I found I needed to really concentrate on my positioning, cadence, gear changing and braking, whilst simultaneously riding to the road and conditions. Add in the regular changing/rotating of riders and it’s a lot to take in. I enjoyed it but would rather ride off-road and solo but riding on the road at a decent pace in a well working group is very satisfying.
Welcome to the (often) beautiful world of club riding,the trick is to find a group that you trust completely,everyone on auto pilot,and as smooth as a smooth thing.
Then ride a Sportive with a load of 'cycle-boom social'* and Triathletes..OMFG 😉
* TiRed copyright 🤣👍
Ironically, it’s normally the ones who do *everything* themselves that cause more problems because they’ve almost invariably bodged something or used not quite the right tool or “just done that for now” or got distracted.
That'll be the "Do everything, know nothings"
My assumption is that MTBing ends up almost 1:1 riding to maintenance time once you include faffage like getting bikes in/out of cars, having to clean it, etc. Then less frequent stuff like suspension serviceing, tubeless tyres, etc.
Ride more or get better at servicing/cleaning/fixing?
I've just rehosed and refitted/filled/bled a set of brakes and replaced the (internally) routed gear cable in under an hour... Though i *do* have a decent sized workshop and near enough 35 years of spannering experience. I can even rebuild a road STI (though i'd rather not if i didn't have to).
That’ll be the “Do everything, know nothings”
The shop I worked in employed a young lad as a mechanic (mostly on the begging of his Dad and the fact that the kid was actually a good racer in the club that was sponsored by said shop).
Turned out the kid knew how to work on a very specific set of components - mostly top end ones because his Dad was rich and just bought him XTR. Anything else, he had neither the knowledge nor the interest to fix. So yeah, if it came to his own XTR, he was a decent mechanic. If it was anything else, he was rubbish. Although thankfully he'd usually just refuse to work on it rather than bodge it so at least we never had to fix his mistakes. He lasted less than a week...
There are plenty of people like that though who reckon they're good mechanics because they can fix their own bikes. Give them anything out of the ordinary and they're lost in seconds.
OP sounds like some fragments of cable are jamming the shifter. Had this with an 11 speed ultegra as well. You don’t disassemble but need to put shifter in highest gear to find the fragments.
And to the non-club naysayers., rules make you safe. But with your regular club mates, it’s like flying. Smooth is always fast. The test is whether you need to cover the brakes or can just relax. Final track accreditation this week. And the rules really matter when you are half a wheel behind and hemmed in on both sides on the blue line!
OP sounds like some fragments of cable are jamming the shifter. Had this with an 11 speed ultegra as well. You don’t disassemble but need to put shifter in highest gear to find the fragments.
Thanks. It's on my to do list for the weekend
I have a habit of riding with my hands on the flats on my 'curly' barred bikes, I have to consciously remind myself to keep my brakes covered when in a close group.
Another habit I have is to linger in a gear even when it would be better to change down one or two. Just laziness really, and probably a hangover over from my past singlespeeding.
I also struggle to judge my speed when moving to the front, I get all excited and can go too fast and end up gapping everyone from the front. Oops!
When the big diesel older riders ride on the front, especially up hill, can make it a joy to follow as they are so smooth.
I can even rebuild a road STI (though i’d rather not if i didn’t have to).
There's a bloke up there^ maybe looking for that sort of help. Just wait 'til next Monday... 🙃
I can even rebuild a road STI (though i’d rather not if i didn’t have to).
I bought a new STI shifter as it wouldn't change anymore. After fitting the new one, I was looking at the knackered one more closely and realised that one of the tiny springs had come off somehow. I managed to get it reseated after much fiddling, and it only bloody works again.
Oh well, at least I've a spare now.
On the subject of group riding plonkers...
What about those that sit in for ages then eventually take a turn, go mental cos they're well rested, break the group up then end up back at the back trying to recover. ****ts.🙄
There’s a bloke up there^ maybe looking for that sort of help. Just wait ’til next Monday… 🙃
I hope that all of you who are having such fun at my expense are going to be there for me next Sunday evening when I'm on my knees and weeping surrounded by tiny screws and bits of shifter...
We’ll set up a helpline..
I have a habit of riding with my hands on the flats on my ‘curly’ barred bikes, I have to consciously remind myself to keep my brakes covered when in a close group.
Another habit I have is to linger in a gear even when it would be better to change down one or two. Just laziness really
Cant help but feel these things are connected.
What about those that sit in for ages then eventually take a turn, go mental cos they’re well rested, break the group up then end up back at the back trying to recover. ****ts.🙄
Just let them ride off the front. They'll feel a bit silly riding alone 20 m up the road.
Another habit I have is to linger in a gear even when it would be better to change down one or two. Just laziness really
Not always. Many of my group rides are on a fixed wheel. I can't coast or surge, and the group tends to be smoother as a result. Surging on the front is often just enthusiasm. If in one line, go further on the front, not faster! That way everyone gets a workout. If in two lines, just enjoy the flow and stop thrashing 😀 Or sit 20m off the front and look silly.
We’ll set up a helpline..
'Hello Helpline. Have you tried under the sofa?' 🙃
I’m looking at my shifters and the hoods, and the towers on them are very tall.
There’s no way that the hoods are sliding over them with the levers in place. Warm water, lube, whatever, they just aren’t going to fit.
Then I found this and I’m not feeling so bad after all.
I have to consciously remind myself to keep my brakes covered when in a close group.
In a close group it's the guys who are covering their brakes that would tend to worry me, if I didn't know them.
@Kramer if you decide to go for another shifter I have a pair of force 1x hyd on eBay currently that were on a cx bike and so are cheap (for hydraulic shifters)
@shedbrewed thanks I’ll keep that in mind if I can’t get the current one working again.
the trick is to find a group that you trust completely
Not an easy trick, there's usually one or two I will avoid following the wheel of.
GPS has killed group rides, back in the day if a knobber went off the front after sitting in the ride leader would just take the next left or right untill they got the idea! Now everyone has the route so has no fear of going off the front.... Or back for that matter.
The group ride knobber I really get annoyed with is the rider who goes off the back, so I sit up and wait, they can see me looking back and matching my pace to their to get them in my wheel to take them back and then they just sprint past me and blow up again. FFS I was not dropped I slowed to help you!! Or you collect them and gently up the pace and start to take them back, you pace them for a few km's get to about 20m off the back and they sprint off your wheel to close the last bit leaving you struggling. FFS if you had energy you could have ****ing helped!!
This thread is only further enforcing my belief that road riding is utter bobbins
GPS has killed group rides, back in the day if a knobber went off the front after sitting in the ride leader would just take the next left or right untill they got the idea! Now everyone has the route so has no fear of going off the front…. Or back for that matter.
Oh no, it's an unwritten rule that there will be at least 3 fractionally different routes - someone's GPS will have recalculated, 3 people will have loaded the wrong route, one person will have reversed the route by accident, there'll be a couple of variations where the ride leader changed it 12hrs before the ride and there'll be 2 people who haven't loaded any route because they'll expect everyone else will have it...
Half the people won't be looking at the GPS anyway and will be astonished when everyone starts braking/turning.
But everyone will spend half the ride tinkering with the bloody thing to get it syncing to their power meters and other sensors.
This thread is only further enforcing my belief that road riding is utter bobbins.
Only if you are doing it wrong,refuse to spend the time learning new skills,or are just unlucky to live in an area with shite roads. 😉 🤣
Only if you are doing it wrong,refuse to spend the time learning new skills,or are just unlucky to live in an area with shite roads
The refusal to learn new skills is akin to my refusal to play golf. I'm not wasting my time learning to do something that has zero appeal
Derbyshire and the Peak have some roads that seem attractive to roadies.
Fortunately, it also has amazing trails.
Derbyshire and the Peak have some roads that seem attractive to roadies
Aye,some cracking roads around there,shame that a lot of times it's rammed with traffic,it would be offroad riding down there for me.
Glad I live in an under populated,road riding paradise. 👍 😆
Nice group of nine this morning. Ran like clockwork. What’s not to like? Tomorrow is final velodrome accreditation. Lots of rules there too but basically LOOK before you move. It’s really just about safety. It’s a potentially dangerous pursuit. My clubmate died next to me when he hit a pothole. You need some rules. But that feeling of flying along in a well drilled group with no egos is sublime. It’s what I ride club rides for.
I hope that all of you who are having such fun at my expense are going to be there for me next Sunday evening when I’m on my knees and weeping surrounded by tiny screws and bits of shifter…
Useful advice:-
Dismantle it in the biggest clear food bag that you can. It'll catch ALL the springs and widgets. And you can get your hands inside.
Ditch your watch, rings and long sleeves, you'll only snag something and flick in on the floor (i once found a pawl spring inside the cuff of my hoodie, the only weird thing is that i hadn't been fiddling with pawls that day).
Do it on a large tray on the kitchen table (stuff can't roll off, lots of light).
If your other half complains, get a more understanding better half...
@mert thanks for the constructive advice. 🙂
I actually did a bit of firkling about yesterday and the seat for the gear cable barrel end has cracked meaning that it pulls through and then comes loose when under tension, so a new shifter is needed, for which I am waiting on payday.
The upside being, I already know what’s involved in replacing the shifter now.
In the meantime it’s riding reasonably well in third from top with the top limit screw wound completely in, and my commute is (mostly) flat.