Hedge Clipping

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Cyril Haearn »

It would be easy for the tractor to suck up the cuttings with one of those ubiquitous leaf blowersuckers
I have schwalbe marathon tyres, not had a p*****e for years, is that normal?
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Jdsk
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Jdsk »

Cyril Haearn wrote:I have schwalbe marathon tyres, not had a p*****e for years, is that normal?

There are several different types all called "Marathon" with very different resistance to punctures.

I don't think that we've had a thorn through since switching to Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

Jonathan
ChrisButch
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by ChrisButch »

Oldjohnw wrote:I often wonder how I should react to a sign which warns me of falling rocks, though. Should I put up an umbrella, perhaps?

I used to have the same reaction, until somebody in the Alps (where those signs are frequent) pointed out that the sign was actually advising you to look out for fallen rocks already on the road.
Jdsk
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Jdsk »

... and the consequent manoeuvres of other road users...

Jonathan
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foxyrider
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by foxyrider »

ossie wrote:
Oldjohnw wrote:How many times have people ignored signs which say "Hedge Cutting in progress" or "Mud on Road"?

I often wonder how I should react to a sign which warns me of falling rocks, though. Should I put up an umbrella, perhaps?


Mud on the road falls under the Highways Act (beaten to it above by Trev). Back in the day when rural cop shops existed it was often reported and farmers made an effort to clear it up or risk facing the magistrates. Nowadays it appears ignored.

Hedge cutting is a necessary evil but we're out of the nesting season so its full steam ahead. It wouldn't take much to have someone following the tractor with a broom and also act as traffic control.


or to have deflectors on the cutter. Some more responsible farmers/contractors/landowners do have such an arrangement and the debris flung onto the road is reduced to almost zero.
Convention? what's that then?
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Wipperman_95
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Location: NW England

Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Wipperman_95 »

TrevA wrote:Farmers aren’t allowed to cut their hedges during bird nesting season, from March to August. As soon as September comes around, they are out thrashing their hedges to bits, leaving a trail of mess behind them. Autumn also coincides with them having more time for jobs like this, as they can’t get on the fields to plough, etc and the harvest has finished. It’s actually better for wildlife if they don’t trim their hedges every year.

Farmers are also guilty of dragging vast quantities of mud onto the roads. A friend works in the building trade and he says they get fined if they leave mud on the roads, so employ sweepers, but obviously different rules apply to farmers who seem to be able to do as they please, with no consequences.


Ah, but they'll put a sign out "Mud on Road" - and that makes it alright......Which is why I never run slick tyres in autumn/winter. A file tread or a GravelKing SK is a better choice for rural roads covered in mud/gravel.....

Trimming hedges is fine as long as they clean up; but most don't - so it's a case of getting off the bike and carrying CX style until the road/path is clear.
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De Sisti
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by De Sisti »

Jdsk wrote:
Cyril Haearn wrote:I have schwalbe marathon tyres, not had a p*****e for years, is that normal?

There are several different types all called "Marathon" with very different resistance to punctures.
I don't think that we've had a thorn through since switching to Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
Jonathan

I had Schwalbe Marathon Plus on mine. However, the tyre didn't deflate until after I returned home.
It was whilst changing and fixing the punctured tube that I discovered the thorn embedded in the tyre.
VinceLedge
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by VinceLedge »

Cycled along a local country road last week to find we were following the tractor cutting the hedges, he had to pull over to let us past, but amazingly no punctures!
keyboardmonkey
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by keyboardmonkey »

Out with the lads at the weekend. Really appreciated the foresight of asking the council to move the hedges back a bit when they resurfaced the roads for us...
B6FD94AC-778A-48D1-A401-174E7A89690D.jpeg
pwa
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by pwa »

keyboardmonkey wrote:Out with the lads at the weekend. Really appreciated the foresight of asking the council to move the hedges back a bit when they resurfaced the roads for us...B6FD94AC-778A-48D1-A401-174E7A89690D.jpeg

We have a few like that around here and they are drovers' roads, formerly used as routes for driving ( as in, cattle walking with people and dogs encouraging them on from the rear) cattle to market.

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Psamathe
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Psamathe »

I've had two thorn punctures through my Marathon Plus tyres (no idea if these were the only 2 thorns they saw or is I didn't get 10,000 thorn punctures).

But on both occasions I was unable to get the thorn out of the tyre and ended-up damaging tyre and so ended-up replacing the tyre. As others, I waited to do anything until I got home and tyre needed topping up a couple of times but rideable home. Only at home I set about removing the thorn.

Ian
grufty
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by grufty »

Mrs Grufty had a puncture this morning, a small shard of glass embedded in the tread. We always fix them on the hoof rather than riding on a constantly deflating tyre. We're averaging a puncture roughly every 10 days or so, they're usually thorns but this is the second glass shard in 3 weeks. Working along the tube, counted 8 patches before finding the hole, maybe time for a new inner!
Jdsk
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by Jdsk »

What tyres, please?

Thanks

Jonathan
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by [XAP]Bob »

grufty wrote:Mrs Grufty had a puncture this morning, a small shard of glass embedded in the tread. We always fix them on the hoof rather than riding on a constantly deflating tyre. We're averaging a puncture roughly every 10 days or so, they're usually thorns but this is the second glass shard in 3 weeks. Working along the tube, counted 8 patches before finding the hole, maybe time for a new inner!


Maybe time for a more resistant outer...

I don't recall getting a fairy visitation more than a handful of times in a decade of commuting every day...
(Well, apart from the time when I got sent the wrong size of tyre, and so was down to riding on canvas, I then cable tied on an even older worn set over the top of my worn to the canvas front tyres, that was OK. I've always had spares at home since then)
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grufty
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Re: Hedge Clipping

Post by grufty »

We use Landcruisers as we do a lot of mixed road/off-road. Haven't tried the plus versions yet as we have old stock to use up, we probably wear through 2-3 tyres each/year. The Landcruisers are really easy to handle, so I'm quite happy to fix punctures on the spot, on the bike, as we have hub gears and dynamos. Gives us a chance to have a breather and admire the view!
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