The cycling thread

[Jon Crofts]

Usually from my local bike shop, I get at least a 15% discount as a regular which makes it as cheap as online but with the benefit of real people, years of knowledge and an ex pro team mechanic.  The only online retailer I have used recently is Merlin Cycles for a pair of Fizik road shoes which were incredibly cheap and the LBS couldnt match them.

[JD]

Usually from my local bike shop, I get at least a 15% discount as a regular which makes it as cheap as online but with the benefit of real people, years of knowledge and an ex pro team mechanic.  The only online retailer I have used recently is Merlin Cycles for a pair of Fizik road shoes which were incredibly cheap and the LBS couldnt match them.

Totally agree Jon, the smaller specialist bike shops offer great advice and mechanics. I take my bikes (and buy them) from a shop called The Hub here in Christchurch. They are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about cycling.

[Jon Crofts]

That wheelset I bought.  It's been back at the LBS for the last 5 days as there are a few loose objects rattilng around in the rim, for arguably one of the worlds largest wheel suppliers (Mavic) they have the shittest customer service I think I've come across in the world of cycling.

[manic-road]

I see that Sir Dave Brailsford has quit as head of British cycling, I thought he did a superb job.

[N'Rexy]

Indeed. There are storm clouds over Sky however. Some of them look bad. Two new tests are being rolled out by the UCI. One for an oral drug called Aicar, the other for a gas administered drug which is nicknamed xenon. Add that to henao and tiernan locke getting popped for blood values and all the withdrawals of cyclists connected to British Cycling (including non Sky riders) this season and people are starting to smell a few rats. I hope not but his move looks like part of this...

They may have been playing hard with the rules and some stuff might have got out of hand.

[Eckybloke]

Indeed. There are storm clouds over Sky however. Some of them look bad. Two new tests are being rolled out by the UCI. One for an oral drug called Aicar, the other for a gas administered drug which is nicknamed xenon. Add that to henao and tiernan locke getting popped for blood values and all the withdrawals of cyclists connected to British Cycling (including non Sky riders) this season and people are starting to smell a few rats. I hope not but his move looks like part of this...

They may have been playing hard with the rules and some stuff might have got out of hand.

Hope that's not the case but is the xenon you mention not actually just xenon the gas?  There were reports after the Winter Olympics that the Russians were alleged to be using it and because it wasn't explicitly listed as banned may have allegedly said it wasn't doping.

[N'Rexy]

Yes, it's xenon gas. Its not banned but it's not ethical per se if you look at the Sky teams ethics then it's questionable.

Garmin have tried it too.

It's not really very good if they say no needles then find a gas to circumvent that...

The massive overuse of tramadol in bottles is the big thing now. Lots of riders are getting vast amounts mixed into bottles for 'finish flasks'. It numbs the pain but means half of them are off their tits on opiates. Hence the number of crashes this year so far.

It's on the UCI watch list and will be banned soon I would think. I have had 4 nurofen before a race once which is technically doping but I am fat and crap and finished outside the top 50 in a regional cyclocross race. And I had a headache which was why I did it!

[Jon Crofts]

Pain?

[Eckybloke]

So any thoughts on who owned the mysterious vial found at Paris-Roubaix? 

Approximately midway through the race between a couple of cobbled sections.  Were there that many crashes it can't be figured out?

[Dave Cooper please]

I doubt they are anything sinister, it's not exactly hard to identify pills, you can do it on the internet, if they were illegal it would have come out by now. Probably painkillers or similar.

You seem very cynical Eckybloke?

[Eckybloke]

I doubt they are anything sinister, it's not exactly hard to identify pills, you can do it on the internet, if they were illegal it would have come out by now. Probably painkillers or similar.

You seem very cynical Eckybloke?

Nah, I'm in the mood of a gossip rather than cynical but given N'Rexy's comments earlier I hope it isn't a British cyclist under the slightest suspicion. 

I've only recently-ish starting following cycling mostly in part due to the various British successes so hope it's nothing serious.

[N'Rexy]

The vial has gone to UK anti-doping. People carried pills in races years ago (well, 10 or so) I would guess that it's a liquid opiate like tramadol to drink once you get too knackered.

Question for John. How much doping is there in amateur tri? I know lots of lads who are good on the road and in cyclo cross and they reckon there is a decent amount of low level doping going on in the UK from weekend warriors.

[Jon Crofts]

The vial has gone to UK anti-doping. People carried pills in races years ago (well, 10 or so) I would guess that it's a liquid opiate like tramadol to drink once you get too knackered.

Question for John. How much doping is there in amateur tri? I know lots of lads who are good on the road and in cyclo cross and they reckon there is a decent amount of low level doping going on in the UK from weekend warriors.

Interesting one.  I saw a report on a triathlon forum earlier this year of an Ironman branded race in Austria where they have evidence that over 50% of age grouper athletes were doping in some way or other.  Now of course you'll probably find that 99.9% of them did it completely unintentionally by eating or drinking the wrong thing or by taking the wrong medication or supplement.

I've done it, if I'd been tested after Ironman Wales I'd have failed the dope test because as soon as I got off the bike I started taking Diocalm as a precaution (try eating gels, energy bars, energy drinks & bananas for 7 hours) and I also took Iboprufen as a precaution for my knees which were already sore before I started the marathon.  I wasn't going to make a Kona slot in my age group so I'm comfortable with taking what I need to get me through a long hard day.  This year will probably be closer but still a stretch, I could make a roll down slot for Kona if I'm very lucky, 2015 is my Kona target, so I'd need to be clean as I also move up an age group to the proper old bastards.

So I'd say, long distance athletes, yes we do it, mostly inadvertently, do we gain a performance advantage by being off our tits?  No.

[garyshawsknee]

Hello Peeps, i'm looking to replace my mountain bike as i'm only using it on the road, and would prefer something smoother and quicker. I'm thinking about a Cyclocross, does anyone have any ideas for preferably a disc brake one in the £ 750 mark ? And has anyone done the 'Cycle to work scheme ' ? Is it easy to sort out ?

 Thanks folks, UTV,

[Jon Crofts]

There's actually quite a range available for that sort of money.  Claud Butler Alto, Norco Threshold & Specialized Tricross to name a few.  For that sort of money there will always be compromises, groupset, wheelset and finishing kits will all be the cheapest on the market to hit that pricepoint, worth bearing in mind if you use it as a commuter all year or indeed off road or even on the road through the winter, bearings in wheelsets will eat themselves quickly if not regularly maintained as I bet they wont be sealed units, BBs will also be feeble affairs most likely and again likely to wear quickly if using every day in all weathers.