Cycling 2017 (incorporating your own bike chat)

[doppelkorn]

Thought we could mix it up this year. Pro bike chat and amateur fat lad/lass bike chat.

My pro predictions:

RVV: Egg van Avermaet
P-R: fuck knows...let's go mad and say Jarlinson Pantano or Alaphillipe
Giro: Arooooooooooooooooooooooooooo(gah)
TdF: Chas Froome
Vooelta: Bertie the Count
Worlds: Eddie Boss

My amateur predictions:

Having a baby has severely curtailed all my cycling ambitions, but at this early stage he's proving very cheap to maintain. This has meant I bought a 2008 Look 595 frame, which I'll be building up with some Campag Chorus I've got (also 2008 I think) for a PROPER EURO experience. I'll have to get some white shorts. My wife rolled her eyes, but two of my bieks got nicked while we were in hospital having said babeh, so technically I'm still on -1 compared to October.



I'm brazing together a front rack for my Pompino and putting MTB bars on, because. Wanna convert my Orbit into a 1x9 commuter summer commuter thingie. Maybe flat bars, maybe dropz.

[Norton Canes]

Did my first (imperial) ton last September (actually it was 133 miles including Whinlatter Fell and Honister Pass) swiftly followed (though not caused, hopefully) by a bout of gastroenteritis which, factoring in long-term recovery, put paid to any serious winter cycling. So looking forward to February's reliability ride by getting in some miles over the Trough and around the pan-flat Wyresdale vistas, hopefully a precursor to a few summer sportives and group rides.

No bike purchases planned. 

[doppelkorn]

Nice. Do they have many audaxes up there?

[Norton Canes]

Never thought of doing an audax so I haven't been looking for them, to be honest. According to aukweb.net there aren't any starting near us for the next three months or so. Considering its terrain Cumbria seems to be a little under-represented generally for road cycling events, certainly in relation to Yorkshire.

In updated bike purchase news my 12-year-old son has told me there's a £350 mountain bike he wants for his birthday. Not sure I can deal with spending that much on a bike that I'm not going to use. 

[weekender]

My bike looks sad in a spare toilet room.

[Dex Sawash]

I kinda want the belt drive bike from Ikea, $400 American right now, trailer is another 250.

[studpuppet]

Here's my little fellah - a 1984 Moulton AM7:



I'm definitely doing the Eroica Britannia again this year, and probably the Dunwich Dynamo which I haven't done for a couple of years. Maybe another, not sure yet.

[gilbertharding]

I'm definitely doing the Eroica Britannia again this year, and probably the Dunwich Dynamo which I haven't done for a couple of years. Maybe another, not sure yet.

Nice bike. Are you doing the Eroica on that, if it's not a stupid question?

[gilbertharding]

I am a cyclist and this is my only bike.

There really is no excuse... It was the best bike I could justifiably afford when I bought it - 6 years ago when I was unemployed and hadn't had a bike for about 15 years before that. Since then I have had two different jobs, and have converted it from a hybrid, upgraded the wheels, etc.

Hopefully one day it will get mudguards and become a righteous winter bike.

[Mr Banlon]

Got a Redline RL444, the same model as the one pictured, except mine has higher rise GT Fubar handlebars, Profile 180 3pc Cromo cranks and mine has had the decals removed.
I also have a Specialized Vegas 24 in bits in the shed.

[studpuppet]

Are you doing the Eroica on that, if it's not a stupid question?

Yup - did it last year, although only the 55 mile rather than the 100 (it's eligible[nb]Moultons are eligible regardless of age for the 35 and 55 mile rides as they are British-built and therefore 'in the spirit'[/nb] though, as it's a pre-87 bike). I'm looking to enjoy this year's ride more though - last year I had that 59 tooth front chainring on it[nb]Small wheeled bikes need bigger chainrings to achieve similar gearing as large wheelers.[/nb] and I had real trouble climbing the hills - had to walk up a couple![nb]I'm 45 so this is not embarrassing...[/nb] This year I'll be on a 54 or 52 tooth ring which will help.

[buzby]

Yup - did it last year, although only the 55 mile rather than the 100 (it's eligible[nb]Moultons are eligible regardless of age for the 35 and 55 mile rides as they are British-built and therefore 'in the spirit'[/nb] though, as it's a pre-87 bike). I'm looking to enjoy this year's ride more though - last year I had that 59 tooth front chainring on it[nb]Small wheeled bikes need bigger chainrings to achieve similar gearing as large wheelers.[/nb] and I had real trouble climbing the hills - had to walk up a couple![nb]I'm 45 so this is not embarrassing...[/nb] This year I'll be on a 54 or 52 tooth ring which will help.

Chapeau, sir. Lovely bike as well - I've always wanted a classic spaceframe Moulton.

I did a charity ride organised by work last July - it was 1100kms in total, but it was broken up into sections that you had to volunteer for. I did Carlisle to Appleby on the first day (starting at 7am, which meant getting up at 4am to drive up there), Leeds to Chorley on the second day (a mix of roads and the Leeds-Liverpool canal) and Chorly to Liverpool on the third (all along the canal). It ended up being about 140 miles in total. We didn't get to choose the route or I would have just used roads all the way. It wasn't very pleasant as it rained on all 3 days and the towpaths in particular were a boggy morass. I had thought ahead and bought a 2nd-hand CX bike for the ride which turned out to be an excellent decision as it had mudguards and saved me ruining my other bikes (I serviced it afterwards and sold it for what I'd paid for it too).

I used to do the 50-mile Great Manchester Cycle but it wasn't on last year as I think the council refused to close the roads I might have a go at the Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool again as riding through the Mersey Tunnel is a bit of a laugh.

[Pinckle Wicker]

After only doing a few big rides in 2016, both road and mtb, I am already signed up for a few sportives already and also the 3 day Tour of The Highlands. I have done some of the high climbs on it before but not with a daily 100 miles too. This is going to ensure I stick to weekend road rides a lot more this year for my training.

[jobotic]

I have one of these (although it's the version from 3 years ago).

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLS105/planet-x-xls-shimano-105-cyclocross-bike

I've put Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels on it with 25m tyres , which has made it much lighter and quicker. Wondering what to upgrade next. Probably brakes, but hydraulic ones are pricey. Is it worth bothering with stems, seat posts etc?

Probably should have bought a road bike in the first place as I've very rarely ridden off tarmac.

[gilbertharding]

Is this the place to say I just got back from 58km with 594m of climbing at a disappointing average of 19km/h? Or is that too boring? Save it for when I've just done an Everest, or a 200miler, eh?

[doppelkorn]

I need to properly reply to some of y'all in this thread, but let me just say I stole my wife's Brompton to commute to work. Forgot how twitchy they handle.

Also, I hope Andrew Talansky and Taylor Phinney win some races this year.

[Norton Canes]

Planned bike purchases have increased from 0 to 1 since somecunts decided to walk into our garage and help themselves to my Cube Agree the other night.

Not sure what to get, haven't really been studying this (last) year's models. One of our local bike stores stocks Scott/Trek/Giant and Wilier, they have decent service/maintenance people so will probably go for something from them. I think they can get most brands in on request.

WLTB something with carbon/105/discs but might have to settle for two out of three.

[doppelkorn]

I used the Trek Emonda ALR 4 (I think?) on holiday. It was the 2016 alu version with Tiagra and I was really, really impressed. If I was buying a new OTP road bike, that's what I'd get. Actually, I'd probably get the 105 version, so the ALR 5.

[Norton Canes]

Cool, I'll have to check them out.

Possibly coming to a theatre near you (unless you live in Wales Or Scotland or Cornwall)

VENTOUX


Ventoux is a restaging of the dramatic battle between Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani in the Tour de France 2000 on Mont Ventoux.

Once regarded as the greatest race in the history of cycling, we now know that both Armstrong and Pantani doped during their careers.

At the time both were champions in their own right - Pantani winning the Tour de France in 1998, and Armstrong winning in 1999.

In 2000 they went head to head on Mont Ventoux. They crossed the line together but their careers spiralled in wildly opposite directions.

Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France titles; Pantani died of a cocaine overdose alone in a hotel room.

Armstrong denied, lied and cheated where Pantani was caught.

Ventoux restages this race, knowing everything that we now know in 2015.

With a pair of road bikes, stunning footage of Mont Ventoux and actual race commentary, 2Magpies bring the excitement of the Tour de France to the theatre.

[Dex Sawash]

Fatman Townie bike. Converted to 26" with hookworms and nexus 3spd coaster brake hub.



edit- noticed in pic that some cunt had the rack mounted wonky, fixed now

[Bobtoo]

This is my bike, a Dawes Super Galaxy from 1982.

P1050701 by RichardB5, on Flickr

It had been well used by its first owner, who I bought it from, and worn out parts had been replaced with whatever was current at the time. I've been gradually replacing the new parts with the original spec as I find them, this is the most recent picture I have.

20150705_140212 by RichardB5, on Flickr

I had a flip-flop wheel going spare, so I decided to make a budget "fixie" from an unloved 1978 Carlton I'd bought. Unfortunately the steerer tube was bent, so it was basically unusable, so I need to build it into another frame.

2015-09-13_05-16-49 by RichardB5, on Flickr

[doppelkorn]

Nice bikes! I've managed to acquire a Look KG241 which, despite being the least practical of my bike projects and the last in, is taking up most of my time.

Anyone watching the jeero?

[weekender]

Ooh, the weather has turned nice again - time to get the bike out of the spare toilet room, like the casual cyclist cunt that I am!

I paid about £70 on top of an insurance claim to get this (not actual bike):



It replaced this (not actual bike), which got stolen from a locked bike store inside a gated apartment complex (don't ask):



I'll be honest though, the Roam 0 is so much better in many, many ways:

1) It's pedals don't randomly fall off.
2) Chain hasn't come off yet.
3) It just feels more sturdy and well built, like it can actually handle the demands of a hybrid when it goes off-road.  Whenever the MX went on grass it felt like it was out of its comfort zone.
4) Ergonomically it suits my strangely shaped body better than the MX.
5) It seems less 'showy offy'.

Don't get me wrong, the MX was probably better on the roads and wasn't a bad bike, but the Roam 0 suits me so much better.  It also feels like a genuine hybrid, whereas the MX just felt like a road bike with a few cheap and minor alterations to claim it was a hybrid.

I'd like to claim I'm a bike connoisseur, but I'm not really.  I can afford a decent bike, and I pay something like £25 a year for Halfords's 'Bike Care' plan which gives me one complete free check-up a year plus free labour all year - so if I get a puncture I just wheel it down to them, pay for the parts, and let them sort it out.  It's a good value plan.

In summary: casual cycling cunt who doesn't really know what he's doing.  The main use of my bike is to cycle through the roads and fields to Sheldon Country Park, where you can sit really close to all the planes taking off from Birmingham International Airport.  Love doing that, you can see the people's faces in the planes, waving at you as they hurtle away from the ground in a big metal tube that nobody really understands.

[jobotic]

Yeah been watching the Giro. Christ Lombardy is lovely. Doubt I'll ever afford to leave the country again though.

Is today a rest day before the hilly stuff?

[buzby]

Yeah been watching the Giro. Christ Lombardy is lovely. Doubt I'll ever afford to leave the country again though.

Is today a rest day before the hilly stuff?

Yes, it was a rest day today. The Giro's climbing stages are usually massively backloaded into the final week. Here's tomorrow's profile - 3 Cat1 climbs including Mortirolo and the Stelvio (which is the Cima Coppi - the highest climb in the race, and the highest peak the Giro uses):


Saturday's stage was good fun - I'm not sure of Quintana is on top form, though the reducing gradient at the top section of Oropa suited Dumoulin's diesel engine.

[Mr Eggs]

Gary Imlach and his polo shirts are live on ITV4 RIGHT FUCKING NOW and they are giving Team Sky and Baldy Brailsford a good kicking.
Ace.

[doppelkorn]

I fucking cummed in disgust to see that Watchmaker.comorwhatever advert.

WHERE'SSKODA?!

[Sebastian Cobb]

I have one of these, with a pannier.



It cost me £100.

Some people get annoyed by it. After experimenting with fixed gear mode, and hurting myself, I concluded that the free-wheel was a good invention. Quite like not having gears though; you can have too much choice.

[doppelkorn]

I didn't like fixed either for cycling around town, but my TT bike is fixed. I can't comment on why or what benefits this brings.

[Mr Brightside]

Which bicycle should I purchase if I need a human-powered vehicle that will allow me to complete a successful pursuit of my foes but will also facilitate a speedy escape if the tables are turned and my foes become the hunters?