Cycling UK Forum

I looked at the price tag and wondered if it's that much better than my Spa Cycles Elan Ti with 650b wheels which means that 50mm tyres will fit in the frame. My Elan, I admit, isn't the lightest but it does have a low maintenance Rohloff hub.

Recent surface dressing does need caution until the surplus stone chippings have been swept up. I would hope that there's enough value in the surplus material that it's worthwhile to do this.

A bike saddle is an excellent vantage point for seeing the cracks and I see plenty of cracking road surfaces where timely surface dressing would extend the life. However, my local council appears to prefer to let the cracks turn into potholes which then get added to the monthly total of potholes repaired giving the impression that they've been working hard. The underlying problem is use by vehicles far heavier than the roads were ever built to carry. One road with plenty of cracks is an unclassified road which is used as an impromptu diversion route when there are problems on the nearby motorway while monstrous agricultural equipment is giving some of the country lanes a hard time.

A good test of a bike's gravel capability is the Grand Avenue in Savernake Forest. Three miles of straight but somewhat undulating and some of the surface is a bit loose. I've been through there a couple of times on 40mm G-One Allround tyres but needed to be cautious on some sections.

Nearholmer wrote: ↑9 Jul 2023, 8:33pm IThat involves a big shared use bridge over the station, nice and wide, but it appears that nobody told anybody that it is shared, and the throngs of pedestrians have clearly never heard a bike bell before, and don’t know what it implies.

There are, of course, better and worse bike bells. I've found a big Japanese Crane bell (recommended elsewhere on this forum) to be the most effective of the many I have used.

Pedestrians are, however, a perennial hazard. Some don't seem to appreciate the meaning of bike symbols on the tarmac or signs, others are being towed around by their dogs (and even if the person is on the right bit of the tarmac then the animal won't be), and their are those pedestrians who are busy talking to their phones or have things plugged in their ears and won't notice a loud bike bell.

A few days ago I received a varifocal set of these https://sportsglasses.online/product/hawk/. I've immediately noticed that my eyes no longer water due to the wind (natural or going downhill) or get hit by miscellaneous airborne bugs and bits which would get round my normal specs. Not cheap but does come with a selection of outers for different light conditions and the biggest disadvantage is that everything in the case is a big piece of baggage.

\Using rubbing alcohol on the tender areas may help to both sanitise them and toughen them up.

Have you tried a leather saddle (Gilles Berthoud makes some of the better ones)? However, I've found they are best bought in the autumn for breaking in on the shorter winter rides although heavier people are likely to get their saddle into shape more quickly.

CH White has the complete shifter https://foldingbike.biz/epages/7665e38c ... UALDRIVE27. It may be worthwhile asking if they have spare grips in their stash of bike parts.

FWIW, my Aravis Open saddle has a similar hump at the rear end of the slot (or is it an apparent rise as the sit bones form depressions?). However, it's not causing me any discomfort.

There is useful relevant info at https://www.rohloff.de/en/products/spee ... variations and https://www.cyclingabout.com/understand ... hloff-hub/.

peterb wrote: ↑4 Jun 2023, 3:00pm The general rule for carbon steerers is that there should be no more than 30 - 40mm of spacers below the stem, and preferably no more than 5 mm above https://velo.outsideonline.com/gear/tec ... ck-height/

That advice include a recommendation to add an insert if a gorilla "I don’t want to mess around when building bikes for 6-foot-10, 350-pound riders" is riding the bike. It's less clear what's needed for someone less than half that weight.

Anyway, I've got only 25mm of spacers below the stem on my carbon steerer (bike on left with stem turned upwards) whereas there are 45mm of spacers below the stem (turned downwards) on the bike on right with an alloy steerer (both bikes are Spa Elan). Given the time needed to saw through an alloy steerer I feel it's a lot stronger than a carbon steerer.

If you aren't planning to be heavily loaded then the Spa Elan may be worth a look https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s223p45 ... le-Disc%29 .

Don't pedal when turning a corner!

A carbon steerer limits the length of spacers between headset and stem (I recall a recommended maximum 40mm, preferably less) whereas, on an alloy steerer, the distance is only limited by the length of the steerer.

Thanks. I can confirm that it works with an Edge 1040.

I've created round trip courses using Garmin Connect on a computer.