Cycling

[illdecide]

Guys all i have is summer gear..can someone give me an idea of the gear i'll need for cycling in the colder weather.

On another note, went out on Sunday for a we spin and everything was grand until half way thru i hit a bit of heavy drizzle around Belfast and all of a sudden it was like an ice rink. About 3-4 times i nearly came of the bike with the front wheel giving way, the tyre pressure was about 100-110 and certainly not bald either. I actually had to go around a roundabout about 10mph just to stay on my bike. Got 10 mile down the road and it had dried up and everything was grand.

Do i need different tyres for winter?
Was that a one off or was it just the drizzle instead of proper rain?

It certainly made me think a lot more about cycling in the winter...

[Mayo4Sam]

I use the same tyres winter and summer. Just make sure your tyres are new coming into winter, it's a lot easier to change a puncture in the sun when you can feel ur hands.

As for gear, I would typically wear
Cap, light but enough to stop u feeling a cold wind
Gloves - light long fingered ones under my cycling gloves. Then as it gets colder I've heavy duty claw ones, saw them in Aldi last week. Vital!

Under armour, cycling top, then I've a great Castelli Gabba jacket but that's the rolls Royce, a heavy breathable cycling jacket will do the job. And a light rain mack, v light for me. If it goes through that I'll just a have another under armour on to keep the core warm.

I use leg warmers, others use long legged shorts. Whatever floats ur boat.

Most vitally a decent pair of shoe covers, mine are pretty much wellies, thick neoprene, nothing will make a ride miserable quicker than cold feet. With these they'll be wet but warm

Keeping warm is vital for enjoying winter spins

[laoislad]

Has anyone tried Zwift?

[JimStynes]

Has anyone tried Zwift?

No but should have it set up in a few weeks!

[laoislad]

Has anyone tried Zwift?

No but should have it set up in a few weeks!

It looks class doesn't it.
Hope to have it set up myself over weekend, the turbo trainer I ordered arrived this morning.
We could start a tour de gaaboard on zwift!

[Mayo4Sam]

What's zwift?

[laoislad]

Basically its online virtual cycling.
www.zwift.com

[Never beat the deeler]

Completed my longest ever cycle at the weekend, and followed it up by repeating the feat the following day. The event was the Ride to Conquer Cancer, and took place in Perth. 105km on day 1 in temperatures that reached over 30 degrees and 100km day 2 in a mild 24deg.

Event was really well organised, with traffic controllers at dangerous junctions and plenty of pit stops, food, water, electrolytes etc.
I only started cycling this year so wasn't sure what to expect and delighted to have come through the other side.

I have been cycling with toe clips, so next step for me is to get a pair of cycling shoes and cleats, but I have no idea where to start. Can anyone give me any pointers? Don't want to spend a whole pile, maybe second hand. What type of cleats are best for beginners? Do all shoes work with all cleats? Are hybrid pedals common?

Thanks in advance

[bennydorano]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-r540-spd-sl-sport-pedals/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&sku=5360091204&ci_src=18615224&ci_sku=5360091204uk&utm_source=google&utm_term&utm_campaign=UK_PLA_Components&utm_medium=base&utm_content=s_dm%7cpcrid%7c71395610942%7cpkw%7c%7cpmt%7c%7cprd%7c5360091204uk

You can buy the same system of pedal in rising quality from £25 to £150 odd, the link is the entry level model & do your job. The cleats come with the pedals & as long as your cycling shoes can take the 3 bolt system that's you - think all shoes pretty much do.

[grounded]

Completed my longest ever cycle at the weekend, and followed it up by repeating the feat the following day. The event was the Ride to Conquer Cancer, and took place in Perth. 105km on day 1 in temperatures that reached over 30 degrees and 100km day 2 in a mild 24deg.

Event was really well organised, with traffic controllers at dangerous junctions and plenty of pit stops, food, water, electrolytes etc.
I only started cycling this year so wasn't sure what to expect and delighted to have come through the other side.

I have been cycling with toe clips, so next step for me is to get a pair of cycling shoes and cleats, but I have no idea where to start. Can anyone give me any pointers? Don't want to spend a whole pile, maybe second hand. What type of cleats are best for beginners? Do all shoes work with all cleats? Are hybrid pedals common?

Thanks in advance

Loads of different pedal/cleat systems out there. Easiest to break them down into mountain bike and road bike types. Mountain bike e.g. shimano spd. The cleats fit into a recess on the sole of the shoe held by 2 bolts. It's relatively easy to walk around in the shoes. The basic spd pedal itself can be engaged from either side and u can tighten/loosen the tension by adjusting a screw.  There are other types of spd pedal including one with both a platform and an engaging cleat side so you could use normal runners as well if you didn't want to use the spd shoe. You can also use this system on road bikes. Having the advantage of being clipped in but also allowing u to walk around normally if you want to nip to cafe etc.
      Road bike 3 bolt cleat systems shimano spd-sl, look keo, speedplay etc. I'm familiar with spd-sl. The cleat is much wider as is the pedal. The cleat is not recessed so tricky to walk around on and if u do u will wear/damage cleat. You can only click in on one side . The pedal offers a bigger platform to push/pull on and supposedly is better for efficiency than say spd. I've used both on a road bike and tbh I haven't noticed a big difference but then I'm no pro.
        The spd dual pedal cleat system is around £20 and a shimano spd shoe £60+. £25+ for basic spd-sl and again 60+ shoes.
       

[JimStynes]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2016-tour-de-france-route-revealed/

Hopefully get to ride some of the TdF route next year!

[Never beat the deeler]

Cheers bennyd and grounded. Plumped for an entry level pair of dhb shoes and shimano SPD SL pedals.

I'm hoping this sorts out some of my form problems. My ITBs get sore cos I think my toes are pointed out too far (every now and again my heel clips the crank or the chain stay).

Will probably get used to these for a few weeks and get signed in for a proper bike fit.

[illdecide]

The bike fit was the best thing i've done in cycling. No more sore back & pain in left knee went too, £99 was expensive but def worth imo

[grounded]

Cheers bennyd and grounded. Plumped for an entry level pair of dhb shoes and shimano SPD SL pedals.

I'm hoping this sorts out some of my form problems. My ITBs get sore cos I think my toes are pointed out too far (every now and again my heel clips the crank or the chain stay).

Will probably get used to these for a few weeks and get signed in for a proper bike fit.

Don't forget to put a small amount of grease on the bolts. Small guide to fitting here
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/bike-fit/cleats-explained-how-to-set-them-up-correctly-23575

Oh and your guaranteed to fall off once or twice until you get the hang of them. Have the pedal's tension on their loosest setting to start with and practice unclipping against a wall/fence for a while.

[bennydorano]

Invested in a set of Fulcrum Zeros, was talked out of the deep rimmed racing wheels i'd been keen on - by a man whose expertise I would trust I might add. Roll on Springtime.