dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 In the process of buying the 2012 Triban 5. On offer at £399... A better bike than the 2013 model and £30 cheaper. I'm 5 foot 7 with quite short legs. I fit on the 54 ok, but I felt much more in control on the 51 and not haunched over like I feared so went with that. Smaller wheels (650 as opposed to 700), but I live in London so bike shops are a plenty. There's probably 30 within 10 minutes ride from my house. I'll be riding it home soon, about 5 miles. Will let you know how I get on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As an aside, I was blown away by how quickly I could get from one side of the shop to the other! Having only ever ridden mountain bikes it was quite an eye opener. I'm going to love this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 May seem somewhat ridiclous but I have 4 bikes, but they all provide different functions. I have an old (like 10+ years) Mountain Bike which is a reasonalbly good spec (9 speed XT) that I bought off a friend last year for £100 and cost me another £150 to get up to full working condition. A Specialized Allez which I bought a couple of years ago, its not original spec as I bought it as 9 speed and then bought 2 more bikes with 10 speed so ended up replacing the gearing with part new/part second hand Ultegra and 105. I have also added winter kit so I can use it as essentially my winter training bike and dont mind so much going out in horrid weather (saying that not been out on it for 2 weeks - the gym seemed more appealing). I have a Cervelo R3 which I built up last year with good components and cost me a small fortune but I have to say despite being a road bike like my Allez they couldnt feel anymore different to ride, the weight difference and the stiffness of the frame make a huge difference. Finally I have a Specialized Shiv which is my beast of a TT bike, Ive added a power meter and carbon disc/wheels mainly for doing Long distance triathlon, but also did 4 Time Trials last year which I hope to do lots more this year as very much enjoyed it. Im thinking about sadly ofting the Allez or at least trying to change it into more of a TT bike as it seems pointless to train on a road bike when I will be racing on a TT bike, as much as anything else you use different muscles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 ^^^^ not ridiculous at all - essential I would say That Shiv is serious bit of kit; what wheels do you use? Where did you ride those time trials, was it in the Midlands ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 Yeah I love my shiv, I train on fulcrum 5s, but have a zipp 900 disc and an 808 on the front (I'm 13 1/2 stone so not worried about getting blown around). I live in south so did 3x 10 mile in Maidenhead and a 40k on an A road near Farnham (my crank was falling off). I need to find a 100 mile time trial idealy between April and July as would be a good session pre-ironman. I also need to get myself in a position where I can run off the bike as it's gone to shite at my 2 70.3 attempts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) Excellent ! If you want to find details of events in your area go to cyclingtimetrials.org.uk and look under the 'Events' drop down . Edited February 15, 2014 by veloman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 May seem somewhat ridiclous but I have 4 bikes, but they all provide different functions. I have an old (like 10+ years) Mountain Bike which is a reasonalbly good spec (9 speed XT) that I bought off a friend last year for £100 and cost me another £150 to get up to full working condition. A Specialized Allez which I bought a couple of years ago, its not original spec as I bought it as 9 speed and then bought 2 more bikes with 10 speed so ended up replacing the gearing with part new/part second hand Ultegra and 105. I have also added winter kit so I can use it as essentially my winter training bike and dont mind so much going out in horrid weather (saying that not been out on it for 2 weeks - the gym seemed more appealing). I have a Cervelo R3 which I built up last year with good components and cost me a small fortune but I have to say despite being a road bike like my Allez they couldnt feel anymore different to ride, the weight difference and the stiffness of the frame make a huge difference. Finally I have a Specialized Shiv which is my beast of a TT bike, Ive added a power meter and carbon disc/wheels mainly for doing Long distance triathlon, but also did 4 Time Trials last year which I hope to do lots more this year as very much enjoyed it. Im thinking about sadly ofting the Allez or at least trying to change it into more of a TT bike as it seems pointless to train on a road bike when I will be racing on a TT bike, as much as anything else you use different muscles. I have an Allez with the original sora/tiagra groupset. How easy is it to swap over to 105? I was a bit worried about the bottom bracket not fitting most of all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 May seem somewhat ridiclous but I have 4 bikes, but they all provide different functions. I have an old (like 10+ years) Mountain Bike which is a reasonalbly good spec (9 speed XT) that I bought off a friend last year for £100 and cost me another £150 to get up to full working condition. A Specialized Allez which I bought a couple of years ago, its not original spec as I bought it as 9 speed and then bought 2 more bikes with 10 speed so ended up replacing the gearing with part new/part second hand Ultegra and 105. I have also added winter kit so I can use it as essentially my winter training bike and dont mind so much going out in horrid weather (saying that not been out on it for 2 weeks - the gym seemed more appealing). I have a Cervelo R3 which I built up last year with good components and cost me a small fortune but I have to say despite being a road bike like my Allez they couldnt feel anymore different to ride, the weight difference and the stiffness of the frame make a huge difference. Finally I have a Specialized Shiv which is my beast of a TT bike, Ive added a power meter and carbon disc/wheels mainly for doing Long distance triathlon, but also did 4 Time Trials last year which I hope to do lots more this year as very much enjoyed it. Im thinking about sadly ofting the Allez or at least trying to change it into more of a TT bike as it seems pointless to train on a road bike when I will be racing on a TT bike, as much as anything else you use different muscles. I have an Allez with the original sora/tiagra groupset. How easy is it to swap over to 105? I was a bit worried about the bottom bracket not fitting most of all. I cant remember what the BB is on my Allez, but the 105 5700 crank didnt need any converters etc so was pretty standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As posted elsewhere I am doing La Marmotte the mother of all Sportives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 As posted elsewhere I am doing La Marmotte the mother of all Sportives. Bringing it over to this thread, how easy was it to get in, someone said to me it was hard to get a space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) Crikey, I absolutely love it already. Thinking of upgrading the saddle and definitely the peddles, which are frankly absolute shit. I've got a budget of around £20-30 each. Peddles as light as possible for that, even if I need to replace them down the line with something harder wearing. Saddle, well, comfy! I hear sella italia are a decent budget brand? Edited February 15, 2014 by dont_do_it_doug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 I have selle Italia on 3 of my 4 bikes. I use look pedals/cleats with road shoes but will be quite a bit more expensive for same or equivelants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 To be honest I do need a pair of shoes too. It's a sport/hobby bike rather than the commuting kind, but I will be doing some commuting around London (to the gym and back etc) and the idea of not having my feet free freaks me out a touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Yep - Selle Italia aren't really 'budget' - they are probably a good as you can get. There is a wide range but - I reckon you would need to pay c.£50 for one ! La Marmotte - much respect !! I'm not a Sportive rider but I have mates who have done that and I believe it is a tad 'grippy'. 39x27 perhaps ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 I was worried when I started using cleats and in first 6 months (and happens still of I stop fast on mountain bikes because they are a different connection) I have that moment where the bike is going to its side and you end up in a heap as you can't get feet out fast enough. Now it would annoy me if I wasn't clipped in. Chainreactioncycles had loads of shoes in clearance at varying price points but huge reductions. I used a 34/27 (probably more like 25, 27 on the really steep bits) to get up most of alpe d'huez but I'm certainly not a good climber and I'm kinda heavy to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 Just thought one of my selle Italia I bought nearly new off bike radar for 45 quid and I think retail was well over 100. Worth looking there for nearly new stuff, usually cheaper than eBay too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Well, you say you are 'kinda heavy' but....... you've done it !! I struggle going over canal bridges ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted February 15, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 15, 2014 Once you start doing lots of it, climbing isn't too bad (actually it kind of injures me but after reading up a bit I probably push too big a gears while climbing rather than just spinning up), you go from that's a huge climb, to it being a normal everyday roller. I wanted to get better at climbing so I went to quite a steep hill in Pangbourne near Reading and went up and down it 8 times in a row, it definitely softened the blow going up Alpe d'huez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 As posted elsewhere I am doing La Marmotte the mother of all Sportives. Bringing it over to this thread, how easy was it to get in, someone said to me it was hard to get a space? Not that hard if you apply when the entry opens. I applied a day after and got in, but by the end of the day it had finished. I will be riding a compact so 50/34 and 27 at the back. I think I could do a pass with 25, but not three in one day. As for getting any cycling gear, if you don’t want brand new, then ebay is the way to go. I ve bought both my pairs of dura ace on there, and will probably get some new carbon ones for La Marmotte. Probably the one thing I wouldn’t buy is shoes; cycling shoes are much more personal and need to be tried on IMO; too big or small and you are losing power or in pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Crikey, I absolutely love it already. Thinking of upgrading the saddle and definitely the peddles, which are frankly absolute shit. I've got a budget of around £20-30 each. Peddles as light as possible for that, even if I need to replace them down the line with something harder wearing. Saddle, well, comfy! I hear sella italia are a decent budget brand? Get some cleats, persevere with them through the wobbles at the start and you will never look back. Cycling is loads more fun when your feet are properly attached to the peddles, I promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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