Road bike - training advice, racing and road-bike cycling tips
Trek Madone 5.5 review
I have to explain three things before starting this Trek Madone review:
1) The bike under review is one I bought myself, with my own hard-earned cash, and I ride it a lot. It is not a short-term review model - unfortunately Trek didn't feel the need to send me a free bike, I can't imagine why!
2) Because buying bikes myself is rather expensive (!) I don't have a great range of comparisons to make with similarly priced bikes.
A lazy cyclist guide to going faster
Most cyclists aim to increase their average speed over the course of time, and even those who don't particularly care about such things (yes, there are people who cycle solely for pleasure!) usually get satisfaction from knowing they have completed their route a bit faster than usual.
There are two ways to increase your average speed: (1) hard work, sweat and tears, usually with interval training, or (2) by not cycling slowly so often!
Cycling - why bother!!
When non-cyclists hear that I happily ride 60, 80, 100 kilometres, just for the sheer pleasure of the ride, they are often amazed. I'm too old to look young and sporty and it seems that for 'non-cyclists' such a 'feat' is beyond imagination - so how is it that we cyclists become so addicted to the sport in the first place?
The first problem is that of 'getting started'. You need to actually have a bike and some clothes to cycle in before you can even give it a go, which is pretty expensive before you even know if you will enjoy something.
Elite Super Crono bike trainer review
The Elite Super Crono Elastogel is one of the cheaper bike trainers available in the Elite range. For those of us who don't have the good luck to live somehere with perpetual sunshine a bike trainer is an excellent way to maintain fitness levels during the winter season.
The equipment
The trainer uses a magnetic wheel and a roller, with the weight of the rider pushing the bike onto the 'elastogel' roller. I have found there to always be sufficient friction between the tyre and roller, even using over worn slick tyres.
Five tips to quickly improve cycling techniques
All of us have things that we think we are good at on the bike, and others where we know there is room for improvement! Here we offer some suggestions for five areas that often stop a cyclists performance and ability from being as efficient as they could be, and tips for quick improvement.