple would suit me better, but some say the lighter compact works just as well. Oh, and one more feature I would prefer, but don't need, are Shimano 105 components or better.

Any words or advice?

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Any words or advice?

I also live in a very hilly area and have also recently purchased a road bike with a triple. The extra ratios don't provide much of an advantage over a compact, but every little helps when you need to ride for miles uphill.

If you can stretch to a bike with a mostly 105 groupset, get it. Tiagra is ok but feels rough and fragile in comparison. 105 will stand up to the beating it will take from being under strain up hills better than Tiagra too.

As you said, you'll want to keep it for a long time, and getting the right spec (especially a good frame as a base to do any possible component upgrades to) and fit are essential. The groupset and wheelset can always be upgraded (do it bit-by-bit and take advantage of sales and clearances) although it can be expensive.

Before I settled on the bike that I eventually purchased (2013 Cube Peloton Race) I took the 2013 Allez Elite and 2013 CAAD8 5 for a test ride. Both nice bikes, great aluminium frames, but obviously the Cannondale had the edge due to a better spec.

 

[Kitten]

Can summer or spring come earlier, Im jumping up and down. Just wanting to put my ass back on my bike :C.