Sorry, completely failed to spot the other post (which itself seems to have failed to spot and earlier one).

The other thread isn’t asking for quite the same thing, subtle difference so we’ll let you off! 🙂

The thing is, -4 might be unusual for Somerset, but elsewhere (and I’ve seen folk on here post their snowy highlands of Scotlands pictures) -4 is probably considered balmy.

As you say, -4 here in Scotland is not particularly uncommon, but its still properly cold and is well in the realms of needing more bulky gloves.

I was cold all over

That certainly wont help – need to keep everything warm or circulation to the hands will be the first thing to suffer.

(despite virtually no wind)

At the risk of stating the obvious, when on the bike there is always wind when you are moving.

For reference – I have Gore Power Windstopper softshell gloves which are useless when it gets cold, even with Merino liners my fingers are frozen and sore at anything approaching zero and awful below.

Weird, I really think those gloves are great, i’m a huge fan (enough so that I bought a second pair) – not strictly a MTB glove, but I haven’t let it stop me using them for that. Given the OP asked for something windproof rather than total arctic protection, rating them on subzero performance is not necessary.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-power-windstopper-softshell-gloves-1/

The do a proper MTB pair, but they don’t look quite as warm.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-power-trail-windstopper-light-gloves/

You’ll need to be clearer in your challenge caller but I think you may be calling me fat and in comparison to most cycling types you could be correct 89kg/183cm.

Lol, no, I wasn’t trying to call you fat – I was merely pointing out something of a discrepancy – could have been a faulty FTP test for all I knew.

Anyway, mystery solved at 89kg i’d definitely not describe you as ‘middle weight bloke’ (which i’d describe as 70-80kg). Clearly being quite tall will make you heavier than average even with an average build.

I fitted a set to my new commuter in February this year and I’ve done just over 5500 miles on them. Still look to have lots of life in them.

That is fairly epic life for a rear – are you on the 28’s? And does anyone know if the 28’s have a greater rubber depth than 23’s?

Exposure Strada is the obvious answer.

1500 miles is pretty poor, is this normal for this tyre or were you pulling skids in an emery board factory?

Its fairly normal for any performance orientated tyre on the rear.

Again, I find myself compelled to ask why everyone makes the leap to marathon plus and completely rules out the normal marathon which is still crazy puncture resistant, but a little lighter (and probably a little faster)?

Edit: Damn scotroutes ninja’d me!

… middle weight bloke … frequently had 50 plus miles ride at or just above 20mph average ….
I’m usually low cat c 2.6/7 w/kg which I think is about correct.

There’s some element of that that totally doesn’t compute.
An average size bloke will need to put out near enough 200W to maintain 20mph on the flat, so some part of middle weight or a 2.6W FTP is quite badly out.

Thanks, to get the FTHR is it FTP HR x.95? So mine would be 184x.95?

FTHR is usually measured as the last 20mins of a 30min FTP test

I guess my travelling mixes both sightseeing and an experience.
All my recent holidays have been riding holidays (Pyrenees, Dolomites, Alps, Corsica). I love the lifestyle on these trips of group breakfast/dinner and nothing else to worry about other than riding my bike and soaking up the views.

The photo of me below is quite memorable cruising up the col d’iseran early in the morning before the sun had taken the chill out of the air.

All of the folk saying soft-shell is the way to go – what are you using? brand/model etc?

Depending on how the weather/mood/mtb/road takes me:
Northwave Sonic (No DWR but has kept me warm in ~0°C drizzle)
LG Enerblock 2
Castelli Free (Probably too warm for most riding – I use it for z2 road rides <2°C)

Also, whilst not technically a softshell, an Endura Windchill jersey performs a similar role on the MTB when its just a little warmer.

Just to save everyone the effort

Milk
Chicken
Real food
etc

When i’m travelling for a ride I find a tub of recovery drink much easier to transport than a chicken and oven for some reason.
Also, i’m sure you realise that one of the proteins found in milk is absorbed much slower than the whey typically found in a recovery drink.

It’s a bit harder than blindly following FTP for categories – the chart at the bottom of the results page – note the secondary condition.
A 4.0wkg+ and 270w+ (20min)
B 3.2wkg+ and 225w+ (20min)
C 2.5wkg+ and 175w+ (20min)
D 1.0wkg+ and 135w+ (20min)

For very light or very heavy riders they can easily trigger one of the conditions without the other. I could ride at 3.7W/kg and still not trigger the second condition for Cat B. Its not outside the realms of possibility that someone shorter than me could break 4W/kg and remain classified as ‘C’

I’m going to buck the trend and say it was actually better than i expected.

the pretend crises, the look at me celeb stuff

Yes, that’s certainly a concern (and what i’m expecting).

Not worth it at all in my opinion. The 6600k is ~15% faster which is unlikely to result in much difference to anything from a gaming perspective.
16gb of RAM is also still in the realms of future-proofing as 8gb is more than enough for most situations.

I’m surprised no-one has spotted the obvious opportunity for dynamo powered gloves yet.

The one where you don’t watch loads of TV…………..

Or read newspapers, or attend sporting events evidently…………

What is sitting at 2000rpm for a few minutes going to achieve?

it’s not a few minutes, it’s usually at least 20 mins to get the whole exhaust system nice and HOT. Warm doesn’t work. It has to be very hot, this is why the DPF, cat etc are made of very expensive metals due to the extreme heat required to burn particulate matter into ash.In addition, you’d usually do it in 3rd/4th gear for the purpose of a DPF clean, so rather more than 2000rpm too.

I don’t thing short trips suit modern diesels?

Depends how heavy your right foot is 😀

Take it foe a nice run down a couple of motorway junctions first.

Bit late for that once its in limp home mode

Had already seen it and set to record.
Not really expecting great things tbh, but it’ll be something to watch with dinner one evening

(I didn’t recognise any of them)

Exactly what planet have you been living on?

https://www.uberbikecomponents.com/category/473/Stainless-Bearing-Jockey-Wheels

Doh! Wish you’d posted that before, they look great.

And my lower wheel finally died a death.
Went to ride the bike and spun the cranks backwards and found a lot of resistance.
Quick check revealed lower wheel spinning very off centre, and attempting to remove it resulted in it exploding all over the garage. After gathering up the bits I found the seals/inner plates were worn away to virtually nothing and were no longer in any danger of gripping the inner cylinder.

New Hope wheels ordered.

In an ideal situation, you both just pull over and slow a little, at low speed 1ft is plenty of room to pass each other safely.

The OP described a potholed verge though which makes this somewhat more difficult – chances are the driver does not know or realise that is the case. In a situation like that I tend to make my default riding position right down the middle of the road – it makes it clear there is no way past. When the verge becomes safe again then I move back into the side.

My take is that merino is perfect when you want to stay warm during a low intensity session. Combined with a good softshell can keep you comfortable down to 0°C.
For anything more intense, then synthetic base and more breathable outer layer.

As others said already, goretex shell is for keeping in your pack and bringing out if it starts pissing down.

A loaf and 2 slices of ham so far.

However willpower is taking a beating, several things on good discounts that i’d like, but really dont need.

As @TiRed says. If 4.6W/Kg is accurate, just pick hilly courses and drop the bunch on a hill when the time feels right.

Focus less on the tread pattern, and more on the rubber compound and carcass.
Look at high quality XC tyres as they’ll surprise you how fast they roll and how surprisingly well they do when things get a bit rougher.

I’m very happy with how my X-Kings roll on the road. Ralphs are probably a good bet too.

How many W/kg will it make on zwift?

The thing is with the “weight doping” is at the moment I do not feel I am part of the game because my weight is so high (125kg)

That’s more than 2 of me! 😯

I’d usually be dead against it, but in your case i’d tend to agree some mild weight doping to bring you to ~2.5W/Kg FTP may be appropriate. As you say, unless the course is totally flat you’ll not really get the full experience otherwise.

I don’t drink much at all unless exercising quite hard.
If I tried to drink the recommended 2l/8cups a day i’d literally have to live in the loos as i’d be peeing non stop

Each to thier own mrblobby but i dont know how you cope with 2 hours z2.

Indeed, i’m impressed. I managed as much as 2hrs Z2 on the trainer once and it was like some sort of mental torture technique.
Due to start some structured training again 5th Dec, but can’t say i’m overly motivated for it yet (still didn’t even find a target event for 2017 that’s really exciting me).

Don’t really know the economics/logistics of it, but what i can say is that over the years Singletrack have missed out on a fair bit of impulse buying cash from me as i can’t pick it up in Tesco/Morrisons.

With the evans discount a 6pack is a no brainer. Worth it for the larger battery if nothing else.

One of these:

Agree with the diagnosis he has a dirty tip
I prefer dipping in one of these to clean:

Edit: Also prefer suckers to braid for removal as I find braid doesn’t work too well with small tips.

It’s only the 60tpi carcass, and no 3C compound so i’d be surprised if its any faster than an Ikon.
I’d be looking at a Race King or a Thunder Burt

should point out that you don’t have to tune anything, your body knows how to burn fat lol

I’m sure you’ve been told this before, but the body DOES adapt to favour burning fat during low-mid intensity exercise. Until it has been taught to do this it will favour burning glycogen.

That looks really nice.

Yes, flipped stem is terrible form.
New shimano hoods are indeed huge to accomodate hydro stuff.

Sorry, went to Relentless and forgot all about this thread!
Good news is the jockey wheels didn’t die – yet!

Still not decided what to do yet, but that bike won’t be seeing much action for the next couple of months. Go ahead legoman, they are all yours if he still has them.