- It's back!
The show where we answer your cycling-related questions,
but this time, we've gone all festive.
Now, first up is this from James Cycle/Can
who asks, "Hey GCN, I'm buying a cyclocross bike,
"and I've just re-watched the dropper post video,
"and it got me thinking.
"Could using a dropper post on a cyclocross bike
"help with dismounting and mounting?
"#torqueback keep up the great videos."
Well James, thanks very much for getting in contact.
Now, as you know, I've done a little bit of
cyclocross in the past but I'm by no means an expert.
So, I had a chat with Si about this very question.
Now, you would've thought that cyclocross
that use drop posts a lot more prevalently,
but hardly anybody at all...
and I can't think of anybody, Simon was the same,
uses them in the Pro Peloton.
But, they are available.
There's a couple of brands that make them.
Magura and Kind Shock do a wireless activated system,
and there's also a cable-activated dropper post
made by P&W Components as well.
So, our advice would be, to try them and see if it helps.
But Si, he's just a little bit of a purist,
and thinks a cyclocross bike should be a cyclocross bike,
and if you stick a dropper post on,
you might as well be using a mountain bike.
But anyway, if you're gonna go for it,
just make sure you get your sizing right.
'Cause not all dropper posts actually fit the standard
27.2 millimetre seat tubes, so do be aware.
Now, if you're wondering what video
we were talking about, it's this one,
where Dan used a dropper post on a road bike
at the Tour de France in the Alps.
It is definitely food for thought.
- What the hell is a dropper seat post?
And that's understandable, especially if you,
like Campagnolo, think that mountain bikers
are the work of the devil.
Essentially what it is, is a seat post which allows you
to adjust your saddle height whilst you're riding.
Now, what that allows mountain bikers to do
is get their seat out of the way.
So on steep and technical descents,
they can have much more confidence and go faster.
So that got us wondering, could the same thing
apply to road bikes?
Could we descend faster, on a mountain descent,
with a dropper seat post with more confidence?
Lower our centre of gravity, and corner faster?
And actually, could we get more aero
by lowering our entire body?
(drum beat)
- Ooh, sorry Dan. With that dropper post,
I thought it was Si.
Anyway, next question is this, from Rafael Ciepiel...
Apologies, Rafael, if I haven't pronounced your name right.
But anyway, here is what you've asked.
"Dear GCN, as you want me to ask anything,
"I was wondering if you could convince me
"to choose cycling over running?
"Smiley face, and why?"
What an absolutely cracking question.
Well, challenge accepted, Rafael.
Let me start this way.
First, before I used to ride a bike
competitively, I used to run.
So I used to do half marathons,
cross-country running, and middle distance track running,
so 800 metres and 1500 metres,
when I was 14 or 15, at school.
But, I got an injury, and I couldn't run
competitive anymore, so my dad suggested,
"Why don't you get a bike and join a cycling club?"
And I did, and I haven't really ever looked back.
And look at me now, 31 years later, I'm still in the sport.
Although, I'm not racing, but I absolutely love it.
Cycling has given me everything; it is my world,
I live and breathe it, and I couldn't recommend
doing any pursuit more than cycling.
But to answer your question specifically,
cycling is a weight bearing sport,
so you've got less chance of getting an injury,
it also is remarkably liberating and freeing as well.
Now, put it this way, and I heard this only the other day.
I never thought about cycling like this.
But the average speed of the general cyclist
is about the same speed as a bird in flight.
That gives you a pretty cracking view
on things in the world.
I mean, if I haven't sold it now
to you I don't know what will.
Also, cool kit, cool tech, you get to see places
you haven't seen, the social side
of cycling is absolutely fantastic.
If you're still a runner, don't necessarily
stop running, but get a bike, and I definitely think
you'll change the way you perceive cycling.
But, we kinda put it to the test
the other day, just check this out.
Simon took on runners, on a bike.
- [Simon] The race is organised by
Bingley Harriers Running Club,
and it's located just to the north
of Leeds and Bradford, in West Yorkshire, in the UK.
It's a simple premise, a mass-start race up a big hill
and back down again, runners against riders.
Now, if I'm honest though, I thought
it would be a no-brainer.
How could a bike not beat a runner?
Well, I was in for a rude shock.
(techno music)
- It's gonna be a very quick rapid-fire round this week.
Just five short and sharp questions. Here we go.
Timothy Fish, "Why don't you have
"a GCN sticker on your laptop?"
It's because I saw the Lego Batman movie,
and Robin, he just blew me away.
Hence his place on my laptop.
Next up is this, from Mr. B.
"Why is everything called a 'hack?'
"Did the word 'tip' get replaced?"
It seems as if it did.
Next up is this, from Clive Woodling.
"After six months off the bike following knee surgery,
"my physio has just given me the green light
"to start cycling again." Nice one.
"What maintenance check should I do on my bike?
"It was cleaned and lubed and generally
"in great condition six months ago,
"and has been stored safely inside."
Well Clive, if that's the case,
your bike should be absolutely fine.
Just make sure you pump your tyres up,
get them to the right pressure,
and worth going over your bike
with an Alan key making sure everything's tight
and nothing's rusty, and it should be absolutely fine.
Glad to see you back on your bike.
We have this from Speedrunnet 123.
"Hi GCN, I'd like to know what
"road bike is fastest in the headwind.
"Is it disc brakes or rim brakes?"
Well, we've not done any tests to see which is quicker,
rim brakes or disc brakes, but Canyon do state
there's a one watt penalty for the disc brake air-road
over calliper brakes on the same frame.
So, not much of a cost really there
for vastly superior braking power.
Finally, in this week's rapid fire round,
"Do pros have problems adjusting
"to new bike when moving teams,
"or when a manufacturer brings out a new bike?"
And that's a question from Ian McKenzie.
Pros don't really have a problem,
but what they do have access to
is the best physios, the best experts
in terms of getting the bike fit right.
They will have a particular size seat set up,
but again, in between bike brands there are
different geometry set ups.
It will take a little bit of a while
for a rider to get dialled in, but generally
they shouldn't have too many problems.
Next up, we have these two answers,
Note they're not questions, down in the comment section
from the hotly debated and discussed issue
of internally routing your cable.
So first is this, from Mike Richardson.
"Internal routing issues...
"If you get really stuck, try sucking thin thread,
"or cotton, through the frame with
"a vacuum cleaner hose sealed to one opening
"with a bit of electrical tape.
"It works every time for me."
Also, we got another really cool
suggestion from Aquiles Mas.
"Try using neodymium magnets to route your cables.
"I use it to guide the cable right to
"the exit hole on the frame. Really easy."
Two cracking suggestions from an issue
that certainly isn't gonna go away,
especially on modern bikes.
Most modern bikes now have internally routed cables,
it's a big issue, so it's a topic
that can be explored ad infinitum.
So what I'm gonna do, or what I've done,
I've dug back through the annals
and the archives of GCN, to find this
absolute gem of a video in relation to
routing your internal cables, and it stars
a very young and fresh-faced Lasty
threading the internal cables on my old bike.
Just check this out.
- One of the things that we get
a lot of questions about is internal cables.
Internally cabled bikes often aren't
the easiest bikes to work with,
so we've got a trick that you can try if you get stuck
when you're trying to re-cable a bike.
Before you start this job, you need to ensure
that your outer cables and any ferrules are ready,
or in place, for when you thread the inner cable.
Start by cutting a length of cotton thread.
You want it to be at least 30 centimetres
longer than the length of your down tube.
At this point, it's really, really important
to remember to thread the cotton
through all the component parts
that the cable needs to go through too.
'Cause if you don't, it's just not going to work.
Tie the thread to your handlebars and thread it
through the cable hole, ignoring the outer cable.
Put your vacuum cleaner at the exit point
of the cable, and turn it on, taking off
any extensions from the vacuum cleaner should help.
(vacuum running)
The thread should now be running through the frame.
If you're having trouble vacuuming the thread
one way through the frame, try switching direction.
Thread the inner cable through the outer
and have it ready for what is normally
the frustrating part, putting it through the frame.
Untie the thread from the handlebars
and tie it to the end of the cable.
You'll need to use a strong, yet small, knot,
a clove hitch, or, if you're more advanced
than us, a rolling hitch is ideal.
Now, simply pull the thread through
the frame with the cable attached, and, it works.
- Finally, in this week's show,
we have this question over on Twitter,
from Erik Knauf, who asks, "How about combining
"multiple GCN indoor training sessions in one workout?
"Which combinations make sense? #TorqueBack."
Well, Erik, thanks very much for getting in contact.
You can do any sort of combination of sessions,
if you so wish, but bear in mind that most
of our indoor sessions are pretty tough,
so you need to make sure that your body can take it.
And also, it'll depend on what your objectives are.
But if you're training for Sporteef
or for racing, doing two sessions
in one day would definitely benefit you.
You just gotta make sure that you have adequate rest
in between each session, and also make sure you're getting
enough fluids, that you're totally hydrated,
and that you got your energy stores right.
So make sure you're fueling correctly as well.
Now, quite often I used to do two
indoor training sessions in one day.
They weren't essentially back to back,
I used to have a two or three hour gap in between.
What I used to do, in terms of combination
of the style of session, first off,
in the morning, I'd do a HIT session,
a high intensity interval session,
because I was far fresher and could get
far more out of my body when I was fresher.
Used to have then, two, three, maybe even four hours off,
and in the later afternoon, or even after work,
I'd then do a longer, slightly less intense,
endurance-based session.
But you can mix and match, and again it really will depend
on what sort of fitness you're aiming to get.
It could be Sporteefs, or you could be focusing
on endurance, or it could be that you're starting to race,
or you wanna get that racing edge,
so you're looking at more high-intensity sessions.
Just make sure that you rest adequately
and you can definitely get some benefits.
Now, a little cheeky combination
that I've got for you here, is...
I get fit fast, so it's a 40 minute
indoor sweet spot session, like a tempo session,
more of an endurance session.
And also, combine that with our 30 minute
high intensity indoor workout.
Try those, flick 'em around, see what works best.
- We start, before we kick things off
on the climb, and at one point
we'll be going through the snowline,
it's important we get things warmed up nice and easy.
So, 90 rpm to start with, for just under three minutes.
Perceived effort level between two and five,
But gradually ramping things up so we're ready
to start the first sweet spot session.
Just under 1:40 now, to the final sprint
of this first 15 minute session.
Final minute now.
Stay focused, really make this last one count, okay?
Three, two, one...
- This is a 30 minute, high intensity interval,
fat burning training session.
So, we are gonna begin by starting to pedal very gently.
Just a warmup because we have got some hard work to come.
We are doing eight 30 second intervals,
as hard as we possibly can.
Now, that sounds tough, and it is.
But don't worry, there's plenty of recovery
between those intervals, because this is the most
effective type of training you can do,
firstly to get fit, and secondly to burn calories.
- Well, that's it for another edition,
a rather festive edition, of ask GC Anything.
Nearly knocked the candles over there,
they just stayed upright.
But please do keep those questions coming
using the hashtag TORQUEBACK down in the comments section,
or across on social media as well.
And if, by some strange quirk of fate,
you haven't already subscribed
to the Global Cycling Network,
you can do so for free by clicking on the globe.
Now, for two more very cool videos
I think you'd like, how about clicking
just down here for a Zwift Academy final
from South Africa, where one very talented
winner won themselves a place on
the Continental Dimension Data Team for 2018.
Or, click just down here, another video
with Dan, where he travelled to Zambia
for World Bicycle Relief, to see how much difference
a Buffalo Bike makes to those communities.