What's made your cycling easier?

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TheDoctor

Noble and true, with a heart of steel
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
Lights that work.
Brakes that work, even in the wet.
Morph pumps. They can get you back up to 100 psi in no time flat :thumbsup:
Compact chainsets and properly wide ratio cassettes. My compact now has a wider gear range then my old triple used to - 34/32 rather than 30/26.
And, of course, CC.
Without it I'd never have organised a ride for 17 people at the weekend, and I'd never have met some really good people.
Cheers, Shaun :cheers:
 

RussellZero

Wannabe Stravati
My new rollers, love them, especially when it's dark, wet and windy outside and I'm doing 40kph in the kitchen with the telly on :-)
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I could certainly tell you what made it harder, but then I'd have to shoot myself (or T.H.M.N.E.T. would do it for me) ... :whistle:

Easier ... er, in 2005 I watched what I was eating/drinking, rode my bike a lot, started to lose weight, kept it going into the winter, continued to ride my bike as much as I could, hit the turbo trainer really hard when the weather was bad, continued riding hard throughout 2006, started doing 200km audax rides in the summer, and by the end of that year I was pretty damn fit, which made my cycling a lot easier! Only it didn't really, because I was riding 200-odd km at 20+ kph instead of 100-odd at 16 kph! :thumbsup:
 

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
(hard work)....and by the end of that year I was pretty damn fit, which made my cycling a lot easier! Only it didn't really, because I was riding 200-odd km at 20+ kph instead of 100-odd at 16 kph! :thumbsup:

An alternative approach to all the hard work would be simply to cycle slower (oh, and make sure you've got lots of gears).:whistle:
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
An alternative approach to all the hard work would be simply to cycle slower (oh, and make sure you've got lots of gears).:whistle:
I've got lots of gears and I've been riding slowly recently! (27 gears on my Basso, often only 8 mph average speed.)

Paradoxically, that hard work made easy cycling possible, whereas my subsequent lack of effort made all my hilly cycling hard, even when I'm taking it easy, since I've not been fit enough to cope with 20+% climbs properly even using tiny gears! :wacko:
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
Ergo shifters, clipless pedals and rim brakes that work OK in the wet.

Also, tyres that seem less inclined to puncture as soon as they smell a thorn.
All that Boris said, plus lots more choice in gear ratios, so we now have a gear for every grade ^_^. Before anyone retorts, yes that means more maintenance, but it's worth it for me.
 

BSRU

A Human Being
Location
Swindon
Replacing Marathon Plus tyres with some proper tyres:tongue:
 

Demonclimber

Climbing Ninja
Padded shorts, clipless pedals, STI, turbo trainer, indoor cycling DVDs, TrainerRoad, cheap flights to sunny countries, return of the pump with the flexible tube, QR, compact chainset, Science.
 

tadpole

Senior Member
Location
St George
losing 100lb+
Strava as i have someone to race even if it is only me
wet lube
forums to ask advice on.
Rule#5 in all its many guises.
 

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
I've got lots of gears and I've been riding slowly recently! (27 gears on my Basso, often only 8 mph average speed.)

Paradoxically, that hard work made easy cycling possible, whereas my subsequent lack of effort made all my hilly cycling hard, even when I'm taking it easy, since I've not been fit enough to cope with 20+% climbs properly even using tiny gears! :wacko:
I just read the Guardian's running blog and there was something there that seemed to apply just as well to cycling:

''Do you cycle to get fit?''
''No, I get fit to cycle.''
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I just read the Guardian's running blog and there was something there that seemed to apply just as well to cycling:

''Do you cycle to get fit?''
''No, I get fit to cycle.''
I like that.

I had a stupid argument with a non-cycling girlfriend once. She accused me of doing my cycling so that I could get away with eating and drinking more. If I cut down my mileage, I could eat much smaller meals ... :wacko:
 
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