Cycling UK Forum

Brucey wrote:you can get 6mm threaded QRs for seat clusters.

Do you have a link you could post as I can't quite picture what you mean, thanks Brucey.

stewartpratt wrote:What burn time to do you need your new light to give you? And is this a "be seen" light or a "see by" light?

3 hours on max would be fine as I can charge it daily, though more time would be welcome.
It is a light that will flood the road with light so I can see it that I need and of course to be seen too. The airbike does an amazing job of both of these, so something as good as or better would be perfect. I'm trying to keep costs down as I've spent my annual allowance several years back

MacBludgeon wrote:Shimano dynohub wheel - £90

Are they pre built or is that just the price of the hub? Do you have any links you could share?
Oh, worth mentioning, my wheels are 26" and v-brakes.

At least I've got the summer day light to get this all together before I really need the lighting, but still, I like to light up the tree tunnels.
Thanks.

The problem:

I need a new light, but have grand desires, yet a limited budget.

History:

I have an Air Bike P7 Ever Light (SCC P7 LED) rated at 700 lumens and it's been working well for several years now (gosh how time flies).
Over the weekend the cat (soon to be the late cat when I catch her) has chewed the charger cable, so I have had to patch it up until I can get a replacement.

Where I'm up to:

Given the lack of availability of spares, the condition of the lamp itself and the price of the MagicShine lights I'm tempted to just buy one to replace it.
I've also been thinking about a dynamo lighting setup, but I've been held back before on the two points:
- Cost
- Lack of flashing mode
- Lack of quick release (on the lamp)
If I did go for dynamo lighting I could get a Hope Vision 1 (or something similar) for the backup bike.
Or if the replacement had a charger I could use with my airbike then that would be a double win, but it is unlikely.

Any advice, suggestions or past experiences you can share would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance.

Malaconotus wrote:Parker have the Deore V-brakes for less than the RRP of the cartridge pads that are included.... http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... n=pid13869 I can't find Alivio cheaper and they have one-piece pads.

I've a hunch only Acera and Deore are distributed aftermarket in the UK now, and the Acera are also one-piece pads, and seem to be an inferior alloy, but are again heavily discounted by Parker to almost the price of the pads they come with... http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... n=pid11434

Don't bother with Deore LX; they are identical in all but colour scheme to the Deore, as I discovered only once I'd bought them.

Thanks for that, I'll look them up. I've been using tripple compound koolstop pads lately, they seem to last a while, long enough for me to not worry about the cost, however odd that might sound.

CREPELLO wrote:I have Alivio standard V's and they are excellent.

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

Brucey wrote:BTW are the cables in good shape? Also a simple experiment is to mount the brake without the springs and just make sure that the pivots aren't binding

It's definitely the springs, as they are coils there's no tweaking I can do, I'll double check I can't move the mount point, but I expect I'll be buying some new Alivio brakes shortly

Brucey wrote:are you sure that springs are in the correct side? If swapped left for right they won't work correctly.

Also note that there are often multiple mounting positions for the springs, maybe this would help?

Finally if you have only just noticed what springs you have, it is a fair bet that you may not have serviced the pivots (edit- and cable). Do this before assuming that the springs are weak; a binding pivot (edit- or cable) can cause exactly what you are seeing.

Deore Vs are pertty good value, work well too BTW

Let me explain myself
It's been a few months since I fiddled with my cheap "station" bike, so I first posted before I remembered which brakes I was talking about, 4 bikes in the shed, all are different. I double checked what I was trying to talk about yesterday, so I'm slightly more clued up now.

As these suckers are coils and the plastic bit they go into is shaped correctly so they fit left side or right side and can't be confused. I did try, I swapped front springs for rear springs and it really is the springs rather than anything else. Some looking around online and as they aren't branded I stand no chance of finding a replacement.

Thanks for the deore suggestion, I'll add them to my shopping list.
I'll also give the mounting position a go, I'm not sure why I haven't already.

Thanks

daddig wrote:Oh if only I could have laid a shocking surprise,would have been worth the health and safety hassle? Though I suppose I could have put a elec shock warning on the door!

If people will (attempt to) steal copper cabling from an electricity substation then I doubt it will deter them.

Malaconotus wrote:I see in the blog post that you've used the 'Sheldon method' of locking the back wheel inside the frame, which arguably undermines the strength of the Fahg lock. Tyre and rim are far more vulnerable than any good D-lock. Defeated in 18 seconds in this video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9fLtdZyX-A

Yes, that is true, there is no room for locking the frame as well, what other method would you suggest?
Whichever way I do it they could always cut 32 spokes and walk off with my Rohloff, that is the most valuable part of the bike and I have no idea how to secure that, any ideas?

Thanks

Thanks for replies.
I took a second look, they don't have an arm, it is a coil spring and some cheap plastic holding it in place.
Comparing with my shimano ones that do have arms, I think they're just some cheap junk and I should replace with better brakes.

Any suggestions for:
1) cheap v-brakes
2) mid range v-brakes

Thanks

The v-brakes on two of my bikes are pretty old and are at the limit of the spring adjustment, I'm struggling to search the internet for replacements as all I get are complete brakes for sale.
So my question is: Can you buy replacement springs or do I have to buy a complete set of v-brakes?

Many thanks.

I've not left my bike anywhere except work and home, neither of which I trust either... I blogged about my new locks recently:
http://timscyclingblog.wordpress.com/20 ... e-cycling/
You're talking a lot of weight for decent locks, it's a trade off I guess, but if you can buy multiple and leave at the office and home, then you avoid having to carrying those kilos around.
I wouldn't leave my Thorn bike anywhere I didn't know, I have a cheap "station" bike I can use, but I rarely due utility cycling, it's all commuting.

See also http://www.lockyourbike.org.uk/how-to-l ... ike-guide/

gilesjuk wrote:Look in the box carefully. I've bought QRs for new wheels only for them to be in the wheel box hidden away.

Thanks for the tip, no luck though

I went for a "Shimano M505 V & Disc Brake Wheel" from Edinburg (http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 731c009304)
at £32.49 it looks a good buy.
No QR skewer was received but it implies one is supplied, but it is a sale item, so I'm not too upset, I'll just buy one separately at some point.

I've done 100 miles on it and it seems OK, a bit fancy for me, but I lock it up anyway, so it should be OK.

Thanks

Nearly forgot to update this... but I found a house number and post code stamped into the frame under the bottom bracket on Monday.
It was only two streets away, so I called around there and yes they had reported the bike stolen and another one too.
So I returned the bike, job done, shame the police weren't interested in checking if the bike that was reported to them was one they were supposed to be looking for.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

I need a new 26" mtb front wheel (v-brakes), possibly for my bike, possibly for the wife's, she doesn't ride much so currently I am using her front wheel.
I commute every day by bike and the distance is probably above average but that is the main use of the bike, so a strong wheel would be nice, but it's not going off road any time soon.
Tyre size is normally 1.5" but could go up or down by 0.25" depending on my mood

Does anyone have any suggestions about where is best to buy one etc?

I looked at the ctc shop / wiggle and saw this looked ok: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-506-race-mtb-front-wheel/
But I'm not sure how much I should be spending on a front wheel.
New isn't important to me as the bike wasn't new to start with, so I am also considering buying second hand but don't want to put money in the pockets of wheel thieves.

Sometimes I would like a dynamo hub, but I already have a decent front light and keep the battery in the bar bag along with some other stuff, so any dynamo suggestions would be good too as I can see me getting one in a year or two anyway.

Thanks in advance.

stewartpratt wrote:It's like building a juggernaut and using the steering rack from a Daewoo Matiz.

You'll never guess what car I have....
lol, not quite, but close.

So, now the problem is obvious isn't it lol