Comments for River City Cycle and Fitness

Comment on What is a really good road Bike cycle to go for more than 200 miles a week? by bluebottle1

bluebottle1 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:29:08 +0000

Agree with shades (previous poster) about the Giant OCR3. You really need to figure out what you have to spend before trying to make a decision. As another poster observed, 200 miles per week is quite a good distance, so you may want to invest in something good. However, are you really going to ride that much? Two hundred miles is very ambitious for someone who apparently doesn’t even own a road bike. Scaling back your mileage expectation will likely allow you to scale back your needs. If you are actually going 200 per week, carbon fiber or titanium is the way to go for your frame. Otherwise, an aluminum frame, though you may want a carbon fork to ease the road shock. There are lots of options out there but be realistic about what you’re really going to do before jumping in.

Comment on What is a really good road Bike cycle to go for more than 200 miles a week? by bulldog

bulldog — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:29:08 +0000

hey,

how much is ‘empty pockets’? i bought an 05 Specialized Tarmac in February last year. it was an old model amongst all the new bikes. It is full carbon and has a full ultegra Grouppo. The wheels were a little sloppy but did the job and all up cost me $2100 AUD. Bargain really.

I have since upgraded the wheels to Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL’s which make a big difference.

if you want to ride 200 miles a week, which is a fair distance, invest in a good bike. Full carbon to absorb all the road bumps for a start. You could skimp on the price but you only get what you pay for.

Get a good frame as a base – Specialized, Giant, Felt are all good and reasonably priced – and upgrade the parts as you get better.

Hope this helps and keep riding!

Comment on What is a really good road Bike cycle to go for more than 200 miles a week? by Shades9323

Shades9323 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:29:08 +0000

Specialized Allez,Giant OCR3, Trek 1000, Felt Z90 are all good bikes to look at around $600. You could also find a good used bike on craigslist or any other classifieds. Try roadbikereview.com. Lots of bikes for sale on there.

Comment on Should I purchase an '08 Allez Elite or '07 Allez Elite? First Road Bike? by sfr1224

sfr1224 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:54:17 +0000

Bike shops usually try to move out old inventory as new model bikes come in. If you can get a new discount on last year’s model you should go for it. The differences are not really worth talking about.

First thing you ought to buy is a set of clipless pedals and cycling shoes. There is nothing that will do more for your riding than good pedals and riding shoes.

With regard to upgrades, you should know that the most economic route is to buy a bike with all the features you need and want. It is much more expensive to buy a bike and upgrade components at retail prices than to buy a bike with all the gear you want. This is because a bike manufacturer buys stuff at volume prices and can pass the discounts along.

Hope this helps.

Comment on Should I purchase an '08 Allez Elite or '07 Allez Elite? First Road Bike? by joeschmoe

joeschmoe — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:54:17 +0000

Get the ‘07. The shifter/derailleur groups are identical on the two bikes. The only major difference I can see is that the ‘08 has just 2 chainrings (the middle chainring is deleted to save a little weight) whereas the ‘07 has all three, and the wheels and tires are a bit different.

Comment on Should I purchase an '08 Allez Elite or '07 Allez Elite? First Road Bike? by Tom

Tom — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:54:17 +0000

The 07 model for sure. Full 105 groupset, mavic wheels, FSA cranks, plus it looks sooo much nicer than that horrible red 2008 thing. I have mates who have both – The 07 is nicer – The 08 model has Tiagra shifters. Considering the shifters are one of the most expensive components on the bike, it’d be best to get 105 over Tiagra.

Go for a double, I really don’t think you” need 3 chainrings. If you do ride a lot of hills, you’ll simply get stronger and won’t use it anyway.

The basic Allez is still for good for such a drop in price compared to the elite, see if you could get the 07 model of that. The only difference is the 105 groupset over Tiagra, which really won’t mean anything to someone just starting out TBH

Comment on Im new to cycling ive recently bought a road bike and want to start training. I want a varied training? by b4_999

b4_999 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:52:03 +0000

Take the above posted advice. I’d add

2 -3 20 milers a week (one a hills workout)

Go long on the weekend.

Rest Monday

Comment on Im new to cycling ive recently bought a road bike and want to start training. I want a varied training? by intrepidfae

intrepidfae — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:52:03 +0000

Road biking with a rapid cadence (85 – 90 rpm) will not build your legs but will give them definition. I went to the public library and found a dozen different "how to train for cycling" books that contradicted each other. Here is what I ended up doing:

1. Daily rides, as long as possible, but low intensity. When you finish a ride, you should feel like you could do that ride over again. Do this for 2 months or so to build your aerobic base.
2. Start putting some intervals into your daily rides. Start off at your regular pace and then speed up significantly for a few minutes. Then go back down to your regular pace. Do this 4 -5 time per ride.
3. Now, take on some hills. Use the downhills and flats between hills to recover.

Don’t forget to warm up and cool down.

HTH you to get started.

Comment on Im new to cycling ive recently bought a road bike and want to start training. I want a varied training? by joebanks2020

joebanks2020 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:52:03 +0000

This is easy. Get your heart rate up high (80% of max) for as long as you can stand it and spin, spin, spin. Don’t ever mash: shift to a lower gear and spin. Hills, flats…doesn’t matter, just spin. And in case I didn’t mention it before: spin.

Distance is the key factor. Staying on the bike long enough to burn fat reserves builds definition and makes for true lasting weight loss. Remember: spinning builds lean muscle (mashing builds bulk).

Performance’s web site has a good training section and Bicycling magazine devotes about half its pages to training in the spring issues.

Comment on Cycling optics (glasses or sunglasses)? by two wheeler =D

two wheeler =D — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:43:49 +0000

specialized has some very very good glasses, they have a anti reflection/scraping, and self light ajustable, so it darkens when theres more light, and lightens when the sun isnt shining.