Cycling UK Forum

I have a Focus Cayo with 25mm Michelin Pro4s and a flat bar Triban 540 with Spesh roubaix 32mm. Both feel fast, and the latter is a joy on the rough roads and tracks.

Hi, just to add..... I have the same pedals. I used sh51 cleats last year but even on loosest pedal tension I found them hard to unclip in an "emergency" situation. I've just switched to sh56 and much happier, unclipping is much easier. I note comments above re wear, I've only used mine for 3 rides so can't comment on longevity.

Thanks, chaps, have had a play with the friction shifter and that seems to do the trick.

Hi

Have taken receipt of a built up bike, ultegra and 105 11s mix to replace tiagra 4600 bike (the latter is the subject of my post earlier in the week re shifters)

Chainset is 50 34, cassette is 11 28

I control front mech with a bar end friction shifter (one handed cyclist)

Took new build out for first spin but think I have an adjustment required on front derailleur. I know chain rub is normal at extreme ends (50-28 Or 34-11) but on new bike it starts rubbing from halfway up the cassette when I'm on 50t ring. On 34-11 there is little or no rub.

I'm assuming this isn't normal? I can take it back to the LBS who built it up but if it's easy will do myself

Thanks

Hi

My road bike was originally a flat bar model, with full tiagra 4600 2x10 (50/34t) and tiagra sl-4600 trigger shifters.

I converted to drop bar and (foolishly) sold the trigger shifters.

I've now acquired a new road bike and am converting the tiagra bike back to flat bar for commuting / light trail/ family cycles (fitting 32mm tyres). I've picked up a r780 10 speed trigger shifter but still need something for the front mech.

In terms of eBay, there are a proliferation of shimano mtb 2 speed trigger shifters available, with prices much cheaper than buying a road specific trigger. I've searched the net for info re shimano mtb shifter/ road front mech compatibility and views are mixed.

Does anyone know definitively, or have experience of, compatibility between shimano mtb trigger shifter and tiagra road compact front mech?

Thanks

http://www.bikeforums.net/adaptive-cycling-handcycles-amputee-adaptation-visual-impairment-other-needs/

Is a useful forum for info and advice

I don't have a left hand and cycle with a prosthetic. So not fully equivalent as my prosthetic means I'm sort of holding bars with 2 hands, but I do need the controls all on one side.

My road bike - One brake lever pulls both brakes at once via a Problem Solver Cable Doubler. It's a standard sti shifter so I use for controlling rear derailleur. For front derailleur I have a time trial style friction shifter in the butt of my handlebar.

Hybrid - again using a cable doubler to pull both brakes with one lever. The thumb shifter for front derailleur is moved to the same side of bar with other controls and inverted.

reohn2 wrote:

Edwards wrote:Audi driver statement. The cyclist was doing 20mph on this narrow road. So I was forced to overtake (from behind) at 40mph six inches from their elbow.

Cyclist statement. The pedestrian was walking very very slowly along the shared use path. So I was forced to overtake (from behind) at 20mph six inches from their elbow.

The closing speed is about 20mph for both, so why do cyclists complain about the Audi Driver?

So should the road be widened as well?
Or cyclists banned from the roads and pedestrians from shared use paths?

Nail,head,on

+1

MikeF wrote:

McStumpy wrote:It's outside your price range but my wife (5' 2") has a Specialized Vita, 700c wheels and a very relaxed geometry (that can be less relaxed if required by removing spacers and / or flipping stem). We've shared it on holiday in the past, I had to raise seat but it's a quality bike if you can stretch or pick up second hand.

The Calibre Filter from Go Outdoors gets a decent crit and looks a fair spec, it's nearer your price range.

75 degree seat angle very relaxed geometry? Sounds like the opposite to me. However the 69 degree head tube is one of the shallowest. The Vita is apparently a "fitness" bike.

Ah ok. From observation of my wife riding it, she is upright and doesn't look stretched out, the handlebars in default set up are also a little higher than the seat.

It's outside your price range but my wife (5' 2") has a Specialized Vita, 700c wheels and a very relaxed geometry (that can be less relaxed if required by removing spacers and / or flipping stem). We've shared it on holiday in the past, I had to raise seat but it's a quality bike if you can stretch or pick up second hand.

The Calibre Filter from Go Outdoors gets a decent crit and looks a fair spec, it's nearer your price range.

I was in a similar position, I dusted down my mtb style hybrid 3 years ago and was out regularly for fitness rides. I then wanted something "roadier", I bought a Triban 540 flat bar bike from Decathlon last summer. I was initially nervous of what looked like stupidly skinny 25mm tyres but my fears proved unfounded. I took it out for a 20k spin on quiet roads and was grinning from ear to ear, so much better on the roads than my clunky hybrid. I cycled more and more and did my first sportive in the autumn. As I looked around at a sea of drop bars I was a little nervous but all was good and I put in a time in the top 25%.

My only nagging doubt with the flat bar was into the wind, the upright position isn't ideal. So, as I've mentioned in another thread, I recently converted it to drop bar. The position needs some adjustment (brake hoods ideally need to be higher up bar, probably a slightly shorter stem).

The conclusions....

A road oriented bike is night and day v a mtb or mtb style hybrid for actual road riding
Skinny tyres are not to be feared
Flat bar on a road bike is a feasible option,t drop bars probably better all round but don't be put off with the former
The Triban 520 or 540 are quality endurance road bikes with room for wider tyres and mudguards

You lost me at pantone 143

Thanks. Shifting seems fine, to be fair.

The calipers on my bike are shimano "no name" 57mm drop, I'm guessing given relatively cheap cost of bike (originally flat bar version of Btwin Triban 540 before I converted to drops) that these are entry level. I wonder if I would see an improvement with br650 calipers?

Thank you all, the logic re the dual brake pull is sound and sounds more of a factor perhaps than tiagra v 105.

Hi

My friends 105 brakes seem to only need a light touch from the hoods to engage, whereas my tiagra 4600 needs a strong push (to the point I have to go to the drops to apply brakes fully). Is this just the difference between the two groupsets or does it sounds as if my brakes or levers need some adjustment?

Worth noting, I have one lever that operates both brakes via a cable doubler.

Thanks