Cycling UK Forum

With all phones, battery life and operating performance are a function of two things: hardware and software. Obviously, there's nothing you can do about the hardware - if you have a huge power-guzzling screen and a small battery, then you'll need to be charging it frequently. Software is another matter though. The software that operates an Android phone is called the ROM, and for most handsets you have a choice of ROMS, either official or custom-made by enthusiasts.

Different ROMs can have dramatically different battery-life, functionality and stability. For example, my Android phone came with an 'Orange' ROM which was completely hopeless in all respects. I replaced it with a custom ROM and I now seriously claim my £70 phone can perform as well as an iPhone in most respects. Plus, I've bought 3 spare batteries for mine (an option not available to iPhone users) so i'm good for a week's touring using GPS. It never crashes and runs all applications faultlessly.

So my advice would be to explore alternative ROMs before swapping phones. It's very quick and easy to do if you've got a beginners guide. These can be found on the various Android forums, which have sections dedicated to ROMs for your specific handset. Just google 'Modaco' or 'XDA developers' to find the two main forums.

It's rare to get a reaction like the OP has in this case. Normally, people walk round in their own little bubble and unintentionally block our route - once they've woken up to the fact that they're going to have to give us space to get past, it's normally not a problem. The problem is, they're lost in conversation, and they don't spot the fact that they're blocking the path until annoyingly late.

I have my own strategy for dealing with this. Although people's conscious minds may be tied up in conversation, their subconscious is working away behind the scenes looking for danger. If you cycle towards one of those people looking the other way, pretending not to have seen them, they'll immediately realise that there's a strong possibility of collision and move to one side. It's the same when you're walking along the pavement and a group 2 or 3 are walking towards you forming a human wall: all you have to do is move to the wall-side of the pavement. That way, they can see you have got nowhere else to go and they'll have to go single-file to get past. If you stay on the kerb-side of the pavement, the majority of the time, they'll float on 3-abreast, blissfully unaware of the fact that you've had to step into the road to get past.

Si wrote:

DevonDamo wrote:Bamboo fibre material has the same non-stinking properties as Merino.

Aldi did bamboo tee shirts a while back. Dunno if they really had bamboo in them but I use them for the commute and then continue to wear them in work because they are excellent at not being smelly.

Snap! (They were labelled as being Bamboo, so I'm sure they were - a national chain store isn't going to risk fake gear or false advertising.) It's by far the most comfortable tee-shirt I've got, and I've worn it for a few days on tours without it, or my companions, ever complaining.

If you want a full-sized bike that packs away, have a look for a Ritchey Breakaway or the Dahon version - the Tournado.

(I agree with the above posts about Alu not being the spine-jarring nightmare it's reported to be, but for what it's worth, the above bikes are cromo.)

Bamboo fibre material has the same non-stinking properties as Merino. I seen to recall that silk has too, but probably not cheap

I've got this type of grip on both my bikes, and they make a huge difference - prior to getting them, I'd been seriously considering selling my lovely new straight-forked hybrid bike because of the white tingling fingers and painful palms after a blast along a rough road. These grips completely transform the ride - it's like having suspension: as soon as you hit the rough stuff, you roll your hands back so the heel of your palm is pressing on the flared wing at the rear of the grip, and it soaks up all the shocks. However, I didn't buy the Ergon ones: I've got one set of Specialized brand grips for £17 and a pair Lidl for £7. They both work equally flawlessly.

TonyR wrote:The problem for me is less the high power light that lasts 3 hrs on a full charge because I know it needs charging regularly. Its the be seen front flasher and the two rear lights that have battery lives in the 50-100 hours bracket and get forgotten about.

Good point - tis the same with my diving torches. The short-burn high-intensity lights get charged after every dive, but the long-burn back-up torches sit in my pocket for months or years and there's the risk that they'll be flat when I actually need them.

For my bike, I've found a good solution. These: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wind-Up-Bicycle-Bike-Light-Set-Front-Rear-FREE-P-P-/390261103485?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item5add5fdb7d (They can be charged with a normal charger, but if you get stuck while you're out at night, just whip the front one off, wind it up for two minutes, and it will power both the front and back lights for half an hour. They're reasonably bright for cheapo lights. Good mounting system too.)

My suggestion would be a mega bright head torch. You don't have to spend a fortune for something insanely powerful - around a tenner on ebay gets you this: >http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-5W-CREE-Q5-LED-HEADLAMP-FLASHLIGHT-18650-CH-/330465178301?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item4cf14272bd< which I'm extremely happy with.

I also use a cheap-but-bright cree headlight on my bike. I find that's good enough on it's own, but with the head-torch, you're laughing.

For being seen at night, the best thing is bright clothing and reflectors. The brightest light-source in a dark lane will be car headlights, so make use of them.

Very complicated subject. There is definitely an effect whereby if you are unfit, unhealthy, stressed or run-down, you spend more time in bed but get poor-quality sleep. However, what you're experiencing could also be caused by your body needing time to wind down after your last ride, your body-clock drifting
backwards or exposure to certain types of bright light/stimulants close to your normal bedtime.

Get down to Wilkinsons and buy their £10 front and back light set. It has 3 selling points (the last of which is why it's relevant in this thread):

1. It's quite bright for a cheapo product.
2. The front lamp both powers and controls the rear, i.e. you can set them both to on/off/flash just by moving the switch on the front lamp.
3. If your lights die, take the front lamp off and wind it up for 2 mins for 30 mins of lighting.

I've had mine for about a year now and really value them as a get-out-of-jail card if my main light fails.

Is this thread not becoming more complicated than it needs to be?

The OP has given one of the most extreme examples I've heard of a problem caused by sitting on your squashy bits. He's already visited the quack to rule out more serious problems. He's experimented with adjustment and tried a few different saddles, but never any of the type which were specifically designed for his problem. These are not everyone's cup of tea, but surely in this case they are THE solution as they entirely eliminate contact between your knackers and the saddle.

I selected mine on the basis of a small amount of internet research and then bought it off Ebay for around £60. I've already given a recommendation (plus an installation-tip) for mine earlier in this thread. You will find lots of discussion of the pros and cons of other types online.

Even if you don't agree with the research suggesting a strong link between this problem and erectile-dysfunction, you are obviously in serious need of one on grounds of comfort alone. Why not just get one?

It wasn't a Halfords-bashing comment: I get most of my cycling nick-nacks from my local Halfords bargain bucket and from Wilkinsons. I was trying to give the OP an idea about how comprehensive the Bikehub database is.

I've got the free Bikhub application on my Android smartphone. It has a find-a-bikeshop function which seems very comprehensive - I found one I didn't know about in Plymouth 500 yards from my front door! I have yet to come across an independent bike shop it hasn't listed - it doesn't do Halfords.

I absolutely agree with the advice to seek medical attention - this sounds like an unusually severe reaction considering the amount of adjustment you've already made.

So... once you've visited your GP and got a clean bill of health, buy a noseless. I have the IST Touring. I had to extend a slot on my seat clamp with a metal file to allow the seat to be angled down sufficiently. Now this has been done, it is supremely comfortable and there is no pressure at all on my groin. I would not now use any other saddle type. Scare-stories about loss of handling are baseless - I've misjudged my line and almost veered off the track, but managed to avoid disaster just as easily as with my old saddle.

Si wrote:With older forks or, possibly, el-cheapo forks, there might well still be the potential for problems.

Interesting. I've got a 2010 Kona bike which does have 'lawyer lips' on the drop outs, but they don't seem any longer than normal. I bought it second-hand and the front skewer had been replaced with a 'boutique' skewer. After my usual training route, which involves the mother of all steep descents, the front wheel would always have shifted in the forks and the lever would have moved slightly. I've replaced it with an enclosed-cam skewer, and that's not budged so far, although I haven't had a chance to really beast it yet.

Graham O wrote:Been reading this thread with interest, but can't think of many touring frames with disc mounts etc. Any suggestions/recommendations?
Thanks.

Not a 'touring' frame, but I tour my Kona Dew Deluxe and think it's the mutt's nuts. I'm happy with flat bars with bar-ends, although the Dew Drop would be worth considering if you want drops. You can fit front and rear pannier racks, despite the discs. It's not mega-light, but I find it much faster than my other lighter bike - which I suspect is because the wheel rims are lighter. The straight forks were painful on my hands when I first got it, but since I fitted ergo grips, that's not been a problem. The brakes are exceptionally smooth and mega powerful: fully loaded, rocketing down a steep twisty descent, I wouldn't want anything else.