Question:
I have an early 80′s Univega good steel frame with full Dura-Ace group; want to resurrect for the new millennium with some type of index shifting. Have 126 mm dropout spacing, but with the steel frame know that it can be ‘stretched’ to accommodate 130mm requirements. Thinking maybe trying to pick up a used Ultegra group if the conversion is not too much of a technical nightmare, re-dishing wheel etc. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Darrell.

Hi Darrell.

Yes Darrel, the good news is that with a steel frame you can open up the rear ends to take the wider hub and all your “new” indexed equipment should fit your frame without too many problems. You will probably need the cable adjusters that bolt onto where the existing lever bosses are on the down tube, everything else should easy enough.

Your main problem will be the rear wheel, you don’t say how many gear sprockets and the fitting system. If it is a screw on free wheel then it will be difficult and probably impossible to find one to suit the gear system you are looking for.

If you have a cassette system then it will probably be out of date and a newer cassette of 8, 9 or 10 speeds will not fit.

Your best plan would be to buy either a new group set and a wheel set to match or if you are thinking of a second hand group set, and then once you have bought it, then buy a rear wheel that will take the correct cassette to match which ever group you have bought.

Replacing everything is the easiest plan of action, if you try to up-grade bit by bit then you run into miss match problems. There are many differences between all the different speed set ups, the clicks in the levers, the width of the chain, the spaces between the rear sprockets and the space between the chain rings.

To try to make a 9 speed lever work with an 8 speed or 7 speed cassette is a madness that is a waste of time and money.

Stick to the same model and year of manufacture to make sure it all works perfectly well and get a wheel to match.

Shimano Dura-Ace Group

Question:
Hi I’m looking at a Mountain Bike & don’t know how the Shimano group set range goes, I know the road bike range Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra & Dura Ace can you tell me please?
Thank you,
From Mr Oppy C6..

Hi Elio.
This is an easy question to answer and if you look up the Shimano web-site you will a full description of the entire group sets, here they are:

ALIVIO:
The ALIVIO group feature a full complement of advanced Shimano functions. Features like 8-speed Hyperdrive, powerful V-Brake and disc brake systems, and Rapid-fire Plus shifting make ALIVIO the trend-setting group for quality recreational mountain bikes.

Shimano Alivio

DEORE:
High performance for serious cycling fun.
DEORE is designed to appeal to a wide range of cycling fans by inheriting the key functions of DEORE XT and DEORE LX at a great value.
DEORE design blends “Smart & Sharp” forms to complement MTB and trekking bikes.

SLX:
New SLX, Tough, Aggressive and Light, for a modern mountain bike group. Deore LX, has been functionally re-designed into two groups: New SLX for MTB and new Deore LX for Trekking.

Shimano Alivio

SLX with Dyna-Sys:
Tough. Aggressive. Light.
For the latest off road styles…
The previous Deore LX, our mid-range MTB component range, has been split into two distinct groups. Deore LX remains in the family, but it’s now purpose built for Trekking.
SLX series takes over as the mid-range MTB group designed specifically for off-road riding. The distinct range of options within SLX allows you to tailor your components to your preferred off-road style, from XC through to All-Mountain.

DEORE XT:
As Mountain Bikes continue to become more diverse, components must evolve. Deore XT addresses the needs of today’s riders just like it did when it was first introduced back in 1982 as the world’s first MTB group. Revolutionary new designs like the Shimano Shadow rear derailleur complement the latest evolution of traditional designs to give you the right choice for your riding style.

DEORE XT with Dyna-Sys:
As Mountain Bikes continue to become more diverse, components must evolve. Deore XT addresses the needs of today’s riders just like it did when it was first introduced back in 1982 as the world’s first MTB group. Revolutionary new designs like the Shimano Shadow rear derailleur complement the latest evolution of traditional designs to give you the right choice for your riding style.

SAINT:
Shimano combines design and engineering prowess with current riding trends in all-mountain, freeride and downhill mountain bikes, in the lighter and incredibly durable Saint component group.
The redesigned group follows the evolution of aggressive mountain biking, where riders are more focused on finding their flow on lighter more precise handling bikes.

XTR:
Trail and Race Groups.
XTR is the best group set from Shimano and it splits into two sections, trail and race.
The trail group is hard wearing and has the gear ratios for any terrain; the disk brakes have the confidence to take on any descent.
The XTR race group comes with an off-road double chain set or you can go for a triple from the trail group. Lightness is what the race group is all about.

I hope this all helps?

Question:
I am 54 just started riding been using mountain bike with road tires but would like to get a road bike I have limited budget so don’t want to spend over a $1000 any suggestions? Thanks.
PS having a hard time convincing my wife,
thanks again.
John.

Hi John.

I’m not sure which is your hardest job; convincing the wife or choosing the bike? I’m not going to give you advice on the wife as this will get me into trouble, but here are my suggestions on the bike.

Trek:

There are many good bikes from Trek, but probably the best thing you should do is go to your local shop and see what deals they will do on a 2010 bike. Looking at the 2011 Treks; I would say the 1.5 Compact at $1099.99 is the best bike for your pocket; it has an Aluminium frame with carbon forks and built up with Shimano Tiagra and Bontrager parts, nice bike at a good price.

2011 Trek 1.5 compact

Specialized:

Have a check round for a 2010 Specialized Allez Sport Double; they seem to be selling at around $900, if you can find one that would be a bargain bike. Shimano Sora and Specialized components make this a good bike for a first road bike.

Specilized Allez

Scott:

The Scott Speedster S50 comes in under your price range. It has a mix of Shimano kit and Scott’s own brand equipment, the frame is alloy with a carbon fork, bargains can be found if you look around.

That is only three bikes and most bikes at that price are very similar, as I mentioned before check out the internet and the local bike shops for a bargain. This is probably the best time to search as next year’s bikes are starting to come through to the shops. The shops probably still have a few of this/last year’s bikes that they need to sell to make room for the new models.

The bikes at under $1,000 will all have either Shimano Tiagra or Sora with a mix of the manufacturers own brand bits, these are usually of a fair quality, but you will probably find that they will be the first parts to wear out and need replacing before the Shimano parts. For a first road bike this is not so much of a problem as you will probably want to change things as you get keener, or lose interest, which I doubt!

Tell your wife it too keep you fit, healthy and in good shape for her!

Question:
I use the grey Look cleat. I was thinking of going to a black Look cleat with 0 float and wanted to know what the ramifications would be if I did. I ride aggressively about 180 mi/week solo, in mostly flat with some hills (Memphis, TN). Sometimes I push too hard on the hills and my knees get a little sore.

Hi Valerie.

As you say the Look black plates give no float and your foot is held solid and you will not have any heel movement. Before the invention of clip less pedals the shoe plate and pedal set up didn’t have any float and (as I remember) riders had more problems with their knees. This was probably due to not fitting the plates in the correct position which would twist the knee, causing damage.

Probably the main advantage of the shoe plate with float is that you will get away with any incorrect positioning of the shoe plate as the float allows the foot to move to the correct place without causing injury to ankles, knees, hips or the spine.

If you want to try the black shoes plates you need to make sure they are fitted in the correct place. When fitting new shoe plates mark the old ones with either a permanent marker pen or tape before you take them off and you should hopefully have them in the same position as the old ones. If you are putting new plates on new shoes then take the measurement of the position of the old plates on your old shoes and try to replicate their placement. When you go for your first ride with new plates or new shoes and plates remember to take a screw driver or the correct Allen key so you can stop and adjust the plates on the ride. You will normally feel that the shoe plate is in the wrong place in the first few metres of the ride. The longer you ride you will get used to the wrong position, which will cause damage and injury.

Black Look Plate

Your sore knees may have nothing to do with the float on the plates, but it could just be the pain of riding up hills when pushing hard on the pedals. Old worn shoe plates will cause knee problems as there will be movement on the pedal in the wrong way.

Good luck, but be careful.

Black and Red (Float) plates

Question:
I have a Gary Fisher MAMBA, riding at a 12.5 MPH, Do you think, by buying a ROAD BIKE (F75 FELT) my speed and overall performance will improve?

Hi Paul.

Basically the answer will be yes, but dependent on a couple of things.

If you intend to ride off-road or on rough paths then I would suggest to stick with the mountain bike. If you will be riding on normal roads then you will probably notice quite a difference between the two bikes, by why?

I would say the main difference would be your position on the bike as you are more aerodynamic and have more positions to place your hands which help when climbing, descending and riding hard.

Gary Fisher Mamba

The narrower tires also make a big difference with how fast the bike will go, if you use off-road knobbly tires on your MTB then the change to smooth tires is very noticeable. The wheels will probably be thinner and lighter than the ones you are used too on your MTB, which will feel much livelier.

Your Gary Fisher has front fork suspension and disk brakes, so there will be a weight saving between the two bikes which will be most noticeable when climbing. The Felt F75 is an alloy frame with carbon forks and built up with mostly Shimano 105 components, a very well designed and built bike that will perform well in any circumstance.

So, there you have it, if you want higher speed and better performance change form an MTB to a road bike, if you are riding on the road that is.

Felt F75

Question:
I did almost 1,5 half year to adjust my bike in a way I am sitting on a way that I am one with my bike. But on long trips my lower back starts to hurt. Can you give some advice about what to change (saddle or stem) before the adjustment process starts again. (my bike is a 2008 Bianchi 59 frame, custom made).

Hi Jan.

Yes this is a problem that most cyclists have from time to time as you know and changing things on your bike is not always the answer. Look at it like this; was it OK before? If so then what has changed, your body or your fitness are the places where I would start from before swapping saddles and stems etc.

First your body, have you done something to your back recently, an accident or lifting something heavy or taking part in a different sport or exercise. Have your back checked by an osteopath or chiropractor and also start to do stretching exercises if you don’t already do them. I forget to do mine and always find that my back (lower and middle) hurts and is stiff after a longer ride or a hilly ride that climb sitting down. If I don’t stretch my back, legs, shoulders, and pelvis before and after a ride or when not cycling regularly then the bike feels all wrong, as if it is the wrong size and the position has changed, which it hasn’t.

Pelvis Stretch

If you are not as fit as you were then this will also give you back pain, you use the back and the glut muscles when you climb or push hard on the pedals, if you are low on training then you will feel it in your back.

Back Stretch

So, before you start to tamper with you riding position, changing you saddle, stem, moving your shoe plates or anything drastic, try to see if your body will work without discomfort if it is more flexible and has no problems.

If this doesn’t help then write in again and we will see if we can help with your riding position, good luck Jan, there is nothing worse than a sore back, I know!

Another Back Stretch

Question:
Is there any advantage to where you place the aero bars (high
or low) or is it just a matter of comfort.

Hi Tim.
The whole point of aero bars is their aerodynamic properties. If you want to use them for reasons of comfort then you just put them were they suit your position and comfort and their position is only important to how you want be on your bike.

Aero Bar Set-up

If you want to use them properly (for aerodynamics) then things get a little more complicated. To set them up properly you will need a wind tunnel, a specialist in aerodynamic and a specialist in body dynamics and ergonomics, but we can’t all afford them so here are our thoughts on aero bars:

The most aerodynamic position is to have the bars pointing out forwards horizontally from the handle bars. When you have your forearms on the resting pads your hands should be close together and pointing forwards giving the least amount of frontage into the air, with your elbows slightly forward of your shoulders.

Straight Aero Bars

Your body should also be offering the least amount of air resistance by being as small as possible, so your back should be as flat/horizontal as possible with your head low and not stuck up in the air.

That is how you would want to be in a perfect world, but sometimes these things are not always possible due to your body shape and flexibility. Added to this, the comfort that you need to be able to ride the bike.

For a short race against the clock up to around 30 minutes or so, you can put up with a certain amount of discomfort for the advantage of aerodynamics, but if you are riding a longer distance then you have to make concessions between the aerodynamics and the comfort needed for sustained effort.

Set up the aero bars so that they look as aerodynamic as possible, then make adjustments, small ones at a time, until you find a position that you can live with, but still be in an aerodynamic position. Depending on the length of your race you might change the position to take into consideration comfort over aerodynamics.

Remember, small adjustments until you are comfortable and aerodynamic.

On The Rests

Question:
Hello. I can only afford about 2 hours a day to Cycle. I just started all this about a month ago and love it. I do about 30+ miles a day with the time I have and also every other day I work out in the gym. Now having done neither EVER in my life I am hoping to get more out of the cycling portion. I recover quickly now but still only have the same allotted time and I push it hard every time. I can’t just add more weight like in the gym.
Please advise.
Scott.

Group Riding

Hi Scott.
If you only have two hours to train then the answer is interval training.

As you have probably read the previous training suggestions, so I don’t need repeat how to do interval training. But here is my suggestion to your possible training schedule, but remember you need to take a day off once a week or go at least go for an easy ride.
Give this a try:

Monday: 2 hours steady/fast riding with or without company.
Tuesday: 2 hours of flat intervals of up to 2 kilometres with rest periods.
Wednesday: 2 hours steady riding with or without company
Thursday: 2 hours hill intervals, go into the red, but don’t go too deep, when you do then go for a good cool down.
Friday: 2 hours steady ride.
Saturday: 2 hours with a fast group, similar to race speed.
Sunday: Either a rest day or just go for a good ride for as long as you can.

You don’t need to follow the days exactly, but I would stick to the order of the training.

If you want to swap the interval training days for a good chain gang session. This would do you as much good and will give you speed and teach you some race tactics and improve your bike handling in a group.

You need to own a pulse monitor to interval train properly. Work out what your max pulse would be and then ride within that. Obviously take care when interval training to the max as you could take it too far and pass out at the top of the climb. Just like when you are weight training you have someone to catch the weight if you get into trouble, the same goes for hill intervals as you could go into the red zone!

Let us know how you get on and if this helps, and anyone else who tries this schedule.

Solo Hill Intervals

Question:
I am looking to buy a new road bike for my 60th birthday, I have an ancient Trek 2300 with a lugged aluminium/carbon fibre tube frame, upgraded with 1997 vintage Dura ace components. I would like to get a carbon fibre frame with a more comfortable frame geometry given my age and the relaxed road riding I will be doing. If there is not much difference in frame geometry between manufacturers I would probably opt for a nicely equipped close out model or a less prestigious brand with a great component package to keep the price around 3K. But if there are certain frames that would provide a more comfortable ride and good handling I will spend more money if need be.

Hi Robert.

Happy Birthday when it comes Robert, and a carbon frame is a great present to your self.

You ask for our suggestions of a carbon frame with a more relaxed position, this quite simple as both Trek and Specialized have fit systems for a more up-right and relaxed position, here are the details:

Trek Madone

Trek:

The Trek 6 series has three geometry set-ups from flat back to up-right comfort. The H1 geometry is for the fit rider that is looking for an aero position and can get low on the bike with a flexible spine and pelvic rotation; this is for a race position.

The H2 Geometry is an in-between the full on race position and a more relaxed ride. The H2 frame will feel similar to the H1, but with a slightly higher hand position to give you less strain on the neck and on the lower back without the use of a high angle stem or a long steerer with ugly spacers.

Then the H3 geometry is for the rider who wants the class and style of a Tour winning bike, but with comfort. The H3 set-up has a high front end and with a little bit of juggling with tube length and frame angles; Trek have a comfortable yet lively frame that would suit someone without the suppleness of a pro racer and has increased stability.

Specialized:

The other North American bike giant, Specialized has their Endurance Road range which is similar to the Trek system with a higher handle bar position. The Roubaix has the added advantage of Zertz inserts to dampen any road rumble and if you also go for the S-Works FACT carbon Pave seat post you will have full comfort. Specialized also have their Body Geometry Fit system where your body and cycling history is taken into consideration for comfort and proper bike fit.

Specialized

Any of these frames with your choice of equipment would suit you well and for fill all your needs. You could shop around to find a “last year’s” model at a good price, but you will find that the popular sizes will have sold out. Good luck Robert!

Question:
Hi my friend,
thanks for this amazing site.
I have a problem that how many times training in week is enough to
have a strong body for cycling?

Hi Ali.
Thanks for the nice words on the site, we like to hear what you all think.

Ali, the easy answer is to do as much as you can! What that means is; take a good look at you schedule for work, study, family life, seeing friends and all the things we all need to do. From that you can see how much time you have left over for cycle training.

You should start with an hour a day, maybe every other day and once you start to feel stronger then step up to an hour every day, but remember to take a day off every week to rest and give your body a chance to recover. Rest is as important as training.

Build up the hours on the bike considering how much time you have to spare for cycling. I would suggest a schedule of:

Monday: an easy 1 or 2 hours or rest day.
Tuesday: hard 2 to 3 hours.
Wednesday: a long easy ride.
Thursday: hard 2 to 3 hours.
Friday: an easy 1 hour or rest day.
Saturday: 3 hours.
Sunday: a long (hard) ride, 4 to 5 hours with a stop.

As I have said you should build up to this amount of training. Start easy and then build up to over 10 hours a day. Once you have trained up to 10 hours a week then keep to that amount for a while and then step up again if you have time. Training with other riders makes your training more fun and can also make it much harder and faster, simulating road race conditions.

Solo Interval Training

If you are short of time, then once you have a good basic fitness you can start interval training twice a week, say Tuesday and Thursdays. This can be done in different ways, you can either pick a set distance of 1 kilometre and ride as hard as you can for that kilometre then rest and then hard again whilst watching your pulse for taking it too high and then for recovery. You can do the same on a climb.

One of the most enjoyable ways of interval training is to pick a circuit that you use regularly and ride hard between certain objects, like street lights or similar and then rest between the next one.

We hope this helps?

Group Training