Back to cycling and looking at replacing a couple of bits

nbuuifx

I've had a couple of years away from cycling due to work and family commitments.

However I'm trying to get back into it with just one ride per week 40-50km.

I have a Trek 1000SL which in itself is more than good enough for what I want. I'm not aiming to be ultra fast etc.

The main issue I have at the moment is the brakes are shockingly poor, going down big steep hills I physically can't stop. They are quite noisy too - everyone else knows when I'm braking! I changed the pads (the old ones had picked up quite a bit of metal) but I think the wheels need changing. I'm not too fussed about them being the lightest wheels ever but I'd like to buy a new pair that are no worse than the originals but as cheap as possible too. Along with another new set of pads I'm hoping that will cure it! Any suggestions for wheels would be appreciated.

The second less major issue I have is the gearing. It is a triple on the front and I think 8 on the rear. I live in quite a hilly area but my 40km ride today was all in the biggest front chain ring and when going faster I find myself constantly trying to shift up to higher gears. It is usable as is, but I feel that it seems a bit wasted. Is it possible to put larger chain rings on?

I feel like I should really be in the middle ring mist of the time, shifting to the larger ring when going fast and to the smallest ring when going up really big hills. However I have found it easier to just leave it in the big ring and go between the smallest rear for speed and maybe the 3rd from biggest for hills.

I feel like I do need the option of a smaller chain ring if I came across a really steep gradient. What would be best for this? I'm guessing that chain length may become an issue?

lesfirth

Without the size of your chainrings and the biggest and smallest sprockets on your cassette it is hard to give advise.

simon_masterson

Your cadence is almost certainly the problem, not the gearing.

trailflow

Tell us your budget for wheels. And your body weight.

Shimano 105 5800 brake calipers are plenty powerful for budget brakes. Should be a definite improvement. They come with new pads. I recommend those.

sungod

is it this one? http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 000-19927/

from other sites, gears are probably 52/42/30 with a 12-26 cassette (8-speed), even a lowish cadence of 80 would have you doing over 40kph in top gear, as above, the gears are not the problem, it's your cadence

edit: and/or possibly the rear mech/cable is sticky and you're never reaching the small cog(s)

on the flat or gentle incline you should be on the big ring all the time, then middle/smallest as it gets steeper

can't see why the brakes should be inherently bad, the rims are a good make, but maybe they're contaminated, give them a scrub clean and try again

which pads did you get? bear in mind there's a big difference in performance between, say, swissstop and cheap shimano ones

but before replacing pads or brakes, how are the cables and adjustment? if cables/outers are old and frayed, and/or the calipers aren't set correctly then there may not be much stopping power

i'd guess the bike needs a good going over to get it working well again

dj58

The Trek archive lists the bike as having a 52/42/30 crankset and 8 speed 12-26 cassette. If you need lower/higher gears for climbing/descending, swop the standard cassette for a CS-HG50-8 11-28T or 11-30T, though you would need to check your RD is a long cage model, and fit a longer chain. Later triple cranksets use 50/39/30T rings, so you could also swop your outer and middle rings. 52 x 11T gives you a 124.7 inch high gear.

Brakes, as already mentioned Shimano 5800 105 are the go to upgrade for a reasonable outlay and can accommodate 28c tyres.

Hunt Wheels do a 4 Season Dura shallow 23mm wide rim 24/28 spoke 8/9/10/11 speed tubeless compatible wheelset for £229.00.

nbuuifx

Thanks for the replies, I will get some photos of bits of the bike later to confirm what is currently fitted.

Only got a minute now but,

I am 6'3" - 14 stone. Relatively fit, I run twice a week, swim twice a week and am just getting back to cycling once a week. My runs are usually 5km in 25 mins, although I can run up to around 20km. I got quite into cycling but have had a couple of years away from it. I used to do 3 rides a week. Did some of the charity rides 60-100 miles.

Is Cadence a strict thing, I can guarantee my cadence does not remain in the 80-90 zone. I personally find it easier to ride at a lower cadence rather than having my legs constantly spinning all the time. I thought it was a bit of a preference thing. I think one of my wireless computers has a cadence sensor on it - bot sure if it is the one fitted to the bike or not - will check that out later too.

nbuuifx

I've now had a few more rides and been glad of the smaller gears.

I've found that when tired on a long ride they start to become very useful on the hills! My last ride had 580m of climbing and by the end of that I was going up hills which I know I can do on the big cog - however I was using the small cog!

I've no idea on my cadence, the cateye is fitted to the wrong bike - I have a polar computer on this bike with HRM but no cadence.

I do find that quite regularly I am pushing for another gear which isn't there at the top end - the chain is definitely moving onto all the cogs on the rear.

As I'm still getting back into it, I'll carry on persisting with the current setup and see how I get on - then if it carries on being an issue I'll look at swapping the cassette for an 11t one.

The brakes seem to be improving a little with use, I'm not sure I'd trust them fully to stop me on a steep descent but at least the noise is going a bit. I've no idea now what make the pads were - they were whatever Swinnertons recommended - I don't think they cost a lot though.

On the flat I seem to be topping out at about 22-24mph. Not sure if that sounds right?

cougie

If you do any mass charity bike ride you see all the people who aren't cyclists pedalling slowly at 60 rpm or less. Club cyclists spin more.

You need to learn to spin. That's the issue not the bike. Spinning is better for the knees too.

Your brakes should be just fine if they're set up ok. Are they aligned ok and are the rims clean?

JesseD

cougie wrote:

If you do any mass charity bike ride you see all the people who aren't cyclists pedalling slowly at 60 rpm or less. Club cyclists spin more.

You need to learn to spin. That's the issue not the bike. Spinning is better for the knees too.

Your brakes should be just fine if they're set up ok. Are they aligned ok and are the rims clean?

This!

My cadence on the flat is around 100 - 110 rpm, on hills it does drop to the 70-80 rpm mark and only down to 60 rpm on really steep climbs, felt odd at first but now really natural and allows me to respond to attacks and changes of pace more easily.

photonic69

If your rims are a bit knackered and possibly contaminated you can freshen them up using one of these and some soapy water as lube. Cuts all the crap from the alloy and gives nice new surface for the new pads. It'll take a few long descents to bed them in though. The power will build and build.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garryson-Garry ... B0001P08UG

nbuuifx

Thanks - I will look into the cadence more.

Just fitted some proper SPD-SL pedals as I've been using mountain bike SPDs for a good while.

The brakes were really noisy - so I bought the new pads - on removing the old pads I found them to be contaminated with metal in the pads - I cleaned the rims up with wet and dry and put the new pads on. Then shortly after I ended up taking a couple of years off from cycling - have now returned to cycling and they do seem to be bedding in - the noise has certainly gone - just not confident they would actually stop me on a steep descent!