bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
Tubeless on 30mm Schwalbe G ‘s - lovely.
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Been around bikes for a long time, my dad used to race, tour etc.. my first proper bike ( race bike) was 5 speed, down tube shifters, centre pull brakes and the good old 27x1 1/4” tyres. Probably a 1973 vintage. I got told off by my mum for using dessert spoons as tyre levers ( the handle end ), just imagine the damage they would do to alloy or carbon wheels
mjd1988
Guru
That was all kinds of awful. I'm never making a plan (Mike Tyson quote here) for a volcano climb race, I always end up bonking.
First sprint seemed to never come, was surfing wheels at the front for ages, used powerup (was a feather but could have used it later) about 5 minutes early. Still managed to come 4th but blew all my matches and crawled to the foot of the volcano.
I actually was pretty happy about the rhythmn I was in for it, managed effort well but no drafting at all so still took forever. To rub salt in the wounds the 50kg kid got dropped after the sprint but then flew up the volcano.
After the volcano got in a group with a couple of friendly lads who towed me to the line. Then without warning we had a last minute sprint that I could have done without (but couldn't not take part in
)
So finished maybe 7 or 8 mins down on the winner but still got some points which seems a little unfair. @Brendan Parker putting out a much more measured effort well ahead and Alan in the mix at the front but I think had a similar problem with the first sprint. @Spartak you put out roughly the same w/kg as me but I think you missed the draft for most of the race so well done!
Hopefully the other guys got on better!
First sprint seemed to never come, was surfing wheels at the front for ages, used powerup (was a feather but could have used it later) about 5 minutes early. Still managed to come 4th but blew all my matches and crawled to the foot of the volcano.
I actually was pretty happy about the rhythmn I was in for it, managed effort well but no drafting at all so still took forever. To rub salt in the wounds the 50kg kid got dropped after the sprint but then flew up the volcano.
After the volcano got in a group with a couple of friendly lads who towed me to the line. Then without warning we had a last minute sprint that I could have done without (but couldn't not take part in
)So finished maybe 7 or 8 mins down on the winner but still got some points which seems a little unfair. @Brendan Parker putting out a much more measured effort well ahead and Alan in the mix at the front but I think had a similar problem with the first sprint. @Spartak you put out roughly the same w/kg as me but I think you missed the draft for most of the race so well done!
Hopefully the other guys got on better!
Last edited:
Well done everyone especially @Whorty, great 2nd place.
Sadly my plan came to fruition which led to a very boring race. My main rival in tonight's race, Frank, had a bit of bad luck by the looks of it. I have gapped him in the first mile or so as he couldn't keep up with the sandbagger group that I had joined then he suffered some kind of sensor issue which made the gap jump from 8 seconds to 30 seconds. After that the group I was with spend off until the sprint. By that point I had 3 minutes on Frank.
I managed to extend my lead over the Volcano KOM to 4 mins and by the end of the race it was 7 mins. Took all 50 points on offer.
Looking at Cat C I would have finished bottoms tonight so I was probably in the right Cat for the course. It was a shame there was only 4 legit Cat D riders tonight. Ben Mong was down to race but then this afternoon he took himself out of it which was a shame as he pushed me the last time we rode together.
Right - time for a shower and some gammon, egg n chips 🏆
Sadly my plan came to fruition which led to a very boring race. My main rival in tonight's race, Frank, had a bit of bad luck by the looks of it. I have gapped him in the first mile or so as he couldn't keep up with the sandbagger group that I had joined then he suffered some kind of sensor issue which made the gap jump from 8 seconds to 30 seconds. After that the group I was with spend off until the sprint. By that point I had 3 minutes on Frank.
I managed to extend my lead over the Volcano KOM to 4 mins and by the end of the race it was 7 mins. Took all 50 points on offer.
Looking at Cat C I would have finished bottoms tonight so I was probably in the right Cat for the course. It was a shame there was only 4 legit Cat D riders tonight. Ben Mong was down to race but then this afternoon he took himself out of it which was a shame as he pushed me the last time we rode together.
Right - time for a shower and some gammon, egg n chips 🏆
Last edited:
Brendan Parker
Veteran
- Location
- essex, england
Yep pretty similar story for me. Done myself on the first sprint so spat out back. Ended up in a 3 and the Brazilian fella just would not pull. So me and a Sean Dwyer lost him on the volcano and rode home together. Tough course that one but well done everyone.That was all kinds of awful. I'm never making a plan (Mike Tyson quote here) for a volcano climb race, I always end up bonking.
First sprint seemed to never come, was surfing wheels at the front for ages, used powerup (was a feather but could have used it later) about 5 minutes early. Still managed to come 4th but blew all my matches and crawled to the foot of the volcano.
I actually was pretty happy about the rhythmn I was in for it, managed effort well but no drafting at all so still took forever. To rub salt in the wounds the 50kg kid got dropped after the sprint but then flew up the volcano.
After the volcano got in a group with a couple of friendly lads who towed me to the line. Then without warning we had a last minute sprint that I could have done without (but couldn't not take part in
So finished maybe 7 or 8 mins down on the winner but still got some points which seems a little unfair. @Brendan Parker putting out a much more measured effort well ahead and Alan in the mix at the front but I think had a similar problem with the first sprint. @Spartak you put out roughly the same w/kg as me but I think you missed the draft for most of the race so well done!
Hopefully the other guys got on better!
Bloody hard C race - quite a few B's pushing and pulling the group apart. A pretty uneventful run in to the sprint - big blob of about 25 riders so I decided not to contest but push through and see if we could drop the sprinters (which partly happened). Got to the Volcano and the B's set off completely destroying the field. Some Cs managed to hang on to them (not me!). I was given 4th on that Prime I think. A small group of 5 of us formed on the descent and rode together to the Epic KoM. I was mostly surfing wheels as felt awful.
Got on the KoM and there was a C about a minute up the road who seemed to be No1 in ZP. In my group was 2-5 on ZP. I didn't push too hard at first then one of the guys went off the front on the steep section early on so I chased him - problem is, he then popped and I had a decision to make ... should I continue the attack or fall back in? Well, feck it, head down I went for it
Longest 4 minutes of my life 
Managed to get over about 7 seconds ahead of the chasers who caught me as we turned onto the flat following the descent. There were now 5 of us again ... 2 B's I think. Anyway, one went off the front not to be seen again, the rest of us rolled in. They sprinted .... I had nothing left 
ZP has me 3rd overall due to the primes. I was 15th (I think) on the road which probably shows how many sandbaggers tonight again
Well done everyone else. Flippin hard course that for a race.
Got on the KoM and there was a C about a minute up the road who seemed to be No1 in ZP. In my group was 2-5 on ZP. I didn't push too hard at first then one of the guys went off the front on the steep section early on so I chased him - problem is, he then popped and I had a decision to make ... should I continue the attack or fall back in? Well, feck it, head down I went for it
Longest 4 minutes of my life Managed to get over about 7 seconds ahead of the chasers who caught me as we turned onto the flat following the descent. There were now 5 of us again ... 2 B's I think. Anyway, one went off the front not to be seen again, the rest of us rolled in. They sprinted .... I had nothing left ZP has me 3rd overall due to the primes. I was 15th (I think) on the road which probably shows how many sandbaggers tonight again
Well done everyone else. Flippin hard course that for a race.
BurningLegs
Guru
I rolled through the sprint in 4th which I was pleased with, then made two tactical errors on the volcano. The first one was a lapse in concentration on the early slopes which meant I was gapped while the gradient was slight. I just couldn’t bridge it, so I dropped my feather power up on an approx 5% section in a last ditch effort to get back on and then the road went flat and I had no chance of getting back on, and a wasted power up.
Caught one who was spat out on the way up, and a second as I crested which was a relief - someone to descend with and then sit on for the flats.
I literally sat on the entire time, and I could tell it was irritating him but didn’t care. In the end he ran out of steam and I dropped him, then caught one of his team mates up the road which made for interesting racing because neither of us would work, almost letting the racer behind catch us again!
In the end it came down to a two-way sprint for 10th place and I was for once really happy with my sprint. Peak power 792W and 5sec 745W - for me both of those are really good so I must be quite fresh. Didn’t ride at the weekend which I’m sure helped.
Power meter was delivered today so planning to install that tomorrow and do an initial ride. Assuming I feel good and have time, I will go up the Alpe. Will set my FTP artificially low in Zwift first and treat the Alpe as an FTP test.
I don’t have a torque wrench and not a mechanic at all. Any views on whether it’s really essential to use one for the two bolts that hold the crank arm on?
Caught one who was spat out on the way up, and a second as I crested which was a relief - someone to descend with and then sit on for the flats.
I literally sat on the entire time, and I could tell it was irritating him but didn’t care. In the end he ran out of steam and I dropped him, then caught one of his team mates up the road which made for interesting racing because neither of us would work, almost letting the racer behind catch us again!
In the end it came down to a two-way sprint for 10th place and I was for once really happy with my sprint. Peak power 792W and 5sec 745W - for me both of those are really good so I must be quite fresh. Didn’t ride at the weekend which I’m sure helped.
Power meter was delivered today so planning to install that tomorrow and do an initial ride. Assuming I feel good and have time, I will go up the Alpe. Will set my FTP artificially low in Zwift first and treat the Alpe as an FTP test.
I don’t have a torque wrench and not a mechanic at all. Any views on whether it’s really essential to use one for the two bolts that hold the crank arm on?
The idea Of IRL prizes was to encourage more members to join the Zwiftpower team in the hope that Zwift will recognise us as one of the bigger community teams and so we get more opportunity for official race events. Before the series 1 league we organised individual time trials and interprovincial time trials (Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and the other one) but this was all done piggy backing other events and the admin is too much. The prize was a success as the team grew very quickly and over took the Norwegian Vikings team about 4 weeks ago to become 7th largest team per Zwiftpower numbers. I agree it would now be the time to open up prizes to all entrants. DBR have partnered with Tacx I think? Are their prizes open to anybody? Guess Tacx have a worldwide presence and / or give vouchers as prizes.
the other thing is that i don’t think racing on Zwift is Properly policed to have prizes for race winners - too easy for weight dopers and not to mention miS-calibrated trainers. I understand that the Fusion Team tried to implement transparency rules for all riders but without success.
Alongo
Guru
I have a 4iiii power meter Nick and quite often swap it from bike to bike , I don’t use a torque wrench , just a nice firm tighten without going mad . Have you got the Shimano crank tool for tightening the non drive side arm ?
Spartak
Powered by M&M's
- Location
- Bristolian
Well done @Whorty great 2nd place.
That is one tough course, the Cat. B start is too fast for me & I was spat out the back straight away, found a small group for the flat section but lost them on the first bump, managed to catch a Scottish rider and we rode together for a while until I dropped him on the Volcano, then just rode home at approx 2.5w/kg.
That is one tough course, the Cat. B start is too fast for me & I was spat out the back straight away, found a small group for the flat section but lost them on the first bump, managed to catch a Scottish rider and we rode together for a while until I dropped him on the Volcano, then just rode home at approx 2.5w/kg.
Same as Andy - I’ve always meant to buy a torque wrench but never got round to it. I’ve always just gone off feel. Just make sure to grease the bolts so they don’t seize in place.
As alongo says, no real need but unless you have a feel for what is about right it's easy to err on the side of caution. But it needs to be tighter than that. The worse you'll probably do the on cranks is strip or break the bolt, but that is very unlikely. I have a torque wrench for the carbon bits, but never bothered for the cranks and BB, but just got one and I was way off on feel, the BB was over and the crank bolt was under. It didn't affect the usability of it for the last two years.
Great results @Joffey and @Whorty.
I was thinking of the Mike Tyson quote as well Michael. The plan was working fine until I got a rush of blood and decided to go full throttle for the Sprint – my only problem was I had completely mis judged where the Sprint was. I ended up with a three second gap at one point but was not quickly running out of steam and had still over 300 m to go to the Sprint line. I then put myself completely in the red trying to get to the line. instead of mopping up what looked like a nice easy 10 points, I was under severe pressure as the group kept the pressure on towards the volcano whilst my cylinder head gasket was blowing steam. Young Colman took the Prime points but he too blew up just ahead of me 😂. I could see him charging up the volcano but I don’t think he closed the gap Meanwhile I sat with a group of 5 and tried now and then to pull the group to catch small ones and twos ahead.
Worst race finish for a long time and all down to not knowing the sprint line. Ho hum.
I was thinking of the Mike Tyson quote as well Michael. The plan was working fine until I got a rush of blood and decided to go full throttle for the Sprint – my only problem was I had completely mis judged where the Sprint was. I ended up with a three second gap at one point but was not quickly running out of steam and had still over 300 m to go to the Sprint line. I then put myself completely in the red trying to get to the line. instead of mopping up what looked like a nice easy 10 points, I was under severe pressure as the group kept the pressure on towards the volcano whilst my cylinder head gasket was blowing steam. Young Colman took the Prime points but he too blew up just ahead of me 😂. I could see him charging up the volcano but I don’t think he closed the gap Meanwhile I sat with a group of 5 and tried now and then to pull the group to catch small ones and twos ahead.
Worst race finish for a long time and all down to not knowing the sprint line. Ho hum.
Another pointer is to tighten each bolt a bit at a time, Ie don’t fully flog up one and then go to the other. Do both equally in small steps. If your using an Allen key you shouldn’t be able to go too far wrong
Brilliant @Whorty 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🥂🥂🥂Bloody hard C race - quite a few B's pushing and pulling the group apart. A pretty uneventful run in to the sprint - big blob of about 25 riders so I decided not to contest but push through and see if we could drop the sprinters (which partly happened). Got to the Volcano and the B's set off completely destroying the field. Some Cs managed to hang on to them (not me!). I was given 4th on that Prime I think. A small group of 5 of us formed on the descent and rode together to the Epic KoM. I was mostly surfing wheels as felt awful.
Got on the KoM and there was a C about a minute up the road who seemed to be No1 in ZP. In my group was 2-5 on ZP. I didn't push too hard at first then one of the guys went off the front on the steep section early on so I chased him - problem is, he then popped and I had a decision to make ... should I continue the attack or fall back in? Well, feck it, head down I went for it
ZP has me 3rd overall due to the primes. I was 15th (I think) on the road which probably shows how many sandbaggers tonight again
Well done everyone else. Flippin hard course that for a race.
Will have to pour another beer to toast a great performance. Roll on next week
