[Shy Yorkshireman]

Yo yo sorry if this has already been posted but saw a sign up nr bamford today that snake will be closed 13-15 July - might be worth an evening excursion - or a day outing for the part timers.

[jfw]

  oops that was me - gib might not want people thinking he would type things like yo yo.

[Percy B]

..or leading people to thinking that Gib might need a day to get over the Snake!

[chappers]

roll up, roll up, team buk, pendle pedal.

squeek and i are in for the 100k.

[clm]

im in - 100k.  Oh shit, what have i done!

 

[squeek]

roll up, roll up, team buk, pendle pedal.

squeek and i are in for the 100k.

Having something to train for didn't seem to help my ride this morning, still crawled up every hill.  At least you can enjoy the views whilst waiting for me.

[clm]

roll up, roll up, team buk, pendle pedal.

squeek and i are in for the 100k.

Having something to train for didn't seem to help my ride this morning, still crawled up every hill.  At least you can enjoy the views whilst waiting for me.

and then you can enjoy the view, get bored waiting and fuck off waiting for me...

[chappers]

nice one clm.

you in didsbury? did i dream that? fancy a quick spin on saturday on road bikes?

[clm]

was west disdbury, now ardwick/ fallowfield.  would normally be a definately but i have hiudeous lurgy at the minute and feelawful.

Sorry mate, next time.

[fatkid2000]

As I'm out of action - I popped into La Bicletta this afternoon. Spied Percy's new wheels - very nice.

Meet the Cannondale rep - the new Super six and another frame have been built for integrated Di2 - which sounds the bollocks: Auto-Trim etc.
And interestingly Alex has taken 2 SRAM groupsets off bikes recently - which I was surprised at considering the number of Pro-tour teams are running it.

Alex seems to have recovered from his attack / shop break in which sounds awful.

Oh well another week of pottering about, eating too much, getting bored etc  & I can start gentle exercise - not sure what that means?

[Palomides]

Meet the Cannondale rep - the new Super six and another frame have been built for integrated Di2 - which sounds the bollocks: Auto-Trim etc.

Is it true that Cannondales Di2 frames still have lugs for cables, just in case Di2 turns out to be a bit shit?

And interestingly Alex has taken 2 SRAM groupsets off bikes recently - which I was surprised at considering the number of Pro-tour teams are running it.

Do you know which groupset? I've heard that some of SRAMs stuff can be a bit fragile, but that was for MTBs

[fatkid2000]

Yeap the Cannondale frames have lugs left in place for cables on the Di2 frames. I'm thinking of buying a new bike, but am going to wait at least another year or maybe 2 to see where all this new techno stuff goes. Maybe a new set of wheels will suffice. 

From reports Di2 seems to run well - its been used in the Spring classics including Paris-Roubaix by a good number of the domestiques & it's been the groupset of choice for the TT stages in le tour. Apparently next year most of the big names want to run it for their normal bikes.

The groupsets he has taken off are a SRAM red and I think the other was Force. Both changed for shimano : one ultegra and one 7900 Dura-ace. I run SRAM components on my mountain bikes and never had any problems with it.

[clm]

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread13259-14.html

Anyone got a spare £600

Scroll down to Mrs Goggins thread.  I would if i had the cash and didnt already have too many bikes...

[webbo]

is it possible to have too many bikes.its a bit like complaining cos your knobs too big,

[clm]

I have to do that too...

[Scraggadoo]

My arse hurts.  Goddamn.     Been tinkering with the saddle today and set it a little higher (by about a cm)...  My arse is feeling it, damn...

I'm trying to find the most comfortable position on the bike, is there any such way of knowing when you've hit the sweet spot (apart from not aching like a ragged man)?  I've been experimenting and find that sitting back further allows me to put a lot of power through the pedals but it's not comfortable to sustain this position (mainly cos of arse pain issues).  I also find that in the current position I can see my wheel hub in front of my handle bars, I've heard generally that you're not supposed to... (handle bar should block front wheel hub)?  Lastly, thighs hurt significantly when saddle is too low and pedalling motion doesn't feel smooth hence my fiddling. Or am I just plain unfit?  (Just did 17 miles in an hour, ascended 1000 ft, descended 950 ft).

I know it may be down to a shit saddle that my arse hurts, but really, 100 quid or so for a new saddle...?  I can never justify spending that much on a saddle.

Due to me being a billy no mates (well actually no one I know is into road biking seriously), I need to call on the collective wisdom that is UKB!
Cheers muchly in advance.

[Palomides]

There are a lot of people here with more knowledge than me, but to get started, I did as recommended on this page. I felt a bit crunched up when on exactly 109%, so I raised the saddle until it felt too high then went down a bit.

It might be worth trying that, and asking someone to watch you - one bit of advice I've heard is that if your hips are wobbling it's too high.

One thing that I found that probably isn't valid for anyone else, is that when I had the saddle at the right height, I could suddenly, magically ride no-handed for the first time ever (my first no-hands riding banana was quite a thrill...  )

As for saddle/arse pain, well, it might be that you need to get one that's the correct width. Dunno if that's a big issue for blokes (if you are a bloke) but my faster half had to try quite a few before she found the right fit. I fear that to get proper advice about yer bum you either need to divulge much more information than I'd be comfortable reading on the internet, or go to a local bike shop, where they can discuss the issue with delicacy and tact and then sell you some under the counter bum cream.

Hope that helps.

[tlr]

How much riding have you been doing? Unfortunately it ain't magic, your arse just has to get used to it. A decent saddle will help, but its really down to personal preference. Fizik Arione are well liked, as are Selle Italia SLRs. What have you got at the moment? Don't get tempted to buy a big comfy looking saddle, it won't help in the long run.

There are 2 types of arse pain (from cycling, many more from prison). If the soreness is on the skin, kind of hotspots or rubbing then better shorts or chamois cream will help. If its more of a bruised pain (from your butt being trapped between bone and saddle) then try a new saddle, but basically you might have to mtfu for a bit and get used to it. It won't take long though.

Beware of saddle too high, therein lies knee problems.

[Scraggadoo]

Thanks Palomides & tlr...   

I've done about 130 miles give or take 10miles.  I generally on go 20 miles rides at the moment.  Yesterday I had my saddle up a bit than usual, and this gave me terrible arse pain - wasn't so bad before that though.  I've since lowered it a few mm and am going to see how much difference this makes.

The saddle is what came with the bike, scape something?  Oh and it's definitely more of a bruised pain!  I thought I was getting used to it on the previous ride to yesterdays...

It's interesting you say that saddle too high = knee problems - I've got a dodgy knee so definitely not wanting it too high!

[chappers]

winner!

[Scraggadoo]

The Cube's Scape saddle looks like the Fizik Arione with its long, flat top, but that's where the similarity ends: it's far too soft and lacks adequate support for all but the very lightest rider

nabbed from their website.

Could this be the culprit?  Gonna have a chat down the LBS tomorrow...

[Percy B]

Collected my new wheels today, and have been out for a quick ride this afternoon. Based on this I can firmly say that I for one will not buy any expensive 'super-light' factory-made wheels again. The cheaper factory wheels are great for what they are, but hand-built to your own spec is definately the way to go if you are investing in a really good pair of wheels.
What I've ended up with is a pair of wheels that weigh well under 1400 grams for the pair, that are super stiff and quick (Ambrosio Chrono rims, DT Swiss aerolight spokes, Tune Hubs and Tufo S3 tubs), and cost a third of anything made in a factory that comes anywhere near in quality or performance. They look the business on the bike too (they make the whole bike look skinny!), and you can tell the wheel builder exactly how you want them laced so they perform exactly how you want. Its taken a while to get them, but well worth the wait. 

[chappers]

The Cube's Scape saddle looks like the Fizik Arione with its long, flat top, but that's where the similarity ends: it's far too soft and lacks adequate support for all but the very lightest rider

nabbed from their website.

Could this be the culprit?  Gonna have a chat down the LBS tomorrow...

it is worth remembering that the arione may not be the seat for you. it is for me, but i found that out via two other expensive saddles. try them out. there is no way that you should put up with a sore arse on the rides you are doing, i can ride 100 miles with absolutely no discomfort, and rode that distance every day for 5 days in the pyrenees last year and still no pain!

if you intend to spend alot of time riding your bike, a good pair of short and a good seat are a worth while investment!

[bigd942]

saddle height is a funny one, getting it right comes with experience as much as anything as things like the thickness of the sole on the shoe etc are taken into account. For a start I would go here (http://www.parktool.com/repair/howtos/positionroad.pdf) and download the chart and fill it out, worth keeping a copy if your bike ever falls off a cliff or anything. You can use the equations to get a starting point then personally I find heading out for 20 miles with allen keys in the back pocket the best way, just set the saddle level with a spirit level and adjust on the height and forwards/backwards position.
Selle use the S.I.Z.E system which grades the saddles by rider weight so worth looking at these, I'm on a Flite Max Gel at the minute which is 255 or something on their system and works well for me at 100kg, not sure of any other companies that go by rider weight but weight and width of pelvis would be the main things, think Specalized offer saddles by width.
I rode one of these for a while and found it very comfy as I'd a sore that wouldn't seem to heal (http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f%5FProductID=3859&f%5FSupersetQRY=C257&f%5FSortOrderID=1&f%5Fbct=c003154c003138c003276), for the money they're worth a go to see the difference.
130 miles is a good ride so unless your doing that every so often your skin just won't be used to it, chamois cream and fresh/clean shorts are key. I had the Airone and it's a good saddle (Mr Largerstarfish has it now!), is stiff but a good pair of shorts helps a great deal. With any saddles like these which expose the clamp of the seatpost I'd recommend taking a file to the clamp and taking off any sharp corners, helps keeps your shorts in good nick I find.

[SteveM]

snake will be closed 13-15 July - might be worth an evening excursion

And it was a lovely ride last night, the first time that I've ridden over the other side to Glossop rather than reversing my route back down to Ladybower. Well, lovely until it pissed it down all the way from Glossop to Castleton. The rain made descending Winnats interesting!

 

Didn't see any significant road works on the eastern side so any hopes of improved road surface will have to wait until next year - they were just painting new white lines. The tarmac is fresh and shiny and very smooth on the western side though, but I don't know if that's brand new being a newcomer to that side of the hills. Enjoy!