New guy looking for some race suggestions
Hello every one!
I'm a student in Tokyo, living in Setagaya for one and a half years now. I've been lurking on the forums for a while, but this is my first post. Before I came to Japan I had a racy hybrid for commuting that I also did some touring with. Last spring I was getting slightly flabby and decided to get a road bike ... good idea, reached my weight goal with good margin last year, but didn't gain a lot of speed. I haven't been riding a lot this year, but now I'll have some more time, and I'll hopefully be a bit more structured with my exercise. However, beside a km/h and km goal for the year, I want something more and was thinking about joining a race in the second half of the season. I've seen the racing subsection and read much of it, but perhaps some of you could give me some more concrete advice?
I'm thinking a not-too-serious race ... maybe a hill climb as they don't seem to bring as much carnage. I've tried looking around at the various pages, but my Japanese is basically non-existant, so ... any suggestions for Jul.-Oct.?
Also, as a student, I'm not exactly loaded, so I'm pretty sensitive to sign-up fees and logistic costs. ;-)
I'll throw in another question at the end: Twice, (different) nipples have unscrewed on my not-very-new rear wheel (Fulcrum Racing 7) and while I have gotten them back on, I fear it is only temporary. Furthermore, I was not able to true it the last time due to some nipples being very thight and at least one being rounded and me not being all that competent. I'd like to have the wheel rebuilt with new nipples. My questions are: how much should I expect to pay for a rebuild? I've read many recomendations for Positivo lately and they're conveniently located, but maybe there are others that are cheaper without compromising quality too much? (I'm located near Kyodo station.) Should I get the spokes changed at the same time?
Thank you!
-- Jon
(If you've seen a lone white guy on/near tamagawa on a blue aluminium Felt, breaking all the "rules" ... that's probably me. )
Hello every one!
I'm a student in Tokyo, living in Setagaya for one and a half years now. I've been lurking on the forums for a while, but this is my first post. Before I came to Japan I had a racy hybrid for commuting that I also did some touring with. Last spring I was getting slightly flabby and decided to get a road bike ... good idea, reached my weight goal with good margin last year, but didn't gain a lot of speed. I haven't been riding a lot this year, but now I'll have some more time, and I'll hopefully be a bit more structured with my exercise. However, beside a km/h and km goal for the year, I want something more and was thinking about joining a race in the second half of the season. I've seen the racing subsection and read much of it, but perhaps some of you could give me some more concrete advice?
I'm thinking a not-too-serious race ... maybe a hill climb as they don't seem to bring as much carnage. I've tried looking around at the various pages, but my Japanese is basically non-existant, so ... any suggestions for Jul.-Oct.?
Also, as a student, I'm not exactly loaded, so I'm pretty sensitive to sign-up fees and logistic costs. ;-)
I'll throw in another question at the end: Twice, (different) nipples have unscrewed on my not-very-new rear wheel (Fulcrum Racing 7) and while I have gotten them back on, I fear it is only temporary. Furthermore, I was not able to true it the last time due to some nipples being very thight and at least one being rounded and me not being all that competent. I'd like to have the wheel rebuilt with new nipples. My questions are: how much should I expect to pay for a rebuild? I've read many recomendations for Positivo lately and they're conveniently located, but maybe there are others that are cheaper without compromising quality too much? (I'm located near Kyodo station.) Should I get the spokes changed at the same time?
Thank you!
-- Jon
(If you've seen a lone white guy on/near tamagawa on a blue aluminium Felt, breaking all the "rules" ... that's probably me. )