Archive for September 2010
Use Carbon Wheels For Racing – The Benefits Are Clear!
September 25, 2010
In the last several years carbon wheels have become increasing more popular in all types of cycle racing and are even been used in mountain bike downhill racing.
The prices of top end alloy wheels is increasing, with the Mavic Ksyrium up to 900 now – so many racing cyclists are seeing the price advantage of buying a pair of Carbon Wheels, as prices are coming down, with some wheelsets costing just 500.
The most popular type of rim for use with a carbon wheel is the tub rim – this is where you glue a tubeless tyre to the rim instead of the clincer type. There are huge benefits for using a tubular tyre – one being that they accept pressures of up to 220psi (100 psi is normal for a clincher) meaning less rolling resistance – great for time trial riders and criterium sprinters.
Clincher carbon wheels are generally heavier than tubular due to the extra carbon that is needed around the edge of the rim. This is to stop the clincher tyre pushing the rim apart. Of course this extra weight is going to make the wheels a bit slower in getting up to speed. All carbon clinchers have a maximum tyre pressure generally around 120psi.
Carbon rims need specific pads. Most wheel sets come with a set of pads and the quality seems to vary between screechy and useless in the wet, to others like Swiss stop that work nearly as good as pads braking on alloy rims especially for Road Bikes.
Some alloy pads are Ok to use with carbon wheels, however it is generally recommended to ditch them and invest in a good set – this cancels out any problems with braking in the rain.
You have a choice between 50mm and 80mm rim depths when choosing your wheels. 80mm are ok for use on the back of a bike, but in windy conditions if used on the front would cause the bike to be blown around – not what you want at high speed. 50mm is recommended for general use.
A deep section wheel is going to be at its most efficient with a cross/tailwind, basically it acts like a sail so in theory the deeper the better. However, once you turn and the wind is coming from the side, really deep section is going to make the front of the bike a bit difficult to control particular if you are small, although Mark Cavendish doesn’t seem to have a problem.
Bladed spokes are now commonplace as they offer huge aerodynamic advantages of the traditional round spokes found on older handbuilt wheelsets. Blades cut the wind offering even more advantages to the budding racer wanting to shave a few thousands off their time.
Cyclocross racers have been using top end carbon wheels for ages, as they simply cut through the mud with ease – hardly slowing the rider down. Old style spoked wheels with thin rims get sucked into mud and slow the rider. Tub tyres such as Dugast are popular with cyclo cross racers across the world.
Johnny Ratcliffe is a road racer based in the Leeds who specialises in Criterium road races. He has written for many cycling websites such as Road Bikes Reviewed.
How and why is bike riding a good exercise?
September 20, 2010
Okay I am writing a paragraph for school and the topic is "how and why is bike riding a good excersise" Can you give me some ideas please and explain!!!!!!!!!!
Going to the Gym vs. Bicycling:
1. You step out of your house, get on your Bicycle (assuming you have a common road or hybrid bike) and you’re exercising. An hour later you’re back home.
A half hour after leaving your house for the Gym, you finally get through traffic and arrive. You take about an hour and fifteen minutes to get an hour worth of exercise, because you had to wait for many different machines you wanted to use. You then feel the need to shower there and get foot fungus.
2. Bicycling is low to no impact. I just rode my bike with a sprained ankle, no issues, even though I can’t even walk on it.
While Nautilus equipment lowers impact on joints, many gym machines, especially treadmills, are hard on your joints.
3. You don’t have to pay for gas on a bike, and if you have a rear pack, or front basket (or both) you can do shopping and other chores during your bike ride, multi-tasking. You can then use the money you saved on whatever you want. I suggest going out to a movie.
You had to buy gas for your car, which is like 50 bucks to fill up now. You also had to pay for that gym membership, which is about 70 dollars a month. That’s 12 movies you could see a month, but can’t because you’re working out at a gym.
4. Statistically speaking, people who become bike people, stay bike people. They may do some mountain biking at state parks, and perhaps they tour (1 day, 3 day, or even month long) on their bike and see the country. Maybe they try out all of the local "rail trails," because they’re flat and go through neat little towns. Maybe they just like bicycling through cool parts of town to their favorite cafe, sit and drink an Americano for an hour, then ride on. Bicycling has staying power because it can become a lifestyle change. Biking is a culture.
Statistically speaking, people with gym memberships usually stop going, then get depressed because they feel it’s their fault they couldn’t get in shape, or were too lazy, when in truth they just need an exciting exercise.
Hamsters use gym equipment. Gods ride bikes. And it doesn’t matter how old, young, skinny, or fat you are when you get on the bike. You can go your own speed, whatever distance you’re comfortable with. There’s no pressure because you’re not out to exercise, you’re just out for a pleasurable ride.
I want to start bike riding to get fitter, how long?
September 14, 2010
Ive recently got a bike and i want to start getting fit from it. How long shuld i do per wk? What areas does bike riding have affect on my body?
Thankyou 
Since you are beginning, start with whatever you feel comfortable with for now. If you can only do 15 minutes – start with that. If half an hour – go with that. Build your way up to an hour per work-out, 4 to 5 times week not counting a few minutes riding slower to warm up & then cool off.
Cycling is a a cardiovascular work-out. It will improve stamina & tone (not bulk up) leg muscles. It will help burn off fat proportionately all over, providing your diet is also good. One Big Mac can ruin the entire week. It will not get you ’6 pack abs’.
You will need to ride using the proper techniques. One of these is called cadence. Cadence is the rpm the crank turns. Try to maintain 70-90 rpm on the crank uphill & down. Learn how to shift your gears & when to keep this cadence going. I’m putting some links below. Good luck. Has helped me a lot.
what are some good songs to listen to while riding a bike?
September 9, 2010
ive gotta go on a bike ride tonight, and im wondering what some good songs are with a decent beat that i can listen to while riding? im not really into trance music or anything….and i like stuff with decent lyrics aswell. any ideas?
camera eye by rush… adreneline by bush…. autumn by edgar winter group
Is bike riding considered a cardio workout?
September 6, 2010
Im trying to lose 20 pounds and trying to build muscle, is bike riding considered a cardio workout? If not please give me ideas. If it is how many times a week should i do cardio?
Yes it a very good cardiovascular work out, you can go for hours at a time with a elevated heart rate. You want to ride every day, start out slow until you get use to the saddle and work your way up to a hour a day or more. You want to start out with an easy 10 min warm up ride. After the warm up you want to always pedal at a high cadence 70-90 rpm’s in a gear that is easy to spin. That will use your slow twitch muscles that use fat as a fuel and can go for a very long time. It will take a few weeks before you really start to burn the calories. Climbing hills will really help to build and tone your legs and butt. A good diet is very important a fast food cheese burger, large fries, and a med Coke can take 42 miles to burn off. You burn about 35 calories per mile. Once you get into shape and can ride for hours at a time you body burns more calories even at rest.
Why do they call the race tour de france,tour de france?
September 3, 2010
Its not tourng thats racing. Be better to call it race de france.
Tour means race in French.