Anyone here a cyclist? | Page 17 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone here a cyclist?

daught said:
What is the ratchet? Do you mean the shifter or the derailleur? Good idea anyways. It would tell me if the shifter had an issue.If I adjust the cable enough got 10 to 9 to work everything else is thrown off.
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I am assuming it is some type of rapid fire shifter. There should be a pawls and teeth in the shifter to control the indexing. If one of the teeth is damaged (no idea how it would happen), shifting could get messed up for one gear only.
 
daught said:
I have an SRAM XG-1195 cassette on my MTB. For some reason it just won't go down from 10 to 9. It goes up no problem. Everything else works perfectly up and down. Is the 10th cog toast?
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Few questions first:
11 speed cassette, correct?
When you say down 10 to 9 do you mean shifting from the second smallest sprocket up to the third smallest sprocket (down in number but up in diameter/tooth count)?
Shift from smallest 11 to 10 is fine I assume?
Basically 11 to 10 good, 10 to 9 crappy, 9 to 8 good.... each going into larger cogs.
Also ....8 to 9 is good, 9 to 10 is good, 10 to 11 is good. Each going into smaller sprockets/cogs.

If the above is correct try slightly over-shifting on the shifter, click it 10 to 9 and then give it slightly more without it going as far as the next cog, staying in "9" (if that makes sense). I have seen worn out shifters that will only go into some gears cleanly with a little overshift. This is also what GreyGhost was noting (ratchet..). Once there (in 9) it will be fine as rear derailleur wheel/sprocket closest to the cassette has side to side play by design.

Also, do you ride in these cogs a lot (some sort of speed demon) and have you checked the chain for wear (measured it), where is it at?
 
Ops sorry I mixed up the cog numbers. I mean to say 2 to 3, so on the 11 speed cassette I have 10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42. I have an issue dropping from 36 to 32. Going up from 32 to 36 is crisp. Everything else is perfect. I do quite a lot of riding on 36, and probably 32 and 36 see most torque. Chain was replaced at the end of last year, when I started noticing this issue. I wish I had the terrain to ride mostly in 12 and 14.
 
Assuming going to the 42 cog either three up from 28 or one up from 36 is fine I am somewhat stumped. Is the drive-train 1X11 or 2X11, if 2X does it happen the same for both from cogs?

Before swapping any parts I might hit the reset button and pull it apart and re-assemble. Reset b-screw. high, low, etc. and see if it helps. You never know.
 
1x. Simple. Lol reminds me if my friend who has 2x, dropper and handlebar lockout for front and rear. He said it feels like playing a piano.


Another interesting observation. If I double tap from 42 it drops nice and crisp to 32. I guess a full teardown and rebuild is in order. It could just be that shifter has some gunk. Or maybe the cable is frayed somewhere. I might as well do all the linkages, fork and shock maintenance.

I am kind of ****** I sold my old orbea occam with the slx 1x11. I should have installed the old groupset and brakes and sold it at a discount. Since CRC stopped doing Shimano to NA that stuff is worth a lot more. Plus the SLX parts were cheap to replace.
 
Anybody here has ridden a metric century? Since all my events are going to hell i thought i'd challenge myself.

How have you guys approached it? What was the hardest part
 
LePhillou said:
Anybody here has ridden a metric century? Since all my events are going to hell i thought i'd challenge myself.

How have you guys approached it? What was the hardest part
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Years ago when my wife was living at jarvis and bloor, I rode down to do the ride for heart (almost got doored in front of the government at 05:45, grrr). Feeling good after the official distance, did another lap up the DVP. Feeling good after that, took waterfront to humber trail and up to finch. Still feeling good, over to 404 and back down to her apartment. That ride was a bit over 100 miles on the titus with 28mm tires. You need lots of water and some food once the ride length starts to go over a few hours.

The most painful ride I have done was either toronto to Niagara Falls one day and back the next day on a road bike or Paris to ancaster with big mud tires and a horrendous headwind. Both sucked for me. Hilly hundred in Bancroft is just back on the suck list as I was riding downtown in the flats and not used to that much elevation.

Honestly, for most reasonably fit people on a reasonably decent bike, a century is easily doable, it just takes time. Now if you are trying to get the speed up and hit it in a certain time, I am the wrong person to ask.

Waterfront trail is pretty easy to zone out and bang off lots of km's with not much elevation or chance of becoming a hood ornament.
 
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GreyGhost said:
Years ago when my wife was living at jarvis and bloor, I rode down to do the ride for heart (almost got doored in front of the government at 05:45, grrr). Feeling good after the official distance, did another lap up the DVP. Feeling good after that, took waterfront to humber trail and up to finch. Still feeling good, over to 404 and back down to her apartment. That ride was a bit over 100 miles on the titus with 28mm tires. You need lots of water and some food once the ride length starts to go over a few hours.

The most painful ride I have done was either toronto to Niagara Falls one day and back the next day on a road bike or Paris to ancaster with big mud tires and a horrendous headwind. Both sucked for me. Hilly hundred in Bancroft is just back on the suck list as I was riding downtown in the flats and not used to that much elevation.

Honestly, for most reasonably fit people on a reasonably decent bike, a century is easily doable, it just takes time. Now if you are trying to get the speed up and hit it in a certain time, I am the wrong person to ask.

Waterfront trail is pretty easy to zone out and bang off lots of km's with not much elevation or chance of becoming a hood ornament.
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I have another friend doing 2 metric centuries (he was supposed to do ride to conquer cancer) so i'm riding down sauga, to humber river (meet up with him) then go back to sauga through lakeshore (could do a pit stop at home), get all the way to oakville, stop there to refuel with light sammich, and then i'll probably be going doing a detour up ford drive which has some nice and wide cycle paths on certain stretches. And then come back to my place in sauga

What did you use to fuel? Ideally i wanna do it in 4 hours (or less if i can), we'd be starting early obviously.
 
LePhillou said:
I have another friend doing 2 metric centuries (he was supposed to do ride to conquer cancer) so i'm riding down sauga, to humber river (meet up with him) then go back to sauga through lakeshore (could do a pit stop at home), get all the way to oakville, stop there to refuel with light sammich, and then i'll probably be going doing a detour up ford drive which has some nice and wide cycle paths on certain stretches. And then come back to my place in sauga

What did you use to fuel? Ideally i wanna do it in 4 hours (or less if i can), we'd be starting early obviously.
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It depends on the length of ride and effort. If the effort is high or the ride length is very long, gels, protein bars, water bottles full of electrolytes and Camelback full of water. I need all the help I can get. Normally I'm too cheap to spend that much on ride fuel. On a 100km ride, normally whatever I can find in the cupboard (nutrigrain, granola bar, maybe a protein bar), sometimes electrolytes in water bottles and always a Camelback full of water.
 
Twice last week :) Caledon trailway. Return and a bit to make it 100km+. I doubt I will do it again, it's a very boring gravel trail. It used to be a train track so it's fairly straight with no uphills. First time I forgot my padded shorts. Hardest part was not stopping for food.
 
For the century ride (not part of an event), some tips....

  • Wind can be a killer make sure to have the flexibility to change dates if it is going to be a windy day, specially head wind. I know I really struggle with headwinds not only from an energy but from a physiological endurance perspective.
  • Route can be out and back or you can take the GO or be dropped off at one end and just ride back (advantages to both).
  • Big hills can be killer, better early than at the end.
  • If possible have a rescue queued up. Someone that can come get you (phone call away) if you just totally bonk or have a major breakdown, or plan a route where you can catch transit back.
  • Build up saddle time to harden your ass
  • Hitting the wall....fuel (endurance athletes know this one well...) your body will burn glucose stores, then deplete the liver of glycogen, then you hit the wall as you are switching fuel source to stored fat. Either you deal with it or you try to delay or prevent it via fuelling. Ketogenic diets also change this (good or bad is debatable).
  • Carb rich gels are popular for this but you have to carry a lot, may not be practical, calories burned, calories in, math problem.
  • You can also pick a route and just stop for a nice lunch (or two) half way to reduce what you need to carry for fuel, it is not a race.
  • Bring a lock (light weight is good) because if you need to stop for food, supplies or water you will need to lock up your bike.
  • As others noted, lots of water but you can also stop for some on the way.
  • Figure out a pace. Even at a pretty slow 15 kph average you are looking at just under 7 hours of riding for 100km, 160.9 km (100 miles) is just under 11 hours. 15 is pretty slow, over 20 is better, over 30??? if you can sustain it (remember it is a long way), you just need to figure out what you can sustain over the duration and not over do it when you feel fresh at the beginning (hitting the wall blah blah blah).
  • Do it with a buddy is better over all.
  • Make sure to bring lights...
  • The better planned the better the outcome IMO.
 
GreyGhost said:
I saw that, but $80,000 bicycles will never be in my snack bracket.
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That's the automobile equivalent of buying an Ayrton Sena race driven McLaren F1 car.
 
GreyGhost said:
It depends on the length of ride and effort. If the effort is high or the ride length is very long, gels, protein bars, water bottles full of electrolytes and Camelback full of water. I need all the help I can get. Normally I'm too cheap to spend that much on ride fuel. On a 100km ride, normally whatever I can find in the cupboard (nutrigrain, granola bar, maybe a protein bar), sometimes electrolytes in water bottles and always a Camelback full of water.
Click to expand...
Alright... what i've done in the past (40km bike segment in a tri) is mix maple syrup, fancy salt with electrolytes and water. I might bite the bullet and buy some gels..they're not THAT expensive when bought in bulk and we might be stopping mid-way as well for light food/coffee.

I'm wondering whether or not to bring my camelback, i have a 1L one which would mean i wouldnt need refills but...it would get HOT being on my back. lol
daught said:
Twice last week :) Caledon trailway. Return and a bit to make it 100km+. I doubt I will do it again, it's a very boring gravel trail. It used to be a train track so it's fairly straight with no uphills. First time I forgot my padded shorts. Hardest part was not stopping for food.
Click to expand...
was it because you wanted to finish as fast as possible or because there was nothing along the way?
if i had a gravel bike that sounds like something "fun"
backmarkerducati said:
For the century ride (not part of an event), some tips....

  • Wind can be a killer make sure to have the flexibility to change dates if it is going to be a windy day, specially head wind. I know I really struggle with headwinds not only from an energy but from a physiological endurance perspective.
  • Route can be out and back or you can take the GO or be dropped off at one end and just ride back (advantages to both).
  • Big hills can be killer, better early than at the end.
  • If possible have a rescue queued up. Someone that can come get you (phone call away) if you just totally bonk or have a major breakdown, or plan a route where you can catch transit back.
  • Build up saddle time to harden your ass
  • Hitting the wall....fuel (endurance athletes know this one well...) your body will burn glucose stores, then deplete the liver of glycogen, then you hit the wall as you are switching fuel source to stored fat. Either you deal with it or you try to delay or prevent it via fuelling. Ketogenic diets also change this (good or bad is debatable).
  • Carb rich gels are popular for this but you have to carry a lot, may not be practical, calories burned, calories in, math problem.
  • You can also pick a route and just stop for a nice lunch (or two) half way to reduce what you need to carry for fuel, it is not a race.
  • Bring a lock (light weight is good) because if you need to stop for food, supplies or water you will need to lock up your bike.
  • As others noted, lots of water but you can also stop for some on the way.
  • Figure out a pace. Even at a pretty slow 15 kph average you are looking at just under 7 hours of riding for 100km, 160.9 km (100 miles) is just under 11 hours. 15 is pretty slow, over 20 is better, over 30??? if you can sustain it (remember it is a long way), you just need to figure out what you can sustain over the duration and not over do it when you feel fresh at the beginning (hitting the wall blah blah blah).
  • Do it with a buddy is better over all.
  • Make sure to bring lights...
  • The better planned the better the outcome IMO.
Click to expand...
Very good points, the lights might be something i might not have thought of but my schedule will probably be
I know last year i could do 40km in 1h30 minutes (after a swim) without being well trained, just had some commuting mileage/volume under my belt, Ride for heart (75km, hilly) took me under 3 hours last year, and about 3 hours the year before, and i waited for my wife a few times last year, so im thinking 4 hours for a 100km is reasonable. Hopefully i start around 7 am and finish around noon. I'm supposed to meet up with a friend about a quarter of the way in.
I dont have time to get fat-adapted in less than 2 months so i'll probably carb load a few days before and try to keep the carbs coming during the ride with chews and/or gels.
I'm really trying to see whether i bring my backpack (and put all my stuff in like a lock, gels, 1-liter bladder, etc) or just wear the camelback vest and use my jersey pockets.
 
LePhillou said:
Alright... what i've done in the past (40km bike segment in a tri) is mix maple syrup, fancy salt with electrolytes and water. I might bite the bullet and buy some gels..they're not THAT expensive when bought in bulk and we might be stopping mid-way as well for light food/coffee.

I'm wondering whether or not to bring my camelback, i have a 1L one which would mean i wouldnt need refills but...it would get HOT being on my back. lol

was it because you wanted to finish as fast as possible or because there was nothing along the way?
if i had a gravel bike that sounds like something "fun"

Very good points, the lights might be something i might not have thought of but my schedule will probably be
I know last year i could do 40km in 1h30 minutes (after a swim) without being well trained, just had some commuting mileage/volume under my belt, Ride for heart (75km, hilly) took me under 3 hours last year, and about 3 hours the year before, and i waited for my wife a few times last year, so im thinking 4 hours for a 100km is reasonable. Hopefully i start around 7 am and finish around noon. I'm supposed to meet up with a friend about a quarter of the way in.
I dont have time to get fat-adapted in less than 2 months so i'll probably carb load a few days before and try to keep the carbs coming during the ride with chews and/or gels.
I'm really trying to see whether i bring my backpack (and put all my stuff in like a lock, gels, 1-liter bladder, etc) or just wear the camelback vest and use my jersey pockets.
Click to expand...
I find a normal backpack on a bicycle to be horrendous. When you lean forward, it's too tall and flops over.

I know I use more water than most, but on a 100 km+ ride, I will take a full MULE (3+ litres) with two 750 mL bottles of electrolyte. On the road bike is a tail bag with C02, tire and tube so it's not on my back (it's heavy and makes me sad to buy a light bike and add weight, but I need to be self sufficient). Food on the go used to be in the camelbak but after the niagara falls trip it has moved to a small bag on the top tube so it is easier to get to while riding. Garbage goes into the left jersey pocket. Camelbak has gauze, space blanket, cell phone, multi-tool, one card and cash.
 
LePhillou said:
was it because you wanted to finish as fast as possible or because there was nothing along the way?
if i had a gravel bike that sounds like something "fun"
Click to expand...

Not much along the way, but my sightseeing bar is high up. The surface is good. I would not hesitate to do it on a true road bike, but you have to be very careful because there are a few narrow but deep potholes. They almost look like someone dug a trap. They blend in with the trail and missing them can be disastrous. They only advantage is the lack of cars.

Look up DIY energy gels. I make my own using molasses and a few other ingredients. For the 100km bike ride I don't really need a snack. I know it's not the optimal for cycling but I center all my training around backcountry skiing. For big ski tours I do 20km 2000m a day. I focus on a big breakfast, so I avoid carrying stuff with me. I have a snickers or my own energy gel as a snack. I try to drink 1l of water in the parking lot and I am good with 500ml for the rest of the day. Being able to piss anywhere has it's advantages. I know it's not optimal energy wise, but being light and uncluttered is advantageous for me.

IMHO always carry a tube and pump. I had to call my GF a bunch of times to pick me up. Tubeless reduced that but I sliced a tire a few weeks ago that the sealant could not fix.

I hate Camelbacks. They are either too hot on the back or even worse is when the tube freezes. They end up leaking and they are a nuisance to clean.
 
daught said:
I hate Camelbacks. They are either too hot on the back or even worse is when the tube freezes. They end up leaking and they are a nuisance to clean.
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All very reasonable points. I find the positives outweigh the negatives for me though as I drink a lot. I use the MULE for long rides, mtb rides and on the motorbike. I have a 1.5 L for shorter road rides (much lower profile and smaller on the back). For long hikes I have a belt pack as I find any backpack incredibly hot while walking. When on a bike, they are obviously hotter than nothing, but they aren't that big and move around a bit to let the steam out. Freezing doesn't happen often for me on a bike, x-country skiing yes but you just need to take a sip every few minutes and it shouldn't freeze. Cleaning and drying them always sucks. I only ever put water in them as I don't want to try to clean out anything else.
 
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