Cycling UK Forum

At the moment, the works are near completion, the mini-roundabout is open and most of the traffic is flowing.
There are still restrictions for motor vehicles by the Arsenal tube station, which -given the number of drivers who go past the signs of "diversion" and "traffic enforcement cameras"- I guess is becoming a source of income for Islington Council? I digress.

So, this mini-roundabout is probably ok given the circumstances. The close proximity of the junction with Holloway Road makes impossible to use traffic lights. This was proved during the road works when 3-way and 4-way temporary lights weere installed. Bad idea, really.
To have no horizontal signs, it's not a good idea either. This was the previous arrangement and didn't work that well.

The problem I see, is when coming from Holloway Road, the cycle lane does not follow the roundabout but is effectively diverting the cyclists to Benwell road where they have to give way to the traffic coming from the A103 and going towards it from Drayton Park Road. I'm not convinced with this.

And still, there is not yet a consistent plan for a route that would link with Finsbury Park, where the traffic lights and crossings are not adequate.
Time will tell, I suppose!

kylecycler wrote: ↑1 Apr 2021, 10:47am Newer Lezyne pumps have a pressure release button - the black button in the photo - which you press before you unscrew the pump hose. It's to prevent you unscrewing the valve core as you unscrew the hose. Don't know if yours will have one, mine has and I got it about three years ago. IME not everyone who has one knows what the button is for or how to use it, though - I've got a pal who didn't. I think I read about it in the review before I bought it, otherwise I wouldn't have known about the problem of unscrewing valve cores and probably found out the hard way! You're still best to hold the valve between thumb and forefinger as you unscrew the hose and make sure it doesn't turn with the hose.

Simple fix for a problem that's no big deal: just unscrew the hose from the pump side first
My preference if for inner tubes with removable valve cores, because any problem with the valve is quickly sorted instead of sending an otherwise usable inner tube to the bin
The little plastic gizmo to remove the Presta valve cores, altogether with a spare core, takes no space at all so I find no reason for not having one in the saddle bag.

Have helped a few friends in regards, used bikes can have any sort of hidden problems: bottom brackets/rims/drivetrain and especially shifters can be very expensive to replace (if not impossible, when discontinued).
Caveat Emptor!

Like said above, being able to spot those things in the first place, and doing some work at home, like cleaning/replacing cables/etc, can save some vey good money.

mjr wrote: ↑26 Apr 2021, 2:44pm Bicycle tyres and tubes go in the car tyre bin at larger Norfolk Household Waste Recovery Centres. I understand steel wires get stripped and recycled as metal, while the rubber from better tyres is shredded and either rebound into new products like bouncy flooring, as seen in play areas, or soundproofing inside walls, or much else, while the ropey stuff gets incinerated. https://www.asm-recycling.co.uk/blog/gu ... ycling-uk/

Tyres were banned from landfill more than 10 years ago. Your residual (black, usually) bin may be left unemptied if one is spotted in it.

I didn't knew about this facility, thanks for sharing. Always used unfixable, due to patch-over-patch limit, inner tubes in place of bungee cords: they're essentially free and readily available.

I have found this rendering, it looks nice and at this very moment the works are (finally) near completion



The segregated cycle lanes are not continuous, though. And hopefully will get one more layer of tarmac because right now they're not smooth at all.
Unless they're planned for the new fashion of extra-wide bicycle tyres? (scratches head).

Time will tell how effective will be those new cycle lanes, and how often they'll be blocked by a parked car...

LinusR wrote:

londonbikerider wrote:
The sealant is the Schwalbe one, any suggestion for removing the blue-ish stain from the fabric would be appreciated.
Cheers

I spilt some Stan's sealant on a pair of jeans and the stain didn't come out even after a few wash cycles. I finally got rid of most of the stain by doing the following:

Apply washing up liquid (I used Tesco cheapo liquid) to the stain and work it into the dry fabric by hand. Then immerse it in a warm water and washing detergent mix, using a normal dilution. ie. using a normal handwashing strength wash. Wash it by hand in the mix. Then I used hand soap to scrub the wet and washed area. Then I gave it a normal second wash, rinse and spin dry.

I managed to get rid of most of the stain on the outside of the jeans but the stain is still visible on the inside. So that will be dealt with on the next wash.

That's very helpful, thank you for taking your time to share this.

Has anyone suggested to use the lights stacked in a up&down fashion?
It makes a lot more sense to me: having a flood light above the brake, and a focused-beam one fitted on the bars.

Hello, here is another post about tubeless tyres on road bikes.
Let me start by saying that I do not use tubeless tyres nor I want them. A few days ago I've just been reminded of.

My brother in law has them on his road bike.
During a ride we did a few days ago, he got a puncture form a 1/4" piece of glass, and a few drops of sealant got in my front brake even though we were keeping a reasonable distance.
That stuff is not easy to remove if you don't tackle it right away, my Shimano 5800 brakes aren't the easiest to clean but eventually I removed that gunk. My companion of the day, he's got a bigger problem in removing the stains from the back of his jersey.

The sealant is the Schwalbe one, any suggestion for removing the blue-ish stain from the fabric would be appreciated.
Cheers

Hello

During those strange times, like many others, I had to re-arrange my daily routine including the journeys to work, those haven ot become a daily task for now. But when have to leave the house for reasons that cannot be done via a Zoom meeting, I have noticed that lots of work is going on the roads of central London. The roads between Finsbury Park and Holloway road have been affected for a little while now, hopefully for the better since the plans suggest a significant improvement



There a few points that may not be resolved yet, like the traffic lights by Fisnbury Park and Madras Place, that can become a long wait. And the increasing numbers of "delivery riders" that would leave their mopeds parked wherever is closest to a take-away shop from which they collect.
Time will tell!

pete75 wrote:Gold Label Wax - a much more economical purchase than Carradice's own. It seems better than Barbour own brand. Works well on Carradice stuff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gold-Label-W ... SwlpNfGYTg

I second that. Good value for the money.

Tangled Metal wrote:Bells are only as good as the willingness of others to hear them. Many reasons why they don't, often loudness of the bell isn't one of them!

That is true, indeed, as many other things in life. Mutual respect should be the basis of a civilized community, but often ignored.

But I have a question that is related to the OP: has anyone else experienced their bicycle bell becoming muffled or more quiet, when it's cold?
Two of my bicycles do have an uncomplicated, cheap bell with a metal dome about 2" diameter and simple plastic striker. They both work well, but will become noticeably less audible when the temperature drops below 5ºc.
The metal dome seems to be generic metal wqith chrome plating.


(edit: more info added)

Hello.
The last few months I have not taken advantage of the "glorious" (that can be an opinion for many) weather for cycling, rather been busy with other activities. Hence I seem to have forgotten many of the local good lanes, and the ones with short and steep gradients.
The ones like Aston Hill, Kopp Hill and Bison Hill by the Chilterns are a good example. But there was a short lane, somewhere before St. Albans if I remember correctly, that is called "Stonard Road" and would go up to 18%. Would anyone be more helpful in this?
Many thanks!

I had been using the former for a while, me and the sweet half have discovered many new places for weekend walks.

Hi, my 2c about Shimano brifters: after a small laydown on the road (my mates are still laughing about my need for a good sleep) my left hand lever got un-responsive to the point where it wont release the gear cable when pressing the lever #2.
I have discovered that you can get the two levers to clash with their innermost faces one to each other, hence the lever #2 not returning in position. With the help of a flat screwdriver I was able to bend back the lever, thus having the required gap between the two.
It has been working well for the time being, fingers crossed it will hold even longer as I'm not in a rush to buy a new lever!

Brucey wrote:...
Since this is an emotive issue for some folk it'd be nice if they gave you a choice of how noisy the freewheel is?

cheers

You have a valid point there, but won't this imply that keeping the hub noisy is a sort of "badge of honour"? (scratches head)