Slave

Anyone got any ideas on a trining program for a 3 hr 94.7 challenge. My first (on an older route starting at Kyalami was a 3:40). Last year's ride was a dismal 4:33 purey because I did not train enough. Please share some ideas on how I can get down to a three hour for next years challenge. Yeah, I know, I have to put in a lot more training, but I am doing that.Have done over 1500 km since beginning Aug.

Perhaps the answer lies here. Rest is a wonderful thing for tired bodies. I try to mix low and high intensity rides. Always start out slow and tune into my body. If it feels good, I push, if not, I take a low intensity ride. Your body needs recovery time so take it easy sometimes.

Hey Spidey, you saying I'm fat? Hog, get your coat and someone make some popcorn, this is gonna get interesting. (kidding dude). I have already lost about 8 kilos and have a little way to go yet, but I haven't felt this good in years. Normally when I start cycling I gain weight. (Muscle weighs more than fat, or so I'm told.) Problem is that the appetite buildup from cycling carries on even after I have quit for my usual winter "hybernation". Hear what you're saying about train, train, train. I even bought a ticket to get on the train to CT. (Kidding again). Seriously, gave 94.7 a miss this year in favour of training and I plan to go much later into winter this year before I have a "rest" and then start much earlier next year for a serious assualt on that magical 3 hr ride in the 94.7. Statistically, I only did 580 km last year icluding my 94.7. So far this year I have done 1500 odd. BIG increase and should help some. Average ride time is also somewhat faster. At the end of the day, it's not about the bike, but good reliable equipment certainly wont hurt and combined with some good training, who knows, maybe this old man can put together a three hour 94.7.

And that Kona, is the absolute truth, except when the bike budget interferes with the nail budget. Jap stufff can't be all that bad when you look at the popularity of jap cars and take into account their reliability. Value for money is the key.

Ride a roadie so not much in terms of what works to get ride a slimy, sticky mud, but dudes, (dudesses) that bike cost a bit so ya'all have to look after them. I use a polymer based polish on the frame to help keep it clean and never use soap on the bike. Will dimantle clusters etc to get them clean using diesel and paint brush. Actually have a bit of a dilemma here. Used that stuff they advertise on TV where the oke uses this polish and his Mazda turns into a Beemer. Was hoping my "pee-jou" would turn into a trek / cannondale / scott, heck, whatevva. The dilemma is, did not work on the caror the bike. Should I sue their ass for misleading advertising? Clean bearings and regrease regularly especially when there has been rain and there is dirt or mud on the road. Polish makes it easier to just wet-wipe the bike with a shammy. (And get it clean) without having to resort to hosepipes and soap. Soap degrades the lubrication inside the bearings.

Spiinekop. Make sure you bring enough popcorn for us all to share. I cannot dispute any of the tables here 'casue I just dunno. This is why I asked about Shimano and not a comparison between Shimano and Campag. A pleb like me can probably just about stretch it to 105 and that's where I'm gonna aim. Anything will be a big upgrade on my 18 year old Shimano components. All I want is a 3 hr 94.7. Winning it is just not within the realm of reality for me, no matter how much I delude myself. We get all specific about weight and grams her and there, but like I said, A few grams here and a few grams there, no biggie for me. My current bike is 12 kg and I am close to 100. I'll probably need 105 to take the weight.

Thanks Yang. Apreciate the input and the time you took to reply. @Jon0. PM might work for what you are after, but I think other hubbers would get some benefit out of a public answer. The idea of the forum (as I understand it) is that we exchange information for the benefit of many.

If everyone were forced to ride a bike first before being granted a car licence, there would be less accidents. I think. Dudes on four wheels should have twice the respect for dudes / dudesses on two wheels.

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Mudda. I weigh close to 100 kg. Half a kilo saved on groupsets is really not an issue to me. Plus my current bike is 12 kg. Not sure what the new frame will weigh in at' date=' but being a metal frame, I guesstimate maybe two kilos less. How much difference would half a kilo make to a race? I have the perception that campy is pricey stuff. Maybe I?m wrong. Given the popularity of Shimano, parts availability should not be much of an issue for some time to come. How does Campy compare in terms of ?value??

I use their kit and it is super comfy as well as looking good. Great stuff from Panda.

Thanks mate. Yeah. lotsa variables. Sounds like 105 will probably be the best value for me then. At my level / ability, Dura Ace is really over the top. 105 will last me long enough and will do a good enough job for me. I think the best sort of result I could look for is about a three hour 94.7 and that is probably going to be a major push for me. Loads a training and more dedication than I am currently giving the sport. Must say tho' that since I have learned a lot from this forum, I am enjoying my riding a lot more. Still much to learn and enjoy. Thanks once again for all the comments and opinions.

Felty, one could argue / debate that technology changes are far more rapid today than they have been before. This would render even the newest technology as outdated before the stuff got a chance to wear out, depending on the amount of riding done. Let's assume that I accept your argument as truth. What would be the difference in say KM that a 105 groupset would outlast the next level down? Are we talking huge or minimal? Then we can debate the value issue. Some stuff although cheaper, is usually nasty and doesn't last. You usually have to replace it very soon so it in fact costs more in the short-term. Out of what is available today, what would be the best in terms of value? Seriously, I think a Dura Ace groupset would outlast the rest of my natural cycling life unless I get to be the oldest finisher of the 94.7 in 30 years time.

Now the picture is emerging, thanks all. I understand it thus: On my 8 speed, top gear is 25t then decreases by two teeth for every gear. (23,21,19,17,15,13,11) On a ten speed, you would go from say 23 to 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 13, 12, 11) So, the steps between gears is less. Useful when one approaches the crest of a hill and it starts to level off, one can begin to change and accelerate sooner because there is not such a big diffs, between the gears. Then regards the goupsets, I understand that Dura Ace is the top of the range stuff for the serious ous. Ultegra would be next and 105 and lower would be suitable for someone of my talent and ability. Is there anything wrong with Sora?

Thanks Impact. Cadence is something that I never used to bother with. Just got into the smallest gear I could power and off I went. On the advcie of someone from this forum, I have tried to change that behaviour over the past two weeks and have found that spinning is not as bad as I thought it would be. I have been training in lighter gears for the past two weeks or so and strangely enough, have improved my average speeds doing this.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of certain hubbers for starting another thread where one already exists, (If such a thread exists, mods please feel free to move it / merge it / whatever), I would like to find out: What are the differences between the various groupsets? (not a debate about Shimano vs Campag. Saw that one) ie. why Dura Ace, 105, Ultegra etc. what is the diffs? What exactly is a groupset? Does it include brakes / brake calipers or is it just the chain, chain rings and deraileurs and cranks? 10 speed vs 8 speed? (I understand that you get 11 - 23, 12- 25. The 11 refers to 11 teeth on smallest cog and 23 to the relative number of teeth on the biggest gear cog. 10 speed will give two extra gear cogs over an 8 speed. The smallest gear is an 11t, right? So if you can get an 11 on an 8 speed, why does one need a ten speed?) (You have the same ultimate gearing with more gear cogs to work through getting there. Seems like a bit daft to me. translate as "eight is enough"). Can one cross polinate? In other words, can I have an Ultegra chain ring set with a 105 eight speed casette at the back? I need to know all this stuff as I am going to be getting a "new frame" soon and build up a roadie. The frame is (as far as I am able to work out a 2005 Trek 1500). My plan is to ge the frame and use it in the interim with my eight speed shimano at the back. Then I'll get a more zhoosh set of wheels later. One thing I'll probably not do is go 9 or 10 speed. Just can't find any logical answer to that one. Deep section wheels. Heard that the deepsection wheels are supposed to be more aero. I assume that is more efficiently aerodynamic. Let's get realistic here and look at it from a technical rather than asthetic point of view: The deep sections (some of them at least), look really cool. However, how much diffs can it really make? It's all about the legs right? From my limited experience, my "new" jalco drx 4000 definitely seem to have less rolling resistance that my old Rigidas, but this may also be because I pump my tyres much harder than I used to. The newer wheels have a different rim config to the rigidas in that they are (slightly) more of a deep section. I just can't get my mind around the fact that the difference is merely from the "new wheels" being more aero.

I recon they did. No freewheeling there. There were some pretty long downhills on the route, but nothing like all the up's. Man I swear they borrowed a few hills form KZN for da weekend. Stuff like Polly SHorts and Inchanga.

Sure are. The speed they were doing on something I cannot even balance on, was an eye opener. And then considering their gearing, I would say the are phenominal. Well done the unicyclists.

Agree with ya Mark. I was one of the sidewlak cyclists on Sunday and saw the Uni's come past me at Jan Smuts and St, Andrews (about 27 km into the race.) I was siutaby embarrassed not to be taking part and highly compressed at their efforts. The unicyclists were doing so well.

If you classify ending up on some car's back window / boot as a kid from not watching where I was going, once. No damage to either bike or car. Other than that, never.

"Pee-jou papnat" I mean Peugeot Rapport. 18 year old classic. 12 kg of steel. Trainer and racer. Components, eish angaaz. Shimano deraileur with 6 speed casette, Rigida wheelset. The rest, hey, who knows? Recently upgraded to Jalco DRX4000 wheels with 8 speed cluster, still using same chainrings and deraileurs.

It may not be a perfect system, but it sure beats the old days when I used to run. Some dude sat there with a clicker and clicked the number of runners entering the stadium (which was the usual sort of finishing point.) Not only was this dude adept at clicking, some other chap was furiosly writing down times of runners and then they used to sort of tie thes two things up and give you an approximately my best guestimate of what your time was on the "official results". More often than not, my official time was a few minutes slower than my own timed run. There are not too many altenatives and yes, I agree, they should have some kind of system in place to ensure that your result is accurate. If you had any doubt, you should have used the latest chip issue to you and gotten them to sort out the admin issues later. Having said thatthough, the mat should have recorded your chip and the time for that chip, regardless of how many you have. Obviously there is some kind of administrative proble with WT and the organisers should be made aware of sh!t like this. Not only did you work hard for your time during the race, but all that training man. What a monumental disaster from WT. The race organisers need to ay attention to stuff like this. Fininshing times are important to all of us.

Weight is a big issue, especially when you weigh 95 like me. It really pays big dividends to save a gram or two.

Keeping the SO company. nyaaahahahahaha.

Sounds like a normal day in downtown JHB.

I'll get my coat.