Cycling UK Forum

robgul wrote:Tip : When you climb up the steps at the (closed) Woodhead Tunnel and get to the road - just ride up it to the top - the off-road signed route is completely mad!

Rob

I wish I'd had that advice when I did the Trans Pennine a couple of years back. The off road route is a beautiful walk. Completely impossible to ride!

Brilliant, thanks everyone for your advice. Paul: I'll definitely take you up on the offer of a trial. Drop me a PM and I'll get in touch.

Reckon I'll probably buy an Imperial, then I can transfer my current B17 to my commuting bike.

I love my Brooks B17, but I've started to experience problems with pressure on my perineum (gentlemen, you all know what I mean so I'll spare you the details). I bought a Specialised Toupe with a hole in the middle and I've been trying to wear it in for about 6 months now: it's definitely resolved all these problems, but unfortunately it is extremely painful on my sitbones after a few hours. After 2 days' riding I'm done in.

Here's the question: has anyone here ever tried cutting a hole in a B17? Did it work, or (as I suspect) did it cause the leather to warp, or curve upwards in the worst possible place, or go saggy? It'd be easy enough to make the hole I think.

I had this recently too. In the end it turned out that I needed to take a 15" spanner to one pedal and tighten it VERY HARD. Definitely worth trying before you extract your bottom bracket.

Okay, I'll declare my allegiance with the minority. My mat always goes on the outside of the groundsheet. It helps keep the groundsheet clean, is cheaply replaced when it gets too dirty, can be carried on the back of my bike without needing to go inside plastic bags (if it rains and it gets wet it doesn't matter), and to be honest I find it doesn't shift around in the night anywhere near as much when it's on the outside, especially if I'm on a slight slope. The slight dampness of the ground - or, more likely, its roughness - gives it a bit of extra purchase.

I've often wondered what rules Sustrans uses to decide whether a road is too busy to have a NCR run along it. The bit of route 5 from the Antelope roundabout to Upper Bangor is a case in point. Very few cyclists would prefer to take the very circuitous NCR route via Penrhos Road rather than cutting the corner along Holyhead Road. Holyhead Road is a fairly busy road admittedly - but so is the bit of the A487 that the current NCR runs along en route to Penrhos Road.

Ade: the junction of Holyhead Road and Siliwen Road is another problem point heading towards Conwy. I had to help out a heavily-loaded couple the other day who had turned down College Road instead, presumably having realised they'd missed something. The signage isn't clear at all.

This is good news. Let's hope it gets used.

The website of the Flintshire Chronicle has a video of the police carrying out measurements of the accident site. As far can be seen from the video, it looks like the unfortunate cyclist was actually on the pavement (which is dual-use at this point). Whatever the case, it's very curious. Condolences to Mr Mort's family.

http://www.flintshirechronicle.co.uk/fl ... -30274717/

Edit: Apologies, I've just realised that this video is on the Daily Post site linked at the top of this thread too.

I live near Bangor. I cycle on the A55 heading east from Bangor occasionally, though I almost always prefer to use NCR 5, which is on a very smooth and traffic-free unclassified road at this point. The A55 is much flatter though, and sometimes I'm in a rush ...

Just to clarify: the special road status of the A55 applies only to the section between Llanddulas and the west side of the Conwy Tunnel. The area around Bangor has no restrictions prohibiting cyclists (though the crossing of Britannia Bridge is restricted to pedestrians).

I know one person's experience doesn't necessarily mean a thing, but I have stayed in Kirk Yetholm, Broadmeadows and Melrose within the last few years. The first two were full, and both had turn people away. Melrose was lively too, and was full of families. SYHA have basically completely abandoned the beautiful south of Scotland. What is left? Minigaff only I think.

Another vote for the Brooks B17. Mine didn't seem to need a breaking-in period at all. The first day I attached it to my bike, I cycled 70 miles with no saddle-soreness whatsoever. A few weeks later I cycled 800 miles in Scotland. Totally amazing.

Got to say, I'm with the non-mitt-wearers as well. Without them, my hands are much more comfortable, and I feel much much more in control. I've never really got on with any kind of gloves though. Must have funny shaped hands or something.

CREPELLO wrote:

Chris_C wrote:

Nutsey wrote:The other thing i noticed was that I slip about on it a lot. So much so that there doesn't seem to be a 'correct' place to position my bum. I'm paranoid that I'm not sitting on it in the same place every rise, so won't break it in properly.

I'm in the process of breaking in a new B17, and I'm finding the same thing: I shift around on it all the time. Is that a problem I wonder? (Not that's uncomfortable at the moment exactly; in fact, for the first 20-odd miles it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever had.)

I never quite understand this observation. If you're inclined to slide more one way than another, then the saddle is clearly telling you to adjust the saddle in the opposite direction. Brooks saddles do require very fine tuning of the angle, which is best achieved with a micro adjust seatpost. Remember that all saddle adjustments are usually in the order of mm's, not cm's.

It's not that I slide one way or the other. I just have different places on the saddle where I like to place my backside, depending on whether I'm going uphill, downhill, fast, slow, etc. Sometimes I like to be nearer the front of the saddle, sometimes I like to sit as far back as I can. Do other people do the same?

Nutsey wrote:The other thing i noticed was that I slip about on it a lot. So much so that there doesn't seem to be a 'correct' place to position my bum. I'm paranoid that I'm not sitting on it in the same place every rise, so won't break it in properly.

I'm in the process of breaking in a new B17, and I'm finding the same thing: I shift around on it all the time. Is that a problem I wonder? (Not that's uncomfortable at the moment exactly; in fact, for the first 20-odd miles it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever had.)

I too have a FairFX Euro card (purchased via moneysupermarket.com, which means you get the enrolling fee waived). It's great, and the exchange rate is always very good.