JayLow

Lots of calculation errors in there but yes, for racing lighter would be better, all other factors being equal. However the effect is very very small: in the example it's 4cm/s or 2.4m/min for a 3.3kg difference in weight. My point is that the gains in performance with going lighter are not commensurate with the cost to reduce weight (for the vast majority) of riders.

Don't worry about it!

It's more like 25 seconds (the fraction is a decimal, not mm:ss). Or you will need to pedal about 3% harder to keep up. Better yet: spend R30k and save the 3kg of bike weight!

Haha this is such a funny picture! Yep, I can definitely stand to lose about 5kg - less food and less expensive gear means that this would also be great for my wallet! And the definition of fun also varies - just like with climbing speed. As you say many features determine fun and weight is just one of them! My previous 100mm XC bike was lighter than my current 120mm ripper, but the ripper is more fun because it has more progressive geometry, and it's less "lendelam" because it's newer! absolutely agree! Our Saffa culture is big on status symbols (just look at all the luxury SUVs on the road) and a lightweight R150k Trek Supercaliber ridden by a round ballie radiates that baller message... Louder for the people in the back! Looking forward to some dissenting voices, we have a nice echo chamber going at the moment...

I recently went through the process of upgrading my mountain bike and I gained quite a few new perspectives around the "bike weight" obsession. I strongly desired a lightweight (<12kg) dual suspension XC bike, not an easy (read "cheap") feat when you run an XL frame, but in the end decided on a slightly heavier but better specced Titan Cypher 120mm Carbon frame with dropper and heavy duty Lyne wheels. When I saw the calcs of the impact of a few kilograms extra weight on a climb, I felt vindicated in going heavier - I will almost certainly make up the climbing time losses with more confident descending - especially in the way I ride: Source There are so many factors at play when determining how fast you will climb, but on the level I play, bike weight really does not have to be the be-all and end-all. So, all this just to say, if you are moderately fit, and ride for fun, I don't think it's worth it to spend tens of thousands of Ronds to shave of a few tens of seconds of your climbing time... Keen to hear the the thoughts of the other hubbers...

I have ridden Lourensford as a guest of a member and also as part of W2W. I agree that the R250 is not commensurate with what you can get for a quarter of the price in Banhoek, Botmas, GSpot, Jonkershoek, Bottelary, Plaisir, Boschendal etc. Lourensford has nice trails, but R250 for a (half)day is wild.

Everywhere you look you see a new atrocity. There are no redeeming features on this one, I'm afraid

Ah thanks and sorry! Hope you find yours soon

Today I joined the Gravel bike tribe thanks to a fellow Hubber - excited to see where the dust takes me

Might as well live a life worth living - good work Lammie and spouse!!

This topic is super interesting, I am learning a lot! Definitely going to experiment with more eating when doing hard efforts. Also want to train my fat burning energy system to be ready for the longer lasting efforts (MAF!). t still boggles my mind that the body's carb based energy store is about 2000 cal (enough for 2-3 hours), but the fat based energy store is in excess of 10x that number, which is why humans are the greatest endurance athletes out of all the mammals. (note these numbers are order of magnitude estimates to illustrate a point, not exact numbers) Genuinely interested: Are you sure about the 360kJ of work requiring 360 cal? What about the relationship of 4.184 kJ per Cal? The other complication is just because a food has x amount of kJ of energy in it, does not mean that your body will use all of it for energy. This is why calorie counting is so hit and miss for weight loss.

Try https://bicyclecouriers.co.za, they work with a nationwide network of bike shops

Tuis interview with the absolute unit of a Matt Beers not only covers stunning ftp numbers, but also the struggles of the larger riders to feed (and hydrate): Felt vindicated when he expressed how challenging it is for larger riders to maintain themselves during a long, high intensity effort.

That consumption rate feels super high. I believe it but man, I can't imagine consuming that much. I did a couple of IM70.3s (~6 hour time, so nothing too fast), and my feeding protocol was 1 unit every 45 min (I weigh 95kg). Where 1 unit is about 100cal, equating to one farbar, or one bottle of sports drink. That never caused me to bonk. When I ate more, or substituted some water for sports drink, that's when the GI distress happened. Maybe insufficient carbs is the reason why my performance is top 20% at best? (apart from training volume, because I struggle to achieve more than 8 hours per week consistently)

Conventional male. Age 34.9 Height 192cm Weight 96kg (was 92kg for a decade and then mysteriously jumped to 96kg this year) Size 11.5 stompers 50cm femur Size XL Titan Cypher 120 Size 61 Fuji Roubaix Overeater, underdrinker.

Me too, please...

I tried IndieVelo out for the first time yesterday (Cape of storms), and it's almost indistinguishable from Zwift. Mainly less features and gamification, but perfectly viable as a free virtual training app. To me, it's the perfect solution - I cycle indoors less than 20x per year so I am too cheap to pay R300 a month for a subscription (on top of gym fees, bike maintenance, events, nutrition, permits, kit, etc, etc)

Took my newly acquired (previously loved) Cypher 120 Carbon Expert for a jaunt in the Bottelary Hills this morning. Feels good to finally join the Titan, carbon, and progressive geometry clubs in one fell swoop! Will need to make some setup tweaks, but I do feel I struck pay dirt on this one!

Interesting topic! Struggling to find unbiased sources for this, took a couple of minutes to get this one from Time: https://time.com/5581326/plastic-particles-in-bottled-water/ Highlights Microplastics are everywhere Causal link between (almost all consumer) plastics and negative health effects not established. There's enough to worry about, I am not going to put plastic onto that list.

There seems to be no strong evidence that suggests a causal relationship between whey protein and acne. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-whey-protein-cause-acne#whey-protein-acne

This reminds of when I learned that milk is a great alternative to sports drinks for endurance hydration. Would not be lekker if the camelbak became sour on a hot day in the mountains...

A quick google search shows that this is a myth, it drops in the short term but normalises again in the long term. The levels in your body will be lower (because you are not supplementing), but your body will not stop making it.

Anyone had some experience at pharmacies that they want to share?

Yea I use a combo of c/g and purity, I prefer higher purity because I want to avoid "fillers" but I will try this PSN for sure. Will set aside principles for price.

Woah PSN is hella cheap! Quite low purity at 67% for the whey, but at 25c/g it's almost half the cost of my current preferred brand, so I can 'stomache' the 10% of carb filler they have in there (probably to make it taste better)...