Cycling UK Forum

Good point, well made. Details added to my post.

Thanks!

MO as follows:

Securely locked rear garage door jemmied open, damaging door and door jamb.

Cables (too thin, obviously) securing bikes to wall brackets cut.

This was one of three similar thefts within a few hundred yards of each other the same night. Only bikes were taken despite other items being "available" once the door was opened.

Local police say that there is an increasing trend to target garages, as these can contain relatively high value items such as bikes and power tools whilst they tend to have lower security than houses. They also speculated that it was likely to be a local theft, with passers by looking for bikes when cruising past and the front garage doors open. They also warned of a likely re-visit in a few weeks, on the basis that I may have replaced the bikes by then. Insurance assessor confirmed all these points. Portable angle grinders are now being used to cut security chains, etc.

Merida 903 Road race 2010
Frame size medium
Red and black
Frame markings under BB:
WC909
384EBR
BI 1582


Merida Cyclocross 2010
Frame size 55
White with blue flashes and script
Frame markings under BB:
WC970
141 EBR
BI 1582

Commencal Combi disc MTB 2009
Frame size Large
Black with blue script
Frame markings under BB:
0903001
D85C03710
YF-023

I would really appreciate anyone with info contacting the Camberley Police on 0845 125 2222 - the crime reference is SH105856 - and dropping me a note via forum messages.

Thanks for looking.......

This is where belt drives and hub gears make sense!

Hi,

I bought some Altura Boulder Cycling Trousers and a Zefal Doowah tie to stop the right trouser leg mixing with the chainrings. The trousers aren't vented and do get a bit sticky on long rides. But they keep me warm and dry (in the sense of keeping rain out!) so work for me. Also have various pockets which are useful, and cover the top of my shoes.

HTH.

CC

Hi,

Having had to replace 2 cassettes when I had allowed the chain to stretch too far (more than 1%) I now measure and change chains routinely at 0.75% stretch. If the chain wears further then I found that it wore the cassette to match the new chain spacing, with the result that when I eventually fitted a new chain it slipped round the rear cogs. I couldn't see any obvious hooking on the cassettes I replaced either but they were definitely worn vs. the new ones.

Basically the old worn chains matched the old worn cassettes and didn't slip.

Now taking the view that chains are both easy to replace and cheap vs. cassettes.

A friend has recommended Wippermann (sp?) chains - he says they may last longer - so I might try those. More expensive than the Shimano though. They do have quicklinks for even easier changes.

CC

Edited to add: the HG53 is a lightweight 9 speed chain and I guess is fairly fragile. They do get hammered, I do a lot of hill climbing in high-ish gears standing on the pedals.

Hi,

Some good advice above IMHO on changing the stem for your riding position, locking the forks if you can, and seeing how it goes before you fork (sorry) out on lots of other bits.

Tyres - I fitted these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Schwa ... 360042609/
to my MTB for mixed road / path / firebreak off road use and they are OK. Solid line down the centre which makes them much quieter on road and gives excellent front braking compared to the older knobblies I had. Not as good as the knobblies on really tough offroad conditions of course.

I've used the Schwalbe Marathons on another bike and they are fine tyres for road and light off road use, as has been said.

HTH.

CC

Hi Simon,

Some choices will be down to you (flat vs drop bars for example).

I can only pass on my choices and why... so here goes. Bought my first dedicated road bike earlier this year, basically a sportive-spec bike, very light, skinny tyres, carbon fork. Great, fast, bike but not one for wet conditions and no lugs for racks or mudguards. Was going through components at a fair rate (tyres in particular) as I ride 200+ miles a week.

Decided to look for a bike (I wanted drop bars to give alternative riding positions on long rides) that would be robust, capable of doing lots of miles in all weathers and had lugs for racks and mudguards. Eventually discovered cyclocross bikes, and found one that fitted the bill. The one I bought is described in the link below, and was available from my excellent local bike shop at a very good price. It's about 15% lower (easier) geared than my sportive-spec bike, making hills a doddle, relatively. It works well off road too, on tracks and paths (not serious mtb trails obviously).

http://www2.merida-bikes.com/en_GB/Bikes.Detail.180

I replaced the rather flimsy cyclocross tyres and tubes with Scwalbe inners and these brilliant tyres (32c) which are very grippy, good in the wet and don't seem to wear. Also they seem to be bulletproof (no sign of punctures or damage in 2.2k miles): http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Vitto ... 360035184/

I've ridden 2200 miles in 15 weeks on the bike. Only item that seems to wear is the chain, Shimano HG53, which stretches to 0.75% (when I replace chains) in about 1200 miles. They only cost £10 (ish) and are easy to replace. I'll probably need to replace the front brake pads soon too.

HTH.

CC

Hi,

According to the Q&A on this page, near the bottom of P1:
http://answers.halfords.com/answers/402 ... htm?page=2
the answer is yes.

Q: Would I be able to use Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite Tyre 700 x 23 on this bike?
A: Yes it would be possible. It would result in a very slim tyre giving excellent road speed but a harder ride and make the bike more vulnerable to punctures as would any thinner road tyre

Good luck!

CC

Acceleration (in a car) is also IMHO very important in getting past a cyclist safely. I hate drivers dawdling past me and then having to pull in too early to avoid someone coming the other way. This happens on numerous occasions. I really wish they would get their foot down a bit more to get a clean and safe pass.

Snigbo - sorry to hear about your injury. I think that you and I may have to agree to disagree, though, on the efficacy of a cycling helmet if you have a crash at speed. And on the latter I'm speaking from personal experience, where a crash at speed last year left me with minor leg and shoulder injuries, a damaged helmet but a head that was uninjured.

Graham - excellent suggestion IMHO. Nice one.

Driver education is vital IMHO. I took my IAM test a few years ago. The number of bad riving habits I had picked up in the years since taking my test was really worrying. Which makes me think that driver refresher tests should be introduced, but I won't hold my breath there.

However the pass-plus test should be made compulsory IMHO. The current driving test is simply inadequate. Motorways? no. Driving at night? No. Ridiculous.

If CTC were to campaign on these issues, I would suggest (in order of increasing difficulty, and indeed cost):
1. A joint activity with the IAM to include specific elements of cyclist awareness (if you see what I mean) in their training and test. Would help to counter the motorists hate cyclists (and vice versa) perceptions that are around too. The IAM seem to be very constructive towards cycling issues.
2. Make increased levels of cycle awareness part of the driving theory test.
3. Make pass-plus obligatory, and include as suggested earlier a cycle-riding proficiency test in addition to cyclist awareness.
4. Make it obligatory for schools to teach every child the basics of safe cycling.

Just my 2ps worth.

I'm told that I sound like a steam engine when cycling up steep hills. I hope it's not catching.

There are loads of conflicting statistics out there. I was only pointing out the ultimate failure of the "no compulsory wearing of seatbelts" campaign, nothing more.

I think that a non-confrontational approach is the way forward. I actually met some of the Headway people, carers, victims of head injury and their families a few years ago at a charity event. It was very moving. The devastation caused to families by having a family member with severe head injuries cannot be adequately explained here. Whilst I can understand what they are trying to do (from their perspective), I think that promoting cycling as a healthy and *relatively* safe pastime / sport is very sensible.

I would advise great care, though, in the use of statistics such as "deaths per mile travelled" in your alternative campaign. For those interested I have, on the other thread and based on numbers given there proved to my satisfaction at least that cycling is significantly riskier for me than walking is.

And I can pretty much predict counter-arguments right now, for example "if one death or serious injury is prevented then it is worth making helmets compulsory, even for short journeys to the shops". You'll need to counter that somehow, and not just by attempting to prove that it would reduce the numbers of people cycling.

Just a couple of other thought. I know from personal experience that cycling helmets are not seen as "cool" by some. That may explain why the numbers of cyclists reduces if helmets are compulsory. Could any campaign attempt to counter that (it will be a long-term campaign if so)? Also, would the vehemence of opposition to compulsion on here rule out recommending the use of helmets when riding on busy roads? When not on cycle paths?? See what I mean - this might come across as more constructive and even less confrontational.

hth.

Greetings,

Another newbie, have been browsing here for a while and thought I would join in. So first post. Please be gentle with me! Hope you like my forum name (any thermodynamicists for example). Although I do admit to being a keen driver / IAM member and have taught others on the IAM way - observation skills etc.. If only more drivers followed that creed. And cyclists too, actually.

Just a couple of observations over your recent spat with alanbr. I can see his point, and even agree with him in the main, as I always wear a helmet too. Allow me to explain, using numbers from irc's post yesterday.

From the numbers given, walking is (in terms of deaths per distance travelled) 1.28 times riskier than cycling, and motorcycling is 3.67 times riskier than cycling. Now, I don't have a motorcycle these days (banned by the better half) but I do a lot of cycling, probably in excess of 8000 miles this year. This includes a few sportives and time trials. I've had a think about how many miles I walk in a year, and honestly cannot see how it can exceed 500. And that is probably too high. But let's use that to be conservative. Therefore, leaving aside the risk of walking vs cycling for me personally, I am 8000/(500x1.24) times more at risk of having a fatal injury when cycling rather than walking. That is, I am 12.9 times more likely to have a fatal injury cycling vs. walking.

If I then factor in the relative risk of my walking vs my cycling. I would contend that cycling on a fast bike in traffic is far riskier than my usual walks, even if I include walking a stretch of the N Devon coastal path this summer. Statistically, I have at least one bike incident a year, so far without serious injury, fortunately. To the best of my memory I have never had a fall when out walking or running in 30 years. So if I use those numbers, biking is infinitely riskier than walking (for me)!

alanbr would have the same risk if he travelled 1360 miles on a motorbike as he would his stated 5000 miles on a pedal cycle.

BTW, I have no problem with the personal choice argument. It's just that I choose always to wear a helmet, and I hope that the above calculation helps explain; in fact, it's interesting to have the numbers given on this topic. Note however that the same "personal choice" argument was used in attempts to counter wearing seatbelts and also helmets when on a motorcycle. And look what happened there.

Over to Bob's new topic now.