[KiwiMike]

SKS Raceblade Long. Will fit
SKS Raceblade Long. Will fit to anything, even a bike designed for 23c with no clearance or mounts.

On or off in seconds, bombproof, if you break them SKS will send replacement bits free.

Nothing else comes close.

[KiwiMike]

After 3 years, with new ones
After 3 years, with new ones selling for £500, I’d say you’ll be lucky to get £200. Any purchaser with half a brain will be factoring in an immediate need to:

Replace brake blocks £20
Replace all cables and outers £20
Replace chain £15
Replace tyres £50
Replace BB £20

Near-new in London recently eBay’d for £255. *immaculate* with loads of extras sold for £300.

I’ve purchased a bunch of bikes like this for friends getting into road cycling. Personally I’d probably pay £200-220 as a by-now eBay price if the photos were close-up enough. If you offer to ship mainland UK inside a proper bikebox for £25 you’ll greatly increase your bids. Also clean it up real nice, polish, then take tons of close-up well-lit hi-res photos and go for the Gallery Plus option that lets them enlarge. You want to give bidders confidence, not a blurry one-pic sell that is a total turkeyshoot. Good luck.

[KiwiMike]

Tiagra STI road lever pair:
Tiagra STI road lever pair: list £175

Tiagra flat-bar set (shifters + levers): list £105

There’s £70 for ya right there.

[KiwiMike]

This is better than Sherlock.
This is better than Sherlock. We want photos!

[KiwiMike]

Having had this happen twice
Having had this happen twice on friends bikes which ended in dead cranks, I can’t wait to hear how you get on. If it’s a very posh crank you can helicoil it after removal should the threads be stuffed.

This shows how to do it – $99 to buy the kit yourself, I’m guessing you won’t make this mistake again so maybe a good shop is the way to go – they should have these tools/inserts about. http://thegoldenwrench.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/repairing-stripped-pedal-thread.html?m=1

[KiwiMike]

I’ve used the Finn on about
I’ve used the Finn on about 300k of rides so far. It doesn’t move. You can use the screen/buttons without it flopping about.

If I had a spare £50 I’d get a Quadlock purely for being a few seconds quicker – but I always find other stuff to buy. And yup, if Quadlock don’t make a case you need the stick-on mount back thingy. Which is fine with a waterproof phone.

No solution is perfect.

[KiwiMike]

I find shouting at the
I find shouting at the buggers does the trick. Rode over one a few years back on a very narrow lane, luckily just the rear wheel so recovered and stopped. Then it loped into the field track opposite where I was stopped, and *I swear* it snarled at me.

Much more worried about a deer leaping from the verge though. On a bike or in a car.

[KiwiMike]

SKS Raceblade Longs say ‘any
SKS Raceblade Longs say ‘any time it’s sunny and you’ve got a free 10 seconds’

🙂

[KiwiMike]

Shep73 wrote:Garmin 800’s are
[quote=Shep73]Garmin 800’s are no where near £500 so not sure where the poster who put that comment got his pricing. If you want navigation then go for a Garmin. Also Garmins give a better fix than a phone. They are also cheaper to replace in a crash than a phone. Garmin can and do repair them which is getting harder with new phones. If you do mount the phone on your bike and manage to smash it, you’re buggered if you use it for navigating or need to call for help.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-edge-800-gps-performance-navigation-bundle/%5B/quote%5D

£300 + £100 for maps + £50 for HRM strap = close as buggery to £500

The idea Garmins give ‘a better fix’ than phones is just wrong I have been plotting and recording rides weekly for years, and have never seen a discrepancy of more than a few % either way between GPS and mega-accurate bike computer going off the wheel. A friend tracks using Garmin on all our rides, comparing Strava tracks again there’s nothing in it.

If you don’t own or need a smartphone, then yes a Garmin might be best. If you already have one there are now multiple waterproof, shockproof options to use your existing hardware to record and navigate for free as opposed to Garmin who have you by the short & curlies regarding map purchases. Battery life and GPS accuracy are not arguments against using phones.

[KiwiMike]

I did exactly this last
I did exactly this last winter. Settled on Shutt Velo Rapide. Very happy. Have loved in the 3/4 knicks and Roubaix tights all winter, the Performance jacket too. The SS and LS smartwool tops are great, as are the Yorkshire tweed caps and the signature buffs. Now migrating into the gilet as it warms up.

Love the fact that a lot of it’s made in the UK, Pete and Lauren are in a farm shed in Oxfordshire, and the kit is tastefully understated while not being Raphaesque.

Just be aware they size for the ‘UK sportive gent’ average, definitely not the euro whippet. Their returns policy is second to none and you can visit to try stuff on.

Have a gander : http://shuttvr.com

[KiwiMike]

To be clear: an iPhone will
To be clear: an iPhone will last over 12hrs on a ride, if you turn off WiFi and mobile data. Ditto mobile navigation like Viewranger, if you set the screen to be off and only wake it for turns.

Battery life simply is not an issue anymore, with the most basic of steps to manage it. Anyone flattening their battery after a few hours is not even remotely trying, and deserves to pay the Garmin tax.

Plus if you are going Audaxing, removable phone btys or external packs are very cheap nowadays.

For navigation in unfamiliar places, a phone is by far the most cost-effective solution. There’s a reason virtually every SAR/mountain rescue organisation in the UK uses smartphones and Viewranger. It works, in the wilds, for a long time. It’ll do a Sunday bimble on the North Downs 🙂

[KiwiMike]

http://road.cc/content/forum/
http://road.cc/content/forum/108899-smartphones-and-long-rides-strategy

There’s a lot of info and suggestions here.

You could spend £500+ on a Garmin and the gubbins, or maybe £150 on HRM/Cadence sensor connected to a new iPhone or some Android phones – check they have either ANT+ or Bluetooth 4 / Bluetooth LE.

That way you can then use online mapping tools like Viewranger et al to plot and navigate routes. Mapping for Garmins is in excess of £100 for UK OS, or free on Viewranger using OpenStreetmap/Cyclemap, for the whole world.

No, there’s no clear answer. It depends on depth of pocket, basically. Technically and usability-wise I don’t see one being better than the other.

[KiwiMike]

Lisa76UK, you could do worse
Lisa76UK, you could do worse than read this thread: http://road.cc/content/forum/108899-smartphones-and-long-rides-strategy

[KiwiMike]

FATBEGGARONABIKE wrote:Can’t

FATBEGGARONABIKE wrote:

Can’t reach you by train (bloody useless Sunday service) shame as that’s a nice part of the world.

There are trains from Waterloo – just a very small number, with only 2 bike spaces per unit. Agreed, useless. Booking essential.

[KiwiMike]

levermonkey wrote:
Reduce

levermonkey wrote:

Reduce pressure by 25psi OR 30psi depending on conditions. Even reduced by 30psi I’ve still got 140psi in the tyre.

According to the science http://janheine.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/science-and-bicycles-1-tires-and-pressure/ you must weight around 130kg 😉

[Author]

Replies