[Daveyraveygravey]

So many choices! Have a look

So many choices! Have a look at Fairlight, and also Mason.  A lot of Mason bikes are over £3k but they make steel and ally ones that you should be able to get for that.

I wouldn’t focus on DI2, yes it’s nice, but its a compromise that would effect the frame and wheels, which most people say are the most important areas to focus on.

I have a Giant Propel which has been my road bike for 9 years.  I still get a kick out of riding it, but it’s not great in winter on the roads we all have to put up with.  Road cc ran a story on using a gravel bike as an all rounder & winter machine.  They picked a Specialized Diverge, and almost on the strength of that story, I started to look for one on Ebay.  I managed to find one for £1200 not too far away from me, and it is a fantastic machine.  It was set up for off roading, so came with 45mm knobbly tyres.  I switched them for 35s, put mudguards on and just wish I had gone this route a lot earlier.  There’s a little suspension movement in the headset, 20 mm, and this coupled with wider tubeless tyres, the compliance of the carbon frame, makes it a joy to ride when the conditions are not ideal.  Disc brakes too.

[Daveyraveygravey]

+1 for my Proviz jacket.  It

+1 for my Proviz jacket.  It’s a proper one although I think I got it half price for £50.

Riding home in the dark in it, a driver actually stopped, wound down their window (and I was thinking, oh, god here we go…) to tell me it was a brilliant piece of clothing. 

All these negative comments have got me wondering if it makes me sweaty, but I prefer to be a bit too warm than cold.  Plus the benefits of (some) drivers being able to see you…

[Daveyraveygravey]

Is this the same case where

Is this the same case where the sun “might have been bouncing off the high viz vest”???  If so, then surely high viz could be argued as MORE dangerous?

[Daveyraveygravey]

HoarseMann wrote:

Tom_77 wrote:

There’s a summary of the UK tax rules here.

How remiss of Auto Express to not mention that lower commerical vehicle speed limits apply to most of these 4×4 crew cab pickups.

In my experience, the drivers of these vehicles seem to have bought them to intimidate other road users, by tailgating and generally bullying others out of their way. Shame it’s also being funded by the tax payer.

I totally agree with you experience.  Anecdotal evidence, a guy I work with bought a Misubishi Warrior or something like that, I asked him why, he said it was cool and his kids love it. It barely fits a standard car park space at work.  They are almost always driven with a couldn’t-give-a-fuck-about-anyone-else attitude, although that isn’t just restricted to pick ups.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Great info!  Just recovering

Great info!  Just recovering from a nasty front wheel slide out on green chalk a couple of weeks ago, wish I had known this then!

[Daveyraveygravey]

I have a 2015 Giant Propel

I have a 2015 Giant Propel with Ultegra 6800.  The first failure was in 2018, holidaying in Yorks, and on my way to Rosedale Chimney!  There had been an issue with it in the weeks before but I hadn’t been able to find the actual problem, I thought it was loose cleats or a damaged pedal. On the way to Rosedale though, you could see a gap between the arm and crank on the downstroke.  I managed to get back to base but was pedalling one-sided for an hour. 

At the time it was my only road bike and got used year round, and I didn’t clean it that often.

I had a battle with Shimano to get a replacement as it was 6 months outside their 2 yr warranty but I kept at them, and eventually the UK distributor coughed up.

The replacement then failed in July 2022.  I didn’t even think of contacting Shimano, and as luck would have it a lightly used 105 chainset appeared on the Bay which I snapped up for less than 50 quid.  It seems to be in one piece, so far.

The way Shimano have dealt with this has really put me off.  I used to sing the praises of Ultegra, back then it really was the sweetspot in the range, in terms of what you got for the money.  I’d probably not go Hollowtech again for the next bike, maybe not even Shimano.

 

[Daveyraveygravey]

Spangly Shiny wrote:

Don’t agree with you there. Since I am a professional driver I use an app that constantly monitors my driving for excess speed, harsh braking and accelleration, hard cornering and even telephone distraction. The app provides a score which I am constantly trying to better. My present score is 989/1000 which is within the top 2% of those who use the app. 
Mind you, it can’t measure how close my passes are but rest assured there are no causes for complaint there.

Do you think many other drivers make any effort to improve their driving?  After all, 85% of Brits think their driving is “better than average”…

[Daveyraveygravey]

Cycloid wrote:

99.9% of Drivers are “OK”.

The problem is, just based on statistical probability I meet the one in a thousand every time I go out.

I was going to say “Same here, but I meet them every time I go out every few miles.”  But I would say less than 50% are ok.  Most drivers only give cyclists room because they don’t want their precious paintwork damaged by something nasty and metallic like a push-bike.

Nobody works on their driving, nobody tries to get better.  Hardly any even slow down when it’s raining!

[Daveyraveygravey]

I read somewhere that “every

I read somewhere that “every cyclist who has killed someone has gone to jail” which may or may not be true.  I haven’t researched that, just read it.

Because of that, I googled something on the lines of  “% of drivers who kill someone in an accident who then go to jail”.  In an article that appeared in the Sun (I know, that hardly makes it the perfect source) they said “13 drivers a month who have killed someone get sentenced to Community Service”.  I should probably look into this further, but the Sun seem to be saying that every other day a driver who has killed just gets communuity service.

[Daveyraveygravey]

I’m not sure it is weight or

I’m not sure it is weight or power related.  Both mine lasted around 4 years, I’ll have a look at Strava and Veloviewer to see if I can get an approx mileage.

The parts are bonded together, I think the glue gets eaten away by crap weather.  My bike gets ridden year round, no mudguards and I’m not the best at maintenance and post-ride cleaning.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Fignon’s ghost wrote:

Fignon’s ghost wrote:

Davey. Thanks for deflating my balloon! FWIW. I did it on 172.5. My other is a 105. As Chris pointed out. There are two sections to the ultegra 6800 composition. Compared with the 105, which looks a solid, single cast unit. Presumably it’s slightly heavier. 105 is good enough for me.

Both mine were 6800.  I got the 105 off Ebay, lightly used for under 50 quid, so even if it DOES go the same way, I don’t feel like it has cost me a huge amount. 

I was furious the first time as I hadn’t heard about it before.  I was on my way to Rosedale Chimney in N Yorks, and if it had failed going up there it could have been nasty   I would think long and hard about a bike with Ultegra ever again, which is a shame, because it has been great apart from that.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Fignon’s ghost wrote:

Fignon’s ghost wrote:

Here we go…

  Looks very typical to me!  I’ve got through two in 8 years, usually around 4 years of use.  There’s a website on Instagram called “thankshimano” which has loads.

I managed to get a warranty replacement the first time, but it took a lot of nasty threatening letters & emails.  I’ve now switched to 105 cranks in the hope they last longer.

[Daveyraveygravey]

See, you don’t have to be a

See, you don’t have to be a wannabe pro to enjoy the data side of it, or the community aspect of Strava.  I have Strava friends who I have never met, or bumped into once in a while.  One of them rode across France and Switzerland last year, he’s got me thinking about (maybe ) riding to Pescara.  Another guy did an Everesting near Portsmouth, so I made the 100 mile round trip and did a couple of climbs with him.

I’ve logged every ride since 2012. I regularly did 8000km a year, then I crashed and broke my scapula so had two slack years around 5000 km.  The next year I tried for 10k…and that made me rethink.  10k is roughly 30 km a day, which seems reasonable.  Until you don’t ride for 3 days, or a week. I am now focussed more onenjoyment, doing rides that are more of an adventure, than just logging another 2 km here or there.  If you put the right key words in the title its really easy to look up old adventures, plan new ones. 

[Daveyraveygravey]

I did the Stelvio from Bormio

I did the Stelvio from Bormio about 3 years ago, I think I would put it down as my favourite day ever on the bike!

I’m 80 kg, have a 52-36 and 11-30, I would have been 55 then.  Stick with the 11-30, you’ll be using it!  The hardest thing I found about the Stelvio was the top, the last 3-400 m of altitude nearly broke me.  I’m lucky enough to be able to do the Blockhaus in the Apenines quite often, which tops out at 2100m.  I’d never really thought about the thinner air going up there, but it seemed much more noticeable at the top of the Stelvio.

Take lots of kit.  I did it at the end of August, after a fortnight on the Adriatic beaches regularly at 35 degrees.  The Stelvio in Bormio was 6 degrees first thing in the morning!  I went in shorts and short sleeves, thinking I’d be climbing for 2-3 hours and would warm up, which was about ok.  I assumed by the time I came back down the day would have warmed up too, but it didn’t.  I took about 45 minutes to descend, teeth chattering all the way…

Also, the weather can be horrendous.  I tried to do it 2 years before, they have Stelvio day at the end of August, no cars after 8 am.  When the weather is nice, 10k plus ride or run or skate up.  The first time I tried, it rained all day the day before, and was actually snowing on the day itself.  They closed the road to all traffic about a third of the way up, but still circa 2000 folk braved the elements to go that far. 

 

[Daveyraveygravey]

As a life long “real” cyclist

As a life long “real” cyclist who has recently had access to an ebike, I’d say…pick whatever you think will get you out there most often.

I ride 5000 miles, a year, a mix of quiet South Downs lanes, and of course off road over the Downs.  I have a nice aero road bike, an old clunker for winter duties, and an old but trusty MTB.

I cycle to work 2-3 times a week, an hour each way, and then a longer ride at the weekend.  I don’t ride every day I can; it takes the fun out of it for me, and the more you ride the more tired you get, which just pushes the fun further away. It also means more clothes washing, more tweaking of kit etc etc.

I’ve been loaned a Haibike, I don’t know the details.  It looks like a hard tail mtb with the motor in the bottom bracket.  I find I use it on days when normally I might not ride.  My work commutes are usually split between z2 & 3, on the ebike it’s 85% z1.

The assist is really well judged.  Turn it off, and it’s a heavy clunky bike and it feels like something is dragging in the transmission.  Turn it on the bottom level and it feels almost effortless, you really do waft along.  The range is 55 miles on a full charge, all manner of things effect it in use though.  If you hit max on the boost, you almost have to back off pedaling up hill as it yo-yos in and out of the assistance, which cuts out at 15 mph.

If I didn’t know “proper” cycling and only had an ebike, I don’t think I would try a non ebike.

[Author]

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