Official P&b Cycling Thread

[Unleash The Nade]

Took a wander into Smith's in Falkirk today and they've pointed me in the direction of these beasts -

http://www.evanscycl...ampaign=froogle

or possibly

http://www.evanscycl...=sirrus%20sport

Hmm. Dunno.

As you've probabaly read on other posts I've made,I cant recommend the Specialized Crosstrail highly enough.

I bought the 2010 vesion last year and absolutely love this bike.

When I was in a few weeks ago looking to buy a road bike,I had a look at the 2011 version as seen here and it looks even better as it now has pneumaic disc brakes

At £499 its even cheaper than the now reduced 2010 version and the guy in she shop was saying even although they'd reduced the 2010 ones by £100, he can see them having difficulty selling them against the new one.

Trust me,you wont regret opting for the Crosstrail

[Unleash The Nade]

Taken the plunge,contacted local cycling club and am going out with the "novices" for a 25-30 mile run on Saturday.

Confident enough about my fitness and pace,but much of the training is based around riding as a group with your front wheel a few inches from the bike in front and the one behind you doing the same.

I'll either love it,or make a tit of myself by wiping some bugger out,or smacking someone in the puss if they do it to me!

If all goes well,looking forward to their 120 mle training runs each Sunday ..................I think!!

Well that was a total fucking disaster!!

I thought I'd reached a decent level of fitness and would be OK at the "novices" Saturday morning run.

The only problem was,I was the only novice in a group of about 12 cyclists.

I started getting a wee bit nervous,before we even started,as there was me ,proud as punch in my new Specialized Secteur,then the other guys started turning up in their £1-£2k carbon fibre framed bikes!

Started off OK and managed to keep up with the pace, averaging around 20mph for around the first 12-13 miles,depite very blustery conditions,but when they started to ramp it up a bit,realised very quickly,I was out of my depth.

Slightly dissapointed that although this was meant to be for novices and encourage people to join the club,quite a few of the cyclists were at National competition level,with one of them second in Scotland in his class !!

Hasn't put me off cycling one bit though,but really highlighted just how far behind these guys I really am.

Will revert to my solitary rides,doing things at my own pace and not trying to keep up with some superhuman,20 something Chris Hoy fucking wannabe

Edited May 28, 2011 by Unleash The Nade

[Drooper]

Well that was a total fucking disaster!!

I thought I'd reached a decent level of fitness and would be OK at the "novices" Saturday morning run.

The only problem was,I was the only novice in a group of about 12 cyclists.

I started getting a wee bit nervous,before we even started,as there was me ,proud as punch in my new Specialized Secteur,then the other guys started turning up in their £1-£2k carbon fibre framed bikes!

Started off OK and managed to keep up with the pace, averaging around 20mph for around the first 12-13 miles,depite very blustery conditions,but when they started to ramp it up a bit,realised very quickly,I was out of my depth.

Slightly dissapointed that although this was meant to be for novices and encourage people to join the club,quite a few of the cyclists were at National competition level,with one of them second in Scotland in his class !!

Hasn't put me off cycling one bit though,but really highlighted just how far behind these guys I really am.

Will revert to my solitary rides,doing things at my own pace and not trying to keep up with some superhuman,20 something Chris Hoy fucking wannabe

No shame there, mate.

First off...good to hear you took the plunge with a new road bike. How are you finding it?

I had a very similar experience a good few years ago when I tagged along on a MTB ride with a club based in Stirling. For the most part, they weren't very welcoming, and it seemed like a large clique. I suppose that's to be expected from any club.

Pretty early on, I flagged. One guy was very decent and tracked back and was willing to hang back with me but I told him to join the others. The rest couldn't have given a shit.

About 10 minutes later, after I'd chucked it and was tootling along at my own pace, another solitary rider past me coming from the other direction. He was clearly a pretty seasoned rider but stopped for a blether, asking if I was with the bunch up ahead. I told him about what had happened, and he though tit was pretty shitty, and invited me to tag along with him. He showed me some good tracks, and I enjoyed the rest of the day. I think that put me off club runes, but reinforced my belief that the cycling community as a whole consists of a pretty decent bunch of folk.

In other news....

On my commute to work yesterday on the new Cube, a right fucking trumpet tried to pass me on the road as I passed a traffic island separating the single, b-road lanes. This funnelled me into the gutter area where I hit a hellish hole (I'll try to post a pic as I went back to the scene of the crime today to report the hole - it's shoddy patch up after utility co. work) and the back tyre immediately blew-out. Fortunately, I didn't lose control, and managed to pull in and change the tube by the roadside.

When I got home, I noticed a bulge in the tyre wall. on inspection, I realised there is a tear in the inner tyre wall too. I'd covered all of 12 miles on the bike since new, and the fucking tyre is trashed. Shwalbe Ultremo ZX, at £37.99 a pop FFS!

I've emailed the cooncil with pics, and I'm demanding money for a new tyre. Fancy my chances?

Edited May 28, 2011 by Drooper

[Unleash The Nade]

No shame there, mate.

First off...good to hear you took the plunge with a new road bike. How are you finding it?

I had a very similar experience a good few years ago when I tagged along on a MTB ride with a club based in Stirling. For the most part, they weren't very welcoming, and it seemed like a large clique. I suppose that's to be expected from any club.

Pretty early on, I flagged. One guy was very decent and tracked back and was willing to hang back with me but I told him to join the others. The rest couldn't have given a shit.

About 10 minutes later, after I'd chucked it and was tootling along at my own pace, another solitary rider past me coming from the other direction. He was clearly a pretty seasoned rider but stopped for a blether, asking if I was with the bunch up ahead. I told him about what had happened, and he though tit was pretty shitty, and invited me to tag along with him. He showed me some good tracks, and I enjoyed the rest of the day. I think that put me off club runes, but reinforced my belief that the cycling community as a whole consists of a pretty decent bunch of folk.

In other news....

On my commute to work yesterday on the new Cube, a right fucking trumpet tried to pass me on the road as I passed a traffic island separating the single, b-road lanes. This funnelled me into the gutter area where I hit a hellish hole (I'll try to post a pic as I went back to the scene of the crime today to report the hole - it's shoddy patch up after utility co. work) and the back tyre immediately blew-out. Fortunately, I didn't lose control, and managed to pull in and change the tube by the roadside.

When I got home, I noticed a bulge in the tyre wall. on inspection, I realised there is a tear in the inner tyre wall too. I'd covered all of 12 miles on the bike since new, and the fucking tyre is trashed. Shwalbe Ultremo ZX, at £37.99 a pop FFS!

I've emailed the cooncil with pics, and I'm demanding money for a new tyre. Fancy my chances?

Road bike is good,but still need to tweak the set up a bit as I dont think I've got it quite right yet.

Basically had exact same experience as you,with one guy holding back to help me along,the rest couldn't have cared less

Edited May 28, 2011 by Unleash The Nade

[flyingscot]

Yeah, puts me off cycle clubs in that I think that definition of novices vary. I just want to go out, have a cycle but not totally blasting along, take in a bit of the countryside and enjoy it too when I can, decent pace not make super race pace. Someone said to me CTC were good for novice runs rather than clubs, even do kids stuff to a times but never looked into it- happy just to grab bike when I feel like it and do my own thing but an occasional ride with other folk would maybe be good.

Went to Kilmacolm this weekend on the cycle track- joined it near my house in Crookston. Took 70 mins going out but got back in 55mins or so which isn't too bad either, albeit mostly down hill for the 15 odd miles. Just a pity so many dozy walkers were out that took up the whole width and didn't respond at all to anything bar stopping behind and saying excuse me- even then jumping out their skins when I did too! Nearly came off near Linwood when someones dog went right infront of me. Was going slow enough to stop but rear skidded a bit and she did apologise. Not everyone was bad though, lots of considerate folks too. Might try heading to Kilwinning instead next time.

Went into Paisley tonight just a short ride- wind was absolutely brutal in your face on the way there and tremendous on the way back! Had a bizarre incident with a car too- pulled up at traffic lights in Paisley- I was just over the stop line a bit to be honest, but was there waiting as other cars were crossing the junction. This old boy comes up, squeezes past me (not greatly close to me but closer than normal) and turns left right through the red light! I kind of was confused, thought I'd missed them going green or something, but they were red and when I looked back the guy in the right turn lane just looked at me shrugged and shook his head, no idea what the old boy was doing! Maybe he was American turning on red.

Need a new bike though. Pace is down to 3mins a km today which I'm very pleased about although traffic lights etc hurt as I cycle mainly in town but good for a MTB with slicks. Not sure I want a proper road bike, probable a decent hybrid or a road bike with flat bars and skinny tyres, Never keen on drop bars- more leisure cyclist, but I would probably get used to them in time but not what I want from a bike at present. Choice is between Decathlon's Fitness 3 and a Specialized Sirrus 3, both £400-450 which is my range.

[Drooper]

Need a new bike though. Pace is down to 3mins a km today which I'm very pleased about although traffic lights etc hurt as I cycle mainly in town but good for a MTB with slicks. Not sure I want a proper road bike, probable a decent hybrid or a road bike with flat bars and skinny tyres, Never keen on drop bars- more leisure cyclist, but I would probably get used to them in time but not what I want from a bike at present. Choice is between Decathlon's Fitness 3 and a Specialized Sirrus 3, both £400-450 which is my range.

I wasn't too keen on the idea of drops having last been on a 'racing' bike as a kid (my treasured BSA Javelin!).

I'm now glad I opted to try them again, though. They offer a better range of hand positions than a flat bar bike (even one with bar ends). Cruising along with your hands over the brake/gear hoods is the default option, and is pretty comfortable, giving easy access to the brakes (and gears is the bike is set up this way).

Don't write off drops would be my suggestion.

The Sirrus sounds like a good shout, though.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Drooper

[flyingscot]

I wasn't too keen on the idea of drops having last been on a 'racing' bike as a kid (my treasured BSA Javelin!).

I'm now glad I opted to try them again, though. They offer a better range of hand positions than a flat bar bike (even one with bar ends). Cruising along with your hands over the brake/gear hoods is the default option, and is pretty comfortable, giving easy access to the brakes (and gears is the bike is set up this way).

Don't write off drops would be my suggestion.

The Sirrus sounds like a good shout, though.

Yeah, bar ends was my thought, to be honest.

It is just for an urban area not sure how drop handlebars will be, because I'm not sure the best position, with regard to brakes for urban cycling is the most comfortable on drops, although filtering might be better with drops, not that I do that much.

I think flats with bar ends might suit my style better to be honest!

[Unleash The Nade]

Went for a brilliant run today.

Up past North-Third Resevoir and up to Carron Valley,then back down through Fankerton and Denny,a total of 26 miles.

Was back home by 11.15am then through to Dales in Glasgow and bought a new cycling top,,shorts,waterproof and trip computer.

Happy days

Edited May 31, 2011 by Unleash The Nade

[Drooper]

In other news....

On my commute to work yesterday on the new Cube, a right fucking trumpet tried to pass me on the road as I passed a traffic island separating the single, b-road lanes. This funnelled me into the gutter area where I hit a hellish hole (I'll try to post a pic as I went back to the scene of the crime today to report the hole - it's shoddy patch up after utility co. work) and the back tyre immediately blew-out. Fortunately, I didn't lose control, and managed to pull in and change the tube by the roadside.

When I got home, I noticed a bulge in the tyre wall. on inspection, I realised there is a tear in the inner tyre wall too. I'd covered all of 12 miles on the bike since new, and the fucking tyre is trashed. Shwalbe Ultremo ZX, at £37.99 a pop FFS!

I've emailed the cooncil with pics, and I'm demanding money for a new tyre. Fancy my chances?

**UPDATE**

So I emailed the cooncil on Saturday afternoon with various photos, a description of the area, and details of my mishap.

I took another route on my commute yesterday, but decided to ride past the scene of the crime this morning, and, to my great surprise, the hole has been repaired!

Credit where it's due, that was quick work, and the repair seems to be of a good standard, so no complaints there. I now await a response to my request for recompense in terms of the cost of a new tyre. I'm not overly confident that this will be dealt with so rapidly or to a satisfactory conclusion....

[flyingscot]

**UPDATE**

So I emailed the cooncil on Saturday afternoon with various photos, a description of the area, and details of my mishap.

I took another route on my commute yesterday, but decided to ride past the scene of the crime this morning, and, to my great surprise, the hole has been repaired!

Credit where it's due, that was quick work, and the repair seems to be of a good standard, so no complaints there. I now await a response to my request for recompense in terms of the cost of a new tyre. I'm not overly confident that this will be dealt with so rapidly or to a satisfactory conclusion....

What might happen is that the council say they inspected the road to the necessary legal requirements, damage had formed in that time and when you made them aware of it they promptly repaired it hence no compo.

Also ouch how much are your tyres £38 is a lot, esp when you'd covered 12 miles, even a decent Schwalbe I'd have expected to be a £10 less but there you go.

Still trying to pick out a bike, I think I picked my car quicker than this, just too many options, conflicting reviews and comments. Need to make a decision and stick with it!

[Unleash The Nade]

What might happen is that the council say they inspected the road to the necessary legal requirements, damage had formed in that time and when you made them aware of it they promptly repaired it hence no compo.

Also ouch how much are your tyres £38 is a lot, esp when you'd covered 12 miles, even a decent Schwalbe I'd have expected to be a £10 less but there you go.

Still trying to pick out a bike, I think I picked my car quicker than this, just too many options, conflicting reviews and comments. Need to make a decision and stick with it!

Have you been to Dales in Glasgow?

Brilliant shop with a great range of bikes and very knowledgable and helpful staff.

I was there yestarday and they have the 2011 Specialized Crosstrail com with caliper brakes at £399, which imo is a great biker for the money and really hard to beat as far as Hybrids go

[Drooper]

What might happen is that the council say they inspected the road to the necessary legal requirements, damage had formed in that time and when you made them aware of it they promptly repaired it hence no compo.

Also ouch how much are your tyres £38 is a lot, esp when you'd covered 12 miles, even a decent Schwalbe I'd have expected to be a £10 less but there you go.

Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tyres retail at £37.99, though you could probably pick them up online for £30. I hardly think it's unreasonable to quote the recommended retail price in respect of any claim. The reason I'd covered 12 miles is because I'd had the bike (brand-new) for 2 days, and had only used it for one return commute to work prior to the blow-out. Had the tyres been worn, I wouldn't have bothered to even claim for a replacement.

I don't expect to be compensated for the tyre, TBH. I suppose it is a hazard that you expect, but would you suggest that a motorist who sustained damage to his car as a result of encountering a road defect shouldn't seek recompense?

[Unleash The Nade]

Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tyres retail at £37.99, though you could probably pick them up online for £30. I hardly think it's unreasonable to quote the recommended retail price in respect of any claim. The reason I'd covered 12 miles is because I'd had the bike (brand-new) for 2 days, and had only used it for one return commute to work prior to the blow-out. Had the tyres been worn, I wouldn't have bothered to even claim for a replacement.

I don't expect to be compensated for the tyre, TBH. I suppose it is a hazard that you expect, but would you suggest that a motorist who sustained damage to his car as a result of encountering a road defect shouldn't seek recompense?

Totally see your point here Drooper,but dont think you've a snowballs chance in hell in getting anything from them,but can't hurt to try.

Most important thing is you weren't injured or it could be a case for this guy

Always makes me wonder why this company chose to have this actor in this role,as he's spent most of his life playing dishonest gangsters.

Wait a minute ...............................

Edited May 31, 2011 by Unleash The Nade

[Desert Nomad]

Right front hydraulic disc brake on my mountain bike has packed up, so needing a replacement. Have been looking at several Avid types, but just not sure yet. Anyone got any tips?

[Drooper]

Totally see your point here Drooper,but dont think you've a snowballs chance in hell in getting anything from them,but can't hurt to try.

Most important thing is you weren't injured or it could be a case for this guy

As I say, I'm not expecting anything from them. I was making sure that they knew I wasn't simply reporting a wee pothole.

Any talk of financial implications will have had them on their toes, as the last thing they would want is to blank my email and for someone else to follow it up having taken a sore one only to find out that the pothole had already been reported. Credit is due for the speedy repair, and you are quite right, I'm just glad I didn't come off the bike or veer off into oncoming traffic.

Anyway, you don't ask....you don't get

[Drooper]

Right front hydraulic disc brake on my mountain bike has packed up, so needing a replacement. Have been looking at several Avid types, but just not sure yet. Anyone got any tips?

I've got an early set of Shimano Deores on my MTB and they've been bomb-proof and have served me really well. I reckon the current incarnation will be of equally good quality and pretty reasonable. Aside from that, I can't assist unfortunately.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Drooper

[flyingscot]

Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tyres retail at £37.99, though you could probably pick them up online for £30. I hardly think it's unreasonable to quote the recommended retail price in respect of any claim. The reason I'd covered 12 miles is because I'd had the bike (brand-new) for 2 days, and had only used it for one return commute to work prior to the blow-out. Had the tyres been worn, I wouldn't have bothered to even claim for a replacement.

I don't expect to be compensated for the tyre, TBH. I suppose it is a hazard that you expect, but would you suggest that a motorist who sustained damage to his car as a result of encountering a road defect shouldn't seek recompense?

Nah, don't get me wrong, worth a go, but anybody claiming for the council will usually get short shrift. We maintained the road under standards stated in Roads Scotland act zzzz and bog off thanks. Know folk who have done it for cars, success % is very low.

Nah haven't been to Dales in Glasgow, might give them a go sometime.

Just surprised how much they were RRP.

Edited May 31, 2011 by flyingscot

[Drooper]

Nah, don't get me wrong, worth a go, but anybody claiming for the council will usually get short shrift. We maintained the road under standards stated in Roads Scotland act zzzz and bog off thanks. Know folk who have done it for cars, success % is very low.

Nah haven't been to Dales in Glasgow, might give them a go sometime.

Just surprised how much they were RRP.

Aye, I'm happy that they've repaired the road, and sorted it our so quickly. That's encouraging. Getting a ha'penny out of them for the damage, would, on the other hand, be nothing short of miraculous.

The tyres are close to top-end, and are one of the reasons why the bike gets reviewed well. This is often an area where manufacturers skimp a bit, and one of the first upgrades that usually has to be considered. The tyres, along with a decent wheelset, seemed to lift the bike above the competition in the recent Cycling Plus bike of the year (for under £1K....albeit by a quid!) award.

I was mightily pissed off that I'd hardly ventured out on the bike and was already having to consider replacing something through no real fualt of my own. Just one of these things, I suppose. The other road bike I use has Continental Gatorskins. A good bit heavier, with a bit more rolling resistance, but they are bomb-proof. They aren't cheap either, at about £20+ a pop. Much more sensible for the commute, to be honest.

Dales are a decent retailer, and their guys are pretty clued up. Depending on where you live, I'd also give Evans a look (they have a shop in Braehead Xscape place or whatever it's called). They can order in bikes from a massive range nationwide. A great selection of 2010 models that would save you a good wedge, without having to compromise the quality of your new bike. Dales are a bit more limited.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Drooper

[Unleash The Nade]

Right,after my debacle with the local cycling club on Saturday, a serious wee question here for the more experienced cyclists,as I want to gauge how I'm getting on .

I went out for a short run tonight which was mainly on the flat,with a couple of wee climbs,one gentle downhill slope of about 400 yards and although not windy,a constant stiff breeze.

About 20% of the run was with a tailwind,35% against a headwind and 45% with a sidewind.

I cycled for 13 miles reaching a top speed of 27 mph and an average speed of 15.6mph for the whole journey.

At the end I felt fine and could probabaly have kept up this pace for another loop.

How does this compare to what you can do and is it a decent standard?

Cheers

[Drooper]

Right,after my debacle with the local cycling club on Saturday, a serious wee question here for the more experienced cyclists,as I want to gauge how I'm getting on .

I went out for a short run tonight which was mainly on the flat,with a couple of wee climbs,one gentle downhill slope of about 400 yards and although not windy,a constant stiff breeze.

About 20% of the run was with a tailwind,35% against a headwind and 45% with a sidewind.

I cycled for 13 miles reaching a top speed of 27 mph and an average speed of 15.6mph for the whole journey.

At the end I felt fine and could probabaly have kept up this pace for another loop.

How does this compare to what you can do and is it a decent standard?

Cheers

I wouldn't consider myself an experienced cyclist (certainly not when it comes to road cycling), TBH, so perhaps I shouldn't be reponding here. Apologies if I'm gatecrashing your post.

I suppose it all depends upon what you want to benchmark your progress. I watched a section of the Giro d'Italia, and was uttlery gob-smacked at how quickly these guys managed to get up a mountain (and how fearlessly they hurtled down the other side!). Needless to say, I won't be doing any benchmarking there

When I trained for half-marathons, I judged my progress against my previous PBs. I take the same approach to my cycling, though I have to say that I derive more pleasure from getting out on the bike than I ever did from running. If you are looking to get a decent measure of how well you're progressing, I'd visit the Road Cycling UK forum. I post there from time to time, and have found them to be a thoroughly decent bunch of people. There is a dedicated board for newbies, and it is one of the busiest, with the experienced guys routinely offering advice and answering queries:

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/forum/forum.asp

FWIW, I can give you some indication of how I got on one of my first longish rides on the road bike a month or so ago. I use My Tracks on the HTC Desire, and find it to be a fantastic app.

I cycled 36.25 miles. It was a pretty hilly loop with a couple of lung-busters.

The top speed was 38.18 mph (downhill - I'd guess about 22 - 25 on the level). My average moving speed was 14.35 mph.

The total elevation gained was 2,469 ft, with a max elevation of 855 ft. The max gradient was 13.8%, the min -9.9%.

The total moving time was 2 hrs 31 minutes.

I reckon I've progressed a bit since then, and I'm now generally using a newer, lighter, and better kitted-out bike. That said, I still believe performance is predominantly down to physical fitness and mental attitude (in about equal measure). For me, this would account for about 70%, while the quality of the hardware accounting for the remaining 30%. No doubt, the guys at the pinnacle of the sport can wring every ounce of benefit from 12 lb bikes, but for us mere mortals, I think it is much less significant.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Drooper