Close to you, 5'10" and 31" inside leg but not a cyclers physique so I'm being pulled a little too far for my liking and need a touch more freedom.
100%, and ironically I had gone through this exercise ages ago when I decided I'd buy a Canyon when they next had them in stock, then had a brain fart and did the opposite of what I meant to when they were available to buy.
Just one for you to watch chaps
Ta
Pitch
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...57#post5741957
Cold in NW Leics this afternoon. But sunny. Intermittently.
Incredible buddy. Josh has got me in the book Born To Run, he is big into his barefoot running.
It was a wonderful few hours yesterday evening in his company over dinner. unfortunately I had to leave early this morning but my wife cooked him breakfast and sent him off with a pack up.
Pitch
More lunacy ... an NFT of a bike for more than the actual bike ....
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/p...terally-498294
Thanks to link to the Thanet video . I will show it to him next time I am round there
Quite possibly the cleanest this will look for a while.
Love a good gravel
RIAC
Is that the new Diverge Kerry? Or is the one you’re selling?
It’s hard to keep up with your collection ;)
It’s gravel, you will fall off it and a di2 mech or shifter vs a mechanical will do the same job just Costa a lot more to replace.
When you resell mechanical will always be more desirable to adventure cyclists who know that simplicity is key and once you load those bikes up with panniers they do fall over more than normal bikes so less risk. I personally run GRX as its basically 105 adapted for gravel, works seemlessly in 1x11.
Also dont disregard a alloy gravel bike, the weight doesn’t matter but the strength does so again re dropping them its less likely to be heartbereaking with a rock solid E5 frame and you’ll go just as fast and far.
So if you intend using it on rough surfaces or for adventures then stick with what works best, if you’re just gonna don the Rapha and ride it for an hour and spend 5 hours outside a coffee shop then get the Di2
RIAC
😃
A lot of sense there! Then again I use steel-frames, quill stems, and consider index shifting a bit too unproven. There's not be much real progress since the diamond safety frame and slant parallelogram derailleur as far as I am concerned 😁.
On Di2, my only "experience" is seeing everyone (and it does seem to be everyone) who uses it eventually post a comment on Strava along the lines of "Forgot to charge Di2! Had to cycle home in 53x11!" or similar. Not sure if this is a general issue or it's a subtle "I have Di2..." signal similar to hospitalised Impreza Man casually mentioning his rollcage. Wish I could find that forum gem somewhere.
As for Di2, it seems durable enough for those that feel the requirement to add batteries and electronics to move a piece of metal left and right...
Steel is where you should be looking for strength, longevity and repairability.Also dont disregard a alloy gravel bike, the weight doesn’t matter but the strength does so again re dropping them its less likely to be heartbereaking with a rock solid E5 frame and you’ll go just as fast and far.
Not to mention ride quality.
Alloy is much harder to repair as you can’t source bespoke hydro/fluid formed tubes and post weld heat treatment is expensive (if you can find somewhere to do it)
When Di2 battery runs out it does not default to 53x11.
Also, you have to be pretty unaware to ever allow your Di2 to run flat; you obviously have the LED's that show the level.
Then in use the first warning you get if the front mech stops trimming, then the front mech stops but the rear still works then it stops all together. You'd have to be a complete goon to miss all the warning signs that leave you in a single gear.
I have done a 60 mile ride AFTER the front mech has stopped due to low battery ... its a very good system.
I usually charge it about 4 times a year ...
I don't have any issue with Di2, in fact anything that makes someone want to cycle is good. Just personally I prefer simpler things. Though I am open to progress. I built my most recent front wheel with only 32 spokes. The sense of danger is invigorating.
I can see the sense in robust simple builds like yours and I own a 80s steel bike for those reasons but the modern kit really is good and much more robust than people think; plus I'd say a Di2 / hydraulic brake set up is actually less maintenance than a traditional cabled bike.
On our club run last weekend the ride leader's rear mech cable snapped about 10 miles in. He ummed and ahhed about either abandoning the ride, trying to get a cable, or riding with just two gears. In the end he did the latter, 70 odd miles of grinding up hills and spinning like a hamster on the flats! While we were stopped one of the riders asked me how often I charged my Di2, to which I replied every couple of months. "Probably time I charged mine then", he replied, he'd bought a new bike some months before and never charged it. Needless to say, on the way back his battery went and he finished the ride with no front mech. So both systems can have issues...
Di2 is a good system and I'm a fan but maybe not for off-road, in fact on my CX bike when I broke the rear mech in a race I downgraded the mech from SRAM Force to Rival to keep the cost down, does exactly the same job.
I went for the carbon frame & GRX gears. That was the top of my budget as I'm a reluctant lockdown cyclist and wasn't sure how much use it would get. As it is I use this all the time now as the roads are so bad locally that my Rose road bike on 25mm is just too harsh. Also very hilly near me so the range of gearing is important; got dragged up Dragon Hill last week and appreciated the gearing and weight.
Another local friend has just bought the identical bike and is also very happy with it; he is a keen cyclist so has an opinion of more value than mine!
we are all going tubeless tonight on these; having a night in garage squirting goo in tyres.
RIAC
Was that the White Horse challenge?
As for tubeless, I went tubeless last year and wouldn't go back, it's not been totally plain sailing but I have never ended up stranded or having to fix a puncture. But... when I go on holiday to France with the family I often go in the mountains on my own and I think I'll take tubed next time I go.
nope, a few of the guys did that the week before with Dragon towards the end of the trip; sod that!
I'm nowhere near as cycling fit as them and due to circulatory issues didn't cycle during the coldest months as my feet & hands are like blocks of ice; so only just getting up to a reasonable level again now. We are a mixed group ranging from reluctant (me) to lunatic (230k round Wiltshire in a day) types
Dragon Hill is about half way on one of our regular 50k routes so gets done a few times a year, although I've dodged it a couple of times
The tubeless is done, debut ride tonight.
the tubeless is done; we decided as a group for the gravel bikes; watching a repair out last week in the sleet may have tipped the balance. I'm mechanically retarded so the idea of less puncture repairs appeals massively; but appreciate they aren't everyones preference. Another friend who is far more speedy and competitive, like yourself, said exactly as you have.
Ah ok I did the WHC so wondered if our paths might have inadvertently crossed.
I struggle with the hands/feet ice blocks thing myself.
For hands I have Rapha deep winter gloves which are amazingly warm and I've never had an issue wearing them.
Feet are more of an issue for me, I wear one pair of thin socks, a foot warmer, another thicker pair of socks, winter shoes and an overshoe which does the job.
I know a few people with Raynaud's, they use heated socks/gloves with good results but not a cheap option for decent quality.
Good luck with the tubeless tyres!
i'm still wearing my Northwave winter boots that are supposed to be tested to -15c and have tried various sock combos, but even last night they were freezing. Always had the issue when doing things like watching football in the winter, so it's not just a cycling thing. The hands I can live with and have various glove combos too. Doesn't help that a couple of our guys are farmers and were out last week with no gloves and i'm in deep winter mits!
never realised how soft I am!
Not sure it's being soft, maybe a circulation thing, since I lost weight I really feel the cold especially in my feet.
I use these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or these https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Company-W...819243&sr=8-38
A chap I ride with also struggles and said for him this was a game changer!
+27 today, great day for some cycling!
Finally bit the bullet last month and bought a replacement for my aging Santa Cruz Superlight. Bargains seem impossible to come across these days, but couldn’t wait forever as my older son is now good enough to do some decent rides. Bought a new-old-stock 2018 Canyon Strive CF 9.0 from the Canyon “Outlet” and couldn’t be happier. Did a mainly single track 50km loop a couple of weeks ago and we’re likely to head out again on Sunday weather permitting. Will post some pics if we do.
Funky Fresh Bartape on the fun bike
RIAC
Kerry nice tape that and it suits the bike.
My road bike Beacon BF70 was available new in pink / white or grey/ black. I waxed lyrical about the choice and went conservative with the grey black. But the pink white is a great colour.
Steve
First Time Trial for a good while for me on Sunday. 10 miles. I blew the cobwebs off my TT bike today, made sure it still worked, & did 3 x 6min 40sec intervals with 1 minute rest interval. Let the legs know what they're in for. Intervals were 352W, 355W, & 345W. I was fading a bit towards the end & I'll be happy if I get anywhere near that on Sunday.
Was always Specialized Red in the 90’s and then the decade of black bikes through the 00’s, the teens were a mix of safe and glittering framesets but now as they get cleaner and less messy the heart of a bike is the frame and that needs to ‘pop’ plus pink (Sorry Rose Blush) is bold, brave, and a lot of fun, pastel colourways and Mismatch paintwork is the theme for the 20’s I’d say. Oh and Pink, a lot of pink, mixed with chameleon green and purples.
If it doesn’t match then it matches!!!
Last edited by 100thmonkey; 14th May 2021 at 21:21.
RIAC
Kerry is that the carbon base? I recognise the weird white/pink/mushroom from my own.
What do you think of the gearing? Do you think the front needs an extra 2 or 4 teeth?
Corr... went out to Southwold for a pint with a couple of very quick chaps yesterday and realised 10 months into this game I have a long long way to go. My running legs are pretty good but boy my legs are shot this morning.
Guess it’s the same as my running training mixing long sensible rides with some intervals.
Having said this my new S3 is comfortable and holds speed very well.
Pitch
You’ll improve in leaps & bounds if you stick at it, even more so if you introduce some structure into your training plan. I joined Bath Cycling Club in 1987 when I was 24. I recall going out on the Sunday club runs, about 50 miles in distance with a tea & cake stop. I sometimes had to climb my stairs on my hands & knees afterwards. Fast forward 30 years & I could ride 100 miles in 3.5 hours & still stand up afterwards! Keep going!👍
Random thought so please nobody invest any time into this, but, inner tubes. Are they all the same, ie inner tube brand A = inner tube brand B = inner tube brand C? Reason I ask is, almost every aspect of bikes seems to be scrutinised but I never see any discussion or view of inner tubes. Is it because there is no difference between them? Is it that once something penetrates the tyre it doesn't matter what's inside because its going to blow? Or do some inner tubes prevent pinch flats more than others?
I had a puncture earlier today soon after setting off, so it got me thinking on my mile walk home.
Many thanks for that and we are very similar ages. I'm a 55 yo runner, I train trice a week with local AC as well as runs with the missus so my engine is pretty good. Yesterday was an eye open with how quick the other two were putting power down and pulling away from me, a couple of times my legs were burning trying to hang on and not get dropped.. Best I get on Youtube.
Cheers again
Pitch