Search found 5784 matches

by andrew_s
30 Aug 2023, 11:33am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Worn tyres, how much is OK?
Replies: 33
Views: 1966

Re: Worn tyres, how much is OK?

Mr Tom wrote: 29 Aug 2023, 8:32amI thought it was sand on the tyre in your photo, I didn't realise that WAS the tyre! I remember a guy in a bike shop telling me he'd seen people were riding on Schwalbe tyres worn down to where the blue puncture strip was visible.
The slightly blue bit indicated by the red ring is a puncture repair patch on the inner tube that had worn through, giving the puncture that caused me to find the state of the tyre.

It's a drawback with proper mudguards - the tyre isn't visible unless you turn the bike upside down or remove the wheel, and if you don't take the wheel out except for punctures, the wear can get very bad.
I have had tyres have their first puncture at a similar state. (It's just luck rather than good tyres.)
by andrew_s
29 Aug 2023, 12:49am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Worn tyres, how much is OK?
Replies: 33
Views: 1966

Re: Worn tyres, how much is OK?

Provided that the fabric of the tyre is undamaged (as checked from the inside of the tyre), it is OK to use.
The cuts shown may theoretically make subsequent punctures more likely, in that if a fragment of glass finds the hole, there won't be much resistance. Generally, they find a different bit of tyre to stab.
The upper tyre is worn enough to be noticably short of grip on grass or mud. Should be OK on the road though.

This tyre is worn to the unusable state. Generally, I get prompted to check the state of wear by a puncture before they get this bad.
Image
by andrew_s
25 Aug 2023, 2:30pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Early Rough Stuff Fellowship Bikes
Replies: 156
Views: 10165

Re: Early Rough Stuff Fellowship Bikes

Carlton green wrote: 27 Mar 2020, 12:03pm ’I never go for a walk without taking my bike’ was sort of a motto of the early Rough Suff Fellowship members and to me it is quite remarkable where they managed to take their bikes to. From what I see of those early bikes they weren’t remotely like todays Mountain Bikes yet they managed with them, how?
I think, in part at least, by not being reluctant to engage the 24" gear, doubtless assisted by footwear of a more general application than is normal these days.

I have seen photos of a RSF ride that went up Helvellyn via Striding Edge, negotiating the more difficult bits by passing the bikes up from person to person.
by andrew_s
25 Aug 2023, 2:13pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Early Rough Stuff Fellowship Bikes
Replies: 156
Views: 10165

Re: Early Rough Stuff Fellowship Bikes

Andy Wilkinson is (or has been) a one bike for everything man, if wheel and handlebar changes are allowed.
Same bike for rough-stuff, touring, and setting a national 24 hour TT record.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/andy ... bike-29431
by andrew_s
21 Aug 2023, 11:51am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Does this frame exist?
Replies: 22
Views: 1383

Re: Does this frame exist?

maximus meridius wrote: 20 Aug 2023, 10:53pmFrom previous searches I'd somehow got the idea that quill stems and vertical rear drop outs weren't ever seen together, at least on Dawes Galaxies. Seems I was wrong:
Vertical dropouts preceded threadless stems by quite a while. I've a 6 speed (126 mm oln) Raleigh Randooneur that's vertical dropouts.
by andrew_s
18 Aug 2023, 7:49pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Replies: 77
Views: 7293

Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes

pjclinch wrote: 2 Jun 2023, 1:31pmIt's worth remembering that just about any general tour off-road that's gravel/bikepacking territory will have been done by folks 50 years ago on Galaxies with skinny tyres we'd laugh at today.
50 years ago your Galaxy would have been shod with 27 x 1 1/4" tyres - i.e. 32 mm, so not much narrower than the OP's 33-35 mm suggestion.

(this caught my eye in Cycle magazine)
by andrew_s
18 Aug 2023, 1:26am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why people don't post pictures of their bikes in kitchens anymore?
Replies: 55
Views: 9108

Re: Why people don't post pictures of their bikes in kitchens anymore?

Norman H wrote: 17 Aug 2023, 8:22am
pwa wrote: 17 Aug 2023, 5:14am .... Shimano 8 speed levers? ....
They look like Tektro levers with bar end shifters on Retroshift/Gevenalle mounts.
I think you've been led astray by the cupboard door handles.
by andrew_s
17 Aug 2023, 6:16pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Camping Chairs - Helinox Chair One and lookalikes
Replies: 23
Views: 5484

Re: Camping Chairs - Helinox Chair One and lookalikes

pjclinch wrote: 17 Aug 2023, 8:52am
Bmblbzzz wrote: 11 Aug 2023, 12:36am Those sleeping mat chair kits are light and use something you already have, but don't they mean you end up with mud and bits of grass on your sleeping mat? Especially considering a chair (or stool) is most useful when the ground is wet.
Not really something I've ever noticed a problem with in the years (decades!) I've used them.
And if you do get some mud on them they'd be easy enough to wipe clean.

Pete.
Probably because lounging about outside the tent is a dry and sunny activity, rather than a wet & muddy one.
by andrew_s
16 Aug 2023, 11:08pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Camping Chairs - Helinox Chair One and lookalikes
Replies: 23
Views: 5484

Re: Camping Chairs - Helinox Chair One and lookalikes

Bmblbzzz wrote: 11 Aug 2023, 12:36am Those sleeping mat chair kits are light and use something you already have, but don't they mean you end up with mud and bits of grass on your sleeping mat? Especially considering a chair (or stool) is most useful when the ground is wet.
Generally, the mud ends up on the fabric of the chair kit. The mat itself is mostly exposed on the inside, against your back(side).

You've got to be careful with chairs on wet ground too. The legs sink in to the soft ground, and you've got to be careful not to lose the feet when you pull them back out.
by andrew_s
15 Aug 2023, 12:03am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Sub-Compact Double chainsets
Replies: 111
Views: 11411

Re: Sub-Compact Double chainsets

danielb wrote: 14 Aug 2023, 5:53pm...triple into a more sensible sub-compact 40-24 double using chainring tabs from Spa to get rid of the big ring...
It would never have occurred to me to think about being able to buy such a thing as chainring tabs.
When I wanted some (to fit an outer in the middle chainring position for use with a fixed gear), I just took a hacksaw to a worn out chainring, and used a file to round off the corners.
by andrew_s
14 Aug 2023, 6:08pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: CHAIN WEAR
Replies: 22
Views: 1495

Re: CHAIN WEAR

Chain checker tools that use a 3rd prong to ensure the measurement is between rollers pushed in the same direction aren't too bad.
Examples: Park CC4, Pedros CC Plus II, Shimano CN42.

Most others only use two prongs, measuring between rollers pushed in opposite directions. That adds (irrelevant) roller wear into the measurement that has to be allowed for by guesswork, and since a new chain skipping would generate more complaints that an old chain being unknowingly discarded early, the checkers are generally set to indicate more wear than actual. It's not unknown for an unused chain to show as in need of replacement.

A ruler is just as good, and gives some indication of how long to go rather than just good/no good. The disadvantage is oily fingers.
Ruler measurement is 12 1/8" between pins nominally 12" apart is 1% wear. Change at 1/16" or 3/32" according to inclination.
by andrew_s
14 Aug 2023, 5:39pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Sub-Compact Double chainsets
Replies: 111
Views: 11411

Re: Sub-Compact Double chainsets

I see that the Sugino OX is no longer defunct.
Dolan have the OX2-901D for a mere £333. :shock:
by andrew_s
14 Aug 2023, 12:06pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: wrist pain on road bike and osteoarthritis
Replies: 18
Views: 1054

Re: wrist pain on road bike and osteoarthritis

531colin wrote: 12 Aug 2023, 6:02pmIt fascinates me that operating the gears can be enough to give riders problems, DJNotts isn't the first person I have heard this from.....I guess its the repetitive nature of the movement, not the force involved. ....repetitive strain injury?
It's happened to me too - the thumb buttons on Campag Ergolevers in my case.
It didn't stop me using them (though I don't ride that bike much these days), but did change the way I pushed the button from a thumb-only action to moving the whole hand from the wrist, with a more or less rigid thumb.
by andrew_s
3 Aug 2023, 1:09pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16638

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

As I see it...

Tyre sizing:
Disc brakes don't restrict the tyre size.
On the OP's propsed titanium replacement for his 853 Genesis, rim brakes would restrict him to 28 mm tyres max, with knock on effects on usable tyre pressure and speed on rough roads or tracks.

Wet weather:
Disc brakes are more effective in the wet.
With rim brakes, there's often a delay between applying the brakes and starting to slow down, which can be dangerous in traffic. If it's very wet, water can get back on the rims as fast as the brakes wipe it off, which is also dangerous (to the tune of a broken pelvis, in what I've personally seen happen.

Rim brakes wear out the rims. The rate at which this happens depends on riding conditions, but I've worn out the rim of a newly built wheel before the tyre that was on it.

Rim brake pads to fit are available in just about any bike shop of any sort.
There are a multitude of different, incompatible disc brake pads, and a visit to a bike shop, even quite a decent one, is likely to fail. That means you may find it necessary to maintain a stock of spares, and take a pair or two with you on any cycling holiday.

Hydraulic rim brakes are unavailable, at least for drop bars like the OP's Genesis replacment.

Future proofing:
The availability of good quality wheels, rims, and hubs suitable for rim brakes is only going to go down, so you'll increasingly be restricted to lower end components.

I've gone disc for my last three bike (one dead, teo in use), mostly based on tyre sizing and wet weather.
by andrew_s
1 Aug 2023, 2:21am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear wheel, removed and reinstalled, feels heavy
Replies: 40
Views: 2814

Re: Rear wheel, removed and reinstalled, feels heavy

Cowsham wrote: 23 Jul 2023, 10:50pm
andrew_s wrote: 21 Jul 2023, 12:39pm
The other entertainment was at the call for cone spanners, when it was revealed that someone had brought his entire tool kit, including a 12" adjustable and a full set of old-style headset/BB spanners.
That was me probably -- I take the whole garage with me.
It was an Extremadura tour, 30 or 40 km W/SW of Cordoba. I forget the year - 1998?.