How Fast To Join A Club

[black'n'yellow]

that's fine, but you really need distance, not speed - concentrate on going further, not faster. What do you mean by 'bobbing around'..??

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Well im new to this so im adding the miles on each week, next weekend will be 25 miles then after 30 etc,

Bobbing around, the wheel is not balenced, i can feel it going up and down, like im cycling over very small bumps, got scary at 30mph +

 

[HLaB]

Ok, so after being called slow for my 13 mph average for 15 mile I increase the distance to 20 mile this weekend and speed to 14.4-14.8mph

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199812963

I dont think I can go faster on my current set up, back wheel is bobbing around quite bad at speed, need some new wheels.

Your in the region now, go along and give a club a go and if they are a decent club you'll progress from there. Beware though you'll soon be bitten by the upgrade bug (new wheel, n+1, etc)

 

[black'n'yellow]

Well im new to this so im adding the miles on each week, next weekend will be 25 miles then after 30 etc,

ok - skip the 5-mile increments - if you can do 20, you can do 40. Just ride a bit steadier. You will suprise yourself at how far you can actually go. Ride a circular loop around your start point so you are never too far from home at any one time - that will give you the confidence to ride further.

Bobbing around, the wheel is not balenced, i can feel it going up and down, like im cycling over very small bumps, got scary at 30mph +

sounds like either your tyre is not fitted correctly, or your wheel is out of balance. Take it to a shop if you're not confident to look at it yourself, but don't just assume you need a new pair of wheels.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

ok - skip the 5-mile increments - if you can do 20, you can do 40. Just ride a bit steadier. You wil suprise yourself at how far you can actually go. Ride a circular loop around your start point so you are enver too far from home at any one time - that will give you the confidence to ride further.



sounds like either your tyre is not fitted correctly, or your wheel is out of balance. Take it to a shop if you're not confident to look at it yourself, but don't just assume you need a new pair of wheels.

I did take it to the shop, Im missing a spoke, he tryied to balence it and it just wasnt happening, you can see the full wheel moving when you spin the wheel. Plus the wheel is rusty, and the tires are cracked, I think it needs some new wheels, this weekend I spent hours grinding of rust from the steel frame, its a old bike and need some TLC, it think once the wheels are changed it should last while a save up for a complete bike.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Ow and i think ill jump to 30 miles next week then

 

[Sittingduck]

Did the guy in the bike shop let you ride it out, still missing a spoke or did he fit a replacement spoke and then try his best to 'true' the wheel?

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Yeah, it wasnt that bad at the time but its got worse, he didnt have any spokes to fit my old bike, to be honst I think he did a good job, £30 he fitted a new chain, a new gear cable, and calibrated, balenced the wheel best he could. (Parts included)

Ive got a feeling though it mite be me, I put a new inner tube in, and Ive got a feeling i put a bit of a kink in it.

 

[jay clock]

Any bike shop that fixes a wheel by leaving a spoke out deserves to be out of business

 

[jay clock]

Also re the club that meet on a Monday night, it is at a pub, so will likely involve sitting talking about cycling rather than doing it. Not my idea of fun. It is possible that they do a night ride though

One of my local clubs has (even worse) a club evening at a village hall each week. Cannot imagine anything worse!

 

[okeydokey79]

I went for my 1st run out on sunday with a local club, unsure what to expect but the e-mail i got back of the club when enquiring was really informative, so i turn up around 9.20(start 9.30) just a couple of members there, introduce myself , very friendly about 15people turn up and we all set off a very nice steady pace out for an hour and then a cake stop, back on the road and back to the start, eneded up doing around 25miles with a pace of around 13-15mph, not only did i really njoy the group but i didnt notice how far we had gone till i got back and looked at my computer.will defo go again and will do the bigger rides with them when ive got time!!!! glad i went out because i found some nice roads that i wouldnt of found on my own.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Well i bought some aero bars, fitted them last night, took me over an hour to get them into posistion. I dont realy care if people look at me and think im an idiot, I like them, I also put some handle bar tape around them too, carnt wait for the long ride this weekend!

 

[MrB1obby]

Make sure you keep us updated on how you find them

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Make sure you keep us updated on how you find them

So I went for a quick 15 mile run last night to test out the bad boys.
What I discovered is that at speeds under about 15mph they are sort of rendered unless, and stability is an issue, I was wobbling around drifting all over the place. However at 20mph+ they start to become useful, the stability issue goes away, I it’s comfortable, I liked the position.
For me I could only use them probably 50% of the time, because if the roads not perfectly flat or down hill I cannot use them, Ow and steep downhill’s I come off them at 30mph+ because I’m bricking it and cover the brakes just in case.
Bumps in the road I didn’t find any issues, I didn’t feel any worse in the aero position compared to normal (15-20mph+) Overall I’m happy with them, I like the look on my bike, and when appropriate like the position I’m in, I have to admit when a cyclist went past the other way, I went to a normal position as I was paranoid.

 

[sheddy]

For those in the home counties don't forget the 40+ groups
Also for starting your own club the Skyride Social Rides seem a very good idea in theory