New to cycling

[ratter]

I have a couple of bulged disc in my lower back with a little arthritis, I know what you mean, Mine normally plays up after a little while in the saddle and affects my power, comfort etc, good luck

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by HLC

Rode in the RAC freeway bike hike today here in Perth.

Basically they close the freeway and let us go nuts for 70km.

Did the ride in 1hr 48m, avg speed of 37.xxkph! That's Fixed Gear / Brakeless with a 10knot headwind!

Was awesome except for all the Fred's half-wheeling and doing a host of other stupid crap. The surging in groups was also pathetic and just dangerous. Had a few near misses myself, saw a couple of crashes and a mate of mine got wiped out as well.

Oh well, still had fun munching roadies like it was a game of pacman!

Good work!
That's the problem with half of these events, you tend to get a fair amount of people who are not familar with bunch riding and cause havoc....

[blueoval]

2 weeks out of the saddle feels like 2 months. You put fat on and start losing muscle I noticed. I don't go without riding for longer than this. It's too hard to swing back into it otherwise. Hope your doing ok Trippy.

[trippytaka]

Thanks yeah it's much better.

It would seem that the riding helps and hinders it. Helps with core and hip mobility, but tightens back muscles, hamstrings etc if you don't stretch - which is where I blew out, so to speak.

Back on the saddle next week though

[HLC]

Originally Posted by blueoval

2 weeks out of the saddle feels like 2 months. You put fat on and start losing muscle I noticed. I don't go without riding for longer than this. It's too hard to swing back into it otherwise. Hope your doing ok Trippy.

pretty much why I dont go on holidays! have to work too damn hard on the bike/at the office when I get back HA HA

In other news, finished my roadie I am going to swap the bars to narrower Cinelli ergo drops and will cut the cables/housings at the same time once they are all stretched good and proper.

Rides damn well. Just need to learn how to ride it quickly!! ie, with proper technique. I could go nuts and smash out the big gears, but that will teach me nothing!






More detailed shots later when i get my hands on my gf's camera. And the sadde/post has gone up about an inch so it looks nicer too!

Parts List:

Frame - 1985 Gordon Hill 'Hillman' in Reynolds 531
Groupset - 2012 Campag Veloce
Wheelset / Tyres - 2012 Campag Khamsin / Bontrager
Headset / Stem / Bars - Tange / Thomson Elite 90mm / Nuclear 42cm Ergo's / Fizik Tape
Post / Saddle - Thomson Elite / Fizik Tundra
Pedals - Look Keo Max 2

[blueoval]

Love it Henri. looks old school yet with brand new up to date running gear. Other riders will be doing double takes when they see u riding this.

The bars look like a decent width. Unless you are looking for the best aero package I don't see why you would want to change the bars.

Pity you didn't have time to respray the frame and make the thing look like new.

[HLC]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Love it Henri. looks old school yet with brand new up to date running gear. Other riders will be doing double takes when they see u riding this.

The bars look like a decent width. Unless you are looking for the best aero package I don't see why you would want to change the bars.

Pity you didn't have time to respray the frame and make the thing look like new.

I'm not the biggest build ha ha 5'10/1 and 73kg ha ha! I like having my arms directly in front of my shoulders so 40cm Center-to-centre bars will acheive this! Plus the Cinelli's are a nicer bar than the cheapo's on there now!

I was going to repaint it but decided not too! Original paint/decals is king! If i painted it, it wouldnt be as special!

[HLC]

And if any of you have Strava, post up your links!! I love looking at them!

[blueoval]

I have it but never use it. I should give it a go. I use my tracks. There isn't much to show as my rides are mainly sportive.

[HLC]

I track my rides with cyclemeter, til i buy a garmin, but with cyclemeter you can export a file to upload to Strava.

It turns every ride into a race ha ha! Funnily enough I have some awesome segment times set of my track bike lol although i did score a KOM on a segment (fastest person) on the first ride on the Hillman! hilarious!

[Hell Cat]

Here's my ride

[blueoval]

Very NICE ride there Hell Cat. Care to give a run down of the current specs?

Those Zipp wheels are spose to be the beez neez. Are they the carbon versions?

[HLC]

I'm gonna say its a BMC Racemachine in a M/54 with SRAM Red Gruppo and Zipp 404's!

I'd have gone for traditional (black/white) zipp decals but that's me. Still a nice bike, I like BMC's. Looking at a Time Machine Frame ATM actually!

[Hell Cat]

Hi. Yes, its the bmc rm01 with sram red/black, 3T team bar & stem, ultegra carbon pedals.
The wheels fitted are 404 firecrest carbons, the firecrest is a new model rim which is wider than normal, once you get the bike upto speed you can really notice the difference over regular shallow alloy rims.

The wheels are demo wheels from the shop I work at, if you look closely on the sticker is says "high performance demo", the shop has 303-404-808-101 etc and also a brand called lightweight (which Rrp for $6000 a set) demo wheels for people to try before they buy.

Id like to sell my groupset to purchase the new release sram gear.
I need to start riding again, I've been slack & have been putting most of my spare time into my xp at the moment.

..... I also race Bmx

[ratter]

what speed do you start to notice the difference in the wheels, are they tubulars or clinchers?

[HLC]

I have 23mm wide clinchers on my track bike, and I definately notice better handling with that over the 17mm wide campag wheels on my roadie.

The wider tyre stretches the tyre over more so you dont get any sidewall flex when cornering etc.

I've also ridden (and owned) a variety of Deep profile rims and you notice that once up to speed (any speed really) they roll and roll and roll and roll and....... because of the extra rotating weight/momentum.


"Lightweight" brand wheels are amazing. But for that sort of coin, like Madfiber wheels, i'd like to be able to true them or replace a spoke if I ever need to!

[Captain Stubing]

Well, I've reached a milestone in my cycling life... I now ride the 22km trip to work and back on my trusty Merida! There's a few hills to get over on the way, but I do the trip in about 50 minutes. I've turned over 800kms on the odometer this afternoon (isn't a lot compared to some, I know)and I feel like I have a spring in my step now

I do get passed a bit by more seasoned riders. I've been tracking my progress using Sports Tracker on the iPhone, and I'm averaging about 23-24km/hr. Still have to build up the quads, I guess.

Having fun, though!

[blueoval]

Great progress Swanny, thanks for sharing. Keep it up mate, you only get better from here.

[ratter]

Had 2 friends compete in the ironman on the weekend, so spent the day watching and following where I could on my MTB, was good to be out on it again, those guy/gals that competed are legends, 3.8 klm swin, 180 klm ride, 42.2 run. Followed a friend in to the finish, she took just over 11 hrs to finish and still had a smile on her face the last part of the run

[blueoval]

I watched the Cairns version of that event ratter. Incredible feat by anyone who does this discipline event. Amazing to just keep going. Well done to all who have entered past and present. My hat goes off to ya.

I only can dream of doing long rides like that. I will eventually do one, perhaps not 180km's, but maybe a 100km ride one day.

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by blueoval

I only can dream of doing long rides like that. I will eventually do one, perhaps not 180km's, but maybe a 100km ride one day.

You got to walk before you run... When I started out I could not see myself doing 30km let alone 100. Even after a year I still struggled, but if you keep being persistent and patient you'll get there!.. And before you know it you'll be making your way down to Melbourne to complete the ATB ride!
One day i would love to sign up for an Ironman challenge and complete it before the cut-off, but I am still a couple of years away from even contemplating that!!!!

[trippytaka]

Erg! New rear cassette needed. Grr. Why am I so unkind to bikes.

[trippytaka]

Originally Posted by swanny

Well, I've reached a milestone in my cycling life... I now ride the 22km trip to work and back on my trusty Merida! There's a few hills to get over on the way, but I do the trip in about 50 minutes. I've turned over 800kms on the odometer this afternoon (isn't a lot compared to some, I know)and I feel like I have a spring in my step now

I do get passed a bit by more seasoned riders. I've been tracking my progress using Sports Tracker on the iPhone, and I'm averaging about 23-24km/hr. Still have to build up the quads, I guess.

Having fun, though!

Nice work! Pretty quick too! I do 14km on the 29er mountain bile / quite hilly in about 50min.

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by blueoval

I watched the Cairns version of that event ratter. Incredible feat by anyone who does this discipline event. Amazing to just keep going. Well done to all who have entered past and present. My hat goes off to ya.

I only can dream of doing long rides like that. I will eventually do one, perhaps not 180km's, but maybe a 100km ride one day.

Just start with Amy's Ride this year Shav.
I'm going to aim to do the 100km ride this year. Means climbing up Willunga Hill though, but as I did Mengler's Hill in the TDU earlier this year, I should hopefully be able to get up Willunga.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Just start with Amy's Ride this year Shav.
I'm going to aim to do the 100km ride this year. Means climbing up Willunga Hill though, but as I did Mengler's Hill in the TDU earlier this year, I should hopefully be able to get up Willunga.

Haha, thanks Sam. Im gonna enter the 65km event this year for Amy's. I should have my new bike by then so it should be a bit easier to push on. 100km one possibly the year after?

Small steps....

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by trippytaka

Nice work! Pretty quick too! I do 14km on the 29er mountain bile / quite hilly in about 50min.

Although I get a few hills, there's a lot of flat areas on my route. Road tyres make a difference, too.

I was a bit put out when this girl passed me, and I couldn't keep up with her. I mentioned it to a workmate, who is right into triathlons and such, and he offered a description. Came out that she is a sponsored rider, who was out for a ride after recovering from surgery! No wonder I couldn't keep up!

[blueoval]

Yeah it's a bit deflating when you see some riders on MTB or something like that outriding you.

I was pushing up a hill once and had a 60yo dude pass me like he was on a sunday cruise. Made my huffing and puffing look stupid.

[TZENU]

Well no news of the old boys stolen bike... So as a surprise (for his bday on Saturday) my sis and I decided to get him a suitable replacement. Afterall he was the one that got the both of us into cycling and bought our first road bike.. Apologies for the dodgy pic... It's a 2012 Ridley Excalibur with Ultegra groupset and Cirrus build kit.

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Yeah it's a bit deflating when you see some riders on MTB or something like that outriding you.

I was pushing up a hill once and had a 60yo dude pass me like he was on a sunday cruise. Made my huffing and puffing look stupid.

If you ever have a chance to visit your local crit track on raceday, don't hesitate... Some of the guys who race crits in A grade are into their 50s and are pace setter's too

[blueoval]

Will do. There is still a few rides happening in and around the city in the next few months that I want to check out.

Great bike u bought for your boy. Nice choice the Ridley.