Cycling UK Forum

You would release the chain by slackening off the left hand crank bolts and tapping the axle a few mms through the bottom bracket. Just do the reverse once the chain is freed and placed on one of the chainrings. Not much more than releasing and tightening a crank bolt at the other end.

I have various cycling shoes in an assortment of styles, ranging in price from £35 to £100. However I keep going to these walking shoes which I bought from Sports Direct. Never expected much at the price and not confident of anything I buy from this retailer. The shoes are great for cycling on flat pedals, narrow and stiff construction and claims that they are waterproof (although I haven't put that to any significant test). Not so good for anything resembling serious mountain biking but ideal for road, cycle route and hard path riding.

The surface is well-established compounded quarry stone for much of the route. Dry and dusty on hot days and wide enough for a lorry. A family car could be driven along the route. Please note that the cafe at Clatteringshaws has recently closed.

I use this brush. Halfords do an interior version and an exterior version. The interior one has softer bristles but is firm enough to clean up cassettes and mechs.
The brushes unfortunately have doubled in price since I last bought them a couple of years ago.

The biggest three cogs are riveted together so can't easily be separated. The attached diagram shows the options for 11 speed cassettes and where the riveted trio reaches down the range.

Halfords stock generic stem caps with bolt. £3.50. Check the sizing against Carrera bikes when you're there, if necessary. 99% of them fit.

Go Outdoors is part of JD Sports, a company which makes £1 billion in profit every year from 1,300 shops and is the world's biggest earning sports and outdoor retailer. Not bad from a single store family business in England 40 odd years ago. Their success has been due in a big way, paradoxically, to the trading model adopted by their biggest rival Sports Direct. Mike Ashley, SD owner, bought stock at clearance prices, piled them high and sold them cheaply. JD Sports did the opposite. Signed selective stock deals, some of them exclusive, with the mega manufacturers and sold restricted quantities from bright, contemporary stores at premium prices. The two businesses are like chalk and cheese but trading merrily in their own established marketplaces. JD is continuing to grow and have planned to open 200 new stores this year. Ashley's team has introduced a new "we won't be beaten on price" scheme on bicycle items across his chain of stores, including Evans, House of Fraser as well as Sports Direct. Clearly the two companies will fight it out with totally different offerings but it does appear there's room for both.

Android phones have a lock screen feature in their settings. Check for "lock screen" under the security section. You generally have three or four ways of locking the screen and these will be itemised and explained. I'm not sure when this feature was added to the Android platform. You may not have it if the phone precedes this.

Nearholmer wrote: ↑15 Dec 2023, 1:32pm
As to organic pads, the only advantage that I found was that they don’t need to be bedded in; the much more significant disadvantage was that they wore out very quickly, so no more of them!

I work in a bike shop and have experimented with all brands of brake pad on road and mountain bikes. The responses here are spot on. Sintered pads are tough and wear well but with a lot of noise when wet. Organic are cheaper, softer and are more effective, especially after a brief bedding in session, but don't last. Noises are minimal in dry and wet. Semi-sintered offer something in between the two versions.
The decision I've made is to go for organic and enjoy the peace of silent braking. I think the cost balances out. Organic are half or a third the price but you use two or three times as many as sintered. As some have said, sintered may be the answer if you're knocking hell out the brakes on a mountain descent.

They're 59 pence on Wiggle. No brainer if you have already paid their one-off annual delivery charge.

I don't see any mounting holes on the fork or the seatstays.
In my opinion the fancier the fitting at the points where the guards squeeze through the frame at the braking points, the less chance of a successful job. You will need to check out if there's a hole at each of the bridges to attach a guard, preferably threaded ones. I have doubts about this if the bike itself doesn't have holes elsewhere for mudguard struts. Hard to see on promotional pictures.

The Optimo 1 does indeed look well-speced for the money, with admittedly a few money-saving components in the mix. The Raceblades are excellent and SKS offer extra bits and pieces in the pack of fittings. SJS have additional fittings if you need them. It is difficult to pair a bike up with a mudguard set until you've had a go at setting it all up. I have asked manufacturers, distributors and retailers for advice on suitable mudguards for specific bikes and they tend to offer advice only with much use of the word "should" in their responses. I install a lot of mudguards and rely on patience and precise planning to achieve a good fit. My Dremel is a necessity as is a big container of brackets, bolts and rubber washers from past jobs. It takes time and a lot of thought but the finished product, keeping the rider dry and protected (and no rattles!!) is so worthwhile. Best of luck.

My bell fits better on the stem and is as reachable as it was near the centre of the bars. This one from The Range (Halfords has similar) is cheap, loud and attaches via a strong rubber band.

The Cateye Viz lights numbered 100 to 450, based on lumens and costing from £16 to £39 come with the SP-15 bracket which allows for fitting to a wide range of seat stays, including fine aero stays.

Three hours each way by train. Book the bike to travel in the "guard's van" ie as a parcel.