The Cycling Thread

Iccz

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Carried on from here:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/general-chat/1766264-cycling-thread-part-4-a.html

Santa Cruz launches Solo – 125mm 650B Trailbike | Enduro Mountainbike Magazine

Santa Cruz Solo on Vimeo

So would love to head out with my bike and do something like that for a few days peace and quiet!:thumbsup:

What the hell is going on in the world of mtbs these days? That's got a smaller chainset than the cassette at the rear? :D

Looks nice though.

Bump because my question got buried... :smashin:

Anyone know where I can get a more commuter friendly frame bag?

By that I mean something like this:
Alpkit: Born in the UK | Genesis Blog | Genesis Bikes

I've contacted AlpKit and it's still in prototype, but they may email back as I offered to be a guinea pig. Also tried WildCat in Wales (they said no), but are there any other UK bag makers?
I haven't contact Revelate as they're yanks, and would prefer to support local if poss.
 
Great effort Calpolaholic :clap:

Welcome to the north west :laugh: Them roads are local to me and I can feel your pain. (Some i have yet to tackle)

Well done :thumbsup:
 
So tempted by THIS. Been thinking of a drop bar conversion for my flat bar road bike so it would mean making this flat bar as I cant afford the £200-300 for the drop bar conversion parts too.
 
Carrying on from my "clip less" question, no it wouldn't be for communing however never say never.

Would I gain anything by sitting on the fence and getting SDP pedals so I have the option of getting different shoes if the need arose? Or should I just stick to one or the other?
 
So tempted by THIS. Been thinking of a drop bar conversion for my flat bar road bike so it would mean making this flat bar as I cant afford the £200-300 for the drop bar conversion parts too.

:eek: Want, but don't have the spare dosh.
 
Carrying on from my "clip less" question, no it wouldn't be for communing however never say never.

Would I gain anything by sitting on the fence and getting SDP pedals so I have the option of getting different shoes if the need arose? Or should I just stick to one or the other?

I started with the One side flat and other side SPD pedal. This though is a pain if your not clipping in trying to get the pedal to rotate on the Flat bit when wearing normal shoes.

So now on both my bikes I have the M 520 pedals on my Hybrid and Road bike.

I pretty much commuted in SPD Shoes since day 1. Can't see any reason why you wouldn't. I have some MTB type shoes for winter/rain and some Shimano's for Warmer weather.
 
Has anyone else here managed to get to Clayton Vale in Manchester yet (blue/red trail)? It's actually pretty good, if a little short. Definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere near the national cycling centre in the near future :)
 
Anyone else use BOTH endomondo and Strava? If so, how are you finding the data compares?

Tracking and average speeds seem to be very close but I'm getting huge differences with the max speed figures. There are also huge differences with the calories but I don't care about those.

Take today for example, I had both running and hit a short sharp descent, which I have done 40mph+ down before. This time Strava reported 46.5 mph, which I like to think is close because I was going frigging fast but endomondo said it was only about 38 mph.

I may have to fit a dedicated speedo I guess to get a more accurate figure, but to me it seems strava take more data points and is slightly more accurate than endomondo which seems to average data out a bit more.
 
Anyone else use BOTH endomondo and Strava? If so, how are you finding the data compares?

Tracking and average speeds seem to be very close but I'm getting huge differences with the max speed figures. There are also huge differences with the calories but I don't care about those.

Take today for example, I had both running and hit a short sharp descent, which I have done 40mph+ down before. This time Strava reported 46.5 mph, which I like to think is close because I was going frigging fast but endomondo said it was only about 38 mph.

I may have to fit a dedicated speedo I guess to get a more accurate figure, but to me it seems strava take more data points and is slightly more accurate than endomondo which seems to average data out a bit more.
If you are using your phone to gauge max speed then please take it with a large pinch of salt. Before I got my Garmin i used an iphone for strava and found it to be a little generous in its estimate. My Garmin Edge 500 has the speed and cadence sensor and I reckon its much more accurate. Haven't used Endomondo. 47mph feels pretty scary on a bike - anything under 40mph much less so in my experience.
 
Yes you're probably right about the speed, I like to believe it though :D

Will definitely have to get a proper unit at some point, money tight this month due to an impending holiday, plus I really want a garmin with cadence so it ain't gonna be cheap...
 
Yes you're probably right about the speed, I like to believe it though :D

Will definitely have to get a proper unit at some point, money tight this month due to an impending holiday, plus I really want a garmin with cadence so it ain't gonna be cheap...

I use a Garmin and upload the same track to both and still find theres a difference. Theres a slight difference in top speed but not much. The main difference comes in climbing. Endomondo uses the elevation measured by the GPS which since mine is a 200 and hasnt got a barometric altimeter is very inaccurate. Strava ignores the recorded altitude and gets it from mapping based on the GPS track. This tends to vastly reduce the amount of climbing done (sometimes by as much as half) and hence the amount of calories burned.
 
C2C on Saturday, 135 miles or thereabouts in one go.

Had the whole week planned training and nutritionally but at the last minute have had to go to Paris with work this morning until Friday :(
The whole thing for me was a nearly a disaster before it started. Having to use the the Eurostar so will be travelling all day Friday to get to Carlisle so my friends can pick me up from there.
 
Anyone ever used one of these to straighten a replaceable mech hanger?

Cyclus Gear Hanger Alignment Tool

I know the term 'replaceable' should really imply just replace it but if they are easily bent out of shape then surely they are fairly easy to straighten again?
 
the comp one - got it as part of the cycle to work scheme used £1000 and had £200 for accessories (things like new pump / spare tube / new pedals etc) -effectively I will get it for around £480-500.

I'm not too keen on the gears - they seem to be very clunky - gear changes are not as smooth as my old merida matts 90 and its a crunchy affair!

handlebars are too wide at the moment, but they are going to shorten them when I take it in for its 'service'
 
Thought i'd share this as its the only picture of me on my bike in battle gear! It was taken during a social ride last night.


edit
 
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Anyone ever used one of these to straighten a replaceable mech hanger?

Cyclus Gear Hanger Alignment Tool

I know the term 'replaceable' should really imply just replace it but if they are easily bent out of shape then surely they are fairly easy to straighten again?

cheaper to buy the mech hanger!:p

used this lot before - SOS Hanger - SOS hanger Le Spécialiste de la patte de dérailleur on ebay, french site but fine.

Also Dropouts/Derailleur Hangers - Behind the Bikeshed
 
the comp one - got it as part of the cycle to work scheme used £1000 and had £200 for accessories (things like new pump / spare tube / new pedals etc) -effectively I will get it for around £480-500.

I'm not too keen on the gears - they seem to be very clunky - gear changes are not as smooth as my old merida matts 90 and its a crunchy affair!

handlebars are too wide at the moment, but they are going to shorten them when I take it in for its 'service'

Yep, I'm on the same deal, but picked up the Rockrider 8.3 from Decathlon. I saw the Specialized Rockhopper Comp, but I found the spec on the Rockrider too good to miss for £100 of my voucher value more - the equivalent Specialized was the Carve Comp/Expert at £1200-£1400 :eek: I do love Specialized - I really enjoyed my last one and it was indestructible!

Are you hitting trail centres at all? I've only really been to Philips Park and Clayton Vale, but looking to go to some more in the North West over the summer :thumbsup:
 
Thought i'd share this as its the only picture of me on my bike in battle gear! It was taken during a social ride last night.


image

Rule #17 // Team kit is for members of the team.
Wearing Pro team kit is also questionable if you’re not paid to wear it. If you must fly the colors of Pro teams, all garments should match perfectly, i.e no Mapei jersey with Kelme shorts and Telekom socks.

:laugh::devil:
 
Rule #17 // Team kit is for members of the team.
Wearing Pro team kit is also questionable if you’re not paid to wear it. If you must fly the colors of Pro teams, all garments should match perfectly, i.e no Mapei jersey with Kelme shorts and Telekom socks.

:laugh::devil:

:laugh: I like to offend the fatties that cant fit in Pro kit :devil:
 
Rule #17 // Team kit is for members of the team.
Wearing Pro team kit is also questionable if you’re not paid to wear it. If you must fly the colors of Pro teams, all garments should match perfectly, i.e no Mapei jersey with Kelme shorts and Telekom socks.

:laugh::devil:

I thought he was the guy at the back :devil:
 
Thought i'd share this as its the only picture of me on my bike in battle gear!

Are you pushing your arse out, in some sort of Zoolander bicycle posing?

Derek-zoolander-601672_1024_768.jpg
 
cheaper to buy the mech hanger!:p

used this lot before - SOS Hanger - SOS hanger Le Spécialiste de la patte de dérailleur on ebay, french site but fine.

Also Dropouts/Derailleur Hangers - Behind the Bikeshed

Cheers for the link. I was going to deffo buy one as a spare and maybe straighten my existing one. I suppose it depends how often they get bent. It could even be the deraillier I have issues with tbf. Something is a bit twisted and I cant tell if its one or the other.

Finding the right one would be a start. i have only found one website that states it is the right one for my bike so far and they are £19 plus postage.

I might have to fire a post off on Bikeradar and see if other Boardman users can help
 
I know it's out of season but I'm ordering some safety gear through salary sacrifice at work.
I need some winter water proof gloves a new helmet and some lights I can order from a company called cycle solution's.

Anyone any recomendations ?
. Helmet - Chose the Popero III
2. Bag - I currently have a Knog courier type bag with 2 compartments - It was waterproof but it's lost some effectiveness and the 2 zips have broke. I can fit into it 1 pair of shoes, Shirt, Trousers at a stretch and it has an outside pocket for Mobile phone which is great. I could do with one simialr size able to fit in 1 pair of shoes, Shirt, trousers, and a Document wallet for work. Must be fully waterproof as this is used all year around.
3. Gloves - Had the Endura waterproof long winter gloves since 2009 - £25 from new. Waterproof yes - Not warm though under 5 degrees but too warm in summer rain. Ideally need maybe 2 pairs - 1 all year round waterproof and 1 Winter warm gloves.
4. Lights - I bought some cheap 1200 lumens off Amazon which laster a year until the wires came apart. Probably get another rear Smart 1 watt but want something robust to be used through the dark season for the front.
Thanks
 
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