[Percy B]

Now you're talking - could be a bit cheaper. Time to think of a suitable route......... Give me time.....

[fatdoc]

YES yes fuckin yes...

I'm well up for that!

er.. can be under 100km or at least july if it's over that? Ta!

Dolly, saltbeef - no excuses.

[saltbeef]

i'm down. should probably start actually riding my bike now. ps rapha have a sale on.

[Percy B]

Rapha is all very well if you are rich/live in Lahndahn.
Planet X should be the choice off the descerning S Yorks resident! Just ordered a nice carbon/Ultegra bike to replace the winter bike I have just bust
Cheap as chips, and awesome if their carbon wheels which I have been riding on for the last 6 months are anything to go by.

Sorry, doc, but I haven't worked out modern distances yet. Surely a hundred MILES is the gentlemans distance. Maybe a hundred of your modern kilometres as a warm up earlier on in the season, before the real deal...? C'mon, you know you want to!

[fatdoc]

one has to admit that 100 miles is a landmark. unfortunatly i'm currently 50 off it!

Had a very interesting time in the bespoke shop today, really patient considering I'm a punter, and they have wheelsets in there that cost 3 times my bike (945 g a set, OMG!).

I ended up with getting the pedals fitted to my shoes / me  / my bike on their set up kit. I got a bit giddy as soon as I got home I shot out the bike for a quick blast... interestingly my knee seemed not quite so spakered... this could have been a very wise investment (cheap Look pedals, normal cleats..)

the only reason I speak off the Km not the mile is my computer doesnt seems to do miles!!!

Perc, I'm interested in some wheels.... (not the bespoke kind - i ride this bike to work!!), what's the weight / cost of the wheels you mention??

If i get a bit better / lose some of the winter padding I was aiming at less than £500 and less than 1450g...

right, i'm off to the rapha site.

btw, they size even more off than assos... go big gents!!

[Yossarian]

how about a 60ish miler in april sometime, and then a 100 in june / july?

possibly with a real sort the men from the boys in late august / september?

bring your mates, the more the merrier, etc, etc.

[Houdini]

Is it me or is there an inverse correlation between the $ one can spend and ones performance?

[fatdoc]

Yoss,

good idea / plan!


That sounds great to me!

BTW, nothing at rapha unless you're a an anorexic dwaaaarrrff.


Houdini, you can spend everything you ever earn on this sport....... and with the laws of diminishing returns you can waste shed loads of cash.

let me explain: on the beautiful display where the till resides in the besoke shop there is a set of electronic scales... when you ask for a set of pedals they are duly brought to you, you stroke them with glee, exctiment and a little giggle passes your dry lips... then from behind the salesman's back come some other pedals, same system, same colour. Both are weighed in front of you, you dont ask for this- it's simply expected by both parties to be part of the purchase process. The £95 ones are 114g lighter than the £40 ones. This is actually a selling point. People will pay for that. That's not even top end.

Utter madness.

Having said that.... Hmmmm... 114g... of rotational mass.

Oh god no....

[Houdini]

But what's the point if you can't manage 60 miles?



Man I'd rather give up than be slow and shit on a priceless piece of kit . . .

[Percy B]

Houdini, has the sport of gear freakery been lost on you?

I reckon the Doc can do a bit - he just needs a little coaxing. That first 100 seems like an impossible dream until you commit. My first was actually a 130 miler, my previous training runs rarely making it past the 50 mile point. Its amazing what a little friendly competition can do - plus it didn't seeem too bad in reality. Even my arse stopped hurting after the 80 mile mark!

Had a conversation the other day regarding how much money people spend on road bikes, and discovered the following amusing thing. After the 8 kilo mark has been reached (achievable without spending too much cash), any further reduction in weight costs an absolute fucking fortune. From 7.5 kg lighter, every lb saved in weight will cost you £1000 in cash, give or take!!!!

Anyway, wheels. I got a pair of Planet X Pro 50's at a smidge under the 5-spot thresh-hold. Including brake pads, some nice Conti tubs, tub tape, valve extenders and wheel bags. A very tidy package - very, very fucking quick wheels and they sound amazing when travelling at speed. Drawbacks being tubular tyres (although I love 'em) and they can give a spicy ride if its windy! They do a clincher version of the same wheel so job sorted if you don't want the hassle of punturing expensive tubs. (I got some of that liquid sealant shizzle in mine so no bother there I hope!).

Otherwise, I would recommend Mavic Ksyriums. A pair of 2007 Ksyrium SL's can be yours for a 5-spot if you shop around. I know Parkers (www.parker-international.co.uk) have some for £519, but maybe you might find some cheaper. Very light, super strong, very nice.

[Houdini]

Houdini, has the sport of gear freakery been lost on you?

E v i d e n t l y , Percy . . .


Kit for those that can use it, dogs for those that can't . . .   Fuck!  I run in 30 quid Reebox . . .   I think the word is grommit.

[Percy B]

Having expensive/flash kit is a good for you. It gives enormous pleasure to burn off a bloke on a 4 grand bike. And the training benefit of having a flash bike oneself is subtle yet effective. I know the bike is good, so I daren't let anyone past me to mock. I feel compelled to ride flat-out every time I get on the bike to avoid exctly the thing I was talking about to start off with! Works a treat. This years ambitions include trying to ride a sub-5 hour 100. I just need to be chased by a load of kids on shit BMX's for 5 hours in order to achieve this!

[Houdini]

As you say . . .


Buy that carbon seat . . .    do  . . .



Middle class mores.  Personally I'm sick of people w/ shit hot kit who can't manage the Telegraph Pass in 'beris w/ out stopping for a breather . . .     Really?   What is the point of them grafting so hard for shit they cannot benefit from?  Makes a mockery of their graft if you ask me.  Fuck it, get back on the steel bike till you can USE the Carbon / Ti thing you paid 4K for . . .      Grommitism to the max.   Simply fashion from people who are afraid to admit they're shite . . .   Yet it's obvious you are unfit and shit and have far too much cash to spend on something  you canot use properly . . .   What a cosmic 21st Century joke.

But hey!  You look cool, right?

[Percy B]

No no, you got me all wrong, Houd's. I can do a bit. Just a bit, but its enough.

[Fatleg]

Fatdoc did the bespoke place show you the £8000 Ti bike. 100 miles piece of piss, as long as you don't have to work the next day.

[Houdini]

I didn't mean you Percy, I know you try . . . and push it hard.

Money spent where it's irrelevant rubs me up the wrong way.  I hate monied grommits who won't fight for their right to wear the jersey (in a performance way, not earnings way).  What's the point in a Ti bike if you won't take it to its limit and the butcher's lad can burn you off?

Oh 8K . . .  maybe you'll manage 45miles before your body conks out . . .  again . . .

[Fatleg]

By the time I can afford £8k for a bike I'll by over 50 so I'll do 45 miles on it before I collapse and die.

[webbo]

By the time I can afford £8k for a bike I'll by over 50 so I'll do 45 miles on it before I collapse and die.

how does this work.
by the time your 50 you should be rich but you can pedal less miles than your age.
i can see a challenge looming.

[fatdoc]

you've got to start somewhere.

i have to say - i can afford medium level road kit. So what... it's my earnings. It's not as if i buy something then never use it. Did 1500 miles last year - not much but the kit gets used.. i'm not precious over the bike - it gets out in sleet / rain.. whatever as long as I'm up for it. I'm trying a new sport, and I'm wank at it, this thread is probs the most helpful i've ever found on the net for beginner roadie.. you dont ned a 1.5 k bike to ride... I've got one and I love it. It's probs the most beautiful thing i've ever owned... but it doesnt exaclty stay in the shed. Each to their own i say.

I'll have that 100 before the year's out, if i'm lucky...

yeah, I'm shit... so what??

Sooo, you cant climb V10?  you shouldnt have top end shoes to boulder in then???

only climb V6, you dont deserve even a pad then????


No?

[tlr]

I'd be keen for any roadie rides going out from Sheffield. I need to get some serious miles in before the Fred Whitton, but with the rain, wind, snow, work, holidays and a cold I have hardly been out at all this year.

And as for the gear side of things, its my money (actually its mostly my wifes) so I reckon I can spend it on what I want. I actually enjoy the process of choosing and buying nice bits of kit as well as enjoying using them.

All credit to people who can ride/climb/drive/photograph well using crap kit, but I'm not good enough for that and I need all the help I can get.

Tim

[Percy B]

Fatdoc - as you say, you're a doer and not a poser, and thats what counts. Posers who can do fuck all on an amazingly expensive bike they will never appreciate is what I believe rankles our escapologist chum.

Anyway, averaging 15mph over 35 miles in the Peak ain't so shoddy, Doc. Don't be so hard on yourself - its not shit, and that's for sure! If you need to feel better about things, I reckon a trip over to the flatlands around Doncaster way will cheer you up - you'll suddenly find that you can cruise around for miles at 20mph average without too much bother. The Peak warps your sense of what you can do - its basically hilly as fuck and so hard to achieve high average speeds. Most cyclists have far flatter countryside to deal with and so their average speeds are much higher for the distances covered. Us Sheffield based cyclists have a hard time even getting out into the Peak, let alone riding around it! I give you the soul destroying grind of Ringinglow road as an example - not too steep, but a cruel warm-up for a ride around the Peak. I back this up with the miserable plod up to Owler Bar as my second least favourite 'warm-up'. You'd be going well to average 20mph up those. Yesterdays headwind up to Owler Bar made a 10mph average a tough target! Roll on some nice summery weather!

Give us a week or 2 whilst I sort my life out, and I might organise a few gentle rides out from the Works on a Sunday morning if people are psyched?

[saltbeef]

that sounds like a plan. by the way i will be shit.

[webbo]

back in the day when i first got in to cycling we used to ride winter bikes made of 2nd hand gas pipes or the like.they'd weigh in at about 40lbs.
the clothing was all wool based so if you got wet,it would stretch and weigh a ton.all in all it was shit and probably one of the reason why cycling in this country has always been a cinderella sport till recent times.

[tlr]

A regular ride would be excellent. It'd be great for motivation on those wet windy mornings when it easier to stay in bed.

Tim

[Houdini]

Daddy:  But Joquasta my love what is the point right now?  You've only just learnt to play chopsticks!   I won't stretch to a Steinway!

Joquasta:  But Daddy I want to learn to play the piano not a Yamaha electric keyboard!  I'll look silly!

Daddy:  But Joquasta, you sound silly!  Everyone has to learn to walk before they can run, darling . . .

Joquasta:  Daddy you don't think I'm good enough for a Steinway!  *turning the taps on*

Daddy:   Oh you little . . .  a n g e l . . .  Ofcourse you're good enough for a Steinway!  *Opens wallet, chokingly hands-over 12K*