Road Bike Online

We are going to have a look at a few ways to watch the 2011 Tour de France Online:

1. Eurosport Player

This is my favorite way to watch the Tour. Costs £3.99 a month to join the Eurosport Player, and once the tour is over just cancel your direct debit. The player is a little wonky, and has been for a while, but you cannot fault Eurosport’s coverage in any form. If you are sat at work, you can have this on in the background. Brill

www.eurosportplayer.co.uk

2. ITV4 / ITV Player

ITV4′s coverage is available on their website together with updates on the days stages and commentary. Very well made programs are available every night for those without Sky/Cable and you can watch the programmes via ITV’s ITVplayer.

www.itv.com/tourdefrance

3. CyclingFans.com

A somewhat confusing site that is a hit on Twitter. They cover many of the major races throughout the year, including the Tour de France in 2011. Free to use.

www.cyclingfans.com

Riding tubs is a special feeling. They are lighter, roll better and are (usually) attached to a nice pair of carbon wheels – so naturally tub converts rate them highly. However, not all is well running tubs, and we shall see why.

Clincher wheels have come on in leaps and bounds over the years, and many are light and roll very well. Technology has helped move clinchers on in terms of weight and ride quality, average Joe cyclist might not even be able to tell the difference.

Flatting a clincher is a simple process or swapping the tube. However with a tub, you need to carry a pre stretched spare, rip off the flat tub, and glue the new one on – a nightmare in wet and cold conditions.

Fitting

Fitting a tub is a laborious process, and requires some old fashioned technique and a heavy dose of patience.  You need to pre stretch, pre glue, glue, glue again and then carefully fit the tub to the rim – and this must be straight both in the circular sense and also even on the rim.

Flatting

If you puncture a clincher wheel – you simply swap out the flat tube and pop in the new one, pump up and you are on your way. Tubs can’t be mended at the road side – so you’ll need to swap the whole tub tyre – a pain at the best of times.

Racing

There is no doubt that the lighter and better feel of a tub is best suited to racing. A lightweight set of carbon wheels and a set of light tubs and you will definately feel the advantage. If you ride longer distances then steer clear and get a nice set of lightweight clincher wheels instead.