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I did the Dundee Cyclathon for the first time today. 26 miles around the Green Circular route, starting and finishing at Camperdown Park. 
It was a decent day out. A bit difficult to get going initially because the route is really narrow so everyone bunches up. But once it opened up onto short bits of normal roads it was easy to get a bit of momentum going. Absolute b*****d of a hill at the end - Harestane Road/Laird Street for anyone who knows the area. It’s just one of those hills that keeps going and going. 
A bit of a hairy moment on the way home as well. There’s a downhill out of Camperdown that leads straight onto a road. I hadn’t realised when I got to the bottom that I was already near-enough full on my brakes. Quick decision to make...decided that I couldn’t hear any traffic so just go for it. Thankfully the closest cars in either direction were far enough away to not be an issue (it’s not the busiest road anyway). When I stopped, I checked my brakes and you could have fried an egg on them (disc brakes). I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them, just a speed miscalculation.  But a definite OYF moment [emoji38] 
I imagine your cycling shorts had some extra padding after that [emoji23]
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  • 1 month later...

Hello lads, I'm not getting out on my bike that much through a combination of work, weather and family stuff, so was looking at getting some kind of Zwift setup on the go, anyone have any advice or experience?

Was looking at this laddie: https://www.evanscycles.com/elite-qubo-digital-b-smart-turbo-trainer-EV256909, along with a turbo tyre.

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21 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Hello lads, I'm not getting out on my bike that much through a combination of work, weather and family stuff, so was looking at getting some kind of Zwift setup on the go, anyone have any advice or experience?

Was looking at this laddie: https://www.evanscycles.com/elite-qubo-digital-b-smart-turbo-trainer-EV256909, along with a turbo tyre.

Quite possibly the best thing I have bought, I just went with one of the entry level Tacx models Vortex . I bought it second hand off eBay for £100 in May, have found since they sponsored the TDF and the UCI that they are around £200 on there now. 

Have done over 1000 miles since getting it, this has been through Zwift which is £12.99 a month. Really enjoy it, it is really addictive. The training plans are really beneficial, found my average wattage has gone up quite significantly since starting. 

A training tyre is a must, reduces noise and obviously stops your own tyres wearing out. Oh and a fan, you will most definitely need a fan. 

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16 minutes ago, LondonHMFC said:

Quite possibly the best thing I have bought, I just went with one of the entry level Tacx models Vortex . I bought it second hand off eBay for £100 in May, have found since they sponsored the TDF and the UCI that they are around £200 on there now. 

Have done over 1000 miles since getting it, this has been through Zwift which is £12.99 a month. Really enjoy it, it is really addictive. The training plans are really beneficial, found my average wattage has gone up quite significantly since starting. 

A training tyre is a must, reduces noise and obviously stops your own tyres wearing out. Oh and a fan, you will most definitely need a fan. 

Magic stuff, thank you pal. I'll keep an eye on eBay for a bit and see if there's anything jumping out, or just bite the bullet and drop into decathlon on my way home.

Reassuring like, getting out probably isn't the most practical for me over the next 6 months or so, but getting into the garage for an hour significantly more so.

Every single thing I've read about them is to get a fan, or two, or five? Five might be enough :lol:

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3 hours ago, thisGRAEME said:

Magic stuff, thank you pal. I'll keep an eye on eBay for a bit and see if there's anything jumping out, or just bite the bullet and drop into decathlon on my way home.

Reassuring like, getting out probably isn't the most practical for me over the next 6 months or so, but getting into the garage for an hour significantly more so.

Every single thing I've read about them is to get a fan, or two, or five? Five might be enough :lol:

It might be worth waiting till Black Friday, sure there will be some decent deals about.

I had the same issue, save so much time with it being inside as well. Takes a bit of getting use to, some good videos by GCN on YouTube which are helpful.

At first I went without one, but was sweating an unnatural amount. Could barely see the screen with the amount of sweat in my eyes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Now we know what that Perthshire twit does for a day job -

 

https://road.cc/content/news/268971-targeting-cyclists-will-have-more-benefit-because-drivers-arent-causing-any

 

Quote

'Targeting cyclists will have more benefit because drivers aren’t causing any accidents' say Dundee Police after rejecting close pass operation

 

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44 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

Unless Dundee is secretly some Dutch style cycling utopia, then Supernintendo Andrew Todd is an ignorant moron.

I commute by bike just over 8 miles each day and I doubt I've ever had a single journey where I haven't suffered at least one close pass. 75% of that commute is along an alleged National Cycle Route as well.

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On 24/11/2019 at 13:15, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Unless Dundee is secretly some Dutch style cycling utopia, then Supernintendo Andrew Todd is an ignorant moron.

I commute by bike just over 8 miles each day and I doubt I've ever had a single journey where I haven't suffered at least one close pass. 75% of that commute is along an alleged National Cycle Route as well.

Don't talk about The son of God like that please

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  • 3 weeks later...

Any of you guys got/had a shot of the Giant Defy Advanced range? Looking at the Defy Advanced 2 (2020). My B'Twin is decent for short rides but pretty uncomfortable after about 50 miles. I've narrowed it to Defy Advanced 2 or Canyon Endurance AL Disc 8.0 - bit of a stock issue with the latter though. 

Thoughts?

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/11/2019 at 16:57, LondonHMFC said:

Quite possibly the best thing I have bought, I just went with one of the entry level Tacx models Vortex . I bought it second hand off eBay for £100 in May, have found since they sponsored the TDF and the UCI that they are around £200 on there now. 

Have done over 1000 miles since getting it, this has been through Zwift which is £12.99 a month. Really enjoy it, it is really addictive. The training plans are really beneficial, found my average wattage has gone up quite significantly since starting. 

A training tyre is a must, reduces noise and obviously stops your own tyres wearing out. Oh and a fan, you will most definitely need a fan. 

Main question I have here is that I have a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Does it make much of a difference to performance on a home trainer? Was looking at the Elite qubo power fluid but everything I find has them hooked up to road/racing bikes and I'm not convinced it will work with something a bit bulkier?

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9 minutes ago, Ross. said:

Main question I have here is that I have a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Does it make much of a difference to performance on a home trainer? Was looking at the Elite qubo power fluid but everything I find has them hooked up to road/racing bikes and I'm not convinced it will work with something a bit bulkier?

Shouldn't imagine there would be an issue, obviously you'd need to get a slick tyre. 

Quick look online, and quite a few folk seem to use mountain bikes. 

 

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9 minutes ago, Ross. said:

Main question I have here is that I have a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Does it make much of a difference to performance on a home trainer? Was looking at the Elite qubo power fluid but everything I find has them hooked up to road/racing bikes and I'm not convinced it will work with something a bit bulkier?

Shouldn't imagine there would be an issue, obviously you'd need to get a slick tyre. 

Quick look online, and quite a few folk seem to use mountain bikes. 

 

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On 24/11/2019 at 13:15, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Unless Dundee is secretly some Dutch style cycling utopia, then Supernintendo Andrew Todd is an ignorant moron.

I commute by bike just over 8 miles each day and I doubt I've ever had a single journey where I haven't suffered at least one close pass. 75% of that commute is along an alleged National Cycle Route as well.

A bit late in replying to this, but this attitude from Dundee police doesn't surprise me.

I won't bore with the details (and indeed I'd rather not go into them) but basically I was passed far too close by someone on a scooter, in full view of a traffic car coming the other way. When he didn't turn and go after said scooter, I did a u-turn and caught up - only to be told there was no danger, I had "space for a wobble" and that in fact my filtering on the outside of stationary traffic was dangerous so if anyone should be reported it was me.

It ended up with him calling backup(!) because I was refusing to give my details, because he wouldn't tell me why - was it as a witness (to the close pass) or as an offender (for the alleged "unsafe overtaking")? In the end, he took a witness statement - after some prompting by his "backup". 

I was a bit shaken by the whole thing at the time, but looking back it wouldn't have looked out of place in Scotch and Wry.

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Main question I have here is that I have a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Does it make much of a difference to performance on a home trainer? Was looking at the Elite qubo power fluid but everything I find has them hooked up to road/racing bikes and I'm not convinced it will work with something a bit bulkier?


I've got an old MTB hooked up on mine. You can actually get trainer-specific tyres - Vittoria do one - but they're a b*****d to get onto wider rims.
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41 minutes ago, carpetmonster said:

I've got an old MTB hooked up on mine. You can actually get trainer-specific tyres - Vittoria do one - but they're a b*****d to get onto wider rims.

I might hold off for now, there is usually a second hand bike market around the beginning of March nearby, will maybe see if I can get hold of an old racer and buy that for this purpose only. Not sure I can be bothered with the arsing about when I want to take the mountain bike back outside, having to change the wheels over and all the rest.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got a colleague trying to get me to sign up for the Prudential RideLondon event, basically a 100 mile race around London in the middle of August. Undecided on whether or not I will sign up to it, will dig my mountainbike out in the next few weeks if the weather stays mild enough and see what sort of mileage I have in my legs and whether I can be fucked training to do it. Brings me to my question:

Can anyone recommend a decent budget racing bike or road bike that would be suitable for this type of event and not cost a small fortune? Been a couple of years since I was regularly cycling and could manage 40 miles on the mountain bike without killing myself too much, but I figure something like this I will need a bike that is a lot lighter than what I have and more suited to road cycling. Where should I start?

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3 hours ago, Ross. said:

Got a colleague trying to get me to sign up for the Prudential RideLondon event, basically a 100 mile race around London in the middle of August. Undecided on whether or not I will sign up to it, will dig my mountainbike out in the next few weeks if the weather stays mild enough and see what sort of mileage I have in my legs and whether I can be fucked training to do it. Brings me to my question:

Can anyone recommend a decent budget racing bike or road bike that would be suitable for this type of event and not cost a small fortune? Been a couple of years since I was regularly cycling and could manage 40 miles on the mountain bike without killing myself too much, but I figure something like this I will need a bike that is a lot lighter than what I have and more suited to road cycling. Where should I start?

Getting a road bike is definitely a good idea for a 100 mile event.  No harm in doing some training (shorter distances) on the MTB though.  You'll feel the benefit when you go back to the road bike.

A decent new road bike will set you back £500 as an absolute minimum, but if that's too much you can get a better one 2nd hand for a lot cheaper.

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On 12/11/2019 at 15:31, thisGRAEME said:

Hello lads, I'm not getting out on my bike that much through a combination of work, weather and family stuff, so was looking at getting some kind of Zwift setup on the go, anyone have any advice or experience?

Was looking at this laddie: https://www.evanscycles.com/elite-qubo-digital-b-smart-turbo-trainer-EV256909, along with a turbo tyre.

Definitely one way to keep up a certain degree of fitness , as are wattbikes.

However, they can lull you into a false impression of being “ bike fit” as I found out last year having hammered myself on the wattbike over the winter months, thinking I was super fit , then getting an absolute pasting when I went back out with guys who’d been out on the road over the same period of time.

Theres no real substitute for actually getting out on the bike 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎22‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 10:03, The Master said:

A bit late in replying to this, but this attitude from Dundee police doesn't surprise me.

I won't bore with the details (and indeed I'd rather not go into them) but basically I was passed far too close by someone on a scooter, in full view of a traffic car coming the other way. When he didn't turn and go after said scooter, I did a u-turn and caught up - only to be told there was no danger, I had "space for a wobble" and that in fact my filtering on the outside of stationary traffic was dangerous so if anyone should be reported it was me.

It ended up with him calling backup(!) because I was refusing to give my details, because he wouldn't tell me why - was it as a witness (to the close pass) or as an offender (for the alleged "unsafe overtaking")? In the end, he took a witness statement - after some prompting by his "backup". 

I was a bit shaken by the whole thing at the time, but looking back it wouldn't have looked out of place in Scotch and Wry.

ACAB

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