Author Topic: What bike for LEL? (Read 8117 times)

Jon+1bike · « **on:** February 21, 2016, 10:53:51 pm »

I am biased to Boardmans. I use Team Carbon 105/10speed with 32rear for hills! Upgraded wheels & seat.
Boardman, Titanium, Di2 & Disc at £3.5 or £5k, are my pick right now but not sold by Halfords, so waiting for sales!
Any alternatives besides Thorn Audax??

nextSibling · « **Reply #1 on:** February 22, 2016, 12:08:44 am »

1) A bike you can sit on for 4 days without it damaging you.
2) A bike that can support you and anything you decide to take with you without you damaging it.
3) A bike with lower gears than you think you'll need.
4) All else is minor details.

marcusjb · « **Reply #2 on:** February 22, 2016, 08:00:00 am »

How far have you ridden on your Team Carbon 105/10speed with 32rear?

What felt good and what felt bad about it?

What do you hope to improve with a new bike?

LEL is just a bike ride, and can be and has been ridden on just about anything with 2 (or even 3 and 4 if you are that way inclined) wheels. As above, the primary requirement is something that will be comfortable for the duration of the event.

T42 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 22, 2016, 08:07:19 am »

There are similar threads in the PBP section. I rode a Trek Domane 4.5 with 25 mm tyres, 2x11 speeds with 34:32 minimum ratio and a Selle Anatomica X saddle. I had a Carradice on the back, a Topeak HB bag up front and a Spa-built front wheel with a SP-8 dynamo.

It was like being on a magic carpet. A slow magic carpet, but that wasn't the bike's fault.

Jon+1bike · « **Reply #4 on:** February 22, 2016, 09:57:16 pm »

Hiya. marcusjb
Done 17000k PBP included. Good was lightness, Bad was vibration from front, even with 25c tyres, making hands numb. Want disc brakes & Di gears, for improvements and told after steel, titanium best for long rides, plus weight benefits.
Think view of LEL 'just a bike ride' somewhat flippant, if not derogatory to those who have entered, finished, volunteered and organised, but on the other hand your right! The PBP was the long way round the velodrome.

T42.. Thanks...The Trek domane looks a good alternative to compare.

mike · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2016, 10:26:01 am »

I love my Ti bikes but I suspect vibration at the front is controlled more by the fork, tyre and bar tape (and gloves and positioning on the bike) than the frame material...

(the trek looks lovely though! (except the ugly shimano hoods))

Karla · « **Reply #6 on:** February 23, 2016, 10:43:26 am »

Frame material isn't really that important: you can make a comfortable or an uncomfortable bike out of any material. If you suffer from vibration at the front, try running a double layer of bar tape, and maybe slightly lower pressure in your tyre.

Carlosfandango · « **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2016, 11:55:08 am »

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone use electronic gears for 1000km+ events?

They seem unnecessarily complex to me.

I was wondering if battery life was sufficient or can they be recharged fron a dynamo or power pack or do you take a spare battery?

geraldc · « **Reply #8 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:02:43 pm »

Of the extreme comedy bikes from the last LEL, the cargobike with dog failed
(steering had a mechanical), the Elliptigo succeeded. So, any bike will do with adequate preparation. I did LEL on a Ribble Winter Trainer, and in 2009 made full use of the mud guards.

Whitedown Man · « **Reply #9 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:03:00 pm »

Electronic gears strike me as one more moving part that I wouldn't be able to fix should they go wrong at 3am whilst miles from civilisation. And it's not as if I ever get to the end of a long ride and think "gosh, wouldn't that have been easier if only I'd expended less effort changing gears". I can understand the appeal of electronic gears in a racing environment, but not self-sufficient endurance.

mcshroom · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:05:57 pm »

There were a few people using electronic shifting on LEL in 2013. At least one had battery life problems, but I don't know out of how many users.

Karla · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:06:25 pm »

ISTR on LEL last time there were a number of riders on DI2. As long as they were fully charged at the start and weren't using a worn out battery, they were fine. I think there were one or two who started without charging and who ran out of juice before the end.

Batteries can run down but then gear cables can break. Vorsprung did quite a good piece somewhere on the mechanical problems riders encountered.

vorsprung · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:36:49 pm »

Quote from: mcshroom on February 23, 2016, 12:05:57 pm

There were a few people using electronic shifting on LEL in 2013. At least one had battery life problems, but I don't know out of how many users.

https://audaxing.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/common-mechanical-problems-on-london-edinburgh-london/

I looked at few on LEL
They seem fine to me on long rides. Having to think about battery state is the minus but the plus is stuff like automatic trimming of the mechs
One failed because the front mech braze ons snapped but that's not really an "electronic" issue it's just one of those things

vorsprung · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2016, 12:42:20 pm »

Quote from: Jon+1bike on February 21, 2016, 10:53:51 pm

I am biased to Boardmans. I use Team Carbon 105/10speed with 32rear for hills! Upgraded wheels & seat.
Boardman, Titanium, Di2 & Disc at £3.5 or £5k, are my pick right now but not sold by Halfords, so waiting for sales!
Any alternatives besides Thorn Audax??

My next bike is probably going to be a Genesis Datum. I willl probably get the Datum 20 with non electronic shifting, add a generator hub wheel at the front, fit tubeless tyres and maybe get some bike packer luggage made up.

I currently have a Specialized Roubaix as the best bike. It has a 50-40-30 x 12-30 giving a 30x30 gear "for the hills" which managed to winch me up my nemesis the Lynmouth - Lynton road

keeks · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2016, 01:31:55 pm »

After doing PBP I thought I didn't need the triple. So am going for a compact 50/34 with a 30t at the back (I would have preferred a 32 but my derailleur wouldn't take it)

I'm hoping the carbon bike lightness and with sensible packing will keep the weight down enough to compensate for lack of low end gears........or am I being naive ?

Veloman · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2016, 04:00:32 pm »

Quote from: vorsprung on February 23, 2016, 12:36:49 pm

One failed because the front mech braze ons snapped but that's not really an "electronic" issue it's just one of those things

And was promptly fixed with tie-wraps to enable the rider to finish!

inappropriate_bike · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2016, 06:14:12 pm »

Quote from: Carlosfandango on February 23, 2016, 11:55:08 am

I was wondering if battery life was sufficient or can they be recharged fron a dynamo or power pack or do you take a spare battery?

ISTR that one of the selling points for SRAM eTap is that if your rear derailleur runs out of battery you can swap it over with the battery in your front derailleur to get you home (or while the flat battery charges off your dyno hub/power bank).

Quote from: mike on February 23, 2016, 10:26:01 am

I love my Ti bikes but I suspect vibration at the front is controlled more by the fork, tyre and bar tape (and gloves and positioning on the bike) than the frame material...

I also love my Ti bike but don't really think it is much more comfortable than my Boardman Hybrid Sport which has a very similar riding position. Swapping the wheels and tires over makes a big difference though.

The great bit about a £350 alu bike is that you can throw it in a plane without stressing too much about what shape it'll be on arrival

Phil W · « **Reply #17 on:** July 06, 2016, 08:22:46 pm »

A tubeless 25mm tyre run at lower pressure, say 80 psi should sort out your front end vibrations. I ran 28mm tubeless at 70 psi on the Wild Atlantic Way Audax in Ireland. I had to look down to confirm the road surface was as rough as fellow riders were saying.

Yes to double wrapped bar tape as well.

fd3 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 04, 2016, 10:28:27 pm »

Phil, would tubed 28s at the same pressure be any different? I know you wouldn't need to think about energy losses in the tube, but would the ride feel be any different?
(Looking to justify going tubeless).

The French Tandem · « **Reply #19 on:** November 05, 2016, 08:48:31 am »

Probably not much different regarding comfort (i haven't tried), but you would run a greater risk of pinch flats.

sojournermike · « **Reply #20 on:** November 05, 2016, 04:58:44 pm »

Quote from: fd3 on November 04, 2016, 10:28:27 pm

Phil, would tubed 28s at the same pressure be any different? I know you wouldn't need to think about energy losses in the tube, but would the ride feel be any different?
(Looking to justify going tubeless).

One of the gains from tubeless is that they run better, and without risk of pincjflats, at lower pressures. 25s can be comfortable, 28s cushy and 35s at 40 to 45 rear and 35 to 40 front are a bit like a French car from the 60s

Mike

chrisbainbridge · « **Reply #21 on:** November 28, 2016, 10:53:24 am »

If you are considering Di2 and discs for that sort of money then the Trek Domane is worth considering. i have the new version with ultra Di2 and hydraulic discs. Comes as standard with 32mm tyres! Yet I can accelerate it as fast as any bike I have ridden. The adjustable stiffness is untouched but i am planning to play with it over the next few weeks.

In terms of Di2 for long distance then it is worth looking at the TCR where more and more seem to be using electronic. Charging on the fly with a battery pack or dynamo is quite possible and you have the advantage of no cable stretch, breakage, etc.

Phil W · « **Reply #22 on:** November 29, 2016, 06:08:07 pm »

Mike Hall used di2 on Transam. He took one spare battery as he was interested to see what it took to run the battery flat.

Author Topic: What bike for LEL? (Read 8117 times)

Phil W

Phil W