Dave F

The magnificent seven

No excuses this week: I'll be there.

No excuses this week: I'll be there.

4 Riders tonight times as follows 
Dave Cowan 21.05
Dave Ferguson 19.36
Paul Coffey 19.05
Gerard Deeley 17.31
Well done to all and thanks to Alan T for company during the race.

Warm night for the hilly TT tonight and 5 riders took part. Times as follows:
Dave F 30.42  paid
Scott    30.15
Alan    28.54  paid
George  28.34
Gerard   27.52 paid.
Good efforts by all and I enjoyed the beer in the Houston Inn on the way back.
 

Hi, yes, looks like I'll be out tomorrow. If that changes, I'll let you know before the end of today.

Sorry for the delay, dinner was my priority last night when I got home and then I've been travelling today.
1. Sam 22.23
2. David 28.40
3. Alan T 25.34
4. Gerard 25.31
5. Paul 27.05
6. Scott 25.44
 

Thanks for that everyone: it was good to blow off the cobwebs and to put some faces to names. Hope to see you all again soon.

Thanks for that everyone: it was good to blow off the cobwebs and to put some faces to names. Hope to see you all again soon.

I just pop on some aero bars to a road bike and do fine.

I'm keen to try my first TT this year. I've only got my normal road bike and kit, so it'll need to be that. Assuming that's okay, could someone post a link to the course and meeting point please?
Ta

More than ok to do it on a road bike  
It's roughly this course https://www.strava.com/segments/1287678

Thought I would share a few pictures of my overnighter on Islay last week with my boys.  Just cycled from Port Ellen to Port Charlotte and camped overnight.  Islay is quite stunning and I have never seen such a huge and clear night sky.  I may have to work out how to carry a telescope by bike too.

If you’re doing a bit of walking in your bike shoes (cafe stops, etc,), it’s worth investing in a set of cleat covers. These are plastic covers that protect your cleats when you’re off the bike and can extend the working life of your cleats by a considerable amount. I’ve used them for years, and I change cleats about every 18 months.

Thanks Richard,
Yeah, this is a bit embarrassing now. Photos attached and, safe to say, I haven't looked at these for some time! There is still plenty of edge on the front but not much at the back.
I'm ordering some new cleats just now and I'm going to revert to the grey that I started off with to reduce the float. The bike is needing a clean anyway so will pay attention to the pedals and lube while I am there.
Cheers,
Dave

The plastic Exustar cleats really do wear down quickly, Dave. It's normal to have to replace them. I go through 2-3 pairs a year, which is a pain, but you have to keep on top of it to keep yourself safe. No point saving a fiver then pulling your foot out at 30mph.
I'd start by replacing the worn cleats. (Any chance of a photo of them, just to see how much wear and tear there is?)

Keo cleats tend to wear a bit faster than Shimano SPD-SL. It's more based on how much walking is done in them (or even just stopping and placing a foot on the ground) rather than miles riding). The Keo grip cleats last a bit longer than the standard.
In the meantime you could try adjusting the release tension see if that improves things. For the noise you could also try removing each bolt on the cleat and adding a bit of grease to the threads.
Shimano SPD (the metal mtb style ones) are the longest lasting but for road SPD SL are my favourite - nice big platform. However i have Keo / Garmin Vector pedals on a couple of bikes too, i don't really notice a huge difference between the two.
Exustar are usually alright - they make the garmin branded cleats and i've not noticed them last less than the Look ones.

Firstly your cleats , these will wear out depending on how much walking you do on them, generally they can last a long time if you limit the amount of walking , however some maintenance on your cleats help prolong their life, and help better retention , on the front edge of the cleat it’s good practice to take any feather edges off with a file .
The pedal body you are using although not as good as Look it’s used by a number of pedal based power meters so not all that bad.
Noises well these can be from your pedal bearings , either worn or dry, cleat bolts , pedal threads and maybe too much float, what colour cleat do you use 
When I came back to cycling the thoughts were have a lot of float so you don’t get sore knees, so I used red cleats max float, however I found too much float hurts my knees so now ride medium float grey cleats or zero float black cleats , however I clean and lube my pedals every three months .
Would I change to shimano no not if I am happy with what I am using 

Five left Miller Street, Boyd, Anthony, ĎaveF, Andy Ross and myself. Boyd pulled off at Kilburnie añd rest carried on to Tournament Cafe. 
Returned home via Jamestown Moss and Barmill in dry weather. Thanks for the wheels guys. 
Dave. 

Sorry not to make it out today but I just couldn't drag myself away from the excitement of painting the kitchen ... again. Hope to be out next Sunday.