Cycling UK Forum

Gearoidmuar wrote:I read it.

Naw.

The pain distracts one from the real world!

The pain side of it is kind of bundled up in my comments about endurance. I don't suffer greatly on long rides. Some people have terrible pain but still go back for more.

I've heard some comments like "the best bit about a long ride is when it stops" implying that that is when the hurting stops. This is not my experience at all. This is not what I want to talk about in the blog post. I am interested in what happens internally during the long ride. For me the best bit is the journey, not the arriving

My latest blog article tries to explain the Spiritual side of long distance bike riding

Continental Ultragatorskins are good enough tyres and are fairly puncture proof until worn. But they are not grippy in the wet, that is their main flaw. Panaracer Stratius Elite are faster, similar for puncture resistance and have better wet grip.

Continental 4 Seasons are expensive but have good wet grip and excellent puncture resistance. However, I've had a few sets of these and they never last more than 2,500km. Michelin Pro Race are faster and longer lasting.

Vittoria Rubino I agree are pretty good as are the similar Panaracer Pasella. Rubinos are also very cheap. I've only used the "Pro Tech" version

My winter / all round / all year bike has 28mm Marathon Plus on it. 13,500km and no punctures.

It really depends on the bike but

A standard road racing bike with pivot brakes will take 25mm max

Cross bikes and some "audax" bikes have deep drop pivot brakes. The drop on them is 57mm, shimano and tektro make the brakes. These usually can cope with 25mm+guards or even 28mm

For bigger tyre sizes with rim brakes some sort of V brake is used. For instance I have a Cotic Roadrat with shimano LX V brakes and it will (alledgedly) take up to 42mm tyres

Q.1 I was thinking of having a large (50mm x 300mm) strip of constant red light on the rear mudguard, would you prefer a flashing mode?
Don't care

Q.2 Do you use panniers and if so do they obscure any of the mudguard when viewed from behind?
Panniers, sometimes. Obscure mudguard no

Q.3 Would you feel safe with only a large strip of light at the back of your bike?
Yes. One bike (my audax events bike) I have has a mudguard mounted B&M Seculite Plus rear light and this is fine

Q.4 What would you be willing to pay for such a product?
£35

1. Where do you commute?
Devon Somerset border, to Taunton via lanes and the A38

2. Do you commute on a daily basis?
Yes, all year round

3. How long is your commute?
30 mile round trip

4. From speaking to various people the feedback I got was that batteries running out was a real concern. Many carry spares and obviously if they conk out whilst cycling you have no idea this has happened until you stop. Is this an accurate picture of your commuting experience?
Yes, I have had the rear light batteries fail and have had passing motorists tell me: I was unaware.
I have a frame mounted main light and a spare light clipped on the saddle bag to try and mitigate rear light failure
I have a generator (shimano wheel hub) powered front light and plan to fit a rear light powered by this as well

The only downside I can think of with a BB generator is that if you stop pedalling, which you might do when going downhill fast, it stops making electric.
When I am going downhill fast I want the lights to be as bright as possible
It would be good on a fixed though

The only prize you usually get for doing an Audax is the card with the stamps on

Some of them are vaguely interesting and/or artistic...here are a few

bogmyrtle wrote:Don't understand why your current bike isn't up to the mileage. Should be ok with regular maintenance.

perhaps the OP doesn't have the time to do the maintenance?

I have a Cotic Roadrat with drops that is similar to the OPs Genesis

I do a 30 mile round trip commute on dirty lanes in Devon

Since January I have used the Roadrat for all commutes when the ground is damp or when I need lights or when I need panniers. Plus shopping, trips to the pub and a mini tour of the Netherlands. So quite a few miles. Chain is cleaned every 2 weeks. I changed the chain and cleaned/regreased the "join" on one occasion. It is much, much less work than on a derailluer system. A derailluer bike would need a chain clean at least once a week plus regular work on the jockey wheels and springs. When cleaning the chain you'd have to clean 8 sprockets also instead of 1

The cleaning on a Alfine bike is similar to that on a single speed

Go to Harwich, get the ferry to Rotterdam. Get a VVV map and cycle round the Netherlands for a few days

I checked to see if paypal payment worked

It doesn't seem to, I ended up with the same display of the higher price

Si wrote:Probably help if everyone who experiences difficulty reports it to the CTC as well as Wiggle, if you haven't already.

Who can we send the comments to at the CTC? An email address would be nice

The Mechanic wrote:Disproved. I just went into the CTC shop. filled my basket, created a new account and, hey presto, back to the full wiggle price.

Same here. I deleted all the cookies so it couldn't trace back to my old wiggle login, I re-registered using a different email address but at the "delivery" stage of the checkout the price was back up, no discount applied

My new carbon Specialized Roubaix "feels" fast and has the magic acceleration factor but also absorbs road bumps and noise
Dunno what it weighs exactly but it feels light

When I was shopping around I tried an Eddy Merckx EMX1 as well and that had similar properties

Si wrote:Have you had anything catch properly yet? I've seen contradictory views on how they behave during a 'fold-up'.
Quite fancy some for my close clearance as the race guards are better than nothing but not ideal...still reading reviews before buying any though.

I've not but I've no reason to assume they will be any different to standard mudguards that are very very close. I have run very close guards before and the main problems are the annoying noises they make and getting the alignment left to right correct. The "brush" things seem to be a good idea for getting excellent left/right alignment

I got these for my new carbon fibre, close clearance bike with no mudguard eyes. I was surprised to find that they are basically full 'guards

Write up here on my blog