The Road Bike thread

[Stilgar]

Im currently trying to find appraisals for these. I want to get a couple of entry level MTB for the wife and I so we can play around with the kids

[Tugboater203]

Your best bet is to check on Pinkbike.com have your specs and you can see what other same/similar models are priced at.

[Tinybear]

Used to cycle quite a bit before I got injured in a motorcycle accident in 2012. 2020 I decided to get myself into some kinda shape for my kids sake. Significantly changed my diet and got my bikes serviced and working well. Today is the lightest I have ever been in my adult life at 235lbs. I’m still fat but it’s a far cry from the 350 I once was.

This is my road bike. A Giant Seek1. Just a good little commuter nothing too special but serves me well. Did a short 5km rip on it today. Loving it.

[punkncat]

Used to cycle quite a bit before I got injured in a motorcycle accident in 2012. 2020 I decided to get myself into some kinda shape for my kids sake. Significantly changed my diet and got my bikes serviced and working well. Today is the lightest I have ever been in my adult life at 235lbs. I’m still fat but it’s a far cry from the 350 I once was.

This is my road bike. A Giant Seek1. Just a good little commuter nothing too special but serves me well. Did a short 5km rip on it today. Loving it.

That's a great bike to ride. I advised a friend to pick one of these up a year or two ago.

I got in super duper really bad shape and around 2009/10 I decided I was going to do something about it. I pulled down a GT TImberline that hadn't seen the light of day in a decade or more and started riding it around the local parks trail, which was about a mile. I thought I was going to die the first few times. Long story super short, I picked up a road bike some time later, went on to work for a bike shop. That was completely amazing by itself and I was there for all the group rides. By 2014 I was in the best shape of my life after 20 YO. I was regularly riding 40-60 miles three and four times a week. I rode my first, and last "almost" English Century (as opposed to metric) in 2013. I was 7 miles short and completely spent as I rode in on the SAG Wagon.

Being at the bike shop I was able to get some great deals, and among them was a 2013 Specialized Roubaix Elite. Super nice bike. I got into doing group rides up in Atlanta with Mass and Mobile Social and ended up going with a Single Speed bike at first, and then ended up with another GT "hybrid" style bike. I still own those, but had a couple of Catrike recumbents, two different road bikes (one was the rain bike, of course) and requisite bikes for the wife and my son.

Unfortunately a turn in time and along the line some aspects of my health...I think I rode the GT city bike one or two times total last year. I can't even mount the Specialized because I am over the safe weight for it's seat mast and stays....so, they sit in the garage and get deeper in dust. I REALLY should decide to ride that path again.

[Tracker]

so, does this classify as a moped?

[BLachance75]

Going to bump this back up.

For the past 3 or 4 years I signed up, paid for and donated to a charity bike ride but didn't participate for one reason or another. The past 2 years it was because I hadn't ridden my bike all winter or spring and wasn't in shape to do the ride. I signed up, paid and donated again this year and I'm determined to participate. So I signed up for Zwift and bought a Zwift hub trainer. I blew the dust off my bike, gave it a half ass clean and lube and started Zwifting.

I wanted to give myself a little time of just spinning before doing a FTP test and starting on a training plan. I've been riding 3 days a week for 30-60 minutes and have gotten into the swing of waking up early and riding before work. Yesterday I did a ramp test to see what my FTP is and I will be starting training Monday. I'm going to do a 12 week program that is 2 30-45 minute training sessions a week and I'll do a free ride 1 or 2 additional days a week. It will be nice when it is warm enough to do the free rides outside but until then I'll ride on the trainer.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Get it Brian! I need to get back on my bike. Off road only for me tho.

[BLachance75]

I'm on week 5 of 12 of my training plan on Zwift. There's been some tough rides but I feel better each ride and I can tell my fitness level is slowly creeping up. My heart rate doesn't go as high and it recovers a lot quick now than when I first started.

I have a bike fit scheduled for next week to hopefully get me more comfortable on the bike so I can put in some longer rides.

[Tugboater203]

Every effort is improvement! How do you like Zwift?

[BLachance75]

Tugboater203 I like Zwift. It's a good way to put in time on the bike when you can't or don't want to be outside. I've used it with a regular trainer and a smart trainer and I prefer the smart trainer. I sit and pedal and the trainer adjusts so I maintain the watts that Zwift says in the training. If you are free riding around the trainer adjusts based on the terrain so it makes the hills feel like hills. When you hit a steep section you have to down shift the same as you would if you were outside and were going up a steep hill. I haven't done any of the group rides or races on Zwift and don't think I will but its there if that's your thing.

[BLachance75]

I finally got to ride outside today. It was a welcome change to all the indoor riding I’ve been doing. Did 20 miles.



I had a bike fit a few weeks ago and I feel way better on the bike. They ended up moving my seat post up, new saddle, added pedal washers and extended axle pedals, cleat adjustments, insoles, and a wedge under my right cleat. Overall I’m very happy that I did it and think it was worth the money.

[Tracker]

I finally got to ride outside today. It was a welcome change to all the indoor riding I’ve been doing. Did 20 miles.



I had a bike fit a few weeks ago and I feel way better on the bike. They ended up moving my seat post up, new saddle, added pedal washers and extended axle pedals, cleat adjustments, insoles, and a wedge under my right cleat. Overall I’m very happy that I did it and think it was worth the money.

A good bike fit goes a long way.. i have been riding regularly since 2015, you can just SEE when someone isnt fit right, their mechanics are off

[Tugboater203]

That sounds like something I need to invest in.

[BLachance75]

I had a Retul fit, you can find videos and a lot of info about it. They use motion capture sensors but he also went off of how I get as well. I was there for about 2.5 hours.

I don’t know how far you are from Worcester but that’s where I had mine done at Landry’s.

[Tugboater203]

What's the price in something like that? I'm not sure I'm at the level I need to do a mo-cap

[BLachance75]

It fit was $300 but he took $100 off the total because I bought a saddle and insoles while I was there. The motion capture was peddling for a few minutes, stop and then he’d make an adjustment and do it again. They had a trainer that you bike was and and it wasn’t strenuously.

[BLachance75]

I did my first Zwift race last night, stage 4 of the Cobble Crusher series. I did it instead of the normal group pace ride that I would've normally done not for the race aspect. I had the same goal that I had when I did the Zwift fondo at the beginning of the month, don't finish last. Being my first race I didn't know what to expect and hadn't rode the route before. It immediately broke into 2 groups and stragglers off the back. I went to hard staying with the second group and was at my limit by the time I made it to the start of the KOM at the end. I lost the group and finished the ride at my own pace. One of the stragglers caught and passed me at the top of the KOM but I ended up finishing before the rest of them did.

At the end of the ride I got a popup from Zwift saying that my FTP went up 14 watts based on that ride. I was planning on retaking a FTP test at the end of next week when my 12 week training plan is up but I may pass on doing that and wait.

[Tugboater203]

Crush it!

[BLachance75]

I did the 50 mile ride that I've been training for today. It started pouring as soon as we started riding and I was completely soaked before even leaving the parking lot. It stopped raining as I was pulling into the mile 40 rest stop. I took off my jacket which was caked in mud from going on 3 miles of dirt roads and finished the ride in my jersey.

Even with the rain it was a great day and I had a lot of fun.



I'm going to look into either a 11-36 cassette or the 48/31 crank when Shimano releases the 12 speed GRX. There was 1 climb that I really wanted another gear but was out. I made it up but I was pushing much harder than I would've liked. I prefer to spin my way up the hills.

Next up for me is a ride in 2 months that's the same distance but with twice the climbing.

[Tracker]

I would go with 11 speed for the time being, all of the 12 speed systems are Di2 (and will most likely require you to get a new hub for your rear wheel as they use a new cassette body called microspline) they make a mechanical 11 speed ultegra RX800 rear that can run up to a 39 in the back, I run one on my cross/gravel bike an 11-32 on a 50-34 crank I have never had much to gripe about with the gearing..

[boomersruckus]

I ride a 2015 Diamondback Line mountain bike with road tires. I do a 15 mile circuit Monday to Friday. The Diamondback is not even remotely adequate for the roadwork I am putting it through but its what I have. Its a 9 speed meant for climbing and bombing down hill trails, not long road riding. I am saving up to get an endurance bike. Id like to get to 20 miles daily but have time constraints at the moment which only allows for about 70 to 75 minutes of riding before I got to get ready for work. Eventually I want to hit longer rides on the weekends. I hate/love riding....