The Fretboard Cycling Club

TTBZ · August 2023

Thanks. Currently watching a few red Lyriks on eBay which would suit it quite nicely I think!

MagicPigDetective · August 2023

I mentioned in spring my goal was the Tour de Mon sportive on Anglesey, the Bach (small) 74km route. It seemed a tall order but I was given much encouragement here (thanks!), I’ve been doing a lot of cycling and today completed the event in around three and a half hours.

It was fine until the final 10-15km which was into strong winds… I had to dig deep for the final climbs but now I’m exhausted and incredibly chuffed. Beautiful scenery, great course and an excellently organised event. Perhaps I can aim for the 124km route next year.

I bloody love cycling.

Teetonetal · August 2023

Congrats @MagicPigDetective very nice way to spend a day and kudos on setting a goal and doing it!

Jaycee · August 2023

Teetonetal said:

Congrats @MagicPigDetective very nice way to spend a day and kudos on setting a goal and doing it!

Glad you are hooked

thermionic · September 2023

Had a great day out today, went to watch the final stage of the Tour of Britain. Caught the intermediate sprint at Cowbridge (not contested, a small group with a lead of 3 minutes just rolled through), then headed to the iconic Caerphilly Mountain. The atmosphere was electric there, cheering on local boys Luke Rowe and Stevie Williams - who got into a break with Rodriguez from Team Ineos but was eventually dropped.

https://i.imgur.com/Pb3Uciu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wvuC5Kz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2jfVEDb.jpg

The last couple of times the race was here, a bunch of local racing guys from Luke Rowe’s generation wore fancy dress to cheer the riders on. Luke was racing today and I was glad to see the tradition upheld. His brother and his mates dressed up in cheerleader outfits and blonde wigs to cheer him on. On the second lap his brother handed him a botlle of beer, which he chugged as he crossed the summit!

https://i.imgur.com/j3hP676.jpg

Jaycee · September 2023

I was under the A48 just around the corner, had a gentle ride home from there as one of my spokes had broken.

I think I have ridden all of the roads on this stage except the ascent up Caerphilly mountain, did you cycle there @thermionic ;;

thermionic · September 2023

We rode out to Cowbridge to watch the intermediate sprint and eventually got to the top via the Castell Coch road - possibly the easiest way up there. I have ridden up from Caerphilly many times, but will find an easier route if possible!

TTBZ · September 2023

Finally had time to take the new bike out for a proper ride at Cannock yesterday! It rides great, just need to put some tokens in the shock as it bottomed out a few times on some pretty mild stuff. This ride also reminded me that I don't actually enjoy riding up or along on an MTB much at all though, it's all about the descents for me. By the end of it I was finding the trails a bit tedious tbh, maybe that's just Cannock though, always feels a bit lacking in flow to me (though I love the last 2 descents on the Monkey trail). Was just thinking if I'm covering miles I'd rather be doing it efficiently on a road/gravel bike! So now thinking about taking the build of the Sommet more in a DH/park direction since that's what I love to ride - burlier forks, maybe even singlespeed for low noise and maintenance since my drivetrain does need replacing at some point.

Must admit I was very jealous of all the people on ebikes breezing up the climbs chatting whilst I was crawling up coughing and spluttering!

BigMonka · September 2023

Can I get some advice on GPS bike nav units please? It's for road cycling rather than off-road and I want to be able to send a route to it but if I miss a turning I'd like it to do a proper re-route.
Trying to work things out online I *think* that in the Garmin world that means a 530/830/1030? Then in the Wahoo world I think its a v2 of one of the Elemnt series?
Looking to buy used and as cheap as possible!
Any suggestions?

drofluf · September 2023

@BigMonka looks like the ELMNT Roam V1 also does what you need. https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-computers/elemnt-roam-buy-v1

I have one but haven’t tested that feature but overall I’m impressed with it; very easy to set up and use. The good news is it’s superseded by the V2 so Wahoo are selling them with about 30% off or you may get lucky secondhand if someone is upgrading.

When I was looking the only thing the V2 has over it for me was USB C but that wasn’t enough to justify the extra cost.

Teetonetal · September 2023

Very proud of myself, I bookended my week with rides up the Klausen pass.. 25k 1400hm climb. A beautiful road out of my village.

Only thing is, on trip 2, I was on a road bike and my friend was on a light weight race mtb and I had to dig deep to keep up! Made to feel extremely unfit!!

Jaycee · September 2023

BigMonka said:

Can I get some advice on GPS bike nav units please? It's for road cycling rather than off-road and I want to be able to send a route to it but if I miss a turning I'd like it to do a proper re-route.
Trying to work things out online I *think* that in the Garmin world that means a 530/830/1030? Then in the Wahoo world I think its a v2 of one of the Elemnt series?
Looking to buy used and as cheap as possible!
Any suggestions?

I have the IGP sport igs50s on my gravel and the BSC200 on my road bike.

The main reason for my change from Garmin was the battery life, so far "two years for the 50, and six months for the 200" all good.

https://www.igpsport.com/bikecomputer

littlegreenman · September 2023

Woop! Sepp Kuss winning La Vuelta.

The uber-domestique wins a Tour. Plenty of drama along the way, but loving it ♥

littlegreenman · October 2023

Oops, I seem to have signed up for RideLondon next year! Never done a Century before, longest ride has been 72 miles.

Wish me luck

elstoof · October 2023

You’ll be alright, best of luck with training. If you can do 70 miles you can do 100, closed roads and riding in a big group will make it feel easier than your 70 miler

Teetonetal · October 2023

@littlegreenman should be a fun event! Just make sure you get your food right on the day.

drofluf · October 2023

littlegreenman said:

Oops, I seem to have signed up for RideLondon next year! Never done a Century before, longest ride has been 72 miles.

Wish me luck

You’ll be fine, I did my first century 14 years ago on a singlespeed

https://paulfulford.blogspot.com/2009/08/talkin-bear-mountain-picnic-massacre.html

Jaycee · October 2023

Cav has signed on for another year, targeting the tour record, no suprise there.

I guess he will pick the tours that he feels will get him in the best shape for the TDF hope he does it.

What do you guys think?

littlegreenman · October 2023

Jaycee said:

Cav has signed on for another year, targeting the tour record, no suprise there.

I guess he will pick the tours that he feels will get him in the best shape for the TDF hope he does it.

What do you guys think?

Collarbone break in the Prologue? lol

Just kidding. Guess he felt that, after missing out on the record due to a mechanical, he had to give it one last shot. Well that, and Peta and the kids gave him permission.

Pjon · October 2023

Jaycee said:

Cav has signed on for another year, targeting the tour record, no suprise there.

I guess he will pick the tours that he feels will get him in the best shape for the TDF hope he does it.

What do you guys think?

One of the common bits of knowledge with mountain bikers is that you always finish when you planned and never, ever say, 'Just one more run of Trail Whatever?' That leads to disaster, injury, and broken bikes every single time. If it gets asked on our rides we often head straight to the pub instead. Cav is doing exactly this, and it wouldn't surprise me if he has a huge accident in the build-up to the Tour.

He will, of course, pick races, not tours, that will get him optimally fit for the TdF, but the route hasn't been announced yet (25th Oct, iirc?) so he doesn't even know where the sprint stages are or how many mountains he'll have to get over before a chance at a stage win. Good luck to him, but the chances of him winning a stage are so slim that I don't believe he'll do it. If he did, he'd be the second oldest stage winner ever and the oldest in this century. He's already the 16th oldest stage winner!

axisus · October 2023

Well, after a couple of years of rarely touching a bike, thanks to ULEZ I am now doing approx 21km a day, and loving it! Weight is down, fitness is up. It's all good. I wouldn't go back to the car if I could!

However, we will see how things pan out when it gets cold/wet/frosty/snowy ...

drofluf · October 2023

axisus said:

Well, after a couple of years of rarely touching a bike, thanks to ULEZ I am now doing approx 21km a day, and loving it! Weight is down, fitness is up. It's all good. I wouldn't go back to the car if I could!

However, we will see how things pan out when it gets cold/wet/frosty/snowy ...

A few tips from a former year round commuter:

It’ll also be dark so a decent set of lights, I liked two on the back in case the battery failed in one of them
Wear a hat under your helmet (if you wear one )
Get some good gloves
Wear long socks, I read somewhere that you lose a lot of heat from your calves
Dress to be cold on your the first quarter of the ride, you’ll soon warm up
Get a decent set of winter boots
Don’t be tempted to ride if you think it’s too icy

Pjon · October 2023

drofluf said:

axisus said:

Well, after a couple of years of rarely touching a bike, thanks to ULEZ I am now doing approx 21km a day, and loving it! Weight is down, fitness is up. It's all good. I wouldn't go back to the car if I could!

However, we will see how things pan out when it gets cold/wet/frosty/snowy ...

A few tips from a former year round commuter:

It’ll also be dark so a decent set of lights, I liked two on the back in case the battery failed in one of them
Wear a hat under your helmet (if you wear one )
Get some good gloves
Wear long socks, I read somewhere that you lose a lot of heat from your calves
Dress to be cold on your the first quarter of the ride, you’ll soon warm up
Get a decent set of winter boots
Don’t be tempted to ride if you think it’s too icy

Also, find the best route you can, even if it adds a few miles. I do all that you've said, but I use merino socks for most of the year with winter boots, which often get waterlogged. Don't expect to stay dry even in so-called waterproof boots. The trick is to stay warm.
I love commuting year round, even if it does feel like a chore occasionally. I get to work feeling energised, see things that I wouldn't in a car, and often make my ride home much longer. (It's 10 miles, but I'll often do anything up to 20-25 miles.)

axisus · October 2023

drofluf said:

axisus said:

Well, after a couple of years of rarely touching a bike, thanks to ULEZ I am now doing approx 21km a day, and loving it! Weight is down, fitness is up. It's all good. I wouldn't go back to the car if I could!

However, we will see how things pan out when it gets cold/wet/frosty/snowy ...

A few tips from a former year round commuter:

It’ll also be dark so a decent set of lights, I liked two on the back in case the battery failed in one of them
Wear a hat under your helmet (if you wear one )
Get some good gloves
Wear long socks, I read somewhere that you lose a lot of heat from your calves
Dress to be cold on your the first quarter of the ride, you’ll soon warm up
Get a decent set of winter boots
Don’t be tempted to ride if you think it’s too icy

I have to get up at 5.30am to fit in my usual gym and swim as well, usually on the bike by 6.15am so well used to the dark already!
Of course I wear a helmet!
Long socks - hadn't thought of that, good suggestion
Winter boots unlikely, I wear my running shoes to cycle, they double up as I go running two of the mornings as well.

axisus · October 2023

Pjon said:
Also, find the best route you can, even if it adds a few miles. I do all that you've said, but I use merino socks for most of the year with winter boots, which often get waterlogged. Don't expect to stay dry even in so-called waterproof boots. The trick is to stay warm.
I love commuting year round, even if it does feel like a chore occasionally. I get to work feeling energised, see things that I wouldn't in a car, and often make my ride home much longer. (It's 10 miles, but I'll often do anything up to 20-25 miles.)

Yes, I have worked a lot on finding the safest route, it's amazingly good seeing as I am going through NW London, I hardly travel on roads with anything other than the odd car. I also detour to take in an extra tough hill cos I'm a masochist! I often feel like cycling further once I get back to the car!

drofluf · October 2023

axisus said:

Of course I wear a helmet!

Good to hear, I do as well but it's a divisive topic and I didn't want to open up that debate here

Jaycee · October 2023

I wear football socks in the winter, helps with the cold

Pjon · October 2023

Jaycee said:

I wear football socks in the winter, helps with the cold

Fair enough, and I may be weird but I love the feel of a good pair of merino socks, made for cycling. So do the rest of my family, who all steal my socks. They don't steal the rugby socks!

axisus · October 2023

Arse! I set off this morning and my rear wheel locked up totally after about 500m! I managed to get to work by letting most of the air out of the tyre and cycling slowly. Pulled it apart at work and the rim has split inside distorting the edge. What a bummer, it was a nice lightweight wheel.

I think it will get me home, I'm just wondering if I can get a replacement rim and rebuild the wheel - undoubtedly a difficult job! Years ago my dad would have done that for me no problem as he is a bike expert, but at 95 I think he would struggle now.

I do have a couple of good spare wheels at home but they have deep rims and are hard to get the tyre off if you get a puncture, so not ideal for commutes in the dark.

drofluf · October 2023

@axisus I've never built a wheel, but I read enough to decide it was too complicate for me

If you can get an identical rim I understand it's relatively easy as you can place the new wheel on top of the old and transfer the spokes across - whether you want to will depend on the sate of the old spokes.

If you get a different rim then you're into a world of spoke length calculators.

As it's a rear you'll also need to "dish" it to allow for the cassette.

Hope I haven't put you off or am teaching you to suck eggs!

And go home carefully with a dodgy rear wheel and flattish tyre.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

The Fretboard Cycling Club

Comments