Love seeing the pro’s data on a good day. Shows you what the human body is capable of if you put the training in doesn’t it?

I think trail_rat speaks the truth 🙁

MOOOOOOOODDDDDSSS!!!

I don’t think the guy doing the interview had the media training the cyclists did. The truth is the truth though. Sky have a Jaguar person embedded in the team. Let’s see what his report is like tomorrow.

Here’s the link to it:

http://www.teamsky.com/features/0,27285,,00.html

I wonder what Jaguar make of team sky blaming their prestige xf for the energy gel debacle

This!

Should have got a Skoda. Or a Rolls. I hear those never break down.

Do you need to sprint for a triathlon? I thought the bike leg was basically a time trial?

If it’s time trialling then I guess you need to figure out what your sustainable power output for the duration of the triathlon distance you’re training for is.

For workout pointers then you could do worse than getting the Triathlete’s Bible by Joe Friel and reading it.

Road riding. It’s ruining my life.

Shimano M162s

At home I put the bike in the stand, grip the wheel with my legs, straighten the stem by eye as well as possible first. I then use the level to check if a line on the stem cap is in line with the head tube. There are markings on the bar to align the stem cap with the bar so that is simple to get in line.

I went through a period of thinking my bars were crooked for some strange reason. Sprit level soon confirmed they weren’t.

Because I’m a bit anal/paranoid about my stem not being straight 🙁

I didn’t take all these things. They’re just what I’d take in hindsight or if space were no object.

The cumulative fatigue over 7 days riding meant I bonked somewhere on day 5 or 6 just before lunchtime on a hike-a-bike somewhere with no real food apart from some Bloks.

I did take a spare tyre too. And my own Allen keys. I thought it’d save time on waiting for the communal tools to be free.

I made a “definitive packing list” after my trip this year. This is a no expense spared type affair mind you. This is in addition to the guide’s recommended kit list which included things like spare gear cable, multitool and so on.

Full shin-knee pads
Elbow pads with full protection
Hard panelled gloves
Sleeveless jersey
661 DH padded shorts
Glasses with clear/dark lenses
Larger Camelbak/backpack
First aid kit
Stan’s fluid
CO2 canisters
Topeak Mountain Morph pump
Bike cleaning fluid
Cleaning fluid dispenser
4 x spare inner tubes
Fork lube
Chain lube
Rags
Torque wrench
Spirit level, or just don’t bother with removing the stem/top-cap
Spare valve cores
Spare spokes
Mechanic’s wipes
Baby wipes
Recovery drink powder
Isotonic drink powder
Flapjack bars
Man-servant if he is willing to travel in economy class

New to road racing and tactics, so please be gentle.

Aren’t Sky in a position of weakness because they now only have one GC hope and no backup? If Froome doesn’t get injured in the next 2 weeks then fine. But Saxo-Tinkoff, Movistar and Belkin have 6 riders in total in the top 10.

Hypothetically, what is to prevent those 3 teams (and maybe some of the lesser teams) from saying, ok we’ll all ride as one “super-team” to deliver our 3 GC contenders to the finish ahead of Sky, see how much time we can take back from Froome, and if/when he cracks we’ll make it a free for all having eliminated him from the podium or something?

Also, has anyone ever deliberately taken out a rival team’s GC rider/teammates and what has the penalty been?

D’OH! Cheers 🙂

24?

Where do you buy your oil from? The missus has a set of Rebas that could also use a service.

@djglover thinking about upgrading to see how long I spend in my targeted zone as a runner. I think you’ve convinced me to give it a go for at least a couple of months.

Look at it this way. The monthly sub is close to the price of a pint. Even if it gives you a 1% improvement over a year then it’d be worth it.

116km with 868m of climbing today. Partly fun, partly for training. I run 3 times a week in training for a half-marathon to raise money for a hospice that helped a good friend through cancer before he passed away. The goal is to run it in sub 2 hours.

I like road riding, but mountain biking is what puts the grin on my face. Would probably run less if not for the half marathon. Used to go to the gym a couple of times a week too, but have sacked that off to do more road riding.

Used to play tennis pretty seriously but the cost of membership and the time investment mean that does not happen any more. Would swim too, but council pool has been demolished and I cannot afford £80 a month for swanky gym membership. Bike riding will do for now, but I have no idea how I’d fit other stuff in even if I could afford to.

It’s all relative really. The more serious you get about something the more you start to compare yourself to the people above you. I’m trying to ride 1000km and run 100km a month, but I see guys around me who’re doing twice that and it’s inspiring/mind-boggling.

Sportful. You can even get the Saxo Tinkoff versions without the garish branding!

Probike Kit were doing a 25% off sale a while ago. Done a couple of long rides in them and perfect from the first second.

Stringer Bell!

If you have a Garmin and an e-mail address then I can provide you with the route I use.

There are a couple of dual carriageways on it, but I don’t feel unsafe on them. It is about 65km to Box Hill and 35km back to RP.

Was quite intrigued by people talking about where to ride. The first two years of my road riding I rode exclusively on the drops. In the last year or so, I’ve started to ride almost exclusively on the hoods with the drops for descending and sprinting. Incidentally, the last year was when I decided to dedicate more time to road riding.

Watching the TdeF today it seems almost all the pros are in the drops. Interesting the things you pick up when you’re looking for them.

I’m not sure there is a right or wrong way. The hoods certainly feel more comfortable these days to me, but after this exchange here on STW I may just experiment with more time on the drops and see how it feels.

Is that Kitsbow site a serious one?

54cm frame.

I’m yet to notice any drawbacks though. What should I look out for?

Cheers guys. I have a follow up with the bike fit man on Friday so I’ll test with spacers removed prior and see what the analysis comes up with once I’m there.

The main reason I swapped to the 90mm stem was so I could reach the brakes when on the hoods better. It wasn’t much of an issue on anything under 30km, but on longer rides my arms got really stiff. If the Deda bar will solve my reach problem with the brakes then I will look into that too.

Interested in knowing how height affects things.

It has eliminated of the elbow stiffness and sorted the reach while on the hoods with the 110mm stem. Could maybe get away with 100mm, but the 90mm stem was a Ritchey WCS 4-Axis one I had lying around doing nothing so a good use for it.

Been on the 90mm for a week with a 156km ride yesterday and a couple of 50km+ rides too and it feels fine going up and down so I’ll keep it for now. Got some Easton EA70 bars lying around too which need to go on at some point.

2 spacers right now and I am violating all over Rule #45’s face.

Any advantages when not in the drops? Perhaps something comfort related?

But if I take the spacers my Garmin won’t fit!

Alright, I’ll stop being a lazy git and do it.

Still interested in knowing if there are any measurable advantages though. I don’t want to do it just because it looks “Pro”.

@zilog6128 the drops position is pretty comfy already, but I will check that too.

Have you tried the sites where a mate has to write their profile up? This way you know they:

– Have at least one friend.
– That friend cares enough about them to write/lie about them in order for them to score.

Works quite well that stuff!

The picture thing cuts both ways though. I know mates who’re using pictures of themselves from over a year ago. Though it’s the “tactical crop” that’s the killer apparently.

Used to go running there and Nike Combat base layer only and some X-Bionic underpants under my shorts and Alpkit Coolmax socks were fine for me. Mind you, I only ever ran between 0500 – 0700 in the mornings though. They were ok for the one long run I did at midday, but I have a decent amount of heat tolerance.

It’s the humidity that kills you. It’s like breathing soup sometimes.

BTW: would you email me Dana? My email address is in my profile.

You’ve got mail!

Can understand the toe clips because people don’t want to change shoes, but not sure why they’d put MTB SPDs on it. Unless I’m misunderstanding something and you’re implying road SPD-SL cleats will fit?

Bog standard MTB SPDs? Ok, I will give them a shot.

Wondering what the rationale of putting MTB SPDs on a Wattbike was, seeing as it’s mostly used by roadies.

Shoes, insoles maybe and if you can use the money towards a bike fit then great!

Any boutique US/Canadian frame seems to just have the $ replaced with a £ sign. I’d be riding a Mojo HDR if I was coming through that way!

boxelder – Member
The best clue is the look of incomprehension as he patiently sits waiting while the lad plays on his game box.
Taller shadow
Lifting him up to the crossbar
You’re getting better when chucking stones
Doubled over knackered after running
Carefully measuring the squash for correct 1:10 blend

The reflection in the mirror on the stairs when he’s carrying the kid up to the bedroom.

Ha! Did not! But I have purchased a brown pair of Sombrios for the return trip next year! Plan is to actually let go of the brakes this time.

I’m guessing this is so you can match your bike? 😀

Those TLD ones I was sporting in Spain were great. The mud never comes out though. You’d better enjoy the first time you wear them because they’ll never be that clean again.

Had a stack on a muddy day the day after Spain here, and it now looks like I have pooped myself when I wear them! Don’t do it man. Unless you can get them real cheap.

By the way, trying to convince the missus to do the GWR sportive. Maybe I will see you guys for that ride soon!

Savlon, and don’t scratch.

@Mattk24

I did last month.

You’re correct. You can take a bike bag as part of your luggage allowance. However, you are only allowed one piece of checked in luggage and if you check in a bike bag then that’s that gone. This is on Economy.

Their hand luggage allowance is fairly generous. So you could try fitting your other items for your holiday into it.

Charges for exceeding the allowance (23kg) is a bit hit and miss too. We got charged out of the UK, but not inbound from Malaga. However, two guys on the same flight who checked in earlier weren’t charged despite their bags being over the limit both ways.

Tips:
– If you’re going with a mate then club together and get a spare piece of checked in luggage with all your kit in it.
– You can take your helmet in your hand luggage. Or at least I did with no problems.
– Baggage check in may be more lenient if you’re early.
– Definitely worth looking into whether you can go Club like the above has suggested.
– If you pay for banking with Barclays then you may be allowed to use the airport lounge.

Do both and I love both.

Road biking is fun in a group and on my own for me. MTB is more fun with my mates.

I think the reason I enjoy it is because I can fire up the map, look at a place 200km away and go “I could ride there”. It’s freedom. and it’s completely under your own power.

Plus with the road bike you have all the training metric geekery. Simpler to measure your improvements on it too if you ride solo a lot.

Saw a bloke wander out of my lbs today with a Scott Frameset. Bet it was one of you lot!

Is the Addict with SRAM Red still a good bike? Been looking at it and the Canyon Ultimate CF. Never used SRAM before, so wondering if it will be worth a punt. Price is about the same.