How To Train For A Long Bike Ride

Make sure you have an appropriately sized bike for your size, and have a professional at a local bike shop fit the bike to your physical proportions. If your long ride is exclusively on the road, a road bike is the most efficient model to use and will be less fatiguing than a hybrid or mountain bike. A properly adjusted bike will maximize your comfort and efficiency on the long training rides. Additionally, learning basic maintenance skills, such as how to change a flat tire, is important for both your training and the organized ride, since you will encounter long stretches without formal aid stations.

Increase your weekly cycling mileage gradually, and focus on adding miles to one ride per week. This long ride will prepare your body for several hours in the saddle and give you the opportunity to practice your fueling and hydration strategies while riding. Your longest training ride should be about two-thirds to three-quarters of the total distance you are preparing for. For example, if your goal ride is 100 miles, your longest training ride should be between 67 to 75 miles.

Add one or two workouts per week in which you do higher intensity intervals. Even though you are training for a long ride, including some fast cycling improves your body’s ability to buffer lactate, which will ultimately enable you to achieve a higher power output at a given perceived effort level. To estimate your lactate threshold, or the point at which blood lactate increases substantially over resting levels, wear a heart-rate monitor to measure your average heart rate during a 30-minute time trial. A sample interval training workout for a long ride would be two to five 10-minute intervals at one to five beats per minute lower than your lactate threshold heart rate, with 10 minutes of recovery cycling in between.

Include sufficient recovery into your training plan. Take one or two days completely off per week, and include one low-mileage week per month to allow your muscles to repair and rebuild themselves. Your body adapts to the training you put in during the recovery periods, not during the actual training itself. Furthermore, staying hydrated and well fueled before, during and after your workouts will help your body recover optimally. Finally, tapering, or reducing your mileage during the last week or two before your long ride, will allow your body to recover and reap the benefits of your training load.

What's The Advantage Of ALUMINIUM Frame

Many materials are used in the construction of modern bike frames, and each has its pros and cons. Though their explosion in popularity is relatively recent, aluminum bike frames date back to the late 19th century; the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Company's Lu-Mi-Num bike is one of the earliest known examples. With most major bike manufacturers now using aluminum or aluminum alloys in many of their products, aluminum bike frames have become a fixture in the cycling world.

Weight

Aluminum is the most widely available lightweight bike frame material. Steel, the most common and oldest bike frame material, is approximately three times the weight of aluminum. Though modern steel bikes have adapted to approach the low weight of aluminum bike frames, aluminum frames require no substantial design changes to remain among the lowest-weight bikes available. Due to its naturally low weight, aluminum remains an ideal and affordable choice for racing and mountain bike frames.

Rust and Durability

Unlike standard steel frames, aluminum bike frames are not prone to rust. This resistance to rust makes aluminum very low-maintenance and ideal for mountain biking and touring cyclists, or for any hobby cyclist who regularly rides in wet conditions. Due aluminum's lower strength compared with steel, titanium and carbon fiber, aluminum bike frame tubes often have thicker walls. Though this does not necessarily provide an advantage over other frame types, thicker-than-standard tubes can be used in aluminum bike frames without making them significantly heavier.

Stiffness

Stiffness affects the feel of a ride, providing stability when sprinting and climbing. Varying levels of stiffness are ideal for different types of riders. Partially owing to their thicker tube walls, aluminum bike frames are often stiffer than bike frames made with other materials. This may make for an uncomfortable ride if you are a mountain biker, because aluminum frames have less give than others when biking on bumpy or rocky terrain. This stiffness may provide an advantage to racing and touring cyclists, however, because the low sway of a stiff aluminum frame allows for more stability, and possibly more speed, when sprinting.

Cost

Though generally more expensive than comparable steel frames, aluminum frames are still relatively inexpensive. Due to their durability, rust resistance, stability and low weight, aluminum frames can suit the needs of a range of riders. While the benefits of an aluminum frame may not compare with those of some titanium and carbon fiber bikes, frames made with aluminum are substantially less expensive. Well-rounded, lightweight and affordable, aluminum bike frames are ideal for riders at all levels of expertise.

What's The Steel Frame Pros And Cons

Steel frames have the benefit of being flexible, which means the frame will give a smooth ride as the lack of stiffness helps dampen road vibration. Steel is a tough, long-lasting material and, due to its strength, makes a good choice for heavier riders. In addition, certain levels of damage to a steel frame can be fixed by a welder. The downside of steel is that it can rust if the paint gets chipped, and the material is the heaviest frame material. Plain steel bikes tend to be the least expensive bikes, but most steel frames now are steel alloys such as chromoly. These steel alloy frames are priced similar to or slightly less than aluminum frames.

My Bike Has Been In Storage—Is It Safe To Ride?

Take your bike to your local bike shop for a quick safety check. They can determine if it is safe to ride or needs any additional maintenance. Ask them for an estimate first before the work is done. They can call you if they discover something major in the inspection process. The cost of a basic tune-up is approximately $50 to $75. Don’t assume just because you haven’t ridden your bike that it is still tuned-up. Grease and chain lubrication can dry over time, and cables can loosen up if bumped or moved around.

Tern Turns E-Bikes Into Compacts With New GSD

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Urban transportation specialist Tern Bicycles will debut the GSD at Eurobike. This is an e-bike that, says Tern, “defines a new category: ‘compact utility’. 

Bringing utility into compact (electric) bikes means that the GSD is designed to carry two kids, a week’s worth of groceries, or 180 kg of cargo. However, it’s only 180 cm long—shorter than a Dutch city bike.

Folding technology

With Tern’s best-in-class folding technology, it packs down small enough to fit in a VW Touran or an urban apartment. It adjusts to fit riders from 150 – 195 cm. A Bosch Performance motor, with up to two batteries, powers the GSD for up to 250 km. It comes fully equipped with integrated lighting, rack, mudguards, double kickstand, two XL panniers, and even retractable passenger foot pegs – everything needed to shift to a bike-centric lifestyle.

The GSD comes standard with an 80cm integrated rear rack and side panniers with a total capacity of 62L. The GSD fits two children in Thule Maxi child seats or one adult passenger. Additional carrying capacity can be added with lower deck supports, a rear tray, and a front tray. Tern will open source the frame attachment point dimensions so riders with an interest can also design and build their own custom cargo accessories.

Robust parts

To withstand loads up to 180kg the GSD is fitted with robust parts like Magura 4 piston disc brakes, custom 2.4″ Schwalbe Super Moto-X tyres, Boost thru-axle hubs, and custom 36mm width double-joined rims.

The GSD base price of €3,999 (USD 3,999) includes a pair of 62 L Cargo Hold panniers, and a Bosch Performance mid-drive in 400 or 500 watt hour configurations. The US version will be available in 400 or 900 watt hour configurations.

Tern will debut the GSD at the upcoming Eurobike. The bike will be available in stores in the first quarter of 2018.

Ofo Lands In Austria

Chinese bike-sharing titan Ofo Inc announced on Monday it has landed in Austria, as the company ramps up the its efforts to expand the booming cycle empire into the overseas market.

The move marks the firm's latest move to fulfill its ambitious goal to pedal to 200 cities in 20 countries by the end of this year, as competition with its top rival, Mobike Technology Co Ltd, intensifies in the global market.

Dai Wei, founder and CEO of Ofo, said they saw great potential for Ofo's environmentally-friendly and affordable dockless bicycle services in Austria.

"Station-free bike sharing is our pioneering concept and has changed both the sharing economy and transport options in cities across the world. We recognize the demand for this type of public transportation and want to solve traffic problems in urban areas,” Dai said.

Ofo said after reaching an agreement with the city of Vienna, capital of Austria, it would begin a one-month pilot phase in the city to allow all users to ride the yellow shared bikes free of charge.

After the pilot phase, the company will deploy a full fleet of 2,000 bikes across Vienna. Users will be able to ride the shared bikes by simply scanning a QR code printed on the bike via the downloaded app and paying 1 euro ($1.2) per hour online on their smartphones.

Martin Blum, managing director and representative for cycling matters, Vienna said the station-free bike-sharing service was "the biggest innovation to public bicycle transportation methods ever".

"We are working in close cooperation with local authorities in order to ensure that Ofo becomes a valuable part of the range of transport on offer to Vienna's citizens", said Fred Dong, Ofo launcher for Austria. "We are excited about launching our service in Vienna, to make the city even more bike-friendly. We hope that we can advance our Austrian expansion further."

Founded in 2014, Ofo offers riders convenient bike-sharing services that allow users to rent and park the dockless shared bikes anywhere they prefer, while complying the local regulations.

Which Material Is Right For You?

It depends. Many factors—your style of riding, your weight, your sense of adventure—all play a role in your choice of material. The following paragraphs explain the different types of material commonly used on bikes. A few bikes out there are made of exotic metals, but that's another discussion entirely.

Carbon (High-Tensile) Steel

Steel is the most commonly used material in bike frames. Carbon or high-tensile steel is a good, strong, long-lasting steel, but it isn't as light as its more high-tech brother, the steel known as chromoly.

Chromoly (Chrome Molybdenum) Steel

A workhorse of the industry, chromoly is a light, strong steel. When it is butted and shaped to take off excess weight, it can deliver a fairly light frame that will last through years of hard use. Chromoly is responsive and offers good flex while maintaining its form.

Aluminum

Having come a long way from the oversized tubes of old, aluminum is now less expensive and very widely used on today's bikes. It's light, strong and stiff. With proper design it can give a solid ride for climbing, or lively handling in tight situations.

Titanium

Lighter than steel but just as strong, this more-expensive metal is found on high-end road or cross-country mountain bikes. It flexes so well while maintaining its shape that some very high-end bikes use the metal itself as a shock absorber.

Carbon Fiber

Take a bundle of parallel continuous fibers and bind them together with glue. This creates a ply. Several plies are made up to form a laminate (just like plywood). And the laminate, if designed right, can be very tough. It's also light. So why aren't all bikes made out of carbon fiber? It tends to be brittle. The fact that metal can bend and regain its shape is what makes it last. Because of this, carbon fiber bikes are built even stronger than needed.