Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
antigee wrote:
used to do that and I’d try and park car with back end very close to a wall to discourage getting in that way and have the bike chained to whatever can find under carpet (seatbelt mounts usually) just to make it hard….I’d assume the bike is out of sight otherwise no go ….as to hotel storage just double check no triple check whoever has the keys is going to be available when you want to leave and still take a decent lock
Likewise when I lived in a block of flats with underground parking. Physically impossible to get the bike out of the car quickly and quietly
They’re no longer in business
They’re no longer in business so spares might be an issue
I sized up. There’s loads of
I sized up. There’s loads of adjustment in the cradle so shouldn’t be an issue. Extremely comfortable, space for a cycling cap underneath and all in an awesome helmet for £Free (got it in a Christmas bundle with a bunch of other stuff – wasn’t expecting to wear it much as I’ve got a good lid already, but it’s relegated that one to touring bike duties).
The only thing I’m not too keen on is the chinstrap buckle – easily rectified by an elastic band. Mine came loose – there are no teeth on the buckle for the strap to snug up against.
I should add that I’m a BHF-trained first-aider and I’m fortunate to still have my Dad with me 15 years on from multiple cardiac arrestsGood on you kil0ran. My children have had a father for the last 8 years because of people like you; multiple cardiac arrests, multiple resuscitations from the big defribulator, the skills of the cardiac team and arrhythmia nurses and my very own defibrillator fitted in my chest. I am glad that there are people like you around, people probably don’t say thanks to you often enough so a big thank you from us all.
Thanks – Dad’s on his second ICD at the age of 80. Keeps banging on about how he’s got all his NI contributions back now! Also has a titanium ankle (blame motorcycles for that). Was a regional-level TT-er in his day.
Glad you made it too – he was incredibly fortunate to have his in the car park of the local Co-op where a senior A&E nurse just happened to be shopping. Arrested twice more in the ambulance and then a couple of times more in the intensive care/cardiac high dependency. Also fortunate to have one of the best heart hospitals in the country down here in Southampton. Came through relatively unscathed considering he was flat-lined for around 7 minutes – was a perishing cold January day which may have helped.
Whole family is resus-trained now. And soon we’ll be at the level of Germany because FA is going to be part of the national curriculum from September 2020. Full resus training for secondary pupils and basic FA for primary (which I think makes sense – not many primary kids built for the physical requirements of resus). I think this will also have a positive impact on society because doing FA training is great for building empathy and self-confidence. When I did my full St Johns Ambulance training for work it was noticeable how emotional people got when faced with a pretty realistic scenario – will be a good experience for 14yos.
I’ve never had to use my training but wherever I am I check where the nearest defib is (there’s an app for that – essential for cyclists). As cyclists we can potentially act as rapid-response, particularly in rural areas. Round here there are often ones on village halls, which tend to be close to popular cycling routes.
Nothing wrong with riding the
Nothing wrong with riding the route. Snacking at the feed stations yes, but not riding the route.
Living in the New Forest I have several sportives on my doorstep through the summer months, are you saying I should keep off my local roads whilst they’re passing through? I’ve certainly been out on regular Saturday/Sunday morning rides when I’ve encountered sportive riders. And with the thousands that participate it isn’t like you can drop back and apply time trial drafting rules. Personally wouldn’t dream of availing myself of the feed stops but its unlikely to be costing the organisers any money – no doubt Cliff and SiS pay a pretty penny to sponsor them.
(I should add that I’m a BHF-trained first-aider and I’m fortunate to still have my Dad with me 15 years on from multiple cardiac arrests)
Seeing as you’re in Kent,
Seeing as you’re in Kent, maybe consider a Bowman Pilgrims? Designed in and inspired by Kent
https://bowman-cycles.com/products/pilgrims-disc
Would have to be a self-build (or get an LBS to do it for you) but they’re a well-respected frame.
Possibly also worth tracking
Possibly also worth tracking down old Santa Cruz stock, or indeed Ritchey.
You might struggle to find a
You might struggle to find a brand new frame with canti bosses – the only one I can think of is the CXRace from Kinesis – https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue/Models/Crosslight/CXRACE
That’s a CX racing frame though, probably not slack enough for gravel duties.
Salsa did a load of canti-bossed Ti frames a few years back, they turn on up eBay for buttons considering the quality. Surly possibly too are worth a look.
Paul Milnes might be worth a call too – they do custom CX frames.
As to Cantis vs Long Drops – if its anything but bone dry go with cantis if you’re spending a lot of time off road. Even long drop road calipers will get gummed up instantly in light gravel. Cantis need a lot of fettling to get set up well and it might be a bit of a dying art now discs are the default option, but there are still very good canti calipers out there. Just one thing, not sure if 4700 levers have any compatibility issues with cantis – worth checking.
Have a good think though about how much you really need cantis, and how much gravel action you’re going to see. The canti requirement is seriously limiting your options. You can get a set of cable-operated hydro disc calipers for around £100, which is about as much as you’ll spend on a good set of cantis.
Yeah, good upgrade for the
Yeah, good upgrade for the price. Will let you experiment with tubeless if you want and yes you just need an adapter to go up to 160mm rotors. Just check the rear spacing as those wheels are listed as 142mm
I’ve ridden mechanical disc
I’ve ridden mechanical disc brake bikes; in the dry they’re no better than good rim brake calipers and pads. In the wet, an undoubted improvement, plus you don’t destroy your rims. But they need a lot of fettling and squeal like crazy if you don’t use the right pads for the conditions. You’ll eat pads quicker than you would rim blocks too. Just don’t expect them to be night and day better than what you’ve got. If you can stretch the budget, go for hydro discs if at all possible.
Boardman. Tiagra is fantastic
Boardman. Tiagra is fantastic and consumables are slightly cheaper than 105. All you’re losing is a gear that you’ll probably never use. The RS405 shifters aren’t the prettiest but it’ll stop better than the Giant. Ideally you need to chuck your leg over it and make sure you get on with the shifters but otherwise it’s a no-brainer. And as you like the looks it’s a heart+head decision.
Hello I checked boardman asr 8.9 and it looks like it is out of stock. I can wait another 2 weeks or so, but will definitely go for hydraulic brakes. In my local halfords I was told today that thru axles are not easy to fit wheel too, because it is easy to damage thread on the axle. Not sure if it true or not, but I guess I should ignore their advice.You do have to be careful. Just make sure you haven’t picked up any grit and grime on the thread when you’re changing the tube at the roadside. And as with any thread you have to be careful not to cross thread it. Thru-axles have pretty meaty threads so you’ll probably be OK but personally I found Merida’s approach almost as much of a faff as a standard QR. That was a screw-in axle with a QR lever to act as a handle primarily, but I found it tricky to get everything aligned – it wasn’t just a question of doing the axle up until it was tight and then closing the lever. There are many solutions to the thru-axle requirement though and no doubt some will be easier to use than others.
Based on that use case
Based on that use case definitely go for discs and make sure they’re hydraulic. The investment now will be paid back in increased safety and less rim wear.
I had a disc brake bike a couple of years back with a thru-axle front and a QR rear and that was fine for wheel changes – mainly because there are no lawyer lips on the rear and the transmission and caliper tend to centre the rear hub automatically. Current disc bike has QRs front and rear and all I do when replacing the front is pop the wheel in, hold the brake on with one hand, and tighten the QR with the other. Agreed a bit of a faff but just bear in mind that there’s a wide range of approaches to thru-axles at present, and some are better than others.
If you’re up for self
If you’re up for self-building there’s a ton of choice out there. If it’s a true audaxer I’d consider something like the Kinesis RTD – https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue/Models/Racelight/RTD
Also consider Decathlon’s bikes – e.g. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html
If you’re going with disc brakes strongly recommend you get full hyrdaulic discs. You’re eating a lot of budget though, and narrowing your choice a little. Are you absolutely certain you need discs on an audaxer?
maviczap wrote:
You’ll find you’ll need to drop the mech to keep the shifts crisp.Easy enough to do, unless it’s a braze-on and it’s already as low as it can go. Unlikely, but some race bikes won’t take a compact (Kinesis Aithein springs to mind)
Won’t need much of a drop but you’ll probably need to detach the cable and re-tension. You might be lucky and not have to do that as the new Ultegra front-mech has a tension adjuster built in, and you may still have a barrel adjuster inline near the shifter too. Oh and you may have to move the tiny stick-on backup plate too.
