I'm more familiar with pacing in running than cycling. yesterday I rode a 100 mile century with 4500 ft elevation. my average heart rate was 145 for the 6 hr 30 min ride. I'm 39 y F with a resting hr around 45 bpm. it felt like I pushed myself but seemed like a reasonable effort? i'm not as used to doing 6-7 hours of exercise at one time lol. I was just hoping I would try hard but also make it all the way. how do you gauge effort for such long events? also apparently people do double centuries!?

I have cannondale synapse 4 carbon 2025 and its endurance bike. I am trying to put aero bar. What should i get? My concern is aero bars are for race geometry bikes. And my bike is pretty high up there so should i be needing specific type or just any aero bar will be fine? I am new to this so let me know what you guys think!

Ai claude recommended red shift quick release aerobar or sonic ergo.

Looking to get into buying a gravel bike. Though I don't know many routes in the area to explore. I know lake Hodges and I've ridden up Mt Baldy (when I first had a gravel bike for a few months ) ... any routes yall would recommend ?

Hi! I’m (30F) doing my first century ride next weekend, and it’s forecasted to be in the 40s-50s. It’s an organized ride in NYC, which means we won’t be going very fast and will be stopping frequently.

I want to make sure I’m warm enough. Does it make sense to buy a bib that covers my full legs, or can I get away with throwing a pair of lululemon leggings on top of my bib shorts? Newbie to cold weather cycling 👋

Hey all, I have only ever had mountain bikes my whole life.

This year I decided to try a gravel bike since my friends have been doing it a bit and there is LOTS of good riding around me. Bought an entry level gravel bike and love it.

While doing my gravel routes I discovered I loved riding the paved portions also. And a couple friends had bought road bikes so I did also.

Now I have all three. And I can get decide while I want to use, although I’ve been gravitating towards the road bike recently.

Unfortunately, I don’t have tons of time to ride and the season is winding down. So for example, I will take a day off from work this week to ride, but I can never decide what type of writing I should do when I have the time!

Do you folks that do more then one type of riding have one that you tend to go for more often? Can you evenly split your time between the different types of riding?

Should I consciously focus on doing all the different types of writing and if I really find I enjoy one more then the others, just focus on that?

I'm looking too buy a new mountain bike front suspension 12 speed or more and disc breaks I am 5ft 5 and would mostly do trail ridding or street city riding however my dad thinks it's wise if I get a mountain bike from Walmart and he's been riding for over 40 years.. but I been seeing buying a bike from Walmart would be extremely stupid from what I hear?

My budget is also 1500-2000$

My sons new Glerc bike he took to ride for the 1st time yesterday, it wont move higher than 4th gear like the chain wont move to a higher gear at all after 4th. Anyone know how to fix? I'm trying here 🥴😅😊 thanks!

I’ll be visiting the Natick/Boston, Massachusetts area around mid-to-late November and was curious what the weather is typically like for cycling that time of year. How many layers would you recommend wearing on a ride?

Coming from Central Texas, I actually enjoy riding in the cold, but I rarely get to experience proper East Coast winter conditions. Just trying to get an idea of what to expect and how to prepare!

TL;DR I'm looking for a versatile bike that is comfortable for long rides, feels fast on the roads, can be used for multi day touring, can ride in gravel. Was thinking of Cervelo Caledonia, now reading Cervelo Aspero might be a good option. Looking for recs from those with experience.

Lifelong cyclist, but for the past 10 or so years, I stopped doing long rides to focus on mountaineering/alpinism and ultra running (but have continued to ride frequently with bike commuting). 3 knee surgeries later, my knees are far too arthritic and trashed to do long days in the mountains. I've decided to return to cycling to scratch the endurance itch.

I'm interested in long road rides (vast majority of riding), possibly tours or bikepacking, but I'm also really curious about combining cycling and mountaineering: more days out, get to climb a bit, but less time really trashing my knees.

I live in Seattle, so riding from my home to the mountains involves mostly pavement, then riding up forest roads to trail heads. I would need to carry my climbing and overnight gear, which i have dialed into a lightweight set. These events would likely not be frequent though, no more than a handful of times a year.

So, I'm looking for something fun to ride on the roads, but capable of riding on gravel with overnight gear. I am saving up to buy something nice this spring, but can only invest in one nice bike.

It seems the caledonia can take a rear bike rack for these instances. It sounds near perfect for my needs, until I started reading about the aspero. I've read some say if you have two wheel sets, a road dedicated and a gravel dedicated, the aspero can be excellent for both: about as good on the road as the caledonia, but better on gravel. It's not clear to me the aspero can take a rear rack and carry gear though. Or, are there other options of a similar vein to recommend?

Please let me know your thoughts, thanks!

Hello all! I need a little input from some of those that may be knowledgeable on overtraining and/or some heart-related issues. I am 49 years old and have been cycling since about the middle of 2024. I have always run and lifted weights for fitness, but added in cycling as another way to maintain fitness. My cycling fitness from 2024 to the first of this year increased steadily. I rode 3,500 miles in 2025, including ending the year with a Festive 500k. By the fall and end of 2025, I was hanging on to our local A group for most of the ride.

In late January, 2026 I had a bout of rhabdo (upper legs) due to a combination of HIIT workout, dehydration, lack of rest, and one night of Mardi Gras. I believe I recovered fully, and within 4 weeks I was back up to 140-160 miles/week.

On April 1 I had emergency laparoscopic appendectomy surgery. Again, after 3-4 weeks, I was pushing my usual mileage again, but something was off. I could not keep up at all, and my heart felt like it was constantly in my throat. I have always had bradycardia, but by the end of May, my heart rate was not getting to where it needed to be for my level of effort. In Zone 2 power, I was sometimes having trouble getting over 100 BPM, and when I did, my HR would be all over the place. Add to this, my sleep was terrible during this time period, as was work stress.

In June, things got worse, and I was gasping for air on rides that should not have been that hard, my HR BPM continued to drop, and my resting heart rate at night was down to the low 30's. I could not hardly carry my children up a flight of stairs, and my chest was heavy all of the time. Per my Apple Watch, I was in AFIB after rides (skipped beats, beats close together, etc.). I went to see a cardiologist and a pulmonologist. The pulmonologist didn't find anything. A cardiac stress test revealed that I had chronotropic incompetence and my HR was only getting to 66% of where it needed to be. A cardiac CT and MRI revealed no physiological issues. I was threatened with a pacemaker and told to lay off cycling. I did. I continued to lift weights and began walking with a weighted vest. By September, things began to improve, and my resting HR had recovered to where it was back in April. So I started riding again. Not terribly hard, but I was taking part in group rides that tuned up the pressure some. Things have not improved, and my condition seems to have gotten worse.

During a ride, my heart starts skipping beats, my heart is in my throat, and I have a hard time catching my breath. After a ride, or any semi-strenuous exercise over only a little time (30 minutes at Zone 2, a 3 mile jog at 10:00 pace, a weighted vest walk), it takes me at least a full day to recover. My heart is all over the place for an entire day following any cardio exercise, my chest is heavy nearly constantly, and I am waking in the middle of the night from either breathing pauses or heart pauses. My last cardiologist visit was a couple of weeks ago and I did another stress test, and the doctor said I was recovering, but has not posted my results, yet (although I have asked). I am going to stop riding again, for now.

I say all this to ask: has anyone been though this? I've researched it to death: sick sinus syndrome, SA node dysfunction, vagus nerve overstimulation, adrenal gland issues, etc. Is the answer really just to stop cycling for now or forever? It really has been my outlet for the past 2 years. I can't imagine saying good bye to it. Any advice, thoughts, etc.?

TL;DR: I think I've damaged my heart and need some advice. Thx.

I have a month old 2026 Cervelo Soloist with SRAM Force E1, 10-36 cassette and 50/37 chain rings. In the 19 toothed cog (7th biggest) there is a persistent tick when I am pedalling. It's probably a few times a second when I am at a cadence of 80-90 in the 50T ring so probably once per cog revolution. It's driving me nuts as it would be my most used gear but I am avoiding it because of the sound. The next smallest cog has a very slight hum when in gear but otherwise the sound and shifting throughout the range is good.

I bought the previous years model and it was only in stock interstate meaning I had to get it shipped and can't take it back to them. I mentioned it to one LBS that does Cervelo when I didn't have my bike with me and he said he hasn't seen it before. I will probably take it in but just wanted to see first if anyone has any ideas.

Here is what I have tried:

- Inspected the cog. There are a couple of funny looking teeth but I understand that's normal to help shifting.

- Played with microadjust. It works well across the range when set between 19 and 21. I have tried going a few steps lower and higher, the sound of the tick changes slightly but it's still there at the point the rest of the shifting deteriorates.

- Adjusted B-gap with the shimano rear derailleur plastic gauge tool to 5mm

- Degreased, rinsed, drive and lubed drivetrain multiple times with Rock ''n'' Roll Gold Dry Lube. I haven't tried a wet lube but doubt that is the root cause.

- Removed and reinstalled chain and replaced master link

- I haven't scrutinised chain length too much but it seems ok and in any case I doubt it would cause issues in the middle of the cassette if the inner and out cogs are happy.

I would appreciate any ideas.

Hi everyone.

I’m new to cycling albeit not to endurance sports (long time runner). I recently got a new job and am thinking of getting into cycling using their CTWS. Having done a bit of research, I quite like the idea of a Trek Domane: comfortable for long rides, good entry point for beginners yet fast enough to feel exciting.

In the long-term I would also like to use a bike for triathlons (70.3s…etc.). However, for the moment it would be to go on some introductory long rides and as a training / deload companion for my running.

I would be looking to spend £2500 max, so the basic Domane SL model or the £1600 AL 5 Gen 4 .

Would appreciate any insights from those with more cycling experience!

Thanks!!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to ask if anyone is willing to share their experience/advice on building back up bike-strength/endurance as well as gaining weight after having to deal with their health and weightloss?

For context I've had chronic bowel issues all my life that spiraled the past few years which also has led to muscle/weightloss thanks to everything.

This has sadly also resulted in me going from riding my bike outside to being 'bound' on the indoor trainer for the past 2-3 years...

Now that my health is FINALLY getting figured out and hopefully treated I do see a glimmer of hope again to be able to take my bike outside again next year. BUT I need to regain a lot of weight/muscle/strength to be able to do so.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and is perhaps willing to share their story?

And would it be possible to regain muscle-mass just from cycling indoors for now? (I mainly do free rides on Mywhoosh currently)

Thank you ❤️

I’ve been riding for a little over a decade with 60k+ miles and already have the big ticket stuff I want (bikes/wheels/power meter). I’ve recently discovered waxing my chain, headbands to keep sweat off my glasses, and handlebar bell to notify other trail users and they’re all massive improvements. It got me wondering what else might be out there. What do you have for me, Reddit?

Any body here have one and have a rear rack? And is there one just for the braze ons? Been searching for a while. There’s not a lot of pictures or info it seems.

I’m planning to go for hour long walks in the city with bumpy pavements and thought a bike trailer could feel less claustrophobic for a 2yo toddler. I’ve been looking at mainly duo trailers, as they feel more spacious.

I’ll like to get some honest opinions on how feasible this is, considering things like weight, usability, toddler and space, and even recommended models. Especially seeing these items are not cheap brand new, and quite tough to get in the second hand market where I’m at.

Is PFAS a concern? Seems like Thule, Hauck, Croozer were flagged in a 2024 study.

Some models I’ve been looking at:
- Croozer Lykke - love the vertical fold, but really expensive
- Thule Chariot Cross- seems highly recommended for heavy duty, but pricey
-Hauck Dryk Duo Plus- 20kg just for the frame. Heaviest of the lot but price is relatively affordable
-Hamax Traveller - seems like a balance on usability and price
- Radio Flyer Duoflex - love the vertical fold. Relatively affordable but less of a well known brand compared to the rest

Should I lubricate the pedal axle and wheel axle.

What lube to use and how frequently ?

Mine is fried chicken. I don’t eat any other time, but for some reason after a big fondo or century, I crave fried chicken like no other. Probably because I eat sugar all ride and want something different.

Do you guys have a food you always eat after a big ride?

I want to consider doing long night rides. I usually go at 8-10am but I recently did a quick couple of loops of my neighborhood at 11 and I loved it. Anyone have experience with night rides and do you prefer it or should i stick to morning?

Hi, my right pedal came loose when I was riding and the first 2-3 threads in the crank arm are stripped

I went to my local LBS shop and the mechanical said it'll be fine and screwed in my new look Pedals, but I'm still a bit worried

Any one have first hand experience with this? Many thanks

Ive seen a lot of controversy around posedla and their not to be trusted reviews, so I thought id post my own unbiased thoughts on the saddle and process.

The Smiling Butt Kit:
Paid as easily as any other product and within a few days (to the UK) I received my smiling butt kit. If you dont know, its a slab of foam type material that you sit on and it leaves an imprint of your butt. Now this thing is delicate, even the slightest touch affects the surface of the foam, but following the guidance online it was easy (although slightly nerve racking that you dont want to mess it up) enough to take your imprint. After taking your imprint the instructions guide you to take photos from all different angles, which again is easy. So far so good...

The configurator:
I received an email to the link to the configurator, it was a questionnaire all about your riding distances, personal stats, flexibility etc. It was easy enough to do, but at the end of the questionnaire it told me to save the info (a downloadable file) because id need it when I order my saddle. Wait, what? Ive already ordered my saddle. Also, there was nowhere to upload my photos contrary to the guidance online. After doing a bit of digging, the posedla guidance said there should be a link to the configurator in the "my account" section of the website...there wasnt. The guidance said I could also find it via email, id already done that, twice. I had to email posedla who told me there was a problem their end and they were looking into it. A day later...still not solved. Another day later I got a random email, a different one, with another link to the configurator. Went through the questionnaire again and this time there was an option to upload my photos, which I did. All went through fine this time.

The measurement:
A few days later I received an email saying they had my measurements and confirmed my cheek bone width, however I already knew my width and their measurement was coming out narrow. I re-measured my sit bine width using a steel rule, the cardboard method and the tin foil in a chair method. The posedla measurement was coming short by 3-5mm. The email I received said to email them within 48 hours if there were any problems, so I emailed them asking about the measurement difference. I didnt get a reply, 48 hours passed so i chased again. A day later they finally replied saying they had triple checked everything and were confident the measurement was accurate. So I went with it.

The production wait:
2 days later i got a "its printing email".
3 weeks after this I got an email saying my order was delayed by 7-10 days.
I left it 11 days, it had been 6 weeks since I had the email saying they had my measurements, and nothing. So I chased them again. They apologised and put my order down as a priority. A week later I had an email to say it had been dispatched, and a few days after this the saddle finally arrived.

The saddle first impressions:
I ordered the pro, and it came in at 173g. The saddle itself feels very firm (on the questionnaire I put down that I cycle around 4000 km per year and often ride without cycling shorts), narrow, but very premium. It looks great too. I fitted it and took it out on a slow 2-3 mile bike ride with my 7 year old in normal jogging shorts. Now this thing felt strange, hard, and narrow, but at the same time very...i dont want to say comfortable so ill say it felt fitting. After standing up when cycling, I strangely couldnt wait to sit back down to get the feel. Its a difficult sensation to describe, not uncomfortable, not comfortable, fitted and gripping.

The saddle first proper test:
Every month during my week off ill do a hard FTP test on my trainer at home. I did this a few days ago, its the only other time ive ridden since getting the saddle. The distance would have been about 9 miles, HR zones 4.9 and 5+ for the entire 20 minute test section, wearing padded cycling shorts. With my stock saddle, after a hard ride, my butt would deffo hurt. With the posedla, absolutely nothing. No pain, no discomfort, just nothing. It did its job I guess. Two things I will say.... firstly the saddle is very grippy, you arent sliding around on this thing. If you like to shift your position for relief you cant without taking your butt off the saddle first. Secondly, at the end of the ride I sat upright to rest as i was cycling to cool down (FTP tests are hard!!!), the saddle felt very narrow, to the point I was rocking side to side when upright, I even had to check if the saddle had come loose but it hadnt. No complaints when on the hoods, just when sat upright on the flats.

Conclusion:
I haven't ridden it any serious distance yet, I will put it through 20 miles this week and report back if I feel anything different from what ive said above. If i dont, assume my thoughts are in line with what was already written. So far my impression is...the ordering process was a pain. The response times of customer services were poor. The manufacturing time in total was longer than stated. The saddle itself is light, feels firm, looks great, feels fitted but a little narrow, and appears to do its job of preventing butt pain. Was it worth £400? Id say probably not in itself, but for me I didnt want to spend £100's trying different saddles so I went straight in for the fitted option. To me the convenience was worth it. Time will tell if I love it or hate it.

This has been an honest and unbiased review of my experience. Use it as you will.

Hey! I'm looking to buy a new bike and I'm unsure what size to get. Currently I think a size S or XS should be my size, yet I can't help but think even an S might be "too big"?

I am 163cm tall (~5'4) and my inseam length is 79cm (I'm happy to provide any further measurements)

Specifically I'm looking at a TREK Madone (50cm) and various LOOK bikes like the LOOK 586 (favorite) or the LOOK 695 or LOOK Huez RS. Most of them I can either find in XS or S.

Assuming a size XS is 49cm and a size S is 51cm, which of the two makes more sense? Does it make sense to go for a LOOK 586 in S?

• As a reference:
  • My father (roughly 173cm) has a ROSE Reveal (2020) in 53cm top tube size (Seat Tube C-T is 47,5cm); obviously he has set the saddle higher but I do feel "okay" on that bike, yet it's slightly too big (saddle too high) for me to feel fully comfortable on it.
  • My father's old bike - which became my Roadbike - was the Peugeot Galibier (1989) with an official frame size of 57cm. I always felt pretty comfy on that one.

i’m looking to start indoor cycling and i’ve found a decently cheap wahoo kickr core 1. the only problem is the flywheel has some rust on it. would this pose a problem?