Search found 311 matches

by Cyclenut
28 Mar 2012, 9:28pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Bike Bags on EasyJet
Replies: 20
Views: 6926

Re: Bike Bags on EasyJet

Removing the front wheel and putting the saddle fully down does help. If it gets the height of the package under 1m - and that usually does - it'll then fit the outsize baggage conveyor. Bigger than that and manual handling is required, which costs EasyJet money, so the check-in staff may be incentivised to find spurious reasons to refuse your baggage. Manual handling also takes more time, so it increases the admittedly small chance (if you check in really early) of your bike missing your flight - which is very inconvenient.

See here (scroll down to Packing Tips) for comprehensive advice, e.g. how to prevent your forks getting crushed when there's no wheel between them, how to stop them using your rear mech to bend your gear hanger, etc. etc!
by Cyclenut
28 Mar 2012, 9:10pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Battle Of Marden Bridge
Replies: 17
Views: 18616

Re: Battle Of Marden Bridge

tomb353 wrote:Chris, Whitley Bay town centre is already a 20mph speed limit, which in theory starts at the same point the photos are taken from above, one street in the town centre is earmarked for pedestrianisation. This doesn't however solve the problem of the bridge being a through route carrying a high volume of traffic. The other issue is that coming out of the town centre you are going uphill, so relative speed still very different on bike vs car.

I guess you'll just have to trust me on the fact that the road is now more unpleasant to ride on with new parking added, I had just about got to a stage of riding on the road here with one of my kids, but wouldn't do it with two, now with the new parking added its off limits again. There is significant demand from local people for off road provision. This is suburbia where the cycling culture is middle aged folk pootling along the sea front with the kids, not young men in lycra taking the lane up hill to avoid the door zone.

As a cycle campaign we've been trying to get the message across as 1) fix the town centre & 2) fix the key access points into the town centre . Instead the BX%%£$XD's do this.

Well it doesn't LOOK very much like a 20mph zone, which I think may be the problem you are hinting at when you write: "which in theory starts at..." If the town centre still carries heavy through traffic, going significantly faster than 20mph, then what I think you should be demanding is that more be done to discourage and physically slow down that through traffic. If people still find it more convenient to go through the town centre, when there clearly are adjacent A-class roads going around it, they have not done enough yet.

Is Google streetview out of date? I don't see any 20 signs at the roundabout where the town centre road leaves the bypass. Which street is earmarked for 'pedestrianisation' (I hope you don't really mean that cycling will be banned too)? If it's part of the through route that will make a big difference to the volume of traffic.

I'm not thinking of lycra clad road warriors here. Town centre streets like this in the Netherlands do not have segregated bikepaths either, but are 20mph zones - as this one is supposedly supposed to be - and are happily cycled upon by both the very young and very old. In those streets, parking often plays a part in slowing down the traffic, but for that effect it should be arranged differently. Not like here, parallel to the kerb on both sides, but at right-angles or 45 degrees and one side, then alternating to the other side with an occasional tree or flowerbed etc., so that drivers do not see a straight line route, cannot put their foot down but have to negotiate with other oncoming drivers as well as the cyclists and pedestrians using this space.

It looks to me as if Whitley Bay is trying to do the right thing, but getting it wrong, either because they don't know enough or won't spend enough to get it right. The place for cyclepaths is adjacent to the higher speed A-roads that most of this traffic should be using, not the traffic calmed town centre. Maybe the council would be more receptive to offers of help in making their 20mph zone work the way it should.
by Cyclenut
16 Mar 2012, 9:18am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Minimum Passing Clearance
Replies: 107
Views: 51467

Re: Minimum Passing Clearance

Rather than anguish about whether we're talking about the space to ride in or the passing clearance, all of which is hard to measure and prove...

I think a better thing to campaign for would be a prohibition of overtaking a cyclist or cyclists on a single-carriageway (AKA two-lane) road, in circumstances when the entire width of the opposing traffic lane is not available for the manouver (due to oncoming or parked vehicles, roadworks, etc.).

Several other European countries have such a law - and enforce it. Of course our Police wouldn't want to do the latter, but the prescence of an oncoming or parked vehicle is much easier to prove than a transient measurement. I think this law is a precursor to the requirement that the overtaker makes full use of the available overtaking space - as already shown in the very clear picture in our Highway Code.
by Cyclenut
25 Jan 2012, 6:45pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Minister criticised; didn't know cyclists allowed on roads
Replies: 40
Views: 8861

Re: Minister criticised; didn't know cyclists allowed on roa

anothereye wrote:... does it save money to widen an A road so that it is no different from a motorway but keep it as an A road so that there is no parallel minor road (eg: the A23 where Marie Vesco was killed)?

You bet it does. Think about it: no need to provide any alternative route for traction engines, mopeds, cyclists, equestrians, herds of cattle, etc., since the road remains a general purpose road which all comers can theoretically continue to use on an equal basis. Plus they don't even need to provide a hard shoulder (which paradoxically might even allow these slower users to exercise their right to free passage!) since that does not appear to be part of the specification for a trunk road in the UK, so they don't need to buy as much land or shift anything like as much earth at every cutting and embankment!

But perhaps the most compelling reason why Britain connives with motorists to steal the public highway from rest of the public, is it's so much less trouble. Propose to build a motorway and every man, woman, child, dog and beast along the route will arise in opposition, with the massed national forces of conservation and greenery backing them up! So instead, the Highways Agency lets motorist do the groundwork, grinding away at every village and town along the way by sheer pressure of numbers and speed, knocking the corner off a precious building here, killing a child there... until each and every town and village along the way is crying out for a bypass. The bypasses are built, one by one, not too fast, you got to leave them wanting more! Mostly those bypasses join up with each other by the dualling of a few miles of the old road, incidental to each bypass, and if they don't, the demand for solutions to any remaining bottlenecks is undeniable. At the grinding down stage, it will already have become so unpleasant to ride a bike, much less a horse or drive a carriage or a herd of cows along the road in question that when the bypasses are designed, the planners will be able to cite "no demand" for an alternative road for slow traffic - or even a cyclepath.

This, dear reader, is how Britain builds a de-facto motorway network, by stealth and on the cheap.
by Cyclenut
23 Jan 2012, 6:57pm
Forum: Off-road Cycling.
Topic: Hindhead's lazy downhillers
Replies: 16
Views: 77692

Re: Hindhead's lazy downhillers

This seems to have gone OT. From the NT car park to the top of their DH is essentially flat, albeit about one mile. There's also a small car park above the YH they could also use, that's free and closer but would involve a wee bit of uphill.

I do not want to butt into a forum where I don't belong for this purpose. I just hoped that there would be enough crossover with CTC-style MTBers for someone here to put the word out.
by Cyclenut
10 Jan 2012, 10:18am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: CORDOBA - LOCAL CYCLING
Replies: 4
Views: 3783

Re: CORDOBA - LOCAL CYCLING

I led a CTC tour that visited Cordoba in 2007 and am taking one there again this year. It's a generally flat city with a large student population and the authorities are trying to make the place really cycle-friendly. There's now a city-bike scheme and a growing network of cyclepaths.

For my tours I've found two excellent routes out of the city - and I'm sure there's more.

My best one starts out along the path on the southern bank of the Guadalquivir, heading west for 4km to the edge of town, then joining a secondary road (A-3051) for 4km to the railside grain silos (unmissable landmark) at Valchillon, where you pick up the beginning of the Via Verde de la Campiña (rail trail) that has been surfaced mostly in fine gravel as a cycle track for some 25km in a SW direction.

My other access route is to the SE, exiting on a minor road (CO-3204) that passes over the A4 motorway and into countryside only 2km from the city centre. My tour goes through the Campiña (rolling wheatfields) to Castro del Rio, but you can branch off on a few other minor roads to other places. It's all very quiet in this area - except at harvest time I suppose.
by Cyclenut
10 Jan 2012, 9:37am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Electric assistance
Replies: 18
Views: 1616

Re: Electric assistance

The unlikely named firm of Alien Ocean supply a hub motor conversion kit that has been recommended by a couple of CTC members, who use this assistance to keep up with their local clubrun on the hills.
by Cyclenut
3 Jan 2012, 5:54pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Ah, the sweet 'grief' of Tenerife!
Replies: 7
Views: 1481

Re: Ah, the sweet 'grief' of Tenerife!

Will they rent you a road bike with a decent bottom gear, i.e. less than 30 inches?
by Cyclenut
3 Jan 2012, 5:40pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: South downs way
Replies: 15
Views: 1879

Re: South downs way

I've done it camping wild, just a bit off the Way when it gets dark. That works best in spring or autumn, so you don't have to wait too long for darkness and a lull in the passing foot-traffic. And you want a dark coloured tent. But it's great to go for a walk after supper and see the lights twinkling all across the Weald.
by Cyclenut
21 Dec 2011, 8:32pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Replacing Headset Bearings
Replies: 69
Views: 7377

Re: Replacing Headset Bearings

graymee wrote:Just recently I noticed that my do all, mountain/commuter bike steering was getting stiff. I did some research and came to the conclusion that water had got into my headset bottom bearings and they'd need replacing.

Sounds like you probably don't have a front mudguard on that bike. Mudguards may be deprecated by some classes of cyclist, but they are most effective stopping the front tyre from constantly spraying grit and water at the bottom headset bearing, which mixture, applied with due force, abrades and pretty soon disables the minimal sorts of seal that are all there's room for in any bicycle component, so the water gets in.

Unless you live in California and only ride when the weather is fine, proper mudguards are a necessary part of any genuinely do it all bike.
by Cyclenut
4 Dec 2011, 9:30pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Black cycling tops
Replies: 54
Views: 6474

Re: Black cycling tops

swansonj wrote:But Chris, what do you do when it comes to lights? I would venture a guess that you haven't just fitted minimum BS-meeting lights, I would guess you have significantly brighter latest-generation LED lights. Is that a "concession towards conspicuity", or "making every effort to be seen"?

There is a fundamental difference between how one equips one's vehicle and the wearing of strange clothes.

I expect the bike to take care of everything to do with cycling, just as the the car contains everything one needs to go motoring, including at night. So I mostly use dynamo lighting equipment, made to German standards. All have LED rearlamps, with standlights, and the bikes I use most often in the dark have recent model LED headlamps. I don't care much for those eye-wateringly bright rechargeable headlamps. I don't think it actually helps to dazzle oncoming drivers. And although I know I could usefully add an extra rearlamp, a flashing one, I haven't bothered. I'd have to take it off when I parked the bike and that would be a hassle. I don't have to remove bits from the car when I park it after all.

Before most people will cycle it has to be seen to be normal and convenient. My aim is to show that it is already.
by Cyclenut
27 Nov 2011, 10:55pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: dipped beam for battery lights
Replies: 44
Views: 4674

Re: dipped beam for battery lights

tatanab wrote:
Raph wrote:This is where "lux" is a more useful measurement than "lumens", as it measures how much light falls on a particular spot, rather than the output of the light.

It would be nice if the manufacturers would state the distance at which they measure lux otherwise it is equally meaningless.

It would be better still if they stated the intensity in candela, since that doesn't involve distance. But for information: cycle lamps are conventionally measured at 10m, car lamps at 25m.

A dipped motor vehicle headlamp, if it has a halide light source, is permitted 1 lux above the horizontal. It takes 625 candela to produce that much illumination at that distance, or 6.25 lux at the customary cycle lamp measuring distance. For comparison: the German StVO permits a cycle headlamp to emit no more than 200 cd above the cut off, and BS6102/3 discrimintes even more tightly against us, permitting a meagre 70 cd.

Edited to correct my absent-minded typing of the wrong part of BS6102 :oops:
by Cyclenut
20 Nov 2011, 8:50pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: bike song
Replies: 20
Views: 1766

Re: bike song

ronyrash wrote:oh! there is the red handle bars song of our esteemed moderator.id love to to know about it.

Found it!
The Red Handlebars by Chris Juden
To the tune of The Red Flag

1
Along the winding road we sped
With handlebars of brightest red
The cranks flash round, the tyres hum
(falsetto) A part of me is growing numb!

Chorus:
The road to freedom’s steep and rough
And bottom gear’s not low enough
My knees may crack, my bum grow sore
But I’ll be cycling evermore!

2
We keenly scan the road ahead
O’er handlebars of brightest red
And when a scenic sight we spot
Our cameras makes sure it’s shot!

Repeat Chorus

3
My handlebars of brightest red
Are held until it’s time for bed
With tent and food packed on the bike
I’ll lay my head just where I like!

Repeat Chorus

4
With handlebars of brightest red
There’s nothing in this world I dread
Come rain or shine, o’er hill and dale
They steer me though the fiercest gale

Repeat Chorus

5
My handlebars of brightest red
Shall guide me until I am dead
But when my time has come to die
I’ll join the clubrun in the sky!

Finale
By pastures green, I’ll not lie down
On wingèd wheels I’ll ride around
My knees won’t crack, nor bum grow sore
And I’ll be cycling evermore!
by Cyclenut
20 Nov 2011, 2:26pm
Forum: Helmets & helmet discussion
Topic: Retro "Sportive" in the South East for 2012
Replies: 52
Views: 4826

Re: Retro "Sportive" in the South East for 2012

LANDSURFER74 wrote:... since when have the chilterns been in the south east ???

As a native of South Derbyshire, who's also lived in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire, but is now resident in Surrey, that seems fair enough to me. When I go ride in the Chilterns, that area feels a lot more akin to where I live now than any of those other places that are universally acknowledged to be "The Midlands".
by Cyclenut
19 Nov 2011, 10:01am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Legal requirement for pedal reflectors - with SPD's???
Replies: 62
Views: 10253

Re: Legal requirement for pedal reflectors - with SPD's???

cycloret wrote:SM-PD22 reflectors (SNIP) are so tough to remove I wouldn't expect people would be fitting and removing them frequently.

True: and if you want to use the platform they provide in order to pedal the bike in normal shoes, you have to increase the tension to maximum to stop them squirming about disconcertingly. But even on minimum tension they are hard to remove.

My technique, whilst holding the rear reflector to steady the pedal, is to insert a screwdriver into the back of the binding on the side nearest the crank, and twist it so as to pry open the hinged retainer. Then I pull the rear of this plastic item away from the crank and lift it upwards.