New roadie, road bike... Wilier Content, SHOE/Pedal advice ?

weeksy59

Wilier Escape Xenon 2010 Large - Performance Road Racing Bikes - Racing Bikes - Bikes -AW Cycles

Decided to finally make the road jump and bought this today. Feels very strange ha ha.

Had it fitted this morning and out tomorrow for first ride.

I could do with some shoe/pedal advice for the future please. It's running flats with cage/straps currently... but i'm not completely against stepping up to soemthing a bit more 'proper'

Tiesetrotter

Shimano SPD's 105. Get the stiffest soled shoes you can. I plumped for Shimano 106. But thos are my picks.

Very tasteful choice of bike by the way.

fast as fupp

Tiesetrotter wrote:

Shimano SPD's 105. Get the stiffest soled shoes you can. I plumped for Shimano 106. But thos are my picks.

Very tasteful choice of bike by the way.

its got a campag gruppo on it-why would you defile it with shimano?

look keos or time iclic 2's

weeksy59

So... for example guys, if i were to order these

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=69389

and

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=86167

I wouldn't need anything else ? The pedals come with cleats i think ? and are compatible with these shoes ?

sorry for the daftness of the Qn's lads, but i'm a flat and 5ten guy on the MTB.

dave35

What size shoes are you? Have a look for my ad in the for sale section, shoes/pedals/cleat tool

weeksy59

dave35 wrote:

What size shoes are you? Have a look for my ad in the for sale section, shoes/pedals/cleat tool

UK 10 ish or 10.5 mate.

weeksy59

After searching the reviews on here i've ordered some DHB shoes, some pedals and a pair of Campag overshoes.

weeksy59

So the debut ride is done and dusted. Bike performed perfectly apart from a minor adjustment on front mech tension as it was rubbing in a couple
Of gears.

Riding position is very very alien to me still, although after an hour I got a bit more used to it. I don't usually ride close to others so that was hard to get used to as well. I think I got a little better as the side progressed.
It was tough at times as I was losing so much ground to the lads on the downs, so having to kill myself to make it up again on the uphill bits. So really need to work on that as when you lose 20 bike lengths it seems a lot to make up compared to on the trails.

Nice workout though and totally destroyed myself on the last sprint climb ha ha.

fast as fupp

a few more of the same and youll find you dont get dropped

weeksy59

fast as fupp wrote:

a few more of the same and youll find you dont get dropped

LOL based upon your Sig you may wish for me to get dropped then run over by a passing train

I'll always be dropped by one of the lads on the fast downhills, it was the same on motorbikes, same when on track, will be the same... but i'll get him on the up

weeksy59

Well had a wee ride today.. Have to say i was a little disappointed with my overall average speed.

Average was 16.5mph for the ride... i was expecting better in all honesty.

I did notice that a couple of the hills are on the limit of my gearing.. i was in little front, big rear and struggling on 2 of them. Not killing me, but i did see a max heart rate of 184bpm which is VERY high for me.

My downhill speed and bike control is still very much lacking, i'm all over the bloody place at times, especially as it is VERY windy out there today. Along with very wet... well, that's all the excuses out of the way but i was expecting closer to 18mph for this ride. I'll take it that the hills and wind slowed me

simon_masterson

Don't worry about average speed. It doesn't mean a great deal; even in your own development most of the time. On some terrain 16.5mph average is what you might expect a professional racer to achieve. Nevertheless that average speed is far from bad at all; many people do far, far worse.

Focus instead on the highs and lows. Make the highs higher, work on the speeds that you can sustain on flat roads for lengthy periods (and work on the length of those periods), and incorporate tough climbs to increase your climbing speeds. Since you have an HRM (I don't), use it to full potential (find a training plan). Climbing is something that most if not all of us struggle with; you just have to put the time in!

weeksy59

Simon Masterson wrote:

Don't worry about average speed. It doesn't mean a great deal; even in your own development most of the time. On some terrain 16.5mph average is what you might expect a professional racer to achieve. Nevertheless that average speed is far from bad at all; many people do far, far worse.

Focus instead on the highs and lows. Make the highs higher, work on the speeds that you can sustain on flat roads for lengthy periods (and work on the length of those periods), and incorporate tough climbs to increase your climbing speeds. Since you have an HRM (I don't), use it to full potential (find a training plan). Climbing is something that most if not all of us struggle with; you just have to put the time in!

Getting somewhere flat is actually amazingly hard where i am LOL. It seems every route has an epic climb in there.

I was exceptionally impressed with my MHR and AHR today, when i ride in the gym (3 times a week) i generally average 150bpm, but today i was way over that and maintaining 165-170bpm was easier than i expected, obviously i was working hard at this time, but wasn't completely overwhelming.... the 184bpm moment was though !!!!

Tough climbs, hell, i love them...

elderone

thats a nice bike,as is the R1 which i also have.
just wondering how old you are in relation to your heart rate as thats a good level you got to.

weeksy59

elderone wrote:

thats a nice bike,as is the R1 which i also have.
just wondering how old you are in relation to your heart rate as thats a good level you got to.

I'm 41 mate. I generally his high 170's, maybe 178 in the gym when pushing on hill interval sprints... so over 180 i'm quite pleased with