Psychotext
Member
I only ever wear speedos when I'm fully waxed. Pointless wasting those aero gains.
Danowat will tell you. It's all about the aero gains.
Danowat will tell you. It's all about the aero gains.
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Bicycle age
- Thread starter elrechazado
- Start date
T8SC
Member
So what's that per KG? Given we're talking about climbing here... not your flat TT time.
I'm guessing you weigh sub 70kg?
...and yeah, I'm being a douche in return, but it's such a ridiculous statement to make. You're more than welcome to come out and prove me wrong on some of my local hills though!
Edit - That said, kudos, one way or another even if you weigh 90kg that's still a solid power output.
I wish I was under 70kg :-D being a tall guy I doubt I'll ever get that low without turning into a stick & losing muscle. I'm 4.5w/kg. (It was actually 4.54 or something but I'm at work and don't have the information to hand).
Been aiming to hit 400w for the 20min FTP test before May as a target for a sportive I'm doing. (Well, the main sportive, entered plenty others too).
Psychotext
Member
So you should definitely be able to get up the hills... but you're no Nairo Quintana, and I've seen his face on some of the steeper stuff, even he didn't think they were easy!
T8SC
Member
Funny you should say that as going back to the gradient discussion, I seen the riders summit finish at the ToB in 2015 on top of Hartside Pass, tired but not ruined, then I seen them climb *The Struggle* last year which is a shorter but steeper climb and lets just say some of them looked like crap and the train was totally broken between the bottom & top. Also Wiggo did his Froome impression at the top, comical. Safe to say the shorter but steeper UK climb (The Struggle) was a lot harder for the riders than the shallower but longer alpine type climb of Hartside Pass. Having rode both, I would agree too.
Hope that makes sense.
Psychotext
Member
For sure, I'd wager partially because when you're going that slow you're not getting nearly the aero advantage from your domestiques or the guys in front of you too, so any weaknesses you have are going to be amplified.
Plus, even pros can run out of gears when they hit these sorts of hills, and not even track riders want to spend too long grinding out hundreds of watts at a cadence of 50 or less.
Plus, even pros can run out of gears when they hit these sorts of hills, and not even track riders want to spend too long grinding out hundreds of watts at a cadence of 50 or less.
T8SC
Member
Agreed and another thing is that you can grind out a 15% or less climb. Meaning u can attack it, go at it normally or go up leisurely. When u hit a 25% or more climb, you generally go up at whatever your best pace is as you don't want the burn for longer than necessary.
I remember not long ago I went up a climb which had several 25% sections to it, helping another rider who's first go it was. I went at their speed and when I got to the top I felt more tired than what i would've going normally. The extra few minutes sitting barely turning the pedals really puts a strain on the legs that I generally wouldn't expect, whereas a lesser % gradient doesn't have that extreme effect as much.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I miss when this thread wasn't about WATTTS
T8SC
Member
Why watts wrong?
jakonovski
Member
Well I can tell you I've been riding down some super gnarly enduro tracks on my XC hardtail recently. Temperature changes and the current cold snap have made the snow so densely packed that spikes grip like crazy. Not going fast but it's still stuff that I can't handle on my full susser in the summer.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Did another round of night time trail riding last night. That stuff is beyond fun
jakonovski
Member
It is! I'm lacking a head mounted light though. It's doable with just a bar light but it's good to be able to see into turns.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
That's my main issue right now. My head lamp is good enough for hiking or running but it's abysmal on a bike.
Psychotext
Member
I'm looking at new 35mm (or lower) size stems to put on the new full suss carbon 29er that I haven't bought yet if it helps...
Oh, and buy a CREE torch (flashlight for you yanks) which runs off 18650 batteries. Join it to your helmet with a velcro holder and job done. You really don't need more unless you're planning on doing double diamond black runs in the dark.
Oh, and buy a CREE torch (flashlight for you yanks) which runs off 18650 batteries. Join it to your helmet with a velcro holder and job done. You really don't need more unless you're planning on doing double diamond black runs in the dark.
Darth Pinche
Member
Pacenti is coming our with a new system that can go as low as 25 mm. Pricey though.
http://reviews.mtbr.com/pacenti-pdent-stem-and-bar-review
http://reviews.mtbr.com/pacenti-pdent-stem-and-bar-review
jakonovski
Member
I'm just gonna yell at clouds and say that this short stem fad is a bit silly. Nobody outside the EWS needs a stem so short it requires bespoke bar/stem combo.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
My stem is 35mm and it's really not that bad
You can go even lower by putting a 120mm stem onto the steerer backwards.
Psychotext
Member
That depends entirely on the geometry of the bike. Silly to just assume that it's being done because shorter = better.
Amusingly, that looks like Mondraker using "forward geometry"... so a long ass tube and a short ass stem.
T8SC
Member
How many of you have adopted the 52/36 gearing as opposed to the old 50/34 that was common place a few years ago?
(If you live in a flat area you will prob have 53/39)
Also what cassette did you opt for? Seems 52/36 with an 11-28 is a bad word in some areas, people wont budge from the 50/34 and some even stick a 32 :O on the back ...
I have 52/36 with 11-28 on my summer & winter bike. Wouldn't change them either, though I'd definitely change the Shimano setup for a Sram when the Shimano breaks.
(If you live in a flat area you will prob have 53/39)
Also what cassette did you opt for? Seems 52/36 with an 11-28 is a bad word in some areas, people wont budge from the 50/34 and some even stick a 32 :O on the back ...
I have 52/36 with 11-28 on my summer & winter bike. Wouldn't change them either, though I'd definitely change the Shimano setup for a Sram when the Shimano breaks.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Pretty sure I have 50/34, forget off the top of my head. Probably opting for 1x next time I build a bike (maybe next year?).
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28
The lack of a 16-tooth cog is pretty annoying on the flats, you stop having 1-tooth steps just a little too early. 52-36 makes this problem worse in the big ring, although I guess the bigger small ring should make it more reasonable to cruise in that ring if you'd otherwise be on the lower edge of the straight block in the big ring.
Psychotext
Member
I have whatever came with my bike... absolutely no idea!
I just make the pedals go around.
I just make the pedals go around.
Where can I get this? Asking for a friend.
jakonovski
Member
I probably have 52/36 with 11-32.
That's a Mountain Tamer Quad. This is the page the image was from.
Currently they appear to be sold out, and you'd have to be careful to make sure it'll work: will the front derailleur clear the chain across all the rings, can the front derailleur move far enough to each side, does the shifter have enough cable pull to make the front derailleur move far enough to each side, will the drive-side chainstay clear the fourth chainring, does your rear derailleur have a lot of chain wrap (you'll probably want a long-cage MTB derailleur). Also, installation requires that you have a triple crankset with 5-bolt 74BCD for the inner ring. Don't be surprised if shifting to the itsy-bitsy ring ends up a bit weird.
i'm running a 50/34 with a 11-28, which has been adequate enough
mid-compacts weren't in vogue when i wanted to change my setup. finding a mid-compact sram force22 crankset/chainring was nearly impossibly 2 years ago in the states and even europe from what i could tell. there was one seller on ebay located in china though the price was heavily inflated and my bike desperately needed new chains so i couldn't wait around for a month for it to arrive.
mid-compacts weren't in vogue when i wanted to change my setup. finding a mid-compact sram force22 crankset/chainring was nearly impossibly 2 years ago in the states and even europe from what i could tell. there was one seller on ebay located in china though the price was heavily inflated and my bike desperately needed new chains so i couldn't wait around for a month for it to arrive.
I found a 14% paved climb near home last year with a 45,2% max for 30 meters or so. Baaarely made it up there without keeling over. Haven't tried it since, and I'm not sure I will even if I love climbing steep hills. It was more wrestling the bike up than cycling: powering out one half revolution of the pedals at a time with a second or two of balancing in between.
Psychotext
Member
Damnit. I've just worked out that the Race Face dropper on the large Jeffsy frame will be 2.5cm too long for me when fully inserted into the frame. I know it's infinitely adjustable and I could just drop it 2.5cm from the fully extended position, but I'm thinking at that point I might as well just buy a 125mm dropper (because I'm losing 25mm from the 150mm drop anyway).
Fine, I'll just try to get stronger...
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Bring back mags and spingerays!
Psychotext
Member
Stick that on a lefty for full fuckery.
jakonovski
Member
You don't want to hit kerbs on those.
T8SC
Member
Yeah my old bike was a 50/34 with 11-28, was quite normal with 2013/14 bikes but that seems to have changed around 2015/16. I know alot of people removing the 52/36 and replacing with a new (or their old) 50/34 chainset.
Nice to see another Sram owner though, I run Shimano 105 on my winter bike but Red22 on my summer bike, much prefer the double tap of the Sram and the fact it's far far lighter than even Dura-Ace.
I wish more manufacturers would give you the Sram option, seems unless you have a CX bike then your road bike Sram options are pretty much only eTap these days.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Roadies are weird. They're so fast to jump to trends instead of just sticking with something.
T8SC
Member
How many gears are MTB's on these days? 9? 10? 11? 12?
Everyone progresses, some just do it earlier. Some 2017 road bikes are still 9sp.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Mountain bikes are still very much in an evolutionary state of things. My point is more that I feel like I've seen roadies and tri-dorks get more bogged down in the equipment than any other riders.
phazedplasma
Member
60 degrees in Moab boys
monthly trips start soon
Also anyone been to whistler? Thinking of going at the end of july... Is that a good time?
monthly trips start soon
Also anyone been to whistler? Thinking of going at the end of july... Is that a good time?
Psychotext
Member
Any time it's open is a good time for Whistler!
If you're interested, Crankworx is there at the start of August, but the place gets crazy busy.
If you're interested, Crankworx is there at the start of August, but the place gets crazy busy.
T8SC
Member
I'd say road bikes are in an evolutionary state too. To disc or not to disc, that is the 2017 question. :-D
Eh, sort of. Road bikes are a pretty mature tech, and some sorts of changes get resisted pretty strongly. Wide tires are a pretty obvious example; not that I think everyone should immediately get 2" road tires or anything, but what's silly is that lots of people still get confused when someone on 2" tires manages to keep up just fine. Slight tweaks to tooth count on the chainrings doesn't really conflict with tradition. It's also worth noting that 52/36 hasn't been totally embraced across the board. Nor should it be; it makes sense to have different chainring combos available for different purposes, and for combining with different sorts of rear clusters.
I've never used SRAM road, but I'd think that doubletap would be harder to market.
eTap is easy; unlike something like Di2 where the electronic buttons are basically just mapped to the functions of Shimano's mechanical levers, it's a simple e-shifting interface designed from the ground up for 2x drivetrains. One lever shifts up, one level shifts down, click them both to front shift; pretty darn elegant.
Doubletap has levers whose functions change polarity depending on how far you push them. How do you make that sound good?
The most basic options are often still 8-speed. Bikes like the Specialized Allez E5 or Trek 1.1 use Claris.
T8SC
Member
I think electronic gears are generally hard to market until you try them. I was curious about eTap and then had a go of one and it was amazing, so simple. Di2, similar, but didn't wow me as much. Battery life is a problem though, moreso with eTap.
I think like anything, you have to try things, marketing blurb is generally over-hyped for new kit coming to the market.
Forgot Claris was 8sp, they really need to bring that and Sora up to a more modest amount of gears. Granted they have a triple option for those who like that kinda thing.
Still need more Sram equipped bikes though, too much of the same on the market, want a new bike? Well you can have lots of different manufacturers but they are mainly Shimano with a few scatterings of Campy & Sram. I guess it's determined by how much £££ Shimano costs to the tour teams, usually less than campy & Sram, so more run Shimano resulting in more Shimano bikes for the masses.
I'm not really talking "marketing blurb", but more, if you just sit down with someone and describe to them how it works. If someone asks about e-shifting, what the different eTap buttons do and how they interact can comes across as elegant relative to other electronic shifting interfaces.
Nah. The point is that they're covering a huge variety of price points. Making Claris fancier wouldn't result in bikes like the Trek 1.1 using 9-speed, it would result in that bike ceasing to exist or using parts from another manufacturer. Shimano already has 10/11-speed stuff that competes with Campy and Sram groupsets, they have no reason to compress everything upwards and hand their huge entry-level market to Microshift.
Shimano also has 7-speed parts that sometimes get called the "Tourney" groupset, although these usually only show up on BSOs and low-end BikesDirect bikes. (And they even still sell some 6-speed parts, like the MF-TZ20 freewheel. I personally like to avoid Shimano freewheels, though; not because they don't work, but because the color and decals on the largest cog always look incredibly stupid.)
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Ehh disc brakes have been around and getting used it's just now that road is beginning to consider them. Mountain frames and geometry have been evolving a lot.
frontieruk
Member
That was last year's question, this year is hydraulic or mechanical discs.
That was the point it's an evolution to the Roady, though there are still small changes to frames on the road side it's just so small that they're hard to notice.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
The snow we got this week is messing up my trail riding. I know it's fun and what not, but sometimes you don't wanna be in a sloppy wet cold mess.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
So I'm beginning to think my Kickr and TrainerRoad are not working properly together. I went back to the SSB2 program where you're basically working at FTP +/- 5. And once again it felt like absolutely hell while riding. If you've ever ridden a bike with a way too tight QR or a stuck brake that's the feeling. Even when I was getting to 90/95 RPM it still felt like hell on earth to turn my legs and what's making me thinking it's the Snap is my knees/quads were just burning in pain.
I emailed TR to get ideas but I hope it's nothing with the unit. My wife is riding it now with Zwift and said it feels fine so I'm going to give it another go later with some spindowns & see where times come in.
I emailed TR to get ideas but I hope it's nothing with the unit. My wife is riding it now with Zwift and said it feels fine so I'm going to give it another go later with some spindowns & see where times come in.