Cycling

[andoireabu]

Cheers for the info.  Living in the republic at the minute so don't know if the scheme here would cover buying a bike up north. I'll have to see. At least I have a starting point now anyway.

[grounded]

Anybody on here have a carrera bike of have experience of them? I am looking at getting a good value starter bike and saw there is a good sale in halfords at the minute. 50% off the one I was looking at and with the bike to work scheme it would be cheaper again. I have read reviews on them but when you don't know who is writing them I would be weary of them.  The people on here seem to know a lot more so thought I would ask.  I wouldn't be looking to race properly or anything but I have half an eye on a triathlon so something comfortable and good enough to train on would do.

I have a Carrera TDF which I bought about 2 years ago as a starter bike. Its fairly heavy but is fairly bombproof and I've put up a few thousand miles on it without any major problems. After about a year I bought a new carbon bike which is much nicer to ride but I still use the Carrera in the winter.
            If I was to do it again I'd spend a little more on a better bike to start with.
Also be aware Halfords regularly have these ' sales ' on so don't be rushed into buying right now. Looking at their website there is no way I'd be paying the £500 or £600 for one of those. They do a Boardman Team carbon for a £1000, but if you get it on one of their sales you could pick it up for £650-700 and it is an excellent bike for that money.
     A friend of mine bought that Alur 700 from decathalon and I have to say its an excellent bike. 

[bennydorano]

Thinking of flogging my Winter bike andoireabu - a 2year old Carbon Ribble 365, with full shimano105 groupset, 10speed (bar a tiagra deep drop rear brake), has a Mavic Equipe front wheel (2 yr old) & a Aksium rear wheel(6 months old). Compact chainset with climbing friendly cassette. If you are in round 6ft, could be one for you, i've mudguards for it for winter and have rode it without them in spring & summer. Nippy bike. Would be looking £400ish

[andoireabu]

Thinking of flogging my Winter bike andoireabu - a 2year old Carbon Ribble 365, with full shimano105 groupset, 10speed (bar a tiagra deep drop rear brake), has a Mavic Equipe front wheel (2 yr old) & a Aksium rear wheel(6 months old). Compact chainset with climbing friendly cassette. If you are in round 6ft, could be one for you, i've mudguards for it for winter and have rode it without them in spring & summer. Nippy bike. Would be looking £400ish

I'll have a think about that and get back to you benny.  Going to see if work will do the bike to work scheme first but if you get other interest in the meantime sell away at it. Might know a few cycling heads who would be interested in that though if i decide on something else

[illdecide]

Can a loose spoke be tightened or does it have to be replaced, if it can be tightened how is it done

[maddog]

Can a loose spoke be tightened or does it have to be replaced, if it can be tightened how is it done

It can be tightened using a spoke key but you need the right one.
http://www.acycles.co.uk/bike-original-spoke-key-6370.html?utm_source=google_produit_cpc&gclid=CPuA5u7T18QCFSMOwwodvgQAug
Also you need to be careful you dont actually start to buckle the wheel by overtightening. Look up wheel truing on youtube. Its easy enough when you know what you are doing. Is the wheel out of line when you spin it ? You can test this by tightening up the brakes and seeing is there are certain point on the wheel were it touches the brake blocks. See if any of the other spokes are loose around it as well. If there are you tighenen every second spoke half a turn to pull the rim away from where it is rubbing, thats if it is. To get a wheel tuned up shouldnt cost any more than a tenner.

[Denn Forever]

Can a loose spoke be tightened or does it have to be replaced, if it can be tightened how is it done

It can be tightened using a spoke key but you need the right one.
http://www.acycles.co.uk/bike-original-spoke-key-6370.html?utm_source=google_produit_cpc&gclid=CPuA5u7T18QCFSMOwwodvgQAug
Also you need to be careful you dont actually start to buckle the wheel by overtightening. Look up wheel truing on youtube. Its easy enough when you know what you are doing. Is the wheel out of line when you spin it ? You can test this by tightening up the brakes and seeing is there are certain point on the wheel were it touches the brake blocks. See if any of the other spokes are loose around it as well. If there are you tighenen every second spoke half a turn to pull the rim away from where it is rubbing, thats if it is. To get a wheel tuned up shouldnt cost any more than a tenner.

Get someone who knows how to do it.  Severe chances of f&&king up the balance of the wheel if you just tighten on spoke too much.

[LeoMc]

Some serious value carbon frames on PlanetX at the minute http://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/road-bikes/pro-carbon

[Orior]

Has anyone cycled the Ulster Canal towpath? Where is the best place to start for traffic free cycling on it? How does it compare to the Portadown to Newry towpath?

[bennydorano]

I see someone stole your Garmin and cycled 60 odd miles the other day Orior, eh?

[illdecide]

3rd time out yesterday (this year), a new guy has joined our we group and he had us all blowing out of our asses. Only done 30 mile yesterday but it was tough (1hr 50mins), the fecker never let up and we'd to stop 3 times to let one of our men catch up who kept falling behind anytime we hit a serious hill. To tell you the truth I didn't enjoy it much yesterday but i'll put that down to the fitness and the pace...

[Orior]

I see someone stole your Garmin and cycled 60 odd miles the other day Orior, eh?

Emm, yeah, forget to hit the finish button before I hopped in the car, lol

[JimStynes]

3rd time out yesterday (this year), a new guy has joined our we group and he had us all blowing out of our asses. Only done 30 mile yesterday but it was tough (1hr 50mins), the fecker never let up and we'd to stop 3 times to let one of our men catch up who kept falling behind anytime we hit a serious hill. To tell you the truth I didn't enjoy it much yesterday but i'll put that down to the fitness and the pace...

Wouldnt worry! If he was showing off then he is a dick! Tell him to go race in the local club races not out with a bunch of mates. He should have went on and pushed himself on after he left you boys if he wanted to work on his fitness. I use a heart rate monitor now. Once you learn your HR Zones then you can see if you're going too hard and you will blow up eventually. For example if I am pushing hard and my HR is at 175 then I know I can only sustain that for 20mins before I am busted.  Some of the more serious or racing men in here might be able to advise you better.

Went up Mt Teide in Tenerife on Monday there, 67 mile with about 40 of it just a constant climb. I found it very tough! Absolutely relentless. I've never experienced that sort of constant climbing before. Gradient wasn't a problem it was the length that killed me.  I was starving for the last 10 mile, one of the fellas I was sticking with was hungry from about the 20 mile mark. He ended up in the broom wagon with 5k from the top. Devastating for him. I learned loads from the experience though:
- I need to eat more while on the climb. I was like a different man when I got some food and coke into me at the top.
- I will definitely be going for 50 34 and 11-32 gear ratio for La Marmotte!
- I am a pussy while descending, although I was still going near 40mph at times. Some of the others were just diving into corners and flying down the mountain.
- I need to shift a good stone and half at least. Carrying that weight up a long climb will soon wear you out!
- I need more climbing miles in the legs. I would go ride 80-100 mile tomorrow at an average of about 17mph but this was totally different than I have ever done. Don't know how you could prepare for that at home though.
- Pros are amazing! I don't know how they do that for their job. Bound to be easier ways of making money than that.
- The guide was a semi pro who rides a Wilier zero 7. I now want that bike as well as a Colnago C60 Italia. haha

A great experience and a massive wake up call for La Marmotte.

Team Sky, Orica, Saxo and Katusha all passed us at different stages. Nibali is in Tenerife at the moment as well. The guide was saying that it was well known that the pros are over there doping as they are so slack with controls on the island! So basically they get doped up at altitude and then go back to micro dosing throughout the year in mainland europe.

[bennydorano]

Looked a beast of a climb from the Strava data, no idea how i would cope with something like that tbh. At least it looked like a climb that you could get into a rythymn on, nothing worse than a big climb with the incline % all over the shop.

[JimStynes]

Looked a beast of a climb from the Strava data, no idea how i would cope with something like that tbh. At least it looked like a climb that you could get into a rythymn on, nothing worse than a big climb with the incline % all over the shop.

There is nothing like it at home to even begin to try and replicate it. All our climbs are short and sharp that leave you out of breath but recover soon after. I wasn't out of breath once but my legs were just getting weaker and weaker and the climb just kept going and going. It's hard to imagine you can climb for nearly 40 mile! I was 10 times better today! Last full day tomorrow out here so going to try and squeeze in another 30 or 40 mile with a bit of climbing!