The long and pedally Spring Classics thread. Gent Wevelgem sportive

[weeksy]

Lobbing this up for updates and plans for the upcoming Weeksy and @crust adventure to Wevelgem in 2022.

Plan will be to head over for hopefully a pottle round on the Friday and watching the E3 Harellbek classic, then Sat is the pro version of the Gent Wevelgem, then on the Sunday we ride the same route with lots of other people.

We were supposed to do this last spring but that got shit canned like everything else.

2021-01-11_02-25-15 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

That is my training plan, that is my bike for the event.

It's a Raleigh Cadent, running a 2*10 setup from an old bike, along with some SRAM Guide brakes which are of course overkill for road riding. Tyres i'll look into later on and give some consideration to, i don't even know what they are that's fitted but i doubt they're brilliant at rolling.
edit
Vee Tire Co. Tire Co. Zilent, 700x35c, Wire Bead



If i recall, the event is about 136km of rolling Belgian terrain and being at the end of March it could be nice or could be freezing... i know what i'm HOPING for... Either way, doing a Spring Classic has to be a bucket list kind of day out.

It's also a good incentive for both me and Crust to get our acts together and get more pedalling done as irrespective of how we're feeling, 136km is a decent day out that's for sure.

I do of course know that drop bar bikes are faster, better and more effective, but i don't like drop bar bikes and i DO like nice wide bars and hydraulic brakes...

[Numnut]

I use schwalbe durano plus (28 x 700c) for commuting, they roll pretty nicely. I average 16-17 mph when I'm out, be that 8mi or 20mi rides.

[weeksy]

I guess i should do an outdoor test ride of the Raleigh.... i don't think i've actually tried it outdoors since i bought it nearly a year ago


Well, unless i go bonkers.

[lostboy]

I guess i should do an outdoor test ride of the Raleigh.... i don't think i've actually tried it outdoors since i bought it nearly a year ago


Well, unless i go bonkers.

That will be much more comfortable and efficient over that distance.

Current favourite road tyres are Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR 32mm running tubeless. Been absolutely faultless, wet and dry grip is more than I need and very predictable if I test it too far, roll really well, are very stable under braking despite being a very big bloke that goes very quickly downhill and only runs 60psi front and 75 psi rear

[weeksy]

Watching a GCN vid... 8km, mixed generic roads. first guy is the usual GCN bloke.

55s quicker on the road bike

2nd guy, Ollie, 58s quicker on the Hybrid ! bike over the Roadie...

That would be about 15 minutes quicker over a 135km ride... that's not taking into account the savings in fatigue too i guess I i were guy 1.

Ollie bloke was riding with his hands in the middle of the bars when on the hybrid in fast sections.

[Mr Moofo]

Another "Weekys buys a road bike and sells it after 2 days" thread

[Crosshair]

That’s the thing isn’t it. Drop bars only give you the potential to ride more aerodynamically- you have to then condition yourself to actually use it.

Arguably you’d be safer on drop bars than riding a flat barred bike with your hands in the centre like Ollie.

Ultimately- the deciding factor is going to be which bike enables you to hold the best trade off of aero v comfort over the entire course. Ands that likely the one you’ve done the most hours on.

It’s a bit like Nick Sanders going around the world on an R1- if you find it comfy, you find it comfy

[lostboy]

Watching a GCN vid... 8km, mixed generic roads. first guy is the usual GCN bloke.

55s quicker on the road bike

2nd guy, Ollie, 58s quicker on the Hybrid ! bike over the Roadie...

That would be about 15 minutes quicker over a 135km ride... that's not taking into account the savings in fatigue too i guess I i were guy 1.

Ollie bloke was riding with his hands in the middle of the bars when on the hybrid in fast sections.

You do make me smile. Every time anyone mentions a drop bar roadie you come out with this sort of stuff.

Just remember - the South Downs Way Double record is held by a drop bar gravel bike That's something you should be able to relate to.

[weeksy]

Watching a GCN vid... 8km, mixed generic roads. first guy is the usual GCN bloke.

55s quicker on the road bike

2nd guy, Ollie, 58s quicker on the Hybrid ! bike over the Roadie...

That would be about 15 minutes quicker over a 135km ride... that's not taking into account the savings in fatigue too i guess I i were guy 1.

Ollie bloke was riding with his hands in the middle of the bars when on the hybrid in fast sections.

You do make me smile. Every time anyone mentions a drop bar roadie you come out with this sort of stuff.

Just remember - the South Downs Way Double record is held by a drop bar gravel bike That's something you should be able to relate to.

I have no doubt a drop bar bike is better.... but whether it's better for me... i still am far from convinced. More efficient for sure... but factoring in cobbles, punctures and comfort... i'll still take the Hybrid. Even if i lose out by 1 mins over what i could do in a 10km segment, i think the riding position and comfort for me will be greater appreciated.

It could easily be argued that the ideal would be a CX bike, so removing the skinny tyres, but keeping the momentum and aero of the drop bars... It'll be interesting in the coming months as i train with Crust to see how things develop between the both of us in terms of bikes... I may do a few rides on his.

[lostboy]

Watching a GCN vid... 8km, mixed generic roads. first guy is the usual GCN bloke.

55s quicker on the road bike

2nd guy, Ollie, 58s quicker on the Hybrid ! bike over the Roadie...

That would be about 15 minutes quicker over a 135km ride... that's not taking into account the savings in fatigue too i guess I i were guy 1.

Ollie bloke was riding with his hands in the middle of the bars when on the hybrid in fast sections.

You do make me smile. Every time anyone mentions a drop bar roadie you come out with this sort of stuff.

Just remember - the South Downs Way Double record is held by a drop bar gravel bike That's something you should be able to relate to.

I have no doubt a drop bar bike is better.... but whether it's better for me... i still am far from convinced. More efficient for sure... but factoring in cobbles, punctures and comfort... i'll still take the Hybrid. Even if i lose out by 1 mins over what i could do in a 10km segment, i think the riding position and comfort for me will be greater appreciated.

It could easily be argued that the ideal would be a CX bike, so removing the skinny tyres, but keeping the momentum and aero of the drop bars... It'll be interesting in the coming months as i train with Crust to see how things develop between the both of us in terms of bikes... I may do a few rides on his.

Absolutely - it's personal preference.

CX bikes are great - because they're roadies with fat tyres. That's one of the reasons I posted about my tyre choice earlier in the thread. My road bike has discs and great spacing for big tyres. So I use 32mm and run them tubeless and at half the pressure I'd have to run a 23mm road tyre. This gives them all the benefits that you'll understand from your MTBing (and makes them perfect for your "classics" adventure!) but still very, very fast. Whether you chose to get this benefit by doing what I did and getting a road frame that can accommodate them or go down the CX/gravel bike route it really doesn't matter, the end results are the same and are great.

[weeksy]

Prompted by this thread i fired up the turbo bike into 'road' mode and thought i'd give it an hour test today.

Here's what i found.
1. Brakes that rub make the wheel stop spinning. It was barely moving by the time i got home
2. Bars/hand position is good.
3. Gearing outdoors, not so good. 38/48 is excessive for outside and i barely need the smallest 3 cogs and i could do with another 2-4 teeth on the back. This will be negated when i run the 10sp cassette on the outdoor wheel, it's currently running the 8 speed (with 10sp shifter).
4. HAndling is fine
5. The SRAM Guides need sorting, they're not actually that good considering
6. Seat height and angle is far more important outdoors compared to indoors. Seat now shifted back and nosed down slightly. I don't think i'll run this saddle outdoors though.
7. Shifters need adjusting in position, they're not terrible but 2 mins will improve them

That's about it really. The cables for the brakes are MILES too long, but that's only aesthetics and i'll leave them long in case they're ever needed for MTB duty.

2021-12-03_02-20-14 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[weeksy]

Was out this morning with Crust and discussing plans.

When I got home I tried the 36t cassette on the standard wheel, all seems good.

Also fitted one of my favoured saddles.

Testing in a few days but may do a Zwift today as the ride was shorter today than planned.


2021-12-04_03-24-48 by Steve Weeks - Flickr2BBcode LITE


2021-12-04_03-24-53 by Steve Weeks - Flickr2BBcode LITE

[weeksy]

I don't ever think i'll get the diet sorted, i far too much enjoy eating 'nice' stuff.

But the training, i'll get there.

Sat was 20km outdoors and then 40km in the evening on Zwift
Sun i didn't ride as it was a recovery day
Mond i've just had 42km on Zwift.

I'm planning on getting in as many 40-50km rides indoors as possible and then once or twice a month throw in an 80-100km one. With luck these will be outdoors, but it's horribly rainy today and no real desire to do that outdoors on a day like this.

[weeksy]

I've done 3 x 50+km rides on Zwift in the past week or so, today being the longest at 55km. Next target on Zwift is 75km

[Hairybiker84]

Drop bars give you many permutations of hand position which flat bars don't.
Dont mistake a CX bike for a road bike, they are completely different - higher bottom bracket and often very twitchy handling, I have a Kinesis Pro 6 and it is unbelievably manoeuvrable, unfortunately this equates to having to be very careful with hands off bars or even when looking over your shoulder!

[weeksy]

Drop bars give you many permutations of hand position which flat bars don't.
Dont mistake a CX bike for a road bike, they are completely different - higher bottom bracket and often very twitchy handling, I have a Kinesis Pro 6 and it is unbelievably manoeuvrable, unfortunately this equates to having to be very careful with hands off bars or even when looking over your shoulder!

I absolutely agree, but they also give instability, a more bent over and uncomfortable riding position and the lack of control. Throw in the crappy brakes on lower priced models, the crappy thin tyres and you're on a nightmare bike.

I'd take my 760mm MTB riser bars, the SRAM Guide brakes and the bigger tyres all day thanks

I can ride that with no hands without worrying about throwing it in the floor. Don't forget, we're talking 140km here, it's an afternoon jaunt, not a month on the bike. Whilst 140km may sound a lot, it's actually 5-6 hours on the bike, which although a decent day out, isn't massive.

[Ditchfinder]

Have you thought about bar ends just for an alternative hand position? Hand fatigue is what gets me on longer rides more than anything else. Oh and Belgium in Spring might be worth having mudguards maybe....

[Hairybiker84]

Have you ever been to Flanders? Don't underestimate how hard it will be, some of the hills are killers - we spectated the tour of Flanders before Covid, they're bad enough to walk up!
We did the Paris Roubaix a few years back and some of the cobbles were so bad you struggled to see where you were going on a hardtail MTB with slicks!

[weeksy]

Have you thought about bar ends just for an alternative hand position? Hand fatigue is what gets me on longer rides more than anything else. Oh and Belgium in Spring might be worth having mudguards maybe....

Not really, but have used them in the past... I've thought about some slightly ergo grips though.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/erg ... -prod63927

THe ones on Couchies Specialized were quite nice to use... so i reckon a pair of them would be fairly useful potentially.

[weeksy]

Have you ever been to Flanders? Don't underestimate how hard it will be, some of the hills are killers - we spectated the tour of Flanders before Covid, they're bad enough to walk up!
We did the Paris Roubaix a few years back and some of the cobbles were so bad you struggled to see where you were going on a hardtail MTB with slicks!

No, but i've watched enough of the Spring Classics... i'm more than aware they're steep yeah, like proper steep... but they're not long with it... we're talking 4-5 mins of effort rather than an hour alpine pass. I've got no doubt it'll be a day out for sure.... But you know, it's not going to be 14 hours in the saddle, unless it's gone very very wrong.