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Numpty IM Bike Thread
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for those triathletes - me included - who leave their shoes in their pedals when they dismount, it means you can run plus lift the rear of the bike up a little using the saddle which helps stop the shoes dragging on the ground.
and as cougs says, it's also easier to run that way - try it sometime and see the difference.
And you dont crack your shins on the pedals like wot I do
Can anyone recommend some good quality rear mounted bottle cages? Chum of mine (based in India) is asking. Will be fitted on a road bike for IM distance racing. I haven't got a clue what advice to give. Cheers peeps.
I have an Xlab bracket behind the seat for bottles which wors really well, but like cougie I have an old alloy cage on it rather than the Xlab ones or a carbon one.
No point in saving a few seconds if you've no fluids.
yeah, that's why I was after some help on this one - I've seen so much kit dumped on the road which could be that it wasn't put on properly or it's just crap kit! You are so right Cougs - no fluids and you are going to get slower very quickly!
I have an XLab mini-wing with some 'P' cages whatever they are. Takeaway is the cages are tight to get the bottle in and the cage has an elastic loop around it to keep it tight. Did the job at Outlaw 2012 and all the long training rides.
users probably didn't use elastic bands to hold them in place - if you don't then they will fly out at the 1st bump. happened to me at Windsor many years ago when I first tried a Profile aero bottle - in fact the bloody thing didn't even make it out of T1 before it came off. tried to fix it by holding it in place as I rode - but I quickly realised that didn't work either so just abandoned it and suffered as a result of no fluid (it was a hot day). since then I've always used elastic bands as well and that works a treat.
there's a section of the IM Florida bike course that has a rough tarmac surface - looks like a garage sale as you ride it with bits of bike extras everywhere
On 2nd February if anyone is within distance of the Nottingham junction of the M1 I can recommend this :
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/85691/Velo-Club-Long-Eaton-Reliability-Ride
The long route is always a lot of fun and at the front end is very hard. It's more fun than 90% of sportives. I always flag it up and last year I did get one taker off here, if anyone fancies it let me know.
I had a Retul bike fit on Tuesday, I'm on a Trek 1.7 (2009 model I think) with clip-on aerobars. I asked to get a TT position fit with HIM and IM in mind. My set up had been done by my LBS based on experience and judgement by eye this time last year and was good enough to get me through an IM at Henley with a 6:28 bike split sub 12 overall.
The fitter was immediately concerned that with the geometry of the road bike it was going to be hard to get a better position as my seat was already all the way forward on the rails. He suggested that the solution would be a reversible seat post with a 25mm offset as he didn't have one in the shop he reversed the carbon seat post on my bike this worked well and a good position was achieved however the fitter didn't want to leave it set up like that until I got a new post designed to be reversed. Is he being over cautious or will reversing a standard carbon post with alloy head put undue stress on it? If I need to get a new post any suggestions of a good reversible one?
This leads to another question, the seat post would turn under duress but not move up or down. Any tricks for removing a carbon post stuck in a alloy frame? Will oil get into the carbon a swell it?
Lastly the fitter told me that I needed to point me toes as I was very flat or heel down when pedalling. When I made the toe down correction it improved a number of the key measurements on the fit program (knee forward of foot and lateral travel, ankle angles/range). Is this a common problem and should I train my self to toe down? Will it cause any other problem or imbalances?
Thanks all in advance.
If it'll turn it'll come out - it may make a bit of a mess of the part that was in the frame but I'd get it out now before it sticks solid - just spin it while pulling upwards. I can understand the shop not wanting to do it as it's possible to break the saddle using it to lever the post round and some people may have been upset that the post looks badly scored after.
As for the toe down thing - I'd have thought pedalling toe or heel down was partly down to fit and partly down to natural preference - learning to pedal toe down sounds a bit odd. I can't see it being dangerous to spin the post round - would it put more pressure on it that way round - would have to see it to come to a conclusion really.
Hello , I'm about to spend big money ( well for me ) on a proper bike to upgrade from my second hand Decathlon special to something more suitable for Ironman UK.
Do I go for the Boardman Road Team Carbon at £999 and spend extra on aero bars and wheels ?
Or do I go for the Boardman Road Pro carbon at £1299 and try and get discount in order to afford aero bars ?
Secondly , Does anyone know if £299 extra is worth while for the Pro Carbon ?
Thirdly , am I making a mistake thinking about putting clip on carbon aero bars on a Boardman bike ?
I've done a load of research but there is very little out there and I'm going to be on one of those saddles for hours so need to get it right !!!
Thanks in advance......
Popsider, below is a pic of the seat post. Its going to be a job to get it out even turning it took quite a lot of effort. If I can turn it round and use it what should I do to it before re inserting it to stop it sticking in the future?
Went out for 2 hours today and found the more toe down position quite comfortable along with the lower front end. I was much more on the nose of the saddle and felt more powerful in the TT position. It did make my quads a ache a bit more than normal.
I couldn't tell you what to use if anything - I think (not sure) they stick when the aluminium corrodes and that corrosion jams the carbon post in. Some people say grease can affect the carbon - I wouldn't know if that's true - you can get assembly paste for carbon on carbon but I'm not sure if it works on carbon and alloy. I think I use nothing at all on mine - just put it in dry - that may not be the best thing though so don't quote me. I would get it out if possible though - I've had to scrap a frame because of a stuck seatpost - I bought it cheap for the parts knowing it was stuck but had assumed I would be able to get it out and use the frame too - tried all the tricks on the internet but no chance.
Didn't mean to imply toe down was wrong - just that I'd have thought your position on the bike and natural preference would dictate whether it felt OK rather than something you would consciously try to learn - but then I've never tried to deliberately pedal toe or heel down so really I'm guessing - if it feels good then sounds like it works.
try vaseline on the post when you've got it out - I've used that with my Ti frames and it's fine
might be worth smoothing it down a bit with some very fine glasspaper before putting it back in as well to get rid of any burrs as a result of removing it.
I've had issues like this with seatpost in the past - you just need to persevere. worst was a snapped seatpost right at the seatclamp (faulty post) - I had to resort to drilling it out VERY carefully to make sure the downtube didn't get damaged.
if in doubt ask the LBS for help as well as they probably have more experience of these issues.
Thanks chaps for the advice, I'm going to get on the case and try and remove it, if it doesn't work I'll send it to the LBS and let them have a go. I'll give it a gentle fine sanding and Vas sounds like a good idea.
Any other thoughts on reversing it once out or getting a different post designed to be reversed?
http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a106396/fast-forward-aluminum-seatpost.html?lg=en&cr=GBP&cn=gb&gclid=CMzt-dWc3rwCFfPItAodBUEAmA
Something like that ? Ideally I suppose you'd have two seatposts and saddles and swop them in and out depending on whether you are using tri bars or as a road bike - budget dependent I suppose. I don't see why you shouldn't reverse it if you can though - I did it on one of my kids cyclocross bikes when it was too big for her and I wanted to shorten the reach - if you can do it and get a flat saddle that is.
I'm almost too embarrassed to ask this but how do i find out what kind of replacement chain i need for my bike?
Like how do you know what "speed" you're looking for? I can't see any that says 20mph...
Count the sprockets on the back wheel - that will tell you the speed - then you want Shimano/campag/sram or whatever compatible. you will need a chain tool to shorten the new chain before fitting and then I'd get a quicklink to join it (some chains come with their own) especially if you don't have the correct chain tool as messing up joining a chain can lead to it breaking which can lead to a crash If you are standing on the pedals at the time.
Having said that some 10 and 11 speed quicklinks can be a pain to join - some are easy - you can get a special tool but stamping on the pedal with the brake on often works if you cant get them to snap together.
Thanks popsider - it's 9. It looks like the quicklink is the one that's popped on it.
What a muppet, just done a recount and it's 10 - there's no hope for me.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-master-link-pliers/
I invested in a link remover earlier this year. Well worth the money.
although Amazon seem to have a different view on it's pricing....wtf??
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Park-Tool-Master-Link-Pliers/dp/B000AA30BG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400664941&sr=8-1&keywords=park+tool+master+link+pliers
Wow!
I wonder if that one comes with a bike engineer too!