New to cycling

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by ESP

Here's mine
Very comfortable to ride , very fast , climbs hills like a mountain goat , it is a very very light bike so the handling can get a little twitchy sometimes.....

All carbon frame , carbon fork ( metal steerer ) , carbon bars and headstem and seat pole , mavic ksyrium SL wheels , Ultegra groupset , selle italia saddle.
Pedals are the dual platform Shimano PD A530. Michelin PRO RACE tyres.....and most importantly......GIRO ATMOS helmet for my noggin in case I kiss the bitumen !!!!

Fastest I have been on this bike is 70Klm/h on a medium downhill stretch with plenty of room for braking and no cornering..........man did I $%!* myself......

Currently riding 20 - 25 Klm stints when the weather allows ( mixed flat with uphill sections )

image

nice !!!!! top looking bike there ESP

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

nice !!!!! top looking bike there ESP

Thanks !

Its been a labour of love over the last 4 years..........only original thing left on the bike from original purchase is the saddle / groupset / frame - fork and seat post.......the wheels / pedals / crank / bars / stem / bottle cage / tyres have all been replaced.......can't help myself........my cars are the same....its the mod bug with everything I own.....

Like others on this thread......i love riding bikes - road / mountain etc......
My long term aim is to try and ride up Mt Dandeong Tourist Rd ( at least half way anyways !! ).....I find the uphills such a challenge - but I'm just so hopeless at them........ Makes your heart race like a sewing machine and legs burn and puff up like BBQ sausages ready to burst.....lol

[HLC]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

From what I can see the paint is correct for a Hillman of that time period, exact same as my friends bike when he had one back then (I had a 653 Kerry Hopkins at the time). The rear drop out also looks right for a Reynolds frame, from what I can see anyway.

I've got some contacts to get thru to hillman themselves who I'll pass on some photos/serial to get confirmation!

Has same campy fork tips and lugs as my mates Reynolds 531 'unknown' Track frame. Will be a great project. Can't wait to restore it!!

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by HLC

I've got some contacts to get thru to hillman themselves who I'll pass on some photos/serial to get confirmation!

Has same campy fork tips and lugs as my mates Reynolds 531 'unknown' Track frame. Will be a great project. Can't wait to restore it!!

Sure will, makes me kind of miss my Kerry Hopkins, nothing rides like a fine steel frame.

Just make sure you check out the chain stays near the bottom bracket, reynolds frames often collect water there and then rust from the inside out. That is what happened to my Hopkins, it got very loose in the back end until one day on a hill both chain stays snapped. It thought I had awesome power until I saw the state of the inside surface of the tubes. The strange thing is you could not see a mark on the outside paint until they snapped.

I think once my Merckx is finished its upgrade I will try and find an old steel Merckx from the late 80's to early 90's, a period when bikes were beautiful and Italian steel was a work of art. I was originally going to do a Colnago but I think I will make it a Merckx, perhaps a Leader MX to park next to my modern Merckx.

[HLC]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Sure will, makes me kind of miss my Kerry Hopkins, nothing rides like a fine steel frame.

Just make sure you check out the chain stays near the bottom bracket, reynolds frames often collect water there and then rust from the inside out. That is what happened to my Hopkins, it got very loose in the back end until one day on a hill both chain stays snapped. It thought I had awesome power until I saw the state of the inside surface of the tubes. The strange thing is you could not see a mark on the outside paint until they snapped.

I think once my Merckx is finished its upgrade I will try and find an old steel Merckx from the late 80's to early 90's, a period when bikes were beautiful and Italian steel was a work of art. I was originally going to do a Colnago but I think I will make it a Merckx, perhaps a Leader MX to park next to my modern Merckx.

Thanks for the tips will have a look! Am planning to strip it back and repaint, and if legit, should be able to get some new decals from Hillman. Very unfortunate to hear what happened to your Hopkins though! Not something that you would expect!

Keep an eye out on gumtree and eBay! Perth gumtree has spewed out a ton of classic steel bargains lately!

2 Mosers (1 frame, 1 complete)
2 Colnago completes (1 mint, one project with full campy chorus and delta brakes!)
A Rossin complete project
A Pinarello complete project
My hillman!

Just gotta be quick!!

A Merckx would be beautiful though! Id love a Merckx Pista. But I love anything track ha ha!

[blueoval]

Great looking bike ESP that's something id like to something like that one day.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Great looking bike ESP that's something id like to something like that one day.

Cheers Shav

Just did 30 klm's on it today.....took about 1 hour and 10 mins. One thing I love about this bike is the geometry. It aint full on race like the TCR range which has a more aggressive angle on the top bar and head tube. The OCR Competition is a little more forgiving - so it lets me ride for a good hour or 2 and then I can still stand up at the end of the ride. It allows a slightly more upright position and I've also adjusted the "horns" so that I don't feel like I'm leaning too far.

The Michelin Pro Race tyres glide beautifully ( running about 115 - 120 PSi ) and the all carbon frame and fork is very forgiving over bumps.

As the weather gets warmer now - I like to jump on the bike almost every day after work for a quick 10 - 15K thrash before dinner......great for getting rid of that spare tyre that sometimes develops around your waist over winter......

[blueoval]

Exactly. I've upped my training for Amy's ride in 2 weeks. so im pushing to get into shape myself. The description of the geometry sounds like something i need when the time comes. good time doing 30km too. i can only imagine how it rides.

[DBourne]

Nice work ESP. I love Michellen Pro Race 3 tyres.

[sgt_doofey]

Been riding in to work a few times lately, ready to tackle the 65km Amy's Ride leg I'll be doing on Sunday.

In to work: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125977529
Home from work: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125977521

I'll be trying to do Amy's ride in around 3 hours. See you at the finish line Shav!

[blueoval]

Just did my 30km Amy Gillette ride today. great day even though it rained a bit. but what a great event.

[sgt_doofey]

How did you go Shav?
I did the 65kms in 2h 44m
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126728219

[blueoval]

Hey Sam. great time. i did the 30km in 1h15m. i reckon Im gonna give the 60 a crack next year. sorry i had to bail early too. the Mrs was ready to pick me up and didn't want to wait around. loved the day and how great the event was organized though. so many nice bikes there too. makes me wanna get something decent ready for next year.

[sgt_doofey]

That's a pretty good time there Shav. You were probably on par with the time I did over the 65kms. It's a shame the Mrs wanted to bail, I was only about 15 mins out at the refreshment station at the 55km mark. Only had to cover the last 10kms which looks like it took me about 15 mins. Oh well, how about meeting up at the finish line of the TDU?

Yeah, there are heaps of nice bikes out there and at other cycling events too. At least you don't have to worry about your bike being stolen as there are much better ones there than yours

Definitely do the 65km ride next year. The hardest part is that climb at the start and the rest is pretty easy. A couple of small hills towards the end, but nothing too major. Definitely not like the 7% grade there at the start! We did have a bit of a wind blowing though, but just tuck in behind other people and you can negate that a fair bit.

[blueoval]

Thanks Sam. I wanted to stay behind and in theory I should have just rode home, but oh well, you learn. I may just do that next year.

My biked looked like a Cash Converter special in comparison to some of the bikes that were there. I saw a few TT's, and full carbon race spec bikes there and I was chatting to a Adelaide Cyclists Forum member and we reckon there would have been at $2-3million worth of bikes there on the day. It was almost like a show and shine with some of those guys. Especially on the oval at the start. People just showing off how many bikkies they spent on their ride. I was impressed to say the least.

I was tempted to jump on the tail of a few dudes that I was keeping up with after the s.exy to sneak onto the 65km course. But thought, nah better not, I only paid for the 30km portion. I'll stick with that. I had an app on my phone kept a record of my time and distance and it basically said the distance I covered was actually 36.99km which amazed me. So in effect i was shy of 37km in total. Had I have rode home it would have been 57km or there abouts.

Thinking about my next bike now though. Considering as an entry level, a Trek 1.2 or Cannondale CAAD8 or 9. Keeping in mind my budget will be a max of about $1250. Both have similar components. Tiagra F&R Derailleur and carbon forks etc. Just not sure whys best.

[DBourne]

Don't get caught up in the sticker a bike has on its frame.

If your frame suits you fine, spend the dosh on components. That's what makes the difference, not the ****y sticker plastered on the side of the frame.

[blueoval]

Ok will keep that in mind, thanks bloke.

[kocho]

Good job with your rides on the weekend SAers!

I've got a charity ride this weekend on Eastlink. Just going to take it quite casually I think and ride with my family who don't get on a bike that often. Anyway, looking forward to it as the whole road is closed off!

[blueoval]

you'll love it kocho. It's awesome being out with heaps of other enthusiasts and still supporting a charity of your choice.

Speaking of charity, does anyone know if these rides are tax deductible?

[kocho]

I claim mine on tax blueoval.

[blueoval]

excellent. I reckon I'll do the same seeing as its a charity event.

[HLC]

We have the ssantos great bike ride here in WA next weekend.

10km, 53km or 106km.

Forgot to rego, so will turn up on the day and slot in.

Can't decide if I want to do the 53 or 106... I haven't done any training (been on A/L and as a result am a few kg's heavier than usual ha) see how I go. Plan on punishing myself Monday-fri on the bike, and take Saturday off to rest/carbo load and go from there!

Need to work on my bike set up though.. Chucked the SPD's back on today and went for a quick 20 Kays and the bike felt like crap. The fit was all wrong... :(

[geckoGT]

I had a disappointment yesterday, went to go for a ride yesterday which was going to be my first in 4 days because of work and one of my pedals fell apart.

It is a shimano ultegra spd sl, felt like it was not clicked in properly so I unclicked, then the whole pedal body fell off onto the road. Luckily I was only 500m from home and not 60 km from home.

Now have a brand new set of Look Keo pedals, good excuse for new gear I suppose.

I have been a bit slack recently on the bike, mainly due to work and other time constraints. Although I am also swimming a couple of times a week and have started running again as well. I should be able to get out on the bike tomorrow, can't wait.

[blueoval]

I too havent been on the bike since Amy's ride and feel the need to get back out. Work is stupidly busy this time of year for me so its hard. I got friends who want to take up the sport though which is encouraging.

[TZENU]

Throw me down as one of the slack ones too!.... I hadn't ridden for several weeks so on Sunday I jumped on the fixie and did a cafe race from port melbourne to black rock and back

[HLC]

You'll be very happy with the Look's!!!!

Been Tempted to pull the trigger on a pair of Keo max 2's for some time!

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

I had a disappointment yesterday, went to go for a ride yesterday which was going to be my first in 4 days because of work and one of my pedals fell apart.

It is a shimano ultegra spd sl, felt like it was not clicked in properly so I unclicked, then the whole pedal body fell off onto the road. Luckily I was only 500m from home and not 60 km from home.

Now have a brand new set of Look Keo pedals, good excuse for new gear I suppose.

I have been a bit slack recently on the bike, mainly due to work and other time constraints. Although I am also swimming a couple of times a week and have started running again as well. I should be able to get out on the bike tomorrow, can't wait.

I changed from SPD's to Look Keo's as well. Do you find them harder to clip in quickly??

I find the actual cleat takes a bit more force, but also the way the pedal falls doesn't seem to fall as nicely as the SPD.

[Sam_Boss260]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

I had a disappointment yesterday, went to go for a ride yesterday which was going to be my first in 4 days because of work and one of my pedals fell apart.

It is a shimano ultegra spd sl, felt like it was not clicked in properly so I unclicked, then the whole pedal body fell off onto the road. Luckily I was only 500m from home and not 60 km from home.

Now have a brand new set of Look Keo pedals, good excuse for new gear I suppose.

I have been a bit slack recently on the bike, mainly due to work and other time constraints. Although I am also swimming a couple of times a week and have started running again as well. I should be able to get out on the bike tomorrow, can't wait.

That is bad luck, but also good luck that you were only 500m from home. I have the Look Keo's and whilst I have nothing else to compare them to, I like them.

[HLC]

Got some new wheels!!!

[blueoval]

hell yeah, thats cool Henri

Just went out and bought another drink cage for my bike. On longer trips the 1 bottle can be a bit sparse, and I see some guys carry 2 cages for 2 drink bottles.