OP – I have two sets of 28mm tyres for my CX bikes and I don’t need both. There’s a pair of Continental GP 4 Seasons in almost new condition I’d sell for £35 posted, or a pair of used Specialized Armadillo something-or-others (I’ll check what they are if you’re interested in them) for £20 posted.

To answer the original question – 28mm tyres are great on a CX bike, as they provide greater comfort than narrower tyres due to the higher volume, you can run lower pressures a little more safely, plus they are great for a mix of on road/off road – a 28mm slick is fine on dry trails, bridleways and paths and gives you the best mix of a road/off road ability.

This thread really has brought out the worst of STW… what a shame.

I find the mag repetitive and boring.

Oh look, yet another 6-8 page feature comparing baggy shorts / hydration packs / softshell’s. Good grief!

And look, here’s yet another story of some ‘epic’ ride across some boring windswept, barren part of Yorkshire.

I’ve been using 711mm bars for the past 3 years on my DW Spot.

I swap it out to 745mm for uplift days and Morzine.

Cheers Warton.

HOw many food stops are there on the long route do you know? There’s no info on the Web site…

Rode 102 miles today and boy was I knackered!

Took me 9hrs too, including food stops.

I’m now worried I won’t make the cutoff time for the 244kms distance…

As several have said 11-28 is what everyone used to use in the 90’s. It was only the advent of Suntour’s MicroDrive (being the first mass market ‘compact’ groupset) that put us on the trajectory toward the gearing we have today. And IIRC even MicroDrive initially shipped with 11-28, it was only after a while they increased the rear cassette sprocket sizes.

Boy am I old – I remember when all that stuff was brand new innovation!

Think the OP sulked away in embarrassment at being such a goon.

‘Tis a wonderful feeling is it not?

I got my carbon Colnago with Campy Record out last weekend from its winter hibernation.

So fast, so smooth,

YUMMALICIOUS!

It’s a personal thing. What’s a good gear for you is not necessarily a good gear for someone else and vice versa.

If 70″ feels too big and 63″ feels right forget about everyone else…

I choose a gear in which I can maintain a smooth spin – one that’s neither straining to get over teh gear nor one that’s outspinning it.

Received email confirmation from the Organisers today, with the following info…

With this number you can pick up your identification tag and participation package at the pre-registration desk :
– On Friday 30th of March between 1 pm and 7 pm at the Qubus, Lindestraat in Oudenaarde
– On Saturday 31th of March from 7 am at the Jan Breydel Stadium, Olympialaan in Bruges (244 km) or at the Qubus, Lindestraat in Oudenaarde (138-87 km).

Bring this email with you!

But surely you have to collect your race number before you start?

Mr Agreeable – I’m also riding the full distance and not aiming for anything other than beating the cutoff too.

Maybe the STW Peloton could have some form of identification, just to say ‘Hi’.. like a ribbon or something? Mind you, the chance of spotting people among the estimated 15,000 – 20,000 participants is slim I s’pose!

Thanks plop_pants… do you mean the market square in central Burges or is there one near the start?

I’d assumed that the event started in the centre of Bruges but according to the web site the start is approx 4.5kms away: Jan Breydelstadion, Olympialaan 74, 8200 Bruges

See here http://sport.be.msn.com/cyclingtour/rondevanvlaanderen/2012/eng/praktischeinfo/

plop_pants,

What’s your advice re time to start in Bruges? Get there super early to beat the queue, or just show up and queue anyway?

I have pre-entered so assume I will need to sign on and queue rather than enter on the day.

I’m doing the full 240+kms route.

Was planning on using my CX bike, but after completing a 5hrs training ride a couple of weeks ago then switching to my carbon Colnago and doing another 5hrs ride a few days later I realised just how harsh my CX bike was and how much it beat me up compared to my road bike. So much for my theory that 28mm tyres would cushion the ride.. they obviously don’t overcome the harshness of a super-stiff frame that’s designed to be ridden for 1hr very fast.

I’ve also had a nasty 3 week cold and am now suffering neck pain – but still hoping to do the ‘Big One’ at Flanders.

I hear different things about the start in Bruges… some say don’t bother queueing – just go. Others say you must register/check in. Any advice anyone?

So who’s in the STW Peloton for Flanders/Vlaanderen?

Is it on ‘proper’ TV anywhere, i.e terrestrial channels or Sky?

Is Sunday’s race going to be on TV anywhere?

Have searched Eurosport, ITV4 etc… can’t see it being broadcast anywhere…?

So, which is it then OP… crack or sticker?

Great blog – really nice to see some riding stuff as well as the ‘gear’ stuff.

It’s a 10-15 minute job if that.

And there should be oil in both lowers.. always.

See the other post on here right now about oil in coil Totem lowers.

It’s a hypothetical question innit….(?) therefore forcing an unreal situation.

If it’s a real-life situation forced upon someone because of (a) Wifely demands/attitude (b) Inner City living (c) financial stress or something then i’d stringly suggest:

(a) slapping the bitch and telling her who’s boss

(b) moving out to somewhere better

(c) getting a better job, or a 2nd job.. or pimping the wife 😀

That’s a crack for sure.

Don’t ride it anymore. Take it back to the dealer, or contact the manufacturer/distributor.

If for mixed road & light trail use, then just use the widest road slicks you can and lower pressures. I use either Conti GP 4 Seasons in 28mm, or Specialized Armadillo something-or-others also in 28mm for 99% of the time.

For the actual CX races/trail use then Vittoria Cross XN Pros which have a centre file tread (so roll smoothly) with knobs on the sides (so grip in corners).

It would have to be a CX bike.

Can ride road, trails, everything on it.

Wouldn’t be much fun on a lot of trails, but if only 1 bike for the rest of my life… well, that wouldn’t be much fun at all.

Always a pleasure to watch that video – I love it. It’s a bit like that section in Life Cycles where the mechanic strips, cleans and services his DH rig in a workshop… some very nice little touches.

Good viewing.

So how is everybody’s training going for the RVV?

I’m entered for the full 240km’s route and unfortunately my kids very kindly shared their horrible chest infections with me 2 weeks ago and I have been out of action since, putting a big hole in my training running up to the RVV.

Who’s going this year, and how’s your training coming on?

Cheers folks..

No useful recommendations then?

Well, I liked it!

Good one Tony.

Would be nice to hear/see you doing a bit of riding and commentary on tips, position etc as well as drinking coffee! 😀

I’m doing the long one – first time too.

Watched some mates do it last year and it looked brilliant.

Yes it’ll work.

SRAM frt derailleurs are cr@p. I replaced my Force derailleur with a spare Campag one as an experiment because I was getting slow, lazy, sometimes missed front shifts. It cured it instantly.

SRAM mtb frt derailleurs have been renowned as cr@p for some time – not even close to teh shift quality of Shimano.

Just goes to show SRAM’s road derailleurs are no better really…

Crawley.

Seriously, it’s ace. I don’t live there yet (I live in a very middle-class Sussex village and my kids go to a great local school) but Crawley is where it’s at:

– For biking, they have painted several white lines down the gutter at the side of some of the main roads. And some of the estates have an excellent network of singletrack ‘rabbit runs’ used by drug dealers escaping from the Police.

– Your trials skills can be developed riding over the many trail obstacles around town (burned out cars, dumped fridges, dead people).

– Your fitness levels will improve too, as you’ll get plenty of interval training when sprinting away from gangs any Saturday night.

It has a major international airport just up the road too – so it’s easy to fly away from to go somewhere nicer, although why anyone would want to do so beats me.

SRAM DoubleTap is hard to get used to?

That’s cobblers – it took me one ride to feel at home with it. The brake hoods are very ergonomic and the lever action is great.

The only bad thing I can find is that SRAM don’t seem to know how to make front derailleurs. The shifting on the frt derailleur was lazy and sometimes wouldn’t shift completely to the big ring. This, no matter that it was perfectly – and I mean perfectly – aligned.

A quick test by swapping a spare Campag frt derailleur onto the bike and hey presto – frt shifting is perfect. SRAM have been renowned for cheesy frt derailleurs on MTB’s for some time and that appears to have carried over onto the Road side too.

Just looked – it’s on 10th June.

Info here http://www.vc-roubaix-cyclo.fr/site/

The ‘proper’ Paris-Roubaix Sportive (the one that follows the actual race route rather than the dumbed-down ASO version) is the first week of June… and costs approx £20 entry fee from what I recall.

I’m after a Soul – kinda/sorta – or a Singular.. dunno yet.

Send me some pics of yours pls.. simonpearson AT yahoo DOT com

I use a thin, flowy grease – like Manitou Prep M. I find the thicker stuff just gums up over time.

Agree with all the comments – I have a fond memoery of my mid-90s Alan Cyclocross bike – wet noodle flexy, scary forks, bond separation, heartache.

Tbh, it really was just plain old sh1t.