Any of you Tossers ride a pushbike?

Cyclo cross bikes are great altogether.
Over the weekend I rode the "LiveYourLifecycle" event 130Km from Cork to Allihies, there are a few hills in that and I was hoping for an average of 30KMH, unfortunately I ended up riding almost the whole thing on my own, and got to 110KM at 30.5KMH but the last 20KM to my village is tough going and I lost it finishing at 29.3KMH and six minutes too slow. I was still faster by 1 minute than last year but just not good enough. Next year maybe...
 
Gradually making the transition from mainly riding off road to mainly riding on road and the mountain bike is not the tool. Did the trip over Bwlch Y Croes from Bala round lake Vyrnwy and back at the weekend and it was hard going, and the decision is made to get a road bike. I want one for my wife too. So part one of the research. Where can I find good advice on choosing the correct frame size?
 
stevemersey said:
Gradually making the transition from mainly riding off road to mainly riding on road and the mountain bike is not the tool. Did the trip over Bwlch Y Croes from Bala round lake Vyrnwy and back at the weekend and it was hard going, and the decision is made to get a road bike. I want one for my wife too. So part one of the research. Where can I find good advice on choosing the correct frame size?
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Any bicycle dealer will be able to tell you that. A word of advice: should you happen to fall between two frame sizes, pick the smaller one.
 
Aurelius said:
Any bicycle dealer will be able to tell you that. A word of advice: should you happen to fall between two frame sizes, pick the smaller one.
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Not necessarily. Some will sell what they have in stock and want to get rid of. Bike forums often tell the tale of people who have been sold the wrong sized frame. Having said that, some will be very good and give you good advice. Just be careful.
 
Quote Originally Posted by stevemersey View Post
Gradually making the transition from mainly riding off road to mainly riding on road and the mountain bike is not the tool. Did the trip over Bwlch Y Croes from Bala round lake Vyrnwy and back at the weekend and it was hard going, and the decision is made to get a road bike. I want one for my wife too. So part one of the research. Where can I find good advice on choosing the correct frame size?
Any bicycle dealer will be able to tell you that. A word of advice: should you happen to fall between two frame sizes, pick the smaller one.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Some will sell what they have in stock and want to get rid of. Bike forums often tell the tale of people who have been sold the wrong sized frame. Having said that, some will be very good and give you good advice. Just be careful.
Click to expand...


Thanks guys, but I am hoping to pick up a bargain on ebay so need to find out for myself, and I am not inclined to go pick a dealers brains then buy elsewhere. Bu the advise on going one smaller if in doubt is well received.
 
Have a long read of this thread. I asked the same question as I had to get my bike from Halfords and I didn't trust them to take time over sizing.

Also, Google bike sizing and the "ape index" and you'll find plenty of good advice. I followed what was on here and the internet and the Boardman bike I eventually bought is a perfect fit.
 
THE ROVER said:
............. although I'm sure the purists will tell you everything should go in your back pockets!
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If you've ever fallen off and landed on two CO2 inflator bottles you'll understand why a lot of folk tell the purists to feck off :D

It's not so painful if you land on a couple of bananas and some gels :thumb
 
Thanks for these, needed to get some of them. Good price, ta

THE ROVER said:
I already have some of these but I've ordered some more for the wenches bike.
Really good price and the tri bag is great for your house keys, gels, mob etc although I'm sure the purists will tell you everything should go in your back pockets!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004BU904C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Topeak-Rain...TF8&qid=1405941947&sr=8-1&keywords=topeak+tri
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Have a long read of this thread. I asked the same question as I had to get my bike from Halfords and I didn't trust them to take time over sizing.

Also, Google bike sizing and the "ape index" and you'll find plenty of good advice. I followed what was on here and the internet and the Boardman bike I eventually bought is a perfect fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
stevemersey said:
Thanks guys, but I am hoping to pick up a bargain on ebay so need to find out for myself, and I am not inclined to go pick a dealers brains then buy elsewhere. Bu the advise on going one smaller if in doubt is well received.
Click to expand...

I've been riding road bikes all my life, I've done time trialling and road racing and I've toured most of Europe. I've done a couple of Etapes and still do quite a few Sportifs. It's more difficult choosing frame sizes nowadays due to compact frames and sloping top tubes, so it's best to start with what size bike (rather than frame) you need. I've always found inside leg + 109% works a treat for me. This gives you the distance from the top of the saddle to the centre line of the pedal when the pedal is at its lowest point. From this you can choose a frame that won't have too much, or too little, seat post exposed.

Hope that helps.
 
I've always found inside leg + 109% works a treat for me. This gives you the distance from the top of the saddle to the centre line of the pedal when the pedal is at its lowest point. From this you can choose a frame that won't have too much, or too little, seat post exposed.

Hope that helps.
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Yes, that makes sense, I will start there thanks.
 
Why fat bastards are slow

Yesterday I performed an experiment to see how rider weight determines the amount of power needed to climb a hill.

The test bike was my Specialized Roubaix, fitted with a Garmin Vector power meter. The test subjects were me, my friend Mark, and his 14 year old son Harrison. The test was performed by having each one of us climb a steep hill in the same gear at a steady speed of 6 mph. The results were as follows:

Harrison (130 lbs): 172 watts average
Aurelius (175 lbs): 238 watts average
Mark (230 lbs): 316 watts average

With a bit of extrapolation, it looks as if every pound of weight requires an additional 1.44 watts in a hill climb. :cool:
 
Aurelius said:
With a bit of extrapolation, it looks as if every pound of weight requires an additional 1.44 watts in a hill climb. :cool:
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We need to know how steep the hill is. The rate of work done is (mostly) about what height per unit time you are adding to the mass ......
 
I don't think we need to know any more about it, heavy people need more power, quite simple really. No need to save a KG off of the weight of the bike just lose a few off of your stomach (I speak for myself here too)

Ring of Beara last Saturday 132KM 5 hours spot on
 
richie said:
I don't think we need to know any more about it, heavy people need more power, quite simple really.
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That much is obvious. What I wanted to know is, exactly how much more power?

No need to save a KG off of the weight of the bike just lose a few off of your stomach (I speak for myself here too)
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Trek just came out with a new lightweight road bike called the Emonda. At only 10 lbs, it's 5 lbs lighter than current top of the line carbon fiber road bikes. The catch is, it costs $15,000. Now let's think about this for a second. It would cost nothing to lose 5 lbs through diet and exercise, or you can pay $15,000 for an Emonda. Now which makes more sense? :rolleyes:
 
richie said:
I don't think we need to know any more about it, heavy people need more power, quite simple really. No need to save a KG off of the weight of the bike just lose a few off of your stomach (I speak for myself here too)

Ring of Beara last Saturday 132KM 5 hours spot on
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As you say, losing weight is a key factor in performance increase but not the only one. I've lost 22Kg in the last year with about 6Kg more to go so buying a new carbon bike which is 3Kg lighter than my now training bike might seem silly. I'm not any fitter or faster myself based purely on my fitness. However, don't rule out the psychological aspect of performance enhancement. I do most riding on the heavier Boardman bike but use the lighter Ridley for Club events or whenever I want a feel good factor. I can ride faster and for longer on the lighter bike so that gives me a grin factor and helps me with my motivation to ride more and for longer in training which ultimately will help with my further weight loss.
 
Aurelius said:
That much is obvious. What I wanted to know is, exactly how much more power?



Trek just came out with a new lightweight road bike called the Emonda. At only 10 lbs, it's 5 lbs lighter than current top of the line carbon fiber road bikes. The catch is, it costs $15,000. Now let's think about this for a second. It would cost nothing to lose 5 lbs through diet and exercise, or you can pay $15,000 for an Emonda. Now which makes more sense? :rolleyes:
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depends if you have 15k spare
 
Beemerman59 said:
As you say, losing weight is a key factor in performance increase but not the only one. I've lost 22Kg in the last year with about 6Kg more to go so buying a new carbon bike which is 3Kg lighter than my now training bike might seem silly. I'm not any fitter or faster myself based purely on my fitness. However, don't rule out the psychological aspect of performance enhancement. I do most riding on the heavier Boardman bike but use the lighter Ridley for Club events or whenever I want a feel good factor. I can ride faster and for longer on the lighter bike so that gives me a grin factor and helps me with my motivation to ride more and for longer in training which ultimately will help with my further weight loss.
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yes I understand, but for me one bike is enough, maybe a better pair of wheels would do the same trick for me. Y2K Cannondale R900S going strong but could do with a spray, 52 36 chainset and a new pair of Mavic wheels...
 
richie said:
depends if you have 15k spare
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I do, but the economics still don't make sense. Locally, a top of the line racer like the Trek Madone 7.9 or my Specialized S-Works Venge costs roughly $7,500. Both bikes weigh 14.8 lbs. The 5 lbs weight reduction by buying the Emonda costs you an additional $7,500. That's $1,500 for every pound. :eek:
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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