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Today June 2019

Yesterday I mounted Hope brakes on my hardtail.
It was causing me a bit more stress than normal because I needed to trim the brake line and it has a braided hose. I am also use to using mineral oil in shimano brakes, but now I am using DOT again.

Long story of anxiety/stress... it went without an issue. The line was trimmed, and the brakes are solid. While it is more blue... that wasn't the plan. The brakes the 2018 model and the 2019s are now released. So looking at the offerings that were $100 off.... blue was all that was left.

Hope blue and i9 blue are not a perfect match, but unless the bike is sitting still and you are looking for it... close enough.

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Finally got myself an indoor trainer this week. Never thought I'd get one but family commitments eating into cycling time, it's one of the best ways to keep cycling fit.
Nice, a Wahoo Kickr. Personally, I can already say after about a month's worth of training that an indoor trainer was one of the best investments I have made in years. I getting about the same amount of training done as I did in the past — just on 5-6 hours a week rather than 8-10. Just getting to and returning from my hunting grounds takes time. And then I'm mostly doing laps, so I might want to do one more lap, but have time for only half — ugh. On a trainer, I can just tack on a few more minutes. All in all, an outdoor training session would take me about 2 hours, whereas on the indoor trainer it is literally 1 hour + 15 minutes to set things up (I need my coffee before I get on the trainer).

By the way, what apps are you using? I have been on a TrainerRoad plan for the past month and I freaking love it.
 
Finally got myself an indoor trainer this week.

Thank you for sharing that. I'm looking at doing the same for rainy season days and next winter. I don't have the budget to spend on a Wahoo Kickr. Were there any cheaper options you'd recommend or anyone else may know about?
 
Nice, a Wahoo Kickr. Personally, I can already say after about a month's worth of training that an indoor trainer was one of the best investments I have made in years. I getting about the same amount of training done as I did in the past — just on 5-6 hours a week rather than 8-10. Just getting to and returning from my hunting grounds takes time. And then I'm mostly doing laps, so I might want to do one more lap, but have time for only half — ugh. On a trainer, I can just tack on a few more minutes. All in all, an outdoor training session would take me about 2 hours, whereas on the indoor trainer it is literally 1 hour + 15 minutes to set things up (I need my coffee before I get on the trainer).

By the way, what apps are you using? I have been on a TrainerRoad plan for the past month and I freaking love it.

I agree. Recently I've only had about 30-45mins in the morning for training meaning that if I ride out the the Arakawa, I would get about 5mins of decent training in. On the trainer all my time can be used for training. Regarding apps, I've just signed up for Zwift and so far it has been pretty good. I think the trainer's PM is giving erroneous readings at the moment which is leading to some super tough workouts. I haven't done an FTP test yet but I think it would be crazy low if I did. I set the FTP on wahoo to 240 and tried a workout but couldn't finish it. Think I need to speak to wahoo support.


Thank you for sharing that. I'm looking at doing the same for rainy season days and next winter. I don't have the budget to spend on a Wahoo Kickr. Were there any cheaper options you'd recommend or anyone else may know about?

Not really sure about any other trainers, although the Wahoo Kickr core looks fantastic but still not cheap
@leicaman congrats on your coming out staying in.
thank you very much 😜
 
I think the trainer's PM is giving erroneous readings at the moment which is leading to some super tough workouts. I haven't done an FTP test yet but I think it would be crazy low if I did. I set the FTP on wahoo to 240 and tried a workout but couldn't finish it. Think I need to speak to wahoo support.
If you have a power meter, I recommend you use that to set the power levels of your trainer. This way, your power measurements are coming from the same source, indoors and outdoors. However, the Kickr should still give reliable power.

Regarding apps, I've just signed up for Zwift and so far it has been pretty good.
Feel free to try out different apps. The big two are Zwift and TrainerRoad, another one is Sufferfest. Essentially, they offer quite different takes on indoor training. Zwift emphasizes the game aspect (including racing against your peers), TrainerRoad is all about you, your trainer and performance. TrainerRoad's motto here is: You provide the entertainment. Sufferfest seems to be in between.

Not really sure about any other trainers, although the Wahoo Kickr core looks fantastic but still not cheap
thank you very much 😜
Cheaper … there is a reason I have bought a used dumb trainer ;)
 
@leicaman - If interested in TrainerRoad, let me know. I have a free month to give away if its your first time to sign up.

Regarding the trainer and the wattage being tough at 240, sounds like your last spin down was not correct. Try another spin down. Worth warming up the trainer first and then doing the spin down (I think 10 mins is recommended). The spin down can be done in TrainerRoad directly if you have it, or from the Wahoo app.
 
And I had you down for a purist @leicaman 😉Enjoy your trainer!!

Took my bike out for a little test last night to check the new cleats and seat position. Not bad but I'll know more when I go out for a longer ride tomorrow.
 
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GCN Japan uploaded it's first video today.

Should be interesting to see how it develops, and to spot familiar parts of Japan appearing in the videos (v-dori already spotted). The older guy is Yukihiro Doi who rode the Vuelta a couple of times back in the day, and also does cycling commentary for the online sports channel DAZN.


I really, really want a GCN tech series on "How to Upgrade Your Cheap Mamachari into a Superbike".
 
If you have a power meter, I recommend you use that to set the power levels of your trainer. This way, your power measurements are coming from the same source, indoors and outdoors. However, the Kickr should still give reliable power.


Feel free to try out different apps. The big two are Zwift and TrainerRoad, another one is Sufferfest. Essentially, they offer quite different takes on indoor training. Zwift emphasizes the game aspect (including racing against your peers), TrainerRoad is all about you, your trainer and performance. TrainerRoad's motto here is: You provide the entertainment. Sufferfest seems to be in between.


Cheaper … there is a reason I have bought a used dumb trainer ;)

I have a power meter on my Field but I don't plan to use it on the trainer to be honest as I want to use it when I ride outside. At the moment my gravel bike is on the trainer. I may put the Field on the trainer to see what kind of discrepancy there is but I think it is quite a big difference. Cheers for the info about apps.


@leicaman - If interested in TrainerRoad, let me know. I have a free month to give away if its your first time to sign up.

Regarding the trainer and the wattage being tough at 240, sounds like your last spin down was not correct. Try another spin down. Worth warming up the trainer first and then doing the spin down (I think 10 mins is recommended). The spin down can be done in TrainerRoad directly if you have it, or from the Wahoo app.

Cheers. Yeah, I've tried two spindowns and both times it didn't really alter anything. I noticed that the offset number after the spindown was really high at around 40,000 if I remember rightly.

Trying to keep 300 watts on the trainer for more than a minute or so is pretty damn tough. It feels like night and day compared to my Field. I did a test on the Field along the Arakawa this morning where I did 11minutes at av. 371watts followed by 9 mins at 346w. There is no way on earth I could do that on my trainer with the power readings it is showing at the moment.

And I had you down for a purist @leicaman 😉Enjoy your trainer!!

Took my bike out for a little test last night to check the new cleats and seat position. Not bad but I'll know more when I go out for a longer ride tomorrow.

I am 100% pure :innocent:
 
You did what?!? I suspect your old PM is giving you bogus numbers. If you can hold an average of 360 W for 20 minutes, and from the way you write that didn't seem like an all-out effort, that'd put you in an elite category. How much do you weigh? At 75 kg that put you at 4.8 W/kg, which is highly impressive.

When I first got my power meter, it also claimed fantastic numbers.
 
You did what?!? I suspect your old PM is giving you bogus numbers. If you can hold an average of 360 W for 20 minutes, and from the way you write that didn't seem like an all-out effort, that'd put you in an elite category. How much do you weigh? At 75 kg that put you at 4.8 W/kg, which is highly impressive.

When I first got my power meter, it also claimed fantastic numbers.
I'm around 73kgs at the moment. My PM has always seemed pretty reliable and gives me very similar numbers to others around me when we are riding together (weighing around the same). Holding 371w for 11 minutes was quite a challenge but 346w wasn't all out and felt more manageable. 371 gave me an average of 39.4kph into a moderate headwind on the hoods so I'm guessing it is fairly reliable.
My kickr on the other hand is ridiculous. I can't hold around 300w for more than a few minutes. It feels more like around 500w on my other PM.
 
That's close to 5 W/kg, seriously impressive I have to say! Given how rare riders that can manage to output that type of power are, I assumed your bike's power meter was off. If other people of similar stature get similar power numbers, then you might be right. What I would do is put your Felt in the trainer and directly compare the power numbers. The offset on the trainer should definitely not be that high, and directly comparing both can give you an idea how hard the claimed 300 W actually are.
 
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Time for a change I think. IRC tubeless, roll really well and good grip but at the cost of durability. Will be buying another set.
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New Rim time...
The Intense has done a couple dozen park days and gotten little maintenance other than brakes and adjusting drive train.
After my last trip to Fujimi, I inspected the rear rim and decided the multiple flat spots and dings were enough to justify a new rim. So I ordered one as well as the decals so it will match the one coming off the bike. It arrived and I started the tear down... then I noted some cracked nipples.... and then it hit me... I didn't order new nipples for the build. Dammit!!!
Once the rim was off the bike for further inspection - it is definitely time to replace it. There were some fatigue marks around a couple spots that obviously have taken hard hits.

So today I will be visiting the local shops to try and find some black 2.0mm black brass nipples so I can finish the wheel. I currently have orange aluminum because they are pretty on the build, however brass is stronger. If I can't get orange (unlikely in stock), I will just go with subtle.
 
I put my Field on the trainer this morning with its quarq dzero power meter to compare it to the Kickr PM. They were giving very different readings. When the kickr was at around 273w, my field was saying around 355w. It was constantly around 80w under what my Field was saying. I tried a few things then did an advanced factory spin down (the one they don't recommend you do unless you are seeing inaccurate power. After the spin down the kickr was reading almost exactly the same at the Field. I only had time for a few minutes of testing but I'll try again later so hopefully my initial findings stand.
 
Great to hear that you might not have to send your Kickr in, and calibration might have taken care of the issue. Selling 380 W as high zone 3/low zone 4 (relative to your FTP) was kinda mean. ;)
 
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