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Mine (Tortec Reflectors) on
Mine (Tortec Reflectors) on my Faran are absolutely silent at the moment.
Frame has proper fixings in traditional places which may help with this – chainstay bridge, rear brake, fork crown plus eyelets at the bottom the forks.
Every fixing is insulated with either a nylon or plastic washer and the threads are Loctite (blue stuff so semi-permanent hold)
I run them pretty close to 32mm Gravelking SKs and the only noise they make even off road is lumps of gravel pinging off them. Completely silent on the road with very little flex (front has safety clips which offers a little movement).
Early days but other than a spanner check after the first shakedown ride they’ve not needed adjustment.
My old bike had M:Part Primoplastics and they rattled but the fixings were non-traditional – halfway up fork leg and at right angles, plus mudguard screwed into underside of fork crown. Guards themselves had metal stays feeding into plastic clips and a ton a flex in comparison. They’re weren’t super loud but were noticeable particularly over some concrete sections of my commute. Then again the whole bike (alu frame, carbon fork) was much noisier. I think a steel frame/fork makes a difference – its by far the quietest bike I’ve owned. Either that or its because I assembled it with TLC rather than being factory-built.
I try to ride defensively
I try to ride defensively around pedestrians but sometimes its impossible short of pootling along at 5mph. Fortunately on my commute there isn’t much pedestrian traffic, and as its mostly through an industrial area peds are quite focused on not being flattened by container lorries.
Ultimately though you just can’t account for all eventualities. This morning, cycling east (so fully illuminated by the 9am sun), with my front dyno light running, with reflective mudguards, with an 18st bloke kitted out in red and blue cycling kit, a driver completely failed to see me somehow and turned right straight across me into a car park. Fortunately I was covering my brakes and did a really decent endo (hydro disks FTW). Adrenalin being what it is there was then a hell of a lot of swearing and gesturing. No doubt if I’d subsequently twatted the pedestrian that ambled across in front of me on her phone the idiot would have testified against me
I have pretty much zero sympathy for Alliston because I just can’t see how anyone would think riding around London on a bike with no front brake would be A Good Idea.
Equally though this campaign to change the law is utterly out of proportion and the MoJ will deserve all the contempt they get if they do, particularly considering that they’ve kicked around the road sentencing review for the best part of 4 years.
I think all anyone asks is that the law be equal and proportionate and road law definitely isn’t
18 mph = reckless?18 mph may be reasonable, unreasonable or reckless. It depends on the road conditions at the time.
To give a slightly exaggerated example, which can still apply in some way to a high street. The speed limits on the roads around Murrayfield or Wembley may be 30mph. But that doesn’t give me the right as a cyclist or driver to drive at those speeds if crowds are spilling out of the stadium onto the streets.
In this case, the Evening Standard reports the judge as saying that Alliston was shouting and swearing at pedestrians (plural, not just Ms Briggs) to get out of the way. So he knew there was a clear risk of collision but still chose to cycle on at 18mph.
If you haven’t got a bell then shouting is what you do. If he was ringing a bell whilst going along does that indicate he know there was a clear risk of a collision?
Purpose of the bell (and car horn) is to alert others of your presence, shouldn’t be an issue in Court. Neither should shouting but it depends on what was said I think. “Look Out” probably OK, “Get the fuck out of my way” probably not.
BKing wrote:
So I visited Sigma today and they said I can build up a kinesis with them using the cycle to work Scheme. They said I can go over the budget and pay the difference, which I am happy to do, although I don’t want it to be considerable over the budget.
So… now I need advice on build ideas. I have never build a bike before and want to know where I could compromise to save money. Sigma have said they will price match anything. This is where I am at:
Frame – Kinesis Aithein or T3
Headset – ?
Groupset – Tiagra Group Set/105
Wheels – ? Do I buy entry level or a really decent pair. What are the Mavic Cosmic Elites like?
Finishing kit – Deda Zero
Saddle – Fabric Scoop
Any thoughts please share. I still need to do some Moreno research but it would be good to hear any recommendations.
T3 plus Tiagra. 10 speed cheaper, slightly easier to build, wider tolerances for getting the shifting dialled in. You can also run an 11-34 cassette, 105 only goes up to 32. If you can mix and match the 105 crankset is significantly lighter than Tiagra but other than that the two groups are pretty much identical these days, just 10-speed vs 11. I’ve gone from 105 to Tiagra and don’t notice any performance difference in the shifting.
If you’re running guards there is a new 105 low profile front mech which will improve clearance – the old long arm mechs could end up very close to the mudguard, I had to notch mine.Just built my own bike. Take
Just built my own bike. Take it slow and most jobs are straightforward. Mine had one trip to LBS to chase and face the frame and cut the steerer. Don’t underestimate the time it will take if you haven’t done it before. Follow the Shimano dealer manual guides for shifters and front/rear mechs, they’re excellent and will get you to the point where gears are shifting cleanly. Everything will take a few miles to bed in so there’s little point in really fine tuning your indexing until then.
Prep is the key – measure twice, cut onceOn a related note, is anyone a silk liner sock/glove convert?A friend was raving about them, so I bought a couple of pairs of 100% silk liner socks and a pair of liner gloves.
I find the socks unpleasant to wear, especially when they get damp. I’ve never used the gloves due to this, plus they are a little big and seam-y.
I much prefer the merino I’ve mentioned above – it’s much nicer next to the skin when wet or dry.
I’ve used silk liners under Altura neoprene outers for the last three winters. As with most of my winter kit they’re Decathlon cheapies – £5.99 I think. If temp is over +5 I’ll use them under track mitts (not recommended, as the silk won’t take the abuse).
They do the job for me under neoprene and keep the outers less stinky. Easy to wash and very quick to dry. Not had any issues with them getting damp but I shouldn’t do as the outers are waterproof.
May give merino a go this time, I need to replace them for the winter. Have a merino mix base layer and shorts which I like.
Overshoes – because mudguards
Overshoes – because mudguards are never good enough to keep your feet dry
Two pairs of socks, thermal over lightweight liner
3/4 bibs with Super Roubaix or similar fleece lining
Neoprene gloves with silk inners
Thermal skull cap that covers ears.
Merino base layer, standard jersey and windproof jacket
Lightweight waterproof for wet days, which are surprisingly few and far between for me.
The above does me just fine in south coast minimimum temperatures – I’ve ridden in -5 air temp (no idea of windchill) and arrived at work toasty.
CdA is a lovely bike. Not
CdA is a lovely bike. Not sure if it comes with the option of Tiagra? Dropping down to Claris will be a shock compared to your Di2 bike.
How big do you want to go on tyre size? Fairlight Strael would make a cracking commuter if you don’t need more than 28s with guards.
If you’re doing it on a budget (relative term – these will still be around £1k) look at Pinnacle Arkose and Planet X. Both a little dull but great spec for the money.
Regardless of the cables you
Regardless of the cables you buy you’ll need a good set of bike-specific cable snips, a file, and a braddle (sp?).
Even with bike cable snips you’ll find that you’ll get a rough end to the cable where you cut it and you need to file that off. The outer will also deform a fair bit so you need to stick something in the end after cutting it to get it back circular.
As others have said, use your old outer to measure the new one. To minimise the cable crushing I always stick the old inner cable in the new outer before cutting the outer – probably doesn’t make much difference if your snips are good but definitely reduces the crushing. It also means you don’t end up making the newbie mistake I did and cut the new outer with the new inner installed!
Also a good time to check the calipers are aligned – just loosen off the two mounting bolts, pull the brake on hard, and retighten.
I remember being really intimidated by brake alignment and cabling and loathe to mess around with any adjustments but its pretty simple once you’ve done it once or twice
This is an interesting hybrid solution. Anyone know how well they work?https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/conduct-hydraulic-disc-brake-upgrade-kit-flat-mount-version
That would appear to be an utter bargain at that price. Interested to see how they compare to Juin Tech & HY/RDs. Potentially better as you’re running less cable housing, just depends on lever feel and adjustability. Looks like you could still run crosstops. Hope have something similar but much more pricy.
Pinnacle Arkose
Pinnacle Arkose
Genesis CdA
Holdsworth Stelvio (or is it Elan? Forget which one is the big clearance frame)
Giant Revolt if you can stomach the looksPollensa over the ridge to
Pollensa over the ridge to Lluc and down to Sa Calobra is a good day-long ride. Soller would be a good option too. Roads are generally quiet and drivers used to cyclists. If you want fast and flat then head south west towards the centre of the island, not my idea of fun though (think first 100kms of Roubaix)Rather than have the light on
Rather than have the light on the bars consider mounting it on the fork crown, you’ll be able to spot potholes easier and not blind pedestrians. Get a B&M light from Germany (Rose or Bikediscount.de usually have best prices). If your fork isnt drilled get a clamp that lets you mount it below your stem (Topeak do a 31.8mm adjustable bar mount which worked well for me)The Kinesis bikes always look
The Kinesis bikes always look the part, really well finished with good frame decals. Understated and stylish and they’ve been that way for years. Agree about the blue. I was looking for something a little more relaxed that I could run bigger tyres on so ended up going for a proper tourer but the Kinesis bikes were right up there on my shortlist.
Prendas.
Prendas.
sell modern and retro,Santini jerseys going up to 8XL (52″ chest)
Quality kit and amazing service.
