Search found 5269 matches

by pjclinch
28 Mar 2024, 1:25pm
Forum: Racing, Olympics, TdF, Competitive cycling
Topic: General racing chitchat
Replies: 56
Views: 33211

Re: General racing chitchat

I have written a cycle racing Haiku.

Marianne Vos
Has won another bike race
I am not surprised

A great race though shame about the car crash ahead shortening it, and of course major bummer for VL-a-B with Wout's list of injuries in the men's despite MJ winning.

Pete.
by pjclinch
24 Mar 2024, 5:29pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Best tyres for touring
Replies: 27
Views: 1032

Re: Best tyres for touring

robing wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 4:15pm
I toured extensively from 2012-19 in the UK, Ireland and Europe. I used both the Kevlar guard Marathons and the Greenguard that superceded them, and changed them regularly.
Fairy nuff. I think if I'd had that much bad luck I'd change brand TBH!

Pete.
by pjclinch
24 Mar 2024, 2:35pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: New handlebar choice
Replies: 15
Views: 756

Re: New handlebar choice

Aquila wrote: 22 Mar 2024, 4:51pm
My present bars on my present bike are butterfly bars, They are great and i like them a lot but just fancy trying something new, a friend has Jones bars and really likes them but I'm a little put off by that big loop and hanging my barbag way over the front wheel <snip>
There's a version without the loop called the Bend (not used it but having and liking a QR bar bag and looking at new non-drop tour bars I'm looking along these lines too), so you might look at those...

Pete.
by pjclinch
24 Mar 2024, 2:21pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Best tyres for touring
Replies: 27
Views: 1032

Re: Best tyres for touring

robing wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 2:17pm
pjclinch wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 2:16pm
robing wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 8:24am Need new tyres for my dawes sg .

Are marathon plus still the best choice?

Or any better options. Puncture proof more important than weight .
No such thing as "best" without a heavy dose of context...

I use "normal" Marathons and punctures are sufficiently rare that I've never felt the need to go to the plus, which are not only heavier but have higher rolling resistance.

For, say, winter commuting on wet, glass strewn streets I can see a niche for the Plus but the standard model remains a popular touring workhorse that doesn't need fixed as it ain't broke.
Well I used to get a lot of punctures on the standard marathons.
When? They have changed a few times over the 20+ years I've been using them.

My experience with the older ones was once you got to a certain level of wear they'd puncture relatively easily, so that's time to change the tyre. But current ones ("Greenguard" IIRC) either don't do that or Mine aren't worn enough yet.

Pete.
by pjclinch
24 Mar 2024, 2:16pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Best tyres for touring
Replies: 27
Views: 1032

Re: Best tyres for touring

robing wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 8:24am Need new tyres for my dawes sg .

Are marathon plus still the best choice?

Or any better options. Puncture proof more important than weight .
No such thing as "best" without a heavy dose of context...

I use "normal" Marathons and punctures are sufficiently rare that I've never felt the need to go to the plus, which are not only heavier but have higher rolling resistance.

For, say, winter commuting on wet, glass strewn streets I can see a niche for the Plus but the standard model remains a popular touring workhorse that doesn't need fixed as it ain't broke.

Pete
by pjclinch
24 Mar 2024, 2:11pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Changing At Perth Station
Replies: 16
Views: 561

Re: Changing At Perth Station

Paulatic wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 1:10pm Can’t help but think you’re missing a good little ride Pitlochry to Perth.
Perth to Dunkeld can be done either on or off road and then there's wee roads parallel to the A9 up to Pitlochry.

Pete.
by pjclinch
22 Mar 2024, 7:56am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Brompton or Mirider
Replies: 4
Views: 284

Re: Brompton or Mirider

b1ke wrote: 21 Mar 2024, 10:38pm The MiRider also has fatter tyres as I recall, something which the Brompton would definitely benefit from.
If you'd like your own Brom to have fatter tyres then the options from Kinetics may be interesting, see https://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/foldi ... eel-sizes/

Pete.
by pjclinch
21 Mar 2024, 8:09pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Brompton or Mirider
Replies: 4
Views: 284

Re: Brompton or Mirider

Only just heard of the Mirider looking at this, but looking at the pics my immediate possible gripe is where would I put a bag?

For folk who are fine with rucksacks or never carry much that's a moot point, but my Brompton bag goes with me on the great majority of my folder trips, and the stable connection to the main frame rather then the fork/bars makes a huge difference compared to a standard bar bag once you're past a few kilos.

Pete.
by pjclinch
21 Mar 2024, 8:00pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: forums
Replies: 16
Views: 1020

Re: forums

Mtb tourer wrote: 21 Mar 2024, 1:31pm With the youth hostel system today it's an expensive way to get away from the cities. And they are few and far between.
.camping is just as bad. Can't wait for a good weekend forecast and go ,its book well in advance.Bikepacking wins today ,a tiny tent tarp or bivi bag and your good to go .Find a spot put of sight and that's the nights stop sorted.
For some values of "camping"...
Sort of places you can just plonk a bivvi down are often also the sorts of places you can put an actual tent down, especially off-road, and in summer in Scotland not get eaten by midges while pitched.

Couple of summers back we did a road tour across Scotland and back using formal sites every night on a "just turn up" basis, and had absolutely no problem with spaces, so pick time and place well and no booking is needed.

Pete.
by pjclinch
21 Mar 2024, 12:41pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Lightweight stepthrough (actually dropped top tube) bike?
Replies: 11
Views: 437

Re: Lightweight stepthrough (actually dropped top tube) bike?

ARCC Moulton, perhaps?
https://www.arccbikes.com/category/moulton

The spaceframe means they're not only step-through but just as stiff as a diamond frame. I've not tried the electric but I have a standard TSR 8 and I really like it as a general purpose hack bike.

Pete.
by pjclinch
20 Mar 2024, 8:41am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Touring shoes for bunions and wide feet
Replies: 19
Views: 839

Re: Touring shoes for bunions and wide feet

scandalxk wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 5:23pm
Psamathe wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 3:08pm I suffer the bunions (one foot) and I've mostly switched to the Shimano sandals (SD5?)...
Thanks, Ian. I should have mentioned that my bunions don't hurt in themselves, but they just make it awkward finding shoes to fit around them. I am tempted by Shimano sandals, but as I will be touring in Donegal I probably need something a bit more...weather-appropriate!
As long as it's warm enough wet feet aren't really a problem IME. I use SD5s with no socks in warmer weather, and yes, if it rains my feet are wet but as soon as it stops they dry out.

Waterproofing is well worth having if it's cold because water conducts heat very well so you get very cold feet if they get wet, but in warmer times of year it's much less of an issue.

Pete.
by pjclinch
19 Mar 2024, 6:59pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would it be unreasonable … ?
Replies: 42
Views: 1691

Re: Would it be unreasonable … ?

There's flashing LEDs and there's flashing LEDs. If you run the ones that are not unlike a camera flash running at about 1 Hertz then you can get in to the sea as fas as I'm concerned. I only see these very rarely (say about once a year or even less) but I despise them every time I do. They're unpleasant, distracting and unnecessary.
The other, far more common sort, I don't have a problem with.

Pete.
by pjclinch
19 Mar 2024, 8:15am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would it be unreasonable … ?
Replies: 42
Views: 1691

Re: Would it be unreasonable … ?

Nearholmer wrote: 18 Mar 2024, 6:11pm There is a non-confrontational, non-making-a-big-self-righteous-fuss-about-it, way to deal with this: “Excuse me mate. Did you know you’ve accidentally left your front light on?”.

I’ll confess that I’ve sometimes come off a road, onto a path, and forgotten to turn the light off, so you never know, it might be me.
If you have a dazzling flashing front light, please don't use it on the road either.
"Dazzling" isn't good when the people you dazzle include drivers of oncoming motors as well as oncoming cyclists.

Good places for dazzling lights are when there's nobody coming the other way and you need to see the ground better than normal bike lights will allow, in which case you want them steady, not flashing.

Back to the original question, it shouldn't be unreasonable but when I've tried I've been treated as if my suggestion will surely lead to the miscreant's certain death and it has been angrily dismissed.
I wonder how they'd feel if they were driving at night and oncoming traffic strobed main beam on and off all the time? 😡

Pete.
by pjclinch
17 Mar 2024, 3:44pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Touring shoes for bunions and wide feet
Replies: 19
Views: 839

Re: Touring shoes for bunions and wide feet

SD5 sandals for me too.
Shimano shoes are far too narrow for me, but with the sandals you just expand what upper there is by loosening the straps.

Pete.
by pjclinch
17 Mar 2024, 11:24am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: last second ebay bidding
Replies: 52
Views: 2843

Re: last second ebay bidding

fastpedaller wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 11:13am
deeferdonk wrote: 13 Mar 2024, 11:29am More perplexing to me is when you see a couple of other bidders have a bit of a bidding war when there's still a week/ages left on the auction, driving up the price early on. Why don't you just wait till closer to the end and/or put your max bid in?

Must have admit I have let out an evil laugh on the couple of times when i have seen this happen and then snipe and win the auction at the last minute.
I've seen items with many days left with (say) £5 on the bid. Thinking the item is worth £70 to me, I've sent the seller a note "I'm happy to pay £50 for the immediate purchase of this item" . This approach has been successful (and on others the seller has said they'll let the auction run. I don't know if making an early offer is now 'allowed' on Ebay. They change the rules so often. Frustratingly they really make it difficult sometimes...... A few years ago I wanted to send hi-res photos of a bike to the prospective buyer but he couldn't send me his email or 'phone number to make this possible.
An offer is a specific option, seen as "make an offer" if the seller has chosen that facility. You put in an offer, the seller can reject or make a counter-offer.

Pete.