Forum Replies Created
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newrider7 wrote:
The GT uses a square taper cartridge bottom bracket. What would the opinions of the more experienced here be on that? As far as i know that’s a bit more old fashioned and thesedays reserved usually for lower end sub £500 bikes. Just saying. I don’t know if they are poor vs the integrated pipe type of design which I think the Merida with it’s FSA Omega crank uses. Anyway neither site you linked mentions overall bike weight. It dos mention frame weight and fork weight for the Merida…1650g for the frame, a tad heavy but i guess not off for a £599 bike and 420g for the fork, perfectly respectable i’d think. Looking elsewhere online overall weights seem very similar between these two in the Sora versions you are looking at (9.7kg for the GT and 9.85kg for Merida). I guess if you are only paying about £599 for either they are good choices (sorry i’m not in uk or familiar with the cycle scheme thing) but if I had £899 I’d probably be looking at other options for hope of a considerably lighter frame. At £899 isn’t the Spevialized Allez sport one of the lightest frames and forks going for example for that price point? (Can’t recall now but seem to remember). Maybe doesn’t have disc brakes though if that’s a must.The last time I had a bike with square tapers was a few decades ago and I’d actively avoid getting a bike with them nowadays. The issue is that if the taper starts to wear a bit (inevitable, but I don’t know how long they last), the crank(s) will start to have a tiny bit of movement in them. That movement then starts to round off the taper a bit and thus increases the wear. To fix the crank movement, most people would tighten up the fixing bolt, but that will tend to increase the wear which makes it a bit more wobbly. Rinse and repeat.
I don’t think that the weight is going to make a huge amount of difference for a first road bike – the better aerodynamics of having drop bars (vs straight bars) will make far more difference than a kilo or two.
It could be used as an argument for licensing bikes.. I think we best just keep quiet on this one. Nothing to see here.We could employ some licensing enforcement officers to go around and ticket the bikes that aren’t licensed.
As stated on that thread – it
As stated on that thread – it’s unenforceable. They can go around putting parking tickets on bikes, tables, chairs, trees etc. but it’s just a waste of time and paper.
I’d be inclined to go for the
I’d be inclined to go for the Merida as it’s a bit cheaper and you don’t yet know how enthusiastic you’ll be about commuting/riding.
I have my doubts about cable operated disc brakes as I’ve heard that they can suffer from poor performance if they’re not kept well adjusted, though I’ve never tried them myself. At that price point, I’d be inclined to go for rim brakes instead.
Edit: I’ve had a quick look at other bikes on Tredz.co.uk, but I couldn’t get their website to filter the results properly, so instead I found this on Wiggle: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-fr40-road-bike-2019/
It’s got rim brakes, but a better groupset (i.e. gears) than the Merida.
Alternatively, you could get a carbon fibre frame with this one: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-slr-8-8-road-bike
Ultimately, how the bike feels to you is more important than the specs of it, so it’s well worth doing a road test of whatever you plan on getting.
Well presented argument and
Well presented argument and he doesn’t even mention risk compensation.
Looks like you’ve discounted
Looks like you’ve discounted the most obvious causes – QR slipping, wheel out of true and bearing/hub movement. Bizarrely, you can get brake rub whilst applying lots of force if the wheel is particularly stiff – have a read of this: https://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Debunking_Wheel_Stiffness_3449.html
I don’t know how you’d fix that without getting different wheels with more spokes though.
I’ve got some Prime RR50s
I’ve got some Prime RR50s (the previous model to the Black Edition ones) and I haven’t had many issues with the wind. It’s only been two or three times that I’ve noticed the wind catch the front wheel and it wasn’t a problem and it was in gusty conditions. However, I’m very cautious when the wind goes above 20mph and will abort the ride unless it feels safe.
The thru-axle adaptors do the job nicely and fitting the rotor only takes a minute.
I’d give a shout out to the
I’d give a shout out to the Cycliq Fly6 – nice and bright and easy enough to fit to other bikes (if you can get another mount) and of course a decent camera. Probably not as robust as a dedicated rear light and not as cheap to replace if/when it does break, but I’m a fan of cyclists using cameras in order to keep motorists behaving themselves.
I agree the lenient sentencing needs to change.And where does the shift start? By making the message about the person that did wrong you shift the attention. Maybe once the attention shifts the onus will start to shift. Once the onus shifts perhaps the sentencing will start to reflect the actual damage done. Once that starts to happen maybe legislation will change to make the speed limits on these sorts of roads less biassed towards motor vehicles and safer for alternate transport types. Then there is even less excuse for this sort of event.
Having said all of that, I agree with the message behind it. If I’m out for anything more than a pootle on cycle paths I wear a helmet. When I used to ride motorbikes I always wore helmet, leathers, body armour, boots, and gloves (airbag suits were the things of sci-fi at that point). It would be foolish not to protect yourself and it is a message that should be re-enforced, just not as the focus after an incident like this.
A short while ago, the Govt announced (with much fanfare etc) a wide ranging review into traffic offences and sentencing, so I’m sure we’re about to taste the fruits of that hard work by them.
(The problem with focussing on PPE for motorcyclists is that anyone could have been hit by that driver – not just a motorcyclist).
My first thought would be for
My first thought would be for a more endurance geometry as flexibility tends to get worse as you age. Being in a more comfortable position can mean that you’d be able to go quicker than if you’re more cramped. That said, you may well find a racing position to be a lot of fun, so you’re going to have to try them out to see which one makes you smile more.
Found a much better solution
Found a much better solution at https://www.velopresso.cc/
(Love the name “Perky Blenders” by the way)
.It ends when you’ve beaten the shit out of them often enough for them to get the message. Does soft sentencing on motorists do anything, e.g. reduce close passes? I’ll take the hard line over the soft any day.
Unfortunately increased penalties does little to deter criminal behaviour as most people don’t consider that they will get caught. Increasing the chances of getting caught has a bigger effect so honey-bikes with trackers sounds like the way forwards to me.
It doesn’t really sound like victim blaming to me, sounds like good advice. As good you may be on your bike there are idiots around and in this case his safety gear (especially the airbag) probably saved his life. And if people want to debate the effectiveness of motorbike leathers, helmets and spine supporting airbags then that’s upto them.Yes, PPE is a good idea when you can’t otherwise deal with the danger presented in a situation, but personally I’d’ve thought that focussing on not driving too fast for the conditions would be of more benefit. If the motorcyclist was instead a cyclist (with or without a helmet), then would it be acceptable to state that motorcycle PPE would have saved their life (assuming they got killed)?
So what would you recommend the police say? go on have a ball, ride around in shorts and T-shirt and ignore the fact that some people drive like tools and you’ll be toast if they get you.
When you leave your bike somewhere do you lock it up? is that victim blaming? would you just leave your bike out unlocked because of the principle of not wanting to be cowed by victim blaming?
Are safety features on cars victim blaming?
If I had 80 hp on my bike and the ability to go 100+ mph with little effort I’d happily wear a load of PPE, as it is it’s rather unreasonable for a cyyclist
I would expect them to be highlighting the dangers of driving too fast and should be warning motorists about how selfish and inconsiderate it is to drive at excessive speed.
PPE has its place and is very much recommended for motorbikes (dress for the slide, not the ride) but it shouldn’t be the main focus when there is clearly very dangerous driving happening. It’d make more sense to highlight PPE when a motorcyclist misjudges a corner and goes over a wall or similar.
Locking bikes up is a simple deterrent, but it mainly prevents opportunistic thieves – determined thieves can cut through most locks in seconds with a suitable tool. It’d be nice if police could focus lots of resources on preventing/catching bike thievery, but realistically bikes are just property and can be replaced so I wouldn’t expect police to prioritise that over more serious crime. As such, it makes sense for police to do bike-marking and advise people to always use locks (though I do think that honey-bike schemes can be effective).
The thing is that drivers don’t usually set out to maim, injure and kill so it makes a lot of sense to teach drivers about the dangers that they are bringing to other road users. That’s what’s getting missed out by focussing on PPE.
There must be some demand a grinder that mounts to a crank somehowFound this contraption, but the website has expired so I doubt there was too much demand for it. Personally, I don’t want coffee grinds stuck in my gears or chain oil in my coffee, so I’d rather keep them separate.
Sorry mate, but you’re doing your commute all wrong.The train section should drop you at a deserted station in the Grampians/mid Wales.
You should then push your bike through mud/snow for 30 miles to a (unoccupied) bothy miraculously well-stocked with firewood, kale and fine single malt.
Coffee will be taken care of by having with you a) an Aeropress, b) a well tarnished and slightly bent Bialetti espresso jug, and c) a flimsy contraption to suspend a Rapha sock over your enamel tin mug with which you will filter your single estate grown Peruvian coffee (roasted with aforementioned firewood and freshly ground with the Spong grinder you took with you.)
Another 30 miles of carrying your bike, and you and your fellow commuters (two gnarled and bearded blokes and one lissom young woman) will arrive for work refreshed and caffeined up ready for the working day ahead.
Otherwise… try Greggs.
Spong grinder: https://www.home-barista.com/grinders/spong-coffee-mills-grinder-for-23rd-century-t16165.html
(Sloppy)