Cycling UK Forum

I've just gone tubeless (150 miles so far) although this is on Stans Grail rims so I can't answer the OP's original question about compatibility
however when looking fort tyres i did find this site http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews
very useful

A while back, I was struggling up Cheddar George, quite a climb, my son having long since disappeared ahead when I was aware of a car slowly overtaking me - at a safe distance. As it became level I glanced across and was confronted by a car load of very cheerful young women who lent out of the windows and called out "come on - nearly there - well done" etc.
Difficult to smile when you are completely knackered but it put a big smile on my face for the rest of the ride.

I have recently notices a scourge of boys on motor scooters bombing about the streets of Bristol, all with enormous Deliveroo boxes on the back.
Yesterday I was forces to avoid collision with three of them riding side by side and shouting at each other. One then ran a red light while the other two stopped on an ASL - clearly oblivious to the meaning of the picture of a bicycle on the ground.
Given that in Nottingham, you can have high quality video of attempted murder going unpunished, I decided not to waste my time reporting the incident. My next thought was insurance - motor policies do not normally cover a vehicle for business purposes and a quick Google revealed that fast food delivery does indeed require the vehicle owner to inform the insurance company of the intended use - premiums are then adjusted. I find it hard to believe that the little tikes I encountered last night had gone to this trouble but I was told by Deliveroo in London that they used a 3rd party company to carry out background checks on all of their drivers before contracting them, these checks included verifying the employee had the correct insurance cover.
The up-shot of all of this is that I was advised that If I wanted to make a complaint about the behaviour of any of the Deliveroo employees I should email
driverops@deliveroo.co.uk
As this company runs operations in many cities across the country I would encourage anyone who encounters Deliveroo people riding dangerously or breaking the law to email the company - to complain that is, not to order a pizza

I looked into the possibility of getting a 'spybike' GPS tracker mentioned by andrew_s after having my bike nicked.
While it would give you peace of mind knowing that your bike was still safe while you are at the cinema or in the pub (you are alerted when the device detects that it is being moved) the question is - what are you going to do about it if it is taken?
example:- Mrs Revolution had her mobile phone stolen. That night the thief took some photos with it in their house - they didn't realise that the pictures uploaded to 'the cloud' and then became viewable on the wife's computer. Not only that, it showed the exact location that the phot had been take. She contacted the police and gave them all of this information. Two weeks later the police called called round to the address and to everyone's amazement the phone was not there.
conclusion - Unless you have relatives in the mafia or you are a 20 stone prize fighter the knowledge of where your bike is would be as good as useless.

Are you a member of Audax UK ?
There are a couple of great 100k rides in the local area.
Jack & Grace Cotton memorial ride on 26th Jan starts at Bradley Stoke and goes up towards Gloucester.
very flat. Also the Tasty Cheddar http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-418/ which leaves the Create Centre and takes you to Portishead, Clevedon, Cheddar George and then Dundry hill. Much more hilly but both really enjoyable rides. You can download these routes for Garmin without being a member of AUK and ride them on your own but I have found the company of fellow - non-competative cyclists makes the rides so much more enjoyable.

Not making judgements on this specific incident but -
I remember a while back, driving my car with Mrs Revolution in the passenger seat. We were going through a village at 30mph. On the pavement to the left, cycling ahead of us was a young lad (older than 7) cycling quite quickly. As I got nearer I slowed to the same speed as the bike leaving a good distance between us and said to Mrs Revolution "you watch, any moment now he's going to bunny hop off the pavement right into the road" and sure enough he did - without incident - as I'd anticipated his action.
The only point I'm making is that as cyclists, being aware of vulnerable road users is second nature to us.

This morning's ritual of listening to Broadcasting House (R4 9am) became very depressing when I was subjected to the insanity of a certain Angela Epstein who - and I quote - said "cyclists use the roads with a sense of entitlement"


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035k7g6

Perhaps I should move up north!
The last time I phoned the cops to report a car that sped past me, dangerously close and shouting abuse out of the window the officer didn't even want to take the reg number. He told me that there was no point as they would not pursue the matter.

I have just bought a new front light in preparation for the winter commutes. This morning, although clear and sunny, I switched it on to flash mode as I went through a village overtaking a line of stationary cars waiting for traffic lights to change. I left the light on and five miles later, cycling through another village at about 20mph, I was aware of a car pulling up to a T junction onto the road ahead of me. To my surprise as I got closer she started to pull out into my path but then stopped abruptly when about half way onto the road. She then wound down the window which was completely fogged up so she could actually see what was coming! I'm guessing that despite me riding a white bike with a bright orange pannier and wearing a bright red top, it was the flashing light which she noticed through her fogged up window. So a warning to everyone - don't assume that the motorist in front is equipped with common sense

I planned a ride from Bristol to Derbyshire, stopping mid way at Stratford Upon Avon. Premier Inn seemed to be reasonably priced for a room. Concerned about where I would put my bike I Googled their bike policy http://www.premierinn.com/en/news/news_category/we-heart-cyclists.html
They sounded pretty pro-bike so I booked a room.
When I arrived I found the staff friendly and helpful, I was allowed to leave my bike in the office ( which I was told was always locked) on the ground floor. My room was clean and comfortable, good shower, good choice of breakfast from 6:30am What more could I want.
So, in summary I was very impressed and would definitely recommend Premier Inn to anyone looking for a stop over while on a cycling tour.

My 16 year old son is showing an interest in cycling. At present he is riding my Claud Butler Dalesman (1990's)
Although I have upgraded it somewhat I am thinking a new bike of the correct size may be better suited to him.
Essentially he needs a bike to travel the 3miles along a cycle path to school on a daily basis so I think the ability to fit mud guards is essential but he also rides 40 - 60k on a weekend with me on the road with some steep hills so drop bars and light-ish weight are important.
My own experience is that cyclocross bikes offer both the practicality of guards, pannier rack etc with a viable road feel. ) Second hand would mean a couple of hundred quid off the cost.
I recon on spending £500 tops - second hand could mean getting a higher spec or pricier bike for that kind of price. Does anyone have any experience / advice / thoughts on what I should be looking at?

I noticed the piece makes a bit of the cycling clothing worn, what difference does that make?

I think the point of mentioning the clothing was that someone may know who they are or even the two cyclists themselves (assuming they are capable of reading) may see the blog and possibly feel some remorse - although that is unlikely.

Also I agree with Ben@Forest -

I don't really think it's specifically a 'fattist' comment. If the rider passed had had no hair the comment would have been 'you bald ****' if they'd been evidently a veteran it would have been 'you old ***'.

The point is how a. unnecessary it is to pass personal comment on a stranger and b. how awful it made her feel.

this (extract) was posted on Facebook AUK group, picked up from a blog https://thelonelycyclist.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/skinny-cyclist-not-likely/

I give a nod to a cyclist who’s passed me twice (I think) and he smiles. Just heading toward Punchbowl now. I’ve no intention of doing anything other than enjoying being out, and with a quick look behind me, I end up just coasting along. Looking left and right, remembering what it was like when it snowed on this bit (no idea why tbh). Two cyclists come past me quite fast, one in black and red Castelli, the other in black and yellow Castelli cafe kit.
‘…off the [rude word removed] road you fat bitch…’

When I read this I was shocked - deep sadness for the person who experienced this and rage for the perpetrator in equal measure.
My assumption that cyclists share a common bond - the love of cycling - that unites us all is obviously naive. I can only imagine that these are the same kind of people who would have shouted racist abuse at black people in the 70's and homophobic abuse at gay people in the 80's. Sadly they haven't gone away.

QR skewers that use a unique key to undo them as well as headset bolts etc. For a price you can make it virtually impossible for anyone to remove the expensive components off your bike.
The skewers do look very well made and I have little doubt in the product but the company !!!!!!
It took 5 weeks from making the order to receiving the bits. I received a curt email after my initial enquiry into the delay and then nothing. 5 emails went unanswered but I consider myself lucky, having read reports of other customers getting nothing after months and then struggling to get their money back.
I would advise anyone thinking of investing the substantial sum on any of the Atomic22 products to be prepared for a long wait, put their trust in god or savetheir money and look for an alternative.

I just saw this on the web site Stolen Bristol Bikes

If you cycle on the roads regularly, chances are you'll have experienced a near miss, such as a very close pass from a driver, someone pulling out from a junction without looking, or even verbal abuse and intimidation.

Now Bristol police have introduced a system for cyclists to report incidents that don't involve a collision or injury. It's hoped that this can contribute to road safety and build up a picture of where incidents are happening most frequently. The information gathered in this was has several uses - for example, it could help identify problems with road design.

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/advice/vehicles-and-roads/cycling/report-a-cycling-near-miss/

not sure how useful this is going to be as they state at the outset that they will not be investigating motorists but building up "useful" data - like 99% of people who drive a Range Rover Evoque are *******'s