Official P&b Cycling Thread

[Unleash The Nade]

7 hours ago, dorlomin said:

On the 11/28  and a  50/34 up front you will likely run out of gears when hitting hills after a couple of days going round north Scotland. I do not know the route but multi day touring in hilly country takes on hell of a lot out of you. You might be able to smash 12% gradients on a 60 mile route for a day out with that set up, but after a couple of  days\hundreds of miles in your legs gradients will feel like lead. It can feel like running a half marathon and having to stop to do 10 reps of squats every now and then as the road goes vertical.

 

Don’t think I have any other option without spending yet more money to change rear mechs or front chain rings etc as  I can’t take the risk of snapping my rear mech in the middle of nowhere by fitting the 12/30 cassette to my current set up  

Edited May 17, 2018 by Unleash The Nade

[Newbornbairn]

When I took up cycling I was loathe to go clipless or wear lycra. I used toe clips but found my toes getting squashed uncomfortably and getting my feet back in them when pushing away at lights was a pain. I switched to clipless and got the shoes to match - great! For one thing it keeps your foot exactly where it needs to be on the pedal, no sliding around so your legs are kept at the right angle for your muscles to work effectively.  I'm sure by being more efficient it allows you to use less energy.  It doesn't take long at all to get used to them and "clipping in" as you pull away becomes a subconscious act.

 

Flat pedals with pegs are meant for mountain bikes where you're likely to need to put your foot down for balance so don't want to have to unclip first. I have them on my fat bike but I just use trainers instead of things like 510s with their extra-grippy soles. Flat pedals are great for just popping out to the shops because you don't need to switch your footwear. 

[The Master]

My Cyclescheme voucher has been approved. It’s now up to the gods (aka the finance department) to pay for it. So allowing for that, plus the time between using the voucher and getting the bike, I’m probably still looking at at least another fortnight  

[dorlomin]

On 17/05/2018 at 07:02, Unleash The Nade said:

Don’t think I have any other option without spending yet more money to change rear mechs or front chain rings etc as  I can’t take the risk of snapping my rear mech in the middle of nowhere by fitting the 12/30 cassette to my current set up  

Go easy on the hills, dont be afraid to zig zag and take some of the gradient out of them. Start easy and hold it back for the first couple of days. I have heard some people say they are surprised how slow the pro peleton takes hills on stage races, unless you are competing for time hills are not worth burying yourself in to make a bit of a gap. 

Yeah that and shed loads of tabata or fartlek interval training between now and then. Get your body used to periods of anaerobic exertion and get the VO2max and FTP improved. 

And weight.  Find ways to strip down what you are taking and what you physically weigh. In flat land aerodynamics counts much more but when things start getting bumpy power to weight matters and the later is easier to fix. 

 

[Unleash The Nade]

7 hours ago, dorlomin said:

Go easy on the hills, dont be afraid to zig zag and take some of the gradient out of them. Start easy and hold it back for the first couple of days. I have heard some people say they are surprised how slow the pro peleton takes hills on stage races, unless you are competing for time hills are not worth burying yourself in to make a bit of a gap. 

Yeah that and shed loads of tabata or fartlek interval training between now and then. Get your body used to periods of anaerobic exertion and get the VO2max and FTP improved. 

And weight.  Find ways to strip down what you are taking and what you physically weigh. In flat land aerodynamics counts much more but when things start getting bumpy power to weight matters and the later is easier to fix. 

 

Cheers mate 

I’ve spoken to other guys in going with who’ve done it before and they assure me I’ll be fine with the set up I have ( appreciate they might be taking the piss though !)

Agree with your comments the pacing it as we do that each year when we go training in Majorca , as some of the runs and climbs we do there are also brutal .

Hopefully I’ll manage to shed a few extra pounds before we set off , current FTP at 320 so happy enough with that 

[Dindeleux]

I'm just about to start an extensive weight loss effort before I leave for my trip at the start of August.  I've now set my route:

Day 1 - Drive from Kilmarnock to the Ardennes Forest (vie Eurotunnel).  Cycle 50 miles on the WW1 cycle route.  Back in the car and drive to Basle in Switzerland

Day 2 - Drive to Geneva and then cycle around Lake Geneva.

Day 3 - Driving into Germany and cycling from Dortmund to Cologne (or the opposite).

Day 4 - Driving to Spa, Belgium and cycling somewhere in that area (actually hoping the F1 circuit is open to the public so I can do a couple of laps).

Day 5 - I'm going to finish up spending a day cycling from Antwerp to Eindhoven.

[dorlomin]

Absolutely fucking glorious weather down here. 

 

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Anyone had knee problems cycling? 

I've done a decent amount of miles in the last few weeks, however after most rides my right knee hurts on the inner part of the kneecap (i had surgery on it 2 years ago after a meniscal tear). I can't recall any specific incident that might have caused another tear, and it's never actually painful at all when i'm riding, even when out of the saddle on stiff climbs. The only adjustment I've made recently was to move my saddle slightly further forward as I felt I was too far from the handlebars, and tbf I feel a lot more comfortable in this position. 

[Unleash The Nade]

56 minutes ago, jupe1407 said:

Anyone had knee problems cycling? 

I've done a decent amount of miles in the last few weeks, however after most rides my right knee hurts on the inner part of the kneecap (i had surgery on it 2 years ago after a meniscal tear). I can't recall any specific incident that might have caused another tear, and it's never actually painful at all when i'm riding, even when out of the saddle on stiff climbs. The only adjustment I've made recently was to move my saddle slightly further forward as I felt I was too far from the handlebars, and tbf I feel a lot more comfortable in this position. 

I think I remember from previous posts you don’t use cleats.

By doing this you might be turning your leg / knee inwRd without really knowing it.

One of the other advantages of using cleats is that they keep your foot locked in the same position for every cycle which can often overcome unconscious movement on the pedals putting extra strain throug your knee

Id therefore suggest trying clears out to see if this helps

Id suggest using red ones which allow for a little more “ float” than grey or black ones 

 

 

 

 

[Benjamin_Nevis]

12 minutes ago, Unleash The Nade said:

I think I remember from previous posts you don’t use cleats.

By doing this you might be turning your leg / knee inwRd without really knowing it.

One of the other advantages of using cleats is that they keep your foot locked in the same position for every cycle which can often overcome unconscious movement on the pedals putting extra strain throug your knee

Id therefore suggest trying clears out to see if this helps

Id suggest using red ones which allow for a little more “ float” than grey or black ones 

 

Cleats 

f**k it, I might actually give them a go. I've actually got a pair of shimano shoes with yellow SPD-SLs, but never got round to getting the pedals as well as I found I was OK on the flats. 

[broon-loon]

1 hour ago, jupe1407 said:

nyone had knee problems cycling? 

I've done a decent amount of miles in the last few weeks, however after most rides my right knee hurts on the inner part of the kneecap (i had surgery on it 2 years ago after a meniscal tear). I can't recall any specific incident that might have caused another tear, and it's never actually painful at all when i'm riding, even when out of the saddle on stiff climbs. The only adjustment I've made recently was to move my saddle slightly further forward as I felt I was too far from the handlebars, and tbf I feel a lot more comfortable in this position. 

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but based on what I have read knee problems are often saddle height related, (usually too low). 

If you want to get back to original saddle to crank position but also be closer to the handlebars it might be worth fitting a slightly sorter bar stem?  

 

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by broon-loon
typo

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Just now, broon-loon said:

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but based on what I have read knee problems are often saddle height related, (usually too low). 

If you want to get back to original saddle to crank position but also be closer to the handle bars it might be worth fitting a slightly sorter bar stem?  

 

 

Yeah been doing a bit of googling this morning. I didn't adjust the height, just moved it forward. 

I think i may have to bite the bullet and get a bike fit.

[The Master]

If it’s a pain like someone slashing the back of your kneecap with a knife, then it’s almost certainly patellofemoral pain syndrome, and almost equally certainly caused by bad saddle height. 

Moving the saddle laterally can still cause very subtle changes in height relative to the pedals, which can have an enormous impact on comfort and leg position.

[morrison]

Took on Etape Caledonia today. My longest cycle to date, and unsurprisingly when I only got up to 27 miles ([emoji23]) in 'training' I toiled for the last 20 miles.

The first climb was brutal, but Schiehallion wasn't a patch on the Fort Agustus climb. Actually found that pretty straight-forward.

I seem to be okay on up and downs, and awful on the flat if the rate of passing/being passed is anything to go by.

Got round in 5:04 for the 85 miles & happy with that

[Sergeant Wilson]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44186998 

[Gnash]

25 minutes ago, morrison said:

Took on Etape Caledonia today. My longest cycle to date, and unsurprisingly when I only got up to 27 miles () in 'training' I toiled for the last 20 miles.

The first climb was brutal, but Schiehallion wasn't a patch on the Fort Agustus climb. Actually found that pretty straight-forward.

I seem to be okay on up and downs, and awful on the flat if the rate of passing/being passed is anything to go by.

Got round in 5:04 for the 85 miles & happy with that

I did it too, glad the rain cleared up just before the start.  My chip time was 4 hr 12 min.  The climbs in the Caledonia aren't too bad - I haven't done Loch Ness but the Talla climb in the Tour o' the Borders is ridiculously steep.

Do you know if the results are online yet?  I searched but all I got was a site that Google didn't let me go on to as the security certificate had expired. 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Gnash

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44186998 

[Unleash The Nade]

8 hours ago, jupe1407 said:

 

I think i may have to bite the bullet and get a bike fit.

There’s lots of videos on YouTube will show you how do do this pretty effectively without paying lots for a bike fit 

I’ve never had one myself and ( touch wood) never had any real issues or pain caused by bike position

[Unleash The Nade]

Feeling as good on the bike as I’ve done for a while now and working towards NC500 challenge 

65 miles today with 3000 feet of climbing and an average of just under 18mph, which I’m happy with considering there was only 2 of us with some tricky head and crosswinds 

[morrison]

I did it too, glad the rain cleared up just before the start.  My chip time was 4 hr 12 min.  The climbs in the Caledonia aren't too bad - I haven't done Loch Ness but the Talla climb in the Tour o' the Borders is ridiculously steep.
Do you know if the results are online yet?  I searched but all I got was a site that Google didn't let me go on to as the security certificate had expired. 

That's a cracking time! Appreciate it's all relative, though. Were you happy with it?

I haven't checked online yet; was impressed by the speed of the text with the chip time, mind.

Was tempted by the Borders but you're putting me off a bit!