Pedal Power Thread

So looks like i'm coming in way under budget for my jersey, helmet and bib shorts. Originally had £150 all in. Thanks all of those who gave advice.

Got these bib shorts (decided to get tights as i want to cycle immediately): http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-vaeon-roubaix-padded-bib-tight/ £49
And just purchased this helmet after trying it on instore at Decathalon when i went to pick up my bike: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/sport-7-btwin-racing-helmet-id_8211974.html (Almost bought it a few days ago but glad I held out for a big reduction. Got it for £18.98 inc delivery)

So £68. Just need to find a top now. Really happy with these deals so far.
 
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My riding used to resemble the out-takes at the end, rather more than the cool stuff in the middle.

Nutters, all of 'em.

About 10 years back a bunch of us went to Jacobs ladder in the Derbyshire peak district, and we all struggled up to varying degrees on MTBs, only to see a guy on a CX bike ride up, calm as anything and barely noticing the tricky bits. Familiarity helps, but there's no substitute for both skill and strength.
 
enjoyed the bits with Chris Akrigg rattling around on the Cow and Calf in Ilkley - probably because I spent lots of my time there as a Yoof trying to climb some of the gritstone monstrosities that Fawcett and Livesey had firsted a few years earlier.
 
You don't want that kind of saddle, trust me - it's too wide and the padding is too deep for a male backside - if that's gel them it will gradually squeeze up between your bum cheeks and make life most unpleasant. What you do need is to toughen up a bit - riding a couple of times a week for 30min or so, then gradually increasing.

For a recommended saddle try the On-One bignose - just seen they're out of stock right now - this is the saddle I've been using for pretty much the last 10 years, and it has a good length, decent but not excessive padding and is well priced. Since they're not available then try one of these: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/SASITU1980/selle_italia_turbo_1980_saddle Ignore the saddles with clever cut outs etc - mostly they don't make any difference.

Also pick up some shorts with padding in the seat, but beware of those with excessively thick padding (you may need some trial and error here) as they can also increase perineal pressure, where a thinner pad is actually much better for long term comfort. I've got a couple of pairs of shorts with a deep moulded pad that cause both soreness and penile numbness after a few miles, even though they feel comfy at the start.
 
Had a GT Tachyon Hybrid a few years back and went through loads of saddle types and the only ones which offered any sort of comfort were the "big ass wide" saddles like i linked to, the slimmer ones like you linked to were so painful, my local cycle shop has quite a few "samples" they loan out for a week at a time for a small charge, i tried dozens of the type you linked to and they were all terrible, i linked to the 2 wide models because they are apparently improved from a few years ago with memory foam or gel, i would try them at my local shop but they only have 2 "loaners" of each saddle model and the ones i want to try are booked out until Mid Jan

The wife's Subway has a wide saddle (not new bikes) and that's excellent but the markings are almost worn away and i cant make out the brand, but it does look very much like the Velo from Amazon and the brand marking what we can see looks similar and in the exact same place
 
Just googled the Charge Spoons, they would split me right down the middle, i have a big olD arse and that sort of saddle has my arse hanging over the side and getting mangled in the spokes LOL
 
Don't fall into the trap of believing wider and more padded equals comfier. It doesn't. What you want is to find a saddle that puts your weight through the areas that can take it and not where you don't. Specialized do a handy "sit-bone" measurer in some stores that recommends a saddle width for your hips.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Anyone recommend me a comfortable replacement saddle, just picked up a Carrera Subway and Crossfire for me and the other half to do a bit of canal path/greenway riding in the new year but the stock saddle kills my arse, im 16st if that makes any difference, was thinking something like these
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I use an SDG bel air I-beam saddle with SDG I-Beam Micro Layback Seatpost - very comfy even without shorts. You can get it with titanium rails too but that's heavier
 
The thing is Gary, what you're describing is pretty much what most people get when they first get on a bike if they're "carrying a bit of timber..." (apologies if you're a 8 stone racing snake BTW, but when you've already said you've a big old harris...)

One of the things that happens as you start riding, is that the muscles in and around the cheeks get stronger, more toned and actually lift you away from the structure of the saddle a bit - just look at most regular bike riders... to use a phrase my ex used to be fond of "... like 2 hard boiled eggs wrapped up in a hankerchief..." A certain degree of discomfort is probable, but can be minimised by the above suggestions - decent supportive shorts (without pants on under them btw!), chamois cream - which not only avoids friction, but allows the padding in the shorts to move slightly and stay in the areas you need protecting, and a Saddle that's the correct width for your sit-bones. One other thing that's possibly being overlooked is your saddle height. Too low, and you'll be squatting on the bike like a toddler getting potty trained, knees sticking out, and too much weight being borne on the perineum. Too HIGH and you'll be rolling from side to side on the saddle to push the pedals all the way down and ... well... there are some areas of the body that just weren't designed to be rolled over a bit of leather like that.

It's perfectly possible however to get a bike set up correctly and not suffer from saddle problems - if I was able to get my bike to fit me, and be comfortable, when I was upwards of 28stone a couple of years ago (you thought that "TheBigYin" was because I was Glaswegian ??) then it should be possible for anyone to get sorted.

Oh - and just out of interest... this was the saddle I found was the most comfortable to me back then (and still is, 12 stone lighter!) - though I'm not saying it'd work for everyone - a saddle is as much (if not more) of a personal fit item than a pair of shoes... you need to be measured up for the right size, and preferably try 'em out... All I'm saying is, it doesn't follow that bigger is better in terms of saddles.
 
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maybe the saddles at the right height, maybe the balance of the heights between "bars" and "Saddle" puts you in a different position to the bike on the road, and of course don't underestimate the fact that the bike on the road is moving, vibrating and throwing up the imperfections in the road - which I'm well aware of the fact that around birstall they are many and varied.
 
now this is what I call a challenge - hire a "Boris Bike" in london, drive it to the bottom of M. Ventoux, ride up to the summit, then get the bike back to londin within the 24 hour hire period...

 
Gary Coyle said:
Silly question time, why is it when i ride my exercise bike in the bedroom there's no pain at all
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Because it's not really riding a bike. As Mark says, there's no bumps, you're almost certainly more upright and in a quite different position. Chances are you also don't spend more than 10-15min on it (I've no idea how long you actually use it) and *generally* in those conditions most people put a lot less effort in than they do an real bike (again, that may not apply to you).
 
Nice weather on the way home yesterday. Gusting wind and rain and then I had a puncture. Whilst changing that I also noticed a broken spoke. Oh joy.
 
Or Stans, i haven't had a puncture that has stopped me since using it.
 
I haven't found anything that's really successful with high pressure road tyres to be honest - problem is, the tubes are at such high pressures the slightest nick ends up in a hole bigger than most of the latex gloops can seal successfully - then you're left with a tyre full of gunge and fitting another replacement tube at the side of the road anyway. I'm starting getting tempted by the Road Tubeless tyres for next summer though - now that Schwalbe have come up with a decent tyre... and of course the Ultegra hoops are already road-tubeless out of the box, which helps. Still the same problem with what to do if you DO puncture mind, but at least the problem of pothole snakebites is alleviated...
 
neil_g said:
i used to hate that stuff when i worked in the LBS. made a right mess of the tyre and rim on larger punctures.
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Theres always a compromise Neil, it self healed at least 4 small punctures in one tyre alone for me when i rode a while ago and was still doing its job the day i replaced the tyres due to wear after a couple of years.

Obviously if its a big puncture then nothing will work

I was also toying with the idea of those self adhesive steel or Kevlar strips you stick to the inside of the tyre
 
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I'll admit I run it in the MTB, but that's big volume tyres where there's plenty of room for a good Glug of the stuff, and they're running maybe 35-40 psi if that. On the roadbike, the tyres are much, much narrower, have lots less volume - so can take far less of the gloop without feeling like theres something sloshing about in there, and they're running maybe 110-115psi.

After one particular puncture where the entire volume of slime was ejected in a fine green spray all over the BB, Downtube, My legs, Expensive Castelli Shirt and in my face 50 miles from home, miles from anywhere, and with only electrolyte drink to wash the goop out of my nose and eyes I stopped using it on the roadbike.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Theres always a compromise Neil, it self healed at least 4 small punctures in one tyre alone for me when i rode a while ago and was still doing its job the day i replaced the tyres due to wear after a couple of years.

Obviously if its a big puncture then nothing will work

I was also toying with the idea of those self adhesive steel or Kevlar strips you stick to the inside of the tyre
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not saying you dont, but i find setting pressures correctly and running good tyres (and tubes) helps loads
 
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TheBigYin said:
I'll admit I run it in the MTB, but that's big volume tyres where there's plenty of room for a good Glug of the stuff, and they're running maybe 35-40 psi if that. On the roadbike, the tyres are much, much narrower, have lots less volume - so can take far less of the gloop without feeling like theres something sloshing about in there, and they're running maybe 110-115psi.

After one particular puncture where the entire volume of slime was ejected in a fine green spray all over the BB, Downtube, My legs, Expensive Castelli Shirt and in my face 50 miles from home, miles from anywhere, and with only electrolyte drink to wash the goop out of my nose and eyes I stopped using it on the roadbike.
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This sounds like a good reason not to use it on the road bikes. Changing a tyre actually doesn't take that long TBH but the conditions in which I had to do it were less than favourable! I am slightly concerned about the back wheel though, the spoke broke at the little nipple that holds it into the hub and some of the others are very loose. I may have to get some better, sturdier wheels on the commuter- perhaps handbuilt to my spec.
 
once one of the spokes has gone - at least in fairly "normal" wheels (i.e. not "factory - low spoke no." wheels) - say 28-32 spoke jobs, it's not unusual for quite a few spokes to be all over the shop in terms of tension. I'd also say, in my own experience at least, most of the spoke breakages on traditional wheels have been at the spoke head (the flat bit that stops it falling through the hole in the hub) because it's a) the bit where it bears against something else b) the metal of the spoke has had a lot of forming going on there, no only forming the head but curving the metal - all this can work harden/make a little brittle the metal - which is something that is usually addressed in the better (read more expensive) spokes by extra heat treatment to relieve this.

I'd have been more worried frankly had the spoke broken in the middle of the spoke - it's generally the two ends where the problems happen - at the head from material failure or poor wheelbuilding, or at the spoke thread end/nipple interface (mainly from poor wheelbuilding)

You may be surprised how the wheel will true back up with a replacement spoke fitted. Wish I lived just down the road, I'd have sorted it for you happily - I used to consider wheelbuilding a nice theraputic activity... it's not quite the same anymore, as people seem to want high tension, low spoke-count stuff that competes weight-wise with the factory stuff, and that can get a little more stressful (to both the wheel and the builder!)
 
TheBigYin said:
once one of the spokes has gone - at least in fairly "normal" wheels (i.e. not "factory - low spoke no." wheels) - say 28-32 spoke jobs, it's not unusual for quite a few spokes to be all over the shop in terms of tension. I'd also say, in my own experience at least, most of the spoke breakages on traditional wheels have been at the spoke head (the flat bit that stops it falling through the hole in the hub) because it's a) the bit where it bears against something else b) the metal of the spoke has had a lot of forming going on there, no only forming the head but curving the metal - all this can work harden/make a little brittle the metal - which is something that is usually addressed in the better (read more expensive) spokes by extra heat treatment to relieve this.

I'd have been more worried frankly had the spoke broken in the middle of the spoke - it's generally the two ends where the problems happen - at the head from material failure or poor wheelbuilding, or at the spoke thread end/nipple interface (mainly from poor wheelbuilding)

You may be surprised how the wheel will true back up with a replacement spoke fitted. Wish I lived just down the road, I'd have sorted it for you happily - I used to consider wheelbuilding a nice theraputic activity... it's not quite the same anymore, as people seem to want high tension, low spoke-count stuff that competes weight-wise with the factory stuff, and that can get a little more stressful (to both the wheel and the builder!)
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Thanks Mark. Its a fairly trad high spoke count factory wheel that came with the bike. Hopefully the LBS will stock the right spokes as it would be good to get back on the road. I can do most maintainence but I am not sure I am up to wheels! I think that dependant on weather all the bikes in the house will need a bloody good clean and lube ad general TLC.

And as for new wheels, if I got some they would be nice, tough high spoke count jobbies to survive London's roads! (And they would probably be totally not required- I suspect it is just a love of shiny things!)
 
I have to admit, I'm already plotting a pair of slightly upgraded wheels for the CaadX - probably based on the spare pair of XT 32h disc hubs I've got in the bits box, but it's thinking what rims to drop on there to allow me to drop a bit of weight from the wheels (stock rear wheel on it's own weighs around 100g more than the PAIR of Ultegra road wheels...)
 
neil_g said:
tell me about it, i keep buying lighter parts to offset things like donuts :suspect:
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That sounds familiar. When I was riding a lot more each year would see upgrades to the bike that allowed me to keep up with the other guys while maintaining the same level of fitness. Sadly eventually technology moved on beyond what I could afford. :(
 
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