[goandude]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Burn the memory foam seat cover (or gift it to someone who really annoys you).

Buy decent cycling tights. With a pad.
Make sure you pace yourself well

Drink water regularly.

Eat on the bike. Dates. Chiki. Dry fruits. Peanuts. Small peanut butter or jam sandwich bite sized cubes. Boiled potatoes in their skin with a dash of salt. Boiled eggs. Sweet potato.

Don't try anything new on the BRM day.

100 and 150 km practice rides are enough to do a 200.

A 5-10 min break every 2 hours or 40-50 km to refill your bottles, stretch, eat, pee, is ok. Control your off saddle time. It kills your total elapsed time, which is the holy grail of randonneuring (not moving average).

Cheers, Doc

Originally Posted by sanjbmw2001

Hello There,

I wouldn't recommend any type of covering on the seat as it is not stable and will move while pedalling, this can be discomforting and cause chaffing.

1) Option A is the way to go, get a good couple of pairs on cycling shorts
2) Option B also works provided you have a leather/touring saddle and your fanny gets used to it. Here people swear by Brooks saddle or similar ones from Selle and other brand
3) Ratio of stops is upto your fitness rather than cold maths to calculate. My suggestion is to pace yourself, if you know you are going for long distance, then pacing yourself is the best way and importantly hydrating yourself, 'Take it Easy' policy works well for endurance rides.

Hope this helps.

Thanks to both of you for your valuable suggestions. This was just the type of input I was looking for. I will do another 100+ before the BRM in addition to the regular 70/80 kms, to get familiar with the padded shorts.

[papr23]

Originally Posted by goandude

Went for a 150 km ride on Sunday in preparation for a 200 Km Brevet in December. I did it in 8:14 total riding time with 7:00 on the saddle. But I think stretched myself too much, in that my backside was very painful in last 50 kms and I got thigh cramps in the last 5 kms. So I have a few questions for the more experienced riders here...

I have been using a memory foam seat cover for my rides along with non padded shorts and it was serving me very well till now. Reading about this on the net gave me the option of (a) padded shorts with no seat cover and (b) no padded shorts and no padded seat cover wherein your backside gets used to the seat.

Secondly, what should be the ratio of stops to riding? My daily average riding speed is about 22 to 25 kmph depending on terrain.

PS. I regularly ride 30 to 50 kms on alternate weekdays and 70 to 80 kms on weekends, without any issues.

I too would suggest to get rid of the seat cover and get yourself a padded cycling short. More than saddle sore, they are good at preventing thigh chafing! I just won't ride for more than 30mins without a cycling short. You can start with Decathlon and if you are not satisfied, there are multiple online stores these days.
Wearing a cycling short will be super awkward initially. You need to wear it without any innerwear and your little goandude pointing at 12 o' clock position
If this is too awkward, wear a short on top of the cycling short.
As you are a beginner, don't be so concerned about the quality of shorts or the saddle. No matter what brand you get, it still boils down to the no. of hours that you put on the saddle per day. The more you ride, the better your bums will be.
Regarding rest, as they say, "Drink before you are thirsty, eat before you are hungry and rest before you are tired"

[sjcherian]

Originally Posted by papr23

I too would suggest to get rid of the seat cover and get yourself a padded cycling short. More than saddle sore, they are good at preventing thigh chafing! I just won't ride for more than 30mins without a cycling short. You can start with Decathlon and if you are not satisfied, there are multiple online stores these days.
Wearing a cycling short will be super awkward initially. You need to wear it without any innerwear and your little goandude pointing at 12 o' clock position
If this is too awkward, wear a short on top of the cycling short.
As you are a beginner, don't be so concerned about the quality of shorts or the saddle. No matter what brand you get, it still boils down to the no. of hours that you put on the saddle per day. The more you ride, the better your bums will be.
Regarding rest, as they say, "Drink before you are thirsty, eat before you are hungry and rest before you are tired"

To add to this - at Decathlon there are multiple types of padded shorts at many price ranges. Get the BTWIN one that costs around Rs 2500. This is many times better than the ones available at 699/799 (the padding is better). Also ones that have a rubbery elastic at the leg openings (dont know what they are called) feel irritating on longer rides - the ones without the rubbery elastic are more comfortable on longer rides. The Rockrider ones marked as inner wear can be worn with shorts outside but have the elastic leg openings and are better suited for shorter rides (<2 hours).

[Mi10]

Originally Posted by goandude

Went for a 150 km ride on Sunday in preparation for a 200 Km Brevet in December. I did it in 8:14 total riding time with 7:00 on the saddle. But I think stretched myself too much, in that my backside was very painful in last 50 kms and I got thigh cramps in the last 5 kms. So I have a few questions for the more experienced riders here...

I have been using a memory foam seat cover for my rides along with non padded shorts and it was serving me very well till now. Reading about this on the net gave me the option of (a) padded shorts with no seat cover and (b) no padded shorts and no padded seat cover wherein your backside gets used to the seat.

Secondly, what should be the ratio of stops to riding? My daily average riding speed is about 22 to 25 kmph depending on terrain.

PS. I regularly ride 30 to 50 kms on alternate weekdays and 70 to 80 kms on weekends, without any issues.

Apart from the good guidance the above posts convey, I would like to touch upon one specific point - Saddle Time.

Shift your focus from Distance coverage to time spent on Saddle. For example instead of a 50 km or 80 km or 100 km ride , go for 3 hr , 4 hr and 5 hr rides. In those rides try to take Minimal breaks. This way you are training you bum (Glutes / Sit bone / Hams) for long haul . Yes distance rides might also give you the same training but a shift in perspective will give you a mental boost to cover endurance events. A focus on time based training would also give you an upper hand when it comes to pacing the distance .
Most endurance sports rely on linear progression of speed over peaky or adrenaline forced type of riding . Sustenance in a comfortable speed with minimal oscillations is the key .

All the very best for your brevet

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by ebonho

There are grades. Don't buy the cheap multicoloured "gel pad" AliExpress type tights.

Doc, which bib shorts do you recommend? I have used decathlon ones as well as from AliExpress. Rupee for rupee, the AliExpress ones fared better and lasted longer too!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Doc, which bib shorts do you recommend? I have used decathlon ones as well as from AliExpress. Rupee for rupee, the AliExpress ones fared better and lasted longer too!

Sorry I should have clarified. I did not mean all AliExpress ones were bad. But the typical pads that come in different colour zones, with various fancy gel grades advertised, those really don't do well per close buddies who have used them (noob mistake of wearing them straight on a brevet without even a century on them .... They feel great on 1-2 hour rides btw).

I bought a full length pair last year for winter. With an all red gel pad. That one is super. I wish I had bought 2-3 instead. They are so good. Over 4+ hours easy. And I bought them for 400 bucks!

In Decathlon I have tried the expensive 2500 buck blue gel pad ones. And I have tried both versions of the 1500 buck red foam pad ones ....

I must say that to my backside the red foam pads fit better, stay in place longer, and give me next to no saddlesores if worn properly. The trick as all cyclists will learn is to first pull the legs up each thigh, thus releasing tension, and only then pull the waist properly all the way up, making sure with one hand to pack the pad firmly against yourself all around. Its the slight gaps between pad and skin that eventually with sweat start causing friction rubs and eventually sores.

Also I've discovered this new Indian made saddlesore cream that's really brilliant and much cheaper than saddle butter. One sachet lasts me easily two plus weeks of daily trainer sessions and weekend centuries.

https://www.cyclop.in/products/skin-...g-cream-300-ml

Cheers, Doc

[goandude]

Originally Posted by Mi10

Apart from the good guidance the above posts convey, I would like to touch upon one specific point - Saddle Time.

Shift your focus from Distance coverage to time spent on Saddle. For example instead of a 50 km or 80 km or 100 km ride , go for 3 hr , 4 hr and 5 hr rides. In those rides try to take Minimal breaks. This way you are training you bum (Glutes / Sit bone / Hams) for long

All the very best for your brevet

Very good point, I must say. Yes, time instead of kms, will be what matters most at the end of the day.

[ebonho]

Damn!

The full length tights I picked up from AliExpress for around 400 bucks (discounted pair with white graphics) is now showing as 1600 bucks!!!

Prices on AliExpress off late are no longer steals like before, and free shipping has all but disappeared. Not to mention many having absurd 3 and 4000 bucks shipping for 500 bucks purchases.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

Ozone gave me the contact in Bangalore for the hanger which is bent. He said he also is the main distributor for bottom brackets. The hanger did not work out (Israeli made CNC billet one for 3500 ... too steep for something that costs around £16 in the UK for an original Cannondale spare) but the BB did. Keeping it as a spare coz my size is very rare and not available with anyone. No one else had the 68x103 24T, JIS, English threaded square taper BB that comes OE on my CAAD8 (FSA made). So am happy to get a top japla company.👍 It's the same brand Cannondale uses as OE for their headsets (my bike has a Tangeseiki headset).

A very Happy Diwali to everyone!





Cheers, Doc

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Do we even get full size mudguards for hybrids? I dont think those fancy/ half size mudguards are effective.

I got one. SKS Is the manufacturer. Jury are based in Germany. They make r4 or 5 series mudguards - Velo, Bluemels Longboard, and Raceboard or Raceboard (something like that.

Bluemels are plastic with aluminium. Strips embedded, and are very light weight (around 600 gm) raceboard are still lighter.

Thre are ither models like beavertail, stingray, etc which may not interest you.

Ozone Ventures are their distributors for India. They have an outdated site, so find their contact details from SKS-Germany website to find a retail dealer near you. Or some online cycle retailers too have them. I got it online from Cycle Botique In Bangalore. You can try Ubuy.In for imports too, but I was not keen due to lack of experience with them.

Sizing depends on tyre circumference AND tyre width. And there is a choice of colours too - black, black matt, silver, etc.

You'll find photos and reviews on youtube for all the models.

Be prepared for a wide search for fasteners (nuts and bolts) if what comes with the package do not fit your frame. In my case, the Riverside 100 accepted just one bolt - the one on the chainstay of the rear mudguard.

You can also get steel mudguards from a local store for a couple of hundreds. Hope you noticed that I spent nearly half the price of the bike on the mudguard alone.

These look and feel flimsy, out of box, but are sturdy once fitted. For some frames, the 3 or 4 mm stays may have to be cut, so make sure you have the right tools. And o e YouTube shows a roadside mechanic removing the wheels and gears for fitting this. I did not have to. With right tools,and a repair stand, assembly should take less than 30 minutes DIY. ..I took about 8 man-hours spread over 5 days and to source the nuts and bolts (still did not get stainless steel ones in smaller sizes - in 1 inch and 3/4 inch length, (one size less than 3/16 inches in diameter.).


Btw, Decathlon has full sized mudguards with fenders for riverside 500 and similar bikes but not for the lesser 100 and 120. The showroom too says they are not compatible. Decathlon's "customer happiness" tean pointed me to the 700C mudguards, instead of the 24" - 28" ones. But both have poor reviews in india.

After all, mud, dirt and water are not the only things you'll find on our roads.

[Axe77]

Mastermind Bicycles has now opened its latest outlet in Pune as well (on Baner Road above the Jawa / Royal Enfield Showroom).

For serious cyclists / triathletes, this place is a must visit if you're looking for a high end bicycle or even for general cycling gear / triathlon gear / nutrition etc. I have been purchasing triathlon and cycling related gear for some time now. Great place to service and maintain your high end bikes too.

Those of you who were at Goa Ironman might recall them as the official partners to help with bike setup etc for athletes.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Stumbled across this. Thought it will be helpful.

https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure

[Lambydude]

Thanks to work from anywhere due to Covid, I've been working from my hometown in north Kerala for the past 6 months. In September I made a quick dash to Bangalore to pick up some stuff and brought along my bike. It turned out to be the best decision as I started biking again and doing 25km rides everyday.

Attached pic is my Scott Aspect at Kappad beach. Beach looks so serene and calm, oblivious to the fact that it is at this place global imperialism began when Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

and recently picked up a ST520 just for fun. I am now planning a Manali-Let myself next year on that, after I realised just how much fun it is. Light frame, great ergos, thumb shifters, discs, lockout suspension and good rolling wheels at a super price point. Do take a look at that.

I am considering a used RR520. How much is a good price for a piece which seems to be used as a show-off maybe, a couple of hundred km? I'm asking because the reviews on Decathlon site are very negative.

TIA.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

I am considering a used RR520. How much is a good price for a piece which seems to be used as a show-off maybe, a couple of hundred km? I'm asking because the reviews on Decathlon site are very negative.

TIA.

Its a seller's market right now and absurd rates are being quoted.

Wait for next year. Most of these chaddi-banyan drying bikes will come on to OLX. And it will be a buyer's market.

Already I am seeing a number of indoor trainers coming on to the market now that the lockdowns are over and covid fatigue has set in big time.

The cycles will soon follow.

Cheers, Doc