[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

As for cleaning, I do it about every 2 weeks - wash down the bike completely, let it dry overnight and then oil/grease the components. This for the current monsoon season where I ride the bike in the rains every weekend.

What do you use as a de-greaser for the drive train? I used to use diesel but pros reacted in horror. WD40 is pretty controversial. Custom de-greasers (Muc Off etc) are pretty expensive. Lots of people use Vim dish-washing liquid as well.

Cheers, Doc

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ebonho

What do you use as a de-greaser for the drive train? I used to use diesel but pros reacted in horror. WD40 is pretty controversial. Custom de-greasers (Muc Off etc) are pretty expensive. Lots of people use Vim dish-washing liquid as well.

Cheers, Doc

Short answer - nothing in particular that can be considered a long term solution. I planned on resolving that once the rains stop (which is about another week or two I guess). As of now, my "all-natural" shampoo infused warm water and an old tooth brush is what I have been using

[Abhi5868]

Got this one during the pandemic at our local cycle Store. Not many options were available to choose from hence had to settle for this unknown brand in place of my preferred Montra.



However, gotta say this bike made me fall in love with cycling. It has the industry standard Shimanos and the tyres were great too. However the front one didn't last much but that was also due to a mistake by my cousin who over inflated the tyre. Planning to get a road bike next, somewhere around the new year. Triban 100 is the default choice.

[roamer]

Have a Giant SCR 2 Roadie. Being directly upgraded from Btwin My Bike, was kept aside for long till I had serious thoughts of riding out again. Been practicing on it for 2 months now, aiming for outer Mumbai city rides. Currently its running on Kenda 700x26c Tyres. Are those good enough to tackle the gravel ? Also any good options to change it to hybrid ones ?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Short answer - nothing in particular that can be considered a long term solution. I planned on resolving that once the rains stop (which is about another week or two I guess). As of now, my "all-natural" shampoo infused warm water and an old tooth brush is what I have been using

So same like me. Lazy bikers of the world unite! Lol

I'm in all truthfulness finding the money spent on the Mucoff wet lube (400 bucks for a tiny bottle) money well spent. It lasts, even in driving rain it dies not strip off completely.

And more (most) important it dies not make a holy mess if the chain and cassette. Sure things become black-ish, but at least I don't have dollops of sticky black tarry goop infused with liberal doses of road grit to clean. It simply does not pick up grit.

Makes life SO much easier while cleaning. And then depending on distance and weather you can apply a drop in every roller, every second one, every third, or even every 4th, and then give it a twirl fir a couple of minutes before letting it soak in and circulate well overnight.

Cheers, Doc

[saion666]

I am thinking of getting an e-bike in the range below 25000. Not a big cycling enthusiast, just need a cheap conveyance to enjoy nature on weekends(without the hassle of mandatory pedalling).

Want to get it online,have zeroed in on the hero kinza available in flipkart and amazon. Is there anyone using the same? What is the real world battery range? How is the build quality?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by roamer

Have a Giant SCR 2 Roadie. Being directly upgraded from Btwin My Bike, was kept aside for long till I had serious thoughts of riding out again. Been practicing on it for 2 months now, aiming for outer Mumbai city rides. Currently its running on Kenda 700x26c Tyres. Are those good enough to tackle the gravel ? Also any good options to change it to hybrid ones ?

Check out this video from GCN ... may give you some pointers.

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

On the SCR and other older generation roadies, it not so much about how good the tyres are but whether the bike has the clearance to fit larger volume tyres (28c and above).

For most roadies 2016 and earlier, 25c is the highest they can take without fouling somewhere on some choke point.

Most roadies are tough enough to take light off road, gravel trails etc. as long as the tyres are tough enough. To fill less air though (which is preferred for grip) you have to have larger volume so as to prevent pinch flats. Usually those start 32c and above. Hybrid territory of old. New roadies, some of them, can take up to 40c. Proper MTB territory. On 700c wheels.

Ride the life out of your Kenda's and then upgrade to the bombproof Marathons. They have light tread, and are still decent on tarmac. A proper gravel tyre in comparison will be much slower on tarmac. The Marathons are built tough puncture and sidewall wise and if you are looking at gravel, speed is anyways not a priority.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Doc

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

The Fantom Ryder.

From here, back in Nov 2014; to 6th Sep 2020 (i.e. today), I finally managed to convince myself to get a better bicycle.

I was happy initially with the Fantom Ryder and managed to clock quite a bit of kilometers on that bicycle for nearly 2 years. In mid 2016, my office colleague purchased it from me for 4.5k INR and there stopped my cycling adventures. Then I joined the gym and I was contented with that having reduced from ~90kgs to 75kgs in a span of 2 and a half years. Thereafter I was regular at the gym and managed to maintain my weight between 75 and 78 kgs. I would have continued that, but in the beginning of 2020 the corona virus pandemic blew away everything and now, going back to the gym seems like a distant dream.

With 6 months of lack of exercise (due to the lockdown) and the uncertainty of Covid-19 as well as gyms re-opening, the weight has again ballooned to 84 kgs . Today, I decided to put an end to that - an impulsive frantic browsing session online and I decided to walk towards the nearest cycle shop - Surendar Cycle Stores on Karve Road, in Pune. Long story short - I have picked up a Frog - Snow Leopard 29'T grey colour and intend to go back to cycling. Link. Along with the bicycle I have also purchased a Merida Helmet.

It's now too late to put pictures of the cycle but I will manage to do that over the course of the next weekend. I will also put up a review of the bicycle here. Till then, I will ride it in the coming week and note down my initial observations. Happy riding!

[jsrakkar]

Finally, after almost months of deliberation, countless hours of spending sleepless nights (quite literally), going through multiple discussions on Cyclops and some other cycling forums, videos from GCN, and multiple queries on the forum here (with some great advice from Doc (ebonho) and Ninjatalli specifically) - I was able to clinch a pre-loved Triban 520!



First observations:-

1. Coming from an MTB (even though with a crappy front suspension), the ride is rock hard!! I mean, in the last 3 days of riding around, I now know of joints/ridges in the road which I never earlier experienced!
   
2. The journey from a 5 speed bike to 18 speed one, that too with top class Sora groupset is a dream! The shifts are so smooth and I have so much usable range now!
   
3. Even though the handlebar has a good quality tape wound on it, it still is hard to hold and transfers all the vibrations from the road to the hands.

Changes required:-

1. The riding posture seems too bent down; the reach to pedals seems okay, but I think I need to go for a longer stem. I have a very small neck and in the current position, visibility of the road becomes a problem. What do you guys suggest?
   
2. Seat is extremely hard; can it be replaced for something with more padding? Almost all road bikes have very narrow and slim seats, is there a particular reason for that, apart from weight saving? Also, if I change to something larger, would there be any impact on riding efficiency?
   
3. The tyres are rated for a pressure between 87 - 120 PSI; currently, it is at around 100, can I lower it down a bit in the initial few weeks to keep it comfortable before I get used it's hard ride?

Once again, thanks to doc, ninjatalli and all other members who chimed with their valuable advice and helped go for it!

Regards,
Jaspreet Singh

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by jsrakkar

Changes required:-

1. The riding posture seems too bent down; the reach to pedals seems okay, but I think I need to go for a longer stem. I have a very small neck and in the current position, visibility of the road becomes a problem. What do you guys suggest?
   
2. Seat is extremely hard; can it be replaced for something with more padding? Almost all road bikes have very narrow and slim seats, is there a particular reason for that, apart from weight saving? Also, if I change to something larger, would there be any impact on riding efficiency?
   
3. The tyres are rated for a pressure between 87 - 120 PSI; currently, it is at around 100, can I lower it down a bit in the initial few weeks to keep it comfortable before I get used it's hard ride?

Congratulations! I still ride a 4+ year old Triban 500 and though the upgrade bug bites me once in a while I have so far resisted, because the bike has been tremendously reliable and comfortable albeit a tad slower (this last because I also run heavy Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the already heavy rims). Some pointers about your concerns -
1. Your handlebar seems to be a bit angled up and that will cause you discomfort in your palms along with straining your neck. Try moving it down one degree at a time. This will also allow your shoulders to fall on a natural position whereas right now there would be a backward stress. If you use cycling goggles try and find ones without, or with a very thin, upper rim.
2. Don't grip the handlebar too hard unless you are attacking a climb or something. Keep a loose but complete grip. Moreover keep your elbows and shoulders soft. You may need to watch this because sub-consciously we tend to tighten those joints. This will keep you safe with good control of the bike, while reducing all neck/shoulder pain and reducing transmission of jerks to your arms.
3. You (or rather your bums) will get used to the seat. Seats are slim for weight saving and efficient power transfer. Wear gel padded cycling in shorts if you think the family jewels are under undue stress. The decathlon ones are pretty good, but get their costliest variety because the cheaper ones give out very quickly.
4. Keep the air pressure over 100 unless you want to pick up too many punctures or suffer pinch punctures. Take it a bit easy of speed breakers and pot holes, and learn to shift your weight backward and forward just a wee bit to reduce the loading on each wheel when crossing an obstacle.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by jsrakkar

I was able to clinch a pre-loved Triban 520!

Wow! That is a seriously good bike. Congratulations!! One of my team mates (we have a small amateur team of middle aged randonneurs and racers called Still Training who gravitated together to get more serious and structured about training scientifically, and decided to band together as a team with a team jersey) did PBP (the 1200 km Paris Brest Paris) on the same bike. Pity it was discontinued.

All your queries are understandable coming from an MTB to a proper roadie.

And all will be answered and revealed and either discarded or fall into place with a minimum of a thousand kilometers in the saddle first.

This was the advice given to me by a roadie friend when I switched between my ACT to the CAAD.

Just get the saddle height correct first, fore aft on the rails with the knee over pedal approximation at 3 o clock, and keep the top of the handlebar and the drops parallel to the ground and not in the current weird facing the sky position.

And then ride 1000 km.

Cheers, Doc

P.S. Removing that side stand would add tremendous value to future photos on Team BHP and elsewhere. Lol

P.PS. Now that I am used to my CAAD race saddle, going back to the ACT one for weekend centuries started giving me sores. Till I swapped it out for a similar slim Triban Sport saddle that I had lying around unused. The pedaling improves tremendously. As does the stress on the sides of your nether region when going hard.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by ebonho

What do you use as a de-greaser for the drive train?

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Short answer - nothing in particular

Long ago, I was into a job that required me to carry out maintenance on different machinery / components. The cheaper, de-facto degreaser for us was kerosene. It used to work quite well. And when we ran out of it, we used diesel (kerosene was expensive there compared to diesel). It too worked but the parts used to have darker film on them.

I have used kerosene once in a while on my bicycle. It cleans the chain well but I wasn't able to get expected results with derailleur, especially the front one. Also, ones I used too much of it on chain and the same seeped in the rear wheel bearing, performing it's degreasing action. I had to go through the whole cassette removal and wheel bearing overhaul.

I have realized one thing, if you want to keep drive train clean, you should never use wet lube, ever. Even if you use it once, it starts accumulating gunk which you can never get rid of. Keep using dry lube. Whatever gunk is accumulated can be removed using water + vim wash.

Now another question to you guys, who are frequent century riders active on this thread. Off late I get severe headache after rides which are just about 50 km / couple of hrs. It lasts for the rest of the day. Internet says it is dehydration but after my last ride, after reaching home, I consumed many glasses of water still the headache started which lasted till evening. But yes, during the ride, it was only 1 bottle of 650 ml. What is your take? What could be the reason?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I have realized one thing, if you want to keep drive train clean, you should never use wet lube, ever. Even if you use it once, it starts accumulating gunk which you can never get rid of. Keep using dry lube. Whatever gunk is accumulated can be removed using water + vim wash.

Now another question to you guys, who are frequent century riders active on this thread. Off late I get severe headache after rides which are just about 50 km / couple of hrs. It lasts for the rest of the day. Internet says it is dehydration but after my last ride, after reaching home, I consumed many glasses of water still the headache started which lasted till evening. But yes, during the ride, it was only 1 bottle of 650 ml. What is your take? What could be the reason?

Thanks for your inputs. Yes kerosene is better, but it's not easily available anymore. Diesel is, as long as you go to the pump with a fuel safe container (Shell aluminium fuel bottles). Try Mucoff wer lube. It's sticky and waxy and thick, and the goop is minimal, in my experience to date. I love it

Dry lube is useless in the rains. And while it does keep things cleaner, it also lasts a lot lesser interval wise before you need to reapply. Liquid wax is better if you have tge inclination and time. The chain comes out sparkle clean after boiling it in hot water. I plan to try that soon.

Check your blood pressure. Are your rides fasted? In this weather (hot, humid) I go through a bottle an hour minimum. Drinking after you are dehydrated makes no difference. The thumb rule is drink before you are thirsty. Same for food (after 2 hours). And in a century ride if you are not relieving yourself once, you have not drunk enough. Your urine color is a good indicator of that. Pale straw colored is normal. Dark yellow means you're way behind.

Cheers, Doc

[graaja]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Now another question to you guys, who are frequent century riders active on this thread. Off late I get severe headache after rides which are just about 50 km / couple of hrs. It lasts for the rest of the day. Internet says it is dehydration but after my last ride, after reaching home, I consumed many glasses of water still the headache started which lasted till evening. But yes, during the ride, it was only 1 bottle of 650 ml. What is your take? What could be the reason?

650ml of water for a century ride is too small a hydration. You need at least 650 to 750ml of water per hour. Once the body gets dehydrated, then it is going to take some time to rehydrate even if you consume many glasses of water after the ride.

Also, dehydration is not just loss of water from the body, but also electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, potassium etc. The headache is more due to the loss of electrolytes than just water. So you also need to replenish electrolytes during your ride. You can either go with simple lime juice with salt or use something like Fast & Up Reload (a couple of tablets with a teaspoon of salt mixed in 650ml of water). Keep sipping this mixture occasionally during the ride.

With the above, you should be able to get rid of the headache.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Now another question to you guys, who are frequent century riders active on this thread. Off late I get severe headache after rides which are just about 50 km / couple of hrs. It lasts for the rest of the day. Internet says it is dehydration but after my last ride, after reaching home, I consumed many glasses of water still the headache started which lasted till evening. But yes, during the ride, it was only 1 bottle of 650 ml. What is your take? What could be the reason?

Join the club! Happens to me every single (~100 km) ride.

I'm still not sure what's the cause - I think it's one of (or a mix of) hydration, sleep and food. And it's only this year; never faced it in the past. I have been trying different "remedies" to get to the cause (and solution) - drink more water and coconuts while riding, trying to sleep after the ride and eat like a king during the later part of the day. One "remedy" left that I haven't tested yet is having a copious amount of a particular liquid post ride, one that is forbidden to talk about on this forum It's a pretty common post-ride-celebration-drink in the US so I'm definitely going to try it going forward. Maybe you want to join in too - more the sample set, the better

So far I haven't figured it out why this happens - the headache stays till I go of to sleep.