Rode A Sports Bike

I like internal routing - something for one of the
next bikes on my list

Recently rode a friend's sports bike; it's a road bike which typically would have drop handlebars but he doesn't like them so it's got flat ones.

He recently completed a 63 mile local charity ride, finishing in 4 hours which doesn't sound particularly difficult, but the route was deliberately chosen to include steep hills, so it was.

I'm told it's entry level, so expensive (£1000 or so) overall but quite cheap compared to the higher level ones which will be £2000+. You can find ones at Evans costing £9000.

You notice how fast you can go and how little effort it takes to do it - meant to go over 20mph all the time as opposed to only downhill like on my own bikes. I also noticed the difference in fitness: he rode my Kettler Spirit which must weigh twice as much but was able to whizz way ahead of me up hills...

It has derailleur gears and the shifters may take a bit of getting used to if you are used to just clicking once using internal hubgears, like me. The left shifter is supposed to stay in 2nd unless you're going over 25mph and then you shift those on the right according to the speed you're going, as usual. You also have to get going before you can change gear - like all derailleurs. This was easy to forget but I got used to riding the bike overall a lot faster than I thought I would.

It has a carbon fibre frame and is very light (as you would expect). This means all the tubes are nicely blended together instead of having weldy bits. I suspect less than 10kg, but not sure how much under. Michael didn't know either not having weighed it. I knew it weighed a lot less than my 22.5kg Gazelle and so did he...

It has these pedals which are like a shoe so you cannot cycle in Birkenstocks like I do in warm weather. Michael doesn't like cleats though, a lot don't apparently.

Would I buy one? Well, short answer is no as, even after 4-5 years of cycling, sports riding for which a bike like this is best suited still holds no interest for me, but this could change. Still enjoyed riding it. Then again, a fast commuter bike which will have some features in common with this one - eg the weight and internal routing is on my shopping list with drop handlebars and maybe cleats. Might even pay attention to cadence...

New Stuff July Part 2

Yes, it's August but I bought these in July. Been buying quite a few new accessories lately, so to keep the blogposts shorter, I've split them out. Here I'm covering an allen key set, some dusters and some chain lubricant.

Even though I got some good made in Germany ones with my Kettler bikes, I thought it was about time I got an allen key set - the ones with long handles for leverage and a "ball" on the end (for hard to reach places). Kept together with a plastic thing and better for home use as they're easier to use than the shorter foldup ones for use when out riding. £5.24 from Evans Cycles, very reasonable, I thought. There are far more expensive and elaborate ones available eg Park Tool, but I thought these would more than suffice in the meantime. Quite like that neat plastic thing for holding them too.

Bought 3 microfibre dusters from one of these pound/99p stores - cannot quite remember. Thought they might come in useful for wiping the bikeframes especially of the Gazelle in this warm weather we're having, making the frame dusty. Given that warm weather and the UK don't usually go in hand, probably won't be using them much...

And lastly, but not leastly, I bought some chain lubricant. Am going to try and follow the advice of the Total Bike Maintenance book and keep my bike chains nice and clean in a bid to keep the drivetrain in good order - something I neglected at first on my first Kettler. This Epic Ride lubricant is described on the bottle as an "all conditions" lubricant providing "long haul durability without the excessive grime build-up common with conventional wet-style lubricants". You're supposed to put lots of it on and then wipe the excess off. Chains are supposed to just have enough lube - too much on the outside attracts dirt etc which can damage the chain as it acts as a grinding paste.

You have been warned.