The Cycling Thread (2 Viewers)

duffer said:

By the time I've cycled twenty miles, I don't really fancy anything more challenging than a nice cuppa personally. The toughest one I've found within a sensible distance (by my low standards) is Green End Rd, out by Maxstoke.

On Strava, it's here.
Strava Segment | Maxstoke Hill

There are probably blokes hereabouts that can go up this one faster than I can go down it! Currently, I'm just running a bit - the bike can come out in summer.

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Haven't been up Maxstoke for a while! I think I sit about 1000th on that one (must pay it a visit again sometime!). Yes I know a few people who can fire up hills at a ridiculous speed but they live on lettuce leaves rather than real food and personally like having a beer and a pie!

Covstu said:

Haven't been up Maxstoke for a while! I think I sit about 1000th on that one (must pay it a visit again sometime!). Yes I know a few people who can fire up hills at a ridiculous speed but they live on lettuce leaves rather than real food and personally like having a beer and a pie!

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The lad I usually ride with is like that. I asked him once as we were going up a hill how he'd manage if he was giving his son a piggy back to compensate for my extra weight!

jimmyhillsfanclub said:

The fact that he mentioned the dreaded glue would suggest he was talking about tubs.....

From what I understand about tubeless is that they're great until they fail......and then you can snap several tyre levers or even your wrist trying to wrestle the fucker off the rim...

Personally, I'll stick with my clinchers, panaracers & a spare tube in my saddle bag.

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Yes mate, I know he was talking about tubular. It was just a polite way of pointing out I'd asked a question about tubeless and he'd given me a rundown on tubular.
Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm fucking around with tyre pressures at the minute. just bought some 28 schwalbe ones. lovely tyre.
cheers.

henry the wasp said:

Yes mate, I know he was talking about tubular. It was just a polite way of pointing out I'd asked a question about tubeless and he'd given me a rundown on tubular.
Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm fucking around with tyre pressures at the minute. just bought some 28 schwalbe ones. lovely tyre.
cheers.

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Apologies Chris Froome

Really, any need for that? I wasn't trying to be a c**t. I'd already said I was trying to be polite.
Still I'll not fall out with anyone on a cycling thread. Have a good day, what's left of it.

Definitely going to get a road bike this year, need to get out and get fit.

Any recommendations on a decent but reasonably priced starter bike and what equipment I will need?

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Always cheap carbon bikes on eBay. Good place to start depending on budget stu

stupot07 said:

Definitely going to get a road bike this year, need to get out and get fit.

Any recommendations on a decent but reasonably priced starter bike and what equipment I will need?

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When you're starting out, first priority has to be comfort. You need a bike that's the right size, that you can get into a comfortable position when you're riding. It doesn't have to look like or be made of the same stuff as the bikes that pro racers ride. Even the cheapest carbon bike from eBay is too dear if you don't want to ride it because it gives you a sore arse/hands/wrists/neck/knees/wherever. Go to your local bike shop (even Halfords, if there's nothing better), sit on a few, take them out for a test ride. If it hurts, it's wrong.

In terms of kit - think about contact points. So you need shorts (you don't need to go full Lycra - baggy is fine), gloves and ideally shoes - but a lot of people find clip-in pedals difficult at first, so no drama if you start off in trainers & flat pedals.

If you're comfortable enough to want to get on & ride, the rest is fairly easy. You soon pick up fitness & endurance.

stupot07 said:

Definitely going to get a road bike this year, need to get out and get fit.

Any recommendations on a decent but reasonably priced starter bike and what equipment I will need?

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In terms of bikes, Decathlon do good decent budget kit (imho).

At £300, this one (500SE) wouldn't be a bad place to start: All Bikes - Triban 500 SE Road Bike

Gets good reviews from most places. I've got the earlier version of this (Triban T3), and it's done me fine for a few thousand miles with only the chain that has actually *needed* replacing. As you get used to it you'll probably start upgrading bits and pieces (I'd start with the tyres and then the wheels, personally), but it'll certainly get you going. It comes with flat pedals and toe clips but the majority of road cylists seem to go for clip-in pedals which also need specialised shoes. You can probably budget another £60 - £150 on this all in, but as rd45 says it's really not critical and you could get going first and come back to this later.

You'll want to consider padded shorts, I wore lycra cycling shorts under football shorts for a while as I'm not really keen on the fully lycra look, but the truth is that no one really cares and lycra works well for cycling (no chafing, breathes, and gives). £20 - £40 ish. Road bikes are hard on your backside I find.

You'll want gloves in this weather, and I use mitts (fingerless gloves) in the summer. Typically they've got some sort of padding in to protect your hands against vibration and if also you have a spill. You can get mitts for around £5 - if you're looking for decent gloves that are relatively waterproof, that's more like £20 - £30 iirc.

Helmets are (suprisingly) a bone of contention amongst some cyclists, but it seems mad to me not to wear one if you're going out for a proper ride. They will do the square root of bugger all in a high-speed impact, but the one I worry about is the stupid 10mph spill and cracking my head off the kerb. There are two types of riders, those who have come off and those who are going to come off. I think £20 - £60 would probably cover this.

So, I reckon £300 - £400 to get you going on a new bike with new kit like a lid and odds and sods. All personal opinion is this, obviously, but it's how I started. Some of my mates have since spent thousands on their bikes, but the single biggest improvement you can make is the engine, and that's free.

There's a friendly forum here if you want to do a bit more research... Home | B'TWIN Road Bike Owners Club

Would agree that bike fit is the most important. A big that is too small/large or misfitting can do you some serious pain and obviously take the enjoyment from the ride. Personally would give Halfords a body swerve as they don't have a clue what they are talking about but you can pick up a cheapish bike. Mike Vaughn's in Kenilworth has a good range and they know what they are talking about.

Just had the classic 'cyclists don't pay tax so shouldn't be on the road' arguement last night. Just cannot believe some people have that mentality that it's their right to be on the road and fuck everyone else!

Thank you all for your advice! I'll let you know how I get on!

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Covstu said:

Just had the classic 'cyclists don't pay tax so shouldn't be on the road' arguement last night. Just cannot believe some people have that mentality that it's their right to be on the road and fuck everyone else!

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Ridiculous given the vast majority of cyclist will also be car users and paying road tax, or pay income tax and council tax, not to mention VAT!

Do they also believe that any driver with a car that are exempt from paying road tax due shouldn't be on the road?

Road Tax Free Cars 2017 | carwow

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Covstu said:

Just had the classic 'cyclists don't pay tax so shouldn't be on the road' arguement last night. Just cannot believe some people have that mentality that it's their right to be on the road and fuck everyone else!

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If all the cars were banned...the roads would need much much less cost to build & maintain, take up less room & last an awful lot longer.
That's why cyclists don't pay specific cycle tax for highway mtc. They don't actually do much if any real damage to them.

...onwards & upwards PUSB

stupot07 said:

Ridiculous given the vast majority of cyclist will also be car users and paying road tax, or pay income tax and council tax, not to mention VAT!

Do they also believe that any driver with a car that are exempt from paying road tax due shouldn't be on the road?

Road Tax Free Cars 2017 | carwow

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Same point I raised! Idiot!

Call for action as four ponies killed in New Forest in just eight days

Funnily enough - this perhaps highlights some of the issue. Many car drivers just cannot resist ignoring conditions or environment they are in...& go too fast, then the odd one gets caught out leaving some sort of carnage.
Has to be said that wreckless cyclists ts cause hazards that can lead to that attitude & behaviour too

...onwards & upwards PUSB

jimmyhillsfanclub said:

Chris Froome: Team Sky rider says legacy will not be tainted by 'adverse' drugs test

So Froome reckons his legacy will not be tainted.......ha ha ha.....shut up Chris....it already is mate.

You , along with wiggins & team sky have made such a holier-than-thou noise about riding clean & yet here we are.......

...Huge abuse of the TUE system as a Sky team tactic, Wiggins mystery delivery & a failed drug test during a major race for the 4 times tour winner

.....such as shame.

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I'm genuinely gutted about this. I really believed they were different, doing it the right way.

It makes you wonder if British cycling's Olympic success is also off the back of creative use of TUEs.

Very sad.

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Always knew he was a bastard.

It certainly appears that Team Sky are continuing with their 'minute improvements = big gains' by stretching the TUE to the very limit. Very sad if they have to resort to this as they have always given the impression that they were whiter than white.

Certainly a case of treating them differently to others so I am not surprised the other riders are pissed off. Sky have been pushing the limits for years and getting away with technicalities and for me they don’t need too. There isn’t a team close to their roster and tactically they can win through attritional racing

This is all nonsense in my opinion.
Every team and rider is going to push the rules to the limit, and when you do that, you can't but help overstepping the rules occasionally.
I'm sure every top rider in cycling is on something.

#slithering lizard!!

Gazolba said:

This is all nonsense in my opinion.
Every team and rider is going to push the rules to the limit, and when you do that, you can't but help overstepping the rules occasionally.
I'm sure every top rider in cycling is on something.

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So okay until you get caught?

Gazolba said:

This is all nonsense in my opinion.
Every team and rider is going to push the rules to the limit, and when you do that, you can't but help overstepping the rules occasionally.
I'm sure every top rider in cycling is on something.

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I tend to agree...and it is only relentless pursuit of success that brings the relentless scrutiny. Money & the pursuit of it has ruined sport at the highest level, in fact it has pretty much ruined society

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Covstu said:

So okay until you get caught?

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That applies to just about everything doesn't it? Speeding is probably most common. Who hasn't done 35 in a 30 zone?

Gazolba said:

That applies to just about everything doesn't it? Speeding is probably most common. Who hasn't done 35 in a 30 zone?

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Don’t really think the consequences are the same are they?

Back onto non-pro cycling...it's been nearly 3 months since I completed LEJOG and I've not been on the bike since. Absolutely no desire whatsoever. That said, my metabolism has slowed back down again after the ride and I can feel the pounds creeping back on, especially at this time of year.

The lads I did the ride with are talking about doing it again in 2018, but this time in 5 days.

Fook. That.

I've got a carbon Cube Agree 56cm road bike with mainly ultegra stuff on it for sale. Anyone interested then message me. I'm looking for £440.

Skyblueweeman said:

Back onto non-pro cycling...it's been nearly 3 months since I completed LEJOG and I've not been on the bike since. Absolutely no desire whatsoever. That said, my metabolism has slowed back down again after the ride and I can feel the pounds creeping back on, especially at this time of year.

The lads I did the ride with are talking about doing it again in 2018, but this time in 5 days.

Fook. That.

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I have gone inside for the winter. Starting using Zwift which is great fun and slightly addicted! Doing about 20 miles each night on it then an outdoors ride on sundays.

Alan Dugdales Moustache said:

I've got a carbon Cube Agree 56cm road bike with mainly ultegra stuff on it for sale. Anyone interested then message me. I'm looking for £440.

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Great price, you should shift that fairly quickly I would have thought

jimmyhillsfanclub said:

I heard some fella in the LBS raving about Zwift the other week.........Can you race other (real) people with it?

Do I need all the latest tech like smart trainer, Xbox do-dah etc. or can I just use a laptop, separate power meter & race on a traditional turbo trainer?

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Basically you are dropped into one of three maps with whoever has logged in, generally between 2-6k riders. You can either free ride round the map, do training or graded events/races. Now and again real riders appear (greipel was on there last night!). I use my iPad via Bluetooth but generally you would need a smart trainer to have a decent experience. I think you can get away with a dumb trainer and power/cadence meters but it obviously won’t pick up the gradients of the hills. You can do 20km for free so might be worth a try to see if you can connect