Cycling UK Forum

Braceby wrote: ↑10 Apr 2024, 10:40am

al_yrpal wrote: ↑9 Apr 2024, 9:40am Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

For anti bike scruffy white van man takes some beating....

Al

A couple off the top of my head.
Corbyn was often mocked for riding a bike by the likes of the Mail and Express. Dennis Skinner was a lifelong cyclist, even a keen Time Trial rider in his younger days.

White van man is usually very right wing.

Agreed. I would also point out that some of the aforementioned Labour politicos could not be described as "Socialists" I mean, Starmer?- I love the way the s word started with a capital S in that post. Posted with feeling..

White van man also doesn't like male cyclists wearing pink..again, this is experience.

Cowsham wrote: ↑6 Apr 2024, 3:12pm

atoz wrote: ↑6 Apr 2024, 10:01am Cheap can be good. I have been using cheap Wilkinson cycle bells on my old bikes. They don't fit the bars but do fit quill handlebar stem. Paid around £1.50 each at the time. Recently acquired bell from LBS for the "best bike", cost was £5.99.

Sadly Wilkinson's are no more ..

My go to bell is now this from decathlon £4

Screenshot_20231126-213547_Chrome.jpg

Small, neat, has a nice positive action to it and a nice traditional gentle ting-tong to it -- harsh one ting bells I think annoy walkers at times -- they annoy me.

In my experience some can't hear bells. The Wilkinson cheapo bell is quite loud, but recently when using it on canal towpath got the classic "Where's your bell?" I'd just rung it! People of a certain age can be hard of hearing (and sometimes not so old). My parents hadn't a hope in hell of hearing a cycle bell when out walking, and freely admitted it. The voice can be more audible but it can go down badly. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

jgurney wrote: ↑6 Apr 2024, 10:44am

atoz wrote: ↑6 Apr 2024, 9:02am Hitler was not pro cycling, he preferred cars, after all that's when the autobahns started,

He was not opposed to cycling: the Hitler Youth purchased a fleet of bicycles and organised cycle-touring holidays for members. One such tour, to England in 1937, was suspected of being cover for future Nazi officers spying out the land. (See: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/ ... boy-scouts).

The autobahns (or kraftfahrstraßewere, 'motor roads' their earlier name) were a Weimar Republic idea, the first, from Koln to Bonn, being opened in 1932 before Hitler came to power. Hitler did keenly embrace the idea and was happy to have propaganda present them as a Nazi innovation.

As far as our right wing are concerned .... It's not surprising, some of them are bought and paid for by the petrochemical industries, construction, and the motoring lobbies. ..... Cycling is seen as green so instinctively many on the right are against it. It may not be logical but politics is often nothing to do with logic.

Quite so.

Interesting video on Hitler and cycling https://youtu.be/IHeQ364II1o?si=dtrWJnw084htxV9_

A free alternative is using Osmand (free offline mapping app) on your smartphone to record your rides. It will save in GPX Format. But if you get the paid for version it will connect with your ANT or Bluetooth sensors so you get more data. Cheaper option than Garmin or Wahoo but not tried it though.

Before I blew money on a Wahoo Bolt I used the free Osmand app for recording rides. The Bolt uses FIT files as recording format so is better for training data, heart rate etc but for basic logging Osmand does fine. I still use Osmand as additional mapping as the Bolt map display is quite small compared with your average smartphone.

See https://osmand.net/

Cheap can be good. I have been using cheap Wilkinson cycle bells on my old bikes. They don't fit the bars but do fit quill handlebar stem. Paid around £1.50 each at the time. Recently acquired bell from LBS for the "best bike", cost was £5.99.

Also have a cheapo Wilkinson rear light that can attach to D loops on ancient Carradice Nelson saddlebag. Around 15 years old now, good as supplementary backup rear light for winter bike and shopping trolley CB Dalesman.

Sadly Wilkinson's are no more ..

Actually there is a history of the far right being anti cycling.

Hitler was not pro cycling, he preferred cars, after all that's when the autobahns started, not to mention the "people's car" project when the population were conned into a stamps scheme to pay for one. Mussolini was not pro cycling either and famously objected to the leader's pink jersey for the Giro, considering it effeminate.

As far as our right wing are concerned, there's lots of evidence. It's not surprising, some of them are bought and paid for by the petrochemical industries, construction, and the motoring lobbies. Sunak is famously against 15 minute cities, and very pro car. Cycling is seen as green so instinctively many on the right are against it. It may not be logical but politics is often nothing to do with logic. For example, many conservatives are against funding public transport, yet it is logical to fund it, since without public funding it would not exist. The objection is purely ideological, as without public transport we drown in traffic jams and suffer from pollution.

Probably the ultimate hate figure on the right would be a left wing lycra wearing green trans cyclist. Talk TV and GB news would have a field day. Reminds me of the "5 minute hate" in Orwell's 1984.

Stevek76 wrote: ↑3 Apr 2024, 1:35pm

atoz wrote: ↑29 Mar 2024, 10:08am Rule of thumb to remember. Do not, on general election day, go cycling in a red jersey. Not a good idea.

The other rule of thumb though is- don't go cycling on the day of a major football match, esp one involving England. Even less of a good idea.

Not sure how either of those work?

Particularly the second, I've found Euros/World cup kickball England games to be excellent times to have a cycle ride!


At any rate, the reality is, beyond some angry internet keyboard warriors, there largely aren't any votes in it which is why taking up anti cycling positions very rarely bear any fruit for the candidates.

I speak from experience. On a day when a major match was played some years ago, I was knocked off and had an overnight hospital stay. The match had ended. The driver was breathalysed but tested negative for any alcohol. Not under the influence but certainly not paying attention. There was a payout thanks to Cycling UK solicitors.

However this isn't the only incident. I once experienced a close pass, and I mean close, again, on the day of a major match. This was a few years before the other incident.

As for general elections. This happened in 2015, when I was climbing on a narrow road on a steep short hill near to home. When I got to the top I was overtaken by white van man who shouted at me "you ******* w*******r" . I was wearing a red jersey and black shorts. The jersey colour was not a political statement, just what was available at the time. Labour had been touted as in the running then, of course that didn't happen.

As for anti cycling candidates. Many politicians don't like cyclists. It's usually those of the Tory and Reform persuasion but not always. Sunak is of course trying to get the die hard motoring vote. There's all the hoo ha about LTNs. Then there's all the local councils who try to ban cyclists from town centres using PSPOs. True, Boris was an exception, but an exception that proves the rule.

I rest my case

I had an issue with a Tiagra STI triple shifter a while back, was failing to do clean shifts to middle cog in certain gears. Did the usual spray WD40 in the mechanism, as you do, with only partial success. Then it occurred to me to check where the bare cable went under the bottom bracket Sure enough, there was impacted gunge there. Cleaning this off and lubing cleared the problem.

That issue wasn't a total failure though, just a bit of maintenance overdue. You can get away with grubby double setups half of the time, esp if they're not indexed. Not so with indexed triples. And yes, I need ultra low gears where I live.

Because there's votes in it. Simples.

I remember the hoo ha about Corbyn's bike.

Rule of thumb to remember. Do not, on general election day, go cycling in a red jersey. Not a good idea.

The other rule of thumb though is- don't go cycling on the day of a major football match, esp one involving England. Even less of a good idea.

Hi all- thanks for all the useful suggestions and explanations.

Interestingly, my home electricity smart meter control display device uses sofware made by....Wahoo.Smart meter control units use Zigbee to communicate with these days. I take care to ensure that the Bolt is not near that device or the master meter panel when I come in from a ride.

Nearholmer wrote: ↑19 Mar 2024, 4:19pm Yes, probably something that produces a big mess across a broad spectrum, inducing currents in analogue links from sensors to “computer”. Possibly micro-arcing within a portable generator at the site of roadworks, because there’s often one chugging away feeding temporary traffic signals.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for that. We've had a major traffiic roadworks project near where I live for months. If I don't go near those roadworks I rarely get problems with the Bolt and the sensors.

ChrisF wrote: ↑19 Mar 2024, 8:49pm I think there are different issues here.

The data that is sent via Bluetooth will have data-checking built in. In other words, if the signal is strong enough it will receive the data correctly, with no 'false' readings. If the signal isn't strong enough it won't record incorrect data.

So for example in a supermarket the fluorescent lights and other electronic equipment may make the Bluetooth signal too weak (or relatively weak), so it may not receive reliable data - in which case your HRM lrecord zero (or - better - 'not avaliable').
So with the HRM I think the problem is with the sensor itself - it is picking up tiny electrical signals from your skin and amplifying them enough to count your heatbeats. That's where the electronic buzz in the supermarket will be affecting things - nothing to do with Bluetooth.

OTOH I'm baffled why your cadence sensor went beserk in a supermarket - did you take the bike in?

I didn't take the bike in, but of course I took the Bolt in, for obvious reasons. Makes you wonder if all the electronic interference screwed up the Bolt, rather than the sensors, but I'm no-one's idea of an expert, so basically I haven't a clue.

Interesting about the fluorescent lights. Hadn't considered this. Mind you, bluetooth headphones/earbuds seem less vulnerable. Up to recently I worked in an FE college where of course there were those type of lights, and other electrical sources of interference. But my cheapo JLab earbuds worked fine, as long as they weren't too far from the device they were connected to, of course. But those cycling sensors use Bluetooth LE, which is not the same as standard Bluetooth, as far as I understand these things.

Yes, I made those comments originally. I was hoping someone would know more than I do. I live in hopes...

Wonder if others have had issues with interference with Bluetooth sensors eg heart rate monitor, cadence sensor etc? I used Wahoo Tickr as HRM and also their cadence sensor, with the Wahoo Element Bolt (v2) cycle computer.

I've found it's wise to turn off my Wahoo Bolt if calling in at a supermarket, even though the Bolt is on recording workout pause. Interference can sometimes stop or slow down the HRM signal. And as for cadence, I recorded a cadence of 466 rpm when calling into Morrisons not long ago. Entertaining, but useless.

I've had similar issues when negotiating long term roadworks locally. I know that devices compete for bandwidth. When these sources of interference are not present my Wahoo sensors and Bolt computer work well.

Has anyone else had similar issues?

Note: you get WiFi, Bluetooth and RFID devices in operation in supermarkets.

Safe to say Welsh Conservatives aren't targeting the cyclist votes..https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-li ... e-comments

Methinks the Labour cycling vote is safe. I mean, when they start calling us lycra clad Labour lobbyists, no sorry I meant "Labour and their lycra clad lobbyists". They really like cyclists don't they?

Maybe it's controversial in Wales, but in our village in God's Own County, we've had a 20 mph limit for some years now. Can't say I've noticed hordes of petrol heads mounting the barricades at the Town Hall. Maybe I missed all that when watching yet another Top Gear repeat on Dave.