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Any Cyclists on here?
Attilauk - 14/9/16 at 07:30 AM

I have found over the years that a lot of Car / Motorbike enthusiasts are also keen cyclists, I was wondering if that was the case on here too?

I'm primarily a Mountain Biker but I have a road bike too for fitness training.

Also did anyone else join in on National Cycle to Work day today? I had a very enjoyable 27 mile pedal into work this morning and now feel great because of it, we'll see how I feel after the pedal home this evening though...

nick205 - 14/9/16 at 08:00 AM

Not a motorcyclist (was always told no by parents), but have long been a keen cyclist - both MTB and road. Due to my recent onset of epilepsy I don't road cycle at the moment, but still MTB a fair bit. I have cycled to work and home before - 22 miles each way. We used to have a shower at work and the "awakeness" after cycling to work and having a shower is hard to beat. Others at work gave me a wide berth on such days as I may have been a little ferocious Cycling home was good too with a shower waiting there. IMHO cycling should be encouraged and employers should be encouraged to provide showers to help it. Better for people and traffic levels as well.

Mash - 14/9/16 at 08:25 AM

Was a very keen, no, fanatical, cyclist until about 8 years ago

Used to race in time trials right through the summer, regularly 4 times a week, plus the odd road race (not so many as it's a young man's game, and I was old even then ). Trained all through the winter, rode to work, and did long rides at the weekend. Used to knock out anywhere around 7000 miles a year

Still have 6 bikes, some at my Dad's, some here in the garage, and occasionally go out on the MTB. It's a great sport to get into, low impact, and really good for cardio. Trouble is the rest of us road users aren't really into it, so it's a bit on the dangerous side. It's also definitely got worse since I retired from competition too Still would get back into it again if I had the time though

peter030371 - 14/9/16 at 08:31 AM

I spent a lot of time road riding for the first 6 months of the year to get me up to completing the Cambridgeshire Grand Fondo in June (which I did and can tick off as 'job done'. Having done the GF in June I since have only been on the bike 3 times (the last time was this last Friday) as I think I went a little too 'hardcore' for the first 6 months and burnt myself out

I still enjoy it but its finding the time. Riding to work is OK (14 miles each way) so long as I don't need the car that day at work which I often seem too plus I hate riding at 7.30am as all the drivers are still half asleep

I do enjoy setting targets and Strava helps with that...still not got a KOM although I am second on one near my house but I just can't get any faster on that segment

roadrunner - 14/9/16 at 08:59 AM

I'm a massive petrol head who loves to ride.
6000 to 7000 miles a year I cover on my bike. Either commuting 30 miles a day, or on a weekend.
Had a great ride out Sunday morning. 107 miles in 4 hours 59 minutes. ;-)

Catching the train to Bristol on Saturday to hopefully collect an Audi a6 3.0tfsi avant.

Brad.

HowardB - 14/9/16 at 09:27 AM

road riding looks like my next new hobby, with all you 5000+ milers on here, what advice would you give to a newbie?



ps - apologies in advance for the hijack

ravingfool - 14/9/16 at 09:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by roadrunner
I'm a massive petrol head who loves to ride.
6000 to 7000 miles a year I cover on my bike. Either commuting 30 miles a day, or on a weekend.
Had a great ride out Sunday morning. 107 miles in 4 hours 59 minutes. ;-)

Catching the train to Bristol on Saturday to hopefully collect an Audi a6 3.0tfsi avant.

Brad.


That's a lot of miles (and quickly)!

I've got friends who do similar and race but I don't have the facilities at work to let me commute by bike which is a shame. A shower at work would make a huge difference to my life and my riding. I tend to do less than 2,000 miles/year as it is and regularly miss a month completely as other priorities get in the way.

I've taken up running this year as it's easier (quicker) to fit in a hard work out on foot than on bike, but it's definitely not as fun.

Successfully 'chased the sun' in June. https://www.chasethesun.org/

roadrunner - 14/9/16 at 10:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ravingfool
quote:
Originally posted by roadrunner
I'm a massive petrol head who loves to ride.
6000 to 7000 miles a year I cover on my bike. Either commuting 30 miles a day, or on a weekend.
Had a great ride out Sunday morning. 107 miles in 4 hours 59 minutes. ;-)

Catching the train to Bristol on Saturday to hopefully collect an Audi a6 3.0tfsi avant.

Brad.


That's a lot of miles (and quickly)!

I've got friends who do similar and race but I don't have the facilities at work to let me commute by bike which is a shame. A shower at work would make a huge difference to my life and my riding. I tend to do less than 2,000 miles/year as it is and regularly miss a month completely as other priorities get in the way.

I've taken up running this year as it's easier (quicker) to fit in a hard work out on foot than on bike, but it's definitely not as fun.

Successfully 'chased the sun' in June. https://www.chasethesun.org/

I mentor 2 young fella's who should get into pro teams soon. With that in mind, I have to keep my fitness levels high just to keep up with them.

roadrunner - 14/9/16 at 10:09 AM

quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
road riding looks like my next new hobby, with all you 5000+ milers on here, what advice would you give to a newbie?



ps - apologies in advance for the hijack


Don't go mad and put yourself off. Build gradually into it.
If you start to get above 30miles in a single ride, take plenty of high energy drinks and snacks. The last thing you want is to bonk. ;-)
Brad.

peter030371 - 14/9/16 at 10:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ravingfool
Successfully 'chased the sun' in June. https://www.chasethesun.org/


How was it? I do like the look of this but its a big jump for me from no more than 90 miles in a day to 200+ miles in a day!

sdh2903 - 14/9/16 at 10:20 AM

Buy some decent shorts and chamois cream

SJ - 14/9/16 at 10:23 AM

Yes, I'm a cyclist. I would have cycled to work today but as I'm working from home not much point. Will be going out for a quick ride at lunchtime though.

HowardB - 14/9/16 at 10:25 AM

quote:
Originally posted by roadrunner
quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
road riding looks like my next new hobby, with all you 5000+ milers on here, what advice would you give to a newbie?



ps - apologies in advance for the hijack


Don't go mad and put yourself off. Build gradually into it.
If you start to get above 30miles in a single ride, take plenty of high energy drinks and snacks. The last thing you want is to bonk. ;-)
Brad.


sounds like good advice,. thank you all, chamois cream ?????

peter030371 - 14/9/16 at 10:29 AM

quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
cream ?????



Look up Bum Butter or Udderly Smooth My wife still laughs at me every time I use it but it make a real difference

ravingfool - 14/9/16 at 10:53 AM

quote:
Originally posted by peter030371
quote:
Originally posted by ravingfool
Successfully 'chased the sun' in June. https://www.chasethesun.org/


How was it? I do like the look of this but its a big jump for me from no more than 90 miles in a day to 200+ miles in a day!


It was a long day!

I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I not come off on a slick corner within the first 40 miles... (it was a very early start and everything was still drenched from torrential downpours the day before).

Fortunately not too badly damaged and just kept eating and pedalling and I didn't slow my group down.

263 finishers this year according to the website and nearly 300 at the start which meant that for the first 100 miles or so you were riding with lots of other people the whole time - really fun. Towards the end it petered out a lot but even then you continued to play leap frog with the same people as you paused for nutrition. The final 50 miles was great fun with a cruise down Cheddar Gorge overtaking cars!


If you can do 90 miles in a day then I'm sure you can do over 200, you will just need more food and more time. A bit more fitness just means you do it quicker!

I didn't ride enough this year in training but did do a week of ~80 mile rides each day (London - Paris - London) as my main practice and then a single 167 mile day as proof of concept. I had time for more that day but decided to quit whilst I was ahead as I bonked a bit. Learnt a lot about fueling though and didn't make the same mistakes on the full ride a couple of weeks later.

I'd want to have done more fitness training if I did it again.

ravingfool - 14/9/16 at 11:01 AM

quote:
Originally posted by peter030371
quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
cream ?????



Look up Bum Butter or Udderly Smooth My wife still laughs at me every time I use it but it make a real difference



I've got some ASOS chamois cream (something like this: http://www.wiggle.com/assos-chamois-cream-140ml/) which is very good.

I only bother if it's going to be a very wet day or you're doing mega miles and you just want to prevent any risk of a problem. Shouldn't really have any problems in the dry.

907 - 14/9/16 at 11:12 AM

Do you lot mind? I'm just having my dinner.

It's oxtail soup as well.

roadrunner - 14/9/16 at 11:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by 907
Do you lot mind? I'm just having my dinner.

It's oxtail soup as well.


It could have been worse. You could have been eating meat and two veg. ;-0

peter030371 - 14/9/16 at 11:41 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ravingfool

It was a long day!

I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I not come off on a slick corner within the first 40 miles... (it was a very early start and everything was still drenched from torrential downpours the day before).

Fortunately not too badly damaged and just kept eating and pedalling and I didn't slow my group down.

263 finishers this year according to the website and nearly 300 at the start which meant that for the first 100 miles or so you were riding with lots of other people the whole time - really fun. Towards the end it petered out a lot but even then you continued to play leap frog with the same people as you paused for nutrition. The final 50 miles was great fun with a cruise down Cheddar Gorge overtaking cars!


If you can do 90 miles in a day then I'm sure you can do over 200, you will just need more food and more time. A bit more fitness just means you do it quicker!

I didn't ride enough this year in training but did do a week of ~80 mile rides each day (London - Paris - London) as my main practice and then a single 167 mile day as proof of concept. I had time for more that day but decided to quit whilst I was ahead as I bonked a bit. Learnt a lot about fueling though and didn't make the same mistakes on the full ride a couple of weeks later.

I'd want to have done more fitness training if I did it again.


I did just look at the route and spotted the Cheddar Gorge bit and thought, I bet that's fun and then its flat to the finish. So tempted but training for that will seriously eat into Striker building time to maybe 2018 once the car is on the road :-)

nick205 - 14/9/16 at 03:07 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Attilauk
I have found over the years that a lot of Car / Motorbike enthusiasts are also keen cyclists, I was wondering if that was the case on here too?

I'm primarily a Mountain Biker but I have a road bike too for fitness training.

Also did anyone else join in on National Cycle to Work day today? I had a very enjoyable 27 mile pedal into work this morning and now feel great because of it, we'll see how I feel after the pedal home this evening though...



The other item I can heartily recommend is a turbo trainer. I use mine regularly in my garage and find it a great way of getting a few miles in even in the dark. An iPad with some films or music helps pass the time too. Yes it can be considered dull in relation to real miles outside, but for me it's a means to riding without having to leave the house.

jelly head - 14/9/16 at 06:00 PM

Been mountain biking for 20+ years now, I mainly stick to trails though after being twatted off three times on the road, i'm not a big fan of hospital food. Mind you my knees are on their way out now

I do think though that off road riding does improve your driving, that feeling you develop for the bike sliding around has got to be transferable.

02GF74 - 14/9/16 at 06:17 PM

Used do 6.5k miles per year and time trialling when lived in Bucks many years ago.

Now living in Herts spend more time off road, too many incidents from inconsiderate drivers puts me off.

Back then my thighs were bigger than your waist, now my waist is bigger than your waist!

Also have motorcycle licence but not ridden it recently, looking at a cafe racer winter project as if i dont get back on a motorcycle in the next 5 years, i will be too scared as i become more doddery with advancing years.

Mash - 14/9/16 at 07:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
road riding looks like my next new hobby, with all you 5000+ milers on here, what advice would you give to a newbie?



ps - apologies in advance for the hijack



Yes to decent shorts, not sure about chamy cream, didn't seem to get on with it, but a really decent saddle is a MUST

Benzine - 14/9/16 at 07:23 PM

My main tips would be to get Strava. As I live in the middle of nowhere it's the best thing for motivation, in the absence of having other people to ride with. I've even got a power meter now, having lots of fun cycling recently

Attilauk - 15/9/16 at 08:04 AM

Wow it's great to see so many keen cyclists on here, some big miles being put in too!

Lets see some pictures of your toys then, everyone loves a bit of bike porn...

This is my Specialized Stumpjumper Evo 29er



its used mainly for trail riding and the odd Enduro race

Benzine - 15/9/16 at 02:35 PM

Giant defy 1. Pink tyres were a quarter the price of black, plus nobody wants to steal a bike with pink tyres. Win win!

peter030371 - 15/9/16 at 03:05 PM

Not exactly bike porn...

Fuji_R
Fuji_R
Fuji Roubaix with Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. Its getting a bit old now (its 'tired' and things keep wearing out) and I have an itch for something with more carbon and eTap shifting but not sure my bank manager agrees its an itch worth scratching yet

Brian R - 15/9/16 at 09:40 PM

Specialized Secteur Elite and Specialized Camber Comp 29er. Both nice bikes although the atrocious Island roads make riding the road bike a pain at times.

nick205 - 16/9/16 at 10:19 AM

My Genesis Croix de Fer bike - I think marketed as a "cyclocross" bike, but for me a comfortable road bike. I also have a 1995 Saracen MTB, which apparently is now "vintage" - how to make a man feel old




ETA (1)...first bike I've purchased without pedals. Not an issue as I wanted to fit my own clipless pedals anyway and the bike shop were kind enough to fit them for me to ride it home.


ETA (2)...You may also notice that it's not Aluminium or Carbon Fibre framed. For me steel is still the material of choice for cycle frames.

[Edited on 16/9/16 by nick205]

[Edited on 16/9/16 by nick205]

nick205 - 16/9/16 at 10:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
Giant defy 1. Pink tyres were a quarter the price of black, plus nobody wants to steal a bike with pink tyres. Win win!




With the grip tape the tyres look fine to me and if it reduces the desirability to thieves then that's good too.

jps - 16/9/16 at 01:10 PM

Yep, keen cyclist here - and actually the decision to find time to build a car was partly sold to my wife on the basis I'd scale back my cycling a bit.

Have ridden plenty of time trials, I think i got down to 24:13 for 10 miles and 1:04:58 for 25 miles. I always enjoyed circuit racing more and did ok on occasion but the step up to 'proper' road racing proved beyond me on the couple of occasions I tried.

Have ridden the Dunwich Dynamo a couple of times, 125 miles overnight from Hackney to the Suffolk Coast and the Ronde Picard in France - 187 km on closed roads! Great experiences.

Also rode plenty of mountain bike races in Thetford Forest over the years, always tough on the lower back!!!

Currently mostly commuting a few miles each day by bike(used to do 25 plus! ) but the distance is so short I run when I can now. Manage rides some weekends and a bit of turbo trainer when I can but difficult to stick at it with no competition goals!

cjwood23 - 14/3/17 at 08:45 PM

Sorry for the thread revival!
Here are my current bikes.

2012 Carrera Fury HT



Has been upgraded over the last 3 years with:
Mavic Crossride wheel set
Nukeproof 760mm bars
KS eTen dropper post
Shimano Deore brakes

This is the bike that got me back into MTB after a few years off. It's been brilliant and has handled days over the Peaks, Wales, Shropshire and locally round Cannock.


Next up is my Nukeproof Mega TR.


Built this up last year as I fancied a full suspension bike. Current spec is:



Recent upgrade is a nice set of shiny Marzzochi 55's to replace the Fox 32's.



Next upgrade is going 1x with a Sunrace wide range cassette and 32t front narrow wide.



The HT will be getting a fork upgrade with the Fox's I've taken off the Nukeproof which should make it a bit slacker and more trail then XC.

luke2152 - 14/3/17 at 09:41 PM

Been cycling to work on my fixie for the last 2 months. Its 2 minutes slower than driving on a good day but 30 minutes faster than driving on a bad traffic day. Cannot believe how dirty a bike gets doing just 16 mile/day in manchester looks like I've been mountain biking.

jps - 17/3/17 at 02:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by luke2152
Been cycling to work on my fixie for the last 2 months. Its 2 minutes slower than driving on a good day but 30 minutes faster than driving on a bad traffic day. Cannot believe how dirty a bike gets doing just 16 mile/day in manchester looks like I've been mountain biking.


Partly because of this - and despite having 3 other bikes (2 road bikes - one with full mudguards and a mountain bike) I bought a bike specifically for riding to work. Lucky to have these guys locally: http://www.re-cycle.org/get-involved/buy-bike and to find they had a proper 'Dutch' bike in stock - a Batavus.

Basically this gave me:
Hub gears - lower maintenance/less wear and tear/minimal risk of any other damage
Full mudguards - so bike stays reasonably clean as do I
Sealed chaincase - minimal maintainence/minimal chain wear
Hub brakes - so it makes no difference if a wheel goes out of true (the front has)
Dyno front light - so batteries aren't a problem
Built in lock - so I can park it when I go to the shops on the way home without any concern
Luggage rack at the back - so I can drop a pannier on if I want (although I use a rucksack usually)
Schwalbe marathon tyres - essentially bombproof and they are filled with 'tyre slime' - so punctures have not been an issue

And - which I had not anticipated - a very upright riding position which helps with being seen in traffic.

All for £120 - which I found fairly quickly justifiable against petrol and parking costs.

I manage to average 21-22kph on it and I have a few ups and downs to tackle.

I clean the bike about once every 3 months - at which point it is totally filthy on the bits not protected by the mudguards - but because the major wear parts are well covered they stay pretty much fine - it's just cosmetic dirt.

[Edited on 17/3/17 by jps]

adithorp - 17/3/17 at 11:00 PM

Please don't call it a "fixie" Fecking Americanism! You'll be talking about hoods, trunks, fenders and mufflers next. It's fixed' as in abbreviation of fixed wheel and always has been.