Search found 12656 matches

by PH
17 Mar 2024, 3:04pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Snap ring ordering details
Replies: 6
Views: 283

Re: Snap ring ordering details

I'd take a step back and consider what it's for, then see if the specification is available for whatever than is.
by PH
17 Mar 2024, 9:30am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Budget wheels opinion
Replies: 13
Views: 520

Re: Budget wheels opinion

warey4life wrote: 16 Mar 2024, 11:27am I think I might wait a little while and spend a few more pounds on getting a better quality wheelset with sealed bearings.
As indicated upthread, IMO there's no guarantee that you'll get noticeably better wheels till you spend significantly more money. The difference between a £70 wheelset and a £100 one might be cosmetic. I don't think there are any incremental improvements between a budget wheelset and what I'd consider the starting point for a handbuilt set. I'd expect to pay around £170 for something well built with decent hubs, rims and spokes, without going over the top. So, I'd be choosing to spend £70 or £180 and expect to get good value from either, I'd be wary that anything I spent in between would be too much for one thing and not enough for the other.
by PH
17 Mar 2024, 9:05am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Portsmouth - Le Havre
Replies: 4
Views: 227

Re: Portsmouth - Le Havre

AndreaVin wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 8:28am We'll just get the train back to Dieppe if necessary.
Le Havre > Portsmouth would have suited me, but I didn't see any bike options. I changed my plans and cycled to Dieppe which added 60 miles. The only real disadvantage was the sailing times, it's either a really early start or arriving in Newhaven late. I took the early start and sailing to Newhaven made no difference, the train home via London was the same time and cost. The ferry a bit cheaper.
by PH
16 Mar 2024, 9:24am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Budget wheels opinion
Replies: 13
Views: 520

Re: Budget wheels opinion

Wheels at that price point can be good value, but you have to have realistic expectations about what you're getting. That price won't include much for a craftsman's care and attention. I bought a similar priced wheel from Madspeed via ebay, I gave the spokes a good squeeze then re-trued it and evened the tensions, and several thousand miles later it's still fine. You don't need to be a master wheel builder to do that, a spoke key and some youtube guidance will still improve what comes out the box.
Or, you could just fit them and hope, they're likely to be the same quality as those supplied on all sub £500 hybrid bikes and probably a good few at higher prices. Lots of people are riding such bikes without any wheel problems.
Spending more on wheels might get you better sealed hubs, spokes less likely to break, rims less likely to crack and some care from a wheel builder, but there's no guarantee of that till you start spending several times the price.
by PH
14 Mar 2024, 7:07pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Why not have dual front discs?
Replies: 21
Views: 1283

Re: Why not have dual front discs?

cycle tramp wrote: 12 Mar 2024, 8:42am If you look at many sports motorcycles at the larger engine size spectrum... you'll see that they have dual front disc brakes...
Why would you compare a bicycle to a larger engine sports motorcycle when a more realistic comparison would be a moped?
by PH
14 Mar 2024, 6:59pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cycle Retail In Meltdown.
Replies: 181
Views: 23035

Re: Cycle Retail In Meltdown.

pliptrot wrote: 14 Mar 2024, 11:05am I have had 3 bikes made in Taiwan. All expensive. The top-of-the-range Marin bike had balls missing from the headset, a bottom bracket which was hugely out of spec.
You were not the customer of that Taiwanese manufacturer, Marin were. The design, specification, tolerances and QC were all set by Marin. That's how the bulk of modern mid volume production works, the actual manufacturing is sub-contracted. Taiwanese manufacturers are capable of producing to any specification set, if you've bought tat, aim your displeasure at the right people.
by PH
10 Mar 2024, 2:02pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tourer for gentle off-roading?
Replies: 136
Views: 5549

Re: Tourer for gentle off-roading?

djnotts wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 12:31pm My point about 2nd hand is different really - can easily save at least 50% on a bike that is so near to new that will still run for decades.
I get that and if you can find exactly what you want secondhand then that's perfect. My experience when looking at used has been that it's always more of a compromise than looking with an open wallet. Had the OP managed to find the perfect Galaxy for half price twenty years ago, they'd have saved a few pence a week. OTOH had you bought your bikes new and sold after a short time, it would have cost a fortune. It's the difference between cost and expense and IMO the two are too often confused.
by PH
10 Mar 2024, 12:19pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tourer for gentle off-roading?
Replies: 136
Views: 5549

Re: Tourer for gentle off-roading?

djnotts wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 10:04am I don't buy new!
But you do buy frequently :wink:
How many bikes in the last five years? Your choice of course to spend so much time and effort swapping bikes, just as it might be someone else's choice to spend a lot more and keep the bike for decades.
by PH
10 Mar 2024, 12:10pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Knee protection please
Replies: 39
Views: 1726

Re: Knee protection please

I've no experience of the sort of knee protection worn by some cyclists, I have spent some of my working life on my knees with protection designed for that purpose. I don't think it's the same thing, the sort of pads I've worn add comfort but I doubt they'd offer much protection from impact, though they would maybe reduce abrasion injury. My advice would be to get something specifically designed for the sort of incident you're anticipating.
by PH
9 Mar 2024, 4:07pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?
Replies: 19
Views: 1050

Re: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?

Brucey wrote: 9 Mar 2024, 3:37pm
PH wrote:.....It's the same principal as a car, just 100x easier because you're at both ends, the pipe/hose is flexible and it isn't nasty DOT fluid. ....
IIRC Tektro are the only manufacturer which has used both types of fluid.
I think you might have recalled incorrectly, either that or the manufacturer has got it wrong:
Mineral Oil
• For all TRP and Tektro hydraulic braking systems.
https://tektro.com/en/product/178#:~:te ... eral%20oil.
by PH
9 Mar 2024, 1:34pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?
Replies: 19
Views: 1050

Re: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?

Jdsk wrote: 9 Mar 2024, 12:44pm NB date.

I'm considering whether to service the Tektro flat bar brake system on a family member's bike. I've never done this before, but I have done cars.

I've found videos from Tektro and Park Tool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlxB_2 ... O&index=13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJfYiDSsjZ8

Any advice on bits that I'll need other than what's upthread?

And any other advice?

Thanks

Jonathan
It's the same principal as a car, just 100x easier because you're at both ends, the pipe/hose is flexible and it isn't nasty DOT fluid.
If the brakes are not too bad, there's a quick bleed that works with Shimano and I don't see why it wouldn't work equally as well with Tektro
https://epicbleedsolutions.com/blogs/ar ... mini-bleed

If you do go for a full bleed, and the hose is clipped on rather than threaded through bosses, removing the caliper and unclipping the hose so it hangs in a straight line means there's no where for air bubbles to hide. If you can't do that, tapping the hose where it bends can dislodge any bubbles.
If you're doing a through service, consider cleaning the piston seals at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQXFFgRButo
by PH
9 Mar 2024, 11:43am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Night p*nct*re scenario comes to pass
Replies: 23
Views: 937

Re: Night p*nct*re scenario comes to pass

UpWrong wrote: 8 Mar 2024, 3:43pm I carry a can of Lezyne sealant so tried to squirt that through the presta valve. Much of it didn’t go in and the can didn’t empty.
I have a can of the Vittoria Pitstop, I've seen it used but haven't done so myself, it seals and inflates and as long as you are able to get the can on straight I see no reason for it not to get into the tube. It's a press fit like a Co2 cannister.
Of course, as rareposter says, if it's a big hole in the tube, none of these sealants will work. Though I've known big objects make a surprisingly small hole in the tube, so maybe if you could have got it in, it still might have worked.
Another downside of such sealants is the mess they create can make patching harder. I think in your situation, a patch would have been my first choice, then only the Gaadi tube if I was unable to do so. That's my preference on any bike, unless there's good reason not to (Rushing somewhere, rain, holding a group up...) It's the only option that returns you to the pre deflation state.
Bottom line of course is you had an issue and you sorted it, job done.
by PH
9 Mar 2024, 11:22am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Reporting potholes
Replies: 2
Views: 168

Re: Reporting potholes

Or there's the Cycling UK Fill that Hole option:
https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Which might have the benefit of collating the information and response, though I don't know to what extent that's done.
by PH
7 Mar 2024, 7:39pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Routing online or via "knowledge" ?
Replies: 30
Views: 1867

Re: Routing online or via "knowledge" ?

gbnz wrote: 7 Mar 2024, 6:23pm But fair enough, if some cyclists & cycle route planners find it preferable to choose to cycle along the busiest road in the area....
It's hard to judge, because despite being asked you haven't said where. But the question is asked on a broad rather than specific basis and I don't think your description is true generally.
by PH
7 Mar 2024, 6:01pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Routing online or via "knowledge" ?
Replies: 30
Views: 1867

Re: Routing online or via "knowledge" ?

gbnz wrote: 6 Mar 2024, 3:58pm Was merely bemused that the modern day "cycle route" planner, didn't appear to have the ability to follow an obvious route
Obvious to who? You can't treat cyclists as if they were one big unified group, the obvious good route for one might be totally unsuitable for another. If you want a route that best reflects your own criteria and that's different to that of a route planner then the answer is to plan your own. That doesn't make the route planner bad, just different.