Cycling...The new black

[EivissaAddicted]

never been into road bikes... the buzz of offroad is too interesting for me to get on a road bike.

few years back i hired out bikes in ibiza, in the heat its hard work mid summer.
some 10 years ago a group of us hired quad bikes and went up into the mountains in ibiza, was wicked but i just kept thinking it would be as much fun on a mountain bike.
i like the idea of going up into the mountains 3am ish to do some riding when its cooler.

raced down hill in the uk from 96/97 to 2001/2002 loved it but was never very high ranked, did not worry me but as the courses got more dangerous i started hurting myself more..lol
still love the buzz but dont think i could do it now.

i do fancy the idear of doing an uplift day though..

 

[kimajy]

strangely enough, got a 3rd free bike last night with a different gear set up and this one is much easier to use - it has a lever on the left side handlebar which i have called "easy/medium/hard" and the usual twisty gear lever on the right and now I can understand it much more easily that 2 twisty gears lol

Haha - twisty grips ... I hate them ! On the MTB my brake levers double as gear shifters so you push down on the brake lever to change one way and flick a thumb changer underneath for the other way. Some people don't like them but they work for me.

My other bike (touring bike) has Alfine-11sp hub gears and I love it. It's incredibly nice to ride, but also has its quirks - has to be absolutely precisely adjusted to run smoothly so had to learn how to do that. It's been used on round the world tours so can't be that bad. Plus you can't change down under load which means interrupting your cadence .. roadies would be horrified by it I'm sure but it works for that bike really well. Rohloff 14sp hub gears would be a dream but a bit pricey. I also tried a bike with Nuvinci 360 automatic shifting and it was nice enough but a bit like driving an automatic versus a manual car... not enough control plus not enough gear range for me.

I'll admit I nearly bought a road bike too but wanted Ultegra or Dura-Ace and 2nd hand ones sell for stupid prices, far more than the components are actually worth. I wanted a Ti-frame not a carbon one though unless it was new - but road bikes are a bit of a silly purchase for anything but cycling itself. There are rarely times I'll go out for a ride without doing other stuff at the same time i.e. need proper racks, storage and security. There's barely scope for a bunch of keys on a road bike lol.

You save loads in parking taking the bike - but I've had 2 drinks in 10 months now (both times at home - one beer and some champers !) so no cycling to the pub for me. Actually I'd never get on a bike after drinking anything coz drivers are so incredibly bad around cyclists and I'm almost always on-road when going to or from home. Btw ... still off the real cigs (electronic ones only since I quit last year).. and I put that 100% down to cycling.

I got all the way up my first proper hill last night, without crying/getting off bike and pushing it the rest of the way up in a hot sweaty mess . The bruising is happening less and less now however, I have a question, will i get massive calf muscles riding a bike for an hour or 2, 3-4 times a week? I ask as its a fear of mine cos when i did kick boxing and Thai boxing for 7 years they were huge and I dont want that to happen again, so if it is likely then i will fook it off and start walking again

I don't think that much will give you massive calves, no ! If you're worried then just fit a small electric hub motor on the back wheel and use it on the hills. It'll only take the edge off them but enough to slash the calorie burn a bit or avert the popeye effect !

never been into road bikes... the buzz of offroad is too interesting for me to get on a road bike.

few years back i hired out bikes in ibiza, in the heat its hard work mid summer.
some 10 years ago a group of us hired quad bikes and went up into the mountains in ibiza, was wicked but i just kept thinking it would be as much fun on a mountain bike.
i like the idea of going up into the mountains 3am ish to do some riding when its cooler.

raced down hill in the uk from 96/97 to 2001/2002 loved it but was never very high ranked, did not worry me but as the courses got more dangerous i started hurting myself more..lol
still love the buzz but dont think i could do it now.

i do fancy the idea of doing an uplift day though..

Ibiza's a great place to ride but I'd rather do it out of season on account of how dangerous the roads are in Summer. There are actually some new cycle lanes on the road up to Puerto San Miquel if I remember right. Spotted they'd been put in after that road was seemingly dug up for months ! The trails are likely a much better bet but would be far better with a car to get the bikes closer - and definitely preferably someone to drop you at the top and collect you at the bottom to save slogging up the mountains on a full-sus . Something to take in turns maybe !

 

[Dan x]

I built up an Alfine bike...Couldn't agree with you more about the necessity for shifting precision - drives me mad! Damn heavy too, though it's usually fully loaded on the commute I just cope with going very slow!

 

[kimajy]

^^ that's a very impressive kit-out. Daren't ask what those accessories cost . Only thing is ... do you have to remove them all when you park the bike in London ?

I've found the Alfine-11 is happy up to about 19-22mph cruising - more on a steep downhill obviously... but the 8sp one just doesn't have the gearing for higher speed riding. If you lose chain tension the gears will crunch and the whole thing goes out in a flash. That's the main thing to keep sorted. Really strong axle nuts/washers and very tightly fixed if you have horizontal dropouts and hammer it. 1cm play in the chain tops then you're all good.

 

[NilSatis]

thats a gorgeous looking bike above! Looks in immaculate condition. I was out yesterday for a quick 40mile blast on my TT:

Hit 37 mph on a not so steep decline, felt pretty good yesterday - putting it down to good weather!

 

[kimajy]

Hit 37 mph on a not so steep decline, felt pretty good yesterday - putting it down to good weather!

Bike looks very glossy and aerodynamic ! Mine's altogether a little more "rugged" ... as it gets hauled somewhat off the beaten track as well as doing the roads... the destination tends to get my focus more than the ride when the weather's like this !









Still, took it up to 42.5mph on Saturday on the way home - which is always fun !

 

[diver]

Daymer Bay!!!
My most fave beach in the UK .
Tell me you have not cycled there just to get an iced tea?

 

[kimajy]

Haha - no. I get it in our local farm shop and take it out with me as there are no facilities on the quieter beaches round these parts.... not to mention that rock dead centre in Photo 2 which is where Photo 4 is taken ! Thank f*ck for roll-top dry bags as I have to swim all my stuff out to it ... wet and dry bags slung over one shoulder leaves one hand free for swimming

 

[NilSatis]

wow that looks great. Swimming out to the rock is ace. Ive not tried MTBing for many many years, to be honest I dont think my bike handling would be good enough to stop me coming off loads of times!

 

[kingfisher]

That's a nice looking bike NilSatis. I cycle around 500 miles a month. Went cycling in Majorca in April and did 500 miles in a week. I have cycled in Ibiza but only on poor quality hybrids. There doesn't seem to be any hire shops were you can hire road bikes and I would want to pay to taken my own bike to Ibiza.

 

[puppylover]

thats a gorgeous looking bike above! Looks in immaculate condition. I was out yesterday for a quick 40mile blast on my TT:

Hit 37 mph on a not so steep decline, felt pretty good yesterday - putting it down to good weather!

Wow - my freebie looks NOTHING like this - is this what modern bikes look like? is that a MB ??

I have another question re biking - i set up an app on my phone mapmyride and it gives you a workout email after you complete each ride. so it says i did 23.85 miles in 4.4 hours, measuring an overall speed of 6mph (we did stop a few times probably up to about an hour in total for a pint, an ice cream and a small rest but didnt put the pause on - never thought) but it says I burnt 2, 888 calories (it maps gradients etc etc during the ride) surely you dont burn off that many calories in a 3.4 hr bike ride?? Does anyone on this post know what the average calorie burn is per hour at constant peddling? and what speed you normally need to go at to burn optimum level of calories please?

 

[NilSatis]

ITs a Time trial bike. Used for rider against the clock races or stages of races. But also used (and in my case) a lot in triathlons , designed more for straightline speed than a normal road (racer) bike.
As for the calories used , there are so many unknown variables its difficult to answer accurately. Fitness levels, weight, speed of pedalling, resistance (what gear your in) it all determines how many cals you burn.

 

[puppylover]

ITs a Time trial bike. Used for rider against the clock races or stages of races. But also used (and in my case) a lot in triathlons , designed more for straightline speed than a normal road (racer) bike.
As for the calories used , there are so many unknown variables its difficult to answer accurately. Fitness levels, weight, speed of pedalling, resistance (what gear your in) it all determines how many cals you burn.

shorts and vest top - with a light jacket in case of rain.......

Seriously tho, the way I do my gears (and apols for the non techy terminology) is that i stay in a high gear in medium to difficult setting - i dont know how to set calories to burn on the app - wouldnt know where to start if I am honest, this is a first for me - outdoor exercise....

however loving the fact me and Mr PL have found a hobby together other than house music and clubbing to keep us amused in our old age now the clubbing side isnt as sustainable as it used to be sadly..

 

[diver]

Pups,
If its anything to go by, I cycled to work all last week. It takes 50 minutes and is about 12 miles. Myfitnesspal tells me 12-14mph of cycling burns 500 cals. This is also comparible to cardio machines at the gym where I set at 120bpm (I wear a heart rate chest band) and burn 100 cals each 10 mins.
I am 41 years old, 5'10 and 12st so the figures it has given you seem about right.

 

[puppylover]

Pups,
If its anything to go by, I cycled to work all last week. It takes 50 minutes and is about 12 miles. Myfitnesspal tells me 12-14mph of cycling burns 500 cals. This is also comparible to cardio machines at the gym where I set at 120bpm (I wear a heart rate chest band) and burn 100 cals each 10 mins.
I am 41 years old, 5'10 and 12st so the figures it has given you seem about right.

whoah! seriously? I am 47 and 5' 6" and 10st I am over the moon with those figures. This means I can eat my fav things as long as I cycle every other day looking at those figures.... The older i get the harder it is to keep maintaining my weight so cheers for that - I think I have actually found the best excercise for me

 

[kimajy]

shorts and vest top - with a light jacket in case of rain.......

I think I have actually found the best exercise for me

8). Sure beats that running malarkey - much lower impact on the knees relatively etc. Unless it's relatively high intensity cycling though, I'm told long walks are still a better way to lose weight ... but that usually means more talking - which can sometimes wind up not being quite what you're after with the other 1/2

I cycled to work all last week. It takes 50 minutes and is about 12 miles.

With traffic lights ? Keep it up .

 

[diver]

whoah! seriously? I am 47 and 5' 6" and 10st I am over the moon with those figures. This means I can eat my fav things as long as I cycle every other day looking at those figures.... The older i get the harder it is to keep maintaining my weight so cheers for that - I think I have actually found the best excercise for me

No way are you ten stone, surely a lot less ?

 

[diver]

With traffic lights ? Keep it up .

I cant work out whether or not you are paking the tiss?

 

[puppylover]

No way are you ten stone, surely a lot less ?

no - I am quite a hefty build actually (well i think so) never gonna get back to a 9st size 8 again.... no matter how much cycling I do lol

but well done - liking your work here! 8)

 

[kimajy]

I was out yesterday for a quick 40mile blast on my TT:

Tried out a TT bike on Friday at the NEC show in Birmingham for the 1st time. Ceepo thing with Q rotors and a double-front chainring. Only thing is it had SRAM red shifters (unlike anything I'm more used to), didn't have aero bars and they'd whapped on some standard drop handlebars so it felt very weird. Heck, it was a nightmare to steer - they had a crit-style track with loads of bends everywhere which meant I was always on the brakes and couldn't get a decent straight run - and it was supremely uncomfortable ! Couldn't bring myself to want to ride it more than a lap and can't imagine taking it out on the roads with that handling. I guess it gets easier with practice ? Public track surrounded by experienced enthusiasts with my credit card down against damages at the desk was probably not the kindest place to have to run the gauntlet and try one of these out - but it's not that easy to get your bum on one at all if you don't have mates with them who will let you try theirs !

I liked the Fondriest road bikes (never been much of a fan of Bianchi styling which was the other make there with a few to try). But the nicest actual ride I managed to try was from a Trek Madone 5.2C. Much more forgiving and (not being one for competitions) could see that being something I'd be OK with riding longer distances on. Fast but comfy enough without all the compromises. Still not convinced I'd ride a road bike much - but they are just SO easy in terms of getting speed back for the effort you put in compared to what I'm used to !