Pedal Power Thread

Its the X-lite 4400, bought blind. I was sorely tempted by the GCF but the geometry on this is really close to the scultura I'm riding so that swung it. When I got the bike fit done the guy actually extended the stem and sat me back further so this should be really close.

I'll upload a spec tomorrow but it's about 6.7 kg for the standard build. I've specced carbon bars and stem which will shave a bit off too :)
 
My Di2 bike is a Rose Xeon CDX. I've had it since June 2015 and am very happy with it. Unfortunately, English weather means my winter/wet bike has been my steed of choice for the majority of my rides since so I've only covered around 2k miles to date on the Rose, which is reserved for dry conditions only.

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dod said:
Its the X-lite 4400, bought blind. I was sorely tempted by the GCF but the geometry on this is really close to the scultura I'm riding so that swung it. When I got the bike fit done the guy actually extended the stem and sat me back further so this should be really close.

I'll upload a spec tomorrow but it's about 6.7 kg for the standard build. I've specced carbon bars and stem which will shave a bit off too :)
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Very nice.

Have told myself I will run my current bike this year and if I achieve a few personal targets, I'll treat myself to a new stead!!
 
tdodd said:
My Di2 bike is a Rose Xeon CDX. I've had it since June 2015 and am very happy with it. Unfortunately, English weather means my winter/wet bike has been my steed of choice for the majority of my rides since so I've only covered around 2k miles to date on the Rose, which is reserved for dry conditions only.
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I would love to say I'll do that but we started off last week in glorius sunshine, went through a blizzard then came back to sunshine :p

Buck said:
Very nice.

Have told myself I will run my current bike this year and if I achieve a few personal targets, I'll treat myself to a new stead!!
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I'd been collecting £2 coins for a couple of years. I did a count up a few nights ago and was very pleasantly surprised to find out this was more or less covered ;)

component group Product Item no.
Frames High Modulus Aerospace Carbon Fibre T30/40,
fork ROSE f. X-Lite CRS 2015 2052043 standard
Wheels DT Swiss R20 Dicut 2041728 standard
Tyres Continental GP4000 S II 700x25 2043601 +£ 6.00
Crankset SRAM Force 22 50/34 2143266 +£ 5.00
rear derailleur SRAM Force 22 11-fach WiFli 1917804 standard
sprocket SRAM PG-1170 11-fach 1917859 +0 £
Shift brake levers SRAM Force 11-speed/double 1917831 standard
chain SRAM PC-1170 11-fach 1917840 standard
front derailleur SRAM Force 2/11-fach 1917716 standard
rim brake SRAM Force 1879966 standard
seat post Ritchey WCS Carbon Link 400 mm 2045238 +£ 7.00
saddle Selle Italia SLS Flow 2140162 +0 £
handlebar Ritchey WCS Superlogic Carbon Evo Curve 1875720 +£ 93.00
Handlebar tape Xtreme Gel-Comfort 1844359 +0 £

stem Ritchey WCS C-220 2047412 +0 £
 
So after yet again long break I went back to cycle commute ..short distance to say the least ;)
Today, went out with small group to Southend-on-sea from London....I officially hate any hills...hills kill me in my current fitness shape...but...made it all the way ;) 100km on the clock...almost 4k calories burnt.generally happy man :) others cycle back to London but I know I wouldn't make it :( maybe some other time :) well done me ;)
 

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Well done @bastic. That's a tidy distance for you if you are unfit and a bit rusty in the legs !! (y)
 
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aye, good work bastic
 
Managed 66km with 700 odd m of climbing out to the Surrey hills with a couple of mates. Nice to be out but was a bit chilly and my legs don't want to play. Can't wait for warmer weather and break out the soot bike as it is 4kg lighter than the steel Condor. Shame I am also carrying excess timber too...
 
menthel said:
Managed 66km with 700 odd m of climbing out to the Surrey hills with a couple of mates. Nice to be out but was a bit chilly and my legs don't want to play. Can't wait for warmer weather and break out the soot bike as it is 4kg lighter than the steel Condor. Shame I am also carrying excess timber too...
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That's still a good distance Jim and a few more rides like that and the winter excesses will start to fade away (y)
 
beautiful morning up here - 66.9km, not quite as hilly as yours today Jim... Would have been longer, but I had a visitation from the P******* fairy around km30. At which point I discovered that my glue had dried in the tube, the "non-glue" emergency stickers weren't sticky anymore, and I had no alternative but to use the one spare inner-tube I was carrying - at which point the prospect of continuing further away from home and ending up with a 40+km walk or ride with a flat tyre held little attraction - especially as I'd also forgotten my cycling wallet and had no cash/cards on me either! So, I basically took the most direct route home I could from that point (other than re-tracing my prior route - which would have been a complete PITA)

Anyhow, I can't really grumble - the weather was great, I felt like I was actually firing on at least 6 of 8 cylinders, and even the puncture happened right outside the village hall in Pollington, a lovely little village, with a big bench outside the Village Hall that I could sit on and mend my puncture, and chat to the local village "character" - must have been 120 if he was a day old, not a tooth in his head, flat cap seemingly nailed in place - he was fascinated by the bike, the wierd narrow tyres, and when I inflated the tyre with a CO2 cartridge I thought his eyes would pop out!

Must admit, I've been on the "string and glue" for the past month pretty much now - okay, with the cheap hack wheels (shimano RS21's and Gatorskins rather than the Ultegras and Tubeless Schwalbe One's) but it's still only around 8kg to drag around the hills (and thats with the non-regulation euro-posterior-man-satchel ;) - not bad for a build on 10s Ultegra really...)

As for the carrying excess timber... well - that's a bit of a sore point here as well - and it's not proving easy to shift it with the damned meds that the Quacks have me on.
 
Thanks, it was a good ride but I really need to step it up with some 200km audaxes coming up later this year. The condor is 11.5kg in commuting guise but I will strip off the guards and rack for at least one of the events that is a bike gravel tracky. The carbon bling will be bought out for normal rides- that is only 7.6kg and rides nicely!

Sounds like you had better weather than me Mark, it's still a bit cold and the air is moist. I need a bit of sun!
 
Been struggling to get really comfy on the bike (pressure where a gentleman really shouldn't be getting pressure) so picked up a saddle cheap on ebay. Fizik Aliante VSX, seems to have done the trick, just a shortish ride tonight but no adverse reaction :)
 
I really like Selle SMP saddles for preservation of penile plumbing. I've got a Stratos on my summer bike and Hybrid Gel on my winter steed.
 
tdodd said:
I really like Selle SMP saddles for preservation of penile plumbing. I've got a Stratos on my summer bike and Hybrid Gel on my winter steed.
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Thanks Tim. That's cheap enough to take a chance on.
 
The SMP range is quite extensive - lots of variants of width, padding and construction - also price. It's worth a bit of research. Don't just assume that what works for me will work for you.
 
I can vouch for the Selle range aswell, I got the slc and no more numb nuts [emoji3][emoji3]

Edit.... My mistake, mines a Selle Italia, thought they were one of the same, but same clever design!
 
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tdodd said:
The SMP range is quite extensive - lots of variants of width, padding and construction - also price. It's worth a bit of research. Don't just assume that what works for me will work for you.
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Yep, been having a look tonight and there's a huge range of options. And that's the problem with saddles :runaway:

Oh, and they're not all cheap enough to take a chance on :D
 
any londoners for a cycle to Richmond park ?
 
dod said:
Been struggling to get really comfy on the bike (pressure where a gentleman really shouldn't be getting pressure) so picked up a saddle cheap on ebay. Fizik Aliante VSX, seems to have done the trick, just a shortish ride tonight but no adverse reaction :)
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I normally ride on the road with a Fizik Arione (the long flat one that you can slide forward and back on to change your position) - it works great on the road for me, but I found that this winter I was having problems with extended sessions on the indoor trainer - problem is, you sit still on the trainer - no weight transfers fore/aft and little or no standing up - so I decided to try the Aliante - as it's "by design" a saddle that you "sit in" rather than "sit on" - i.e. you get it in the right place, and don't move. Worked great on the trainer, once I'd finally sorted out the correct position fore/aft and tuned the "attitude" - i.e. how much it tilted. Thing is, the "tail" of the Aliante "sticks up" so if you use the usual "spirit level on the front and back of the saddle" then set your preferred angle of "dip" (you mean you're Bike Fitting Session didn't give you that measurment ;) ) the angle is wrong...

Found this video from Fizik c/o GCN - covers the Aliante, Antares and the Arione...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsoFD_rhNkQ



It's surprising just how much tweaking the angle of the saddle can change the degree of comfort you get out of a saddle... often makes more of a improvement than swapping the actual saddle type...
 
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nope, didn't get the dip angle :p

The aliante was a lot better but not quite right. I think it needs to be pushed back slightly and maybe dipped on the nose a little bit. New bike coming shortly too though so it might all be for nothing :banghead:
 
So I've signed up for a 100mile sportive in August (with a few very good cyclists from work) - feeling nervous about it as I'll probably need the full 11hour time allowance!
Anyone got any training tips as I haven't done that sort of distance in over 2years, with the furthest I've done in a day recently being 25miles.
 
TopBanana said:
Looks like a certain Labour leader to me!
Makes me wonder if I'm on street view somewhere too.
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The odd thing is that it's quite an old street view image from almost 2 years ago - i initially noticed it as i wanted to see what his house looked like on the old images from 10 years ago as he has a garden with lots of plants on recent news "paparazzi type" photos but older images just show a tarmac parking space and garage. I expected to find old news stories about the street view cycling image but it looks like it's only been spotted in the last couple of days so perhaps google have only recently published the "old" SV image.
 
TopBanana said:
So I've signed up for a 100mile sportive in August (with a few very good cyclists from work) - feeling nervous about it as I'll probably need the full 11hour time allowance!
Anyone got any training tips as I haven't done that sort of distance in over 2years, with the furthest I've done in a day recently being 25miles.
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There are plenty of training plans available on line like these on the British Cycling website https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/training-plans

Personally I'm not into regimented training plans. For me it's just about just getting the miles in. For 100 miles I'd gradually build up to something like 80-85 miles 3 weeks before. Then taper back down so 60 miles 2 weeks before, 40 miles the weekend before. I'd be doing regular fast ish 25 mile rides in the week until the last week when I roll them right back to freshen up. I doubt this is the best way to do it but the way I see it I'm no pro and for me it's as much about enjoying the ride as the training plan.

Pick your training courses to have terrain similar to the hills in the sportive. Eat and drink stuff on your training rides that you will take with you on the sportive.
 
Agree with Mark.

Don't over think it but do get some miles in so you are used to being on the bike for the distance.

We're all different in terms of eating/drinking but I'd suggest something like a bowl of porridge an hour before you ride and make sure you have a couple of drinks with you to keep hydrated especially as it may be wArmer in August (we can hope!)

Don't forget sun cream either.

Also, a little butt cream might help prevent chafing as you'll be in the saddle for quite some time

PS. There's nothing wrong with stopping every couple of hours for a 5/10 minute breather every 2-3 hours over and above the official rest stations.
 
Thanks guys, and I'll check out those BC training plans.
Do you think that I need to have done the full distance beforehand?
 
TopBanana said:
Thanks guys, and I'll check out those BC training plans.
Do you think that I need to have done the full distance beforehand?
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Not necessarily, in the same way many marathon runners will never run the full 26 and bit before the big day. My friend is doing the london marathon at the end of this month and his training peaked at 23 miles and is now tapering ready for the big day.

Two things with a 100 miler would be time in the saddle and leg strength. If you can comfortably do 50, you can do 70+. I you can do 70 you can do 90+.

I'd say the biggest temptation to avoid is going off too fast - pace yourself and have a distance per hour or marker in mind - you can always push harder at the end but if you go out too strong and you've got nothing left in the tank at the end....
 
If you can do 80-85 during training then you shouldn't have any problem with a 100 after tapering back down. You'll be a lot fresher and the buzz you'll get from the event and riding with a large number of other riders will most likely make it easier mentally.

As Adrian says don't go off too fast but you can expect to be going 'slightly' faster as long as you don't feel like you're pushing too much harder than usual. Obviously it's a little difficult to judge if you've not done it before though.
 
TopBanana said:
So I've signed up for a 100mile sportive in August (with a few very good cyclists from work) - feeling nervous about it as I'll probably need the full 11hour time allowance!
Anyone got any training tips as I haven't done that sort of distance in over 2years, with the furthest I've done in a day recently being 25miles.
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Don't overlook getting some experience in group riding if you haven't done any before. I did my first sportive last weekend and even though I ride with my local club quite a bit it was still daunting with lots of cyclists around me for the first few miles. Get to know the signals and shouts and be prepared to cover your brakes [emoji1] find a local club and go out for an intro ride, or better still join up and enjoy [emoji106]
 
I'd be very cautious about group riding on a sportive. Unless you're sticking with your friends you'll have no idea how much experience other people have. By all means cycle with other people but leave extra space and work on the theory that no one around you knows what they're doing.

If it starts getting hairy just ease off and let them go. It's not worth the risk. On a big sportive you'll find another group before long.
 
MFlip said:
I'd be very cautious about group riding on a sportive. Unless you're sticking with your friends you'll have no idea how much experience other people have. By all means cycle with other people but leave extra space and work on the theory that no one around you knows what they're doing.

.
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I'm wary on club rides to be honest.
 
I didn't mean for the OP to group ride in the day just maybe to get some experience of what it's like to ride with multiple people around you. There is often a lot of signals and shouting that could be confusing if you've not ridden with others before.
 
Part of me thinks - let the eager pack head off and find yourself a space after the initial melee then head off with space around you.

You'll settle Ito your own pace quicker that way too rather than be pulled along by those fitter/faster than you (or at least those who think they are - remember to wave as you pass them a few miles later :D)
 
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