[Closed] So I want to try road racing + build a bike specifically for this

Works for me!

Yep showing now mate. Very smart!

Can anyone advise the current STW 25mm tubeless tyre of choice for such bicycles...?
Ta!

For racing, Schwalbe Ones are the defacto choice. I preferred the first generation for robustness.

@rawka - congrats!!
@tomvet - bike looks really nice, you've proper slammed that stem!!

@epicsteve - that's for 105, I want Ultegra - so £429 for 4iiii or £455 for stages g2.

I decided against the powerpod, I want something I can use indoors as well as outdoors to monitor my fitness levels (FTP tests throughout the year). No rush though as I don't plan on doing a FTP for a while.

@epicsteve - that's for 105, I want Ultegra - so £429 for 4iiii or £455 for stages g2.

You can fit the 105 arm on an Ultegra chainset if you're not a tart...

Evans have an ex display Ultegra Stages (in a 170mm)

https://www.evanscycles.com/stages-power-meter-ultegra-6700-ex-demo-ex-display-EV299582

You can fit the 105 arm on an Ultegra chainset

Wash your mouth out!

You can fit the 105 arm on an Ultegra chainset if you're not a tart..

Cheers TiRed...no issue with 25s on propels is there?
And I'm guessing 28s is wishful thinking....
Cheers!

I'm a tart ^^ 😆

(with clinical OCD 😳 )

I couldn't possibly comment or poor Nath is going to get a complex 😆

I'm interested to see what he thinks of my* build of the same frame- it's going to be farmer-chic 😀

*well, his advice 😉

Okay, just got the email about the weekend. Only 3 4th cats in the race....

It's clockwise!!!! Never ridden that way around before...

And I've just spotted Rupert from Sigma Sport (the machine) is in the race too!

Now I'm nervous! 😆

that will make the right hander by the clubhouse quite quick then as you've come down the slope and gained speed

Cheers TiRed...no issue with 25s on propels is there?
And I'm guessing 28s is wishful thinking....
Cheers!

25's fit fine. Most 28s will not go under the straddle wire for the brake. I've not tried my Schwalbe G One Speed (30c but really a 28 on Ksyriums). That said, the Giant rims are wider, and 25c Vittoria Open Corsa G+ come out as almost as wide and are lovely to ride on. I raced over some miserable Surrey Roads on mine on Saturday, and they were a fabulous (and popular) choice).

Think I won't be free on Saturday for Hillingdon. We hve a few rides and one chasing single point for second cat. I may come up later to fettle the TT bike.

25's fit fine. Most 28s will not go under the straddle wire for the brake. I've not tried my Schwalbe G One Speed (30c but really a 28 on Ksyriums). That said, the Giant rims are wider, and 25c Vittoria Open Corsa G+ come out as almost as wide and are lovely to ride on. I raced over some miserable Surrey Roads on mine on Saturday, and they were a fabulous (and popular) choice).

Cheers TiRed! Just looked up the corsas....Holy moly they don't come cheap in tubeless..!

I bought mine at the Ride London Vittoria stand and they were £35 each. These are the non tubeless G+ Corsa's and they are a very popular choice in the peloton. I ran Open Paves the winter before, and that included road racing, and they are very good tyres too.

The Corsa Speed Tubeless I've just fitted to my TT wheels are strictly NOT for road racing, only available in 23c and as fragile as eggshells! The tubeless option is designed to get you to the finish if/when you've punctured/shredded the sidewalls, in the hope that the lowest tested rolling resistance has saved you enough watts to get a PB (maybe).

I've got tubeless rims.... perhaps I should have looked at tubeless tyres over GP's ??

Tubeless comes across as a PITA for not much gain?

I was thinking if I ran them with no fluid it would be a lot lighter???

Idly reading this as I've a hankering to try road racing (which would need a new bike!) and can chip in on tubeless: I find my schwalbe S-ones dont hold air (on stans Iron Cross cx tubeless wheels as I've roadised my cx bike for the next few months) anything like as well as MTB tyres. Have to pump up before every ride, normally lost ~10PSI. So I'd not recommend no sealant.
Can't see why it's a pain in the arse though?

Some riders are using Schwalbe Ones tubeless, particularly in road races for fear of punctures (or pinch flats due to potholes). With sealant. I just ride with a tube and CO2. The best organised races have a service car, of course, but I still take my 80 mm valved tube and CO2.

Ferrals, you really don't need a road bike unless your cross bike has disc brakes. Here's one I raced earlier - attacking off the bunch to try and bridge to a break (in case you were wondering)

[img] ?oh=c002ef0d386a6d164e79103c0e3cf6b3&oe=595FEABB[/img]

Look at that tyre clearance 😯 running 25c Vittoria Open Pave 25c in the last Winter Series race (ever)

Ferrals, you really don't need a road bike unless your cross bike has disc brakes

That is the problem bloody uci rules 😆 maybe next year!

TiRed, thanks for the heads up (again!), It sounds like I may be better off with the schwalbe then..I've got the 28mm pro ones on my focus (discs hence the propel purchase) which i like, so may well stick with those....Decisions, decision...!

Well you can always fit a different fork, add some long drop calipers, remove the disks and away you go 😉 . Always a way 😈 Or borrow one of mine provided you are local.

I ran 25C Schwalbe Ones for two seasons on my Propel 1. Great tyres. I just fancied a change to Paves for winter, liked the feel, so went for Corsa G+ last summer. For tubeless, I'd definitely go with Pro Ones in 25c, as plenty of others in the peloton have already.

@tired - wow that's incredibly generous!

Okay so I ordered a power meter yesterday, hopefully it arrives before 12:30 so I can fit it for the race! Yeah I should have ordered it a few days ago 😆

Today's objectives in order:
- Finish without being dropped or crashing
- Get used to riding backwards (clockwise)
- Finish in the top 20 (78 in the field)
Anything else is a bonus!

Good luck to all those racing today.

Good luck mate- you'll smash it! May have to do a little less 'Nathing' now mind you 😉

I'm looking forward to watching 🙂

Pressure!!!

@tired - wow that's incredibly generous!

That's the beauty of having plenty of road bikes and not worrying about them 😉 . I can easily put out five race bikes at an hour's notice and have another stored away from home. Two belong to the teens, but being the same standard Medium size, they are very adaptable!

Good luck this afternoon. Just enjoy it and try and stay top third - no hanging at the back in these races please! BTW I went last night for a quick Powerpod calibration, and OMG was it windy!!! Huge gusts across the field, it's a bit tamer now, but may not suit those 60 mm deep section wheels (I was struggling on 45mm).

I may be up later due to a change of family plans, as I'd like to calibrate my TT bike again. And just gain a bit more confidence in my position and the tubeless tyres.

Nath is looking very chilled at the back of a huge bunch. Rupert Graham and 2 others are 30 seconds off the front...

Meh - today was a learning curve. Felt like my first race all over again. Tactics from cat 4 didn't work, the circuit is weird the other way around and 80 felt like way too many people!

Took a few pics of the 4s and women's: https://m.facebook.com/nath89/albums/10158347738815557/?ref=bookmarks

I was pleased with my race.

My one goal was to 'not be a victim' and I certainly managed that- even when I did get punched and F'd at by a Henley rider for a Twickenham riders mistake!!

I soon caught him up, put a hand on his shoulder and firmly put him in his place though!!!!

Anyway, got boxed in on the last two corners and had to 'go' twice on my sprint so finished 18/44.

I had energy to spare though which is annoying!!

18th, that's bloody great fella!

Thanks!! Better than that though, I felt great!!
I had a game plan of sticking around 10th-15th wheel and managed it easily. The couple of times I did slide back, I was able to get back up to the front with ease.

My strength today was cornering. Thanks to TiRed's tips, I just blazed it past people through Brian's Bends every lap.

I'm gutted I let my positioning slide towards the end- if I'd known I was going to feel so good afterwards, I'd have pushed harder with 2 to go.

Tactics from cat 4 didn't work

What did you expect? It's a race 😉 . And yes it'as a new game. When I (finally) graduated to 3rd Cat, I'd raced so many Vets races there was no learning curve, the tactics were unchanged, just the pace.

when I did get punched and F'd at by a Henley rider

I did mention it to the Comm at the end of the 2,3,4 race but he didn't mention sanctioning him? To be honest, I'd already sorted it out with him and he had the grace to apologise so I'm not overly keen to make a fuss.

About 3 guys were like "Hey! That wasn't even your fault???" when it happened. And the Henley rider was half-wheeling me in my blind spot. I guess people's judgement gets skewed when their blood is up!

Congrats CH, hopefully next week you'll have the new bike and be in the top 10! Tactics worked really well!

I don't think I'm going to race next weekend, but I'm hopefully going to come and see you guys in action (with the camera) - I may borrow a bigger lens too haha.

Thanks Nath!
I have a tougher training week pencilled in for this week so I'm not expecting to be as fresh as today.

I should be excited I guess but now the dust has settled- I'm full of what-ifs 🙂

Guys, what is there I can put in my bottle to replicate the sugar hit of a gel?
I didn't run a bottle yesterday which wasn't an issue hydration wise but if I wanted a concentrated slug of energy without messing around with gel wrappers, what could I use?

@CH 250ml of energy drink will give roughly the same carb intake as a gel and be absorbed just as fast.

Thanks Fifeandy. I don't really know my energy products. Any recommendations?

@CH I've been using these in my water (got a couple of boxes in my batch):
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/science-in-sport-go-electrolyte-sachets-box-of-18-x-40g/

Think it's the same as this: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/science-in-sport-go-electrolyte-16kg/

Thanks Nath- I'll order some up!

Everyone was popping gels with 5 to go yesterday which I would imagine is too late??

I was thinking of my usual start line gel and then a slug of magic drink at a lull close to half way. As much for the mental boost as anything.....

TiRed - Member
Well you can always fit a different fork, add some long drop calipers, remove the disks and away you go . Always a way Or borrow one of mine provided you are local.

Thanks for the offer! Not local to you guys though. Realistically it's not something I have time to dabble in at the mo anyway, enough on my cycling plate with xc and cx 🙂

CH - I use lemon and lime, it's perfectly drinkable.

Personally I think 5 to go is too late? I have one 5 mins before the race and use that energy drink during - has worked so far.

On a side note the amount of cat 2/3 lobbing empty gels into the bushes was disgusting - should be DQ'd IMO.