Cycling UK Forum

After patchy sun most of the morning we've got a bit of light rain now. Still hardly any wind though.

The general business outlook isn't looking good. BBC News - Firms going bust on track for worst year since 2009

TrevA wrote: ↑16 Oct 2023, 2:16pm Halfords will price match with the internet. I recently got a Cateye AMPP400 for £20.99, the display ticket price was £32. Tredz were selling them £20.99 and Halfords price matched in the shop. They now seem to have reduced the shop price to match the online price. I’ve also done this with tyres, got a Gatorskin for £25, when the display price was £32.

Slightly ironic as Tredz are owned by Halfords so they are effectively price matching themselves!

In other news: https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/ge ... nistration

artemis wrote: ↑3 Oct 2023, 3:25pm

simonhill wrote: ↑2 Oct 2023, 5:49pm What sort of box?
….
Sounds like another Brexit bonus, huzzah!

It’s a hard case.

And yes, it is a Brexit bonus because the operator no longer transports customers’ bikes due to all the regulations/customs/imports/paperwork now required.

When I did a French end-to-end with Bike Adventures back in 2010 we all met at Dover & rode/walked our bikes onto the ferry while the company took the rest of our luggage. AFAIK that's what they still do, although the route across France has changed (& the cost has gone up considerably, as have most prices).

The new Euston to Old Oak Common shuttle

iandusud wrote: ↑19 Aug 2023, 6:09am Just got back from a couple of weeks in France where the Garmin proved itself to be invaluable. I have one query though. Is it possible to turn off the screen mid ride, i.e. when taking a long lunch break, and then resume the ride. This is in navigation mode rather than just recording a ride. I haven't figured out a way of doing it.

What works on my Edge 1030 Plus (& also worked on the 1000) is to press the start/stop button then just a quick press of the power button turns the screen off (if you are still recording the same quick power button press locks the screen).

As an interim step I usually press the on screen back button after pressing stop to go back to the navigation screen to minimise the risk of accidentally saving prematurely or, worse, discarding the current ride.

I can't guarantee that it will work in all circumstances but the Avanti app/website appeared to work OK (apart from the recent period where the bike booking seemed to have disappeared or I was failing to spot it). I booked a journey with a bike that included one part that was non reservable without a problem (journey was Chester to Birmingham New Street - outward was direct TfW service via Shrewsbury, return was Avanti to Crewe & TfW shuttle non-stop to Chester, reservation required on Avanti but no reservation possible on the shuttle)

With regard to railcards I think they are wonderful. It doesn't take many short trips (or sometimes just a single longer one) to recoup the cost. With a little flexibility on timing a return trip from Wigan to Glasgow can be had for under £25, sometimes under £20, getting 1/3 off advance fares even at only a few days notice.

al_yrpal wrote: ↑12 Jul 2023, 9:40am Not all developments for EVs then....
BBC News - New Renault-Geely engine firm to have headquarters in UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66172158

Al

Yes but only the HQ. All the R&D and manufacturing will be at plants in Europe & China.

One cynic (realist?) I saw on Twitter was speculating they might be hiving off the combustion engine side of business into a separate company so it can go bust without damaging the rest.

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑6 Jul 2023, 8:20pm

axel_knutt wrote: ↑6 Jul 2023, 7:13pm

You seem to have a computer that's online.

Yes, but I don't want to be carting a laptop around in the rucksack or pannier.

I'm not sure I follow this. What's the situation in which having a laptop in your pannier would help you buy a train ticket?

Just to add, when I book tickets online via Northern I get emailed copies of the e-tickets as PDFs that I could print out as an alternative to using digital tickets. No need to carry anything apart from the pieces of paper.

Pendodave wrote: ↑6 Jul 2023, 4:13pm If you have access to Twitter, just send them a note along with your ticket info. If there's a space they'll reply with a bike reservation.
In my experience, within 30 mins and often quicker

For general tickets it's not usually been a problem just to turn up & sort a ticket & reservation on the spot. But if I want an advance fare AND a bike reservation I need to know both are available at the same time. I was pleased with how simple it was to do in May so was puzzled that the option didn't seem to be there online.

Does it make a difference if you're after an advance ticket? I've not tried that option yet, although was planning a trip soon. Fortunately I should still have the ticket office option as my local station, Horwich Parkway, is TfGM run & isn't currently on the list of closures (yet at least?).

Re: use of apps to do bike reservations.

I used booked a trip in may using Avanti (I think I used tha app but may have done it via their website). It was straightforward & easy to get the bike reservations booked, just had to pick up tickets from station, which worked fine.

This week I attempted to book a trip (same day) & couldn't find anywhere in the app to add the bike reservations (part of the trip was Avanti) so I just got tickets at the station. I've subsequently tried going through bookings for the same trip next week (in case it was baulking at being too near to departure) on both the app & website & still can't see an option to book any bike reservations. The help says it should be in "Travel Extras". Am I just being dense (could easily be) or has the option disappeared?

cycle tramp wrote: ↑28 Jun 2023, 11:19pm

Mick F wrote: ↑28 Jun 2023, 3:29pm Another rule, is to put your elbow against the saddle-nose, and your finger-tips should just touch the handlebars.

And another one, is to sit on the bike and lean against a wall or something, and pedal backwards using your heels on the pedals. Your legs should be straight on the bottom of each pedal-stroke.

Rules of thumb perhaps, but they work for me.

Blimey, I thought it was just me who used those rules (although because I like a more up right position - for me my finger tips are just over the front of the stem)

That doesn't work for me. My finger tips only reach just beyond the front of the top of the head tube & about 65mm from the back edge of my bars.

Richard Fairhurst wrote: ↑5 Jun 2023, 11:56am

RickH wrote: ↑28 May 2023, 2:56pm Would it be possible to be able to clear/delete a route when you've only defined the start.

Yes - this should be working now!

Albeit slightly belatedly, thank you.

For my next query...

When I send routes via Garmin Connect they alway get the speed set to 15.6mph (which the pesky "Virtual Partner" that you can't disable goes off at). And you can't edit CT course in Garmin Connect either. Up until now I just thought that was how it is & didn't bother too much about it.

However. I was attempting to download a preset route from another site a couple of weeks ago (Plotaroute I think) & the download options for TCX & FIT files have an option to set the speed (which also defaulted to 15.6mph). That got me wondering if there is a way to alter the speed for routes sent to GC to match the speed set in one's CT profile?

Again not a big problem & I don't know if it is actually possible.

Richard Fairhurst wrote: ↑11 Jun 2023, 8:08pm richardfm's link looks like it covers it! You should be able to open a GPX or TCX generated by c.t in the Wahoo app, and then send it from there to your device.

Unfortunately Wahoo's API (the programming interface to connect to their system) doesn't currently support track upload, and when I've contacted them they've not been receptive to opening it up. Please do tell Wahoo you'd like this to be possible - I'm more than willing to do the work on the c.t side, but I can't do that until Wahoo enable it.

It seems odd when it is so easy to do with a Garmin via the Garmin Connect app (presumably because Garmin have opened things up to 3rd parties).