Cycling UK Forum

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi,

DaveGos wrote:Yesterday I had no breakfast and did 95 miles with one stop for a slice of carrot cake and a coffee. I did amaze even myself on that one. Also was a cold windy day and I did a few hills as well.

I'm a numpty and anybody can do that, but is that your best advice

I'm not even a numpty, then, because I've never done that. There might be a clue there, though. I figure it's better to eat nothing, or next to nothing (not that it's advisable), than to eat sweet sugary stuff on an empty stomach and with nothing else. From my sketchy knowledge of physiology, you get what I think is called an 'insulin response' - your blood sugar soars and then plummets - and you finish up worse off than if you'd eaten nothing. I've never 'bonked'; that might just mean I haven't gone far enough or tried hard enough, but I have a suspicion that bonking can be a result of too many quick release carbs and too few slow release, without a 'foundation'. It's like lighting a paper fire and expecting it to keep you warm for hours; and flinging more and more paper on to the fire isn't really the answer.

FWIW, IME and all that, hummus is like rocket fuel for cyclists, if you like that sort of food, provided you make it yourself - store-bought stuff is rubbish. Trick is to make it real thick, like a stiff spread, rather than a dip the way chefs make it. Here's the recipe:

Soak enough dried chick peas to cover a medium sized pan (if you're making enough for one long ride) overnight (tins or cartons of chick peas are tasteless, so try not to use them).
Next day, bring them to boil, skim off the scum, turn the heat down, put the lid on the pan and simmer until they're cooked (just over an hour or so - they'll split, and the water should be almost used up - again, chefs tend to cook them far too long and cook out the goodness).
[WARNING: Don't go out and leave them on until they've boiled dry and set off the fire alarm - the numpties from my local fire brigade smashed my door down when that happened... But trust me, this is worth the risk, as long as you're careful / not a numpty like me. ]
Let the chick peas cool then blitz them in a food processor with the juice of two to three lemons, two to three cloves of garlic, a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a whole pack of parsley or coriander (or half parsley, half coriander), or whatever you like, plus salt to taste.
Add up to a whole jar of Tahini (pulped sesame seeds) - you can buy it in Holland and Barrett, among other health shops, and sometimes Morrisons, I think - either 'light' or 'dark' Tahini, although I think maybe the dark stuff releases slower - enough until the food processor motor is beginning to struggle, anyway.
Put slices of wholemeal pitta bread (wholemeal releases slower than white, I think) in the toaster or under the grill until the inside swells up but they're not actually toasted, and fill them with the hummus. Eat two (they come in packs of six), then wrap the other four in clingfilm, take them with you and space them out over the ride. Everything's already ground or pulped so it's easily digestible. Works for me, anyway. (Even if you don't like garlic it's actually quite a strong analgesic - Roman soldiers used to carry garlic bulbs in case they got wounded in battle; it was the ancient equivalent of morphine - so it kills the pain in your legs, and the parsley kills the smell. In theory, anyway... )

The acid test is, you'll forget you've eaten the stuff, then you find yourself wondering where the energy is coming from, so I don't think it's psychosomatic - you feel as if you've got the wind at your heels, or you're looking over your shoulder for the stoker and of course there isn't one... Alright, it's not that awesome, but I've found it helps.

[XAP]Bob wrote:The middle photo looks as if the dropout might be somewhat bent (causing the misalignment of the derailleur) - alternatively it might just be shaped...

531colin wrote:

[XAP]Bob wrote:The middle photo looks as if the dropout might be somewhat bent (causing the misalignment of the derailleur) - alternatively it might just be shaped...

I think its a "cranked " dropout to get the mudguard stay and Mixte tube out of the way of the chain

It's "cranked", right enough, I see what you mean, Colin, never noticed that, and I've been staring at it for long enough. I don't have a dropout alignment gauge (yet), but visually they look perfectly aligned, so I don't think that's the problem. A lot better aligned than on the early '90s Raleigh Pioneer I usually ride, although they seem to straghten themselves over time and its shifting (early Shimano SIS) is as slick as you like. Still hauling on the mech, though. Couldn't seem to budge it by hand - it's a sturdy old thing (and I'm not) - but the right size screwdriver through the hole in the hanger seems to 'flex' it the right way. There are no threads in the hole, it's just a bushing, so no worries about causing damage, hopefully.The chain is now falling onto the small sprocket better, even with the limit screw slightly in, but it's not quite there yet. I left the spoke protector off after it got scored, together with its spacer, so that won't have helped, but the problem was there already. I'll put them back on anyway. All this fuss about a crappy old cheapo mech, but every component has a soul, that's what I say... I'll keep at it.

531colin wrote:Its bent. Put it in a "middling" gear and pull it outwards with your hand until the jockey cage is more-or-less vertical, re-adjust it, and it will be OK.

Thanks,all. Sorry for being so long-winded, Colin! It's just that the girl has MS, although she's an experienced cyclist and a hardy soul, but I want to get it right and was concerned I might break something. I'll away and haul on it now. Cheers.

Incidentally, my sole meaningful contribution to the forum so far - hopefully! In the process of replacing the pads on the Weinmann sidepull brakes I had a 'light bulb' moment and discovered that you don't need a special tool, a cone spanner on the flats or a hammer and punch (all stuff I found out about on my travels in cyberland!), just a 4mm socket in place of the Weinmann special tool. I should have asked about that too - I went round the houses trying to find out but couldn't, even here. I also found out it's crucial to grease the springs at the back so that they stay centred, so here's hoping. How they'll work, even with new pads, on steel rims remains to be seen. When I had the bike upside down there were funny wee dents on the underside of the (steel) bars. Couldn't figure out what caused them until I had another light bulb moment and realized they were from the previous owner pulling forlornly on the suicide levers! Mind you, the original pads were worn right down so that might explain it. It's raining now so I'll straighten the mech and venture out...

I was asked to refurbish a 1983 Raleigh Wisp mixte for a neighbour's daughter. Everything is sorted except there's still a problem with the rear derailleur, a Huret Eco. Although I've cleaned and rebuilt it, it still struggles to shift onto the smallest rear sprocket, even with the cable disconnected, same as before I took it off. Trouble is, for that to happen the High limit screw has to be unscrewed all the way out, and even then the chain is still catching the 4th gear sprocket and won't quite run cleanly in 5th gear, even on the big chainring. The Low limit screw had also to be screwed a lot further in for the chain not to go into the sprockets in 1st gear - ask me how I know - fortunately there was an alloy spoke protector, so although the spoke protector got scored, neither the spokes nor the derailleur were damaged, and it was just as wonky before that happened (the second photo was taken before the 'incident'!). It's as if the whole unit is too far in. The hanger is integral to the derailleur and it looks straight, but I'm guessing it's been pushed in at some point in its life and is out of line? The Wisp was still on its original tyres; the rear tyre was worn down but that's not high mileage, so I doubt if the derailleur is worn out - there's no play in its joints. The hanger isn't threaded on to the derailleur, though; it just swivels on a bushing and isn't removable, AFAIK. I don't have a hanger alignment gauge, but even if I had, or if I took it to the lbs, there's nowhere for the gauge to thread into, just a hole. I'm guessing I could use a crescent wrench, a length of rod through the hole, a screwdriver or even a 5 mm allen key and bend the hanger outwards - apparently it isn't too crucial with only 5 gears and you can 'eyeball' it, but it looks straight to me,it just isn't lined up right. I’m wary of hauling on it if that isn't what I should be doing.

I know I (or the girl's dad, anyway) could just pay not much money for a Shimano Tourney rear mech with an integral hanger, but the Huret still looks new and functions perfectly, it just doesn't line up right and I'm loathe to bin it.

For those who know that derailleur, it has two settings, one for 25 'dents' (teeth), one for 28; it's a 14-28 freewheel so it's set for 28 as it should be. There are also two settings for the tension spring; it's on the lower setting, as it was when I got it and presumably when it left the factory. When would I use the higher spring setting?

This is the first thread I've started, although I've learned an awful lot from you folks by 'lurking' and using the Search - I haven't really known enough to contribute very often - but I'm stuck this time and I’d appreciate your help.

If it's stuck on with adhesive and not with pins, screws or rivets, you should be able to remove it by 'sawing' between the head badge and the head tube with either fishing line or, perhaps better, thin wire, as towards the end of this video (removing the windscreen of a Porsche 917, but same principle)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IhJVWq ... 1E&index=8

(The rest of the video is irrelevant to this, or to cycling, but it's entertaining - the toilets behind the old pits at Le Mans... and, oh, the wiring! You shouldn't be quite so cavalier about asbestos, though! )

I've removed a head badge with a roll of plastic-coated plant tie because I didn't have any thin wire as such. The plastic coating came off the tie as I sawed through the adhesive, but it removed the badge - proved to be ideal - didn't even hurt my fingers! You should be able to save the badge that way too. They'll blast it with media before they powder coat it, so that should remove any left-over adhesive as well as the paint, but you could clean it up yourself with abrasive if you like.

This might help too, though, if there's anything you haven't considered. Haven't gone there myself yet, but intend to...

http://sheldonbrown.com/paint-prep.html

karlt wrote:Interestingly, I replaced the saddle on my road bike when I bought it four years ago because it was really uncomfortable. Short of a saddle to replace the ripped one on the old Raleigh I'm rebuilding, I put the discarded saddle (hoarder me, never chuck owt) as a stopgap. It's now perfectly fine.

There's a moral there. Idea for a book title: "It's Not About the Saddle"... Well, not always, anyway.

The old Raleigh Pioneer hybrid I ride for transportation has a Selle Royale 'Trekking' saddle (the medium width one) out of Aldi, costing all of £8, together with an inexpensive Zoom suspension seatpost (Vantage would also vouch for these seatposts, I believe). I keep thinking I should get a 'better' saddle, but I seem to be able to ride for hours on that old bike and not get sore, so why bother? I've put in a lot of miles, though, and that's a big factor, as is saddle position, as Vorpal has pointed out.

Even so, I've still got a notion for the Spa 'Esk' saddle - intuitively, its shape looks just right to me - wide enough at the back but narrow at the front to avoid chafing, although the laces look as if they'd be a bit of a faff, and I don't know of anyone who has tried it.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s204p2973

The 7-speed Shimano groupset is the Tourney, not the (8-speed) Claris, if that helps - they're fitted to the entry-level Halfords Carrera road bikes, among others. Trouble is, there are 7 different Tourney front derailleurs listed on Evans Cycles' site, for example, but Evans lists the seat tube sizes (some have adapters to fit any size) and chainstay/seat tube angles of each, together with chainset sizes (you need to click on 'full product details').

http://www.evanscycles.com/search?query ... ur&x=0&y=0

If it's not a dumb question, just out of interest, what's the easiest way to measure the chainstay / seat tube angle?

Whatever it's worth financially, it will be worth an awful lot more to whoever rides it - I think it's a beauty. If possible, I would keep it in the family, but I suppose it depends on the circumstances - if there's anyone who would ride it, and if it would fit them, or if there's space to store it, etc. Put it this way: it's worth more than you'd ever sell it for, which is a shame, but that applies to most old bicycles, especially when they've barely been ridden.

Would it be overkill to fit a suspension seat post as well as a sprung saddle like the Brooks Flyer, or would they work against each other (not desperate, just curious)?

breakwellmz wrote:Oh yes, TARDIS spotted as well...

What TARDIS? You mean in the first photo? I can't see any TARDIS. Maybe it's gone...

Superb idea about the pumps, though. Once Sustrans gets word of it, the idea will fly.

What kind of depresses me is that the vast majority of roadies would think it absolutely absurd that the TdF could still be won by a steel-framed bike. I truly believe it could (or by an aluminium or titanium-framed bike) - at least as long as there is a 6.8kg weight limit. (Discuss...)

Grrr.... Why does the spell-checker keep telling us aluminium is a typo?! Aluminum was a typo, {FFE - family-friendly edit }! Americans...

Sweep wrote:Other feedback on it welcome, particularly from folk who have subjected it to repeated refitting as I have a residual concern/interest as to whether the band arrangement wlll last.

I've not seen the Zefal mirror, but Aldi lights, which I've been using for quite a while now, have a similar band arrangement. I was concerned about it myself, but it's actually an excellent way of fitting the lights. They're on the bike I use for transportation and shopping, and I take them on and off all the time, even at nights every time I park the bike. So far (the best part of a year), the bands have held up perfectly well. I'm careful with them, and of course the quality might differ, but so far so good. The bands also make it extremely easy to adjust the direction of the lights while you're riding, just by tweaking their position, and they don't go out of position either, so the same should apply to the mirror. There are 8 pages of reviews of the Zefal Spy Mirror on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zefal-Spy-Mirro ... roduct_top
Most of the reviews are good but they vary - have you ever wondered if cyclists are all the same species? I think I'll try one, anyway.

(Incidentally, the Aldi lights have been brilliant, touch wood. Someone on the 'Aldi' thread found that they cut out when going over bumps, and other people had problems with them, but they've worked great with me. One of them just used to not work, mysteriously, but it's settled down now. Might just be a case of screwing the body of the light firmly into the head, or something. I can never figure electrics.)

According to Wiki: Low normal or rapid rise rear derailleurs return the chain to the largest sprocket on the cassette when no cable tension is applied. While this was once a common design for rear derailleurs, it is relatively uncommon today. In mountain biking and off-road cycling, the most critical gear changes occur on uphill sections, where riders must cope with obstacles and difficult turns while pedaling under heavy load. This derailleur type provides an advantage over high normal derailleurs because gear changes to lower gears occur in the direction of the loaded spring, making these shifts easier during high load pedaling.

Brucey wrote:if it works as described it is the 'rapid rise' design.

Some people think this is a really good idea.

Not me!

cheers

I've never heard of rapid rise derailleurs or even see one. I try never to shift under load, but if it helps with shifting down when climbing, especially when you're out of the saddle, it sounds like a good idea on paper (a lot of things do, though!). So what's the downside, Brucey?

Just to confirm and elaborate on Mick's post, here's Seven Cycles' Technical Supplement on Titanium:
http://www.sevencycles.com/buildingbike ... ent/ti.php

Also, if you click on this link from CycleFit, Seven's UK suppliers, then scroll down and click on 'Seven Cycles in-depth Guide to Titanium', it should download a pdf which gives you the full story:
http://cyclefit.co.uk/titanium--the-magic-metal-

Makes you realize, there's titanium and there's titanium, if you see what I mean, just as there's carbon and there's carbon, steel and steel, aluminium and aluminium - it depends on the specific material and construction techniques, notwithstanding geometry and everything else - and just referring to a bicycle as steel, carbon, aluminium or titanium wouldn't tell you an awful lot.

Especially given the costs involved, though, if I was the OP I'd get the frame repaired, as long as an experienced, reputable framebuilder like Vernon Barker assessed the repair as being feasible and safe - here's the link:
http://www.vernonbarkercycles.co.uk/repairs_frames.html

Geoff.D wrote:So, I can imagine that the perceived threats to their way of life (horse ownership; rural exclusivity; class exclusivity; new group encroachment) created such a response. In the same way as it's difficult to understand why there was opposition to the advent of the motorcar, it's difficult to imagine this. But it probably made sense to the landed gentry. Protecting their position was always important to them.

"I say, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and enemies: meet the future!"
"The future what?"
"The future mode of transportation for this weary Western world. Now, I'm not gonna make a lot of extravagant claims for this little machine - sure, it'll change your whole life for the better, but that's all! The horse is dead! You'll see this item sells itself - cheaper'n a horse to keep; no oats, no mess, no kicks, no fights, no runnin' away, no steppin' on your foot..."

That's the snake-oil salesman from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There's a lot of metaphor in that movie - it was about the death of the old West, the old way of life - and the bicycle, back then, for a while at least, really did represent 'the future'.

The last time you see the bicycle in the movie, Butch, Sundance and Etta are off to Bolivia; Butch puts his hand behind the saddle and sends the bicycle down the track on its own until it falls over, with the line, "Future's all yours, you lousy bicycle!" Still is, always will be.

Anyway, back to Beryl.