The Road Bike Thread

I've been doing triathlons for the last 4-5 years but always rode my dads old steal frame bike that was too small for me but I didn't care cause it was only 40k each time

But this summer I got diagnosed with T1D and couldn't go on a backpacking trip I had saved up for all year. So I took that money and spent some of it on a new road bike and I fell in love. Such a nice escape going on long rides and just focusing on the road and nothing else for hours at a time. Helps dealing with my new sickness a lot

The bike is a Scott CR1 10!!
 
13450964:NinetyFour said:
For those of you who want to consider doing your own service:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUdAMlZtaV1333Cy1QnIZwqDXj1q0Ooyy
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

One of the biggest things that I see people always freaking out about is their gear shifting and indexing:


It's very daunting at first but is beyond easy once you learn it. I'd say that 90% of the time people on group rides who are complaining of bad shifting or drivetrain noise don't have their gears properly indexed. Once you understand how to do it its like a 1 minute fix.
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I love GCN. To anyone new to road biking, like I was last year and still consider myself new, the Global Cycling Network provides a wealth of information on youtube and their site. Any questions you have they have probably covered it. I've watched a ton of their videos and have learned a lot. I couldn't recommend their content enough.
 
I love my 6 mile commute home from work. It's on a bike lane where you hit stoplights every .2 to .8 miles but that's perfect for going stupidly fast. Normally I go about 18 or flirt with 20 if I feel motivated but here I'm going 24-28 between these little stretches and people stare at me like I'm an alien because I don't have clip ins and my clothes are loose.
 
13450964:NinetyFour said:
For those of you who want to consider doing your own service:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUdAMlZtaV1333Cy1QnIZwqDXj1q0Ooyy
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

One of the biggest things that I see people always freaking out about is their gear shifting and indexing:


It's very daunting at first but is beyond easy once you learn it. I'd say that 90% of the time people on group rides who are complaining of bad shifting or drivetrain noise don't have their gears properly indexed. Once you understand how to do it its like a 1 minute fix.
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That was fantastic. What was up with the left brake working for the rear wheel, though? Is that a British thing?
 
13453613:*TURBONERD* said:
That was fantastic. What was up with the left brake working for the rear wheel, though? Is that a British thing?
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Haha, nice pick up on that. If you read into it at all there are weird braking control setups around the world with reasons being based off of several things; from which hand you're supposed to signal with due to which side of the road you ride on, to it's what motorcycles use for a braking setup.
 
13453679:NinetyFour said:
Haha, nice pick up on that. If you read into it at all there are weird braking control setups around the world with reasons being based off of several things; from which hand you're supposed to signal with due to which side of the road you ride on, to it's what motorcycles use for a braking setup.
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Huh. What are others?
 
rode clipless for the first time, only issue was that the left cleat wasn't screwed in tight enough. i had to twist my left foot past 90 to get it out because the cleat just swiveled itself. somehow I did not fall
 
To all those saying tools are too expensive: Look for local Bike Co-ops in your area. You pay a nominal per hour fee and get access to any tool and free advice. It's the best way to learn bike mechanics.
 
sooo I finally went clipless. I enjoyed the feeling on my ride today. the only problem is that the pedals are one-sided so I am hoping I will get used to inserting the shoes without looking. with my old pedals (using clips... toe cages) I sometimes had trouble inserting my feet properly even after nearly 3 years of use, that was starting to annoy me
 
13455415:sack said:
I am hoping I will get used to inserting the shoes without looking.
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take it straight from a pro. full gas with wet sandals and the wrong side of your pedals DOESN'T MIX
 
13457778:john18061806 said:
take it straight from a pro. full gas with wet sandals and the wrong side of your pedals DOESN'T MIX
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yep... I learned that the hard way, a couple of weeks ago I got a nice bruise on my ankle haha. no pain no gain right?

well so far I have about 700 km on these shoes, and it's going pretty well. I fell once at a traffic light though. safety second
 
Finally got on the road bike today after not having ridden for a while. Felt good to be back in the saddle.
 
I still can't believe I haven't posted my road bike in this thread yet...but I do spend 99% of my saddle time on mountain bikes.

Next time I'm out on the roads I'll snap a quick picture of the bike to upload.

This thread needs more pictures!!!
 
Got a pretty shitty saddlesore right now. No riding for me for a few days but it has been 90+ here so not really complaining.
 
13472292:.MASSHOLE. said:
Got a pretty shitty saddlesore right now. No riding for me for a few days but it has been 90+ here so not really complaining.
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So I've been riding dedicated XC for a while now so I haven't owned a road bike. Got out on a borrowed Trek Domane from the LBS tonight cause they're nice folks and rode with their fast group, aha holy Jesus that was nuts. We only did about 50km and held a 40km/h pace and yeah it was rowdy. The biggest killer for me was my damn sit bones. I had to nose the saddle and gooch ride most of that, not the nicest feeling even with a chamois. Fun otherwise, I love having the XC experience on climbs, super easy pulls there. I'll definitely be getting something back in the garage soon now.
 
Vuelta is sparking up soon. Personally I think the stage 1 TTT course is hilarious and awesome, I'd love to race on it:


It's not going to count towards the GC though and I can understand why.
 
Just hit 1,000 on the odometer even though I've been strictly commuting since June because of my knees. Hoping to get back to some riding this fall. It was from my damn job as a Segway tour guide, hitting bumps on those for 30 hours a week destroys your knees.
 
Peter finally got a Grand Tour stage win today at the Vuelta. Admittedly the sprinting field there isn't nearly as strong as it was at the Tour.
 
I just did my first race (one time trial and one women's race) a couple of weekends ago at Suzuka race circuit. I couldn't keep up with the peloton but I didn't get injured, which was my first goal. Although of four women in the time trial I was first, I felt I didn't give it my all. Next time...

Now I want to do more races and I have a problem, I would like to be a sprinter but I also want to do various events such as hill climbs and 100+km rides and double centuries. Perhaps I can aim to be a strong all-rounder.

I just got a new back wheel with a power tap hub... I have only done two rides with it but so far it is interesting to see the data. I'm hoping to begin applying the data in a more practical way though.

Also I changed my wheels after coming back from a tour in mid-August and it is amazing what a difference decent wheels can make. I have gotten loads faster.

One more thing, at the race I test-rode a Specialized Amira women's bike. Having only ridden men's bikes up until now it was the most amazing experience. I never new gender specificity was so important in bikes.

Picture of time trial and bonus picture of me on tour sightseeing at a japanese village.
 
13490254:sack said:
Picture of time trial and bonus picture of me on tour sightseeing at a japanese village.
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*the first picture is just me test riding a Trek carbon bike (I forget which model)
 
13490254:sack said:
I test-rode a Specialized Amira women's bike. Having only ridden men's bikes up until now it was the most amazing experience. I never new gender specificity was so important in bikes.
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Not to downplay the whole gender specific thing, but the Amira is just a rad bike in general. You can do a ton after the fact with how a bike fits, but the difference in layups is starting to be done on men's bikes as well which really affects the ride for a lighter weight person imo.
 
13490380:ghosthop said:
the difference in layups is starting to be done on men's bikes as well which really affects the ride for a lighter weight person imo.
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oh wow, that's interesting. yeah I can't stop obsessing about this bike. The most interesting thing to see was my current bike is the exact same size as the Amira I test rode, but the difference in feeling was like night and day (and I'm not talking about weight, although it certainly handles lighter...being all carbon)

Do you know if this year's Amira models all have exactly the same layups (shape/angle etc), despite the difference in material and parts quality? I ask because I was going on and on to my boyfriend about how good of a ride it was and he annoyingly told me to try some men's 49.5 models since I rode the highest level Amira in a 51. He said the lower end models might be an older layup. I wasn't thrilled to hear his words of caution... we only seem to have disagreements about bike-related things hahaha..
 
13490439:sack said:
Do you know if this year's Amira models all have exactly the same layups (shape/angle etc), despite the difference in material and parts quality?
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All the angles/lengths will be the same throughout the line. Specialized used to do three levels of carbon, a regular layup, a better layup for the elite/pro frames, and then an even better layup for the S-works. I'm not sure what exactly they're doing this year because I don't work at a shop that sells Specialized any more, but all the info should be on the website ;)

If you're really that smitten, you should find a local dealer and ride the models in your price range. If it was that good of a build remember that you may be just as impressed with the fancy wheels. And idk why you would get the men's frame, similar builds on a women's frame should be comparable in price.
 
Do a lot of triathlons

I train on a trek Hybrid.

In race I ride a Cervelo P5 Dura Ace tri bike with Easton EC 90 wheels. Don't have any personal pics of my bike but heres what it looks like.

P5six-DA_Di2_2014_942e97e3-4fac-453e-a056-0d72adaaa679_1024x1024.png


easton-ec90-tt-f-10-zoom.jpg
 
13490916:mhuddy_22 said:
Do a lot of triathlons

I train on a trek Hybrid.

In race I ride a Cervelo P5 Dura Ace tri bike with Easton EC 90 wheels. Don't have any personal pics of my bike but heres what it looks like.

P5six-DA_Di2_2014_942e97e3-4fac-453e-a056-0d72adaaa679_1024x1024.png


easton-ec90-tt-f-10-zoom.jpg
Click to expand...

You train on a trek hybrid? As in a bike like this?

7500_blackonyx.jpg
 
13490854:ghosthop said:
All the angles/lengths will be the same throughout the line. Specialized used to do three levels of carbon, a regular layup, a better layup for the elite/pro frames, and then an even better layup for the S-works. I'm not sure what exactly they're doing this year because I don't work at a shop that sells Specialized any more, but all the info should be on the website ;)

If you're really that smitten, you should find a local dealer and ride the models in your price range. If it was that good of a build remember that you may be just as impressed with the fancy wheels.
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ah yes. I need to test ride some more models. my boyfriend suggested I also consider Giant though. now I'm not sure what to do except save as much money as possible haha. I'm going to a Specialized test ride event later this month although sadly they won't have any amira models other than the S-works.

And yeah, although every amira has a carbon frame, the grade of carbon itself that they use is different in all the models.

The wheels were certainly great but I liked the Fulcrum Racing zero nite:http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/collection/road/alu/products/Racing-Zero-Nite and The Campagnolo Bora Ultra:http://www.campagnolo.com/AU/en/Wheels/bora_ultra_50 best. both of these had amazing braking efficacy and I am actually riding Racing Zeros from a couple years ago, but at the test ride I had the new racing zeros put on my current bike and the difference was huge even in handling and stability. I was amazed

Fulcrum Racing Zero nite:

P1110541-560x374.jpg
the black surface has better braking ability and as a bonus they look fucking cool eh?

Campagnolo Bora Ultra 50:

campagnolo-bora-ultra-50-wheelset.jpg
apparently the braking surface is actually machined twice to bring out the natural unevenness of the carbon. seriously everyone should try the boras at least once!

>And idk why you would get the men's frame, similar builds on a women's frame should be comparable in price.

Thank you. haha usually he has good advice but sometimes he is annoying. I told him to go ride a women's bike then he'll know what it feels like for me to ride a men's bike haha.
 
13490916:mhuddy_22 said:
Do a lot of triathlons

I train on a trek Hybrid.

In race I ride a Cervelo P5 Dura Ace tri bike with Easton EC 90 wheels. Don't have any personal pics of my bike but heres what it looks like.

P5six-DA_Di2_2014_942e97e3-4fac-453e-a056-0d72adaaa679_1024x1024.png


easton-ec90-tt-f-10-zoom.jpg
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Lol! You're trolling right? You race an $11k tri bike yet train on a Trek Hybrid!? Pics of the Cervelo or GTFO
 
13491184:.MASSHOLE. said:
There is nothing worse than cycling in heat with 95% humidity. It really takes it out of you the next day
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I feel you. I live in the Middle East and at the moment the only time I can ride is 5:30am But even at that time it's still close to 100 degrees and humidity is anywhere between 50 and 90%. It sucks.
 
13491178:BoogieWoman said:
Lol! You're trolling right? You race an $11k tri bike yet train on a Trek Hybrid!? Pics of the Cervelo or GTFO
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Nope not trolling. I meant a cross bike not a hybrid haha my mistake. It's a trek ion. and i will get pictures to you for the cervelo when I can as I just did a race in British Columbia and I'm from ontario, my brother has the bike at the moment. Also got the bike 6,500 not 11k.
 
Curious, do you guys have any preferred electrolyte mixes you use for endurance rides? I'm talking 3+ hours. What kind of scheduling do you drink it on if you do? Like every other bottle or...?
 
13501132:NinetyFour said:
Curious, do you guys have any preferred electrolyte mixes you use for endurance rides? I'm talking 3+ hours. What kind of scheduling do you drink it on if you do? Like every other bottle or...?
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Watered down gatorade, 500mls (a bottle) an hour.
 
13501132:NinetyFour said:
Curious, do you guys have any preferred electrolyte mixes you use for endurance rides? I'm talking 3+ hours. What kind of scheduling do you drink it on if you do? Like every other bottle or...?
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Pocari Sweat is my go-to drink!

pocarisweat2.jpg


although sometimes I'll buy a drink like this salt and fruit drink. (it isn't actual juice.)

KirinKitchen-296x300.png


This summer I bought a second bottle cage and I found it really helps on long rides. For hydration I usually have a bottle of tea (usually barley tea or mixed tea) in my front bottle and then in the seatpost bottle I have either Pocari Sweat or another sweet drink. I just avoid sucralose and aspartame. Once or twice on really long rides I tried putting a carbonated vitamin drink in my bottle. Worst idea ever... shoulda kept it in my back pocket

as for how often to drink them... depends. if it's June or September and 25-30 degrees I'll drink one every 3-5 hours. If it's 40 degrees and the middle of August I could drink one every 2 hours along with countless litres of tea.
 
Went to the LBS and got a bag of Skratch to see what it was like. I'll admit it's fairly sour with a weaker taste, I'd almost mix less than they recommend though and carry less straight water. I put in a 45KM XC ride yesterday though and it definitely made a world of difference.

13501789:.MASSHOLE. said:
Just got a Garmin 520, my phone battery is about to be a lot happier.
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I ride with a 510 and it's awesome. I use virtual partner all the time (same thing as live segments just with some additional work) and it is super nice to have. For mountain biking to, being able to have a live map to navigate back home is so awesome if the trails are unfamiliar. I guess the same would go for road riding in new places to.
 
My most recent project bike that i've finished.

12027542_10156070773010383_1411953607878061842_n.jpg


Found the frame and campy front wheel at my local co-op for a whole 30$

Not sure if it's actually Torelli since it's an obvious repaint, but it's definitely italian with Columbus tubing and a gipiemme fork, so that's legit.

As far as components, the thing is a classic frankenstein.. suntour mechs and SR crankset, shimano shifters and brakes, 3t stem and bars, as well as seatpost, Terry liberator seat, shimano dura ace laced to a very nice araya rim, with a campy front wheel. It had no BB, so I installed a Campagnolo C-record BB from the mid-80's in it. Threw some vintage magnesium time pedals on it as well and now it rolls so well. Absolutely amazing bike for long rides with no big climbs - I take the Cannondale if I need something light for climbing.

**This post was edited on Sep 30th 2015 at 9:43:14am
 
do you guys wash your windbreakers, and how often? I have one of those thin ripstop ones that packs into your pocket. I was thinking of washing it every couple of times in a laundry net
 
Just bought an All-City Spacehorse. Like this but a few year's older in light blue:

SpaceHorseMain.jpg


It's a mix between a road/gravel/light touring rig. I debated on which way to go for months as I was split between a road only or cross specific bike. Ultimately I picked this and have been super stoked. I have a pair of flats on it for ripping around on trails, then a pair of clip pedals for hauling ass on long distance road/gravel rides. Want to go camping? Throw on a rack and some frame bags and I'll be all set. I have an affinity for steel bikes and this beast hauls ass and is sturdy enough for light single track, yet not too heavy or sluggish for ripping around town.
 
Anyone been out yet this year?

I got a quick ride in last weekend when the temps hit high 50s low 60s.

Can't wait to get out more frequently!
 
13648865:JAHpow said:
Anyone been out yet this year?

I got a quick ride in last weekend when the temps hit high 50s low 60s.

Can't wait to get out more frequently!
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I went out for a hill climb last saturday. I am going to participate in a 10k hill climb competition on april 10th so I need to train for that. I don't feel ready haha
 
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