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I have a bell and use it
I have a bell and use it regularly. I often use a shared path on my rides, and find that a bell ring when far back from the people walking in front works well. The important point is using it early enough that the people in question have time stop in the middle of the path, turn around to see if the bell they heard really was a cyclist, and then slowly move to the side to allow you past. I then make sure to thank them in a cheery voice and usually all goes well. There are the odd ones that seem to object to having to move out of the way, but that happens whether you have a bell or not. The only time I witness agression towards the bell is when other riders have rung it at the last moment, which then makes it more of a ‘get out of my way’ type thing instead of the early use that comes across more as a polite request to pass safely. I wouldn’t personally have an issue with compulsory bells, but as has been pointed out above, there are many many FAR more important issues to be resolved before the gov’t starts taking such measures.
I have been very happy with
I have been very happy with my Boardman CX Team. At the time it was on offer and already good value, then with British Cycling discount from Halfords it was a screaming bargain. Performance wise I have had no reason to complain, either about the handling or the components (SRAM Rival 1x + Hydro Brakes), apart from a rather annoying creak from the BB. I had similar issue with the BB on my Cannondale Synapse (also pressfit BB) but that was resolved with new bearings and careful installation. I am yet to try the same with the Boardman. I have used mine for two seasons of local CX racing and it has also served well as a commuter with road tyres, mudguards and rack fitted. I would echo what IanEdward said about hydro discs. On that basis alone I would rule out the other three options as decent brakes make a huge difference to the ride experience. I went from cable disc on my previous alloy synapse, to hydro on my carbon one three years ago and the difference was immense. I have however had squealing issues on the Synapse with Shimano hydraulics, yet the SRAM ones on the Boardman have always been silent. The only real negative for me with the Boardman (which I think looks fantastic in the bright orange) would be the reliance upon Halfords staff to build it/maintain it. You may be okay with your local branch, but I have never heard anything good about the ones local to me, so I had my bike delivered to the shop in it’s box and assembled it myself, and do all my own maintenance as well. I’d deffo go for the Boardman, it looks great and is very good spec for the money. If you’re not already a member, join British Cycling then you’ll get 10% off at Halfords which will more than cover your membership cost, meaning you effectively get free 3rd party insurance and legal cover as well.
Yorkshire wallet wrote:
I get very annoyed when people I know give me some horn when I’m out cycling. On the way home once, my wife passed me and gave it a blast and it scared the shit out of me and I told her not to do it thanks. Had to tell the same thing to people I work with as well. Unless you’re warning me of something stay off the horn.Yes unfortunately even a well intended ‘blip’ of the horn can be unpleasant. On the weekend a couple of different drivers wanted to thank me for waving them through to overtake me when I could see the road ahead was clear, and the sincerely delivered ‘thank you’ of a quick blast on the horn still made me jump out of my skin!
For different bikes you need to be taking measurements from the ground. Go ground to top of saddle and then ground to nose of the saddle.Also, try measuring the centre of the bar to the floor for both bikes. Then ideally you need to go on a level measurement from the centre of the seatpost to the centre of your bars (obviously this only works if you’re using the same bar reach and shifters)
That is useful only if the bottom bracket height is the same on each frame, and even different tyres can affect that measurement by several mm. The relationship between the BB and the saddle is far more relevant than the ground to saddle.
There are however several things that could influence the fit of each bike. For example a steeper/slacker seat tube moves the saddle in relation to the BB so first thing to try and match is the fore/aft position of tha saddle relative to the BB. When trying to ‘match’ my CX and road bikes I started out by getting the saddle in the same place on my CX as it was on the road bike by hanging a plumb line from the saddle and measuring to the centre of the BB, not forgeting to adjust for the slightly different lengths of different saddles. Then I set about getting the same saddle/handlebar drop on both by using a spirit level from the saddle and adjusting the bar height accordingly. Thankfully for me the top tube and stem lengths of both bikes were pretty similar so the reach from the saddle to the bar was pretty close, but you may need to swap the stem in your case. Another thing to consider is crank length. If one bike has longer cranks, you will want to allow for that too.
An e-bike might not be any
An e-bike might not be any faster, but you could potentially arrive at work fresher and a lot less sweaty. If I could avoid having to get changed at the end of my ride to work (where I must do my best to get clean in the confines of a small toilet with handwash sink!) then an ebike could actually save me a good ten minutes on my overall bed-to-desk time!
The Hunts are cheaper, over
The Hunts are cheaper, over 150g lighter despite being 5mm deeper, and most importantly can be setup tubeless. In my experience going tubeless is a massive improvement in speed, grip and reliability.
I’d choose the Hunts for sure.
For me personally I use both.
For me personally I use both. SPD’s on the MTB and CX bike, and SPD-SL ‘road’ cleats on the road bike, and I don’t find road cleats any harder to clip in. Road pedals (Shimano SPD-SL/Time/Look etc.) tend to have a bigger platform and in my experience spread the load across the foot more so you’re less likely to get the hot spots you can sometimes get with SPD type pedals, and usually feel more connected and stable on the pedal too. That may however have as much to do with the shoes. MTB shoes usually have softer more flexible soles to make them more sutable for walking, and this can allow the smaller presure point of SPD pedals to cause the discomfort on long road rides. Road shoes usually have much stiffer soles so don’t suffer the same issue. My point is you could probably use stiffer soled road shoes with two-bolt cleat drillings (like many ‘touring shoes’ eg – http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-rt82-spd-touring-cycle-shoes/ ) and SPD pedals on a road ride and not get the pressure point problem. It can certainly be useful having shoes you can walk in more easily, especially for commuting or touring/sightseeing rides where you’re likely to be stopping/walking a bit more.
Lizard Skins DSP is indeed
Lizard Skins DSP is indeed very good, but I have also been happy with a similar (and cheaper) tape from ODI on my cyclocross bike. Works really well in the wet slimy conditions of CX. Only negative is that it’s not especially stretchy so getting a neatly finished tight wrap on the bars is a little more fiddly than Lizard Skins DSP or Fizik Performance.
Had a quick google and not many places seem to be stocking it at the moment though. Found some yellow on ebay…
I think I know the chart you
I think I know the chart you may be referring to, but can’t remeber where I saw it either. I did however just find this…
http://velorooms.com/files/teamgen.pdf
It’s not the one I was thinking of but is very similar in terms of content.
I had the same Maddux wheels
I had the same Maddux wheels as you on my alloy framed Synapse disc. Swapped them for Hunt 4-Seasons. That was two years ago. When I upgraded to a carbon synapse six months later I replaced the stock Mavic Aksiums with the Hunts off my old bike as soon as I got it home.
I have been VERY happy with the Hunt wheels. Look good, have proven very reliable and ride so much better than the original stock wheels. Saved aroung 400g as well. The freehub is not as loud as some hubs like hope and DT, but is louder than Shimano. The other big advantage is the ability to run tubelss tyres. I haven’t had a single puncture now in two years of riding and the comfort, rolling resistance and grip are improved as well.
My wheels have even seen service on my CX bike and my hardtail MTB for some CX and beach racing too, and I have used them on a few road rides that included some gravel sections. Never missed a beat.
Being able to swap wheels rather than having to change tyres would be a dream for me.Unless you are very lucky, you’ll still need to realign the calipers each time you swap. Since I switched to my winter wheels, I’ve realigned them twice and still get some binding when the brakes are hot. Grr…
My road bike and cyclocross bike are both disc equipped, plus I have another set of wheels that is used in both. One set is centrelock, and the others are six bolt fixing. I used very thin shim washers (0.2mm) to fine tune the position of the rotors on the six bolt hubs so they all match perfectly. I can now swap between all the wheels without issue. Bit of a faff but worth it. Not sure if there is any way to achieve this if both sets of hubs are centrelock. Don’t know how you’d fine tune the rotor position, but in my case I could make the 6-bolts match the centrelock.
So far I think I’m sold on the Hunt 4 Seasons (although I can’t make my mind up between the road and gravel variants) but thought I’d see whether anyone had any better ideasFWIW my centrelock wheels mentioned above are Hunt 4-Season Disc wheels and have given me fantastic service since April last year. They’ve done lots of road miles, some CX racing, some tough gravel rides/sportives and even a beach race on my MTB. I have been very happy with them, and definitely feel a difference when they are fitted instead of the other (heavier) wheels I own. One of my friends bought the gravel version earlier this year. He’s also very happy and they look as though they should be even more robust than mine. Depends how much abuse you plan on metering out!
You might in for a tough search. AFAIK, most disc road bike have the standard 135mm rear hub spacing.Several brands (including HUNT mentioned above…ahem!) are now shipping with hubs which can be adapted using different end caps.
+1 for Hunt Wheels.
+1 for Hunt Wheels.
I’ve been running a pair of Hunt Mason 4 Season Disc since April last year and they have been fantastic. Great quality, superb ride feel, tubeless compatible, very light considering how durable they are and at a great price. They are designed for use in all weathers so cope with winter conditions no problem, with no sign of corrosion on mine, and bearings still smooth. Mine have been used on the road in all conditions, have done some mixed road/gravel events and have also seen service on my CX bike for races. A friend has since bought the gravel version which are even tougher for a small weight penalty.
I have some and they are in
I have some and they are in my experience fine for short rides only on warmer (but wet) days. They are indeed very waterproof and do prevent rain coming down the leg, the weak link of most overshoes. They also seem more durable than expected as although mine also have many small nicks and marks, so far they have not torn at any of these points. My issue is that after any duration longer than say 30-45 minutes at a decent tempo, my feet get so sweaty that they end up being just as wet as if I’d not worn them. Maybe my feet sewat more than some, but I feel the complete lack of breathability is a significant flaw. Obviously you are never going to get any amount of breathability with a latex material. They do get easier to fit with practice and I will continue to use them on very wet rides, but they won’t be replacing my Endura Road 2’s once the temperatures start to drop.
Superstar do these ones for
Superstar do these ones for cranks with 110bcd (which is pretty common)
Not toally infallible without also using a clutch rear mech, but potentially a fairly low cost and neat solution.
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/cyclocross-io-chainring-narrow-wide-style.htm
