[Closed] The "Lets go to Gent Wevelgem and pretend we're Pro riders" thread.

That'll be a much better bike to ride on the cobbles than a race replica with 25mm high pressure tyres. And I say this as a verterain of a few Tour of Flanders Sportives.

You'll bloody love it. I'm going to Mallorca next year instead of Belgium for my treat-trip, I'm not entirely convinced it's the right decision.

@tthew i'm not sure how many actual cobbles we take on... i've just been watching an interesting GCN video

8km, mixed generic roads. first guy is the usual GCN bloke.

Simon (i think) 55s quicker on the road bike

2nd guy, Ollie, 58s quicker on the Hybrid ! bike over the Roadie...

That would be about 15 minutes quicker over a 135km ride... that's not taking into account the savings in fatigue too i guess I i were guy 1.

Ollie bloke was riding with his hands in the middle of the bars when on the hybrid in fast sections.

GCN also did a comparison of a race hardtail vs a gravel bike vs a road bike on cobbles (Roubaix I think). The MTB was fastest, unsurprisingly. It's still wrong though.

You are hardly "pretending to be a pro rider" on that monstrosity.

If it's speed you're worried about, you need to ride it on a singlespeed fixie then because you can't slow down too much on the hills, have to maintain some kind of cadence!

Nah, just take it easy. Stop for a beer or 2 at lunch time. You ain't going win it, may as well enjoy it. There's a bloke that rides them on a Hobby Horse, (one of them 1800's bikes with no pedals, wooden wheel and steel 'tyres') you'll beat him if it's racing you are after. Oh, and how long do you reckon to fix a couple of pinch punctures in your race tyres? That'll slow you down too.

Agree on punctures

Tempted, renewed my passport in July 20 and still not used it in anger!

Accomodation booked inbetween Kortrijk and Wevelgem, seems to be a small farmhouse.

I thought the race was on the Sunday for us, but seems it's Fri for the E3, Sat for the novices and Sun for the G/Wev on the pro side.... which will be ace and break things up nicely.

Our plan will be early doors on Friday for the train over, get there for lunch and watch the end of the E3....

Prompted by this thread i fired up the turbo bike into 'road' mode and thought i'd give it an hour test today.

Here's what i found.
1. Brakes that rub make the wheel stop spinning. It was barely moving by the time i got home 😀
2. Bars/hand position is good.
3. Gearing outdoors, not so good. 38/48 is excessive for outside and i barely need the smallest 3 cogs and i could do with another 2-4 teeth on the back. This will be negated when i run the 10sp cassette on the outdoor wheel, it's currently running the 8 speed (with 10sp shifter).
4. HAndling is fine
5. The SRAM Guides need sorting, they're not actually that good considering
6. Seat height and angle is far more important outdoors compared to indoors. Seat now shifted back and nosed down slightly. I don't think i'll run this saddle outdoors though.
7. Shifters need adjusting in position, they're not terrible but 2 mins will improve them

That's about it really. The cables for the brakes are MILES too long, but that's only aesthetics and i'll leave them long in case they're ever needed for MTB duty.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51721813338_55d2b3bffc_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51721813338_55d2b3bffc_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mNtP9o ]2021-12-03_02-20-14[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Went out on the Cadent today for some testing.

I'm still not convinced the gearing is going to fly as it stands but i also think the plan is fairly simple, which is, to use the lower 2 rings and forget about the big ring... Why, well, i only had a 2 speed front shifter lol. But the 48T front even on the flat just isn't needed. Using the middle ring (38T)as a test i was sitting at 44kph downhill and going along at 34-35kph on the flat in gear 8 of 10. So i'm not really thinking i need the 48T at all over there and when i hit one of the hills, the 38T front and the 36cassette isn't really enough. If it gets much steeper than today i'll either be grinding it or i'll be maxing the HR out to keep going. So what i can do is simply tweak the front mech to get me the 28/38 rings instead of the 38/48 . That's less than 5 mins effort to sort the cable out.

The handling, i can live with, but in honesty i'd like a bit 'more' in terms of grip/size of tyre, but i've got a 35c fitted already and not sure i can go much bigger at all. However the stability and bars does mean i'm not 'scared' as such which is obviously a good thing and means i can do things like eating, drinkng, texting or whatever while riding, i really struggle to do that on a road setup.

Brakes were a bit meh, but i think part of that is the pads which are brand new and on the road i can't say i exactly brake much. But i've now seemed to manage to get them to work OK in terms of brake rub, which was a pain on the rear last time, but seems pretty decent now. I might drop a tiny bit of fluid out of the rear just to get it to spin a bit more... but it's not terrible.

Over the course of the ride i was on 23kph average, which seems low to me.... but wasn't exactly flat and i was trying to make sure i didn't go into the red on the uphills, just simply because i'm trying to gauge where i/we realistically will be out there in terms of speed and effort.

Only other downside was that I completely forgot my garmin wasn't paired with my new HRM so i've got no data as to how hard i was or wasn't actually trying. Even though it felt OK and not too hard, i don't know 100%.

No cobbles to speak of on the G/Wev. The only real challenge is getting up the Kemmelberg and even then it’s not cobbled so it isn’t like the Flanders climb. Otherwise mostly pan flat too. You’ll be fine on a hybrid. The only issue I see is trying to get aero if (probably when) there is a headwind, although you could just sit on a wheel. We did the E3, sportive, race watching in a weekend a few years ago and it was a fab trip.

Great stuff tony... Aero i can kinda manage throwing my hands into the stem, it's not all all-day body position, but can certainly do it enough to get by.
I'm just hoping there's some wheels left at the pace we'll be going 😀

Over the course of the ride i was on 23kph average, which seems low to me

That's not a million miles away from the average speed we did the Ronde sportive in last time, and there were plenty slower than us!

https://www.strava.com/activities/2269442626

I was taking a little look in the garage and thought "what rubber is in the loft space"

I found a set of Btwin puncture protect which are 700*45 and seem like they're likely to be pretty darn fast based upon the lack of tread lol.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51830122106_e71bc777ca_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51830122106_e71bc777ca_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mY3VyW ]2022-01-19_02-18-50[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51830466589_bb2ff186cc_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51830466589_bb2ff186cc_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mY5FYi ]2022-01-19_02-18-45[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

They fit nicely with plenty of clearance.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/city5-protect-700x45-city-bike-tyre-etrto-44-622/_/R-p-145475

Can you get mudguards in there as well? Northern Europe at that time of year the weather could be absolutely shite. Proper mudguards could be hugely beneficial to you and would be appreciated by anyone riding behind you too!

Not if i run the 45s no. I had to remove the allen head bolt on the back of the chainstay to get this to clear the lower part. Reading some reviews, i'm not seeing a lot of benefit in the 45s in honesty... heavier and seemingly lacking in grip.... worth a try throwing them on, but not sure they'll be staying.

mudguards, heck, i wouldn't even know where to begin fella.

Mudguards - something like the SKS Chromoplastics or one of the many clones if a bit cheaper. Just be sure to pick the right width, those in the link would work up to about 28mm tyres, but you can get wider ones. They're an absolute **** to fit the first time but are fairly faff free after that.

Aero i can kinda manage throwing my hands into the stem, it’s not all all-day body position, but can certainly do it enough to get by.

You need a set of these bars…

https://ridefarr.co.uk/products/farr-carbon-endurance-bar

I used a set on my hybrid that I commuted on. They were fantastic in a headwind.

We're having a day trip to see the race. Riding from near the coast to the Kemmelberg and back. Hopefully the weather wont be terrible!

Getting a tiny bit aero on flat bars - got any old bar ends laying around?

Works surprisingly well for me as someone who hates/can't ride on drops...

[img] [/img]

You need a set of these bars…

Farr CARBON ENDURANCE Bar

I used a set on my hybrid that I commuted on. They were fantastic in a headwind.

LOL for £150 i need them about 0% ... I'd rather get there an hour later 😀

Training still ticking along nicely. Today was a 2 hour jaunt with a bit of 'radio tower' for anyone who knows Zwift. 980m of elevation and that's a decent bit of climb for me, especially over 45km distance only.

I'm still having the odd debate on the super fast carbon road bike over the road in the garage... i'm sure it would fair FLY along. but it does have skinny little 25mm or maybe even 23mm tyres on there and i think that may potentially leave us open to punctures... Whilst that's also possible for Crust as he's going full roadie, i'm not sure i want to risk it and suffer the pain at the side of the road with multiple tubes and patches.

I guess it's a question of how much that'll hold me back on the Vee tyre rubber and the wider bars, compared to the potential for puncturing..

tonyg2003
Full Member
No cobbles to speak of on the G/Wev. The only real challenge is getting up the Kemmelberg and even then it’s not cobbled so it isn’t like the Flanders climb

not cobbled?.....have I been riding a different Kemmelberg?

What gearing have you used on it Rhino ? obviously different weights require different gears of course, but just trying to gauge whether i have enough with 36front 36cassette

@Rhino - senior moment!

I have lots of pictures of riders on the cobbles of the Kemmelberg and have ridden up it 4-5times. I must have suppressed the memory of the pain!

I’ve been to Flanders lots of times cycling and as far as I can remember, have never punctured, including over 1,000km of RVV routes, riding tubular tyres on lots of cobbled climbs, bits of the Schelde path and a fair few rough tracks. Gearing wise, the climbs are ‘punchy’ a few hundred metres at most so 1:1 is fine. I managed to get up the Koppenberg on 42x21 with all sorts of bar wrangling going on.

The race only ascends the cobbled side of the Kemmelberg - they stopped after Jimmy Casper came a cropper one year when they descended the cobbles in the wet - it was carnage.

Cheers dovebiker...

I've just been looking on Ebay and TBH a 3 speed shifter (instead of my 2 speed) is going to cost me a Tenner lol. It's hardly worth even worrying about.

If you have the option of a road bike just do it on that.

It will be 100x more pleasant. I bet 95% of the field will be on them and there is good reason for that. You would be very unlucky if you puncture with a bit of careful riding and the tyres at a fair pressure.

The paths we do on ours would make this look insignificant in the grand sense.

Weeksy - I don't think I'll have had anything easier than a 39/27, so 36/36 certainly won't be a problem.

I'm fairly sure for organised rides they take you down a 'new' tarmac road as coming down the steeper side (from the Angel down passed the ossuary) in the wet and with a couple of side roads once you're flat out can be on the hairy side

Tonyg - in fairness, I don't think many at that end of the Flanders Wall have; Cassel being the only one that springs to mind?

Be prepared for a range of possible weather conditions. We rode round some of the sportive a few years ago (riding to it from the ferry when I was new to road, worrying about the Kemmelberg all the way, then barely noticing it). Good fun but below freezing the whole weekend, loads of ice. Got very cold next day standing around waiting for the start.

I'm just planning the day before which is the E3 HArelbeke.

So we can either spend the afternoon at the Oude Kwaremont or head to the finish line at Harelbeke

I'm inclined to dump our car and bags at the B&B which is just in Aalbeke, seems to be 28km from the Kwaremont. But do we wanna cycle 50km the day before the big event... Option 2 is to drive to Kwaremont but that does of course mean 1 of us isn't having a beer... (likely me as i'll be insured to drive) .. However the bar i've booked a reservation in for the evening serves lots of beer 🙂

Be prepared for a range of possible weather conditions.

Aye, i hear you there... i've seen sleet and snow on Eurosport and 22deg.... it could be ANYTHING in March in Belgium 🙂

The 8 speed chain and shifters arrived today, so a quick 30 mins later and it's sitting nicely with 24 gears now.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51853145237_dbd46e8746_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51853145237_dbd46e8746_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2n15Vxt ]2022-01-31_01-55-13[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51854186098_4c5a35d18e_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51854186098_4c5a35d18e_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2n1bfXm ]2022-01-31_01-55-05[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

It's all a bit cheap and basic of course, but lets be honest, for 1 ride outside and a bit of Zwifting, that's all it needs to be really. It shifts nicely, smoothly and all of the gears.... Which is what i really wanted. I got fed up with 'trimming' the gears on the fly on the 10 speed, clicky gears, not quite right, i just want, click gear, click gear.... simple...

Went out playing with @Crosshair today, we were cruising for large chunks of it so only did an average of 22.5kph. that included a pee stop and not going nuts, keeping everything to a low HR and watt. So more than happy with that.

Things I noticed,
He corners quicker than me
My gears are slight out on that wheel
My brake levers need moving in on the bars
The shifters are not as terrible as I thought
The cheap donkey can hold its own in a gentle ride

HR average was 123bpm which is cruisy

Took the 2.5mm spacer off the hub and fitted about a 1.2mm spacer. That's moved the cassette over nicely so both road and Zwift wheels are closely matched now. Can go the extra tiny bit to make it perfect as the hub is fractionally too wide to allow it. But it's only 2-3 twist on the barrel adjuster.

Tyres still feel really really narrow! But they're 35s which are not crazy narrow lol

There's a nice little pub half way up the Oude Kwarwmont @weeksy. Why not park up in Oudenaard? It's a nice flat ride to the Koppenberg. Do that one and head west to the Oude Kwarewmont, roll back down to the pub and then it's all old railway line/cycle track back to Oudenaarde. I'm jealous!

There’s a nice little pub half way up the Oude Kwarwmont @weeksy. Why not park up in Oudenaard? It’s a nice flat ride to the Koppenberg. Do that one and head west to the Oude Kwarewmont, roll back down to the pub and then it’s all old railway line/cycle track back to Oudenaarde. I’m jealous!

That sounds like a fine plan. The details are not massively important yet but without a better plan, sure, we're in 🙂

Even better, go on the train to Oudennarde, then you can have a few pints in De Carillon too. One of my favorite foreign pubs. Its by the big church on the corner of the market square.

Our B&B is on outskirts of Aalbeke, so i dont know how we'd get on with bikes on train for the Fri ? I think my mate would like to keep the Fri fairly gentle just in case, plus it's not like we wanna be doing 10 pints the night before the biggy 😀

any real merit in considering the tyres then ?

I've got some Vee Tire Zilento which came on the bike, they're fine and seem tough... but don't know how quick they are. They're in 700*35 and i can get up to 45s on there without issue.

Obviously being a MTBer, they feel ridiculously narrow, but i think i'll get that even if i went 45s...

I don't want to go completely nuts for the sake of 1 ride... but i don't mind throwing £50 at some used rubber if there's better out there for not crazy money used. Crosshair was running Specialized Pathfinder Pro which seem to review well, as do the Vittoria Terreno Dry.
Don't need them to be Tubeless as my wheels on the cheapo bike are not compatible.... but the Vee tires are coming in about 800g.... so if i could go 400g-500g, that would save a bit.

Oudenaard is a great place to stop, there’s a big car park just outside of town on the N453. You can pick up a bike route map at the Centrum RVV, Tour of Flanders Museum - Koppenberg, Patterberg, Oude Kwaremont, Kluisberg are all easily accessible and there’s lots of bike tracks to keep you off the big roads. Lots of nice, but pricey pubs in the town square including DeCarillion where you can feast on expensive toasties.
The RetroRonde used to host a criterium around the square which was a real hoot- battering around on old bikes across cobbles and tram tracks - you go down one side at 25mph+, turn right into an alley barely wide enough for a few bikes around the back of the big church avoiding stone walls, metal grates and sunken glass spotlights and do it again. Worse bit was qualifying for the final, enjoying a few beers in between and then racing the final!

fab info mate.... thank you.

Specialized Pathfinder Pro which seem to review well, as do the Vittoria Terreno Dry.

I had the terreno dry on my Cx bike until winter kicked in . Very good tyre but can’t really see why you’d want it on a bike that is for the road - get a road tyre.

I think the roads are swept before big sportives like this so comfort rather than worrying about puncture protection is the way to go. Having said that I've done Flanders on 28s with tubes without a worry. The cobbles at GW aren't the same as Roubaix. I'll second De Carillon. Right in the town square and a lovely place to get drunk with the Belgies.

the 35s Vee Tire things are comfortable enough yeah, i was running them yesterday on the tester ride at 45-48psi, they seemed happy enough, but obviously i'm not used to the narrow things when it comes to cornering... but i'm not going to get hung up on that as this isn't something i'm going to do often. But lighter, assuming decent puncture protection can be found with lighter, well that may be a good idea.

Full on road tyres, well yeah, maybe... but i also see potential for frost, sleet, rain, lol... we've all watched the Spring Classics and seen the weather... so allowing for a bit more than a slick seems wise, especially with my inexperience with this type of riding. I'd rather have a bit more grip than be super fast.

Good unit 🙂

This video implies that road tyres are indeed a LOT better

28mm GP5000 @ 90psi 45kph average 299w
28mm GP5000 @ 70psi 45kph average 327w

40mm Terra speed @ 70psi 45kph average 449w
They did one at 40psi but he only lasted 1min 14 lol.

Still not convinced i'll lob on some super fast rubber... but it's food for thought !

I did Ride London on my Hybrid <4.30 on Vittoria Hyper 37. About 450g including some puncture protection. Great tyres!

I chatted to a few of the boys locally on WhatsApp and one of them came up with some loft tyres.

Option 1. Vittoria Terreno Zero 700*38. My scales read them as 700g. They're currently on the bike for testing tomorrow. Cost to me £0
[IMG] ?auto=webp&format=png&width=1280&height=1600&fit=cover[/IMG]

Option 2. Schwalbe G-one speed 700*35. Not weighed yet as they're on his spare wheels. I can borrow for the event but not keep.
[IMG] [/IMG]

Option 3. My own B-Twin 700*45. They weighed in at 970g. Which along with some of the reviews being not ideal, means they're going to local bike recycling bloke via [mention]crust[/mention]

Option 4. Vee Tire Zilento 700*35. Currently owned and came with the bike. Weighed in at dead on 500g. Obviously cost me nothing. These are what I used when out with Crosshair. Weight is good but I can't say I'm in love
[IMG] [/IMG]

So today brought a bit of testing.

Terreno Zero vs Zee Zilent.
It was a shortish loop just outside the village, bit of flat, up, down. Trying to keep things as close to the same as possible in terms of effort, using the HR to gauge that mostly as i don't have a power meter. I left the bike in the same gear for both rides, only changing with the front mech at set points for the hills.

First up was the Terreno Zero
moving time 12:45
max speed 43.9kph
ave speed 22.1kph
max HR 143
ave HR 118
max cadence 97
ave cadence 74

2nd up was the Zee Zilent
moving time 13:01
max speed 44.7kph
ave speed 21.6kph
max HR 141
ave HR 116
max cadence 98
ave cadence 74

picking a few average segments within the ride for example, 1.0km-1.5km there was 0.1kph difference between the 2 bikes.

@ 2.5km-3.5km there was fractionally bigger a gap in favour of the Terreno.

On the climb i was about 5s quicker on the Terreno, but again 2bpm average higher.

But overall, i think if we take into account the Zee HR was 2bpm lower average and 16s slower, if we compensate for that 2bpm there's got to be only a few seconds between both sets of tyres.

Sure, it's not scientific by any stretch, but it's the best method i can come up with based upon the tools i have.

In terms of comfort, there's not much in it, but potentially with the Zee Zilent i feel a little bit happier, especially in the slightly damp conditions from todays rides.

I presume that the weights you are posting are per pair of tyres?

This may sound flippant, but I don't think tyres are going to make a big difference. Wind direction will do. I know you aren't going there but drop bars or Tri extensions will be of much greater benefit.

2% difference on that test, so well within the 'noise'. I suppose if you did it 10x on each tyre you might start to see a pattern.

I used to commute on 1.5 Schwalbe City Jets & they were great tyres. No idea how much they weighed, but just used to stick 60psi in them & go. Rolled really well compared to knobblies, obviously.
Had one thorn puncture in a couple of years with them on. I think they were only about £12 a tyre too.

As above, there are probably bigger savings to be had if you are looking for efficiency. Position on the bike & how flappy your jacket is will probably have more of an effect.
Even inverting your stem to get a lower position (assuming it's currently angled upwards) will probably be more beneficial than one smooth-ish tyre compared to another.

3rd up was the Schwalbe G-One Speed
moving time 13:03
max speed 45.4kph
ave speed 21.5kph
max HR 142
ave HR 120
max cadence 99
ave cadence 73

I presume that the weights you are posting are per pair of tyres?

No, that's each tyre.

None of these are lightweight race rubber. They're more commuter than race 23s.

This may sound flippant, but I don’t think tyres are going to make a big difference.

I absolutely understand that, i wasn't going for speed, aero, clothing, tucking in etc or even trying hard. It was about what i can do to simply keep things the same for testing really.

I still don't see this being about ultimate speed for me as i'm riding this for fun and with a mate, so our pace is our pace, that's it... if we do it in 5 hours, we do, if we sit and have a beer and take 7 hours, so be it...
But just fancied seeing which rubber if any give me a discernable difference and they were all free for testing from a mate. If i could get free speed, so be it... but it's far from the be all and end all of the ride...

It also meant i got 3 nice little rides in today lol.

No, that’s each tyre.

😮

LOL looking on https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

You've got to be into really race based rubber to be at 500g for a pair.

Most of the CX rubber is in teh high4s... and very few in the 'tour' section are coming under 5s.

The Zee Zilent which now seem to be what i'll be using, are dead on 500g for the pair on my scales... Which as they're a wired tyre isn't bad at all. I could of course go lighter and faster, but i feel the more City based tyres are less likely to have me standing round at the side of the road with a pump and a new tube.

If it sets your mind at rest, the mechanical support at these events is normally excellent. Probably Shimano 'neutral service'.

Wasn't honestly worried about anything in that context mate. I'll be taking enough in the saddle bag for emergencies.. if i need more than that, well i'm throwing the bike in the hedge and getting a train back to Wevelgem.

The Zee Zilent which now seem to be what i’ll be using, are dead on 500g for the pair on my scales…

I assume that's a typo and it's 500g per tyre, or the scales are knackered.

In terms of gearing etc, for a cadence in the 90s you can't be pushing much of a gear on the flat to average around 21kph (though I can only reference what I do for an equal cadence on a road bike rather than hybrid, but I'm no riding god)?  I know you're on Zwift a fair bit and have decent power IIRC so are you taking it really easy?

I assume that’s a typo and it’s 500g per tyre, or the scales are knackered.

Apologies, yes. 500g for a single.

In terms of gearing etc, for a cadence in the 90s you can’t be pushing much of a gear on the flat to average around 21kph (though I can only reference what I do for an equal cadence on a road bike rather than hybrid, but I’m no riding god)? I know you’re on Zwift a fair bit and have decent power IIRC so are you taking it really easy?

I was today yes, purely to test the tyres at a set max HR, my HR for the ride average was only 116bpm... my Zwift race average is 170 🙂 So yeah, i was taking it easy matey. It was just an effort/speed/cadence that was easy to replicate a few times in a day without any sort of fatigue skewing the results.

I think I’d be in the ‘avoid punctures’ camp, and not really be GAS about speed, it’s a social event, you’re going with a mate. Take a bluetooth speaker, to listen to some tunes on the go, and have a beer at every pub.
Make sure the speaker is waterproof 👍👍

Now this would resolve any speed issues lol.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304338957950

[IMG] [/IMG]

https://youtu.be/DWrMpTj-SGE

This video is of a cool roadie being converted into and even cooler hybrid.

I know @crust has been working on this too, but very much lacking in forum input.

I have to admit I was thinking of something better last night while the wife was out drinking, but it seems you don't get a lot in terms of value

Mine is only 11.6kg and cost me £400, that's with pedals too

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-SL-Road-2022-Road-Bike_242535.htm

That's 10.9 and I assume weighed without pedals.

It's £3000+ before we get into the 9kg bracket

And was your tyre test on cobbles?   Ok there isn't as much cobbles as Paris Roubaix but there will be enough to make you want something a bit grippier and on the larger side if it gets wet I would have thought.  No point in gaining a few percent to lose it all and more as you have to mince through the cobbles

And was your tyre test on cobbles?

Well no. However cobbles are not exactly common in West Berkshire

Did some outdoor testing again this week, roads were dry and the Vee Zilent are OK enough. Wasn't a killer loop, heart rate average was only 115bpm and 23.2kph average. So well within the range i'm thinking of.

Also did a lovely (well i say lovely, but it wasn't) 80km ride on Zwift, just getting used to pedalling for longer really. 180w average and a HR average of 113bpm... again, right in my target range.

The reason i'm working mostly in these ranges is that the numbers will put my riding buddy about 10bpm average higher, so if we call it 125bpm for him, that's about where we can sit happily for the duration. Well i hope so anyway.

The only minor stumbling block i've thrown in is racing at BPW 2 days before we go to Belgium 😀

Just 10 days to go until we head to Wevelgem then. Well it seems Oudenaard potentially. I'm going to recce the E3 route later just to confirm where it goes through/to/when etc..

https://flic.kr/p/2nashR4

Nice.

Have you been to La Carrilion as recommended yet?

No mate, got here at 12:30 to random farm in middle of Aalbeke and cycled to harelbeke. Now supping ales at finish

Looks like the weather is gonna be nice 👍👍👍

How did it go then? Did you enjoy it?

Ive got Flanders this weekend, its looking like sleet and 40kph wind, great.... taking the Cervelo Caledonia full winter set up with 32mm G-one speeds, di2, full mudguards and just in case its sunny, Basso Diamante SV with 30mm P Zeros. Both bikes being excellent proven beer bikes for the ride back to Waregem.

I'm also at Flanders this weekend. Hoping the weather isn't quite how you describe it. 😬. Riding this

32mm gp5000, so roll well but a bit of cush

SO how was Belgium.... Belgium itself was a lovely lovely place. Never been anywhere so quiet, tranquil, clean and tidy.... every car was washed, every person was dressed nicely and they were all exceptionally polite. I'd move there 🙂

HOw was the ride.... well, the simple answer is, it was long... long and fairly blowy...

Friday we rocked up at the AirBNB and were met with chickens, cockrels and horses... proper middle of nowhere, but hey that's what i booked and why i booked it. Lovely...
We then rode 25km to Harelbeke down the river, lovely little ride. We watched all of the E3 Saxo Bank Classic and got to see the local hero Wout Van Aert cruise to victory. We were many many beers in and the ride back was eventful.... but we stopped for beers half way back on Kortrijk just to top up the levels of beer. All the day was properly ticking off the Bucket List of the Belgian Spring classics, chips, mayo, beers, sausages.... and of course the racing with the very passionate Belgians.

Sat we got up early doors to a slightly frosty morning, but lovely and sunny.
As we were riding to Wevelgem i'm thinking to myself "this ain't right, my crank feels wobbly"
As we pulled into the start i checked and yes it was.... I walked over and asked the support guys for a socket and he quickly tightened the crank bolt up. Job done (or not)
It's a 6km ride to the start in Wevelgem and we cruised up there and signed on, jumped onto the route which even though wasn't on closed roads, every junction for the first 10km was marshalled and the cyclists given right of way. The ride rolled it's way through the back lanes and farm lanes, it's hard to describe as we don't have them so much in the UK, but there's a LOT of fields in Belgium and they all have fairly well serviced/built roads through them. Single lane but fairly decent tarmac mostly. The miles ticked along nicely and the feed stations were well stocked. We struggled to find groups to jump on with overall, sometimes we'd get a wheel, but not often. When you could, it was great and you'd pick up 2-3kmh speed.
When discussing it, there was talk on forums of "you see all sorts of people and bikes", maybe that's true on the short routes, there's a 48km and a 64km as well as a 96km and then the 141km and the 226km. However on the 141 and the 226, you see only 1 type of bike and 1 type of rider, expensive carbon road bikes and 6'5" tall Belgian beasts lol. They monster out of the corners and get staright back to speed. It's mostly OK but at times i was closing the gap so Crust could get the wheel and working hard, so i'd ease off and we'd let that group go.
Into Ypres was one of the highlights of the weekend and riding through the Menin Gate and the town was epic. We stopped for the feed station and took the place in.

Eventually we got to the climby part of the ride, about 70km now and they then come thick and fast, the Banberg was one, not sure if that was the road one or the gravel one with the windmill on it... we then roll up, down, up down till we hit the climb we thought was the lead-in for the Kemmelberg, but it wasn't.. it was another tough little climb and then eventually we came to Kemmel village,... it's a slog up to the start of the climb proper and you're clicking through the gears faster than you'd like.
When you hit the climb you realise just how big and spaced the cobbles are, you get your wheels caught in the gaps and struggle for traction. I think i saw 4-5 riders hitting the floor coming unstuck, or not unstuck with their fancy road pedals... I got to the top of it, but yeah it was a tough bugger.
We celebrated with a brandy at the top and rolled into the next feed stop.

After that is where the ride went wrong really as it seemed the wind had decided to come out and play and the flags were flapping hard, straight into our faces.. Which was a bit of a problem as the last 25 miles or so were all the same direction and all directly into the headwind.
It became a slog, like a proper proper slog. We hit the Plugstreets, which is basically the Ridgeway/SDW type hard pack, not a massive issue in itself. That was possibly the major highlight for me as we could see 100 bikes scattered on the lanes ahead of us, all driving on the hardpack, was a great sight. Then it got fairly roadie again and into the wind of hell, blowing, blowing... A couple of times Crust jumped on a wheel of a passing rider/bunch and i said "f that, i'm not playing..." let him go... eventually he looked back and saw i'd gone and waited by easing off.

An emergency ice-cream stop came next and we had roughly 17 miles left. I then found a bit of energy and was pushing along at a reasonable lick, we'd picked up 3 other riders who decided my wheel was the one for them and i seemed to tow the bunch for about 10 miles lol... me on the little hybrid towing the roadies... you had to laugh.

4km to go a car went to pull out of a parking space and i slipped through the traffic and lost my group, including Crust... i was tempted to pin it, well, sorta. But i eased and waited for my gang and they jumped on my wheel again. Right until 350m from the line, lots of spectators etc and a few bikes came past and pinned it, so i jumped and went for the line and left my day buddies in the dust... Not knowing that Crust had planned us rolling over together... oops.
Highlight was when going to the bike park, the young girl was cutting off my cable ties and said "have you really just done the 141km on THAT ! " i had to laugh... Most of the bikes had more expensive rear mechs than my whole bike which was £379 new lol.

The rest of the day/evening was beer fuelled.. Along with another wobbly crank, maybe the techie guy hadn't tightened it enough, dunno... Got back to our farm and borrowed a socket again, tightening it to about 70Nm this time... I thought that was the end of the debate but it blighted the rest of the trip and was now coming apart every 10km. But it didn't matter, the big one was done.

Sunday we went to Ypres to watch the start of the Pro race, which was packed. Coffee, chats and then managed to catch the end of the U23 race which was fast, frantic and crashy... down to the line was 3-4deg of decline and they flew !

We then went back to get the wobbly bike out and went to watch the end of the pro race... which wasn't due for 3 hours, so it was beers, burgers, beers and beers... lots of chats in the bars with lads who'd also ridden the 141 yesterday and watching the Wanty ride power away for the win, it was properly deserved !

More beers and beer cherryade for Crust... massive pasta..

Came back this morning... box well and truly ticked.

Would i do it again, heck no, road riding is garbage... lol. But i'm glad we went and glad we did it.

Ha, you should have submitted that write up for the magazine, (yeah, there's mag - who knew!) Sounds like a great weekend. You sure you wouldn't do it again?

You sure you wouldn’t do it again?

The trip, sure. The ride nah.

My riding mate is trying to get me into Strada Bianche for next year, I'm just to be convinced.

I'll throw up some pics when online properly tomorrow.

Nice one 🙂

Bikes, beer and Belgium. Sounds ace!

I love riding in Belgium - they really love their cycling there, although you really need to go ride the RVV for the full-bore Mooiste Flandrien experience.

Strade Bianche or L’Eroica are also great rides - the route is permanent so you could go and ride them anytime, but battering your way around 200k of the finest Tuscan roads on a classic bike, DT shifters, 42/52 chainrings and a straight-through 6-speed block and pedals with toe clips and straps really adds to the experience.