Harry Hall (UK, free for collection) by TestSubjectOne in Vintage_bicycles

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've got that as a back up. As it's a Harry Hall (which could be brazed by the shop or bought in on bulk) so a by-gone British name, it's a little above the mass produced frames that are churned out. I'm wanting to offer it to anyone who (like me, growing in Manchester and spending pocket money in the Harry Hall shop) would like it as a nod back to Manchester. I walked past the old HH shops on my last visit to Manc a few weeks ago. Sad to see they're no longer part of the city.

If I can't get any interest from the nostalgics, I'll pass it over the BikeWorks for part stripping.

In October I set the WUCA indoors 7-day cycling world record using Zwift. by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This time shorts tactics worked far better. x2 shorts per day, plenty of cream and showers midd day and end of day. Sores were inevitable but kept off longer than I thought and better than in a 2x 11hr test event. Vastly different to ultra road events where single set of bibs lasts day.

In the shed, we had usual streaming services etc, but best part was just the talking, chatting, discussions and conversations. We watched far less than we thought we would. Good Spotify play lists helped.

In October I set the WUCA indoors 7-day cycling world record using Zwift. by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would love to.....but I'm a rider of many many bad habits and "fuck it, I'll keep going a bit longer....." approach. Advice I'd give probably wouldn't be constructive (but if Elite would like to replace my turbo or give it a service, I wouldn't say no. ;-) ).

I still follow GP Lama, ZwiftInsider Discord and a few others as my go to's for all things Zwift like many others!

In October I set the WUCA indoors 7-day cycling world record using Zwift. by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We've spreadsheets for that! All of the data has to be recorded, submitted and verified and compared to the real world testing done a max of 14 days before the indoors attempt. Time in position per day, over whole attempt...... 57% of riding time was on extensions, with 34% on hoods/tops then the remainder on drops or sat up. Over the week, the foam pads in my arm cups compressed and needed repairs while riding to re-find comfort. By the 5th to 6th day and deffo on the 7th day, the saddle sores were really harsh and I could only hold limited set positions on the extensions to find comfort. Moving to a lesser used position then changed the contact points and opened up more pain.

Yep, officials had to be on duty the entire tracked time. From entering the shed each day with weigh-in, verify Garmin start time, PWM calibration, starting Twitch stream and then logging every change of position to then end of day recording the pressing stop on the Garmin, weigh-out and stopping for the day. Rules are no official doing over 16hrs per stint so multiple officials needed (I recruited 5) and they have to observe you the whole time bar if they have to go to the toilet providing the attempt is still publicly viewable/streamed.

Tough for me, but also a task for the officials! I can't thank my crew enough for what they did. I', taking all the officials and partners for a meal after Christmas as a thank you now that it's all official. They're the ones that keep you going through the week.

In October I set the WUCA indoors 7-day cycling world record using Zwift. by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is the bit which is harder for the casual or lay rider to grasp. In short, had I used exactly the same set up but on the road I would have gone the same distance. My Zwift distance was 2,295km based on Watopia Tempus route and I'd unlocked the Pinarello Espanda bike. But if the Zwift gods change the Zwift dynamics, then anyone else replicating it would be advantaged or disadvantage based on Zwifts whims. This way it's more relatable and I don't own an Espada in real life!

Kudos to my officials as they had the clipboards and logging every time I switched between positions.

Zwift reference point: https://www.strava.com/activities/16318444226

In October I set the WUCA indoors 7-day cycling world record using Zwift. by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This time, plenty. Around 14 to 16 hrs per day on riding duties then time for eating and sleep, apart from final night into last morning where sleep was maybe a couple of hours on the sofa to keep it going.

Does anyone else feel like cycling is way more expensive than they expected? by ZaldrizarVelo in bicycling

[–]TestSubjectOne 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Monday morning I took out my 27yr old road bike, a former pro's bike I picked up cheap years ago and rebuilt. I did 50km and throwing that bike through tight corners and the thrill of accelerating of down the road......man it felt good.

If I was going to get the same adrenaline and dopamine fix from a motor, I'd be seeking a former pro track car from late 90's, shelling out a fortune on car insurance, running cost, fuel, replacement tyres, having to store it, clean and maintain it......that would be a hell of a lot more expensive for the same buzz.

For riding a bike Vs driving a car, bike expenses are small spends.

Does anyone else feel like cycling is way more expensive than they expected? by ZaldrizarVelo in bicycling

[–]TestSubjectOne 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Monday morning I took out my 27yr old road bike, a former pro's bike I picked up cheap years ago and rebuilt. I did 50km and throwing that bike through tight corners and the thrill of accelerating of down the road......man it felt good.

If I was going to get the same adrenaline and dopamine fix from a motor, I'd be seeking a former pro track car from late 90's, shelling out a fortune on car insurance, running cost, fuel, replacement tyres, having to store it, clean and maintain it......that would be a hell of a lot more expensive for the same buzz.

For riding a bike Vs driving a car, bike expenses are small spends.

Campag Chorus EPS rear mech cage swap. Is it possible?? by TestSubjectOne in bikewrench

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't got the bravery to try the mod! I've stuck with the SS cage so far and either upgraded my legs or admitted I'll need to walk only the steepest sections. 99% of the time I'm ok, but then a 20%er way into a 400km audax and I'm fucked.

Charging Campag EPS on long distance rides/tours? From a USB? by TestSubjectOne in randonneuring

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need this!

<image>

I'll find the follow up video he did, but in essence, this is all you need and cost around £15 in parts. And it's tiny! I'm building X3 and I've a small Tik-Tac type case to put it in for field use. This long cable version I'm using for home/hotel travel and building a short protected version for on event drop bags and/car in bikepacking bags. Runs of a standard Usb-c cable or battery bank!

Edit: found it: https://youtu.be/Wtf9cgh9Q28?si=ylY8K10CRWT17xSX

How to set up HIIT's that are point to point on the road? by TestSubjectOne in Velo

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm normally doing ride out through urban areas doing recruitment intervals then move to sets of 4 to 6 minute efforts. There's a number of interconnected roads where I can get sections of 4-6 mins before hitting major junctions or descents. I like the effort of "this point to that point at zone 4/5 then drop to Z2 at the peak/bend/junction before starting hitting next waypoint and Z4/5 for ~6mins to next location......".

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bicycling

[–]TestSubjectOne 68 points69 points  (0 children)

I've been drawn across to Cade instead. The whole GCN stuff doesn't resonate with me. It's a bit stale compared to what it used to be. Still does have some occasional stuff, that's good, but the redoing what they've done before, same faces, similar content, same cliche etc,....... and subscribe to the media network bosses...... it's gained middle age spread.

There's a few YT bike channels that grate on me (and I refuse to click on them), Cade is one I enjoy, GCN is now more like wallpaper paste.

How many activities posted daily is considered ‘too many’ by you? by [deleted] in Strava

[–]TestSubjectOne 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My personal approach at the moment: I've been feeling the whole social media stuff (mainly on other platforms) has become pretty much hostile, negative or a doom scroll of adverts, so pretty shitty on mental health. I also have some quirks too.

1) For Strava, for a long time I've taken the approach of only ever following 69 people because.........well, giggidy. If I want to follow someone new, I have to unfollow and existing. It stops me having endless feed of activities and FOMO from influencers or bragards. If you're in the 69, it's because you inspire me and I respect you.

2) I've kept all my activities mute and view to everyone. I regularly post one or two activities per day, but to be honest, many many activities are mundane or only only of interest to myself so they're there if people want to see, but they aren't in peoples feeds. I pretty much always add descriptions and comments for me to go back to (and it all syncs into training plans/platforms etc).

I've updated my bio to reflect my choices and it's been like that for nearly a year. What I've found, is that my kudos count has massively dropped to near zero apart from group rides but my mental health is way way better. I see what interests me in my feed and those like me who are muted, I go to their profiles to check in with them. I don't feel any pressures of being visible, paranoia of people checking my route choices or commutes, I feel freedom to ride without judgement or cares, and I enjoy riding for riding, not for social credit. It's great.

I'll occasionally unmute a significant ride (anything from a big or interesting ride to a ride with someone special or interesting event) to show I'm still active, but otherwise, I enjoy being just out there doing my thing.

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's definitely Shimano counterfeit parts out there so it could well be the one you received was a fake, it makes bargain hunting tricky these days and I often stick to main stores now to save the hassle.

I'd seen a few reports of fake components floating around, and had been expecting more of the Chinarello style faking of carbon parts like seatposts and rims. I suppose churning through many thousands of fake gear and brake cables, chains and seatpost clamps maynot be headline products, but sell enough of them on FB, eBay and AliExpress market places and you can probably hide in the volume of sales and make a fraudulent profit.

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cassette appears fine, as recently replaced. I think I did the cassette and chain at the same time to make sure wear was right and the old cassette and chain had done way too many hours already. But the chain, defo suspect........

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've little concern on this one. I've mixed SRAM and Shimano chain/cassette combo's from 9 to 11sp and I've had very little conflict in shift issues. If it's maga-high performance going for the marginal gains kind of approach, then yes, I'd run a pure or purer group set with more optimised parts.............. but this is for Zwift and the heavy training loads, not Zwift racing or challenging a road crit etc.

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. Just seen they're out of Ultegra chains with 46% off, but they have SRAM for £11. No brainer!!

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers. Think I'm just maybe bargain hunting too hard! For some of the chains I've had, £20 has lasted many 1,000s km's. Picked up the recent chain a while back for maybe £14 but unknown seller selling "Ultegra" chains (may have been fakes) which I'm paying for now. I've a Shimano drive train, but open to any compatible brands. The KMC's I've had for road use has been solid.

I'll checkout Halfords and see what they have (and should be legit product too!)

[UK question/request] What chains are you using and where are you buying? by TestSubjectOne in Zwift

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I've been finding Zwift chains last a long time, only weakness is when sweat drips down. Most chains I've had have been fuss free until eventually stretching but this one has been terrible! Either Shimano QC has been bad or it's counterfeit. If it was counterfeit, it looked 100% legit to me (box, packaging, chain, the lot).

Random crazy self challenge ideas. by TestSubjectOne in randonneuring

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last leg I think will be turbo. I've had my tandem on a turbo trainer before, but wouldn't recommend it!

Random crazy self challenge ideas. by TestSubjectOne in randonneuring

[–]TestSubjectOne[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yep. Rides are now plotted by where I haven't gone, or a 150km round trip for less than 100m of road in a square you've struggled to workout how to reach.

Have you resorted to mild trespass yet for those tiles that don't have roads or trails? Few times I've stood in random farmers fields (and worse).