Today's Ride

2manyoranges · Jul 23, 2023

moonlite said:
Haha I wish it was a Litespeed! It's really an Airborne Carpe Diem -- made by the company that became Van Nicholas. It's a Ti cyclocross frame but I've fitted light roadie wheels and 38mm gravel tyres and it works pretty well on most surfaces.

I was also pondering wind on this ride . . . pity I failed O-level physics, because angles and numbers don't really talk to me. But it does seem quite clear that even if the wind isn't directly in your face, anywhere within an arc of 180 degrees ahead of you will hold you back more or less, and anything behind in a similar arc will help or at least hinder you less. As for gusting and buffeting, I guess that ramps up these effects radically, according to the intensity of each gust wind. And I'm sure it gets more complex than that!

Vasoconstriction makes sense. I'm a big fan of insulating the core but perhaps my attempts haven't been sufficient. Today I had a Helly Hansen base layer, a thicker insulated stretchy 'tech fabric' shirt over that (long sleeves both) and a gilet. Things certainly got sweaty eventually, but those numb feet may indicate that it wasn't enough.

interesting that you are going for 38mm tyres for the Airbourne - great that you have clearance. I am playing with tyres for commuting at present.

WTB 700c 45C Riddlers. Slow, and with nasty transition onto the side knobs, giving uneasy cornering. Very tight clearance on orange med RoadRat with 23mm internal rims.

Schwlabe 700c 35mm G-One All-Round base model. Fast, and with excellent transition throughout the lean. Nice clearances on 16mm internal on the grey small RoadRat. I gain around 15% time on these - standard commute reduces from 40 mins to under 35 mins, and its all down to the tyres and rims. The rims have a slight aero form to them, while the tyres are noticeably quick.

Next to try

Schwalbe 700c 40mm G-One All Round. Let's see how those do. Second pair of Cotic wheels can be prepped but the free hub in them is WEIRD ... pawls are in the hub body not the free hub - kind of reverse Hope - and they came to me with the axle and free hub missing (thrown in with the orange RR frame gratis) and I have to get Ant (TrueWheels) to rebuild so that I have a pair. Managed to get a 142 converted standard Hope Pro4 rear hub last night for 55.00 gbp posted (thank you Adam on PinkBike) - and will use the mountain of axles and spacers here to get a 135 QR out of it, I started to undo all the spokes last night then clocked that they were nasty cheap plain gauge - ss but cheap - and so chopped them out..Ant can rebuild with DB...then WE RIDE

moonlite · Jul 23, 2023

Yep, plenty of room for 38mm -- there's clearance for more but the rims are standard roadie width (is that 23mm?) and I wasn't sure if wider would be safe on them.

They're Panaracer Volummy gravel tyres -- I'm pretty pleased with them as the tread is very fine so not too buzzy on tarmac and there are no side knobs to take you by surprise.

2manyoranges · Jul 23, 2023

....you put that really well ... 'take you by surprise' ... I think that the transition to chunkier side knobs is not understood well; good for sloppy surfaces off road but really mechanically problematic at speed on tarmac...

MattiThundrrr · Jul 23, 2023

Maybe I didn't choose the best spot for my first big single speed adventure

Everything is a rocky, rooty hill here!

Got easily passed by a guy on a 1x11 Trek, but that's only because I was walking, not running up the hill. Chainline still needs some work

bagpuss · Jul 24, 2023

Good trundle round the lanes to day . Plenty of yapping involved .

The History Man · Jul 25, 2023

Finally found a tiny mojo hiding in the shed. First ride this year. A struggle up and fun down.

MattiThundrrr · Jul 25, 2023

^gorgeous! That's what it's all about right there

bagpuss · Jul 25, 2023

Brutal ride today .Will post a write

tomorrow.
Off for a lay down in a dark room .

2manyoranges · Jul 25, 2023

Monday: In car to Brighton by 6:30 - heading off to Ditchling Beacon by 10:00 after coffee and croissants and waiting fir the rain to pass. Then up and down and up and down to Firle finishing with scones and clotted cream at The Singing Kettle in Alfriston - train back to Brighton from Berwick. 30miles, 2,500 feet of climbing.

The English.

Stanton. Ragley. Stanton.

Today: train out to Amberley - huge haul up out of the village. Anthony (purple helmet) climbing like a monster, pulled up the long and really steep incline from the gates, and while Mike and I had a pause and walk for a few metres he just kept hauling on 32-52. Impressive. Nachos at Truleigh YHA at 2pm then back to Brighton via Devil’s Dyke.

Two days - 50 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing.

A view