[hawkinspeter]

Just got a Genesis Zero Disc

Just got a Genesis Zero Disc – carbon fibre for the win. It’s a very racy frame and looks amazing.

[hawkinspeter]

I’m a Cycliq fan – the Fly6

I’m a Cycliq fan – the Fly6 for rear view and the Fly12 for the front. I reckon the Fly6 can’t be beaten for ease of use although you need to be careful with the seatpost bracket they supply – it looks like you slide the Fly6 into it, but it’ll break if you do that so you need to use the rubber straps to remove and attach it.

The Fly12 is good, but very expensive and quite heavy (presumably due to the batteries inside – non replaceable unfortunately). It’s got a built in front light, but I only use it as an emergency/backup light as you can’t point it down onto the road whilst keeping the camera facing straight ahead. The Fly6 also has a light, but it’s not as powerful and so doesn’t matter where it’s facing.

The other issue I’ve had with the Fly12 is finding a decent quick-release. As it’s heavy, you need something very secure and strong so that vibrations aren’t transmitted to it (shaky videos).

[hawkinspeter]

I’ve tried them on a bike

I’ve tried them on a bike (although about 15 years ago) and they don’t roll nicely at all. As MadCarew says, they feel dead – no bounce at all so any surface roughness/bumps just slow you down and absorb the energy you’re putting into them.

I’ve also tried one on a unicycle (for unicycle hockey – non-marking rubber for playing in church halls) and they work better for that – nice flat surface and you don’t care about rolling resistance.

They can ruin rims if you’re not careful as solids don’t absorb impacts so well. Pneumatics can distribute the pressure around the air cavity whereas solids will keep the impact pressure in one place – only a problem on big bumps though.

Putting them on is tough, and I ended up removing them by hacking through them with a knife.

[hawkinspeter]

I solved the same problem on

I solved the same problem on my Synapse (older non-disc model).

I found the trick was to use some Loctite 641 bearing fit retainer (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/LOCTITE-BEARING-RETAINER-Bearing-Retainer/dp/B00AFT6FBE) when replacing the BB bearings. (You might not even need to replace the bearings with new ones, but they’re not that expensive so you might as well if you’re going to be pulling them out anyway.)

Put a small bit of Loctite around the OUTSIDE of the bearing shell (i.e. the bit that will be making contact with the inside of the frame) so that when you push them back in, they get bonded/stuck into place and that should solve any noises.

It’s certainly worth a try before trying to change the bearing system with adaptors.

You might need to repeat this if you let too much water get into the bottom bracket – BB30s like to go rusty if you don’t look after them.

[hawkinspeter]

If I were you, I’d replace

If I were you, I’d replace the bottom bracket bearings as you suspect they might be on their way out anyway. If not the bottom bracket, I’d start having a good look at the frame to see if there’s any hairline cracks.

[hawkinspeter]

I’m guessing you’re after the

I’m guessing you’re after the SPD pedals (I’ve got a pair of green ones on my road bike) which are the Wellgo M250. They can be difficult to find, but here’s some blue ones in America on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/US-SELLER-New-Wellgo-M250-Bike-CLIPLESS-Pedal-SPD-COMPATIBLE-Cleat-98A-Blue-/322371499050

[hawkinspeter]

Which particular pedals are

Which particular pedals are you after? As far as I can tell, Wellgo make pedals that seem to be identical to Issi, so you might be able to find the pedal you want labelled as Wellgo.

[hawkinspeter]

Nothing suspicious there – he

Nothing suspicious there – he’s told you it’ll 100% clear, so what are you worried about?

[hawkinspeter]

I think they’re applying the

I think they’re applying the congestion logic of London, but in reverse: if installing a cycle lane increases road congestion/pollution, then having a congested/polluted road must increase the space for cycling/pedestrians.

[hawkinspeter]

Lazy market research

Lazy market research

[hawkinspeter]

snsb wrote:

I am 72 now and bought my first bike 3 years ago at 69. I had to walk it home from the local LBS because I had never owned a bike before . A few trips to the local park away from traffic and learning first to ride and then indicate etc. allowed me progress to roads. I enjoyed it so much that I realised I must ride clipless and spent more time at the local park to get used to cleats. Yes I fell off a few times and have done on the road but of course it was worth it. I imagine that there is nobody who has progressed to clipless riding who would revert back and nobody regrets the falls they have made in order to now ride clipless.

Age is just a number , determination is more relevant so please don’t advise someone not to try something just because of there age because you could be depriving them of the joys of riding clipless ! 

Fair point – age is definitely not a barrier to learning to use clipless, but it’s important to be prepared to fall over a bit as it will happen. Like yourself, if he’s willing to take a few bumps then why not?

[hawkinspeter]

The problem with clipless is

The problem with clipless is that you need to practise it until it becomes second nature to free your feet when you want to. As other people have said, you’re bound to fall over when you’re first learning although it’ll typically be when stationery so it’s more about embarrassment than lots of damage. However at 70 there’s a reasonable chance he could fracture his wrist or similar doing that, so I’d recommend not bothering with them unless he’s happy to fall over a few times.

 

[hawkinspeter]

I understand you don’t like

I understand you don’t like rucksacks, but I’m gonna recommend one anyway.

The ProViz 360 is my current choice of commuting rucksack. It’s relatively light and extremely good at reflecting headlights. It’s got a little strap that can have a rear light clipped onto it. It’s not especially cheap at just under £70 (luckily I got mine through a kickstarter campaign which was a bit cheaper).

http://www.provizsports.com/en-gb/reflect360-backpack.html

Road.cc review: http://road.cc/content/review/137571-proviz-reflect-360-rucksack

 

[hawkinspeter]

I’d recommend in future that

I’d recommend in future that you don’t post videos to the public (though I appreciate why you want to ) but instead file a police report and send them the footage. In general, road users are not allowed to threaten or bully more vulnerable road users and if you fill in your report stating that you felt in danger (which you probably did) then they can go round to the driver’s house and explain why his behaviour is unacceptable.

I think that if more cyclists use cameras and send footage to the police, it’ll make motorists just a little bit more cautious and respectful around cyclists. If the police refuse to take an interest, then post it to forums.

[hawkinspeter]

CXR94Di2 wrote:

CXR94Di2 wrote:

I would go with a bike with a threaded bottom bracket. Press fit bottom brackets suffer from creaks and clicking, which although a minor annoyance, it will drive you mad creaking with every pedal turn

Press fit BBs can suffer from creaks and clicking and there’s usually 2 causes. Either water has gotten into the bearings (which happens easily on the press fits) which means replacing the bearing (not particularly expensive). The other more annoying creaking is when the bearing shell is moving slightly within the frame – this can be fixed by re-installing the bearings with a bit of loctite on the outside (NOT the inside) of the bearing to keep it stuck in place.

When installed correctly, press-fit bearings can last for years with no creaking, but you just have to be careful with water ingress.

[Author]

Replies