Any road bikers here?

S

Scottwax

New member
I got back into riding after a 25 year(!) layoff, first with a Trek MultiTrack 750 hybrid (cross between a road and mountain bike) and now with a Cannondale R400 Racing bike. The Trek is nice, would make a great commuter bike or when the weather isn't great but the Cannondale is so much better. It only weighs 20 pounds, the handling is very responsive and it accelerates great. I put about 290 miles on the Trek and went past 155 tonight on the Cannondale, all since about mid January, including a couple weeks I couldn't ride because of the weather. I've got my average in the flats to around 17-18 mph now but was still somewhat humiliated last week when I was cruising along at around 20 mph and a pack of 6-7 riders blew right by me. Lance Armstrong I ain't! Anyway, my goal for the summer is to get in good enough shape to ride in the 100 mile Hotter then He!! ride in August.



Here is a crappy pic of my bike at the west end of the path (I took it at dusk):





cannondale1.jpg




The local paper just had an article about the paths in my area, so this is where I ride. I believe the 8.2 mile reference includes the 1.19 mile paved main loop (the loop is where it says "River Legacy Park"), because the actual path is 7 miles one way.





riverlegacy.jpg




Who else rides and where? Any tips on gearing up for a 100 mile summer ride in 95+ degrees? When I was riding when I was younger, I took several 40-45 mile rides but never anything farther.
 
Have to confess that I’ve barely put any road miles in over the least few months. Been mountain biking some but not enough of either really. Now that the time change is here we should be able to get more saddle time.



Getting ready for a big ride is pretty straightforward. You start putting in the miles and ratcheting up the speed and distance (separately and in combination) while getting your butt used to the saddle time. Sounds like you’re already in good shape so you should have no trouble building up to it for August.



Around late winter and early spring Bicycling Magazine usually has good articles about training programs to set you up for summer centuries. A trip to the library or some bikie friends’ coffee table should set you up.



Here’s a crappy pic of my wife’s and my bikes out in the garage (the pic was taken to show somebody my polished stem, hence the arrow).

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PC.
 
Good job getting back into it Scott. I had a Specialized Allez a few years back and was riding 30 miles a day at least 3-4 days a week. Then I lost a a$$ton of weight and decided lifting weights was my calling...hehe.=bike sold on ebay. ;) It was good to me when I did it though, I always liked mountain biking, and road race bikes are sooo much smoother and faster. :)
 
Scottwax said:
:LOLOL Too funny!



Actually, I tested out some of the Zaino stuff I got (sent to me by a fellow Autopian) on it. ZAIO, Z5 and wiped it down the other day with Z6.
Click to expand...



I do some biking. I have a hybrid and enjoy riding it. I must admit your bike has more Z than mine does. I only have one coat of Z8 lol.



Greg
 
It's a motobecane vent noir. I think it's really really nice. I just got it from ebay. They sell for 650 new but the newer ones don't come with the same parts as the older ones. For instance, the old one came with 105 front derailer, the new one with Shimano Tiagra4400. The old one comes with ritchey wheelset and the new one vuelta.



Some people say they don't like it, I love it!



The aerobars help out a tremendous amount especially when going against the daily wind in south texas. its probably about 20-35 right now. We don't have hills, but boy do we have wind.



My bike has a aluminum 7005 double butted frame, Kinesis carbon fork, 105 cassette, 105 rear and front derailler, 105 shifters, ritchey stem, ritchey seatpost, ritchey rims, kendra tires.



Road Bikes - Motobecane Vent Noir



You can find it cheaper on ebay though.
 
Oh hey, I ride too. I havent gotten back on the bike yet this year really because of school but I will be getting out pretty soon. Ive got a Felt f70?(I think), it gets the job done. I was thinking about picking up a canondale rush this summer for mtbiking but I need to save my money for finally going away to college. Oh yeah and my road bike has a layer of 845 on it. Wax helps wash off the cycle mix, bugs and tar that accumulate on the bike.
 
ifoam-cool bike! Mine has Shimano RX100 components (105s without paint), Mavic wheels, 700/21C tires (can't make out exactly what the brand name is). Way better than my old Schwinn Tempo and Le Tour bikes I had in the late 70s/early 80s.



Thanks for the info on the aero bars, the wind has been pretty bad here too. Tough when you are cranking along at 18-19 mph and turn into the wind and drop to 16 mph. :nervous2:



I took a few more pics out the park I ride at today, turned out better than the first one. I have a few on my other camera but I need to finish the roll first. As you can see, I have great scenery to accompany my rides. Lots of wildlife too, I regularly see possums, armadillos, snakes and even an occasional bobcat. :)



Just glad I was able to get in ahead of the rain and storms, even though I only got in 15.5 miles. Didn't want to get too far out with storm clouds on the horizon, plus the wind is insane today. Still had to get in some miles though, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding.





cannondale2.jpg




cannondale3.jpg




riverlegacy_path1.jpg
 
Man, I gotta get back on the bike.



I used to ride tons. Really got into it in the 90s and then sort of began riding more sporadically around 2001. Last time I rode any significant amount was 2005 when I purchased a Ridley Boreas frame and built it up. I even hand built its wheels. My other bike is a Seven Odonata I bought back in...I think 98. It really was my dream frame, and I still love it. But I do want to send it back to the manufacturer for a refreshing. Something cool they offer to owners of their bikes...for a fee.
 
Me, me! I'll post some photos eventually, but I just got back in after about 15 years and it is a blast. No racing this time, just fun. Definitely I want to do some centuries.



Congrats and the bike looks cool.
 
the other pc said:
Scottwax,



What kind of shoes you wearin’ to ride?





PC.
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Right now, I have a pair of Shimano shoes that fit real tight in the clips. I also have a pair of Time Classiques that have the cleats to lock into the pedals but when I got the bike from my brother, he couldn't find those pedals.



I am looking into egg beaters, I hear they are easier to get in and out of.



Oh yeah, finally got the shorts...what a difference!



me_bikeshorts.jpg
 
I'm not too up on road pedals, but I have a pair of Crank Bro Candies on my mountain bike and love them They're essentially the same as the Eggs but with a tiny platform on them, which is supposedly a tiny bit useful when you have to take your foot off to dab on the trail and have to start pedaling for a bit before you clip back in. Guess that's how Eggbeaters got to be called Leggbeaters in the MTB crowd.
 
I just asked about the shoes cuz I saw the toe clips. I wasn’t even sure you could still get shoes with cleats for cage pedals anymore. You really should lean on your bro to dig up those Times if at all possible



I know a bunch guys riding eggbeaters on their mountain bikes and they all swear by them. We did have one local guy riding them on the road who broke a couple of them for no apparent reason. He didn’t bash anything (he insists anyway) and he’s not a heavyweight or monster sprinter dude or anything like that. He says they just broke. When the first one broke he just figured it a freak thing. The second time he went down real hard and got pretty beat up. He tossed them and won’t go back.



A lot of guys around here ride Speedplays on the street. They totally float laterally. It’s weird at first but once you get used to them they’re great. If your shoes are drilled for the Times the Speedplay cleats should bolt right up.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
I just asked about the shoes cuz I saw the toe clips. I wasn’t even sure you could still get shoes with cleats for cage pedals anymore. You really should lean on your bro to dig up those Times if at all possible



I know a bunch guys riding eggbeaters on their mountain bikes and they all swear by them. We did have one local guy riding them on the road who broke a couple of them for no apparent reason. He didn’t bash anything (he insists anyway) and he’s not a heavyweight or monster sprinter dude or anything like that. He says they just broke. When the first one broke he just figured it a freak thing. The second time he went down real hard and got pretty beat up. He tossed them and won’t go back.



A lot of guys around here ride Speedplays on the street. They totally float laterally. It’s weird at first but once you get used to them they’re great. If your shoes are drilled for the Times the Speedplay cleats should bolt right up.





PC.
Click to expand...



I used to ride Time pedals but now ride Speedplays. They're a bit finicky to get set up, and they really need some light loctite to keep the cleats in place. But once they're dialed in, they're pretty nice. Just require a bit more maintenance than my old Times.



I may try the new model of Times or some Dura Ace pedals for my next set...when I start riding again.



Here are a couple older pics of my two bikes. The Seven is currently stripped down to be sent back to the manufacturer for a refurbishing.



Seven Odonata, Dura Ace 9spd, Handbuilt wheels w/Chris King Hubs. The bike now has an Ouzo Pro fork and Cinelli stem.

19a7a231.jpg




Ridley Boreas, Dura Ace 10spd. Now has an FSA carbon crankset, Wearing the same wheels as the Seven but now with a 10spd cassette.

I have a couple other sets of wheels I built up. It's a pretty fun hobby.

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Road biking for YEARS. LOVE IT AS MUCH AS DETAILING.....



I currently on a custom 2007 SEVEN ID8 with DA10 and Ksyrium ES and a 2005 Trek 5200 with a mix of Dura-Ace.

I just sold a 07 Look 595 for the ID8. The Trek is the comfort bike, its like a couch. The ID8 is the "look at me" bike.
 
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