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Post by cusqueno on Apr 21, 2016 12:05:23 GMT
I'm in the process of signing up to a London to Brighton bike ride (Friday 13 May - not ominous I hope) with some people from work. Earlier on in the year they did London-Paris, but I'm assured that they aren't road racing maniacs. This is not a charity mass ride. I'll be riding a Viscount of course, although I haven't decided which one. has anyone done L-B and have any tips on route, timings &c? Is Friday a good day to go - won't there be more traffic than at the weekend?
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Apr 21, 2016 16:27:36 GMT
John, I did the BHF London to Brighton ride last year with some friends. Feel free to study my Map my Ride record of the day out. The 54 mile BHF route is very pleasant, but the event creates cycle jams at every junction for the first 10 miles, and a pitifully slow early pace. Once you pass South of Croydon, the Surrey Hills tend to thin out the crowds. The real challenge comes after 46 miles in the shape of Ditchling Beacon, with 400ft of elevation over 1.5 miles. I was grateful for the 30Tx28T option on my 1999 24-speed GT Force (aka my 'new' bike), which my Viscount couldn't have offered. From Ditchling Beacon, it's a steady downhill cruise all the way to Brighton Promenade and the beach, beer, fish & chips and ice cream rehydration and protein/carb recovery. I'm sure all your home to office mileage will have put you in good shape for the trip. Good luck.
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Post by cusqueno on Apr 23, 2016 16:58:34 GMT
That's helpful Rob. I think the best I could do with regard to gears would be 32 - 28 by swapping chain sets around. Possibly only 38 - 28, depending on what works. Mind you, searching for L to B on (what used to be) the CTC forum, there were single speed heroes talking of doing DB on 42-19!!!
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Post by velocipete on Apr 23, 2016 19:02:39 GMT
Just talking John! Get a 6 speed megarange freewheel on the back,goes to 34 teeth! Cheers, Pete.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Apr 23, 2016 19:59:03 GMT
There was a single speed superhero on the beacon last year. Fair play to him for his determination to keep riding when the majority were walking, but he was taking up a lot of the road by tacking from side to side to reduce the incline!
Don't you have a skip tooth 34t freewheel in your Lambert/Viscount parts collection?
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Post by cusqueno on Apr 24, 2016 7:51:44 GMT
I found my skip tooth 34 yesterday and did wonder ...
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Apr 24, 2016 9:21:23 GMT
If your rear derailleur will accommodate the 34t skiptooth, that would be my choice with your 38t inner ring.
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 24, 2016 16:18:31 GMT
That's helpful Rob. I think the best I could do with regard to gears would be 32 - 28 by swapping chain sets around. Possibly only 38 - 28, depending on what works. Mind you, searching for L to B on (what used to be) the CTC forum, there were single speed heroes talking of doing DB on 42-19!!! I ride in the mountains every day (that's where I live). The 400 foot climb in a mile and a half is 5%; pretty average for around here. Several of my bikes are 32-28 and on a similar grade it is just fine for this 65 year old with circulation to only 2/3 of his heart. Nevertheless, a steady 9% grade makes me prefer a 28-28. When I was in my 30s and had a solid heart, I rode a 39-26 and thought it fine (those days are long gone). You may be fine with the 38-28. Cheers Jim
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Post by cusqueno on Apr 25, 2016 15:31:27 GMT
Now torn as to what bike to take. I had thought to use my VA 600ex. This has a six-speed Uniglide cassette and I could (with a bit of filing) fit a 32T hyperglide cog I have to hand instead of the current largest cog (25?). Might need to change the RD as well. That would give me a ratio of 42/32 or 1.31. If I temporarily replace the chain set with a 52/38 one, I could get a ratio of 1.19. Robt used 30/28 or 1.07, so I’m getting close.
Alternatively, I might put the 34T gap tooth 5-speed cog on my fillet brazed bike and straightway get 42/34 - 1.24. If I was able to remove the Viscount cranks(?!) and replace with the 52/38 chain set I could get to 1.12.
Other variations are possible …
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,388
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Post by Jem on Apr 25, 2016 16:28:09 GMT
Cusqueno - I had such deliberations before the 55 mile hilly Eroica last summer. I had a fruitless task trying to find a 32 or even 34 UG sprocket for my Deore 18AX. I couldn't, and had to stick with the 28 that was on there. So ran with 28 rear and 32 front. So, I really struggled and had to walk up some of the long steep hills (and by the end, some of the short steep hills too). I think 4 extra teeth at the back would have made a difference but the weight of the bike to start with, then the racks, handlebar bag, saddle bag with tools, spare tubes, jacket etc was a major factor. None of these were up to date & light weight, they were all old heavy things in keeping with the spirit of the event And then on top of all that I am at least a stone over weight, possibly more. If I was doing it this year, I'd use the 400ex with no bags on at all, and carry one spare tube, and tyre levers and 2 allen keys (not a set), mini pump, one multi spanner. In short, I'd get the bike as light as possible,and lose a bit of weight. If I had a 32 tooth rear, I would be confident that would make quite a big difference. And to top all that I think my trouble was also due to the fact that I never ride hills of that gradient around here...I just hadn't done enough to prepare myself for those hills, with that weight bike and extras,and with my stone and a half extra weight of body mass.
EDIT - just to put those gear ratios in context, some people were flying up the hills with anything from 42 and bigger front rings and and tiny rear blocks. So, in theory my 28-32 should have been fine. Some people did it on 3 speeds SA gears and passed me walking up hills. Maybe it's all in the legs and I was over theorising it?
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Post by cusqueno on May 2, 2016 17:32:04 GMT
Fitted the 14 - 17/34 skip tooth block and an old Lambert 32-42-52 triple chainset to the existing crank. So the Crane long cage RD is shifting a total of 40 teeth with a bit of a struggle, but all the cogs are accessible in the top two chain rings and the lowest couple with the 32T ring. VA_triple1 by Cusqueno, on Flickr Largest ring, biggest cog VA_triple2 by Cusqueno, on Flickr Smallest ring, biggest cog
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Post by cusqueno on May 14, 2016 13:55:32 GMT
Completed London-Brighton yesterday on my VA 600EX, modified with the substitution of a 32T cog for the previous largest one and swapping the 42T chainring for a 38T one. Consequently also had to swap the short-cage 600ex Arabesque RD for a long-cage Deore M-700 Deer Head to cover the whole range properly. VA_600-ex_1 by Cusqueno, on Flickr VA_600-ex_2 by Cusqueno, on Flickr - Lowest gear VA_600-ex_3 by Cusqueno, on Flickr - Highest gear The bike performed faultlessly, unfortunately the legs did not and I got quite bad cramp from about 60km of almost 90km onwards (37miles of 55) and I was unable to cycle up the Beacon. In fact walking was quite hard at times. But the long downhill into Brighton was bliss - I confess I broke the speed limit, hitting 38mph in a 30mph zone. Does anyone have a regime / diet or something for avoiding cramp? Or is it just a lack of practice at this distance and with real hills? Lots of people say that it's due to lack of salt (sodium), my wife believes it's lack of potassium and eating one banana (said to be rich in potassium) when I got home did seem to help. The L-B distance is like doing five days of commuting (along the flat) for me in one go, plus a lot of up and down. LB_7_DB by Cusqueno, on Flickr - View back from Ditchling Beacon LB_10_BrightonPier by Cusqueno, on Flickr - The End - beer, bread and cheese on the beach, with a few tourists in frame.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on May 15, 2016 16:17:04 GMT
Congratulations on going the distance, John, whether on pedal or foot!
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on May 16, 2016 14:28:07 GMT
Congratulations, you did better than many of the antique cars that attempt their annual London to Brighton run. Many of them falter on that hill; of course they are 112 years old and you are much younger All the Best Jim
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Post by cusqueno on May 16, 2016 15:06:17 GMT
Congratulations, you did better than many of the antique cars that attempt their annual London to Brighton run. Many of them falter on that hill; of course they are 112 years old and you are much younger All the Best Jim As I was trudging up, leaping on to the narrow grass verge to avoid the modern vehicles hurtling by, I wondered if the veteran cars come up DB or another way. I guess, so long as their motors keep turning they would be OK - they aren't geared for speed after all. I'd be more concerned for the quality of their brakes. Perhaps they deploy drag brakes? I can't recall the hill featuring in the film Genevieve - but it is a long time since I've watched it. In the film the two main protagonists race back Brighton-London. Coming down the hill in a 1904 car would be terrifying I think.
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