[hawkinspeter]

Nice of the judge to say

Nice of the judge to say things like:

This is an illustration of how road users really should contain their tempers as tragic accidents like this can happen.

It’s not really an accident if you intentionally drive like an asshole.

I’m wondering if the judge is related to the driver:

He lives in a rural area where the nearest shop is four miles away so a driving ban will create a genuine hardship.

If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime – or in this case, if you NEED your car, then drive responsibly.

[hawkinspeter]

vonhelmet wrote:

The only place I’ve ever even heard of cables snapping is inside the shifter body. Certain shifters have been known for it in the past. That’s a problem whichever way the cable is routed around the frame. I can’t think of any reason a cable would snap inside a frame where there’s nothing for it to rub against or snag on.

Yep, I’ve only ever had a gear cable break inside the shifter.

I’d recommend changing inners every 2 years if you want them to be operating at their best. I wouldn’t bother changing the outers unless there was a specific reason for it (e.g. poor performance or you want to change their colour).

[hawkinspeter]

I thought that a lot of bikes

I thought that a lot of bikes are stolen just for the components to be stripped and sold. How will marking the frame help with that? Seems like a lot of money and effort for very little benefit.

[hawkinspeter]

bamboo wrote:

Can we address the real issue – those pesky pedestrians, they are really whisper quiet. They are a real danger to cyclists – coming from nowhere suddenly stepping into the road. I find it hard to believe that there is no law yet introducing mandatory noise devices for them – I am thinking a tuba for each one with mandatory playing of such as soon as another road participant approaches. I think I’ll set up a petition!

As not everyone is proficient with a tuba, maybe just employ some people to follow pedestrians around:

[hawkinspeter]

cyclisto wrote:

cyclisto wrote:

The greatest threat for cyclists is imo vehicle’s emissions and not the vehicle itself. Full electric cars will just terminate thia problem. On the other hand, hearing is really useful to cyclists, I would feel really unsafe to ride with earphones. So yes a mild sound would be necessary, but even without it, battery only cars can greatly reduce the biggest threat we face daily

Coincidentally, I just happened upon this article from 2017 that explores the possible link between Alzheimer’s and dirty air: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/brain-pollution-evidence-builds-dirty-air-causes-alzheimer-s-dementia

I’d much rather have cleaner air and electric vehicles as the noise issue is easy to mitigate.

 

[hawkinspeter]

It’s definitely something to

It’s definitely something to be aware of so there’s less of a surprise when suddenly being overtaken when you weren’t aware that there was anyone behind you (also applies to other cyclists overtaking you).

In some ways, it highlights the issues that deaf cyclists face and the ultimate answer is to check behind more frequently (I’m a fan of using a tiny mirror for a brief look to see what’s approaching).

[hawkinspeter]

Just realised – where’s

Just realised – where’s YorkshireWallet suggesting Slayer? Has he got lost on the way to these comments?

[hawkinspeter]

Die Antwoord or some One Eyed

Die Antwoord or some One Eyed Doll or maybe a bit of SOAD.

[hawkinspeter]

dottigirl wrote:

What pressures do you ride them on for your weight? Do you knock any air out in bad weather?

hawkinspeter wrote:

Haven’t tried the Sectors, but I had a very similar issue with Schwalbe Ones in the wet (reducing the tyre pressure below 70psi helped a bit).

I’ve ridden with someone who was skittering everywhere on Ones. The tyre pressure being too high was probably the reason, but I wasn’t impressed. 

I was trying to run the 25mm Schwalbes at around 80psi (I’m approx 90-95kgs) and they would just skid on any surface moisture. At around 65psi they behaved a bit better, but I changed them as soon as I wore them out which doesn’t take very long with the Pro Ones.

I’ve currently got a 28mm IRC on the front that is lasting a long time and a 28mm Maxxis Padrone on the rear and have them both at around 70-80 psi. So far, the Padrone seems to be excellent – good grip and feels fast. The IRC has excellent grip, but I suspect that it’s not as pliable as other tyres and hence not quite as quick.

I don’t think I’ll bother with the Schwalbes again.

[hawkinspeter]

Haven’t tried the Sectors,

Haven’t tried the Sectors, but I had a very similar issue with Schwalbe Ones in the wet (reducing the tyre pressure below 70psi helped a bit).

I ended up getting some IRC Formula Pros from Cycleclinic (https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/products/2017-irc-formula-pro-fusion-x-guard-tubeless-tyres) which were very confidence inspiring and seemed to be hard wearing as well.

I’ve since started using Maxxis Padrones (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/maxxis-padrone-tubeless-ready-folding-tyre/) which feel a lot more supple than the IRCs and haven’t given me any trouble with lack of grip in the wet.

[hawkinspeter]

Thanks for resurrecting this

Thanks for resurrecting this thread – I can’t believe I hadn’t commented on it before now.

I usually just say to myself “who’s eating this avocado?”

 

 

[hawkinspeter]

It sounds to me like an

It sounds to me like an overly aggressive move to reduce the space for an oncoming car even if it is well intentioned. If I was riding and I saw an oncoming car doing that, I wouldn’t be happy and would feel more threatened by the lack of space ahead of me. It’s tricky to figure out whether the actual danger had been increased or decreased, but my gut feeling out on a road would be that more space ahead of me is better than reduced space.

As a general rule, I’d be happiest if motorists just focussed on their own driving – be aware of what other traffic is doing and try to anticipate possible hazards (and avoid them). There’s too much disagreement about what is the best way to drive/cycle so I think it’s best to avoid potential conflict unless it’s a blatantly dangerous situation.

When there are vehicles vying for road positions, I’d consider the drivers that cede position to be the more competent. Anticipating where other vehicles are wanting to go and slowing/positioning yourself to allow them to do that is a better attitude for sharing the road (and usually doesn’t significantly change journey time). It’s the more aggressive attitude that tends to cause problems.

[hawkinspeter]

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

The romance of a 4ft 11 Eileen Sheridan battling wind and rain to do an 870 mile LEJOG in 59 hours and 7 minutes on a 4 speed and indeed her 250.5 mile ’12’/446.5 ‘ 24′ in 1954, nor the Beryl Burton ’12’ can ever really be replicated. 

Jasmin Muellur was inspired by Sheridan after going to listen to her at a meeting in Isleworth before her record attempt. there’s a nice page on Sheridan here https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/cycling-guide/eileen-sheridan

Before Sheridan there was the great Marguerite Wilson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDXgv3pqPcw and on rollers https://www.britishpathe.com/video/roller-racing who like Sheridan held all 21 of the RRA records, and a contemporary of wilson’s, Billie Fleming, who held the female year record, achieved in a snow riddled 1938 but still managed 29,603.7 miles, that’s 80 fricking year ago!

Here are some other amazing ladies of two (and occasionally three wheels) https://www.evanscycles.com/coffeestop/news/eight-women-cyclists-we-should-all-know-more-about

Contrast that to someone plodding a flat, wind-breaked loop with a motorhome and stuffing gels whilst using aero bike and kit or being driven upwind every day to knock out another 220 miles on a 3ft per mile road, meh, there’s no excitement or romance in that!

 

I’ll take the old days every time, technically modern stuff is amazing and it can and does help to get people riding but there’s also a lot of it that people think, no thanks simply because of what ‘sports’ cycling comes across as.

Ladies cycling would be far more popular if we had the likes of the ladies above inspiring them rather than next to nothing from the plastic hat brigade who do squat for everyday cycling.

Thanks for the informative links – I love reading about dedicated people excelling at what they love doing (and women’s cycling could always do with more exposure).

[hawkinspeter]

Beryl, I presume.

Beryl, I presume.

[hawkinspeter]

dottigirl wrote:

Women’s cycling has gone backwards in the last fifty years.

Do you mean racing or does that include all types of cycling?

[Author]

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