The Cycling Chat Thread

[DJWrongspeed]

Hardest climb in England?
Crowcombe Combe
Was in Somerset last week and found this beast on the Quantock Hills rising out of Crowcombe village. I've done Hardknott and Rosedale Chimney but I think this is harder. Sustained steepness with no respite.

Having bikepacking bags on I only managed half of it. Even walking the rest was difficult.
Strava segment

 

[weepiper]

I think this is the hardest I've done. Doesn't look much from the description but the ramp up towards the end is brutal

Gifford to Redstone Rigg 17% sign climb | Strava Ride Segment in Haddington, East Lothian, United Kingdom

www.strava.com

 

[Fuzzy]

I struggled on this one last week. just outside crick Howell in the Brecon beacons

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Yeah, that’d sting the legs a bit

 

[Fuzzy]

Yeah, that’d sting the legs a bit

I got about half way. too steep for me.

 

[braindancer]

After posting about Veloviewer earlier I decided to do a spot of tile-bagging this afternoon. I had to go to Chichester to drop something off (my kids) so used the opportunity to fill in some blanks in that neck of the woods.

Was fun - sort of - but you have to do routes that look a bit like this:



This involved a curious mix of lovely lanes, shitty A-roads, diversions up farm tracks, a footpath along a shitty bit of beach and some dodging of security guards to get into private cul-de-sacs .

This was a particular beauty spot..

 

[a_chap]

Heatmaps?

This is where I regret not uploading all my Audax rides to Strava

There are some truly epic rides missing from this heat map.

 

[a_chap]

If you want to add to the potential misery, have a vote...

 

[Artaxerxes]

By some accounts recumbents are ez mode.

Looks fun to, use a sofa

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

A nice, lightweight road bike. Go for speed

 

[DownwardDog]

The last 200m of this elevation is my driveway. Always a wonderful end to any ride. Requires a sustained 550W+ to get up it.



If you let your cadence drop below 60rpm you get all sorts of alarming twangs and groans out of the rear spokes.

 

[DownwardDog]

By some accounts recumbents are ez mode.

Looks fun to, use a sofa

Depending on the parcours you'll always be significantly faster (>25% on the flat) on the "flying furniture".

 

[a_chap]

By some accounts recumbents are ez mode.

Looks fun to, use a sofa

I used to describe riding one of my recumbents as exactly like riding a sofa. It was really comfy but also really rather heavy.

A nice, lightweight road bike. Go for speed

You clearly don't know me

Depending on the parcours you'll always be significantly faster (>25% on the flat) on the "flying furniture".

The recumbents are great on PBP because it has some huge descents on which I used pass loads of riders on upright bikes.

I remember once on one of these mega descents being passed by a couple of velomobiles. They went past me like I was standing still...


I've pretty much decided which bike I'll ride the next PBP on and it's currently the option with the lowest number of votes. Which suits me

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

You clearly don't know me

I do, you’re mad

 

[spitfire]

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I’ve mentioned on this thread before about the chap in his 80’s I regularly ride with. Well, this is him…

Streetly cyclist, 86, in world record bid

Martin Harvey hopes to be the oldest male to complete the Lands End to John O'Groats route.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[sleaterkinney]

We are going to Asturias on holiday, thinking of doing L'Angliru.

 

[BristolEcho]

I need new front and back lights. Any recommendations?

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I need new front and back lights. Any recommendations?

Depends what you want to spend really.

 

[spitfire]

Mini-Fire competing in the British Nationals last weekend.

And with Bethany Shriever's winning plate that Beth gave to her after the presentations, she was beside herself with joy.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

I struggled on this one last week. just outside crick Howell in the Brecon beacons

Looks a beast, I deliberately said England because Wales is another country when it comes to steep climbs!

 

[Fuzzy]

Looks a beast, I deliberately said England because Wales is another country when it comes to steep climbs!

oops. missed that. Wales certainly doesn't disappoint. the roads are largely quiet and the scenery is amazing.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

We are going to Asturias on holiday, thinking of doing L'Angliru.

Interesting, where are you staying and are you hiring bikes there? L'Angliru always looked a bit nuts to me

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Hankley Common had a large fire the other week, here's just a part of it...

 

[Ted Striker]

I have just bought a ridiculously nice bike. I have no idea what to do with it. the last time i was a "serious" cyclist was 10 years ago and i feel i've forgotten everything i knew about bike maintenance. i've only been for two rides on it and it's insanely light and fast. USPS livery as well for added lance armstrong scandal points

can anyone recommend a real simple guide to bike maintenance (prefs pdf) or just give me some tips on what i should do with it and not do with it, i feel like i need to treat this thing very well or else it will resent me by breaking.

it's a Trek OCLV 5200

View attachment 339746

Woah this is a serious bike! Trek 5200 in USPS colours, with the funny-spoked wheels. You are just a loads of drugs away from a fully authentic Armstrong look!

This bike was years ahead of its time - i think the bike Armstrong won the tdf weighed less than current bikes iirc.

I had this exact bike/colours as a saved search on ebay for a long time, but gave up (thankfully tbh, my n+1 is a real problem)

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Anyone tried this tyre pressure calculator? I'm getting values that are 15-20psi lower than what I currently run.
The guy runs that site does like to be controversial.
FFT Pressure Calc

NB it's a google calc sheet so may not work on mobile.

 

[weepiper]

Anyone tried this tyre pressure calculator? I'm getting values that are 15-20psi lower than what I currently run.
The guy runs that site does like to be controversial.
FFT Pressure Calc

NB it's a google calc sheet so may not work on mobile.

Dear God I can't be fucked with that. Run your tyres as low pressure as you can get away with off road. Trial and error will tell you what's too soft because you'll get pinch punctures if you run tubes or the tyre will burp off the rim on cornering if you run tubeless. If you do a lot of big hard landings or rocky terrain proceed with a bit of caution to avoid damaging your rims.

 

[Calamity1971]

Need this in Durham.

 

[Leafster]

Not quite the same but if I use Komoot to plan routes it always wants to take me up this.



It's called The 100 steps (for a good reason).

I know the railings are there for a reason but it stops me pushing the bike up the slope at the side. Something like this would make it slightly easier.

Instead, I make a 1.5 mile detour using cyclable paths to get to the top.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Dear God I can't be fucked with that. Run your tyres as low pressure as you can get away with off road. Trial and error will tell you what's too soft because you'll get pinch punctures if you run tubes or the tyre will burp off the rim on cornering if you run tubeless. If you do a lot of big hard landings or rocky terrain proceed with a bit of caution to avoid damaging your rims.

Fair enough, this was for a road bike so a bit different. I've found another one that correlates well with what i run 25mm and shows i've been got my 28mm too hard. They're more like 30mm tbh.
The roads in Kent, Surrey, Sussex are pretty rough where i ride, it often feels like a gravel route even staying on the road
SilcaTyrePressureCalculator