[clm]

cav again!

impressively - hitting the front real early

[Percy B]

cav again!

Again! 3 stages of the Giro won by Cavendish now. Awesome effort. I'm just gutted I'm in bed with flu, otherwise I'd have had a tenner on him at the bookies this morning!

[chappers]

bollocks here i am just about to write "cav again!" 

[Joepicalli]

those racing 7 wheels are ok but  a little heavy. perfect for training a putting in loads of miles! 
i have a pair of expensive campag wheels too for "best".

nice one. welcome to the club!

Chappers, do you have the problem I have with my campag wheels (they're Assyms); they are a complete fucker to get tires on. I'm talking 40 minutes of squealing and cursing. I've even had a bike mechanic have a go just to make sure its not me being a fuckwit and he had a mare too, so how do you find them? 

[SteveM]

Pb on froggatt hill this morning in the sunshine - 18:21

Maybe not great by the standards of some but definitely an improvement on the 23+ mins that I was too embarrassed to post last autumn

[tlr]

Nice one. Good effort getting that done by 8.30 in the morning.

Its a brilliant hill climb I reckon. Not too steep, nice road surface and just long enough to hurt if you try hard.

I have just had a lovely ride to work over Ringinglow in the sunshine, and a slight tailwind for once.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Pb on froggatt hill this morning in the sunshine - 18:21

Maybe not great by the standards of some but definitely an improvement on the 23+ mins that I was too embarrassed to post last autumn

Nice one Steve, I rode it and timed it for the first time last night and got 18:05. Not sure about all this 'sub 15' stuff, I recon anything sub-20 is pretty good! That said I'd like to knock at least a minute off that!

[fatkid2000]

Anyone riding these? Dodgy Swalbe tyres.
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/4068

[chappers]

those racing 7 wheels are ok but  a little heavy. perfect for training a putting in loads of miles! 
i have a pair of expensive campag wheels too for "best".

nice one. welcome to the club!

Chappers, do you have the problem I have with my campag wheels (they're Assyms); they are a complete fucker to get tires on. I'm talking 40 minutes of squealing and cursing. I've even had a bike mechanic have a go just to make sure its not me being a fuckwit and he had a mare too, so how do you find them? 

sorry, been on holiday.
no problems on my wheels and tires - what tires? (mine are michelin pro race 3's).

i may have a bigger problem - looks like i may have threaded the inside of the freehub with over zealous lock ring removal. shit.

[SteveM]

Thanks both I'm not sure about this sub-15 either but it's somthing to aim at (in the far distance). Did my first 10 mile TT on Saturday afternoon too, I'm not sure that Froggatt Hill was the best preparation but I only have one set of legs.

So I'm balanced on the start line and the bloke's having all sorts of trouble getting a grip on the frame because of all the crap that's bolted to my seatpost. I think I was the only one doing the TT with reflectors on my bike! The course is a straight out and back with a roundabout at the far end. Start off nice and steady at the same pace as I do for a 20km triathlon bike leg. I'm #74 in the start list and about 6 minutes out #75 goes past me at a far rate of knots. I was too surprised to do anything but watch him pedal off into the distance. Just before the turn-around, #76 goes past me at a similar speed differential.

Feeling quite good in the legs at this point but there's a whiff of a headwind on the return so I'm sticking to the same pace. Coming back 3/4 of the way through and there's a photographer in the hedge taking snaps of all the riders and as I'm approaching he seems to be paying a lot of attention to me? Just before I get to him #77 goes past me, but not at a great difference this time, just walking pace. And then in the same heartbeat #80 shoots past us both like the devil was on his tail. I hope that the photographer got a good action shot of all 3 of us! Anyway, #77 is still sat just in front of me so I step up the gears and get on his wheel. For the next 90 seconds or so I managed to stay on his wheel at 25mph where I'd previously been pootling along about 20-21mph. This drafting thing really works! Of course #77 dropped me pretty quickly and I eventually finished in 29:04.

Another pb! That's the beauty of doing things for the first time 

[webbo]

however if they catch you drafting in a time trial you will get disqualified.

[tlr]

Drafting is brilliant.

On Friday nights ride home I went the long way and got overtaken by a tractor out by Millers Dale. I sprinted, caught up with it and enjoyed a few easy kms drafting the tractor at 45km an hour, albeit slightly anxious about the huge churning wheels and pointy metal hitching bits a couple of feet in front of me.

Another gorgeous ride in today, properly warm even at 8.30.

[SteveM]

Ah, there is that, yes. Was told of that this morning when relating the tale of Saturday's ride to a dedicated timetrialer. I shall consider my wrists slapped.

When they catch me

 

[webbo]

i think it might be illegal in triathlon except in short elite cat events.good for training tho.

[SteveM]

JOOI, now that I've got the speedo and cadence monitor working on my road bike, what's the best strategy for time trialing?

I was on a high (95-100) and consistent cadence and moderate torque for the whole 10 miles. I've found I'm most efficient climbing, like on Froggatt Hill, with that approach. Is a higher gear and higher torque recommended for TT?

[webbo]

what do you mean by higher torque.do you putting in a big gear and mashing it round.
the only stratergy for time trialing is to go as hard as you can for the distance.you need to break it down in your training.i.e. go hard for 2.5 miles then easyfor 2.5 then hard etc.or any other length of intervals.another good way is to find a roundabout on a quiet road with about a mile leading up to it,then do your intervals in to and out of the roundabout.
its all about speed if you want to ride a 10 at 25 mph then you've got train to ride at that speed.

[SteveM]

Yes, torque being how hard I'm pushing down on the pedals.

I can go faster by staying in the same gear and upping the cadence, or by changing up a gear and pushing down harder. For climbing hills I'm finding that I go faster for longer if I stay seated, leave the gear low and keep a high cadence.

Sounds like I need to change up a gear on the flat and keep the same cadence. And then do it again. And again... 

[webbo]

right i understand. yes to go faster you need to pedal faster in the same gear or put it in a bigger gear and keep the same revs.it ain't rocket science.however the science is which method will allow you to go at the required speed for longer or not cause you to fall apart.

[Percy B]

Spinning a higher cadence is supposed to work your lungs a lot harder, but is easier on the muscles and joints. Grinding away at a bigger gear with a slower cadence works you the other way around - evidence for this being Jan Ulrichs massive thighs (thats what grinding a huge gear (and taking drugs) does for your physique!)
Learning to spin a higher cadence is actually quite tricky, as its way to easy to revert back to your old ways as you get tired. A slow steady increase in cadence over a few months worked for me as it allowed by body to get used to it. Riding on the track helps build this sort of 'leg speed' too.

I'm converted to trying to spin the pedals a bit quicker as it reduces the wear and tear on my poor old knees (knackered from decades of bouldering!). It does seem to help.

[chappers]

you need some big gears man!



 

[Percy B]

http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/first-look-graeme-obrees-amazing-bicycle-21811?img=1&pn=first-look-graeme-obrees-amazing-bicycle&mlc=news%2Farticle

I'll see your big gear, and I'll raise you this bad boy!

[Percy B]

Although I think I've found the winner.....

http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/LSR%20Bike02.htm

[soapy]

it is believed his hour record steed may more likely resemble this fugly assembly

[SteveM]

I like my knees so I shall stick with spinning then. And change up a gear.

[fatkid2000]

Agree with Percy - high cadence is the way forward. Watch Lance whatever you think of him, when he won his first few tours - there is some footage on youtube showing his cadence in the Alps - totally amazing. Mind you compare Menchov vs Di Luca in the last few days of the giro. Menchov's cadence is slower but he has a much smoother style & much stiller on the bicycle.

I'm wandering about those q-rotors - suppose to be good for knees as well.

My fitness is coming back thanks to 60-70 Km commuting per day.