The Fretboard Cycling Club

drofluf · April 2021

Did a rare (for me) outdoors ride yesterday. Only 25k and despite doing 100k a week on Zwift over the winter it wiped me out today. Seems real hills are harder than virtual ones. Who’d have thought it!

Suppose being on a singlespeed didn’t help....

stimpsonslostson · April 2021

I've been away from the forum for a while... I bought this in September.
It's been amazing fun during lockdown & I've really enjoyed the quiet roads. Now that the "stay home" and "stay local" restrictions are easing I'm looking forward to doing longer rides.

Teetonetal · April 2021

stimpsonslostson said:

I've been away from the forum for a while... I bought this in September.
It's been amazing fun during lockdown & I've really enjoyed the quiet roads. Now that the "stay home" and "stay local" restrictions are easing I'm looking forward to doing longer rides.

What is that? Never seen one before.

Jaycee · April 2021

Not seen one for years .... Recumbent Bike..... where your flagpole? lol

stimpsonslostson · April 2021

@Teetonetal It's a Crystal Orbit recumbent bike. It's rather like sitting on a sofa while zooming along.
Very fast on the flats due to lower wind resistance, REALLY fast on the downhills but a bit slower on the climbs as you can't stand up and "mash" the pedals.

I got it as I've broken both my wrists in the past & get completely numb hands if I ride a "normal" bike for more than an hour or so. That's not an issue with this. It's much more comfortable for my back too.

The only downsides I've discovered are, as Jaycee suggests, low visibility as I'm closer to the ground. Busses and trucks are a bit more intimidating. This is mitigated by the fact that everyone who sees it is fascinated so they give it a wide berth. I've been stopped by the police 3 times so far simply because they wanted a closer look, one of them had a go (& promptly fell off as there's a bit of a learning curve)!
The other is when cycling in the rain/snow/hail (Scottish summer weather) your face is upwards, great for admiring the view, but you can't hunch up to escape the rain on your face.

They don't pop up for sale very often & I just got lucky to find one.

Teetonetal · April 2021

stimpsonslostson said:

@Teetonetal It's a Crystal Orbit recumbent bike. It's rather like sitting on a sofa while zooming along.
Very fast on the flats due to lower wind resistance, REALLY fast on the downhills but a bit slower on the climbs as you can't stand up and "mash" the pedals.

I got it as I've broken both my wrists in the past & get completely numb hands if I ride a "normal" bike for more than an hour or so. That's not an issue with this. It's much more comfortable for my back too.

The only downsides I've discovered are, as Jaycee suggests, low visibility as I'm closer to the ground. Busses and trucks are a bit more intimidating. This is mitigated by the fact that everyone who sees it is fascinated so they give it a wide berth. I've been stopped by the police 3 times so far simply because they wanted a closer look, one of them had a go (& promptly fell off as there's a bit of a learning curve)!
The other is when cycling in the rain/snow/hail (Scottish summer weather) your face is upwards, great for admiring the view, but you can't hunch up to escape the rain on your face.

They don't pop up for sale very often & I just got lucky to find one.

@stimpsonslostson Thanks for that - very interesting and a new one to me, so I can imagine that you generates a bit of a buzz when out and about!

m_c · April 2021

That looks like quite an upright recumbent.

If you want crazy, have a look at the three wheelers, and the hand/arm cycle ones. I timed a sportive last year, and a couple disabled guys done it on them, and managed to beat some of the able bodied entrants over the 80km route.

stimpsonslostson · April 2021

m_c said:

That looks like quite an upright recumbent.

If you want crazy, have a look at the three wheelers, and the hand/arm cycle ones. I timed a sportive last year, and a couple disabled guys done it on them, and managed to beat some of the able bodied entrants over the 80km route.

Mine is relatively "normal" I saw someone on a fully recumbent low-rider recently. I say "saw", it flashed past me. It looked great and simultaneously terrifying!

I had a front-wheel drive FlevoBike for a couple of months, THAT was brilliant fun to try, but quite a learning curve! I sold it as I realised I didn't think that I would be able to ever ride it on the roads.

Jaycee · April 2021

I would love to try one, with a low center of gravity it looks very stable in the video

stimpsonslostson · April 2021

Jaycee said:

I would love to try one, with a low center of gravity it looks very stable in the video

That one is incredibly tricky to learn to ride. It steers from the middle, so every pedal stroke pushes it off course- you have to learn to ride REALLY smoothly or you'll wobble. It took me (a cycle commuter for 25 years) a week to be able to ride it reliably.
I fell off repeatedly in the learning process and lost LOTS of skin when I THOUGHT I'd mastered it. Cruising down a closed road at work I clipped a pothole, squeezed the brakes, but the bike wasn't straight... so it jack-knifed and spat me off.

I offered £10 for anyone who could ride it from one end of the carpark to the other. 15 people tried. I still have the £10 in my wallet.

Jaycee · April 2021

stimpsonslostson said:

Jaycee said:

I would love to try one, with a low center of gravity it looks very stable in the video

That one is incredibly tricky to learn to ride. It steers from the middle, so every pedal stroke pushes it off course- you have to learn to ride REALLY smoothly or you'll wobble. It took me (a cycle commuter for 25 years) a week to be able to ride it reliably.
I fell off repeatedly in the learning process and lost LOTS of skin when I THOUGHT I'd mastered it. Cruising down a closed road at work I clipped a pothole, squeezed the brakes, but the bike wasn't straight... so it jack-knifed and spat me off.

I offered £10 for anyone who could ride it from one end of the carpark to the other. 15 people tried. I still have the £10 in my wallet.

I accept, ....... I am now able to fall off my bike in slow motion.....

TTBZ · April 2021

What do you guys reckon a 2011 Cannondale CAAD8 would be worth used? It's in pretty good condition for its age as I don't put loads of miles in, probably had about 3-4000 total which is nothing compared to a lot of roadies! Thinking about selling mine to help fund a spin bike for the garage - wife wants one and 99% of the time I just use my bike on the rollers, a spin bike would probably be better for me too! Keep the MTB for proper fun rides.

drofluf · April 2021

No idea what it’s worth but I’d be more inclined to get a smart trainer than a spin bike. You can use your CAAD on it and still have it to use outside. I switched to a smart trainer and coupled with Zwift found it far more motivating than using a “dumb” trainer.

TTBZ · April 2021

I like the idea of Zwift but as my wife doesn't have or want her own bike (and is too small for mine) it feels like a much bigger expense to get that and the smart trainer too.

littlegreenman · April 2021

Spring clean, new cassette, chain and bearings in the hubs. Should get at least 1 extra watt! haha

Brio · April 2021

My singlespeed has no cassette, no chain and new wheels so pretty sweet on the watt front, not so good on very long or steep hills. Can’t win them all.

it did get a clean on Sunday morning though. Only ruined by having to throw myself into a roundabout to avoid a blind motorist trying to wipe me out.

drofluf · April 2021

Brio said:

My singlespeed has no cassette, no chain and new wheels so pretty sweet on the watt front, not so good on very long or steep hills. Can’t win them all.
it did get a clean on Sunday morning though. Only ruined by having to throw myself into a roundabout to avoid a blind motorist trying to wipe me out.

No chain? Ideal if you’re buying a house, less good on a bike I’d have thought

Teetonetal · April 2021

Brio suniaid:

My singlespeed has no cassette, no chain and new wheels so pretty sweet on the watt front, not so good on very long or steep hills. Can’t win them all.
it did get a clean on Sunday morning though. Only ruined by having to throw myself into a roundabout to avoid a blind motorist trying to wipe me out.

Unicycle?

Brio · April 2021

Belt drive. See p1 of this thread.

jonnyburgo · April 2021

Just done a big double climb, Blaze Hill then on to Pym Chair, Pym Chair is a killer as much on the upper body and arms as the legs, a proper long steep grind. arms and legs were all of a tremble when I got to the top. 4 fig rolls and a glug of water were very welcome.

ESBlonde · April 2021

ESBlonde said:

I don't have a fancy road bike, it's a 10 year old crossover jobbie complete with racks so I dare not even weigh it.
That said I've been trying to improve my health since stopping work at Christmas. I've had a few rides and I'm working up from 9 miles to 15 and 17 more recently. I seem to recover better now and plan to get above 20 miles each time. Come the better weather the opportunities will be more frequent. Watch this space.

I weighed my bike this week 38.7 lbs. road ready.
Anyway I managed a ride of 24.22 MLS and a height gain of 983ft. I think my longest ever ride since teenage enthusiasm 45 years ago.
My older brother has persuaded me to take part in a sponsored ride in a few weeks with options of 25, 50 & 100 miles. I think the 25 will do me nicely.

PVO_Dave · April 2021

I've recently joined the cycling club. Bought a Halfords mountain bike late December so we could go out on family bike rides, but it's been great for me to get out of a lunch time for fitness reasons (working off the biscuits from lockdown 1).

But.. like a lot of my hobbies it got out of hand quick, after meeting up with a friend of mine fora ride who's cycling mad, I got bike envy. much scouring of eBay and FB Marketplace later I ended up collecting this:

GT Grade Carbon Expert Gravel - Love it, pedals have been replaced with non clip ones, shorter stem fitted and a bike computer arriving today

- Longest distance is 13.5 miles on a ride so far, but the stamina is building up, my main issue is spare time really!

Next job is tubeless tyres, just waiting for the ones I want to come back in stock.

Oh and I've also experienced my first bit of road rage from an idiot in a Volvo estate who I held up for around 2 seconds, whilst I stuck as close to the curb as was safe to do so, beeped when he went past and started pointing to the path for me to cycle there, I pointed back with my middle finger.

Brio · April 2021

I weighed my bike this week 38.7 lbs. road ready.
Anyway I managed a ride of 24.22 MLS and a height gain of 983ft.

Respect! My BMC hybrid weighs less than half that and thats enough weight to push around.

jonnyburgo · April 2021

PVO_Dave said:

I've recently joined the cycling club. Bought a Halfords mountain bike late December so we could go out on family bike rides, but it's been great for me to get out of a lunch time for fitness reasons (working off the biscuits from lockdown 1).

But.. like a lot of my hobbies it got out of hand quick, after meeting up with a friend of mine fora ride who's cycling mad, I got bike envy. much scouring of eBay and FB Marketplace later I ended up collecting this:

GT Grade Carbon Expert Gravel - Love it, pedals have been replaced with non clip ones, shorter stem fitted and a bike computer arriving today - Longest distance is 13.5 miles on a ride so far, but the stamina is building up, my main issue is spare time really!

Next job is tubeless tyres, just waiting for the ones I want to come back in stock.

Oh and I've also experienced my first bit of road rage from an idiot in a Volvo estate who I held up for around 2 seconds, whilst I stuck as close to the curb as was safe to do so, beeped when he went past and started pointing to the path for me to cycle there, I pointed back with my middle finger.

Great stuff, I've got a cheap Carrera Cross bike which is dead good for riding trails etc. Re. The road rage, soon you'll be doing the no handed double wanker sign.

Teetonetal · April 2021

PVO_Dave said:

I've recently joined the cycling club. Bought a Halfords mountain bike late December so we could go out on family bike rides, but it's been great for me to get out of a lunch time for fitness reasons (working off the biscuits from lockdown 1).

But.. like a lot of my hobbies it got out of hand quick, after meeting up with a friend of mine fora ride who's cycling mad, I got bike envy. much scouring of eBay and FB Marketplace later I ended up collecting this:

GT Grade Carbon Expert Gravel - Love it, pedals have been replaced with non clip ones, shorter stem fitted and a bike computer arriving today - Longest distance is 13.5 miles on a ride so far, but the stamina is building up, my main issue is spare time really!

Next job is tubeless tyres, just waiting for the ones I want to come back in stock.

Oh and I've also experienced my first bit of road rage from an idiot in a Volvo estate who I held up for around 2 seconds, whilst I stuck as close to the curb as was safe to do so, beeped when he went past and started pointing to the path for me to cycle there, I pointed back with my middle finger.

Very nice!

Finally fitted my new 200mm rotors last night night, off for a test spin before weekend on our flow trail (1st day of the season on Sunday)

m_c · April 2021

I've had quite a good week for biking.
Managed 4 rides, over 3600m of climbing, and 124km. Only 1 road ride this week, but the trails have been 99% dry and dusty, so the mountain bikes have been getting lots of use. I say bikes, because I finally realised where the creaking has been coming from on my big bouncy bike, so it's waiting on some new linkage bearings getting delivered, and the short travel bouncy bike has been getting some abuse the past couple of days.

Teetonetal · April 2021

Brio said:

Bought some 200mm discs for the MTB this year as well, as my 180s feel a tad underpowered for my weight.
I’ll be interested to hear how much of a difference they make.

@Brio ;;

Well I finally fitted them this weekend - did a loop of my local flow trail.

Jury is still our for me as I need to do a full on downhill downhill day, but these are my first impressions (I should point out that I am quite a heavy rider at 97kg)

1) Increase of stopping power, it's noticeable how much more oomph you get from less effort with a single finger.
2) Proper weighting of the bike under braking required to ensure you don't skid (frowned upon here), especially the rear wheel.
3) Silent, I run SRAM trails, so prone to sounding like a wailing banshee when they get hot. No noise so far.
4) Decrease of modulation - but I think this is a good thing as squishy breaks encourage dragging the brakes (imo)

Most painful part was sorting a 40mm Post mount adapter for the fork, which is why it took me so long to install. One I had all the bits, installing and setting up was very easy.

TTBZ · April 2021

Today I went out on my MTB properly for the first time in absolutely ages, I hadn't even ridden it without a child seat since we moved here 2 years ago and I'd forgot how fun it is. Even on our tame East Midlands trails I had a lot of fun just popping off little lips and roots in the bridleways, and there's slightly more elevation than where we moved from! So definitely not too concerned about selling my road bike now as this was way more enjoyable - I actually didn't want to go home where usually on the road bike I can't wait to get home by the end of it.

Jaycee · April 2021

Well done for getting out guys, I put in 140 miles two weeks ago over 3 rides, that took me a week to recover and did 40 miles on Saturday, we had a 20 mile headwind on the way back.

drofluf · April 2021

Trying to ride more outside and increase my distance with the aim of a 100 mile ride by the autumn.

There I’ve said it!

Did 40km on the singlespeed yesterday morning. First half felt really fast and then, like @Jaycee, I discovered the headwind that had flattered my outward leg.

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