Pedal Power Thread

I'm going to show my lack of knowledge here but I need some help....
I've bought a new set of wheels and a new cassette for the bike. I'm going from a 12-28 to an 11-32. I've read that I may need a long derailleur cage and not sure if mine is ok. I've attached a pic if anyone can tell me from that??

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I can't find any model numbers on there anywhere [emoji53]
I might take it back and go with a straight swap for the 12-28.
 
Phil1974 said:
I can't find any model numbers on there anywhere
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the "series number" should be on the back of the rear parallelogram arm (the front one is the bit with the "sora" painted on it, the rear one is the one in parallel to it, facing backwards... it's not simple to get to, but if you find it it should begin "RD-3X00" (the x being either 5,4 or 3) and then have a suffix of either GS or SS - if it's the GS you should be fine with a 32t rear cassette - though you may need a couple of extra links in the chain - but then again, if you're swapping cassettes, you really aught to be changing the chain as well anyway, so just shorten the chain as needed for the new cassette, rather than using the old chain as a guide to the number of links needed.
 
Wyes, but I was hoping it would show either a small or GS suffix after the RD3500

Perhaps there is something on the actual jockey wheel cage...

Must admit I'm not really well up on the lower group sets, I've tended to stick with ultegra/dura-ace
 
That looks good. Will I still need to adjust the chain? I'm only swapping to a new cassette as I've got shiny new wheels to put on so I don't think the chain necessarily needs replacing because of wear.
 
For the cost of a chain vs the cost of a cassette I'd through one on, I had a chain / cassette issue after about 1000 miles. The plan was to put a new cassette on my new Mavic wheels and keep the original for winter. The chain was nowhere near worn to the limits but it clicked annoyingly on the new cassette
 
Well - November wasn't as bad as I was expecting... lots of fairly structured rides on the indoor trainer - okay, the distances mean very little - but "Watts is Watts". Pity Veloviewer's map won't extend all the way to show Richmond, the UK and "Wattopia" :LOL:

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Must admit being a little bit excited today when my Garmin 520 bundle arrived only it didn't....


I opened the sealed outer box and opened the Garmin box to find no 520 just an empty space staring at me with the accessories all below the white tray :jawdrop:

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The retail box wasn't sealed so I'm thinking some ******* at the depot has supplemented his/her Christmas income with a brand new unit for sale on the cheap!

I have spoken to Chain Reaction who so far have been very good and they have sent me a claim form which I have submitted with photos of said emptiness (as they requested) ... let's see how good their customer service is now - currently feeling a bit :( as it is only my word and this wasn't a cheap purchase. (Luckily I paid via CC so will have some protection there)
 

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I've not long got my money back for some bikes that I had stolen last year...it's safe to say it's all gone, and more.

Put an order down for this today so I'm going to be a very happy boy when it arrives :D It will be a nice all rounder


Mondraker Dune carbon, 2016 model. It will make a nice addition to my demo 8 DH bike which I'll save for uplift days or harder hits.
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Buck said:
Must admit being a little bit excited today when my Garmin 520 bundle arrived only it didn't....


I opened the sealed outer box and opened the Garmin box to find no 520 just an empty space staring at me with the accessories all below the white tray :jawdrop:

View attachment 51692

The retail box wasn't sealed so I'm thinking some ******* at the depot has supplemented his/her Christmas income with a brand new unit for sale on the cheap!

I have spoken to Chain Reaction who so far have been very good and they have sent me a claim form which I have submitted with photos of said emptiness (as they requested) ... let's see how good their customer service is now - currently feeling a bit :( as it is only my word and this wasn't a cheap purchase. (Luckily I paid via CC so will have some protection there)
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If ever there was a need for an "unlike" button this would be it! Hope you get it sorted.
 
Cheers Phil

Yes, not a good feeling at the moment but it will get sorted. It'll just be a case of how easily/quickly.
I've got most of the day off tomorrow (evening meeting :() so I was hoping to head out for a ride with my new toy as well. :grumpy:
 
Buck said:
Cheers Phil

Yes, not a good feeling at the moment but it will get sorted. It'll just be a case of how easily/quickly.
I've got most of the day off tomorrow (evening meeting :() so I was hoping to head out for a ride with my new toy as well. :grumpy:
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Unless there's been a complete change around at CRC you'll be fine, I've had a few things that have been returned, and always no quibble, and often ended up with some added freebie on the replacement shipping.
 
TheBigYin said:
Unless there's been a complete change around at CRC you'll be fine, I've had a few things that have been returned, and always no quibble, and often ended up with some added freebie on the replacement shipping.
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From my previous encounters with CRC I'm sure all will be well but until they tell me that, the self doubt monster raises his ugly head!

TopBanana said:
@Buck that's just shocking that the box was empty!!!! Hope you get it sorted quickly.
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Cheers Tim. Was a shocker when I opened the box. How?Why?Who - you can imagine!!! Fingers crossed for CRC coming good on this.
 
Rang CRC as I'd not heard anything and after re-sending the email I sent yesterday and another phone call they have agreed to send me another! Only problem - no stock! So, have arranged for a refund and will order from CRC or Wiggle as soon as they have stock in - let's hope the price doesn't go up in the meantime!
 
In other news, my new computer has arrived so I will be fitting it, along with the spare TV in the garage ready for the Zwift set up (y)

I've just set it up to test and all good so tomorrow I'll be buying the wall bracket and fitting it :D. Once I'm happy with the set up I'll put the cables in trunking to make it all neat and tidy.
 
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@Buck how you getting on with that?
 
dod said:
@Buck how you getting on with that?
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George, I must say that I am impressed with Zwift.

I knew that I'd find indoor training pretty boring and would lose interest quite easily so Zwift looked to be what I needed.

For me it is great in that, for example, I went on around 9pm the other night and today had less than an hour to get a ride in before we went out so it can give you the ride you need in a fixed time. I know Mark @TheBigYin is using the workouts (FTP Builder IIRC) which I have yet to look at but will definitely be focusing on over winter to give me the best possible start next year (although I do plan to get out wherever time and weather permit)

I'm impressed with the interface and graphics of the programme and yes, you can really feel the difference when the hills kick in (and also on the descents)

The only thing I have experienced is on my last ride it did not link to Strava for some reason and today, it didn't upload my ride in Zwift correctly. (I'm not sure if this last one was user error as I let my youngest sit in the saddle whilst it was synching and he turned the pedals a couple of times which might have thrown out the software?)

In both cases I was able to use the .fit file that Zwift saves to the PC and upload this to Strava so I have a record of my rides. I will raise a ticket with Zwift to replace my ride on there as well.

I've now used my 50k free trial and will be subscribing.
 
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@Buck Do you realise you get another 2 months free with Strava premium which is 3.99 per month? (Zwift is £8 a month).

I'm really enjoying Zwift. Really find it easy to push myself harder on Zwift. Heart rate hit 185 in the Sprint yesterday, pretty sure that's never happened on the Turbo before.

Compared to just training with numbers an hour flies by as well.
 
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MFlip said:
@Buck Do you realise you get another 2 months free with Strava premium which is 3.99 per month? (Zwift is £8 a month).

I'm really enjoying Zwift. Really find it easy to push myself harder on Zwift. Heart rate hit 185 in the Sprint yesterday, pretty sure that's never happened on the Turbo before.

Compared to just training with numbers an hour flies by as well.
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Yes, I was considering using my free Strava Premium from when I bought my Garmin. :D

What's your user name on Zwift? My next aim is to look at the workouts and also team up with others on a ride.
 
MFlip said:
Just 'Mark Dolphin' Have yet to work out how you can actually follow someone unless you happen to find them riding?
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If I understand it, you can only follow someone when they are actually tiding then select them in the phone app.

Apparantly, there is a development update due on selecting friends and also linking with them via Strava and Facebook etc.
 
PS if I e got the right person I put a request to follow you on Strava (y)
 
Buck said:
If I understand it, you can only follow someone when they are actually tiding then select them in the phone app.

Apparantly, there is a development update due on selecting friends and also linking with them via Strava and Facebook etc.
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Thats exactly right Adrian... It's a complete PITA at the moment, but hopefully they'll get something sorted soon.
 
Buck said:
I know Mark @TheBigYin is using the workouts (FTP Builder IIRC) which I have yet to look at but will definitely be focusing on over winter to give me the best possible start next year (although I do plan to get out wherever time and weather permit)
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Yeah - i'm ploughing through the 12 week FTP builder program - mainly, I have to admit, because it was obvious that it started off REALLY gently - and initially I didn't want anything too stressful of difficult. Its now over 3 months since I had my "little issue" and the accompanying procedure, and I've been through a 8 week rehab program from the hospital (with flying colours, though, frankly that wasn't exactly difficult). At the final session, I was actually given the go-ahead to ride outdoors as well, should I wish - but - since that "sign off" basically there's been about 3 days without a) torrential rain, b) snow/sleet c) 40+mph winds or d) all of the above. And, on those 3 days, I was off the bike, indeed unable to walk, as I'd tripped whilst taking my wheely-bin back in, and badly twisted my ankle.

So - I'm still bashing the indoor trainer, mainly on Zwift - though I took Mark's ( @MFlip ) advice on Tacx TTS4 and bought a copy of the latest Advanced version (along with the handlebar controller gizmo, and the ANT+ lead) from one of the german big-box shifters - for less than the cost of downloading the software and getting emailed a licence no. direct from Tacx. And, I'll be honest, I'm in two minds as to if i'll actually subscribe to Zwift after the 2 months Strava freebie runs out... because, frankly, Richmond and Watopia are wearing a little thin after the past 42 hours of riding around in circles... Think it's high time that they god some alternative routes - there's a real need IMO for a relatively flat/rolling course (no more than 2-3%) that's maybe 30-40km as a loop - much more sensible for the "training" sessions. And, well - if they do want to do some proper hills... why not model a real one - get M. Ventoux mapped out before the TdF say (I picked on Ventoux, because... well... it's pretty featureless and easy to map - half of it's tree lined road, then theres Chalet Renard, then the Boulderfield and finally the Observatory. Easy-Peasy... Well - it's a damned sight easier than something like Alpe d'Huez....)
 
Yes, they're promising lots more features (which I understand/read as more courses) - let's hope they don't take too long about it!
 
I suppose that a large number of their "customers" are actually on the "Free 2 months" from Strava, to be honest, and very probably won't actually start stumping up money until another 2 weeks or so (i've 18 days remaining, but I was a little slow in using my "trial 50km") - so the money's not exactly "rolling in" yet, but the whole "Watopia Ocean Route Expansion" thing has been "teased" for quite a while now... this was back on the 7th November for example...

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TheBigYin said:
Think it's high time that they god some alternative routes - there's a real need IMO for a relatively flat/rolling course (no more than 2-3%) that's maybe 30-40km as a loop - much more sensible for the "training" sessions.
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I think the problem they have at the moment is there aren't enough people using Zwift. It's already pretty quiet when I'm on in the morning. If there are a couple of courses to choose from at the same time the number of people you're riding with will reduce further. One of the big advantages of Zwift for me is the interaction with other riders, either pushing myself to stay on someones wheel as they come past or trying to catch someone on a climb. If they just cycle through different courses more often people who only ride a couple of times a week might struggle to ride the course they prefer.

If you drop the difficulty level back in the settings section this effectively reduces the gradient of hills so there is some room for customization even in the two current courses. This is defaulted at 50% I believe. I took it up to 75% earlier this week to allow me to generate more power on the sprint without spinning out. Think I'll try to gradually move it up to 100% to make the climbs more realistic if the turbo will cope.
 
MFlip said:
One of the big advantages of Zwift for me is the interaction with other riders, either pushing myself to stay on someones wheel as they come past or trying to catch someone on a climb.
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Ah, you see, this is where I'm coming to the realisation that i'm not really Zwifts target demographic... Since having a (nasty) accident 20+ years ago which took me over 8 months to get back to walking (never mind riding the bike) I've pretty much shelved all the pretensions I had of being in any way a competitive cyclist. I used to do Road Races, Time-Trial and anything competitive on 2 pedal powered wheels, but after crashing from being someone pushing to get my 1st cat licence down to barely able to walk, I simply didn't (and still don't) have the heart to punish myself to the degree that I'd need to in order to get competitive again. And, having competed at a reasonably high level, I just don't really have the urge to compete any more, if I can't get back to that (relative - I know anno-domini has kicked in...) level again. So, I CBA to "sprint for the village signs" , don't give a stuff if someone half-wheels me or sits on my wheel 3/4 of the way up a hill then "jumps" me for the top... And that's in real-life. I've just lost that competitive vibe - I'm too old, too fat, and too slow to worry about my "form" so I can't get particularly interested if some animated bundle of pixels passes me, or (unlikely, I know) if I pass them. It's just a video game - some distraction that's better than looking at the wall while I pedal away into a pool of sweat, while struggling to get fit/healthy again after my current medical issues. I just want to get fit enough again to go out on a Sunday for 8-9 hours, ride to the seaside for some fish-and-chips, ride back home, and still be able to walk to my local for a couple of pints afterward without seizing up...
 
MFlip said:
I think the problem they have at the moment is there aren't enough people using Zwift. ...
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I wonder if we will see an increase post Christmas as people get subscriptions either directly or through purchasing other products (Garmin / Strava etc.)

When I rode the other night it there were c.160-170 riders on the course at the same time - granted all American continent due to the time but still a good number of people.

If they get the social side of Zwift working and make it easier to hook up with people you know (real or virtual!) then I think it will step forward in both new sign-ups and retentions as well!
 
TheBigYin said:
I just want to get fit enough again to go out on a Sunday for 8-9 hours, ride to the seaside for some fish-and-chips, ride back home, and still be able to walk to my local for a couple of pints afterward without seizing up...
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Just? :)

Sounds tough, I can see how that would take the fun out of it. It was bad enough trying to motivate myself this year and that's just because I'm not as fit as I was 2 years ago..... and I wasn't that fast even then.

I don't actually chase after people in real life (although I will try and drop the odd wheel sucking stranger on a sportive if there's no sign of them helping out or even just asking if it's ok to sit there.) Zwift makes it more acceptable, other riders are generally anonymous and there's no chance of stranger riding into you or vice versa. There are that many variables (turbos, calibration, time of day, temperature, difficulty setting, etc,) that you'll never really be competing like for like. It's only ever really going to be a personal challenge.
 
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