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Letape 2010

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    #32
    Quigs Snr
    Registered Users Posts: 4,154 ✭✭✭Quigs Snr


    Albob, very basic bikes, say up to around the 700 euro mark often come with standard pedals and straps. If not you can usually get the bike shop to throw them in free. If I were you though I would buy a set of Look Keo Classics, you will need proper shoes and pedals for the etape so you may as well get used to them straight away, they are about 40ish euro, you will need shoes too (cheapest I have seen are chainreaction, but you need to know your size) but they are worth the investment. If you wanted to hold off until you had a bit more cash though, standard pedals and straps with a pair of runners will do you for a few weeks. (for long rides they don't work though, apart from keeping your feet in the correct position and thus promoting good technique, the other thing that bike shoes have is a rock hard sole which means that all of your power gets transmitted to the pedal, wheras in runners, the shoes will bend under strain as will your foot. This usually leads to nasty foot pain and a loss of power/efficiency, I had really sore arches once I started ramping the miles up, switching to the cycling shoes made the pain go away and made me faster than any upgrade I have made to the bike since. It really was dramatic for me, I don't know if others would have had the same experience though.


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    #33
    albob
    Registered Users Posts: 309 ✭✭albob


    Reading up some more on this, people refer to bike siffness and comfort when cycling. I would have thought that the difference in stiffness would be so minimal as to not make any difference. Is carbon fibre leaps and bouns ahead of aluminium? For example that Cube bike (for ~900e) is aluminium where as I could get a Focus Cayo 2007 for (1000e).


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    #34
    Quigs Snr
    Registered Users Posts: 4,154 ✭✭✭Quigs Snr


    Either will be good. Carbon can be lighter and can be more comfortable (i.e. it soaks up a bit of the road buzz, whilst still remaining stiff). If theres only 100 in it, the FOCUS would be a good bet. However you need to make sure it has a triple or compact. If not, it will be a couple of hundred to install later.


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