Cycling UK Forum

Have you any preferences for flat & fast or hilly & scenic?
How long have you got?
Big cities & tourists or remote places?
Wildlife or wild night life?

I've done loads of routes that could be linked up to give you a good route as have others.

Did anyone hear the drivel spoken by some of the people on the Jeremy Vine show today. Things like taxing bikes and having to have a number plate were some of the suggestions among others.

The main reasons for this is that motorists see us as a nusiance (surprise, surprise) and we should be taxed off the road the same as they are. The main comment was that because some cyclists jump lights and in general behave irresponsibly then we are all guilty. I love using my bike as it is one of the only tax free ways of transporting myself around. Surely the goverment can't tax this now, can they???

At the end of the day the choice is yours, there are pro's and con's to both. I commute 30 miles each way, twice a week using either my Bianchi EV2 road bike (no lights, mudguards or luggage) or a modded MTB for the purpose of commuting. The road bike is lighter, responsive and quicker, but only marginally so. My MTB, has no suspension and skinny tyres, weighs twice as much, has mudguards and carries more in the way of lights, bar bag,etc.
EV2 = 1hr 25 average
MTB = 1hr 30 average
As others have mentioned b4 a road bike goes into the wind easier, but a MTB can be fitted with bar ends to give you a flatter more out stretched position to enable you to cut through the wind easier.

I looked at this but it is not as good as it seems. Also a problem if you want to cycle off leaving your tent on site.
Anyway Wiggles and others do it cheaper.

I looked at this but it is not as good as it seems. Also a problem if you want to cycle off leaving your tent on site.
Anyway Wiggles and others do it cheaper.

A friend of mine worked in Halfords. With no training she was still classed as able to assemble and sell bikes. This was one of her reasons for leaving what I've heard is an awful employer.
My advice would be to return it to Halfords as others have said and try to get a refund to take to a proper bike shop. I wouldn't trust halfords too far, especially going by your experience and what's been said about their attitude to true wheels.

Cut+paste: how useful! This is a letter I had published in the Perthshire Advertiser on Tuesday past...
I'm only 36 but feel increasingly like Victor Meldrew!!!

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I commute to work by bicycle, and almost every day on the Sustrans shared cycle/pedestrian path on the North Inches in Perth I encounter dogs running wild with the owners ambling along, not caring a jot, which often run into my path regardless of my speed. Can I draw to the attention of these irresponsible people Section 42 of the Highway Code:

42: Dogs. Do not let a dog out on the road on its own. Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists.

But then I suppose many of these owners are also the same offenders that cannot grasp the "bag it and bin it" campaign. If they bag it, many then leave the bag at the side of the path or wherever Fido chooses to do its business, leaving it for someone else to pick up. I suppose this is technically still dog fouling, with the addition of littering? This is an utter disregard for all others who use these and other areas.

Maybe it's time Perth and Kinross Council upped their monitoring of the situation and actually prosecuted someone?"

The obvious candidates are Condor and Roberts (admittedly in Croydon). There must be many others, I just cannot think of them for the moment.

I learnt to ride some years before cycle training was introduced, but it must be v useful.
I discovered the other day that "holding a line"
in the road and then taking up a secondary line a little later is actually taught as good practice.
I thought about it and realised I had been doing it well.... always.
However the gestures that a cyclists uses is a matter for a great deal more question.
I gesture all over the place if I think it is going to help my cause and its clarity. I always use hand signals and that does not restrict me to left and right signals. If I am going ahead and it may not be clear I point ahead with my arm ,hand, and finger. I sometimes give a stroking sign which drivers understand, from the forehead graciously forward and downward, and there are all sorts of others

Motorists inside their cabs now give any number of signs to each other on narrow roads. I can only assume that cycling training includes some liberal sign language instruction which i have acquired by practice over the years.

I came up against this recently. It ain't straightforward! Some BBs have spindles that are offset to the right, some to the left and some are not offset at all. For the old square tapered shimano BB, I've got a feeling (but please check this) that a clue is in the number. Eg UN71 indicates an offset to the right, UN72 indicates no offset (generally used for ATB frames where the width between chainstays is greater), and UN73 indicates an offset to the left. This makes the simple calculation that you would like to make much more complicated. The other thing with square tapered spindles is that some are fatter than others meaning that unless you buy the same make of BB you can never be sure how the crank will seat on the spindle. The simplest solution is to take your cranks to the shop and put them on a range of BBs. I think that you can allow approximately 1mm between a crank that is pushed by hand onto the spindle and one that is bolted on.

Went for a ride yesterday and started getting numb toes. I put the reason down to the fact that I wasn't using my usual bike shoes and that as a result my foot/pedal interface was different.

I normally use running shoes to cycle in, but yesterday I used some badminton ones instead (they're a bit lighter).
However, it appears that these flex and compress differently than others. The badmionton shoes also have a thinner sole which may also affect things.

Also, I did find that waggling my toes around helped....

I'd just back up the opinion of others on this subject - you'll save tons of time.

I personally think that the reason many people do not cycle commute is because of their experience of cycling is using a heavy cheap mountain bike badly set-up with under-inflated chunky tyres, with their legs spinning around at 120 rpm knees hitting their chin while going at 5mph.

I wouldn't get a racer; get a tourer like the Revolution Country 05 or perhaps a Dawes Horizon.

http://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/catalogue/detail.cfm?ID=20811

Put your stuff in some cheap paniers, rather than a rucksack on your back.

Andy

I'm a 20st lad, I agree with the other response go to your shop to 'see' the difference.

However there loads of bo**ocks talked about brakes, like why aren't disc brakes more common, well rim/disc see what I mean and whilst on that a larger disc/rim disipates heat better, so for me 26" or 700c disc/rims are fine. Next what sort v, Canti or Caliper! All can stop my 20 st safely and in what I feel is a safe distance, accidents by ROSPA's definition is an occurence that could not be foreseen i.e. the car pulling out and 'not seeing you mate', here I can stop the rotation of both wheels rear first and then front with the inevitable thump still comming! What is more important is getting to know your brakes, their limits in terms of stopping distances and always getting eye contacts or acknowledgement from others at any points where you/they change direction or your paths cross. I have never heard of anyone who having been acknowledged was then struck by the same person, others may I don't deny, but I go out my my way to get a nod and mostly then the offer to procede even when I should yield.

Good luck get to 'know' your brakes.



Marc

Save youself the trouble of deciding and join the Youth Hostelling Association. My wife and I are very keen campers but have discovered the joys of hostelling only in the last couple of years. Our holidays now are usually a mix of nights camping usually in the misddle of nowhere and others Hostelling. We tend to use Hostels in cities or large towns when campsites either don't exist or are a long way from the centre. Our Tent is a Vango Equinox 350 and is huge. Too big for an old night out but gives us the space to spread out after a full days touring. Prior to this we had a Pheonix Phorum Extreme which was slightly smaller but was equipped with a valance which helped when pitching on a beach or (only once) on snow!

Doughboy - I would be interested to hear of your conclusions with the Bosch chainsaw oil.

After much consideration and testing the teflon based stuff I have returned to automotive gear oil (higher viscosity). Yes it is messy but seems to me to do the job best - the job being to reduce the friction between the rivet and roller within the chain. What I don't do is add oil to it in-situ but take off to clean and reapply.

This something that interests me (am I strange? - maybe it is because it seems like it ought to have a simple and obvious solution) so would like to hear what others do - especially what CJ uses on his bikes.

I wouldn't use WD40 myself.