Cycling UK Forum

kwackers wrote:Visibility is: contrast, movement and being different.

I remember being told of research (back in the 90s, I think, small scale rather than anything extensive) into the difference in drivers' reactions to cyclists comparing those in plain tops with those with writing on.

The result was that those with writing on appeared to be "seen" better. There was debate was into why this, if true, should be the case. Was it because tops with writing implied to drivers serious "team" riders who you would expect to be going faster (so less likely to have cars pull out in front)? Or was it the writing itself - subconscious reading of the writing making driver more aware of the cyclist and/or the mixture of colours (usually bright in the case of trade/pro type tops) helps to not blend into the background.

I have a couple of Foska "Test Dummy" tops which I like mainly for the tongue-in-cheek design (and is my top of choice for long mountain descents! ) but wonder if the "Keep Clear" provides at least a subconscious message to drivers.

stephen wrote:if it's a cold push fit whats to stop it from falling off?

Probably the small bolt you took out of the centre of the shifter when you were dismantling it. At least that's how they used to be I think - its been a long time since I had downtube shifters.

Rick

RichardPH wrote:Much talk of cable cutters, but they are really quite expensive and not exactly a multi-task tool!

I've had a pair of these (or something very similar) for quite a while now. They seem to work fine & I don't consider £11 to be particularly expensive.

Ricardo wrote:The braille thing is hilarious, loved that!

It is amusing, like the intercom/keypad to get into a school carpark not too far away from me has Braille buttons!

But, to be a spoilsport, from conversation I had elsewhere - it is probably just that once they redesign the buttons to add Braille it is easier to just use one set of buttons rather than have Braille & non-Braille ones.

Although the "Braille everywhere" can go awry if repairs are done by non Braille readers (or people who don't think of the consequences). I heard of one enterprising lift repairman who caused confusion by using an upside down Brailled "up" button to replace a broken "down" button.

Rick

yes, Yao Ming's 'Abomination' to me is just crying out for a longer back end with the sloping downtube extending into a second set of seatstays to help stiffen up the back and, as has been already said bringing the CoG more towards the middle of the bike.

Sierra Trekking wrote:I'm thinking more of less popular areas where I can nip off the road for a 'discreet' camp or 2.

Can't really comment about the 'discreet' camping but I am continually surprised by how many quiet routes you can find, sometimes within a stone's throw of urban areas or 'honeypots' that attract the crowds. At the risk of banging on about it, my experience of the Lancashire Cycleway was of generally quiet country roads and small villages, not the fact that I was skirting major urban areas like Blackpool, Preston, Lancaster, etc. I think the grand metropolis of Carnforth is the biggest town you actually ride through in nearly 130 miles on the northern loop.

The same applies to other areas of the country that I've cycled in and I have commented as such to those I've been riding with - some people complain about our Britain being overcrowded but many places have miles of quiet lanes & villages just off the "beaten track".

Rick.

I did the northern loop of the Lancashire Cycleway as 1-nighter (80 flat Fylde miles + 60 hilly Pennine ones) last summer and thoroughly recommend it. Stayed at Gibraltar Farm, Silverdale which I also recommend. as a solo cyclist they are unlikely to turn you away, although they tend to boom up if you want a caravan or trailer tent spot.

For several years I did the school run for a friend's little boy (now not so little). For that I would, for the most part do the solo bits by bike and then push it when we were walking together (as seen on Google Streetview ). Usually I would pack a pair of sandals or trainers for the walking bit.

If we needed to get somewhere after school we would use the tandem as it was quicker than both walking and driving.

Rick.

PDQ wrote:As soon as you hear any grating /grinding swop braked wheel.

All well and good except when you have to negotiate the final 1/4 mile to get home down a winding sunken lane (i.e.limited visibility) that is 20%+ in places (the rest is around 14%) with a sharp bend near the end (which happens to also be the steepest part) having ridden all the way home in the wet! It usually needs both brakes most of the time in the wet to make sure the speed is low enough so I can stop if there's a car coming up!

My next bike will have discs.

Mick F wrote:

The Light version of our proven Evolution pedelec helmet is made for the use in urban areas and offers 10 air vents, low weight and an inmolded insect net. The visor is detachable and adjustable and consists of a spheric lens which is optically correct for a distortion free view. .................... Weight: 350g

Light version?
Low weight?

350g isn't light for a helmet, in fact I reckon it's heavy!
My Specialized helmet weighs 240g ie the Evolution is nearly 50% heavier than mine.

It is lighter than their non-light version which weighs a neck straining 490g.

Brucey wrote:But all-weather use is hard on rims, for sure.

I live part way up a steep, gritty hill (where the most convenient way to get home is generally to approach from the top) and find that my rims (Mavic Open Pros on the main bike) need replacing about every 18 months. I got a tandem with disk brakes in 2010 and those are so much better (but no help in this instance to Smithers).

I don't know if it will affect rim wear but fairly recently I swapped from the Fibrax brake pads I was using to some XLC ones (3-tone but I don't know if that is just cosmetic), bought form my LBS, and found they don't seem to produce as much of that grey "sludge" that I was getting after a long wet ride (not that there have been many opportunities for those recently).

I've read that the wear "lip" you get is exaggerated by the fact that the sides of the rims start to bend as there is less metal to resist the outward pressure from the tyre.

Rick.

Steady rider wrote:Mr Cameron salary is about £142k per year. Roughly £100k would have been taxed at 50% previously, now it will be taxed at 45%, so he gains about £5000 per year if I have the sums near (not including other possible income).

As a charity the first priority for the CTC should be helping those in need. Giving the Cameron's family membership is not acting as a charity.

A couple of point of accuracy.

• The 50% tax is only on income over £150,000, I think you are mixing this up with the 40% rate on taxable income over £35,000.
• The reduction in the 50% rate to 45% is from April 2013 so the change is still 12 months away.

Rick

Ayesha wrote:I found the problem with cycling specific 'wrap round' specs with inserts was as soon as I stopped, they'd fog up.
I couldn't be bothered with any anti fog spray or alike.
I wear normal glasses that stand off my face so have good ventilation. I Audax, commute and Timetrial; and they give no problems.

"Horses for courses" as they say - I find that if I don't wear wrap around glasses I get streaming eyes and a running nose as soon as I'm moving at any speed.

I've not found much problem with fogging apart from in 2 situations:-

• Sometimes in cold weather when stopped at traffic lights, probably because of a longer than normal sudden stop, which clears as soon as I get moving again.
• In cool, damp, misty, rainy weather (i.e. British summer! ) where the problem is as much condensation on the outside of the lens as fogging inside. In this instance I will sometimes unclip the outside lenses & just leave the prescription insert.

Rick.

I've had Bolle in the past & was pleased with them. I've been using Rudy Project Rydons with a "clear" photochromic lens & varifocal insert for several years now. I can read instructions/maps/ bike computer readings as well as seeing the road ahead and they change with the conditions & are perfectly great for riding in bright sunshine, at night & all conditions in between.

Rick.

Assuming no injuries caused by a failure, I think the main problem with carbon fibre is that when it does give way it tends to do so by breaking whereas steel (& to some extent aluminium alloys) will tend to bend significantly before they actually break.

Out in the back of beyond with a bent frame or fork there is at least the possibility of gentle riding or pushing, whereas a sheared carbon frame or fork probably wouldn't leave much scope for anything other than carrying or calling out help. In the past I've had both a steel frame (1970s Dawes 531) and an alloy frame (1980s Vitus 979) which both sustained significant dents in a tube and survived for years of riding afterwards. The Dawes fell against the post at the bottom of the bannisters in the house and dented the top tube, the Vitus got a dent in the drive side chainstay in transit. I suspect carbon fibre parts wouldn't have come off so lightly.

OTOH if the carbon fork does genuinely have lowrider mounts it ought to be OK but it is probably best to make sure that they aren't just unusually located mudguard eyelets (Kinesis had some that were the latter in their range but they seem to have dropped them now).

Rick.