u/HyperText89

In 4 weeks I’m doing a 6-day mountain cycling trip with a group. It’s not a race, as the goal is to enjoy the rides and scenery, but I’d still like to be reasonably strong for the climbs and survive the accumulated fatigue.

The trip is ~630 km total with ~15,800 m of climbing, so there will be multiple consecutive 6–8 hour days.

Longest sustained climbs expected each day are roughly:

• Day 1: ~1h25–1h30
• Day 2: ~2h
• Day 3: ~1h40–1h45
• Days 4–5: ~1h25–1h30
• Day 6: ~1h–1h10

These estimates are based on my current FTP/weight and expected pacing (~72-80% FTP for longer climbs up to ~85% for shorter climbs or late in the trip). All days also include multiple long climbs. For example, Day 5 has climbs of ~40 min, 1h10, 1h, and 1h30.

Training background:

• Structured training since November
• 3 base blocks (+ strength training)
• 2 build blocks focused on VO2max
• Last 6 weeks mostly hard group rides, Z2, and some unstructured riding
• Average cycling volume: ~6.5 h/week (excluding gym)

Training consistency and volume has been subpar because of illness/sleep disruption from having a small kid, but I currently feel in pretty good shape (~3.9 W/kg, and I think I'll be at 4 before the trip).

Last week I did:

• 3x15 min SST
• 1.5 h Z2 ride
• 2x25 min SST
• Rest of the week Z2
• Finished with 1 consecutive hour at ~85%, with the first half at low cadence (~60 rpm) to simulate climbing.

I intentionally kept only one easier day between SST sessions to simulate some fatigue accumulation for the trip.

I’ll "taper" during the last 10 days, so I effectively have ~2.5 weeks left to train.

I know I’m unlikely to meaningfully raise FTP in that time, so I assume the focus should be durability/fatigue resistance instead.

Given that I can train about ~9 h/week max, with sessions capped at ~2 h each, what would you focus on during these last couple of weeks? Increasing time in zone @ SST? Multiple/consecutive Tempo days in a row? Keep some VO2Max? Anything else?

And is my approach of ~72-80% FTP for longer climbs up to ~85% for shorter climbs or late in the trip reasonable enough?

I have a road bike with SRAM Rival AXS and recently had to change the brake pads. To fit the new pads, I needed to push the caliper pistons back, so I loosened the reservoir bolt on the brake lever.

Well… turns out I tightened it way too much afterwards. Later I found out the spec is only 1.6 Nm, which is basically nothing. By then it was already completely stuck.

I brought the bike to a shop and they tried everything to remove it, but no luck without a serious risk of damaging the whole lever.

So now the result is:

• new lever
• new bar tape
• new bleed

Total cost: 370€.

I found the replacement parts online for much less (~170€, without any labor), but the mechanic said labor would cost more if I brought my own parts. Fair enough, I guess… still hurts :)

Worst part is I almost did the exact same thing to the other lever too. I overtightened that one as well, but luckily managed to get it loose again. Huge sigh of relief there.

Anyway, just venting. Feeling pretty stupid and honestly super disappointed right now. Don't know how to get over it, especially considering that almost anything I touch I break (like the preload ring when re-lubing my crank, or the derailleur pulley while cleaning it up, etc.).

So I have two Liv bikes for myself and my wife, and one model is newer than the other, but they both have the same gates belt cdn and Shimano nexus 7 hub. What I’m going to describe is the behavior that happens on both bikes, which are two months old and drove 100km in total each.

Basically, while I pedal and without changing any gears, I hear a single “click” sound and the pedaling feels like a small “step” or so. This happens once per 5 minutes, or 10, etc. it’s a bit random and it doesn’t happen under any particular load (completely flat commute). Is this belt skipping?

I brought both bike to Giant (manufacturer) and the mechanic adjusted the shifting tension aligning the yellow marks (I already tried), but it still happens. He said that everything is fine, he couldn’t replicate it (that’s because it happens sometimes after 10 minutes), so I’m a bit lost.

Is what I’m describing ok? Is the click coming from something else than the belt and not dangerous for wear etc? The weird thing is that the same behavior happens on both bikes.

Hi, this is going to be a long shot / very specific question.

I'm looking to get the SRAM B Gap tool (see https://docs.sram.com/en-US/publications/2bJvdvYz3DCAfCZVNeUucG#hashItem=chain-gap-adjustment) to adjust my road bike.
I've asked a couple of big local bike shops, and they either don't have it or they want 10 Euro for something that I will use for 15 seconds maximum.

Do you know any shop or anyone who can borrow this tool to me? Alternatively, it could be 3d printed as well (I found the CAD files).

I’ve got a SRAM Rival AXS groupset on a Canyon Endurace CF SL 7 and I’m having trouble shifting into the smallest cogs.

Shifting from 10t to 11t (in the big ring) is inconsistent. It probably works ~30-40% of the time and often makes a ticking noise. I’ve already tried (a lot) adjusting B-gap and microadjust, which helped a bit but didn’t fully fix it. Now it shifts ~80% of the time but mainly on high torque/low cadence.
I also noticed 50% of times some hesitation shifting from 5th to 6th gear (bigger to smaller cog).

At this point, I don't know if this 10t -> 11t behavior happened before, as I probably never went into the smallest cog.

Anyway, I took it to an LBS to check if the hanger was bent. They just eyeballed it (no tool) and said it looked fine, then did a quick microadjust (changed it from 5 to 2). After that, shifting actually got worse, now I get constant ticking even when not shifting. I understand that he did this for free, but it doesn't inspire confidence, so I didn't go back.

I’m getting (for free) a SRAM B-gap tool tomorrow to set it properly, but I’ve already played with it quite a bit without solving the issue.
I tried multiple chains (waxed, with no measurable wear).

What would you do here:

• Go to another shop for a proper check (hanger alignment, indexing, etc.)?
• Go back and ask them to properly fix it?
• Or just leave it since the rest of the gears work fine and I use the smallest cogs once per year (when I go to mountains trip and while descending - and at that point in time it doesn't matter if I need to click twice to shift)?