Cheers both- good point on the limit/B screws, I will investigate further. I can’t get the bike in the stand til later but will have a proper look then.

If its not normal to need to adjust rear mech after replacing the cranks I’ll investigate the rear mech further and consider it a coincidence, as Cynic-al says.

No, cranks/chainring etc all like-for like.

The limit screws were set correctly less than 2 months ago so even if its possible that they could drift over time (and I’m not sure they ever really do?) I deffo don’t think they would drift or loosen over the course of a handful of rides.

I don’t think I would (live somewhere where the riding is rubbish)…it seems like something you can’t really put a price on. Even if I go through stages of my life where I’m not riding, the knowledge that I could take it up again at any point I wished would be worth a lot to me.

That said, I only really road ride now so its not like I’d need to live somewhere of outstanding beauty, would only need to live within 35-40mins “commute” to some country lanes, though I would want some hills too.

I live in South Manchester so the peaks and cheshire lanes aren’t far away but if it was up to me I’d probably move somewhere where I could pretty much ride from the door, like Lancashire or Bowland. My wife is a city girl though so can’t justify moving just to improve my sunday bike rides or whatever.

I wonder if you’re going to regret offering this AMA but here’s another one…if I smash out a load of V02 max intervals on the turbo trainer and then can’t sleep all night afterwards, how annoyed should I be?

Like have I just cancelled out all my hard-worked for fitness gains from that session or is it merely the case that I will have benefitted slightly less than if I’d slept really well?

My old A-level English teacher once claimed that despite the fact dreams can seem like they last ages, they actually in reality never last longer than about 7 seconds…do you reckon that’s true or was he talking utter bull**it?

Fair play and kudos to anyone who achieves this all outdoors. I guess we all enjoy cycling in different ways but everything about it sounds completely awful to me.

Devil’s advocate here but the writing didn’t exactly strike me as world-beating and potentially someone may be adept at explaining something in written form and poor at verbally expressing themselves, especially if they’re young.

On the other hand, yeah they probably used ChatGPT. I mean if you’ve no way of ascertaining this, not surprising that’s what they’ve done.

My wife has been struggling with it for probably 4 weeks now and had some brutal coughing fits, seems to just be starting to get better after a month or so

Not sure how long your usual rides are but I would just tell myself that next time I go out, it will be 60mins easy or an easy ride around my short local loop (for me that would be 90mins). Maybe even the next 2 or 3 rides.

Most likely once you’ve got out the door once or twice you’ll establish some sort of pattern again.

I think if weightlifters have an absence they sometimes re-start by doing some reps where they dry-lift just the bar without the weights attached to get their form right and rehearse the movement before they add the weight?

I might have just dreamed that up but feel in a similar way a couple of easy short loops to rehearse getting out the door could get your mind into a place where you feel psyched about getting out again?

I don’t really like Christmas Day itself all that much as I find it drags after like 1pm (I don’t have kids btw) but usually getting out and doing something is off the agenda if we’re stuck with relatives.

I’d say I like the festive period overall quite a lot though, and always enjoy Christmas Eve beers in the pub somewhere or beers with whoever’s left in the office on the last day of work.

Like most people, I could do with it starting in December and not like end of October but fighting a losing battle there really.

I used to go to one on the Wattbikes in the velodrome in Manchester and really enjoyed it. Hard to justify now that I have a dedicated turbo trainer and bike in the spare room at home but I agree the social/class/shared element of it is really good fun.

I think some people overestimate how clear and understandable their “onyarite” is to civilians wandering along a path. And as for bloody roadies doing their stupid little hand signals on the morning commute… grr

I sometimes do some duathlons and multi-sports events that have participants from lots of different formats of events on the course overlapping at the same time…i.e guys on 6k TT rigs aiming to qualify for some championship or another on the same course as people doing a 5k taster triathlon on their mates mountain bike or whatever.

One thing I’ve come to realise is that saying “on your right” in this scenario is probably more dangerous than not saying anything and just picking a spot as so many people go kind of rigid and then clunkily/instinctively move to *their* right.

Can’t really blame them as I’m fairly sure when I did my first XC race years ago I think I did the same thing first time I heard it, so yeah extra caution needed really whenever random public people are involved.

Nothing to add over and above my last point tbh

I think its fair to say some of those answers are exaggerated/sarcastic responses for comedic effect, I’m sure the OP can make his own assessment.

I doubt he came on to the STW forum expecting evidence backed advice from a professional coach. He asked for real world opinions and experiences which he has now got and is free to choose from.

Personally I agree that he shouldn’t bother with any of the couch>[x]k plans, he’s racing cross every weekend so he’s not coming off the couch but I see he’s made his decision up there^ anyway so its a moot point- I’m sure he’ll be fine though, he’s just a guy looking to do some park-runs.

Has anyone actually said that? OP asked for opinions from the forum based on their own experiences, not the most risk free or scientifically evidenced way to avoid injury.

As requested, he’s received a range of responses which he’s free to pick from but I don’t think any of them suggest he go out and run a 5k as fast as he can straight away.

I’d have thought a CCJ would only be possible if she’d been asked to pay multiple times over a long period of time and had simply ignored all the requests. I thought it was the end result of the process not the start.

Their response in the linked article states that they file “more patents than any other company” which is quite a vague/broad boast without any parameters but I wonder if that is true or not in one form or another.

Ignore the utter weapons above who’ve said to just smash it out.

Nobody has actually said this though 🫤

Also, and I am sure you don’t need me to tell you, but trail running is way more fun than road running so I occasionally drive out somewhere to run in the hills

I think you’ll be fine. If it was me I would just do a couple of 20mins easy runs, get the initial/inevitable DOMS over with and then just get into it. 

I’d maybe put-off doing any sprint intervals for some time though (if that is something you were planning) and personally I feel like hill repeats are much easier on the body than any sprinting type of intervals (I’m 43). 

I only road ride these days and am quite cautious when it comes to ice- more so than most, judging by my Strava feed on cold days.

I live in the city and am conscious even when it says 2degrees here it probably means 0 to (-1) out in the lanes in the country. I think the danger is often the never-in-the sunlight patches of road or corners of lanes that are perpetually in the dark under tree cover etc and so pretty much never dry out even when everywhere else looks totally fine.

I also only ever really go riding early doors and never start later than 7am which I guess means its an ever present threat when the temperature drops compared to people who can head out in the middle of the day.

Having said all that it doesn’t worry me too much and if I’m training for something specific I’d go out and stick to big roads or avoid know risky areas but I like running pretty much as well as I like cycling so most of the time it would be a pointless risk when I can just go for a run instead.

I’m doing the trail run 10k on the Saturday morning up there and staying over in Windermere for the weekend. Will try and do something related to the festival if there’s any general/free stuff on during the sat afternoon even if its just having a pint there after the race

I was also going to say Bundobust on Oxford Road as it is nice, plus easy to get to on the Metrolink.

Also, Yes bar, North Taproom and Refuge are all 5mins walk away and good for a beer if you were having a pint afterwards. Or, if you just wanted a traditional pub then Grand Central (rock pub), Temple of Convenience (pub that used to be a public toilet) and Peveril of the Peak (traditional boozer always featuring in reccomended pub lists) are all nearby as well. 

I would have a quick google of “3 good things” (it will take less than 5mins to read it). It is supposedly a very simple trick that is capable of having very dramatic effects.

Essentially, the idea is to note 3 good things that happened that day, every day, before you go to bed. We naturally focus on negative things and not positive things which we take for granted and this is designed to redress the balance. I think the power comes from the effect over time if you make it habitual. You can physically note them down somewhere if you want to go the extra step and then can see over time the patterns of things that are positive in your life.

Either way whether you simply make a mental note or jot it down, the things that you note might surprise you.

Its free and it takes like 60seconds once per day and could have a real effect. I try and do it most nights.

Being miserable, intolerant and cynical seems to be worn as a badge of honour by some people or adopted as a lifestyle choice and I definitely feel myself like that sometimes but lets be honest its probably not very good for you.

Mostly running and trail running with a little bit of road cycling now, rather than vice versa in the summer. Other than that I tend not to notice all that much, I prefer lighter nights but what you gonna do.

Yeah was interesting to watch. I live in Manchester and I get the impression this type of criminal activity is at pretty epic levels compared to years gone by, but largely hidden or at least kind of able to be wilfully ignored by the majority of people for the majority of the time.

From the little I read about and see in the media it also seems surprisingly accessible if you are willing to take a risk- if you are willing to procure an encrochat phone (or whatever replaced it) and stump up for a kilo or two I think there’s a fairly open wholesale market you can procure from and make a profit.

But yeah the gang’s behaviour was depressing and shi**y, seems to take a huge amount of resources to tackle them and I assume the vacuum they leave if or when they are busted is pretty much immediately filled by someone else.

I am one of those people who actually quite likes indoor training- even before Zwift and even Trainerroad and Sufferfest I would be reasonably happy knocking out intervals from a plan ripped out the back of a magazine.

I quite like the feeling of smashing myself (or more accurately, the feeling afterwards) and this is quite easy to do on a turbo trainer. So, I am usually happy to do intervals on the trainer 2 or 3 times a week and just do a “proper” ride on a Sunday morning.

One thing that also doesn’t get mentioned alongside the obvious advantage for time crunched people is also location. I live in Manchester so for me, any bike ride is approximately 35-40mins of essentially commuting through Manchester and then suburbs to get to the country lanes- and then the same for the return journey.

This means that for any post work mid-week ride I am signing myself up to at least 60mins of city commuting (with half of that being in rush-hour) as part of any ride.

I think if I lived somewhere with easier access to country lanes I would maybe use the turbo less but as it is, I can’t always be arsed battling through city traffic for 40mins just to get to some nice roads.

Salutation is still there but owned by MMU now and not really a proper local pub anymore- so, not quite the characterful place that it was.

The quiet roads and bike lanes are great though tbf but still dicey riding through Rusholme, bike lanes or no.

I know this road very well and yes its restricted. Clutching at straws now but if you were turning left from Charles St onto Oxford Road the sign showing it as a bus-gate on the opposite side of the road is at a 45degree angle and to my mind could just as easily be perceived as signing the opposite road (Hulme Street, not restricted) as the actual one (restricted) left-turn to Oxford Road.

There are other signs though before you reach the junction so I think you’re likely gonna have to cough up.

If it makes you feel any better I see people driving up it during restricted hours most days.

Feel like the OP was making a throwaway statement about the brand rather than actually manifesting job losses like

I have an OG Taxc Neo and it is faultless- apart from, yes, it has developed a creak when  ridden. For me, this doesn’t really matter though, but could be an issue if you really do need it to be silent.

I don’t agree that there is nothing going through their heads- I think its whatever cycling related rage-bait they have consumed on social media and the tabloid media that is, in their minds, giving them licence to act like that. For this reason, they will also 100% think they are in the right and you are 100% in the wrong for being there, with zero reflection on any of it.

I honestly think most people, if left to largely form their own opinion or feelings on something would probably have pretty much zero feeling on cyclists either way- other than maybe occasionally being mildly irked when stuck behind one for a while (fair enough).

I think the nature of media and social media today though has turbo-charged the kind of thoughts and feelings that people barely knew they had, or wouldn’t have had, if it weren’t for being saturated with targeted rage-bait for it, on a daily basis.

I guess this applies to many things but you really notice/feel it as a cyclist when it transmutes into close passes and verbal abuse.

I like the For Goodness Shakes recovery drinks as if you squint and pretend, with a couple of ice cubes in, they could almost be a milk-shake.

I do concede they’re something of an expensive indulgence though, I’m sure a glass of milk and a banana would probably do me just fine really.

Psst, open the door, look outside, there is a whole world out there that needs riding (for real).  And yes I have a Smart turbo and full set up, but it’s not used.

Yeah if I get back from work at 8pm in December and still have to cook tea, I think I’ll stick to an hour on the turbo thanks.

Have you cleaned it or checked the freehub/bearings etc?

Yeah freehub is OK and I have greased that sleeve thing on the axel a couple of times a year as per the instructions. I think it’s actually the plastic case of the body of the trainer- its in two halves bolted together and I suspect its related to the two halves rubbing against each other. I tried loosening the bolts a little as I read somewhere that they gradually tighten with use, but didn’t make any difference.

There’s quite a large Facebook group dedicated to Tacx trainers which can be useful and does seem to indicate that there are some common noise issues so I think it might be pot-luck depending on the model you get. For me its not really an issue but if I was using it early in the mornings (bedroom next to the main bedroom) I guess it’d be frustrating given it was sold as pretty much silent.

Being pedantic now, but is the cheque thing really relevant?

They were a prime method of payment in like the 1980’s and early 1990’s and largely pre-internet and digital scamming weren’t they. Whatever your thoughts on the OPs scenario, it seems to me the consequences of handing someone your account details when cheques were a popular form of payment were pretty different to what they could be today by giving them to someone on Facebook.

Personally I wouldn’t do it. If you really have no choice I would be keeping mindful of other seemingly innocent and unrelated requests/texts/emails/calls/whatever that could be aiming to complete the same puzzle.

Most likely they’re legit but its gonna suck big-time if your account gets emptied and banks may take a view on refunding you if you willingly gave out details, even seemingly benign ones.

One thing I wonder about the various smart bikes is whether they gradually get noisier over time, can anyone who owns one confirm?

Reason I ask is that I bought an original Tacx Neo years ago and it was billed as one of the quietest trainers on the market. It was indeed super silent, but over time it has become quite noisy and creaks a fair bit.

It doesn’t really matter as I’ve got headphones on anyway and train in the evening but I think if I forked out for an atom or similar and the same thing happened I’d maybe feel a bit aggrieved.

A smart bike would be nice though as I have a dedicated room for one and my wide would probably use it too then.

On a slightly related note to the OP, somebody on the Traineroad forum reckons that once you hit 7 hours a week of <any type of riding> then you will get faster. I think they are probably right.

For sure you could get faster sooner, by being very clinical about your progression and interval(s) but I think to a greater or lesser degree you will progress either way once you hit those hours/week. I found it to be true when I tried this for a few months over the summer.

Zwift Training Plans don’t seem to get a lot of love and I think are generally considered to be a bit random and not very well thought-out.

I tried one and it was indeed pretty brutal and I say that as someone who has done a fair amount of training/plans/intervals over the years. I didn’t really adhere to it properly in the end and I think I’m reasonably well disciplined/motivated.

When I do Traineroad plans they seem a bit easier to stick to but then again TR does give you then option to tailor the plan to you, so I guess its always going to seem “better”.