Off topic cycling chat for the cyclisti out there..

[Tosh]

The sports reporting in the Daily Mail really does p*&s me off.

I think there's a clue here

[neilbardsley]

The sports reporting in the Daily Mail really does p*&s me off.

I think there's a clue here

[Tosh]

So...
Stage 10, in which Cav got eliminated
Alaphilippe rode the stage in 4h25 minutes, winning the stage
Cav was home in 4 h59 minutes

The winner of the Etape du Tour, for your "amateurs", over the same route, was home in 5h 16 m
Holy crap

[Ignatzcatz]

That does show the amateur/professional difference. I recall I rode the Ronde Picarde 217km sportive a few years back and it was a virtual road race. My club mate and I went round in 5 hours 37minutes, Lauren Jalabert, a top pro in the day was riding the same event as training and he rocketed round in 4hours 20minutes. Gulp! He took an hour and a quarter out of us and we were maxed out most of the way. That is Pro's.

[Mick Cliff]

Congrats to Geraint Thomas - a humble and worthy winner of the biggest race in the world.

[Ignatzcatz]

Yes indeed, chapeau G and we now have to wait until August 25th to get our radsport fill because that's when La Vuelta starts. So in the interim may I humbly indulge once again, hopefully one or two might be interested in this stuff, and this stuff is based around a bike that used to be owned by Phil Thomas, one of the Liverpool Mercury's hard men. Phil won the British champs in '83 on this bike which was at the time decaled up as a Falcon. I bought it second hand from Harry Quinn's shop and then raced the wheels of it for the next ten years. It is 201/2" frame size built from Reynolds 531 SL tubing. Due to crashes I went through 3 sets of forks but it was on one lunch time when I was doing intervals on it that something almost terminal occurred. Out of the saddle, sprinting hard, the bike went all stupid on me, initially I thought the back wheel had collapsed until I looked down and saw the seat tube flapping in the breeze. The seat tube is the tube that runs from the saddle area down to where the cranks and pedals are located. This tube had rusted through just above the bottom bracket lug due to much riding and racing in inclement weather. The SL tubes are only a few mil thick so this wasn't surprising. So I built up another race bike and left the old Harry Quinn frame in a corner of the garage to collect spiders.
It was after a few years after I had built a couple of street rods and bettered my welding skills that I found the old Quinn frame rather unloved up in the garage rafters. Knowing it's heritage with Phil Thomas I thought I really should try and save this old piece, so I found some internal sized tubing which I mitred then fitted it up inside the existing tubing after cutting back the rusted outer tubing and slipped in a new outer piece. I brazed this lot all around and down to the bottom bracket then started filing and cleaning all the repair area. Once it was nice and smooth I shot blasted the whole frame then 2 pack sprayed it in Porsche Meteorgrau (Cayenne colour) and (my favourite) Porsche India red (Yes there's the connection) some nice new Harry Quinn decals went on next with lots of lacquer on top.
I built the frame up semi-retro but all Campagnolo, of course. Wheels are uber rare, grey anodised large flange 'C' record hubs on Mavic sprints, brakes are uber rare (again!) Delta centre pulls which are adjusted by a 3.5 mil allen key. And can you get a 3.5 mil allen key? No, thank you Campag. Actually I do have one but it took some time to find! Chainset is Campag 53/42 polished, mechs are Campag nuove record, pedals Campag and a Super record seatpin. It's on tubs of course and it still goes very well indeed. Between Mr Thomas and in a much smaller part, me, this bike has clocked up quite a few wins.

[mycar]

Saw this video of a chain-less drivetrain and thought you would like the engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFAQ6CzNm7s

Shifting explained :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9gQ1KRhesM

[Ralph]

A picture of my new ride -



It's my dad's old Carlton fixed wheel from the late 70's. He hardly rode it from new and all I've done is change the bars from dropped to straight and fitted new tyres & tubes. Ideal for cruising on the beach side paths.

[Bigfoot]

Saw this video of a chain-less drivetrain and thought you would like the engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFAQ6CzNm7s

Shifting explained :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9gQ1KRhesM

Wonder if that will actually work at full chat up hill? Do you not think that the pressure on both ends of the shaft would be monumental. Conventional set up there is energy lost on a stretching chain and pressure dissipated around say 60% of the cogs too....just think with 17stone pounding down onto those little cog teeth which look too fragile will end up in tears. Great idea though but would like lots of trials before I’d use one technology will remain mixing flour, eggs n milk for Yorkshire puddings in our house for time being

[Ignatzcatz]

Eh Ralph, as they say in Yorkshire 'stay on't cog lad'

[Gary71]

Interesting invention, but I’d also agree the wheel end looks highly unstable as the lateral load on that ‘cassette’ would be very high, particularly the further you get from the axle.

I hate slipping chains on conventional set up, makes my balls hurt!

[Sam]

It's my dad's old Carlton fixed wheel from the late 70's. He hardly rode it from new and all I've done is change the bars from dropped to straight and fitted new tyres & tubes. Ideal for cruising on the beach side paths.

That’s a touring road frame. Stick some gears and guards on it and do some Audaxes.

[neilbardsley]

Anybody watching the cycling in Glasgow? Interesting womens RR. At the end the Dutch has someone in the break and were chasing the break. Very strange. They didn't win. The course is around Glasgow with some short punchy climbs. The men's race should be more interesting with the rides feeling like they could get away and stay away on this course. The mtb races will testing with the women's current WC winning. MVP was no where in the men's mtb but is racing the RR on Sunday. Wout van Aert is coming too, after winning the Tour of Denmark. Peter Sagan, Mark Cav and other big hitters are turning up. It should be an interesting race. I'm don't think that G Thomas is racing. Pity as he won the Commonwealths in Glasgow and this type of punching course suits me.

[abzadams]

Anybody watching the cycling in Glasgow? Interesting womens RR. At the end the Dutch has someone in the break and were chasing the break. Very strange. They didn't win. The course is around Glasgow with some short punchy climbs. The men's race should be more interesting with the rides feeling like they could get away and stay away on this course. The mtb races will testing with the women's current WC winning. MVP was no where in the men's mtb but is racing the RR on Sunday. Wout van Aert is coming too, after winning the Tour of Denmark. Peter Sagan, Mark Cav and other big hitters are turning up. It should be an interesting race. I'm don't think that G Thomas is racing. Pity as he won the Commonwealths in Glasgow and this type of punching course suits me.

The RR goes right outside my office, which means I'll be nice and dry watching it with a cuppa!

[neilbardsley]

Anybody watching the cycling in Glasgow? Interesting womens RR. At the end the Dutch has someone in the break and were chasing the break. Very strange. They didn't win. The course is around Glasgow with some short punchy climbs. The men's race should be more interesting with the rides feeling like they could get away and stay away on this course. The mtb races will testing with the women's current WC winning. MVP was no where in the men's mtb but is racing the RR on Sunday. Wout van Aert is coming too, after winning the Tour of Denmark. Peter Sagan, Mark Cav and other big hitters are turning up. It should be an interesting race. I'm don't think that G Thomas is racing. Pity as he won the Commonwealths in Glasgow and this type of punching course suits me.

The RR goes right outside my office, which means I'll be nice and dry watching it with a cuppa!

Cool! My son is studying EEE in Glasgow so I now recognize bits of the course. Compared to when I watched the Commonwealth Games. When in Glasgow my son trains with his running club in Glasgow Green. Seems to be the ending point for quick a few races.