Cycling Thread - All Peddlers and Pedallers welcome.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Have started a new thread as the other one is very nearly full.

Do you have any suggestions on the best padded shorts?
I didn't get out on my bike this week as it's been hail-stoning and I'm not confident enough yet.
Milo I find it quite daunting too, last summer I stuck to cycling paths and I've just booked on to a road cycling course to try and get me over that fear. I found dragging someone else along for the ride helped as it took the focus off me, if that makes sense.

I really like my Decathlon bib shorts

I like the inserts from Rohan best, very simple. I do have two pairs of Shebeest shorts that I like but I find the pads very bulky.

DH though is a lovely man - he has one bike permanently on a trainer in the barn - he has Brooks saddles on his bikes, but they take a bit of breaking in. He reckons that once that has been done they are comfier than anything else out there.

Despite the anatomical differences he is going to break in a woman's saddle for me, not many places you can write that really.

Lion I have got some castelli shorts and sportful ones too, then Rapha winter bib tights (which were £££ and I've not even worn them ). I got my padded shorts in the sales so it's worth keeping an eye out. Wiggle do a brand called 'dhb' which are cheap and have great reviews. They are definitely worth a look.

We are off to watch the Tour de Yorkshire this weekend as they pass about 5 miles away from my house. Getting the train though as we have dd and no baby seat. Going to the cow and calf which is one of the good climbs on Sunday. I'm excited!

How are the cyclists doing??

I am watching my bloody knee again (very old skiing injury that reminds me it happened if I twang it and twang it I did, tripping up in my clogs).

I am planning on doing a 40 mile charity ride in the summer and was hoping to step it up, but no, I am limiting myself to 6 miles every other day for the next couple of weeks to see how my knee feels. I have just done the third one in row, day off tomorrow.

Fingers crossed, I have learned not to ignore the knee which rules all exercise.

Ds and I had a lovely hilly 23 mile charity event at the weekend (dh did the 45 mile route).

I'm gutted as I won 2 Ride London places in a Wiggle competition. And then couldn't use them as no one to have ds (and dh already entered through a charity), so had to give them away

We are in the same boat CMOT, only one of us can usually do something.

DH still does at least an hour a day on his trainer if he doesn't go out but he hasn't got anything planned apart from the Great North Swim so I thought I would do this ride.

It will be nice when we can all do one together, how old is your DS?

DD is 8 and 7 miles is her limit.

Ds is 8, and if its flat and has a decent stop, he can do 40 miles. So most sportives one of us can do one of the shorter distances with him now which is great.

Wow, that is impressive, I would be deaf from the moaning here at 10 miles let alone 40 and to be fair would have to work up to 40 myself, unlike DH.

How often does he ride? We only manage once or twice a week together.

He only gets once or twice a week on the bike, but we've done that consistently since last March, building up the distance. The cake stop was a big inducement at first, and some hills took a lot of moaning. But he has learnt the short term pain for long term gain thing, and loves his medal collection.

Wow super impressed by the 8yr old doing 40miles! That's some distance. My 8yr old Dd will do 10miles on cycle path with a few ups/downs if she is in a god mood we would like to get her to go further as we are planning to take bikes to France in summer and are camping near some long distance canal and off road routes. She is short so only on 20" with couple gears which she is slowly learning how to use. This normally involves me shouting "left hand one click" etc or she stops to look at the bars to turn the gear.
Lavender have you tried tweaking your saddle height abit to help your knee? My knee was hurting abit last year and just 2-3cm raise in my saddle removed the problem. It has started hurting abit again so you have reminded me to try adjusting my saddle again as it may have slipped. My saddle last year was a revelation . For 20yrs I'd ridden with large lady gel one but it was worn out. I got anew bike with hard slim ladies saddle and after some up down front back alignment it's mega comfy.
Also I've got couple of pairs of cycle 3/4legs from sports direct and found them fine for cycling 40mile rides, were cheap too. Winter legs come from Aldis which have down many miles in cold wet weather last two winters and been good.
Did 15miles with trailer yesterday hauling toddler makes a good weight training workout and I find when I don't have her I fly along! Hope you all enjoy some sunny miles this weekend.

ssmile - well funny you should say that because DH has been talking about the same thing. Cycling isn't aggravating my knee though right now and I feel that I have got it right on that front at the minute. He has also persuaded me to have brooks saddle now rather than when we buy new bikes in the summer. I was going to have a brooks saddle with the new bike but after last week I am going to order one now.

I rode three alternate days in a row, only 25 miles in total, but I forgot my padded shorts, every day! By the end of it I was in agony. Dh is always telling me how padded saddles are crap because your seat bones sink into the padding lowering your body and meaning that everything is in contact with the saddle, causing pressure where it wouldn't be if you had a saddle that supported your seat bones.

He sent me this article:

road.cc/content/review/15583-brooks-b17-s-saddle

Hello all. Lost the thread! No cycling happening here I've started a new business and all spare time is taken up with that. DP is doing his first time trial tonight in this awful wind so fingers crossed it goes ok!

Everybody must be out cycling after a couple weeks off due to dodgy back flare up I'm back training again for a 100k next weekend....very nervous about it due to lack of riding this year but hoping to do 40miles Tom and if body is ok afterwards I will go for it next weekend.
We watching the ladies Tour on ITV4 tonight. Good to see women's cycle racing on TV!

Hi all, may I join you please? I took up cycling this year as knee injury has stopped me from running.
Doing LEJOG in Sep (966 miles in 9 days) so trying to cycle when I can. It's a whole new world but oh so addictive!
I've read a few posts and it's great to see some about children's cycling. I've done 20miles with DD6 and she keeps pestering me for longer rides! Hard at the mo tho as hubby away for 9 weeks and I've 2 younger boys.
Will keep an eye on this thread for more inspiration tho :)

Does anyone here know about swish bespoke bikes?

DH is having one for his birthday and has always coveted a Roberts bike but the chap has just retired.

He thinks he is going to go for a Mercian (10 month build time), definitely doesn't want a Condor.

He thinks he knows what he wants but I wondered if any keen biker here into that sort of bike had any other suggestions.

I am usually a much better internet surfer than him and just want to make sure that there isn't something else out there.

Must add that I am generally clueless about bikes whereas he definitely is not - but you never know, someone could know something useful and it is a lot of cash/long wait.

Have you looked at Paul Hewitt in Leyland, Lancashire?

Thanks, I will mention that one, I haven't heard DH talk of them.

Two others he has discounted are Jackson and Ellis Briggs.

I am sure he has done enough homework, he has been thinking of doing this for a while - but you never know if you have missed something somewhere do you and I thought it was worth an ask!

Also, he wants a frame that is actually made to fit him both frame size and geometry rather than custom bits fitted onto a frame if that makes sense, he already has the latter.

Thanks mumski45 - Hewitt is a contender, as in .... 'oh yes, I had forgotten about those', he had discounted them for some reason but after looking at their web page again might consider them.

I knew I had something to offer here , or Mnet did!

Does anyone have any saddle recommendations? I have a Selle Italia Diva Gel, and the saddle itself is very comfortable, but its too wide and rubs right in the crease.

I like a cut out, but am not bothered by amount of padding particularly.

Theres so much choice, and I don't want to make an expensive mistake!

Ooh Ellis Briggs is literally a mile away from me.

Lavender I have someone I can highly recommend. Will send you a PM with details.

CMOT, I am a very recent convert to Brooks saddles, once they are broken in they are really comfortable. DH has always used them but it has taken him 12 years to convince me .... I won't be switching to anything else anytime soon.

CMOT I think the diva gel is the one everyone seems to recommend on here. I find my saddle really comfortable but it really varies person to person. I'll have a look in the garage at some point to see what brand mine is as I can't remember. I fell lucky as its the first saddle I bought and I only got it because it's celeste so matches the rest of my bike A friend of mine has been though about 8 different saddles before finding the perfect one!!