Cycling UK Forum

jdthebrit wrote: ↑15 Jun 2023, 7:28pm .....Nothing in UK law will allow such efficiency up hills.....

Incorrect. UK law allows many such things. It even allows yours (it's called a motorcycle) but also requires a licence, insurance, a registration document, MOT certificate, numberplate and that you wear a crash helmet if you want to ride it on the road.

what will you do in the winter - charging the battery in sub zero temperatures is bad?

One thing to watch out for: if you find a way to apply enough force to turning the pedal axle you can strip the crank threads. It will then turn but not extract unless you use a ball joint puller too. You'll then have a good pedal and a crank that needs a thread insert to repair it. Don't ask me how I know this.

IME some points (I'm still running 9 and 10 speed Campag):

You've got a short cage mech so it will have trouble handing the chain wrap for a triple.

13/28 and 14/28 9 speed Campag cassette were still available last time I looked (recently), technically too big for a short mech but will work on most frames.

Campag 8 speed spacing was the same as 7 speed (5mm), Shimano 8 speed is 4.8 mm. Neither a Campag 8 speed or any Shimano cassette will fit on your freehub.

You can get a Jtek Shiftmate (SJS Cycles) that will allow your Campag shifters to run a Shimano cassette if you change the wheel. What size big sprocket you'll be able to run will be a matter of experiment.

Changing the chainset to a sub compact (46/30 or even 42/26) will probably work, Campag front mechs are fairly forgiving. In the worst case you could try a MTB front mech - Ergo front shifters weren't indexed then and the cable pull isn't dissimilar to Shimano MTB. Edit: You'll need to change the BB to 'cos Campag is ISO tapers and everything is pretty much JIS now.

52/42 and 13/23 is what I used 40 years ago - I wouldn't dream of doing it now unless I rode in Norfolk on a calm day!

peterb wrote: ↑10 Apr 2023, 12:04pm ......Most of the odds and ends I bought from Rose (and other EU suppliers) were (and still are) simply not available from the cycling 'boutiques' in this country. Brave new world - less choice, higher prices! Sad...

Exactly. Brexit idiocy.

The width and squidginess will depend on the width of the rim and the tyre pressure. I've ridden them on 559x19 rims and didn't notice any. I never measured the actual width when I had them but it looked about what I was expecting, no photos sorry.

Cowsham wrote: ↑16 Jan 2023, 11:51am Here's the first one I Googled
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?tskit.

I've googled this one and been briefly excited. But it's an old webpage for a product they don't sell anymore. There are no links to this page from their homepage. My googling hasn't found anything else, I'd be interested if anyone else has.

Just to clear this up. A screw is a sexual activity and a bolt is running away afterwards.

Stodd and Cowsham - many thanks for the useful input. I'm pretty familiar with the Whoosh offerings but the Yose ones are in the frame too now.

Cowsham wrote: ↑12 Dec 2022, 2:31pm Try the yose power kit ( about £400 -- to NI it'll be cheaper to England ) on a decent second hand bike

Looks interesting - is it a geared hub motor? Their site didn't seem to say.

I'd guess that the functional eyesight requirements for cycling aren't much more than for jogging i.e. the person themself (or their parents if a minor) is best placed to assess their vulnerability and if they get it wrong then they place others at little risk.

Cowsham wrote: ↑20 Aug 2022, 9:02pm
You have run down a rabbit hole in order to prove your point -- the simple fact is -- unless you're disabled or have an exempt vehicle, if you want to drive on the road you have to pay road tax no matter what other taxes you pay.

At present that doesn't apply to cycling.

Yes if you're paying other taxes and they may or may not contribute to the building and maintaining of roads that alone does not qualify you to drive your non exempt vehicle.

You see I didn't say road tax pays for the road maintenance I said " Motorists pay to use the road" we cyclists do not pay to use the road -- we might pay to maintain them via our taxes if we pay taxes but we don't have to pay to use them. Therein lays the difference.

I don't ride on fast roads because I think it's not worth the risk -- I've come to the conclusion don't like pain and hospitals.

Let's try again.

1. There is no such thing as "road tax" - it only exists in some peoples imaginations.

2. Every taxpayer pays for the roads whether they use them or not (so by definition tax paying cyclists pay to use the road).

Consider this too. I pay VED on my car and my van, so by your logic I've paid "road tax" to use the road so surely I've paid (again) to cycle on it.

Cowsham wrote: ↑20 Aug 2022, 6:30pm You're clutching at straws now.

How about addressing the points raised? I did.

Cowsham wrote: ↑20 Aug 2022, 1:34pm Cyclists on benefits do not pay to cycle on the roads.

I'm not sure you understand what you type. People on benefits still pay VAT. Some benefits run alongside other earnings that attract taxation (the state pension is a stand out example). People on benefits may well have paid tax in the past and/or pay tax in the future. On the incomes I pay tax I only physically pay it once a month - does this mean on the other days I'm cycling on the roads for free?

Cowsham wrote: ↑20 Aug 2022, 10:35am Motorists pay to use the roads........

Tosh. Every tax payer pays for the roads. The costs of motoring way exceed the revenue raised through VED.