Cycling UK Forum

Jamesh wrote: ... leave on any station and see it at the end of the day!

That would be the one I saw last week in a bike shop that came with a very large muscular-looking chap who will stand guard over it while on your commute?

Having been at first a meat-eater, then a vegetarian for the past 25 years I have finally settled on being a Veganeighty. That is, about 80-85% of my food intake is vegan, and the rest is fish, cheese, eggs. That balance gives me an excellent balanced blend of healthy and tasty food while at the same time reducing my own risk of health problems from unhealthy food, and also contributes to reducing environmental problems. I never eat meat because I don't think modern Hom Saps need to, provided you get a good balance from other sources. It is inconceivable that with current projections of population increase for the world that we can continue to eat so much meat, and increase that amount of meat. The world population is set to rise by 50% by 2070 https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Projections_of_population_growth

It's not just about meat versus non-meat. It's important to eat food that is as pure and healthy as possible, whatever the food type. Also, as a species we eat far too much food (of any type) in the West, and it needs to be reduced.

Cyril Haearn wrote:I prefer to take my own food and drink, while cycling I sit down so I like to have my break standing up

I do the same vis-a-vis the food, but usually sit. But today on our walk instead of sitting I did some gentle stretches and squats while sipping coffee and nibbling a fruit bar (needs good balance skills). My wife thinks I'm a daft git.

iandusud wrote:My brother decided to by a road bike last year. He was looking at various bikes at around £400-500. I consider these to be pretty much entry level prices. I eventually persuaded him (he's careful with money!) to give himself a budget of £1000. He ended up buying a Trek from a local dealer who did a proper bike fit for him. He couldn't be more pleased.

I'd agree with that figure of £1,000. As I said in my OP I don't have a lot of technical knowledge about bikes, I just wanted a couple of bikes to enjoy, but I wanted them to be fairly good quality. I came to the conclusion at the time that £1,000 was probably a reasonable sum for each bike. Having said that there are exceptions that are cheaper, and I think the Voodoo I bought was one. It retailed at £650 as I said, but I actually got mine for £530 due to last minute discount (no longer there), which is quite impressive for such a bike, as this review points out https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/voodoo-bizango-29er-review-2013.

I bought two new bikes this year to replace my old ones. A Raleigh Mustang Elite trail/road bike https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Raleigh-Mustang-Elite-2019-Road-Bike_111337.htm and a Voodoo Bizango mountain bike https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mens-mountain-bike-16-18-20-22-frames The Mustang was £1100 and the Voodoo was £650. Both are excellent bikes, comfortable, light, speedy, and seem to be of good quality. I was lucky because I don't know a lot about the technical side of bikes and the terminology used - as Woody Allen said about accountants in his movie Manhattan "those guys have a language of their own".

So, how much (if price is a general guide) should you have to pay for a bike of a particular type (MTB, road etc) assuming it's not for anything specialized and/or is not going to get very heavy usage. And is it worth paying £2,000 for a bike which in 5 years might be quite out of date?

Get someone to take a side-on shot of you riding the bike slowly and post it here?

I did 9.5 secs (aged 66). My wife (62) did 8.8. But we spend a lot of time exercising each week (about 14 hours). I doubt it is reliable as a fitness indicator. I would have thought being shorter with muscular legs (like me) would give you an advantage. I have exercised for 50 years, with very few problems. Lucky, I guess. Diet makes a big difference, and keeping off the juice.

It's not bikes or cars, or lorries that are dangerous. It is some people who are dangerous. I stay away from roads, especially busy roads as much as I can. We were walking down a lane today. It was quite narrow and just enough space for a car to get through with us to the side. Every time a car passed we stopped and stood still at the side while the car passed. Cars came by at about 30mph, but not one seemed to slow down at all, even through they passed within 2ft of us. I don't do that when driving my car. Why do they? I see cars speeding past horse riders, and people with dogs on leads.

thirdcrank wrote:I've only just watched that and it's really interesting both from the POV of her overcoming disability through personal determination and that of the innovation in the sense of getting all the complications of two modern combined brake/gear levers into one unit which works to that remarkable standard.

It would be interesting to know if there's been any advice about legality: apart from anything else it would be a good pointer for the OP, even if there was no plan to use STI or Ergo. Otherwise, we are back to what if? In particular, if she were unfortunately to be in a crash, eg van failing to give way, would the driver's insurance allege contributory negligence? Would they stoop ....?

Yes, it is interesting. I have to admire her ability to get on with what she wants to do etc. She is obviously a very determined lady. But if my wife's setup is illegal, then Sarah's might be illegal too. The setup is similar, although hers seems much better engineered. We are back to the same problem - it works, and it works quite well. But in the unfortunate event of an accident you might be entering a legal minefield.

The wife's bike is now in the bike shop having two standard levers fitted, but we are swapping sides so the left pulls the front brake. I think they call that the Continental method. And there was me thinking we were doing the Brexit thing.

I'm very misanthropic, and with several notable exceptions think that humans are incapable of rational, sensible, and measured behaviour. Most people are, in general terms, very much at the mercy of their emotions. So when you have a minor incident on the roads only two things can possibly happen, it can get out of hand, and it can have a bad end. I now avoid all situations and confrontations as far as I am able to. That hurts at times because people clearly do things that are wrong, and sometimes they do them deliberately. But you just have to let them go. You have to let it pass. So Mr Vine's opinion that in future he might ignore it is a very sensible one.

reohn2 wrote:People are entitled to look as silly as the wish,it's non of my business.

Yes, and I love it when they do so because it makes me look very normal!

I can't possibly answer this. But I can answer other questions.

1. Slim people shouldn't start eating cakes.
2. No one, absolutely no one, should wear flip-flops, especially for cycling.
3. No person over the age of 17 should wear three-quarter cargo pants. Especially with flip-flops.
4. No male should ever wear white socks with sandals.
5. Sweatshirts with the logo of a US university should not be permitted unless you are an undergraduate or graduate of said university.
6. The truncation 'uni' is deplorable. It is 'university'.

But the Lycra? I don't know.

Different approach...

My wife's bike is 20 years old - Trek 6500 MTB. If she bought a new MTB with hydraulic discs and had the levers swapped so the front disc was operated by the left lever (her better wrist), and the rear by the right lever. Would that give her more stopping power for the same leverage pull compared to cable cantilever brakes currently operated by the dual lever? If so, how much more?

Her weaker wrist is the right. If in operating the right lever she didn't have quite enough rear brake power is there any benefit in changing the rear disc brake mechanism for one that claims to have more stopping power? I just looked at this one - a Magura MT5, which some claim to have excellent stopping power over other similar brakes. This is the Bike Radar reviewhttp://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/disc-brake-systems/product/magura-mt5-review-51215/. Are there any other like this?

A new bike would also give her newer design of front forks. Her current ones have no adjustment for cushioning or rebound, as mine do. As she gets some pain going over rough ground would better forks help?

JohnW wrote:I've watched my speed in Halifax since this matter arose, and I've never ridden at 18mph through the streets - 10 to 12mph is quite enough for me in the town centre. From the perception I've formed over the last few days of making note of my speed I think that 15mph is about the speed of other traffic on the streets. If I rode at 18mph, I'd be being reckless to myself.

I've also noticed how much I use my brakes - instinctively and automatically and without thinking about it, in town.

I am sure that is true, I have found the same myself in the past when I used to cycle more in towns, and even London. That type of environment makes you more aware of any dangers (which are real). But you know, I often feel just as unsafe when cycling now on dedicated cycle paths that don't allow cars. There seems to be a relaxation in the minds of other path users because it is traffic free. Some cyclists will not look where they are going because they think there is no danger. Pedestrians will often walk abreast in groups totally oblivious of anyone else. Dog walkers let their dogs on those long leads go across the width of the path. Children will often run/cycle wildly around (as they do) without any supervision from parents who think they are safe as they are on a traffic free path - they think it's a playground. It isn't. I always slow right down when going past people, especially when I come up behind them. I know it doesn't sound very kind, but I always operate on the principle that other people are dull (apart from CUK people of course ) and that you need to make massive allowance for the poor dears. I do the same when driving my car.

Cunobelin wrote:Very much like this:

Mine is very similar. I can see now, following some useful comments on here, that it could fail and lead to both brakes failing.