Official Road Cycling Thread

[WoohooSoCal]

Originally Posted by dc503

Raced today, wet and cold crit on mixed surface, didn't crash. I consider that a success!

Always a good crit if you don't crash.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by dc503

I actually ride on the newest gen Toupe Expert right now, while I didn't love it at first I am actually really comfortable on it now, so there's hope. Admittedly, my team deal is with Specialized, so I am a homer for them, so there's a chance I forced myself to just like one of their saddles after trying multiples within their range.

Well, there was a new development Friday evening when i put my bike on the carrier for Saturday's ride. Looked like the nose of the saddle was high so i put a board on it and a level and sure enough, it was high. Like 10 degrees high! Must have slipped during my Thursday ride.

So i leveled it out and did 60 miles on it yesterday in the hills. (Hills of FL, so only got 2600ft) My ass is sore, but an amount i expected from acclimating to a new saddle. Rode another 23 miles today and neither day was terrible. Especially taking into consideration that i went into yesterday's ride with my back side already beat up. I've got two days off for rest and then i get to ride it fresh and recovered on Wednesday. I'm thinking it'll continue to get better.

With as personalized as saddle preference is, i'm surprised to see so many people loving the Topue.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by MNoob

Mishmash of everything. I'm not very brand loyal. For road bikes - Look, Specialized, Ridley, Velo Vie, Williams, Bianchi, Orbea. Mountain bikes - Litespeed and Giant. Track - Bianchi. Cross - Bianchi, Ellsworth, Specialized.

I used to be very in to one-off everything. Zipp Vuma Quad crank, Zero G brakes, blah blah. There is a definite downside to that stuff. Probably why I've kept it simple with my car.

Good stuff! Love the variety. I've only owned that Trek mtn bike, 3 specialized mtn bikes, and my current BMC road bike. I also have my wife's hand-me-down road bike that i use on the trainer.

Originally Posted by wdb

Subbed. I'm an ex-citizen-racer-turned-ultradistance-junkie and I think I just kind of got burned out. Met my wife on a century ride so we're both cyclists. We're starting to get back into it a bit lately. Our stuff is all 80's and early 90's, lots of Columbus tubing and Campagnolo jewelry. Even friction shifters. I sometimes think about getting something modern but I don't ride enough to justify it. If anything, assuming we both keep riding more, I'll drop some coin on the tandem and outfit it with better gearshifting gizmos - and *ahem* some lower lows. Ain't geting any younger...

Ultra distance... yikes. Yesterday's ride was my furthest yet. My wife signed us up for a tour of Montana from Glacier to Yellowstone. So i picked up a road bike this past Dec and got to riding.

Originally Posted by dc503

Raced today, wet and cold crit on mixed surface, didn't crash. I consider that a success!

Crit without crash is success. Crit in the wet on mixed surfaces without a crash is a win!

[WoohooSoCal]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

With as personalized as saddle preference is, i'm surprised to see so many people loving the Topue.

Put me down as a Toupe lover also.

[mc-m3]

3 road bikes and 3 tandems here. Such a pain keeping them all clean and running smooth. I can't stand noisy bikes. Oldest single has Dura-ace, (~1999), buttery smooth. Next is ~2008, SRAM Red, super fast shifting, not very quiet just spinning along. 2012 has Di2-Ultegra, great fun shifting without having to trim the front derailleur.

Invest in some really bright lights for daytime riding. 1 missed accident make them worth every cent.

Keep the rubber side down.

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

If it was me, I'd consider it a miracle!

Agreed!

Originally Posted by WoohooSoCal

Always a good crit if you don't crash.

Agreed again!

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Well, there was a new development Friday evening when i put my bike on the carrier for Saturday's ride. Looked like the nose of the saddle was high so i put a board on it and a level and sure enough, it was high. Like 10 degrees high! Must have slipped during my Thursday ride.

So i leveled it out and did 60 miles on it yesterday in the hills. (Hills of FL, so only got 2600ft) My ass is sore, but an amount i expected from acclimating to a new saddle. Rode another 23 miles today and neither day was terrible. Especially taking into consideration that i went into yesterday's ride with my back side already beat up. I've got two days off for rest and then i get to ride it fresh and recovered on Wednesday. I'm thinking it'll continue to get better.

With as personalized as saddle preference is, i'm surprised to see so many people loving the Topue.

That's definitely encouraging, sounds like you might have it dialed in now and no longer even think about it.

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Crit without crash is success. Crit in the wet on mixed surfaces without a crash is a win!

I was solo at the end, I had a teammate crash and another flat out without pit wheels. So I sat in and took a flier on the last lap, normally I like to sprint but with the wet surface I didn't want to arrive in a big bunch for the last corner, so I rolled the dice. I made it about 30 seconds short but apparently gave a handful of people a sweet lead out haha, ah well.

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

I took a flier on the last lap, normally I like to sprint but with the wet surface I didn't want to arrive in a big bunch for the last corner, so I rolled the dice. I made it about 30 seconds short, ah well.

When in doubt, lead it out!

[dc503]

Anyone following the Giro at all?

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

Anyone following the Giro at all?

watching right now. don't say what happens today!

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

watching right now. don't say what happens today!

No spoilers...but I'm just kind of marveling at how it's playing out. The Vuelta and this year's Giro have been just what's needed in the face of predictability at the Tour.

[MNoob]

Well, Nibili hasn't had the sticky bottle this Giro so his performance isn't too surprising ;-)

Yesterday's stage was really the first that I thought was interesting to watch. It seems all but decided, but the last 2 days in the mtns could shake things up. If the Lotto Yumbo dude keeps riding this well, it's over. Not even going to try to spell his name. He has had a steadily increasing presence over the last few grand tours. I like saying 'Yumbo'.

Cunego, the once rising super star, is regularly relegated to picking up scraps. I have my own thoughts why.

I felt for Dombrowski yesterday. Brief instant of inattention and he's shed. The F bomb on live TV was a bonus.

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

Well, Nibili hasn't had the sticky bottle this Giro so his performance isn't too surprising ;-)

Yesterday's stage was really the first that I thought was interesting to watch. It seems all but decided, but the last 2 days in the mtns could shake things up. If the Lotto Yumbo dude keeps riding this well, it's over. Not even going to try to spell his name. He has had a steadily increasing presence over the last few grand tours. I like saying 'Yumbo'.

Cunego, the once rising super star, is regularly relegated to picking up scraps. I have my own thoughts why.

I felt for Dombrowski yesterday. Brief instant of inattention and he's shed. The F bomb on live TV was a bonus.

I just like that it's Krujuwkskiksikic turning it upside down. I'm pretty sure no one outside of Lotto bus honestly thought he was a top step threat, same goes for Chavez. It was always Nibali this, Dumoulin that, Valverde etc. Even Jungels had people sliding chips into his camp, wondering if he could hold on to pink, kind of like Dumoulin's ride at the Vuelta last year.

Poor Dombrowski, skipped a beat in the break and lost out. That just goes to show you how hard they go in a break, which is just breathtaking. If he can't catch back on after a momentary hesitation with the kind of horsepower he has, ugh.

[MNoob]

I bet you those guys were rotating through at 500+ watts the whole time. To close the gap he would have had to hold 600+ for a good while. Even motoman doesn't get you there!

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

Krujuwkskiksikic

Nice

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by MNoob

I bet you those guys were rotating through at 500+ watts the whole time. To close the gap he would have had to hold 600+ for a good while. Even motoman doesn't get you there!

I knew i wasn't going to be God's gift to cycling when is started 6 months ago. But i knew my wife is a pretty fast, strong cyclist. Especially when compared to most triathletes. But while riding these last 6 months i've gained a new appreciation for how much faster she is than me and even more so how much faster pros are than her. It's really difficult for a non cyclist to grasp the disparity between a competitive age grouper and an pro cyclists.

These guys running 400+ watts for an hour or more is just amazing to me.

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

I bet you those guys were rotating through at 500+ watts the whole time. To close the gap he would have had to hold 600+ for a good while. Even motoman doesn't get you there!

No kidding, I love pouring over their data. Then I laugh hysterically relating it to mine, because I'm close to what a GC contender weighs.

Here's some mind blowing stuff for power meter slaves.

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

No kidding, I love pouring over their data. Then I laugh hysterically relating it to mine, because I'm close to what a GC contender weighs.

Here's some mind blowing stuff for power meter slaves.

Yeah, I'm a data junkie, but not as much as I used to be. It is amazing to see what these guys are capable of. And a bit depressing. I remember my first MAP test. I blame my parents. #keepingmydayjob

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

Yeah, I'm a data junkie, but not as much as I used to be. It is amazing to see what these guys are capable of. And a bit depressing. I remember my first MAP test. I blame my parents. #keepingmydayjob

I still have my fun at least haha, I went out and did gravel last night just to get away from the constraints. The only thing I can fathom are sprint power numbers, well that's if you exclude the Kittel's and Greipel's and you know, riding a tough 100 miles ahead of the last 200 meters. That's the only thing my fast twitch background is good for it seems, a decent sprint.

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

I still have my fun at least haha, I went out and did gravel last night just to get away from the constraints. The only thing I can fathom are sprint power numbers, well that's if you exclude the Kittel's and Greipel's and you know, riding a tough 100 miles ahead of the last 200 meters. That's the only thing my fast twitch background is good for it seems, a decent sprint.

Do you live near a track?

I was a sprinter and took me a while to figure it out. Once I stopped doing hilly road races and moved to crits, my results improved. After I started racing on the track, my crit skills really improved. Racing on the track essentially hones your tactics, experience, and fitness for the last 5 laps of a crit. Can't recommend it enough. It's also a lot of fun with the various events you need to learn.

And nothing sounds better that a set of deep carbon wheels echoing off the side boards.

[dc503]

Originally Posted by MNoob

Do you live near a track?

I was a sprinter and took me a while to figure it out. Once I stopped doing hilly road races and moved to crits, my results improved. After I started racing on the track, my crit skills really improved. Racing on the track essentially hones your tactics, experience, and fitness for the last 5 laps of a crit. Can't recommend it enough. It's also a lot of fun with the various events you need to learn.

And nothing sounds better that a set of deep carbon wheels echoing off the side boards.

Oh man, I wish I did. Track is certainly something I'd love to try. I had a massive crash almost 1 year ago in a crit that ended my road season entirely, Sunday was actually my first one back after trying to go after road races in the early season. It was uncomfortable to say the least haha.

[MNoob]

Originally Posted by dc503

Oh man, I wish I did. Track is certainly something I'd love to try. I had a massive crash almost 1 year ago in a crit that ended my road season entirely, Sunday was actually my first one back after trying to go after road races in the early season. It was uncomfortable to say the least haha.

I certainly don't miss the crashing. It's a part of it that no one escapes. The 4s blame the 5s. The 3s blame the 4s. The 2s blame the 3s...

And every July you have 190 of the best cyclists in the world, and they spend 3 weeks sliding across the pavement.

[MNoob]

Yumbo.