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Black Friday 2020 Deals

Since I got my bike back in May, just as the wet season was starting and I wanted to work on being faster so I don't get my ass handed to me by a grandpa on a rusted mamachari going up a hill I decided to do following since I didn't want to ride in rain:

  • trubo trainer, many will do, but I got a tacx neo2t.
  • Zwift subscription followed by Trainerroad.
  • clipless pedals + shoes, I had a lot of practice on turbo trainer before I got to ride on road with them and so far I've stacked zero times. Although came very close few times. I mostly got them for my pretty bad knee and they helped a lot.
  • I did the gp5000 and they were improvement over my stock tyres, also I've decided to try out latex tubes and I liked them since they made my ride a lot smoother which I liked a lot. Since I'm OCD about tyre pressure anyway, it isn't an issue pumping them up daily and they are ~1500jpy at Y's road.
  • power meter for my bike + cycling computer. I've a really bad knee with number of surgeries and massive ego, it helps me keep both of them on good terms.
I can officially say that I can finally beat the local ojii-sans on their rusty mamacharis... my next target are the 70+ year old guys on their 30-40 year old rusty road bikes.
 
I agree fully on the tires, @OreoCookie.

@Ratchet21 , my bike is rim break Allez Elite. I was able to get 32mm GP5000 on but it took the full rim break holsters being at their maximum opening and even then I had to do just a smidge of break pad filing down.

Oh! We are using the same bike! Is yours the 2019 version? I think there is a change of the bike geometry/design after 2019. If its possible 28mm certainly sounds good!

@Ratchet21 , I decided on the Tacx Neo 2 after reading a bunch of reviews and particularly this one: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/12/tacx-neo-2-smart-trainer-in-depth-review.html. I might have been biased since I'm also from DC, but I have loved it. If you do get a smart trainer for the winter, you'll probably want to look into an app to train with like TrainerRoad, Zwift, etc.

There is a Tacx Neo trainer for sale in the classifieds here.

Yes I am looking at kickr core, kickr or tacx neo2t, it is pretty expensive but I should be able to get one after I sell off my folding bike and other stuff. I love to ride outdoor but the winter might be too much for a person with tropical background like me, so with trainer I hope I can train as hard or harder than I am now during weekday.

I saw the Neo at classified, but after reading around with all the possible nightmare with the units I think getting one with a working warranty might be better.

I don't have experience with rim brake road bikes, I thought to have clearance with the brake calipers you could go to 28 mm max. But if 32 mm works, my vote is to go as wide as you can.

Thank you, will try to check on it again if it can take 28mm!

Since I got my bike back in May, just as the wet season was starting and I wanted to work on being faster so I don't get my ass handed to me by a grandpa on a rusted mamachari going up a hill I decided to do following since I didn't want to ride in rain:

  • trubo trainer, many will do, but I got a tacx neo2t.
  • Zwift subscription followed by Trainerroad.
  • clipless pedals + shoes, I had a lot of practice on turbo trainer before I got to ride on road with them and so far I've stacked zero times. Although came very close few times. I mostly got them for my pretty bad knee and they helped a lot.
  • I did the gp5000 and they were improvement over my stock tyres, also I've decided to try out latex tubes and I liked them since they made my ride a lot smoother which I liked a lot. Since I'm OCD about tyre pressure anyway, it isn't an issue pumping them up daily and they are ~1500jpy at Y's road.
  • power meter for my bike + cycling computer. I've a really bad knee with number of surgeries and massive ego, it helps me keep both of them on good terms.
I can officially say that I can finally beat the local ojii-sans on their rusty mamacharis... my next target are the 70+ year old guys on their 30-40 year old rusty road bikes.

LOL @ mamacharis rider, yes some of them are surprisingly fast but what shocked me the most are the housewives with kids are the one that normally ride in the most dangerous way (and fast)

I avoid riding during the dark and in rain too, and with the weather getting colder I think trainer might be something I can invest in as I dont want to stop cycling over winter. Turbo trainer + any training program/system subscription sounds great for me too, so will definitely check it out, and yeah will slowly move to cleat after I get my trainer.

Cycling computer is something on my mind too because I can't keep track of distance and speed, so I don't know if i actually have any improvement for the past few months riding 3x a week. It have to come after trainer because I have to control my budget haha, but am currently thinking of Wahoo bolt or Edge 530, or even something as simple as Edge 130 because I only need GPS and basic info of my ride.
 
If fitting a 32 is actually a problem, one workaround would be to inflate after mounting the wheel.
 
I can officially say that I can finally beat the local ojii-sans on their rusty mamacharis... my next target are the 70+ year old guys on their 30-40 year old rusty road bikes.
I'm almost there, 69 now. :) Uh... my bikes aren't rusty, and tho the oldest is out of the 90s, I almost never ride that one.
 
The other benefit of a trainer is a power meter. FTP training is going to really improve your riding, but before that commandment comes Commandment 1: Just Ride, or Just Ride and Enjoy it.
 
I am thinking of getting an indoor trainer to train more over the winter

The winter is when it will rain the least in the Kanto, when you get the most days with clear blue skies. Why not ride outdoors and enjoy the views? As someone who collects views of Mt Fuji, December and January are the months to do it!

So OK, the hours of daylight will be shorter, but the temperatures are something that one can deal with by wearing more layers.

Arguably it is easier to deal with temperatures that are too low than with temperatures that are too high because there's a limit how lightly one can be dressed while one can always wear more or ride faster to get warm. My January distance tends to be quite average for the year overall.
 
The winter is when it will rain the least in the Kanto, when you get the most days with clear blue skies. Why not ride outdoors and enjoy the views? As someone who collects views of Mt Fuji, December and January are the months to do it!

So OK, the hours of daylight will be shorter, but the temperatures are something that one can deal with by wearing more layers.

Arguably it is easier to deal with temperatures that are too low than with temperatures that are too high because there's a limit how lightly one can be dressed while one can always wear more or ride faster to get warm. My January distance tends to be quite average for the year overall.
I agree with this 100%. My favorite riding time is Dec-April.
Fuji is in view from RT134 almost everywhere.
Also for off road, the trails have dried out and no bugs or snakes to contend with.
All around it is just better for biking IMO.
 
I avoid riding during the dark and in rain too

This is a personal preference of course, but just from my experience, riding at night or in rain is no longer that intimidating once you have good lights and wear proper rain gear (fenders help too).

I would have missed many beautiful sunsets in scenic places (and the odd sunrise there too) if had limited myself to always be home by the time it gets dark out there. Same for rainbows and atmospheric views with pastel coloured clouds and skies with warm light as the rain stops.

You're giving up so many beautiful views by aiming to stay dry at all costs ;)

Cycling computer is something on my mind too (...) am currently thinking of Wahoo bolt or Edge 530, or even something as simple as Edge 130 because I only need GPS and basic info of my ride.

I recently bought the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and after about 1,400 km (longest ride: 403 km) I am very happy with it. I've had absolutely no issues with it. I love the fact that it isn't a touchscreen device, so no issues operating it with winter gloves or if it rains. It connects to my phones via Bluetooth LE and to WiFi, so I only ever need to use the USB port for charging (battery life: about 15 hours) which I can also do while it's attached to the forward mount on the handlebar.
 
The winter is when it will rain the least in the Kanto, when you get the most days with clear blue skies. Why not ride outdoors and enjoy the views? As someone who collects views of Mt Fuji, December and January are the months to do it!

So OK, the hours of daylight will be shorter, but the temperatures are something that one can deal with by wearing more layers.

Arguably it is easier to deal with temperatures that are too low than with temperatures that are too high because there's a limit how lightly one can be dressed while one can always wear more or ride faster to get warm. My January distance tends to be quite average for the year overall.
This is a personal preference of course, but just from my experience, riding at night or in rain is no longer that intimidating once you have good lights and wear proper rain gear (fenders help too).

I would have missed many beautiful sunsets in scenic places (and the odd sunrise there too) if had limited myself to always be home by the time it gets dark out there. Same for rainbows and atmospheric views with pastel coloured clouds and skies with warm light as the rain stops.

You're giving up so many beautiful views by aiming to stay dry at all costs ;)
I agree with this 100%. My favorite riding time is Dec-April.
Fuji is in view from RT134 almost everywhere.
Also for off road, the trails have dried out and no bugs or snakes to contend with.
All around it is just better for biking IMO.
Sounds like a great idea, maybe I should join more night ride with friends to get comfortable with it first! And the idea of having the view of Fuji and sunsets sounds really good as well!

I recently bought the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and after about 1,400 km (longest ride: 403 km) I am very happy with it. I've had absolutely no issues with it. I love the fact that it isn't a touchscreen device, so no issues operating it with winter gloves or if it rains. It connects to my phones via Bluetooth LE and to WiFi, so I only ever need to use the USB port for charging (battery life: about 15 hours) which I can also do while it's attached to the forward mount on the handlebar.

Did you bought it locally or from overseas online shop? I'm looking around for Black Friday offer but am afraid of the warranty problem if i get an overseas unit should I need it serviced.
I am considering Bolt more than Edge now after reading around, I rode 60+km today and went to arakawa this morning for the first time, I like the place a lot as it is much better to practice sprinting compared to tamagawa! Unfortunately my GPS/cycling stats from my phone was not accurate at all so hopefully with a cycling computer I can keep track of my speed and distance better.
 
I rode 60+km today and went to arakawa this morning for the first time, I like the place a lot as it is much better to practice sprinting compared to tamagawa!

Yeah, Arakawa!!! Did my first outside ride there in months today. The indoor FTP training has really paid off. I was 3-5km/hour faster on certain sections despite cycling into the wind and having done some HIIT training indoors this morning.
 
Did you bought it locally or from overseas online shop? I'm looking around for Black Friday offer but am afraid of the warranty problem if i get an overseas unit should I need it serviced.

I bought the Bolt off Amazon.co.jp.

Not that I was too worried about warranty - I have bought loads of bike stuff from Germany and the UK and never had any issues where being covered under warranty would have made the slightest difference. So it's not really much of a factor when I decide to buy something.

If it's something I want to get local advice on or I want to see it before I buy then I'll get it from a local bike shop. If I want it quickly or have more choice, I'll most likely find it on Amazon. And if I know exactly what I want and it's much more expensive locally and I'm not in a hurry, I'll order overseas.
 
If you do get the Bolt, a 90 degree USB cable like this is useful for charging on the bike if you ever need more than 15 hours of recording.



This particular cable can be plugged in either way, with the cable exiting to the left or to the right because its micro USB connector is double sided, but for the Bolt forward mount you want it to exit to the right because the holder is to the left.
 
I am considering Bolt more than Edge now after reading around
Good deal currently at Crown Gears for the Elemnt Bolt bundle which includes speed, cadence and heart rate sensors. I got one a few weeks back and have been very happy with it. Link below.

 
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Good deal currently at Crown Gears for the Elemnt Bolt bundle which includes speed, cadence and heart rate sensors. I got one a few weeks back and have been very happy with it. Link below.

Thank you for sharing the deal! It's great!
I did some reading and found out the one on discount is the previous model, I wonder what difference in function do they have compared to the current one.
The current version's bundle is the one at the far right.

1605794482767.png
 
Thank you for sharing the deal! It's great!
I did some reading and found out the one on discount is the previous model, I wonder what difference in function do they have compared to the current one.
The current version's bundle is the one at the far right.

Just a colour difference I think. The one on the far right is "stealth black":cool:, whereas the one in the discounted bundle is "grey". They're both Bolts. The new model is called the Roam, though the Bolt is still a current model. The original Wahoo model, the Elemnt, can still be purchased new but it has been discontinued (superseded by the Roam).
 
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Thank you for sharing the deal! It's great!
I did some reading and found out the one on discount is the previous model, I wonder what difference in function do they have compared to the current one.
The current version's bundle is the one at the far right.

View attachment 28413
The one on the right seems to be the same bundle I bought on Amazon for ¥37,213 (with speed and cadence sensor and HR belt).

Amazon product ASIN B0718YN7TB
 
The one on the right seems to be the same bundle I bought on Amazon for ¥37,213 (with speed and cadence sensor and HR belt).

Amazon product ASIN B0718YN7TB

I think its the one same as the one at left (2017 ver) because the heart monitor looks different, but because the specs seems to be same with only color difference it is all good!

1605834774470.png

Just a colour difference I think. The one on the far right is "stealth black":cool:, whereas the one in the discounted bundle is "grey". They're both Bolts. The new model is called the Roam, though the Bolt is still a current model. The original Wahoo model, the Elemnt, can still be purchased new but it has been discontinued (superseded by the Roam).
Thank you for the information! How do you find the GPS function so far? I read that it can't plan a route or fix a route if you go off course on the fly but is the navigation function user friendly/dependable?
 
Thank you for the information! How do you find the GPS function so far? I read that it can't plan a route or fix a route if you go off course on the fly but is the navigation function user friendly/dependable?
I have an Elemnt Bolt, and it is very easy to use. The main difference to Garmin is that Wahoo cycling computers allow you to zoom in and out of pages, i. e. where Garmin forces you to create different pages, you can change the number of data fields with the zoom feature.

With the Wahoo you can plan a route, but you do it on the phone and then sync the route to your cycling computer via Bluetooth. Even if I could do it on the Element, I don't think I'd want to if I can whip out the phone and have a substantially larger screen and a much faster CPU.

As far as following a route, the Bolt taken together with a smartphone works alright. I would not use it for free flowing navigation, but it works really well if you want to stick to a specific route. But since I always carry my phone with me, that's not an issue: I check maps on my phone should I get lost and/or want to navigate and then I can stick to the Wahoo.

I found no fault with the GPS function so far. With the speed sensor speed and other measurements remain reliable even in tunnels or forests where the GPS signal may be spotty.

As with any piece of technology, nothing is flawless. E. g. sometimes my Bolt would no longer show phone notifications while riding. And they could put in a CPU. I'd also like the Roam's new color screen and gorilla glass.
 
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