Official Road Cycling Thread

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Kind of strange that all the UCI needs to do to catch dopers is to look for injection marks. I mean, all they need to do is check out rider's instagram pages or Facebook pics using filters to accentuate the contrast to make their veins pop out even more.

Nice of the Bora rider to post a pic with his bag with sponsor tag attached to it. That way, the UCI can just go directly to the doping team.

I'm not saying there aren't dopers in the TDF, but i highly doubt that all one needs to do is look for injection marks to find out who's doping.

Actually you are right . 2 weeks ago I heard stuff from a couple ex-professionals..
They use also Insulin (the top) a little too much from the stuff and it's deadly within 5 min. Of course the power results in the legs are insane ..
I heard also stuff about the new gen-doping ..
Imagine ! Finally I can better say in the whole situation => No further comment !

I'm sure you wonder why I type the whole doping stuff on here in your road cycling thread ?
That's quite simple...I feel cheated , because I did everything and even more
to win ,sometimes the podium yes but I was not good enough to win ..
Of course the dudes with doping won always the race , while I'm sure I did more for the sport !
I thought always we are all humans .I was there in competition and what some guys did was beyond the human performance !

So yes I feel 100% cheated , and my words ( the truth) are a kinda revenge for the whole doping fraud from today and the past !

[wdb]

I did some amateur racing back in the day. I used to hang with a guy who was a nationally ranked junior. He raced at the National Capital Open once, and was one of a small handful who kept up with the 7-11 pros (Davis Phinney was there I recall) until the last lap when he hit a street grate and flatted. That guy's body was a temple. No doping. On that day at least he was as fast as the top pros.

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Actually you are right . 2 weeks ago I heard stuff from a couple ex-professionals..
They use also Insulin (the top) a little too much from the stuff and it's deadly within 5 min. Of course the power results in the legs are insane ..
I heard also stuff about the new gen-doping ..
Imagine ! Finally I can better say in the whole situation => No further comment !

I'm sure you wonder why I type the whole doping stuff on here in your road cycling thread ?
That's quite simple...I feel cheated , because I did everything and even more
to win ,sometimes the podium yes but I was not good enough to win ..
Of course the dudes with doping won always the race , while I'm sure I did more for the sport !
I thought always we are all humans .I was there in competition and what some guys did was beyond the human performance !

So yes I feel 100% cheated , and my words ( the truth) are a kinda revenge for the whole doping fraud from today and the past !

I totally respect and admire you for refusing to take the dope. Yes the dopers did perform way beyond their natural ability Armstrong included. But now they are looked at in disgrace and always use the level playing field BS. Kudos to you and people like Froome who perform at a high level on their own abilities.

[Rayscott]

Looks like Froome wins yellow again and almost caught Bardet in the TT. Tomorrow is a formality. Hats off to Bardet who pedaled his gut out to win a 3rd place finish by 1 second. This was a great Tour and was up for grabs right down to the last stage.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Rayscott

I totally respect and admire for refusing to take the dope. Yes the dopers did perform way beyond their natural ability Armstrong included. But now they are looked at in disgrace and always use the level playing field BS. Kudos to you and people like Froome who perform at a high level on their own abilities.

Thank you for the kind words . I really appreciate it
Hope you realize *zero* professionals are clean , Froome included .
Armstrong learned first the (doping) job in Belgium , later he went to Ferrera in Italy for his blood preparations .
I heard he got overdosis of Testosterone for years , while we wonder why he got cancer twice ..
Sorry Lance ...

But man , I was there....From what I know , and saw I could tell you some insane stories on here .
Rode with the juniors and amateurs ( from my generation) in Belgian competition for 4 years with guys , these guy were a few years later the best professionals of the world !
I trained with the guys as well , on training I was better but he won 52 races that year...but every Friday they went to a doctor , his nick name was the needle , he's now still in jail !
Ect......ect....and ect...
I'm sorry...

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Actually you are right . 2 weeks ago I heard stuff from a couple ex-professionals..
They use also Insulin (the top) a little too much from the stuff and it's deadly within 5 min. Of course the power results in the legs are insane ..
I heard also stuff about the new gen-doping ..
Imagine ! Finally I can better say in the whole situation => No further comment !

I'm sure you wonder why I type the whole doping stuff on here in your road cycling thread ?
That's quite simple...I feel cheated , because I did everything and even more
to win ,sometimes the podium yes but I was not good enough to win ..
Of course the dudes with doping won always the race , while I'm sure I did more for the sport !
I thought always we are all humans .I was there in competition and what some guys did was beyond the human performance !

So yes I feel 100% cheated , and my words ( the truth) are a kinda revenge for the whole doping fraud from today and the past !

No, i get it. It's bullshit and what has transpired takes away those who have truly natural gifted abilities. Because like you, i assume every contender is on a very strict program which includes a certain level of doping.

Seems their goal is to dope just enough to fly under the radar. I'd like to believe the world champs are clean, but it's a tough sale for me. The power data the pros publish for stages of the tour are ridiculous and i'm even willing to bet they may be knocked down a bit to make them seem more human. But to me, averaging 250w for 110miles and then throwing down 1400-1600 watts for the final K is already somewhat of an unattainable feat. But then, what do i know, i've never trained 6 hours a day, 6 days a week for years on end. Maybe there are a hand full who can run clean. I'm certainly no expert.

It really sucks what doping has done for the sport. It's a shame.

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Thank you for the kind words . I really appreciate it
Hope you realize *zero* professionals are clean , Froome included .
Armstrong learned first the (doping) job in Belgium , later he went to Ferrera in Italy for his blood preparations .
I heard he got overdosis of Testosterone for years , while we wonder why he got cancer twice ..
Sorry Lance ...

But man , I was there....From what I know , and saw I could tell you some insane stories on here .
Rode with the juniors and amateurs ( from my generation) in Belgian competition for 4 years with guys , these guy were a few years later the best professionals of the world !
I trained with the guys as well , on training I was better but he won 52 races that year...but every Friday they went to a doctor , his nick name was the needle , he's now still in jail !
Ect......ect....and ect...
I'm sorry...

I thought Froome was clean but maybe not. I read his book and he was very much against doping. Disappointing.

[M_Six]

Threw the chain while shifting the front from small to big tonight. Aside from getting my fingers all greasy, it went back on with no problem and I continued on my way. Think I need to have the LBS look at it?

[wdb]

I'm old school, friction shifters, so I can't tell you much about the new stuff. With friction shifters the front shift must be done with care or the chain can derail. If it flips off the outside it's easy enough to turn the pedals and let the crankarm roll it back on. If it goes off the inside you have to stop and put it back on by hand.

Short version: it happens.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Threw the chain while shifting the front from small to big tonight. Aside from getting my fingers all greasy, it went back on with no problem and I continued on my way. Think I need to have the LBS look at it?

It does happen at times Mark. But honestly, i think i've thrown a chain 2 times over 8000 miles, and one of those times was on a maiden voyage for a new bike. For me i think of shifting a bike like manual shifting a car and "let off the gas" a bit to make the shift.

In general, i do that because it's easier on the drive train and i likely will get more miles out of it before it needs changing. That means chain, cassette, hub and while not as much, the chain rings. But depending on what gears your in, changing gear under power will cause the chain to slap around, possibly making it get off track. Next time you fiddle with your chain, twist it a little bit to see just how much side to side / twisting flex it has. It's designed this way because the more gears we have in the back, the more out of alignment they will be with the front chainrings. So when it slaps, it can move around quite a bit.

But the most likely cause for trowing the chain off the front while changing from small to big, assuming your outer limit is correctly adjusted on the front derailleur, is being in the outer most gear in the back while changing from small to big in the front. The chain is at it's most slack when you're using small in front and small in back. Changing the front causes the most wiggle in the chain. Lots of wiggle while being slack often results in a thrown chain.

When i've run out of rear gears while in the small ring, i downshift a few gears before going into the big ring. This helps keep the chain more taunt during the front ring changes.

You can inspect your front derailleur's outer limit yourself. Shift it in the big ring and then while off the bike move the front derailleur lever as if you're trying to shift into the big ring. If your derailleur cage makes contact with your chain (while already in the big ring) you may need to have it adjusted inward by 1mm or less. If it pushes against the chain the adjustment needed is likely much more.

If the front derailleur doesn't touch the chain in the test above, try to be in the middle of the cassette when switching from small to big. In most situations, when you'e changing from small to big, you'll need to downshift the rear to match your previous cadence anyway.

If you're in your big ring and the middle of the cassette while riding and it looks like your chain bounces around, you may need a link taken out of it. I'm not sure if factory bikes come with the chain already installed or if the LBS has to install the chain. Either way, this is the least likely cause.

I ride and maintain the wife's bikes and she complains about throwing her chain from time to time. (it used to be much more often) But when i ride with her, i see (and hear) her shifting under full power often. I also see her shifting from small to big while in her 11t or 12t gear in the rear. Her issue is clearly user error. After explaining these things to her several times, her chain throwing has decreased significantly. But i'm sure she just forgets about it when doing intervals and what not. I've seen her press the lap button on her computer to start an interval and immediately lay down some power only to realize she's in the wrong gear and change while under power. Old habits are hard to break.

[M_Six]

Wow, thanks for all that. I had just come up a short 3.5% hill and was most likely 3 gears up from the lowest. The hill meets another road at the top where I turn left and head back down a short drop before heading back up another rise. I ride this loop daily now and I always do the same thing coming up this hill. I hit the top, turn left, and as I head down the short drop, I shift from the inner ring to the outer ring to build speed for the ensuing rise. I may have mistimed the shift and was putting too much pressure on the chain at the time. Or maybe I just didn't push the shift lever far enough before pedaling hard again.

I'll be riding the same loop again today, so I'll pay closer attention to ensuring the shift is complete before adding pressure again.

On another note, the Brooks C-17 saddle seems to be helping. Much less pain. I also raised the seat height another half inch, so I'm at the height the LBS wanted me at when I first got the bike. I had them drop it down a bit until I got used to the new geometry. So between the new saddle and the higher seating position, I seem to be doing better. Still fighting hand/wrist numbness after an hour, but that goes away if I stop for a bit and shake out my hands while grabbing a drink.

And I'm down 20lbs since I started riding. That's the biggest reward in all this.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by wdb

I'm old school, friction shifters, so I can't tell you much about the new stuff. With friction shifters the front shift must be done with care or the chain can derail. If it flips off the outside it's easy enough to turn the pedals and let the crankarm roll it back on. If it goes off the inside you have to stop and put it back on by hand.

Short version: it happens.

It actually ended up jammed between the sprockets. I took a bit to get it out, but it wasn't jammed too tightly.

But yeah, I hear you. Doo-doo occurs.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Wow, thanks for all that. I had just come up a short 3.5% hill and was most likely 3 gears up from the lowest. The hill meets another road at the top where I turn left and head back down a short drop before heading back up another rise. I ride this loop daily now and I always do the same thing coming up this hill. I hit the top, turn left, and as I head down the short drop, I shift from the inner ring to the outer ring to build speed for the ensuing rise. I may have mistimed the shift and was putting too much pressure on the chain at the time. Or maybe I just didn't push the shift lever far enough before pedaling hard again.

I'll be riding the same loop again today, so I'll pay closer attention to ensuring the shift is complete before adding pressure again.

On another note, the Brooks C-17 saddle seems to be helping. Much less pain. I also raised the seat height another half inch, so I'm at the height the LBS wanted me at when I first got the bike. I had them drop it down a bit until I got used to the new geometry. So between the new saddle and the higher seating position, I seem to be doing better. Still fighting hand/wrist numbness after an hour, but that goes away if I stop for a bit and shake out my hands while grabbing a drink.

And I'm down 20lbs since starting this. That's the biggest reward in all this.

20 pounds!!! That's awesome! Congratulations! Life is so much better the closer you are to your proper weight. Keep up the good work!

Hand and wrist numbness generally comes from too much weight being on your bars. If nothing else changes, increasing saddle height should put more weight on your hands. Do you have any steer tube sticking up above your stem? If so, you may consider putting one or a few of the spacers below the stem to raise the bar height. But that's going to put that pressure back on your saddle.

That said, most of us have a routine of position changes to keep things like that at bay. I try and stand up for 30sec or more every 12-15 min of the ride and i change my hand position on the bars by the minute.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

20 pounds!!! That's awesome! Congratulations! Life is so much better the closer you are to your proper weight. Keep up the good work!

Hand and wrist numbness generally comes from too much weight being on your bars. If nothing else changes, increasing saddle height should put more weight on your hands. Do you have any steer tube sticking up above your stem? If so, you may consider putting one or a few of the spacers below the stem to raise the bar height. But that's going to put that pressure back on your saddle.

That said, most of us have a routine of position changes to keep things like that at bay. I try and stand up for 30sec or more every 12-15 min of the ride and i change my hand position on the bars by the minute.

I do move my hands around quite a bit. But I need to try the standing up trick and see if that helps. The loop I ride is 4 miles and starts/ends in my driveway, so every 4 miles I stop for a few seconds to stand up and grab a drink. That way my hands and butt are getting breaks. I'm still thinking both these problems will slowly fade away as I continue to lose weight.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I do move my hands around quite a bit. But I need to try the standing up trick and see if that helps. The loop I ride is 4 miles and starts/ends in my driveway, so every 4 miles I stop for a few seconds to stand up and grab a drink. That way my hands and butt are getting breaks. I'm still thinking both these problems will slowly fade away as I continue to lose weight.

Maybe continue with your breaks and add in 30 seconds of standing at mile 2 of the loop. Let us know how it goes!

[wdb]

Originally Posted by M_Six

It actually ended up jammed between the sprockets. I took a bit to get it out, but it wasn't jammed too tightly.

Hm. I'll have to go check to be sure but on my antique drivetrains I think there is a peg on one of the gears to prevent that.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by wdb

Hm. I'll have to go check to be sure but on my antique drivetrains I think there is a peg on one of the gears to prevent that.

Probably what made it easy to get out. "Jammed" was a poor choice of words on my part. It was just sort of laying there between the large and small sprocket, not exactly loose, but not tightly stuck either. Once I released some of the pressure from the rear, it was easy enough to move.

The biggest hassle was the grease on my hands. Need to pack a small rag and a couple of those finger wiping towelettes they give you when you order ribs.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Probably what made it easy to get out. "Jammed" was a poor choice of words on my part. It was just sort of laying there between the large and small sprocket, not exactly loose, but not tightly stuck either. Once I released some of the pressure from the rear, it was easy enough to move.

The biggest hassle was the grease on my hands. Need to pack a small rag and a couple of those finger wiping towelettes they give you when you order ribs.

Wife keeps one of these in her tool kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Grease-Monkey.../dp/B00365J82W

[M_Six]

Went out for a ride tonight. Beautiful warm evening with a bit of a breeze. I was spinning through a cul-de-sac on my usual loop and admiring a dramatic sky to the west due to some t-storms passing by. Some kids were playing whiffle ball on a freshly mowed lawn and suddenly I could smell hotdogs on a grill. I thought, wow, summertime in America.

I love this riding stuff.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Went out for a ride tonight. Beautiful warm evening with a bit of a breeze. I was spinning through a cul-de-sac on my usual loop and admiring a dramatic sky to the west due to some t-storms passing by. Some kids were playing whiffle ball on a freshly mowed lawn and suddenly I could smell hotdogs on a grill. I thought, wow, summertime in America.

I love this riding stuff.

Your ride was very different than mine. I was chased back to the car twice by lighting. Lol

If you look close you'll see a little bit of a blue dot under all the lightning strikes... thats me. haha

[M_Six]

Wifey and I always do a mile walking loop every night, even on the nights where I ride. We didn't get to do one tonight because of the lightning from the aforementioned storms. We never got the rain, but there was no shortage of lightning in our area, so no walking. Bummed me out because I didn't hit my steps or miles goals for the day.

[Rayscott]

First time back on the bike since my crash 1 month ago. Ribs were a little tender so I kept the mileage down. Rode the hybrid with front shocks which helped absorb the rough patches. I felt good and look forward to jumping back in the saddle soon.