The "Show off your bike" thread! (Vol 2)

[ED209]

lauda said:

It was done by Lucia at Velofique. Can't recommend her highly enough.

https://www.velofique.com/

Check out her Instagram page as that has loads of examples of her work.

Thanks. What sort of damage would you be looking at for such a paint job?

[lauda]

ED209 said:

lauda said:

It was done by Lucia at Velofique. Can't recommend her highly enough.

https://www.velofique.com/

Check out her Instagram page as that has loads of examples of her work.

Thanks. What sort of damage would you be looking at for such a paint job?

Brace yourself. Mine was just under £1200 but her prices start at about £600 I think. I was definitely at the top end of the price spectrum.

[ED209]

lauda said:

Brace yourself. Mine was just under £1200 but her prices start at about £600 I think. I was definitely at the top end of the price spectrum.

Thanks. Expensive but her work looks good.

[LMPanda]

All built up:

Cotic Escapade frame and carbon fork. Rival one shifters, mech and hydraulic brakes, apex cranks (temp until I find some Raceface I like!) WTB wheels and Pirelli Gravel H tyres. Ritchey adventure bars. Trying out an Airbikes 10 speed cassette - cheap enough that it it eats itself/wears quickly it’s not the end of the world but if it’s good then result - not much out there by way of reviews so…

Rust components titanium seatpost and Rather be Riding geo frame protector kit.

[Sway]

That looks bloody stunning chap. Let us know what you think of the cinturato h tyres, in seriously considering those as my next set.

[LMPanda]

Sway said:

That looks bloody stunning chap. Let us know what you think of the cinturato h tyres, in seriously considering those as my next set.

Ahhh much appreciated!! This is very much a keeper frame for me!

I’ve run the Pirelli on the front for a little while on my old grav frame (the rear wouldn’t fit!) and it’s been good, plenty of grip but rolls plenty fast enough! 47’s offer plenty of comfort too. I had Michelin power Gravels before and they lasted really well and offered plenty of grip on every surface. These feel like a very similar offering!

[Sway]

LMPanda said:

Ahhh much appreciated!! This is very much a keeper frame for me!

I’ve run the Pirelli on the front for a little while on my old grav frame (the rear wouldn’t fit!) and it’s been good, plenty of grip but rolls plenty fast enough! 47’s offer plenty of comfort too. I had Michelin power Gravels before and they lasted really well and offered plenty of grip on every surface. These feel like a very similar offering!

Awesome.

Mine isn't a 'proper gravel' - seems the modern term is 'all road', but really they mean 'audax'. So 35c is about the max I can fit. Currently running the 'file tread' gravelkings at 32c tubed, but want to fill out to the full 35c and convert to tubeless.

[andySC]

I’ve posted pictures of this bike before but seeing as it now has the groupset the frame deserves, I’ll post it again :-))

It’s a Condor Super Acciaio made from Columbus steel. After 8 years of wearing a SRAM Red groupset it now has Campagnolo Record (except the f/mech). Feels absolutely fantastic to use, looks great & (I think) suits the bike so much better.

[LMPanda]

Sway said:

Awesome.

Mine isn't a 'proper gravel' - seems the modern term is 'all road', but really they mean 'audax'. So 35c is about the max I can fit. Currently running the 'file tread' gravelkings at 32c tubed, but want to fill out to the full 35c and convert to tubeless.

I’m Actually building my old grav frame into an “audax” type frame to use for a triathlon in September - WTB Exposure or similar “adventure road” tyres (35’s I expect) then 1x11 and flared bars. See no need for a full road bike when I’ve a decent enough, comfortable frame sat there!!

[Yazza54]

Nothing super fancy but loving both my bikes in equal ish measure ATM.

Got back in the saddle after totally hitting rock bottom over the last couple of years, working at home sat on my arse every day and ballooned.

So far I've lost 7kg in 3 weeks and probably gained a fair bit of muscle too. In reality I suspect I've lost more than 7kg of chubbb.

Started off using my mountain bike that I bought a couple of years ago which is a Cube C62 29er carbon frame jobbie. Whilst it's a great bike it's only great at one thing and slow / poorly geared for the road, and very much a bike that you have to travel somewhere first to get the best out of, like some trails/woods.

So, wanting something I could just jump on and rack some miles up from my doorstep, the other week I bought a Orro Terra C (for carbon) 105 Hydro gravel bike which I absolutely bloody love. I was unsure whether to go full road or a road biased gravel bike and I'm glad I chose the latter, it's fast and pretty much does it all!

Might try some slightly slicker tyres or some half and half slick in the middle ones at some point but it's certainly not the bike holding me back at the moment.

Edited by Yazza54 on Friday 6th May 08:52

[Matt_N]

andySC said:

I’ve posted pictures of this bike before but seeing as it now has the groupset the frame deserves, I’ll post it again :-))

It’s a Condor Super Acciaio made from Columbus steel. After 8 years of wearing a SRAM Red groupset it now has Campagnolo Record (except the f/mech). Feels absolutely fantastic to use, looks great & (I think) suits the bike so much better.

Nice!

Good move on the front mech, avoids the disappoint when the carbon on the Record cage breaks.

[Chedders]

Need to get myself a bit fitter, think this is a good starting point:

[Mark83]

After 25,000km on my current Zipp 302s, I thought I'd retire them and try something a little deeper now the weather has improved. Went for some Hunts with Ceramicspeed bearings. They roll well and I've gone faster than ever before.

[WhisperingWasp]

Yazza54 said:

Nothing super fancy but loving both my bikes in equal ish measure ATM.

Got back in the saddle after totally hitting rock bottom over the last couple of years, working at home sat on my arse every day and ballooned.

So far I've lost 7kg in 3 weeks and probably gained a fair bit of muscle too. In reality I suspect I've lost more than 7kg of chubbb.

Started off using my mountain bike that I bought a couple of years ago which is a Cube C62 29er carbon frame jobbie. Whilst it's a great bike it's only great at one thing and slow / poorly geared for the road, and very much a bike that you have to travel somewhere first to get the best out of, like some trails/woods.

So, wanting something I could just jump on and rack some miles up from my doorstep, the other week I bought a Orro Terra C (for carbon) 105 Hydro gravel bike which I absolutely bloody love. I was unsure whether to go full road or a road biased gravel bike and I'm glad I chose the latter, it's fast and pretty much does it all!

Might try some slightly slicker tyres or some half and half slick in the middle ones at some point but it's certainly not the bike holding me back at the moment.

Edited by Yazza54 on Friday 6th May 08:52

Yazza, love the look of these two. If you don't mind me asking can you give me a bit of an indication as to what your rides are like? Distance, time, average speed?

I'm starting pretty much from scratch (so kind of like you) and been out every other day since last Saturday (first on a mountain bike then three sessions on my road bike). I feel like I'm taking to it quite well but have no yard stick whatsoever. I don't know if what I'm doing is decent or not!

Cheers.

[Yazza54]

WhisperingWasp said:

Yazza54 said:

Nothing super fancy but loving both my bikes in equal ish measure ATM.

Got back in the saddle after totally hitting rock bottom over the last couple of years, working at home sat on my arse every day and ballooned.

So far I've lost 7kg in 3 weeks and probably gained a fair bit of muscle too. In reality I suspect I've lost more than 7kg of chubbb.

Started off using my mountain bike that I bought a couple of years ago which is a Cube C62 29er carbon frame jobbie. Whilst it's a great bike it's only great at one thing and slow / poorly geared for the road, and very much a bike that you have to travel somewhere first to get the best out of, like some trails/woods.

So, wanting something I could just jump on and rack some miles up from my doorstep, the other week I bought a Orro Terra C (for carbon) 105 Hydro gravel bike which I absolutely bloody love. I was unsure whether to go full road or a road biased gravel bike and I'm glad I chose the latter, it's fast and pretty much does it all!

Might try some slightly slicker tyres or some half and half slick in the middle ones at some point but it's certainly not the bike holding me back at the moment.

Edited by Yazza54 on Friday 6th May 08:52

Yazza, love the look of these two. If you don't mind me asking can you give me a bit of an indication as to what your rides are like? Distance, time, average speed?

I'm starting pretty much from scratch (so kind of like you) and been out every other day since last Saturday (first on a mountain bike then three sessions on my road bike). I feel like I'm taking to it quite well but have no yard stick whatsoever. I don't know if what I'm doing is decent or not!

Cheers.

I'm just trying to get 8-10 miles in every other day and then a big one (for me) 20-30 at weekend. I've only just got a proper fitness watch yesterday so I haven't got any proper data yet but what I'm more bothered about is knowing I've burned off a decent amount of calories and coming home feeling like I've had a workout if that makes sense. Doing this purely to lose weight and gain fitness and my only yardstick is myself.

It's slowly getting easier with each ride, a smidge more fitness and less weight to haul around. I started at 111kg and now 104kg and notably fitter.

What's kick-started all this is my racing season (cars) restarted and last race I was 20kg over the weight limit. Bearing in mind we like to have 3-4kg as a safety net that means I needed to shed around 16kg.

So far I've got 4kg off the car and 7kg off myself, so 11kg total. If I can get to 100kg I've nailed the race weight but really I should be aiming for 90-95 for a healthy weight, then I'll have to add some ballast which I haven't had for a long time!!

So there's a few elements to it, I want to feel better in my own skin for sure. On the racing front it's no good being so much over the weight limit but if I can also keep it going and get right down I can then balance the car out much better by adding ballast in particular locations. My corner weights have been terrible with my bodyweight being so excessive!

So I suppose none of that helps you, other than I guess what I'm trying to say is just use your own improvement as your benchmark for progress. There's always going to be someone faster, fitter, doing more distance than you.

EDIT - I should also add that in my opinion whether how many hills you've gone up matters way more than what distance/speed you've ridden, especially at our level when you're starting out. I reckon I could ride on the flat all day long but a few hills kill me. This morning's ride burned off a nice 1400 calories.

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 07:50

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 13:09

[WhisperingWasp]

Yazza54 said:

I'm just trying to get 8-10 miles in every other day and then a big one (for me) 20-30 at weekend. I've only just got a proper fitness watch yesterday so I haven't got any proper data yet but what I'm more bothered about is knowing I've burned off a decent amount of calories and coming home feeling like I've had a workout if that makes sense. Doing this purely to lose weight and gain fitness and my only yardstick is myself.

It's slowly getting easier with each ride, a smidge more fitness and less weight to haul around. I started at 111kg and now 104kg and notably fitter.

What's kick-started all this is my racing season (cars) restarted and last race I was 20kg over the weight limit. Bearing in mind we like to have 3-4kg as a safety net that means I needed to shed around 16kg.

So far I've got 4kg off the car and 7kg off myself, so 11kg total. If I can get to 100kg I've nailed the race weight but really I should be aiming for 90-95 for a healthy weight, then I'll have to add some ballast which I haven't had for a long time!!

So there's a few elements to it, I want to feel better in my own skin for sure. On the racing front it's no good being so much over the weight limit but if I can also keep it going and get right down I can then balance the car out much better by adding ballast in particular locations. My corner weights have been terrible with my bodyweight being so excessive!

So I suppose none of that helps you, other than I guess what I'm trying to say is just use your own improvement as your benchmark for progress. There's always going to be someone faster, fitter, doing more distance than you.

EDIT - I should also add that in my opinion whether how many hills you've gone up matters way more than what distance/speed you've ridden, especially at our level when you're starting out. I reckon I could ride on the flat all day long but a few hills kill me. This morning's ride burned off a nice 1400 calories.

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 07:50

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 13:09

Thanks for the thorough reply. Agree that the main thing is I see/feel the benefit myself. Too early to really comment on weight loss/better fitness for me but I've been out 5 times in 8 days now for between 14 and 25 miles. That, combined with cutting out some crap in my diet (chocolate, fizzy drinks) should mean it is inevitable I see some results.

Overall though it juts feels good to be out doing something that I know is good for me and, dare I say it, that I enjoy.

I had a ~1,300 calorie-burn ride today over 25.1 miles. Was yours a similar distance?

[Yazza54]

WhisperingWasp said:

Thanks for the thorough reply. Agree that the main thing is I see/feel the benefit myself. Too early to really comment on weight loss/better fitness for me but I've been out 5 times in 8 days now for between 14 and 25 miles. That, combined with cutting out some crap in my diet (chocolate, fizzy drinks) should mean it is inevitable I see some results.

Overall though it juts feels good to be out doing something that I know is good for me and, dare I say it, that I enjoy.

I had a ~1,300 calorie-burn ride today over 25.1 miles. Was yours a similar distance?

Nope, fair bit shorter but very hilly. Did intend to go further but I think I've overdone it a bit as I went out yesterday too.

I would've thought you'd have burned off more than that but then again if you're already lighter and fitter than me or there weren't many hills it's hard to compare.

Totally agree, I'm the same, actually enjoying the riding and getting out and about. I find running mind numbing so this is ideal.

[InfernoCup]

Sway said:

That looks bloody stunning chap. Let us know what you think of the cinturato h tyres, in seriously considering those as my next set.

I've got Gravel H tyres (650b x 50c) on my Escapade. Love them. Mainly use the bike for rough back roads with occasional Bridleways and Forest tracks thrown in. Biggest surprise was how fast they are on the road, don't feel like a massive compromise given the extra comfort vs a 700 x 28c. I've got a spare set of road wheels with GP5000s and didn't even bother swapping them over for a 100 mile ride I did on it last year.

[dvshannow]

Yazza54 said:

WhisperingWasp said:

Yazza54 said:

Nothing super fancy but loving both my bikes in equal ish measure ATM.

Got back in the saddle after totally hitting rock bottom over the last couple of years, working at home sat on my arse every day and ballooned.

So far I've lost 7kg in 3 weeks and probably gained a fair bit of muscle too. In reality I suspect I've lost more than 7kg of chubbb.

Started off using my mountain bike that I bought a couple of years ago which is a Cube C62 29er carbon frame jobbie. Whilst it's a great bike it's only great at one thing and slow / poorly geared for the road, and very much a bike that you have to travel somewhere first to get the best out of, like some trails/woods.

So, wanting something I could just jump on and rack some miles up from my doorstep, the other week I bought a Orro Terra C (for carbon) 105 Hydro gravel bike which I absolutely bloody love. I was unsure whether to go full road or a road biased gravel bike and I'm glad I chose the latter, it's fast and pretty much does it all!

Might try some slightly slicker tyres or some half and half slick in the middle ones at some point but it's certainly not the bike holding me back at the moment.

Edited by Yazza54 on Friday 6th May 08:52

Yazza, love the look of these two. If you don't mind me asking can you give me a bit of an indication as to what your rides are like? Distance, time, average speed?

I'm starting pretty much from scratch (so kind of like you) and been out every other day since last Saturday (first on a mountain bike then three sessions on my road bike). I feel like I'm taking to it quite well but have no yard stick whatsoever. I don't know if what I'm doing is decent or not!

Cheers.

I'm just trying to get 8-10 miles in every other day and then a big one (for me) 20-30 at weekend. I've only just got a proper fitness watch yesterday so I haven't got any proper data yet but what I'm more bothered about is knowing I've burned off a decent amount of calories and coming home feeling like I've had a workout if that makes sense. Doing this purely to lose weight and gain fitness and my only yardstick is myself.

It's slowly getting easier with each ride, a smidge more fitness and less weight to haul around. I started at 111kg and now 104kg and notably fitter.

What's kick-started all this is my racing season (cars) restarted and last race I was 20kg over the weight limit. Bearing in mind we like to have 3-4kg as a safety net that means I needed to shed around 16kg.

So far I've got 4kg off the car and 7kg off myself, so 11kg total. If I can get to 100kg I've nailed the race weight but really I should be aiming for 90-95 for a healthy weight, then I'll have to add some ballast which I haven't had for a long time!!

So there's a few elements to it, I want to feel better in my own skin for sure. On the racing front it's no good being so much over the weight limit but if I can also keep it going and get right down I can then balance the car out much better by adding ballast in particular locations. My corner weights have been terrible with my bodyweight being so excessive!

So I suppose none of that helps you, other than I guess what I'm trying to say is just use your own improvement as your benchmark for progress. There's always going to be someone faster, fitter, doing more distance than you.

EDIT - I should also add that in my opinion whether how many hills you've gone up matters way more than what distance/speed you've ridden, especially at our level when you're starting out. I reckon I could ride on the flat all day long but a few hills kill me. This morning's ride burned off a nice 1400 calories.

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 07:50

Edited by Yazza54 on Sunday 8th May 13:09

lower gear is good might help with the hills

[ADogg]

I bought this to build up for my sons next bike - a Jack flash 25th anniversary edition. It’ll be too big for him for a bit yet, and I’m using bits from my old On One evo 2 wherever possible.

I’ve never built a bike before either, how hard can it be?!
I managed to convince my wife it’d be a cheap/sensible thing to do, but it’s purely because I really wanted this frame when it originally came out!