[ebonho]

Originally Posted by alfafan

Dear experts would request your guidance. I have a Btwin Rockrider 5.0 which i use for weekend runs, the longest of which has been up to 70 Kms.

I am able to perfectly manage moderate climbs and short steep sections on this cycle, however every time i tackle something more serious i.e Sinhagad here in Pune, i literally have to push the bicycle post the halfway mark of the climb and only able to pedal on the relatively easier sections.

The question which bugs me is this due to the cycle or do i need to do something different to build up my stamina. Would appreciate our forum members to help me out with this query.

Sinhagad is a serious climb man. I don't have the guts to even head in that direction yet. Kudos if you've gone halfway up on a Rockrider.

I don't think Sinhagad is stamina. I think its pure muscle.

Where exactly in Hindustan are you located?

[alfafan]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Sinhagad is a serious climb man. I don't have the guts to even head in that direction yet. Kudos if you've gone halfway up on a Rockrider.

I don't think Sinhagad is stamina. I think its pure muscle.

Where exactly in Hindustan are you located?

Thanks a lot Sir for the kind words and gives me encouragement. I have reached the top twice until now, but only by pushing the bike for even i dont know how many km's.

I am based in Pune on Sinhagad road which makes it very easy to approach Sinhagad or Panshet for really enjoyable cycling away from the mad Pune traffic.

Also Sir i saw your professional cycling experience which you talked earlier in this thread, really amazing and great to see you continue the same passion

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by prabuddhadg

Honestly, if you ask me, Gatorskins are grossly overrated. I have tried two sets, one was 28 mm and the other 23 mm, both 700c tires. Compared to the Continental Ultra sports, I got no fewer flats with these. I think choosing your line on the road is more helpful in avoiding flats. I make it a point now to ride at least three feet away from the edge of the road.

In that case why not just get the schwalbe marathon plus? It's total peace of mind. Did you try them ever?

[Ferrari1976]

I have a rockrider 5.1. Its an excellent cycle for my kind of (read casual) cycling. But I always feel that if it had slicker tyres, it will be easier to ride.

Can you please suggest a good tyre for this purpose? The size of the wheel is 26X2.

Thanks.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

I have a rockrider 5.1. Its an excellent cycle for my kind of (read casual) cycling. But I always feel that if it had slicker tyres, it will be easier to ride.


Thanks.

I use Geax Street Runners. Excellent longevity and other factors.

Surinder Cycles in Poona has a huge stock of them.

Highly recommended; IMO.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by alfafan

The question which bugs me is this due to the cycle or do i need to do something different to build up my stamina. Would appreciate our forum members to help me out with this query.

Originally Posted by ebonho

I don't think Sinhagad is stamina. I think its pure muscle.

Where exactly in Hindustan are you located?

I agree with ebonho. I don't think you need to upgrade but you need to build the muscle to do that continuous climb. I have done rides but never one that included a climb like Sinhagad. Most of them had small hill sections of about a km or so and even with those I had to shift down all the way to 1-2 or 1-1.

[kumar2007]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Sinhagad is a serious climb man. I don't have the guts to even head in that direction yet. Kudos if you've gone halfway up on a Rockrider.

I don't think Sinhagad is stamina. I think its pure muscle.

Where exactly in Hindustan are you located?

Climbing is never about building muscle strength, but about building stamina.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I don't think Sinhagad is stamina. I think its pure muscle.

Originally Posted by kumar2007

Climbing is never about building muscle strength, but about building stamina.

I would say, it requires both - muscle and stamina.

Originally Posted by alfafan

The question which bugs me is this due to the cycle or do i need to do something different to build up my stamina. Would appreciate our forum members to help me out with this query.

In cycling, both the man and the machine matter. But the first order of business is to improve your fitness. You may have the best carbon frame cycle with Dura Ace components, but if you are not fit, you will still not be able to climb the hills. I have seen guys with high end road bikes not able to do hill climbs and guys with MTBs doing it with ease. Once you become fit, then upgrading the cycle helps in further improving performance.

If you want to seriously improve your performance (and are not averse to some theory), to improve your cycling you need to improve your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and power to weight ratio. FTP is the maximum average power you can maintain over a period of 60 minutes, and power to weight ratio is the ratio of FTP and your weight. I will not go into details of FTP, there are hundreds of articles in the internet that talk about FTP.

FTP is a combination of both cardiovascular and muscular systems. So, if you are looking at improving your performance, you need to do three things.

1. Increase your cardio fitness. This can be done by doing intervals. Intervals are routines where you cycle at your maximum capacity for a certain period of time, and then relaxed ride for a certain period of time, and do multiple sets of this routine. This will increase your cardio vascular fitness. Here is an example of interval training.

http://www.bicycling.com/training/fi...-and-endurance

You can find many more in the internet.

2. Increase your muscular strength. You can do this by doing simple resistance exercises like squats, lunges, calf lifts etc, that strengthen your cycling muscles. Here are some links for strength exercises for cyclists.

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/a...s-for-cyclists
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...yclists-35771/

3. Reduce your weight. Ofcourse, #1 and #2 will contribute to your weight reduction. Add a healthy diet to #1 and #2 and you will see yourself losing that unnecessary baggage quicker. With increase in power to weight ratio, for the same average power, you will become much faster and will find climbs easier. In short, you will complete the Sinhagad climb

PS:

All the articles that talk about FTP will also talk about costly equipment like power meters and heart rate monitors. Do not get overwhelmed by these. These are just tools to measure your performance. You can always track your progress by having a record of your performance on the same route over a period of time. For example, if you are able to climb half of the Sinhagad today, you may complete 75% a month from now and 100% two months from now. After that you can track how long it takes for you to climb Sinhagad, and so on.

I have tried to keep things short and simple. Feel free to PM me if you need any more details.

[Ferrari1976]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

I use Geax Street Runners. Excellent longevity and other factors.

Surinder Cycles in Poona has a huge stock of them.

Highly recommended; IMO.

Thanks Fintail! I checked the tyre specifcations, it says 26 X 1.6. Will that be a problem for the 26X2 wheels of rockrider 5.1?

[alfafan]

Thanks a lot @shipnil and @graaja for the advice on this query.

Thats one of the reasons i love this forum, the depth of advice given is simply outstanding and helps novices like me rather than steering me in the direction of spending a large amount of money on equipment or a new bicycle when it will really not help much

@graaja - Thanks so much for those details and the associated links, i will go through them and try to work my way accordingly. You can expect more PM's from me as i work my way through those

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

Thanks Fintail! I checked the tyre specifcations, it says 26 X 1.6. Will that be a problem for the 26X2 wheels of rockrider 5.1?

Nope; to the best of my knowledge.

[AWD]

Im looking to a get a 29er for myself, which one should I buy ? Budget is max 50k, lower the better! Have checked out Firefox, Trek, Giant, Merida, etc. so far. Was keen on Btwin 29er, but they stopped importing the bike. So which one should I opt for ? My height is 6 ft. so please suggest the right frame size also..

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

Thanks Fintail! I checked the tyre specifcations, it says 26 X 1.6. Will that be a problem for the 26X2 wheels of rockrider 5.1?

Depends on your rims. Specifically the inner diameter between the bead seats of your rims. There is a bit of leeway on either side (thinner and fatter).

Sheldon brown has chart which gives you the possible tyre widths that can fit onto rims of different rim inner widths.

But in general, most 26 inch MTBs will take a 1.6 comfortably. Maybe even a 1.5. Translating to 44 and 40 mm respectively.

[Shubhendra]

After my Poona – Bombay ride two months back, cycle was lying idle. As monsoon is on doors and weather is somewhat pleasant now. I resumed cycling 3 days back. Did around 30 kms yesterday. Time to build stamina and do Poona – Gateway of India ride (one of my dream ride during monsoon) in next 2 months.
There was ‘blessing in a disguise’ incident happened last evening, I was looking for cycle shops to top up air (My Montra Blues have a different air valve) and one over enthu cycle shop owner drained air from front tyre and I had to walk with cycle for 1-2 kms and I found a crowded cycle shop in a bye-lanes of PCMC. After getting air field, I asked one mechanic of my pedal noise and top gear engaging issue (I did half Poona-Bombay trip on one gear less of top gears) and within few minutes he did both.
And to top it up, I paid INR 10/- for the same. I am happy for now !!!
I need help from Puneri cyclists, where can I find that adaptor which I need to put on existing tyre valves for air filling. It’s a pain to get air top up as no one in my area has that adaptor and I do take my cycle out to highways and fringe areas of Poona.

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh

[mm403]

Shubhendra

I had a similar issue with my Montra. Checked with Surinder Cycles and they suggested getting the tube changed to one having a normal valve. This ensured, I can get air filled at any of the road side shops


mm403