[webbo]

the difficulty in trying to learn to pedal at a higher cadence is according to some article i read.is that once you are past your late teens its hard to learn speed of movement.so it reckoned that the way to get faster movement was to get stronger if you are past your teens.

[clm]

In your face, small gear pussies.  eat my cog

[Palomides]

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

On my commuting bike I have an old Shimano biopace chainring - it's quite easy to keep a smooth cadence, but you don't get the same 'kick' of acceleration if you stand up and go harder compared with a round ring (this was the reason I heard as to the pros not using biopace rings). I also find that if I've not been out on my proper road bike for a while the transition is a bit odd, the first couple of hills give me wierdly pumped thighs.

clm - what is that? Some sort of salt-flats speed record bike?

[Scraggadoo]

Got my bike today, took some time for it to be built and delivered...

Just did about 9 miles in 33 minutes - my first ride out on a bike in more than a few years.  Pretty good going I thought.  Spent another 40 minutes coming back the same way which was brutal, mostly uphill!  Also, my chain came off and being new to this clipless pedals lark, tried hard to get my foot out but failed.  A graceful splat in the middle of the road swiftly followed.  Guess it's all a rite of passage that we have to go through!

But now have the hang of the clipless pedals.

Need a bit of advice re saddle height though.  I am aware that your legs are not supposed to be straight at the bottom of the stroke (which they aren't in my case) but trying to be smooth in pushing down and pulling up with the other is proving difficult, it is a little "on off" just at the bottom of the pedal stroke.  I reckon the saddle height needs to be higher but don't really want to do more harm than good.

I can't consider myself a proper roadie just yet BUT I have officially got the bug.  

Elevation profile for one way...



What do you think??

[fatkid2000]

Cool Scraggs welcome to the club. Just be road aware. I had my closest call today in three years - felt the car go past my right shoulder/arm  and then it cut round in front of me. It would have been a hospital bed for me if I hadn't realised what was happening. Phoned the police I was that pissed off.

Falling off with cleats is a right of passage for all roadies and MTBers who use them.

[Scraggadoo]

Jeez, that doesn't sound too good.  Lucky you're here to tell the tale and nothing else happened.

Just out of curiosity, what can be done if something like this does indeed happen and say I wanted to call the police (which I can't since I'm deaf, but I could report it later)? 

[robertostallioni]

text the fuzz

[fatkid2000]

The chap I spoke to whom was a cyclist was really helpful which surprised me. Basically if you are not injured you phone them up or pop in the cop shop, they then will want you to make a statement. Which can occur later and if you have the reg number they will then pay the metal boxed idiot a visit to inform them a complaint has been made. Ideally you need a witness or have CCTV evidence which there is in my case.

[Scraggadoo]

Ta for that fatkid, that was handy info to have.

RobertoStallini, yeah I already know about the text service, I heard about it many years ago, they keep putting it on later and later and later...     They never get it up and running, it's just been hot air for a number of years to take it nationwide.  The trials are in totally wrong areas to where I am, and I can speak on the phone in case of emergencies etc, I don't have any problems with my speech.  Just hearing what the other person on the other end is saying is the problem I have...  A lot of people don't realise when I speak to them that I am deaf, I have to tell them.

[clm]

That bike was built by a british guy called bruce bursford for a land speed record.  Unfrotunatley bruce was killed by a van driver while out training before he could ride the bike.

While looking for this pic i came across cycle land speed records - these figures are on a reclining bike with a full aero fairing onn a flat road.

Average speed over one hour 58mph!!!

Top speed over 200m (for which he needed a 5 mile run up!!!) 82mph!!!

[webbo]

Need a bit of advice re saddle height though.  I am aware that your legs are not supposed to be straight at the bottom of the stroke (which they aren't in my case) but trying to be smooth in pushing down and pulling up with the other is proving difficult, it is a little "on off" just at the bottom of the pedal stroke.  I reckon the saddle height needs to be higher but don't really want to do more harm than good.quote]

put your heels on the pedals in your cycling shoes and you pedal backwards.you should be able to do this without your hips rocking from side to side.this is supposed to give you a baseline height.you then make any adjustments in small increments.

[tlr]

Saddle height formula is supposed to be 0.883 x your inseam length in centimeters. Obviously this is only a starting point and tbh Webbos advice is equally valid. It also depends on things like the ankle angle.

[soapy]

..and move your saddle back/forwards on its rails

[webbo]

i take it you know about having your saddle completely horizontal i.e stick a spirit level on it to make sure.

[fatkid2000]

Penal reforms:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8082354.stm

[PizzaZer]

When you shave your legs When the time comes and the hair will grow again is it not rough,.?



_________________
Commercial Deep Fryer

[soapy]

it is at first, but then it becomes downy and lush and, oh so strokable




*clairol moment

[chappers]

amazing chain gang with manchester wheelers today. don't think i have ever been quite that fucked. on my knees!

[Percy B]

Popped into La Bicicleta tonight to see if Alex had built my new wheels yet......and was greeted by a very battered and subdued Alex who had his shop broken into on Tuesday night. Nothing got nicked, but Alex fought them off (5 young scrotes in a nicked Vectra) with amongst other objects a file and one of his metal stools! Sounded pretty heavy, but then Alex showed me the CCTV footage which is pant-wettingly terrifying - particularly the bit at the end of the raid where one of the fuckers wanders out to the car, pulls a gun out of the glovebox and points it at Alexs head before they all ran off! Alex didn't realise he'd had a gun pulled on him until he watched the CCTV footage with a CID officer who helpfully pointed it out.

A very, very nasty business that luckily turned out alright (if you consider a bust nose, stiches in your face, loads of bruising, a bust toe, cut hands, etc,etc..lucky). Here's to hoping Alex recovers nice and quick, and that the police actually manage to catch the idiots who think pulling guns on people is a cool thing to do.

[SteveM]

 

Got to drop by and pay him for a wetsuit. I'll take extra sympathy and righteous indignation with me.

[chappers]

holy shit. i hope he is ok.

he should now be armed with a fucking massive magnum just incase he sees one of these wank-stains in the street, then he can blow them away clint style.

[slackline]

Thats fucking shocking

Obviously I don't know the guy but hope he's okay and recovers quickly.

he should now be armed with a fucking massive magnum just incase he sees one of these wank-stains in the street, then he can blow them away clint style.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but if they happened to "fall" under a lorries wheels or "trip" at a level crossing I don't think there'd be much to miss.

[matthew]

Penal reforms:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8082354.stm

The two best quotes:-
"for obvious reasons, breakaway sprints will not be allowed"

"'It's a kind of escape for us'.....said a prisoner identified as Daniel"

Brilliant.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Just got one of these stands for a bargain off Ebay...

Argos £87.99 + delivery or collect from store

ebay £52.49 delivered. Bargain.
It is the Argos one, box has Argos codes and everything. Pretty robust, nice chunky tubes. It comes with the magnetic tool tray which for some reason is not in this picture, it is shown in the ebay pic.

7 left as I post this, snap them up.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Fuck! Just read Percys post. Get better soon Alex, popped in there the other week, really nice guy, no one deserves to have to deal with that! Hope they catch the fuckers.