Safe Training

Being exposed to danger is part of a cyclist’s life. If it’s not the elements ,it’s the threat of a fall around the next corner or being hit by a car while obeying the rules of the road. So what can you do to minimize the risk?

 

Well you can and should always:

Wear a helmet , even if it is just for a quick ride to the corner shop , you don’t want to find out that damage occured because you were not wearing a helmet.
 

Keep your bike well maintained especially the brakes and chain system , not being able to stop when required or being able to get away when you should is something that can easily be avoided.
 

Wear bright clothes , Neon coloured clothing is the way to go as you don’t blend into the road or the horizon when wearing this and being visible to motorists is rather important.
 

Always remember which side of the road is the safe side, this rule applies to tourists especially.
 

While on a training ride it is safer to find cover and wait out the storm than to brave the weather. Lightning strikes and not being seen by motorists is a real danger here.
 

If you are out on a group ride , ride single file instead of an echelon formation, it gives cars the ability to pass without you running the risk of being clipped by a mirror or worse.
 

Make your intensions clear by using hand signals if you are about to turn.
 

Keep your ears open , no headphones while you are cycling on the road so you can hear oncoming traffic.
 

Avoid cycling at night but if you have to make sure that you are visible and if possible stick to well lit areas.

 

The cardinal rule is use common sense, but stay safe out there.

 

Written by Janneman

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/training-safely/

Cygolite Metro 500 Test

I was never a fan of those big front lights. They looked big, heavy, and I thought the reason they were so bright was because they were alkaline battery powered. I never but battery powered lights, since they aren't USB rechargeable, and don't last as long. 

That was until I discovered the Cygolite Metro 500: 

It sure looked like it could knock someone unconscious. However, I did see that it was rechargeable. Assuming it had the same brightness as the alkaline battery operated lights, it should be somewhat useful. It was better than useful. It was perfect. 

Before I started using the Metro 500, I used the compact lights. Lightweight, and bright enough to see where you're riding most of the time, these lights had one major issue. The rubber straps could break easily. That's were the Metro 500 comes into it. My front light could no longer attach to my handlebars, and I was riding blind. I wanted something stronger, something like a clamp. But I thought it would be heavy. It was worth the gamble, and boy was I mistaken. Weighing in at 110g, this light will barely make you realise it's there. The clamp is a little bit difficult to attach around the cables, but once it's there, it's not going anywhere. Cygolite includes non-slip padding with the mounts, however these didn't fit around my handle bar with the clamp, and quite frankly weren't needed. Once the screw was attached, and the clamp was on, the light wasn't going anywhere. The only way the light has ever moved unusually for me, is the screw holding the swivel plate attachment coming loose. Nothing a screwdriver can't fix.

Moving onto the light, it is USB rechargeable, and will last anywhere from 1.5 hours, right through to 30 hours. The only reason why you would use the brightest setting, as Cygolite claims is possible, is for daylight riding. Yes, a light designed to make you move visible in the daylight. As this it is not a requirement, I use it on SteadyPulse setting when riding at night, which gives the brightness of a fixed beam of light, and the obscurity of a flashing light. Cars will not miss the brightness, and the light wont blend into the scenery by staying on. 
The design of the light itself is very nifty. It has side illumination points, to increase the angle of the light, as well as custom optics which further maximise the beam angle, and distance. The shape is streamlined, and rather inconspicuous. Next to a Garmin, or other cycling computer, you will hardly be able to notice it. 
 

The other features that I love about this light, are the Li-Ion battery, allowing extra run time by being rechargeable. Unlike other lights that use the Li-Ion battery for recharging, Cygolite have managed to up the brightness, even on such a battery. This is mostly due to the Cree XM-L LED, which allow 1040lm at 10W. These LED's are getting stronger and stronger. I also love the on/off button. It is large, and actually works unlike others that I have tried. It can easily be turned on by a gentle touch. As a matter of fact, press it too hard like other lights, and it will have already started its cycle through the functions. As for the functions, if you press and hold the light, it turns off. Most other lights automatically turn back onto the first function, however the Metro 500 remembers your last used function. 

Verdict
In summary, standard assembly is a little tricky; the light is very bright, but not over weighted; the battery is rechargeable; and the on/off button is very easy to use. Ticks all my boxes.

My rating: 9.5/10 

Written by Kieren Barnett

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/cygolite-metro-500-review/

Hands Become Feelingless When Riding The Bike?

Everybody knows the feeling of their hands beginning to tickle and even get feelingless, when they are riding both small and longer distances. An annoying problem can make a great training end up being a dreadful training. The problem that makes it occur is that the Ulnar nerve is getting compressed when having your hands on the handlebars. No matter if you are in the drops, hoods, or tops of the handlebars, you will end up getting this very annoying feeling at some time, and 9 out of 10 reading this, have already experienced it before. There are a few ways to make this disappear though, and we have collected them below.

Wrong angle of your saddle is a pain in the.. hands

Try looking on your saddle angle. As we already stated in the article of how to prevent damage and pain, if the saddle is pointing too much down, you will make a greater part of your bodyweight rely on your hands and handlebars, instead of your saddle. Many who are experiencing this problem, can actually get it fixed by this simple adjustment.

Gloves is the answer

However, if your saddle will kill your groin by pointing more upwards, try getting a pair of cycling gloves with gel pads. If you take a look on the picture below (Borrowed from the University of Wisconsin-Madison), you can see the red and yellow areas. These areas are where the problem starts, and as you can see, by fitting a pair of cycling gloves, you can make this area more or less disappear.

The gel pads in the gloves simply makes the pressure even out on a larger area, making the Ulnar nerve less compressed. This is usually the best way to prevent the damage from happening, but if the saddle angle is pointing too much down, you will just face problems with your shoulders still. Therefore, I will recommend adjusting the angle of your saddle first.

We have already tested the Sportful Bodyfit Pro racing gloves, which we loved. You can read about them by clicking here.

Keep shifting

Usually, the two fixes above should be enough, but if that does not help with the problem, there is another reason why this problem occur is. A potential problem is that you are probably placing your hands in the same position for half an hour without actually noticing it. For example if you have 20 kilometers of headwind, you are having your hands in the drops, and this will give you quite some time without shifting the placement of your hands. That makes the Ulnar nerve getting pinched for a long time, and therefore this problem can occur. So to cure this, try shifting from the hoods to the drops and the tops and back again, every 5^th minute or so. It will actually make quite some difference.

Do you have any other treatments for this problem? Please write about it in the comment section below.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/losing-the-feeling-in-the-hands-when-riding-the-bike-/

Sportful Bodyfit Pro Gloves Test

Sportful is a worldwide known Italian producer of some of the world’s best cycling clothes. They even sponsor big World Tour teams like Team Saxo Bank with tour-star Alberto Contador on the team. One of the items Sportful makes is cycling gloves, which is what I have been testing. The specific name of the gloves reviewed in this article is Sportful Bodyfit Pro Gloves, also pictured below. They are the top racing gloves from Sportful, and is made to secure as small a wind resistance as possible by being a tight fit.

On the road

The gloves only make a tight fit if you, of course, pick the right size. They are still very comfortable though, because the fabrics used can be stretched quite a bit. Even after 200 kilometers my hands feel rather fresh, and the Ulnar nerve, which usually can make you hand be feeling-less for a small amount of time, does not get affected when you have the Sportful Bodyfit Pro gloves on. So no wonder why the professionals at Team Saxo Bank likes these gloves.

Since the gloves makes longer distances less hard for your hands, you will enjoy your workouts on your bike a bit more than before. There is just nothing better when man and machine is combined in the best way possible. I have personally tried several other gloves before these, but they did not feel as comfortable as the Sportful’s at all. These Sportful gloves are by far the best cycling gloves I have ever tried.

Are they are more aerodynamic than other gloves? I have no idea. The aerodynamic drag on gloves is in general very small, but of course, if you can save half a Watt of drag in a race, they are worth the money. I never felt any difference at all, but it is always nice to have the knowledge, that the gloves you are wearing are the best of the best.

The general quality of the gloves are top notch. Stitches and fabrics is not found any better than what’s being used, and even after taking a lot of beatings, like running them on the tires to get stones out of the tires while still riding in a high pace, hasn’t damaged them at all, even though those stones easily could cut them open. In addition to this, the areas that are getting worn the most, got a double layer to make sure the lifespan of the gloves is as long as possible.

For hot days, they do not feel that warm compared to similar gloves, due to a good ventilation through the thin upper part of the gloves. The bottom part that is made with a bit thicker fabric got ventilation holes, as seen in the picture below. The gloves is definitely better than most gloves when it comes to hot summer days, but Sportful also makes some other gloves with even more ventilation. They are not “as aerodynamic as the Sportful Bodyfit Pro racing gloves” though.

The gloves also got some furry fabric on the backside of the thumb, helpful to get rain or sweatdrops of the glasses without damaging the lenses. It also helps with keeping your thumb warm, but isn’t much use if it becomes wet. I have seen it on some other non-Sportful gloves too, so it is not very rare or special, but it is still a nice feature to have, if you hit rain on your route.

Along with that, they also have a bit of fabric between the middle and the ring finger, making it easier to take the gloves off.

The verdict

I have several experiences with all kind of different cycling gloves, because I always had problems finding gloves I actually felt was great to wear. However, that was until I tried the Sportful Bodyfit Pro gloves. They are simply by far the best gloves I have ever tried, and at less than 35 Euro’s they are far from the most expensive gear you are going to spend money on for your bike anyway. I can only recommend these, as they made my hands less sore after a workout and therefore improved my motivation for the next workout.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/sportful-bodyfit-pro-gloves-review/

The Best Way To Recover Between Training Sessions

Only the professional riders got masseurs to take care of their sore body after a hard race, so how do a normal rider get the maximum out of the rest between training sessions? A good recovery also means a more efficient training, and some of the best sporting athletes around the world sleeps up to 12 hours a day in order to recover the best way.

Of course normal people with a normal job and life can’t even get close to that amount of sleeping, so we have gathered a few nice tips below here to get fresh legs as fast as possible:

Eat after training

The first 20 minutes after training is especially important, because there is a window where the nutrients have an easier path to get out to the muscles and make them recover easier. Especially food with proteins and carbohydrates are very important to get immediately after a long and hard training session. For example drink some hot chocolate, since it contains high numbers of both proteins and carbohydrates.

Lift your legs

If you can, place yourself in the couch for about an hour, with the legs lifted higher than your heart (same procedure to minimize swollen feet). It will help with oxygen to get to your muscles.

Ride on your bike to the job

The day after a long and/or hard training session a small and easy ride to and from work will actually help your legs become fresher. If you ride in low gears without pushing yourself, you will increase the blood circulation in the sore muscles, without making it worse. Actually, the increased blood circulation will make your muscles recover faster.

Keep a log of your training and recovering

If you really want to analyze everything, you can keep a log of how much you have trained, along with how much and how well you have been sleeping at the night. In addition, what your resting pulse is at the morning together with your morning weight. If you are tired, losing weight or have a higher pulse, it can be a sign of overtraining which will mean you should lower your amount of training sessions.

If you have more tips, please share them in the commentsection below!

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/the-best-way-to-recover-between-the-training-sessions/