Cycling UK Forum

I'll come clean. My first 'how difficult can it be?' attempt to rebuild a wheel from scratch using a new rim and spokes, the previous one being buckled beyond recognition actually went 'quite well'. The bike in question was one of my employer's pool bikes for adult training and had been rammed side-...

I feel your pain! Conversely, I've had the opposite experience to you and your friend. My Dahon Matrix (full-sized folder) started life with Conti Sport Contacts (near-slick) but these did nothing but puncture, from day-, or rather week-one. I then went to Schwalbe City Jets (also near-slicks), whic...

As an instructor directly employed by a relatively well-off London borough*, I run the gauntlet of all kinds of comments on the street, especially from 'asset-rich, income-poor' types who think that the council tax should be pared down to the exact services that they alone require (no doubt, just ro...

Did mine a couple of years ago with 'Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames' . I'm pretty sure it wasn't mandatory although I think I did wear mine at least some of the time. The neighbouring borough that I actually work for does however insist on helmets whilst working in schools, but that's another...

You'll gather from the title that I'm less than impressed. As a cycling instructor mainly in schools, I thought I'd treat myself to a set of Halfords ratchet spanners, since the first morning of a new course is largely taken up with sorting bikes, in particular, seat pillars that won't shift. The co...

If you decide on the 'via Central London option', quite a pleasant and traffic-light free method to go west is to pick up the south bank of the Thames towpath at Putney and follow it all the way to Kew Bridge at which point you cross to the other bank, turn left into Brentford High St, which begets ...

I'm SO glad I've stumbled upon this post. I thought it was just me. Got my 2009 Matrix last year after the price dropped on the announcement of the new model and was quick to notice that all the rear spokes were loose. I guess I should have given the job to an LBS there and then - sending it back by...

that sounds more like the axle is slipping in the dropouts, or that's what I take the rear wheel slipping to 11/5 o'clock to mean. If that's the case then you need to tighten the nuts up more, making sure everything is in the right order and orientation. I took that to mean that the wheel was in sl...

Just a thought - could it be that they were constructed in a very cold shed, and now that warmer weather's here, the spokes get longer with expansion, or is this offset by the rim getting bigger too? I've noticed that the spokes on my nearly new Dahon Matrix with disc brakes seem to come loose as a ...

There was no harm done in having a practice removal for the inevitable puncture, but it's not uncommon for hub gears to require some re-adjustment after the wheel is put back on as it's often impossible to guarantee that it went back in exactly the same position. You've already spotted that you had ...

I think I understood, I'm just wondering why you are breaking so many spokes? I've had my Brompton 17 years and never broken a spoke once. I've had a new set of spokes once when replacing a worn rim. Other than that it's all been trouble free. Well, I wouldn't say it was frequent, but it never seem...

Gearoidmuar wrote:This is like directions. Totally clear to the poster only!!

Post a piccy!!

Pretty good with the instructions yourself, so I see.

Since the Brompton has a plastic chain guard between innermost (or only) cog and hub, changing a broken spoke on that side (and yes, it's always that side!) can be real pain involving removal of cogs (let's all play 'hunt the circlip') and removal of the plastic chain guard that is preventing you fr...

Nice to know I'm not alone. I only chose a wireless job for neatness as my main bike has front suspension and my other is a Brompton which is just asking to shear the wire off one day when you're folding it! Incidentally, the distance between transmitter and computer on the Brompton is right at the ...

Not when they should have stopped but they'd better stop before the dishing of the spokes on the cassette side becomes vertical!