- Hello, and welcome to Ask GCN.
This week we will try and not spend too much time
talking about cycling's unwritten rules,
and, let's put it bluntly, taking a poo
on the side of the road whilst wearing a leader's jersey.
But, Brian Grissom has asked a very good question
on this subject about unwritten rules, obviously not.
He asks, "when did the unwritten rules of waiting
"for your opponent due to a crash/mechanical/poo
"actually come about?"
And then he finishes the question by saying
"cracking show, by the way!"
Yeah, it was a cracking show last week,
great work, Lasty and Martyn.
It was a brilliant video.
But, in answer to your question, Brian,
the unwritten rules have been around
for an awfully long time, actually.
Since bike racing's earliest days,
when actually more than the race itself
it was about conquering the terrain,
the road, and the elements, fundamentally.
So, riders actually used to stick together
just in order to get through.
And then, as the years went by and cycling
became more professional, then people recognised
that they had a job to do.
They all wanted to put a roof over their heads
and feed their families, and so forth.
So actually, rather than taking advantage
of another's misfortune, where you knew
that one day if you did that it would come back
and bite you on the ass,
actually if everyone looked after themselves
and each other, then you would all get through.
Being liked and respected was actually
a really fundamental part of winning bike races.
Which isn't to say that breaking
of unwritten rules didn't happen, it definitely did,
but I think now we're perhaps more familiar
with it because media means
that we're more easily and quickly able
to see these kind of things happening.
We're also able to discuss them instantly,
as opposed to perhaps just
whoever was in the pub that night.
Anyway, moving on to another question,
we've got this one from itsyaboyluis, who's asked
"how do you choose the right frame size?"
Well, if you're completely new to cycling,
then actually getting the right position
on the bike is something you probably
need a bit of help with,
either from the local bike shop or
an experienced cyclist.
Once you know your preferred position,
then you can tell if a frame is the right size
very generally by making sure that you don't
have loads of seatpost hanging out,
or not enough seatpost at all,
or that you have a stem that's between
100 millimetres and 120 millimetres,
and you don't have loads of steerer tube hanging out.
But actually, a really cool thing is
that you can tell at a glance
if a frame will fit you
by looking at the stack and reach measurements.
Bike manufacturers will have these listed
on their websites for every frame size,
and you will know, if you know
your stack and reach measurements,
exactly which frame will fit you.
Now, if you need help with stack and reach,
then this video going on behind me
shows you exactly what they are and how to find them,
so it might be worth a watch.
(rhythmic music)
Firstly, we need to get our saddle position sorted,
so the industry standard is to measure
from the centre of the bottom bracket axle
up through the middle of the saddle rails
to about 60% of the way along the saddle.
Now, of course, that doesn't take into consideration
your crank length and your pedal stack height,
so if you're gonna be swapping those,
then it's a good idea
to, with your crank parallel with the seat tube,
measure from the pedal platform
up to the top.
Nutrition next,
and I'm not entirely sure on whether the dust
has settled yet in the comments section
under the video where we interviewed Dr. James Morton,
who is the head of nutrition for Team Sky,
but nevertheless, I'm gonna wade
into this subject fearlessly.
Because, Dylan Torraville has asked a question.
He says, "you always talk about what foods pro riders
"eat to enhance their performance, but what foods
"would you recommend for the majority of people?"
Well, I wouldn't say it's about specific foods,
I'd say, first and foremost,
you just need a balanced diet.
By that I mean not too much sugar,
not too much fat, loads of fruit and vegetables,
that kind of thing.
Now, Matt here is actually giving
some very solid advice, practical advice
on that subject.
So I would check that video out,
but the one thing I would say is
that if you do take a flapjack out of an oven,
that you make sure you wear oven gloves.
- Last, but by no means least,
one of our favourite on the bike foods,
flapjacks.
They're easy to eat as you ride,
easy to put in your pocket,
and taste good to boot!
And provide exactly the sort of fuel
that you need for your ride.
There's lots and lots of recipes out there,
but why not start off with one
from our very own Simon Richardson?
- Quickfire round now, and taking the lead
from Martyn last week, we're gonna try
and actually make this really quick.
Jay Fields asked on Twitter,
"When should I replace a tyre?"
Well, Jay, if you are lucky enough
if I just reach back here, to have
a certain tyre that will have wear limiters on,
which are little indentations,
there we go, that is one.
Then, you'll know that when those indentations
disappear, that your tyre is ripe for replacing.
If you don't have those,
then effectively you'll see the same kind
of thing where you'll get a flat spot
on the tread, so you'll literally see
that the rubber is wearing out.
Or, the other thing to look out for,
whether you've got wear indicators or not,
is any cuts in the tyre.
It could be on the side wall,
it could be in the tread itself.
And those are weak spots that could eventually
end up giving you a blowout.
There you go, hopefully that answers it Jay.
Next up we've got this one from 100tur.
"GCN, we're all aware of the benefits of using
"nitrogen in our automobile and motorcycle tyres"
I'm not sure actually I was aware of that,
actually, but there we go.
"Could we see a potential benefit
"of using it in our bicycle tyres?
"perhaps helium would be an interesting test."
Well, helium I know about actually,
because helium molecules are too small,
so that when you inflate your bike tyre with helium,
it will effectively just seep straight out again,
so your bike tyres can hold normal air,
but pure helium just leaks straight out.
Chemistry fact for you there!
Of which I don't know many, so don't ask any more.
Next up: Too Literal "with the 6.8 minimum weight kilo
6.8 kilo minimum weight for bikes", sorry,
"why don't they just make crazy lightweight bikes
"and then bump the weight up by having better brakes
"on there" so, disc brakes, "or am I thinking
"about this way to simplistically?"
Well, it's definitely a good idea,
but the trouble is when you do make bikes
super lightweight, is actually,
the chances are you're gonna lose something
in terms of robustness as well.
So pro teams, although it might look like
they're able to just use bikes
and break them after a single day,
actually they tend to ride the same frames
for an awfully long period of time.
The other thing, as well, is that
if you do happen to crash, you want
to be able to get back on your bike again,
you don't want to be left holding several
different pieces and waiting for your team car.
So the robustness, strength, and general longevity
is a really fundamentally important part of the frame.
So going super light just to have better brakes
probably isn't that practical.
But, no doubt, people will be doing it very soon.
Kcrazycyclist has asked: "What do you think
"about the Hammer series?"
That is the new race series that's been launched by Velon,
which is a group of 11 of the best World Tour teams,
and it's a completely new way
of hosting bike races, basically.
The first one of which is next weekend,
and although obviously we haven't had one yet,
I am really excited about this.
I think it's going to be a cool, novel format.
It's not gonna replace Grand Tours,
it's not gonna replace Paris-Roubaix,
but it's gonna be a way of seeing our favourite
pro cyclists racing in a different way.
So, yeah I am very much looking forward
to the Hammer series.
Next one, Jeff T asked on Twitter,
"If you're riding at 40 k an hour,
"with a 20 kilometre an hour tailwind,
"are you technically riding into a headwind?"
No, you are definitely still riding with a tailwind,
but you would conceivably have 20 kilometre an hour wind
in your face, but it's still a tailwind.
Because you measure the wind speed on the ground.
I think.
Sean Hartford, "is it considered taboo
"to put road tyres and slam the stem
"on a cyclocross bike" because he plans
to ride "mainly on pavement"
and he's got himself a cyclocross bargain.
It is definitely not taboo, it's a great idea.
Cyclocross bikes make fantastic bikes
for riding on the pavement.
The one thing I would suggest
that you do, is you take advantage
of the big clearance on the bike
and actually you put 32 millimetre wide tyres on there,
so they're really comfy and actually we know now
that wider tyres roll better and also
you can put less pressure in with less risk
of pinch flat so actually they roll even faster than that.
So again, crossbikes on the road, definitely cool.
Moving on, we're gonna tackle another question now.
Sorry, can we skip it a little bit?
People are gonna be scared off from that.
They're still gonna be slightly scared off, I guess.
Anyway, we had this question sent in
from Messa Cycles, who said that
"lately their cranks are making some very loud
"creaking and popping sounds when they ride,
"how can they fix this problem?"
Creaks on bikes is just the most annoying thing.
One of the worst things about it is actually
tracking down the source of your creak.
I thought I had a noisy bottom bracket the other day,
and I eventually tracked down the source
of the problem as a front quick-release skewer.
I kid you not, my front quick-release
was making such a noise every time I got on the saddle,
but it sounded exactly like a bottom bracket creak.
Because of the complexity of this problem,
a couple of years ago we actually set out
to create a little video series
that would hopefully help you track down
the source of any creak on your bike.
And this video here is the first video in the series,
it'll direct you to the appropriate point.
Click on that and then you will hopefully find out
whether or not it's your front quick-release,
your back quick-release, your pedals, your chain rings,
your bottom bracket, perhaps your saddle,
your headset, it's a minefield.
But good luck! You'll get there!
The majority of creaks and noises
are usually the result of two parts moving slightly
against each other under load.
Think, for example, an alloy bar and stem
moving very slightly when you go over a bump.
To correct most of those problems
is simply a case of checking the torque on the bolt,
and then applying the right preparation
to that and the surfaces.
For example, grease or fibre grip or threadlock.
A lot of noises are more obvious than that, though.
Generally the result of poorly adjusted gears or brakes.
We have shown you how to sort those out in previous videos.
Last question,
this one is sent in by Oliver Lane.
"Should us cyclists play music out loud when riding?
"Will it annoy other people and other cyclists?"
Which is an interesting slant on the question
about listening to music while riding.
Normally, it's about having headphones in,
and should you do that.
Personally, I don't tend to ride with music,
because I find it really unnerving
if I can't hear traffic coming up from behind.
But in terms of playing music out loud,
(drums fingers on table)
it's a tricky one, that.
I don't think it would annoy me
if someone had that, but I might think
it was a little bit on the odd side.
But...
Fair enough, go for it!
If you're in somewhere quiet and peaceful
and you're on your own, then play your music!
All these questions about etiquette
are definitely a complex issue.
For that reason, Dan, Matt, and Tom
actually made a video on this subject,
a few years back now, but it is a definite gold mine,
you need to go check it out.
It's how to be a gentleman or gentle lady cyclist.
(bouncy rhythmic music)
- [Narrator] See another cyclist heading toward you?
Don't ignore them!
- Hello Tom!
- [Narrator] Raise a hand and give them a wave,
say hi, it's who we are, and it's polite!
- Well that absolute classic brings us to the end
of Ask GCN for this week.
Do remember that you can ask us anything,
either in the comments section down below
or using the hashtag torqueback on social media,
and we may well answer your question next week.
In the meantime, do make sure you subscribe
to GCN, it's completely free,
just click on the globe.
And then two more bits of content
that you might be interested in.
The first one I know some of you are interested in
because you ask us this question quite a lot,
so we made a video for you.
It's how to get started again
if you've had to come to a stop on a climb,
that one is just down there.
Or, to see Tom Dumoulin's infamous, now,
giant TCR bike filmed before the incident,
that one is just down there.
For more infomation >> Nissan QASHQAI 1.6i 16V S/S ACENTA CONNECT | NAVI | 1E EIG. | NL AUTO - Duration: 0:43. 
For more infomation >> Opel Corsa 1.3 CDTI ECOFLEX S/S BUSINESS+ - Duration: 0:42. 
For more infomation >> Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse S 350 d 4-Matic Lang Prestige Plus Automaat - Duration: 0:57. 
For more infomation >> MINI 1.6 COOPER S CHILI - Duration: 1:02. 
For more infomation >> Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse 420 SEL - Duration: 0:47. 
For more infomation >> Ford Transit Connect T230L 1.8 TDCI (90pk) Airco/ C.V. Afstand/ Elek.pakket/ Parrot/ Trekhaak/ Zij.s - Duration: 0:54. 
For more infomation >> GUNRUNNING DLC - BUNKER LOCATION! JETPACK im Update? (GTA 5) | WeissStudio - Duration: 5:01. 
For more infomation >> EXP N°210517 - Maxime Gasche ( K6 ) - Duration: 2:50. 
For more infomation >> Faut-il pratiquer le combat AVEC ou SANS PROTECTIONS ? [ÉTUDE MARTIALE #6] - Duration: 1:56. 
For more infomation >> Etapa 19 giro de Italia 2017 - Nairo Quintana Lider. 26 de mayo - Duration: 3:03. 
For more infomation >> Volvo S40 1.6D MOMENTUM / LEDER / ECC / TREKHAAK - Duration: 0:58. 
For more infomation >> Chevrolet Trax 1.7D 130pk LT AUTOMAAT ALL IN PRIJS! - Duration: 0:59. 
For more infomation >> Land Rover Defender 2.2 D SW 110" Rough - Duration: 1:00. 
For more infomation >> Mercedes-Benz C-Klasse C 200 d Estate Automaat Business Solution AMG - Duration: 0:52. 
For more infomation >> Kia cee'd 1.0 T-GDi 120PK GT-PlusLine DEMO!! - Duration: 0:54. 
For more infomation >> Volvo S80 2.5 D Comfort - Duration: 0:41. 
For more infomation >> Kia cee'd Sportswagon 1.0 T-GDi GT-Line NIEUW! - Duration: 0:56. 
For more infomation >> Kia cee'd 1.6 GDI 5DR - Duration: 1:01. 
For more infomation >> Kia cee'd 1.6 GDI DynamicLine - Duration: 0:58. 
For more infomation >> Mercedes-Benz GLS 350 d AMG 4-Matic Automaat - Duration: 1:01. 
For more infomation >> Snafee - Duration: 1:30. 
For more infomation >> Flower Power! Melania Trump wears Unique Floral Jacket - Duration: 3:09. 
For more infomation >> Ford Mondeo Wagon 1.8-16V First Edition - Duration: 0:59. 
For more infomation >> Suzuki Alto 1.0 Comfort AIRCO, 38.305 km! - Duration: 0:59. 
No comments:
Post a Comment