Pedal Power Thread

That's good going Jim! Good to see you back on the road to recovery. How was it feel without the neck brace on – must be so much better/easier.
 
Buck said:
That's good going Jim! Good to see you back on the road to recovery. How was it feel without the neck brace on – must be so much better/easier.
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Thanks. Just over 2 weeks out of it and finally getting back to normal! Needing a lot of physio just to get rid of the stiffness and be able to move my neck.
 
speak to me about shoes :D

I've got a pair of clip shoes from lidl of all places, they were about a tenner :D But, today I was thinking I'm getting a funny feeling in the right foot especially, almost like pins and needles, but not quite. I'm guessing it's the shoes doing it so I might be persuaded to invest, but what do I look for?
 
Could be shoes done up too tight, sole not rigid enough or too much pushing and not enough pulling on the pedal. A rigid sole is hugely important for transfering energy efficiently and spreading the load. I looked at some Aldi SPD shoes a while back and they were rubbish - far too soft and lacking support. The cleat bolt holes were also not tough enough to be torqued up to the recommended 5Nm. They went straight back the same day. Maybe Lidl quality is similar.
 
It could also be your socks but very much more likely be any one of Tim's suggestions.

If you are on a road bike then the £70 carbon soled Decathlon shoes are very highly rated. I'm using Shimano R107s at about the same price which are wide and have a good sized toe box which helps me by not crushing my toes - often a cause of pins and needles for me. I do get the same issue as you if I over tighten though so I'd try to eliminate with your current shoes anything that can be easily fixed or you might find the same issues with £70, or £270 shoes....
 
It's a road bike. I'm guessing it' the shoe. I can bend them very easily with little force.
 
meonshore said:
It could also be your socks but very much more likely be any one of Tim's suggestions.

If you are on a road bike then the £70 carbon soled Decathlon shoes are very highly rated. I'm using Shimano R107s at about the same price which are wide and have a good sized toe box which helps me by not crushing my toes - often a cause of pins and needles for me. I do get the same issue as you if I over tighten though so I'd try to eliminate with your current shoes anything that can be easily fixed or you might find the same issues with £70, or £270 shoes....
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are these the ones you're meaning?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/700-carbon-road-cycling-shoes-black-red-id_8315399.html
 
I have the shoes linked by Phil and the shimano pedals linked by dod and find them a great combo.
Shoes are very stiff but still suitable for walking.
Never had any discomfort issues to date
 
started a new bike build - main bike should be here on wednesday but got a couple of upgrade bits to go on it already. Pretty much all the bike is getting swapped over with only the rear shock remaining lol got a hand me down reverb coming as well.


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First ride on my new (second hand) road bike tomorrow. Has anyone else made the change from MTB to road bike and thought "how the hell are those skinny tyres going to cope?" Hoping for a puncture free ride as I need to pick up a new pump that fits a presta valve at some point [emoji47]
 
When moving from MTB to road slicks I was worried about grip and wear but I needn't have bothered.

Slick tires grip really well (obviously still watching for painted lines and metal objects when its wet)

And the wear for me is a lot less because I don't lock up anymore.

I have got the same confidence now on my road bike that I used to have on the MTB
 
Phil1974 said:
First ride on my new (second hand) road bike tomorrow. Has anyone else made the change from MTB to road bike and thought "how the hell are those skinny tyres going to cope?" Hoping for a puncture free ride as I need to pick up a new pump that fits a presta valve at some point [emoji47]
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Not really, but then I started riding bikes well before MTB's came onto the scene. I do regularly look at the MTB's wheels/tyres and think "screw that for a lark" and jump on the cross bike for a hoon around the local offroad stuff though.
 
I used an MTB as my road bike for nine months, but with road tyres fitted - Marathon Plus in winter and Durano in spring/summer. No problems through all weathers except one ice patch which no tyre could have handled. In June I bought a road bike (two actually) and if anything they feel more planted on the road and are lighter up the hills and quicker in all directions.

I've only had one puncture in 6,700 recorded miles and that was when riding cross country on the MTB and having a blackthorn go straight through my Marathon Plus "puncture proof" road tyre. It may not have helped that I kept on riding for several tens more meters - maybe another 100m or so - with a twig sticking out of the tyre, which probably just drove the thorn in deeper and deeper with each wheel rotation.

Some people seem to have awful problems with punctures. Some of it might be tyre and tube choice or age, some with maintenance (checking for cuts and embedded stones and flints) or just not keeping the right tyre pressures. Of course it never hurts to look where you're going and to try to avoid potholes, flints and glass. Larger tyre are supposed to help. I run 25mm on my road bikes. And if you should get a puncture you do need to check the tyre and tube for the cause or you could see the problem repeat over and over, quite likely on the same day.
 
Running 25mm on my road bike. Replaced the 23mm which came on the bike without doing a mile on them. But as Tim says I fell safer and more grippy on the road on my Conti 4-Seasons and Swalbe One than I do on my MTB tyres.
 
Thanks all. I think it's just a perception thing, being so used to seeing chunky wide tyres in front of me. Really looking forward to riding it for the first time! Will probably bore you all with a Strava screenshot [emoji1]
 
@Phil1974 - when I moved to a road bike from my MTB it certainly felt different but not in a bad way.

The one thing I found very different was stopping on my road bike is not as quick as my disc MTB. You just have to adjust your riding to take this into account but other than that it's just a case of getting out there and getting used to the different style of riding and how you sit/ride. It was nice to get back on the MTB when out with the kids earlier this week but I did miss my road bike :D
 
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After a 40 mile ride last week (my furthest on the bike) I feel that I need a shorter stem as the reach on my Cube is a bit on the long side and at 110mm I'm ordering an 80mm one to bring it in by around 25mm.

This tool was recommended to me and allowed me to see what the real differences were in terms of reach and height etc.
http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php
 
Just weighing up whether to enter this charity bike ride.

http://www.wakefieldhospice.org/Events/The-Wakefield-Hospice-Sportive-The-Dark-Peak

I'd be going on the "hard" route which is 48 miles and just over 4000 of elevation. I looked at the "Extreme" but knowing the Strines roads very well, they would be too tough for me!

I'm going to ponder it over the next few weeks and see ifI can get some training rides in as well as badgering my friend to ride with me. It'd certainly give me something to focus on.
 
Buck said:
Just weighing up whether to enter this charity bike ride.

http://www.wakefieldhospice.org/Events/The-Wakefield-Hospice-Sportive-The-Dark-Peak

I'd be going on the "hard" route which is 48 miles and just over 4000 of elevation. I looked at the "Extreme" but knowing the Strines roads very well, they would be too tough for me!

I'm going to ponder it over the next few weeks and see ifI can get some training rides in as well as badgering my friend to ride with me. It'd certainly give me something to focus on.
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Go for it!
I did a 88km sportive a couple of weeks ago and don't regret it.
I had the Dukes Pass to climb in the trossachs (20% in places) but didn't let it deter me.
It was my first time doing that distance on a road bike.

Best experience ever, you won't regret it
 
Cheers Stuart

I'm off out this PM to ride part of the course - It'll give me an idea of what it's like as well as my overall ability with it!

Your event sounds good (except the 20% bits - I can do them but they are b£$&*%@s)

You still liking the Cube?
 
To be fair when it came to the climb my speed dropped to a mere 5mph and I am not ashamed to admit that at a few points I dropped into the granny gear. For me though it was about climbing the pass in one shot no matter how slow.

I'm loving the Cube, glad I bought it.
Plan on changing the wheels at next year for a set of Campagnolo Zondas and the change the triple set for a compact double.
Should allow me to work harder when granny isn't there and also shave some weight into the bargain.

The good thing about the cube pelotons is the frames are all the same (except paint scheme) its just the components that change.
 
Phil1974 said:
First ride on my new (second hand) road bike tomorrow. Has anyone else made the change from MTB to road bike and thought "how the hell are those skinny tyres going to cope?" Hoping for a puncture free ride as I need to pick up a new pump that fits a presta valve at some point [emoji47]
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Have spent the last 20 years or so commuting on various MTBs but rather than getting a dedicated road bike for a bit more speed I chose the slightly alternative route of getting a Canondale CAADX 105 2015 cyclocross bike. Compared to most road bikes this has a slightly chunkier frame and, of course, thicker knoblier tyres. This bike makes both the road and occasional off-road trip an absolute breeze. It is a great bike, can highly recommend.
 
gary43 said:
This bike makes both the road and occasional off-road trip an absolute breeze. It is a great bike, can highly recommend.
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So can I...

CAADX_0-5.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

I'ts now got a Fizik Aliante Saddle on there to replace the awful Cannondale own brand one which broke in the middle of the "hull" at around 800km, and the creaky POS fsa gossamer was removed and binned in favour of an Ultegra 6750 so that I can swap the stages pewermeter onto it from the Dolan for the winter season when the Dolan gets wrapped up in cotton wool and avoids the salt on the roads.

Excuse the "cyclists garden" (i.e. whenever it's fit to waste time gardening, it's good weather to ride the bike...
 
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TheBigYin said:
So can I...

CAADX_0-5.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

I'ts now got a Fizik Aliante Saddle on there to replace the awful Cannondale own brand one which broke in the middle of the "hull" at around 800km, and the creaky POS fsa gossamer was removed and binned in favour of an Ultegra 6750 so that I can swap the stages pewermeter onto it from the Dolan for the winter season when the Dolan gets wrapped up in cotton wool and avoids the salt on the roads.

Excuse the "cyclists garden" (i.e. whenever it's fit to waste time gardening, it's good weather to ride the bike...
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Like the sound of the modifications ! I will wait for the OEM bits to suffer a bit of wear/tear then have an excuse to get something similar.

BTW, your garden looks quite well-kept compared to mine. I would post some shots but a. it is raining outside so I do not want to go out with gear and, more importantly, b. the wife would go mental.
 
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it's a cracking bike - i've only done about 4,000 miles on it since getting it in november 2013, mainly because it was really intended as a winter-hack and occasional summer gravel-basher for days when I fancied a change. Worked out great for the first winter, but I've basically had best part of 6 months laid up and off the bike due to complications from pneumonia in late october last year, which are still putting a crimp on my riding even now...

think I've done less than 2000 miles over the year so far - which, compared with this time last year is pretty pathetic (i'd done well over 5,000 miles by now...) - I'm really feeling sick and tired of feeling, well, sick and tired :(
 
Hi Mark

Sorry to hear about the illness. Fingers crossed for a speedy, full recovery. It is never good when such things stop you having fun.

I only do about 5 miles a day to/from work plus a few miles at the weekend so I am definitely not hard-core. That said, I do get out whenever possible. It is a bit of a toss-up really between photography and cycling how I fill my very, very few spare hours.
 
stupar said:
To be fair when it came to the climb my speed dropped to a mere 5mph and I am not ashamed to admit that at a few points I dropped into the granny gear. For me though it was about climbing the pass in one shot no matter how slow.

I'm loving the Cube, glad I bought it.
Plan on changing the wheels at next year for a set of Campagnolo Zondas and the change the triple set for a compact double.
Should allow me to work harder when granny isn't there and also shave some weight into the bargain.

The good thing about the cube pelotons is the frames are all the same (except paint scheme) its just the components that change.
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That's good going though. Important thing is to keep those legs turning :) (I was telling my self this as I climbed a tough one this PM :eek:)

Agree with what you said re the Peloton. Good frame and upgrades galore available. I've got a compact chainset (50-34) with a 12-32 cassette and was thinking of changing it for an 11-28 but I'm thinking I'll stick with the option of the 32 as the hills round here are testing although I do use the 32 a lot less than I used to when first starting out.
 
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there were a couple of times yesterday when I was begging for a 32 :)
 
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