CYCLEFILM'S Sportive Survival Guide - Bike Setup
Part 2 of the Guide looks at Bike Set-up. Hosted once again by top UK cyclist and Sportive Specialist Michael Cotty. The full Guide is available as part of the Bonus Features of Cyclefilm's "The Trilogy" and "The Road to Hautacam" at http://www.cyclefilm.com/trilogy.html
Step 1: Welcome:
Welcome to the sportive survival guide, part two. In this edition we’re going to be looking at bike packing and bike setup. We’re going to give you some hints and tips to make sure that the bike actually makes it out to the event, and also making sure that you can enjoy the day because the bike is setup and you’ve got all the equipment that you need on board for a day of riding.
Step 2: Setting up:
It’s very important to make sure that you bike is actually set up correctly for any long distance event. That includes frame size, saddle height and position, step length, and also handlebar height. If you do actually need to visit a local retailer, then it’s well worth taking that little bit of extra time to get them to check your position over so that, ultimately, you’re going to be able to spend a full day in the saddle and you’re going to be as comfortable as possible. If you’re comfortable, you’re going to be efficient, you’re going to enjoy the riding, you’re probably going to perform a lot better.
Step 3: The Checklist:
Now, before every ride, I always got into the habit early on just to check my brakes, check the tyres, check to see if you’ve got any nicks in the tyres, any stones in there, putting the tubes in just to make sure you’re equipment’s in tip-top condition and give your bike a full service, so if I need to change any cables I do that. It’s all relatively small cost in the grand scheme of things when you’re flying out to an event and you’re spending money on the entries and the travel and the accommodation and everything which goes with it. I do that at least a week in advance so that I can bet everything in and if I do experience any problems, I’ve still got time to actually rectify them and make sure the bike’s in one-hundred percent working order for the event. Really, there’s nothing worse than finding out the night before, or a couple of days before, that you need to change something and not actually having enough time and then being a little bit more stressed out about it.
Step 4: Be self-sufficient:
It’s important to be as self-sufficient as possible, as well. And when you look at spares and what to take on the ride, I always pack a saddle bag with two new inner tubes, tyre lever, a chain splitter, two CO2 canisters, because if you do puncture, it’s a lot quicker. Sometimes it’s not the end of the world if you take a mini-pump, that’s fine. If you’re looking for a particular time in an event, or if you want to try and go for a gold award, then, if you do puncture, you can be back on the road quite a bit quicker with a CO2 canister. And a little bit of money, sort of fifteen or twenty Euros just in case you really do need to dive into a café, buy a bottle of water, something to eat, if you’re feeling hungry. Another important thing, which I normally take and put in my saddle bag is some form of ID or a contact person and contact number should something happen. And that’s really important, you know, just sits in the saddle bag, it doesn’t do any harm, it doesn’t take up any room or weight, but it can be very, very valuable if your day doesn’t end quite the way you wanted it to.
Step 5: Keep fluid with you:
I carry two seven-hundred and fifty mill water bottles as well, just to make sure you’ve always got fluid with you. All the sportives have regular feed stations, but really, it is important to make sure that you are self-sufficient and do have enough fluid with you from one feed station to the next. There’s nothing worse then actually running out of drink halfway, and suddenly thinking, well, actually I’m really thirsty now, and not having anything for quite a few miles, so, if you’re at that point, then things can start to go bad quite quickly.
Step 6: Keep notes:
Another little tip which I’ve found has been quite useful to me is to actually make some mental notes and then put that down on a little sheet of paper, which I normally stick on the stem of my bike, and I really just go through the course and I highlight certain sections where the feed stations are. I also put in the hardest parts of the course, so I put in all the climbs, how many kilometres in the event there are, how long the climb is and how high in altitude the climb is. You know, I do that pretty much for every sportive I’ve done, I’ve found it really, really handy, taking about fifteen or twenty minutes just to go through the park course and make those notes. So hopefully you can use that to your advantage as well.
Step 7: Bring a camera:
If you do have a spare pocket, no doubt they’re going to be filled with energy gels and bars, but, take a camera, you know, it’s going to be a lifetime achievement and a real momentous occasion. You’re going to be covering a lot of the famous roads in the Tour de France or Jork, or Italia, so, make the most of it and when you get to a nice point, pull up and take a few pictures and let those memories continue for long after the ride.
Step 8: The gears:
Last thing to look at, really, is the gearing on the bike. Now, you may actually have a standard gearing set of about thirty-nine, fifty three at the front, which could be fine for your regular day-to-day riding, but as soon as you hit the mountains, this is something which you should really pay a little bit more attention to in advance. Make sure that you’ve got a low enough gear to actually get over these mountains. In some instances you could actually have three, four, five, six mountain passes, but really, being able to keep the legs spinning throughout and keep a high cadence on these mountains, it’s going to keep the legs a lot more supple towards the end of the event. It’s going to mean you’re a lot more efficient, you’ve actually got more to give come the final mountain top.
Step 9: Thanks for watching:
So I generally run a thirty-six, fifty on the very hilly courses with a twelve, twenty-five at the back, but it’s quite easy to actually drop that lower by either fitting a thirty-four small chain ring at the front, or even going for a triple chain set to really bring a nice low gear down. Or at the rear of the bike you can go from the setup which I adopt, the twelve, twenty-five, you could change that to a twenty-seven, or even a twenty-nine tooth sprocket in the back. And this is really gunna help you get over those mountains, enjoy the days riding, and make sure that every mountain is not just a grind, and you can go up there with a relative smile on your face, actually enjoy, take a look over your shoulder, enjoy the beautiful scenery, get over those mountains, and get to the finish in the best possible shape.
