The Cycling Thread

Excellent thank you, yes currently at just over 200 rides plus 80 or so others (mainly stretching).

If you have already used the App so much the bike will work much better as the integration really is seamless. It all just works, including automatic uploading to Strava with all the data you expect.

51410973990_46790c3abc_c_d.jpg


Do you have the bike or the bike+?

We have the Bike, I looked at the Bike+ but the extra features wasn't worth it for me, especially with the price difference now. The riding experience on Bike it self is actually very good, I actually find riding it more 'fun' than my real hybrid Boardman and climbing out of the saddle feels very very close to the real thing. I've had a Taxc turbo before, used Watt bikes + normal spin bikes a the gym, and the Peloton Bike feels nicest to ride.

Can the bike be used without peloton?
for example if your membership expires can you

You can, but its essentially becomes a 'dumb' normal indoor bike, which really becomes pointless. You can side load apps on it like Netflix but its the instructor programs that engage with with Peloton so am not sure why you want to watch something else. Swift will work with the bike it with some like the below, but obviously you have to manual resistance adaption.

 
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I have just cycled a leisurely 7.06 miles. I haven't done any distance for a while so it was just right! :thumbsup: Plus that hill that I found so difficult a couple of summers ago is easy now! ;):thumbsup:
 
I do like the look of watt bike but 2k!!
The Peloton will cost similar after 12 months with a £40 per month subscription.

£40 a month is about the same price as gym membership, so seems pretty excessive.

The Wattbike is independent of subscriptions, so you get to switch it up a bit, from the free Wattbike training plans, to Zwift, Trainer Road, Sufferfest, etc..

 
What's your opinion on the Carerra range of bikes from Halfords?
Looking to buy my Son a new bike for his Birthday. He's coming 10 and is 140cm in height so thinking a Small or XS adult bike for him.
I went looking yesterday after doing some research both Halfords and Independents.
Was advised to look at a Trek Marlin 4 but was put off with the triple chain.
He has a Voodoo Sobo at the moment with 9 speed setting on a single chain. I was looking at the Voodoo range but I feel the frame was too big for him and they don't seem to do a smaller frame.
The fella in Halfords was helpful, but under pressure as busy, suggested the Carerra range but not sure on how it is quality wise?
Also looked at the Specialized Rocksport 27.5 but I have nowhere local that stocks it and a little reluctant to buy blind.

My budget is 450-500 so appreciate and help and advice on this next bike purchase.

Should have said that this bike is for the school cycle and general riding.

Thanks.
 
from the free Wattbike training plans, to Zwift, Trainer Road, Sufferfest, etc..

None of these programs are anything like what Peloton offers though. The focus of these program appear to be staring at numbers and graphs, Peloton does pretty much the opposite. The end results is actually very similar interms of HIT training etc, but its how the instructors get you there without you realising.

51411519135_8266d84b85_c_d.jpg


Ulimtaly it than comes down to how often/much you use it, Peloton could 100% reduce their price to attract more customers interms of monthly cost, but if their style works for you (or house hold), £39/month to pretty dramatically improve your overall fitness is a pretty low price to pay......David Lloyd will be charging you £100/month+ for a family membership, not including the time it take to get to their facilities.

Overall the thing with Peloton is its actually 'fun' to do the rides/programs, rather than 'Suffer' 45 mintues - 1hr on a turbo.
 
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What's your opinion on the Carerra range of bikes from Halfords?
Looking to buy my Son a new bike for his Birthday. He's coming 10 and is 140cm in height so thinking a Small or XS adult bike for him.
I went looking yesterday after doing some research both Halfords and Independents.
Was advised to look at a Trek Marlin 4 but was put off with the triple chain.
He has a Voodoo Sobo at the moment with 9 speed setting on a single chain. I was looking at the Voodoo range but I feel the frame was too big for him and they don't seem to do a smaller frame.
The fella in Halfords was helpful, but under pressure as busy, suggested the Carerra range but not sure on how it is quality wise?
Also looked at the Specialized Rocksport 27.5 but I have nowhere local that stocks it and a little reluctant to buy blind.

My budget is 450-500 so appreciate and help and advice on this next bike purchase.

Should have said that this bike is for the school cycle and general riding.

Thanks.
Have a look at the vitus bikes from wiggle. We have the ‘twenty’ for my daughter and she is turning 10 next month and looking at the 26” version of the same bike. Been great for 3 years.
 
I noticed there was a race on Zwift this afternoon the same distance as the outdoor one I did last week (65 miles/1km ascent) although 12 laps of a circuit rather than one loop with one big climb. The final times were within a minute of each other even though they're quite different in execution with the indoor race preventing wasting power on hard acceleration but then forcing a level of power and no fresh air either.
 
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What's your opinion on the Carerra range of bikes from Halfords?
Looking to buy my Son a new bike for his Birthday. He's coming 10 and is 140cm in height so thinking a Small or XS adult bike for him.
I went looking yesterday after doing some research both Halfords and Independents.
Was advised to look at a Trek Marlin 4 but was put off with the triple chain.
He has a Voodoo Sobo at the moment with 9 speed setting on a single chain. I was looking at the Voodoo range but I feel the frame was too big for him and they don't seem to do a smaller frame.
The fella in Halfords was helpful, but under pressure as busy, suggested the Carerra range but not sure on how it is quality wise?
Also looked at the Specialized Rocksport 27.5 but I have nowhere local that stocks it and a little reluctant to buy blind.

My budget is 450-500 so appreciate and help and advice on this next bike purchase.

Should have said that this bike is for the school cycle and general riding.

Thanks.

The Carreras are good bikes for the money and you'll generally have to spend a bit more with the bigger brands like Trek or Specialized to get something similar. My friend has just bought a Carrera for his 10 year old son which he was just big enough for and I thought going with the 26in wheels would give the bike a bit more longevity. The trade off is the service is potentially not great and in this case the shop didn't set the bike up properly with the rear derailleur going slightly into the wheel but it's quite doable to sort these sorts of problems out yourself.
 
The Carreras are good bikes for the money and you'll generally have to spend a bit more with the bigger brands like Trek or Specialized to get something similar. My friend has just bought a Carrera for his 10 year old son which he was just big enough for and I thought going with the 26in wheels would give the bike a bit more longevity. The trade off is the service is potentially not great and in this case the shop didn't set the bike up properly with the rear derailleur going slightly into the wheel but it's quite doable to sort these sorts of problems out yourself.
I don't suppose you know what model your friend bought?
 
I don't suppose you know what model your friend bought?
I couldn't find it earlier but I think the price has gone up slightly and pretty sure it was this one:


It's eight speed rather than seven speed like many others are at this price so more choice for upgrading the drivetrain and it has disc brakes, only mechanical but gives an option to upgrade later if needed.

The other one he looked at which is 1x9 with hydraulic brakes was this voodoo:

He asked his son which he wanted and he wanted the vengeance because he preferred the colour :D
 
I couldn't find it earlier but I think the price has gone up slightly and pretty sure it was this one:


It's eight speed rather than seven speed like many others are at this price so more choice for upgrading the drivetrain and it has disc brakes, only mechanical but gives an option to upgrade later if needed.

The other one he looked at which is 1x9 with hydraulic brakes was this voodoo:

He asked his son which he wanted and he wanted the vengeance because he preferred the colour :D
Thanks for the links.

Interestingly I too was looking at the Voodoo but was advised that he would be better suited to a small adult bike. I didn't realise there was a kids version of the Carerra as had been looking at the adult ones.
This is the one in an XS frame size - Carrera Vengeance Mens Mountain Bike - Black, Small | Halfords UK

Heads pickled with should I buy XS/S men's or Youths!
Guy in the Independent store had him on a S Men's Marlin 4!!

I really like that Voodoo, just not sure I'd get as long out of it as would an Adult bike 🤪
 
I thought the one my friend had bought was the small adult's one as well but I checked the links and it was the junior one, I think I'm getting mixed up with the Treks because he looked at a Marlin 5 which was available in XXS. I thought he'd be best with a small adult's frame if possible but I think he was a bit on the small side height wise for it/
 
£39/month to pretty dramatically improve your overall fitness is a pretty low price to pay......David Lloyd will be charging you £100/month+ for a family membership, not including the time it take to get to their facilities.
Puregym is £16 a month. And I don't have to fork out £2k for a bike.
I'm lucky that is takes 5 minutes to drive. But still, it offers much more than just cycling. That cost also includes Spin classes twice a day if you fancy a go.
David Lloyd's is nice but to me you pay for a load of luxury things that are pointless. Even the pools aren't usually the full 25 metre.
 
I have just cycled 12.2 miles around by me, I took some photos of HS2 destruction of woods too! :mad:
 
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Puregym is £16 a month. And I don't have to fork out £2k for a bike.
I'm lucky that is takes 5 minutes to drive. But still, it offers much more than just cycling. That cost also includes Spin classes twice a day if you fancy a go.
David Lloyd's is nice but to me you pay for a load of luxury things that are pointless. Even the pools aren't usually the full 25 metre.

£16 x 2 is pretty much the same cost as the Peloton monthly subscription, the Bike is now £1350.

The gym is fine when you don't have family commitments, but Peloton has seen our family do much more exercise than ever, much more so compared to when we had £50+/month gym memberships.

Its works really well if you get on with the way the instructors deliver the programs, and interms of presentation and appearance which lets face it is vital for any kind of streaming content, Peloton really is hard to beat! You certainly aren't spending hours at a time looking at a group of over weight MAMILs :).

peloton.png
 
It's ten years since a cycling event at work gave me the last push to get a bike and start doing lunch runs for the puppy by bike instead of car. This year it's a virtual one just counting the miles but I wanted to do something special to mark it as I've been trying to get over 125 miles for a couple of years and finally managed to hit 150 miles. The weather was pretty much perfect with no sun and little wind plus the power meter was surprisingly useful, I hadn't realised how much I was wasting power on acceleration and hill climbs so I found it easier than usual near the end.

Way back to 2011 when 26 miles absolutely killed me:

y4mgl2II5NP3LT9rswZLE4HrTqFj0a-bHi8TgLyGwjTfu8YZrezlRZcTkIF7Cw9DmX2IU6fq3L02X0eiXJmJiU6XuBALrO7cD2vSdbDRTTY_AWJiS1938qAQMUjEBJ4-knglTcLH2fUObxmXF7GOBTKeFv45eEacdwF8dF0Zyk3B24A0SJdudBL_ig_8h_snAnh


Never thought I'd be doing an all day ride on a full carbon road bike which with its dampeners front and rear make such a difference on a big ride:

y4m9KCtw56bmoe2lpV4RsrxrqaKeK1sEZabtRbih5vEs30igf8IVY0k_QQWRH_4tH5Hw0cKvgjzNdC8qkTtA7fsyc4Jwhk0CsiCrQNH-j5gaIC6Jw0Zh3T3iuoipClELH8ko2r982mV0m5C5oXSF1yHqIva1NCQmQ1_sWJdiLVSLGUna3MtUzc5ySrej0y7bsp5


For an upcoming race I guess but still amused to see these signs along part of the route I was doing:

y4mztdHa_lFX5Fs2a5PihHLTrOc109Qy52NZ_6KNACqaB2l5cmULNgJUhhLPBSjFUpQYQ20HZQBAgsSPv25CpQnl_dgXiHNObB-PNNJyaSImgfxGtxtM6OheOHK8KNt4E3hLGGSHekNm2FuVryO1RV7Z7prMvtJi9XPaQ_mbLzSUovwlW0L9l-lDSlejmbDFdvo


Well into darkness by this point and my morale was taking a bit of a hit with a long straight section to reach here and then the rain had started, I was half tempted to pop into a pub to get warmed up and have a little break but pushed on:

y4m5623dPI1jl2s5G2jzYuqjHHvOC7fX-YTJoROL2H2dGGZRmUAwXitZrb4LUoiVjaIWivh_A51WX22I0f6-ZRLtlqric8tL-A_ZClPG7vFXDs822hXruu98okoOXkVnm72rzBSa2hbTy9g5jdlmQYx70uXaZ4_Vi6IdZyZRv1DBwxZm1jpPfmTkqRDdA_ryOFx


And finally all done, it's quite surprising how many miles you can clock up without ever going that far from home:

y4m9flu2PJOi1a3qZVJ8LxGngX6I3x09M1b1j7qGNCSbg-8NXyOGAWqGtJhA3xMJIXGbEgJj-Y6WIYzcnMw2Xyi91ksE4QKggk39zFvZfUtqaHZFabHBg9yJQDFUmYLNC_qEZUWYnhm_YDOKUDhlyfMmeV7VV47USRtzp4lO1qB_W4aW7xVGb_-Wc4bb0g2AECt
 
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It's ten years since a cycling event at work gave me the last push to get a bike and start doing lunch runs for the puppy by bike instead of car. This year it's a virtual one just counting the miles but I wanted to do something special to mark it as I've been trying to get over 125 miles for a couple of years and finally managed to hit 150 miles. The weather was pretty much perfect with no sun and little wind plus the power meter was surprisingly useful, I hadn't realised how much I was wasting power on acceleration and hill climbs so I found it easier than usual near the end.

Way back to 2011 when 26 miles absolutely killed me:

y4mgl2II5NP3LT9rswZLE4HrTqFj0a-bHi8TgLyGwjTfu8YZrezlRZcTkIF7Cw9DmX2IU6fq3L02X0eiXJmJiU6XuBALrO7cD2vSdbDRTTY_AWJiS1938qAQMUjEBJ4-knglTcLH2fUObxmXF7GOBTKeFv45eEacdwF8dF0Zyk3B24A0SJdudBL_ig_8h_snAnh


Never thought I'd be doing an all day ride on a full carbon road bike which with its dampeners front and rear make such a difference on a big ride:

y4m9KCtw56bmoe2lpV4RsrxrqaKeK1sEZabtRbih5vEs30igf8IVY0k_QQWRH_4tH5Hw0cKvgjzNdC8qkTtA7fsyc4Jwhk0CsiCrQNH-j5gaIC6Jw0Zh3T3iuoipClELH8ko2r982mV0m5C5oXSF1yHqIva1NCQmQ1_sWJdiLVSLGUna3MtUzc5ySrej0y7bsp5


For an upcoming race I guess but still amused to see these signs along part of the route I was doing:

y4mztdHa_lFX5Fs2a5PihHLTrOc109Qy52NZ_6KNACqaB2l5cmULNgJUhhLPBSjFUpQYQ20HZQBAgsSPv25CpQnl_dgXiHNObB-PNNJyaSImgfxGtxtM6OheOHK8KNt4E3hLGGSHekNm2FuVryO1RV7Z7prMvtJi9XPaQ_mbLzSUovwlW0L9l-lDSlejmbDFdvo


Well into darkness by this point and my morale was taking a bit of a hit with a long straight section to reach here and then the rain had started, I was half tempted to pop into a pub to get warmed up and have a little break but pushed on:

y4m5623dPI1jl2s5G2jzYuqjHHvOC7fX-YTJoROL2H2dGGZRmUAwXitZrb4LUoiVjaIWivh_A51WX22I0f6-ZRLtlqric8tL-A_ZClPG7vFXDs822hXruu98okoOXkVnm72rzBSa2hbTy9g5jdlmQYx70uXaZ4_Vi6IdZyZRv1DBwxZm1jpPfmTkqRDdA_ryOFx


And finally all done, it's quite surprising how many miles you can clock up without ever going that far from home:

y4m9flu2PJOi1a3qZVJ8LxGngX6I3x09M1b1j7qGNCSbg-8NXyOGAWqGtJhA3xMJIXGbEgJj-Y6WIYzcnMw2Xyi91ksE4QKggk39zFvZfUtqaHZFabHBg9yJQDFUmYLNC_qEZUWYnhm_YDOKUDhlyfMmeV7VV47USRtzp4lO1qB_W4aW7xVGb_-Wc4bb0g2AECt
Great stuff. That is quite some elevation too.
 
It's ten years since a cycling event at work gave me the last push to get a bike and start doing lunch runs for the puppy by bike instead of car. This year it's a virtual one just counting the miles but I wanted to do something special to mark it as I've been trying to get over 125 miles for a couple of years and finally managed to hit 150 miles. The weather was pretty much perfect with no sun and little wind plus the power meter was surprisingly useful, I hadn't realised how much I was wasting power on acceleration and hill climbs so I found it easier than usual near the end.

Way back to 2011 when 26 miles absolutely killed me:

y4mgl2II5NP3LT9rswZLE4HrTqFj0a-bHi8TgLyGwjTfu8YZrezlRZcTkIF7Cw9DmX2IU6fq3L02X0eiXJmJiU6XuBALrO7cD2vSdbDRTTY_AWJiS1938qAQMUjEBJ4-knglTcLH2fUObxmXF7GOBTKeFv45eEacdwF8dF0Zyk3B24A0SJdudBL_ig_8h_snAnh


Never thought I'd be doing an all day ride on a full carbon road bike which with its dampeners front and rear make such a difference on a big ride:

y4m9KCtw56bmoe2lpV4RsrxrqaKeK1sEZabtRbih5vEs30igf8IVY0k_QQWRH_4tH5Hw0cKvgjzNdC8qkTtA7fsyc4Jwhk0CsiCrQNH-j5gaIC6Jw0Zh3T3iuoipClELH8ko2r982mV0m5C5oXSF1yHqIva1NCQmQ1_sWJdiLVSLGUna3MtUzc5ySrej0y7bsp5


For an upcoming race I guess but still amused to see these signs along part of the route I was doing:

y4mztdHa_lFX5Fs2a5PihHLTrOc109Qy52NZ_6KNACqaB2l5cmULNgJUhhLPBSjFUpQYQ20HZQBAgsSPv25CpQnl_dgXiHNObB-PNNJyaSImgfxGtxtM6OheOHK8KNt4E3hLGGSHekNm2FuVryO1RV7Z7prMvtJi9XPaQ_mbLzSUovwlW0L9l-lDSlejmbDFdvo


Well into darkness by this point and my morale was taking a bit of a hit with a long straight section to reach here and then the rain had started, I was half tempted to pop into a pub to get warmed up and have a little break but pushed on:

y4m5623dPI1jl2s5G2jzYuqjHHvOC7fX-YTJoROL2H2dGGZRmUAwXitZrb4LUoiVjaIWivh_A51WX22I0f6-ZRLtlqric8tL-A_ZClPG7vFXDs822hXruu98okoOXkVnm72rzBSa2hbTy9g5jdlmQYx70uXaZ4_Vi6IdZyZRv1DBwxZm1jpPfmTkqRDdA_ryOFx


And finally all done, it's quite surprising how many miles you can clock up without ever going that far from home:

y4m9flu2PJOi1a3qZVJ8LxGngX6I3x09M1b1j7qGNCSbg-8NXyOGAWqGtJhA3xMJIXGbEgJj-Y6WIYzcnMw2Xyi91ksE4QKggk39zFvZfUtqaHZFabHBg9yJQDFUmYLNC_qEZUWYnhm_YDOKUDhlyfMmeV7VV47USRtzp4lO1qB_W4aW7xVGb_-Wc4bb0g2AECt
That’s a lot of miles and climbing for one day! Congratulations!

I recently cycled from Bristol to London (over two days) with a couple of friends, following the National Cycle Route 4:


2220408C-3F96-40F5-9E41-EDD5F3E095E2.jpeg


0BF18642-F6D3-45AC-9CED-CB83E354C3BA.jpeg

Amazing scenery and a glimpse into the past as it mostly follows the canal .

C7EBEE62-87B1-4EA9-9C9D-DBD7FCAEF98F.jpeg

Maybe one day I’ll do the full length of route 4 😊👍

I did it on a cross bike with 28mm 4 season road tyres, but could have done with something a little wider .
 

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That’s a lot of miles and climbing for one day! Congratulations!

I recently cycled from Bristol to London (over two days) with a couple of friends, following the National Cycle Route 4:


View attachment 1566336

View attachment 1566326
Amazing scenery and a glimpse into the past as it mostly follows the canal .

View attachment 1566329
Maybe one day I’ll do the full length of route 4 😊👍

I did it on a cross bike with 28mm 4 season road tyres, but could have done with something a little wider .
That sounds a great ride. I'd like to do that.
 
None of these programs are anything like what Peloton offers though. The focus of these program appear to be staring at numbers and graphs, Peloton does pretty much the opposite. The end results is actually very similar interms of HIT training etc, but its how the instructors get you there without you realising.

51411519135_8266d84b85_c_d.jpg


Ulimtaly it than comes down to how often/much you use it, Peloton could 100% reduce their price to attract more customers interms of monthly cost, but if their style works for you (or house hold), £39/month to pretty dramatically improve your overall fitness is a pretty low price to pay......David Lloyd will be charging you £100/month+ for a family membership, not including the time it take to get to their facilities.

Overall the thing with Peloton is its actually 'fun' to do the rides/programs, rather than 'Suffer' 45 mintues - 1hr on a turbo.

Yeah I agree that's the issue with non-peloton based apps, nothing seems to some close to that virtual spin class setup that they have.

I'm not a fan of peloton due to the high subscription prices, just thing its double what it should be and you're completely locked in, if you don't use it the bike is pretty much just a dumb bike. Personally I went for a Wattbike with both their built in app (free) as well as Zwift which I really love, but I'm a road cyclist also so it suits me well.

I'm hoping that someone will come up with a spin bike instructor type app (like Peloton) that is more open ecosystem and can be used with the various other bluetooth/ant+ bikes out there
 
That sounds a great ride. I'd like to do that.
I’ve done a couple of supported point to point rides, and think they are great tbh. The difficult parts are finding someone or an organisation to do the ‘supporting’and/or finding people with a similar fitness level.

I have thought about unsupported rides, but none of my bikes can easily take luggage - kicking myself I didn’t think about this when I bought my cross/winter bike.

I can also highly recommend Toulouse to Barcelona over three days (although I think I’d find that tough at current fitness level)
This also highlights the cost difference of beer in France compared to Spain!
 
You will find they are half price somewhere all year round. They may as well just say that is the RRP.
There is a minimum spend at Wiggle though.
I’m still waiting to see the usual 10 tabs + bottle for £2.50 offer somewhere, my bottles are starting to look a bit … ‘bacterial’
 

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