When I started road racing about 5 years ago, having ridden quite a bit but not having trained, it was brutal. Getting dropped race on race and it seems everyone else is a level above. But the reality is, people in cat 3 and 4 are mostly mortal with day jobs and families but who know how to train to race, have some race craft, know how to recover and might eat vaguely sensibly.

Wind forward the years and I’ve gone through self-coaching (well what I thought was “training”), generic training plans and also coached.

I’ve got up to 3rd cat, had a few top tens across Crits and open road and can do a reasonable 10mile TT.

I’m still trying to improve, still get dropped on a bad day, still crash and still wondering what it takes to be a bit more competitive but that’s part of the challenge.

I bet most people could find between 5-10 hours in their week to train if it’s that important.

Some people think nothing of working more than their contracted 37 or 40 hours a week.

It really does depend on your priorities.

If you want to find out OP Ramsey, then enter a few races or events. Then train. Then do some more races. And repeat.

You should train and race because you enjoy the methodical process of training and racing. If you set off with a mindset or the focus that you need to be successful and therefore to be successful you need to buy some kit then it will likely be quite an unfulfilling endeavour. Buy yourself some kit if you want to, or if it will remove barriers to training but don’t buy kit assuming its needed for success.

Do you already train and race?? Do you feel like you’re struggling and trying to understand if some kit will help you progress??

The excuses Crikey mentions are easier to dismiss if you have a turbo because it allows maximum training benefit in minimum time. You still need to understand what you’re doing, but you can still get a decent session in on a turbo in 45minutes.

Something amiss there I think. My Wahoo suggested 1819kj for yesterday’s ride. In Strava this translated as 1765calories and the same in Training Peaks. (I go Wahoo to TP and Wahoo to Strava independently).

They always seem to be in the same sort of ball park, but when I don’t use my heart rate strap then calories consumed is exactly the same as the energy KJ.

So it’s not something to do with your heart rate data being prioritised as an estimator for calorie consumption rather than power?

As others have said, I have also used a 105 5800 Stages across Ultegra 6600, 6700, 6800, 105 5800, 5700 and Tiagra 4600, 4700 chainsets.

Whilst it will fit splines on a Shimano MTB crank, the last time I tried, Shimano road crank arms don’t have such a pronounced bend (so less Q factor) and likely won’t clear MTB frame chainstays.

How are you comparing the individual crank arms? Do you have another point of reference?

I would imagine that as it’s a strain gauge on a piece of metal that it’s sensitivity could indeed change with use.

In answer to your “how far”, more specifically, I have friends who have been competitive enough to get up to 2nd cat road without using power meters and turbos.

And I bet the higher category and elite riders of 10,20, 30 years ago would still be elite riders today even without the use of modern tech.

If you understand the principles of training then sure you can be competitive without turbos and power meters and all the kit.

Modern devices just make it more time efficient to train or just help to maintain a bit of interest.

But devices or not, if you don’t understand what proper training is….then just riding your bike lots will only get you so far; and if you’re not talented then it might not be very far at all. ;-)

@woodster – that’s the exact same comment my mate made, that basically it’s mobile assistance from his wife at the first sign of needing an inner tube :-)

@sillyoldman – not thought of that. They’re a compact drop bar but that might be the problem – they sweep back very quickly from the flat/bend.

I might take a look at that. And then dismiss it for an excuse to buy some of the new shape levers ;-)

Yep, even with the reach adjusted to minimum

I’ve had Schwalbe Pro Ones, Hutchinson Fusion in Galaktik, Performance and All Season versions plus Vittoria Corsa Speeds on a number of wheelsets (carbon and alloy) and all mounted and sealed fine. However, getting a pair of GP5000TL’s onto a mates Reynolds carbon wheels needed both of us and 6 tyre levers. Never known anything like it! I would like to try some GP5000 TL on some of my wheels where I have found it easy enough to mount other tubeless brands, to see if it is the GP5000 or whether it was those Reynolds wheels.

But it is nice to know that hitting potholes, grills and kerbs aren’t going to cause a puncture even when you lower the pressure for manky weather. Never been able to repair a puncture properly but sealant has meant that the hole did seal on the road and allowed me to put enough pressure in to get home without having to put an inner tube in.

Good ones do have low rolling resistance and I think they ride as nicely as open tubulars with latex tubes.

I don’t worry about the strength of my road bike frame or components, more the tyre clearance and it just being a bit of a jarring experience.

Swapped rotors, fresh pads, still squealed. Think I’m going to go for a new caliper. But then I also really dislike the lever itself not least cos I struggle with the reach when in winter gloves on the drops.

I have squealing Shimano 505 variant brakes too but power is OK. Can’t quite believe its leaking seals as it squeals within moments of fresh pads being put in, but I stand to be corrected.

I’ve had a couple of DEXA body scans which use low dose x-ray to differentiate between fatty tissue, muscle, bone etc and work out percentages/mass of each component. About as accurate as it gets.

The guy who ran it said despite people often claiming to be sub-10% body fat, from the 1000’s of scans he had carried out he had rarely come across anyone who was truly under 10% body fat.

Shoes are probably the last thing I would look at, as they will take up a large part of the budget – even cheap shoes. Feet get wet and cold but it’s not half as miserable as having a cold damp top half.

+1 for Decathlon. You can get fully kitted out for £100. Or at least we’ll enough to stay comfortable in cold and wet weather. Quechua and BTwin stuff is great!

The description suggests it will.

However, I have the park one that Molgrips suggests

+1 for setting up in a door way. Allows you to pedal with both hands on the bars with your shoulder leant against the frame and you don’t have to take that leap of faith letting go of something with your hands.

I tried a chair first but like you couldn’t take my hand off it. Door frame and I had it sorted in minutes!

Also have a look at the BTwin ones in Decathlon. I have the red and black fluid one and it’s been excellent.

Had a Tacx before that for 4 years which was also very good (and a good lot of resistance available with the adjuster lever)

Different for each organisation offering benefits isn’t it.

As above, log in to BC website and download a Halfords discount voucher.

I’m pretty lucky in that the people around me know exactly how much I absolutely NEED to ride my bike. And by doing so I hope those people see that it keeps me sane and functioning for everything else. And a lot of the “everything else” is pretty good anyway.

Life is full of compromises but if you don’t make time for yourself on your terms then you’ll drive yourself nutty. And that might mean telling someone close what you need and who can really help you, not just advice-giving “randomers” on the forums ;-)

My Saracen Avro isn’t light despite the carbon frame. Discs, thru axle wheels, then add mudguards and it all adds up.

As has been said, doubt you’ll save much weight on a Kinesis 4S unless you spend a lot and then, will it be what you’d want to ride in winter – taking mudguards etc?

+1 for Hutchinson Fusion in the all season version, and make sure it’s the 11storm compound, feels very surefooted in the wet.

The Definition of Athlete
Merriam-Webster defines it as “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” … In other words, an athlete can be a top competitor — or an average finisher.

See Kryton, I think you *are* an athlete. You obsess about training, you focus on different disciplines year on year and aim to improve. From your posts on here, you don’t seem happy “just” riding your bike. But don’t beat yourself up when you’re not following a strictly calorie controlled diet of steamed fish, brown rice and vegetables….

There’s a difference between being a professional, paid athlete and being an amateur athlete. Its all on a spectrum.

You have to enjoy what you do, whether that’s train and eat properly, just train or just ride or somewhere amongst it all.

And when I say “healthy” I still mean stuff like real butter on bread, sugar in an espresso etc. No joy in living like a monk when you’re not paid for it is there!? 😀

Think I read or heard somewhere that about 85% of your calorie intake should be from healthy food – whether that’s each day or saving the 15% for a blow out at the weekend. I have pizza or dinner out when my partner suggests it, but the rest of the time I’m fairly sensible aside from too much of a sweet tooth. I wouldn’t go so far as Pro tour riders do. I keep it varied and in moderation – good quality main meals, not going to stress too much about the odd pizza, burger, fish and chips, glass of wine.

Ditto, I have two up holding mountain bikes and one for a kids road bike

I don’t think air con would make any difference. I can train outside on the turbo in sub zero conditions and still sweat, like others have also suggested, like a pig.

It’s air flow you need to move the sweat off your skin, I wouldn’t think aircon could do that

Two of my club mates have recently had to return their 4iiii’s under warranty (actually I think one was still honoured outside the official warranty), don’t know what the problem was though.

I had a Stages G1 which are batteries, got replaced numerous times eventually to a G2 which was slightly better on the battery front but still not the 200 hour life claimed. I also had a Pioneer single sided which was a lot more reliable.

Now I have Assioma pedals (dual side) and seem fairly good after about 18 months use inside and outside regardless of weather. I did have one side throw a wobbler after about 6 months but they replaced the axle/power module without any quibbling. They also strangely need charging at rather random intervals (sometimes last ages and sometimes just a few turbo sessions). I also have an FSA Powerbox which seems to be the most bomb proof of them all, but it is probably the most awkward to swap between bikes (even assuming the same BB).

More leverage! A 2 or 3ft socket bar should do it surely??

I’ve got the all weather Hutchinson Fusion’s on one bike and they’re very confidence inspiring in the wet. Got Fusion Galaktiks on the race bike and Fusion Performance on the summer bike.

Would highly recommend. The latest Mavic tubeless are made by Hutchinson too I think.

It’s longer and lower geometry than a Defy but I’m 5ft 10 and rode a M/L TCR. However, to me the M/L Defy looks to have a stupidly tall head tube. Probably easier to sort the reach on a medium than get lower than the tall head tube would allow on a M/L. (Well unless you fit a negative rise stem)

No one is saying a pair of shorts will stop a broken hip, but they should help disperse some of the impact in a fall. You’ll never know if the shorts saved your hip or whether a fall wasn’t quite bad enough or in the right direction to cause a break. Just the same reason we (mostly) wear helmets.

It’s usually a freak accident for anyone with normal bone density.

BTwin do one, about £30. Similar to the Endura FS260(?) one but about half the price.

It’s not mega waterproof but more seems to disperse the water across its surface before it soaks you.

Stuffs into its own rear pocket

I have that exact model. The position is vaguely similar to my other road bikes, I have slammed the stem. There is loads of tyre clearance for gravel tyres. Mine came with Hutchinson 11Storm Fusion 5 tubeless tyres and tubeless rims too, so they have not scrimped on tyres!

If he trys it then he’ll probably realise it’s “just” an assist style motor. You have to put some effort in, a lot more than say a Giant or something with a Fazua/Bosch/Shimano gearbox.

The weight of the rear wheel motor makes the handling out of the saddle a bit odd (weight distribution), plus because of that weight and presumably the stiffness of the frame required to house the batteries, it tends to thump over the potholes and bumps. Not especially comfortable but I might have too much pressure in the tyres….

I’d probably use carbon assembly paste

Plain old parrafin wax melted down also isn’t too bad either, comes out well in efficiency tests too.