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For the big brands that sell
For the big brands that sell through there, it acts a bit like financial hedging. It will tend to be end of line stock that they have failed to get rid of in their own sales. They can sell the stock off to Sport Pursuit (usually at cost or sometimes less than cost) and thereby recouping some of the cost in one go, rather than wait ages for items to sell. Sport Pursuit have then effectively taken the sales risk on.
If the brands discounted the items massively on their own sale platforms, there is a risk that it might be seen as devaluing their brand and negatively impacting on the sales of their current main lines. By shifting the stock onto a different platform (Sport Pursuit) the big brands can keep their own websites more focused on their most recent offerings.
There are also lots of more minor foreign brands that will use sport pursuit as their main bridge to the UK market. This is the case for quite a few of the eastern european brands that you see on there – it just doesn’t make sense for them to run their own sales in UK when they can sell to Sport Pursuit instead. I’ve had loads of good camping kit from such brands.
The other major root for Sport Pursuit getting stock is when distributors collapse – Sport Pursuit will buy up lots of the stock for virtually no cost. This is why there is so much Lake stock on there at the moment
I’m local to this, living
I’m local to this, living just up the hill from the Royal Crescent. I use this lane every weekday as part of my commute from central Bath to Central Bristol.
It’s not a great design to be honest. I would have much preferred them to stick a two direction bike lane on just one side of the road – wide enough that emergency vehicles could use it in emergencies (just like they use the Embankment cyclelane in london – actually allows for much faster transit by emergency vehicles). It’s far too short – would be better used if it was longer – so in its current incarnation does not really provide a safe protected route for many (it would need to link the centre to the railway path to be genuinely useful, or at least to Locksbrook Road).
Given I mostly see the lane when I am actually using it, I would say that it is lightly used, but that this is increasing. As the weather gets better I am seeing more people using it in both directions, morning and evening. More would probably use it if it was better designed, and there has to be an element of induced demand. Create facilities, and people will begin to use them, but it takes time.
The park is not an alternative route – the road through the park goes in a circle and doesn’t enable east-west transit.
The river is not a great route, but is the most used one due to it previously being the only half safe option. It can be busy with pedestrians and is very narrow at points, so there is potential for conflict and danger. Large stretches of the river route are badly surfaced, and large stretches are unlit (if you are linking up with the Bath-Bristol Railway Path).
Yes, there are some vulnerable residents along the Upper Bristol Road. There are just about anywhere. Having done polling along the vast majority of the road though, I know that the majority of residents are not elderly or vulnerable. A very large proportion of the residences, especially where the bike lanes are, are rented. The north side lane (running east) borders the park, is almost half B&Bs. There is a rear lane (admittedly narrow) providing access to all of these properties, including offroad parking for almost every property.
The south side lane (running west) does primarily border houses. Again though, it is worth taking a look at a satelite image on google maps. Many of these have rear access lanes. A number of the housing blocks have rear parking.
One final point – the turning from Upper Bristol Road onto Marlborough Lane. This was an accident black-spot, with vehicles turning in at speed ignoring pedestrians and then getting in to trouble as the road is pretty narrow (with cars parked down one side, two vehicles can pass as long as they are being careful and are not both very wide). Building out the pavements has made it much easier and safer for pedestrians to cross. Most large vehicles manage to make the turning without too much drama. It is not designed as a major thoroughfare (although it is quite busy) – it is a 20mph mostly residential road.
Apparently Bristol consider
Apparently Bristol consider the Railway Path an important route, so do do some work to keep it clear of ice. BANES don’t list it as a route that they clear, so obviously don’t consider it an important travel route.
Given the vast difference in the number of people who use the path (both on foot and by bike) at the Bristol end compared to the Bath end, I’m not surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised
I decided to risk it this
I decided to risk it this morning. Took the gravel bike with 650b 48mm tyres. From Bath to just after Warmley it was sketchy – quite a bit of ice, but manageable riding carefully with the big tyres. From Mangotsfield into the centre it was fine – looks like that has all been gritted as there was no ice at all.
I’ll see what the conditions are like on my ride back to Bath this evening, but given the state of the first half of the path this morning, I don’t think I’ll commute in tomorrow. I’ve got a pair of studded tyres on order, so will be much happier to ride in on icy days with those when they arrive
Good point, but was always my favourite time of year to ride off road, as summer tend to be on the road.
Apparently I’m too heavy for the X-Ones, on Wiggle they’re saying max load of 75kg which even without the bike I’m comfortably over at the minute.
That’s probably 75kg for each tyre. So, if the weight distribution is 55% rear 45% front, that would be a max weight of 136kg total
When I do it (which isn’t as often as Jack!) I use the B2B path as far as Saltford, then come off onto the A4; there’s a reasonably decent segregated path as far as the keynsham bypass. Then I go through Keynsham, nip off on the bus lane back to the A4, then follow it into town. it’s about 75% cycle lanes or bus lanes that way and fairly direct.Thanks Dave. That Komoot tour is coming up as private, but I’m pretty sure I understand the route you describe.
Hi Paul, I’m road.cc’s Bristol-to-Bath pather in chief and ride it three to four times a week!The A4 isn’t the most pleasant route at all, although I do sometimes ride it if I’m late and/or have a particularly tasty tailwind… https://www.strava.com/activities/2580741607
There’s one section of dual carriageway with a crash barrier on your left and central reservation in the middle which is particularly dodgy, and going from Bath to Bristol there’s a nasty blind bend after a roundabout – best avoided if I’m honest.
The cycle path, on the other hand, is largely an excellent cycle route and it’s rideable year-round. I commute on it in the depths of winter and only tend to duck out if it’s icy or really hammering it down. It can get mushy on the Bath side so I’d recommend 28mm tyres minimum in winter, but in spring and summer you can pretty much use your best road bike. If you are arriving at the Bristol end during peak hours it will be busy with children walking to school and other commuters, so you need to be cautious and your last three miles will be a bit of a write-off.
Here are a couple of examples of my commutes, you can tick along at a decent speed most days:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2577893140
https://www.strava.com/activities/2595221482See you on the path some time!
Thanks Jack! In the back of my head I thought that taking the path would take considerably longer, but that looks fine (even going a bit slower it should be doable in around an hour or so).
I think I’ll need to do a few dummy runs to get my head round the different options.
Mat Brett wrote:
Agree with londonplayer. People aren’t motivated to go online and post, “Broke my leg but the surgeon was really good and I recovered quickly without incident.” I snapped my elbow off last year and read a bunch of horror stories about recovery and long-term problems. I was swimming again in less that 4 weeks.Well, I’ll chime in to say that the medical team I had after shattering my ankle were absolutely amazing and the recovery, although long, was pretty smooth considering the amount of damage.
I signed up for the 2017 Ride Across Britain at the end of August 2016, then a week later I was hit by a van on my first proper training ride. The guy was doing 50mph in a 30 zone, and ploughed through me at over 30mph. Considering the speed and the fact I was thrown 40 foot through the air, I was super lucky. Mostly minor cuts and bruises apart from my right ankle and foot, which had rotated almost 360 degrees and was hanging rather limply from my leg.
I had shattered my right talus completely, done damage to some of the other bones, damaged the blood vessles through the ankle to the foot, and damaged many of the ligaments and tendons. 4 hours of surgery later and the brilliant team at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital had pieced it back together again, although they said that the blood supply had been so badly damaged that they didn’t expect the bones to heal and that it was likely I would lose my foot.
Happily, I’ve still got the foot. 12 weeks completely non-weight bearing and a few months more to get to the point where I didn’t need crutches. I was back on the bike on the turbo on new year’s day 2017, 10 minutes of spinning with virtually no resistance, and I very slowly built from there. I had deferred the 2017 Ride Across Britain place to 2018, and managed to complete that (and all the training leading up to it) with no problems. I can’t take any real impact through that ankle, so no running or jumping, but I can still ride. At the time of doing Ride Across Britain in September last year I was a stronger rider than I had ever been before the injury. That was a lot of hard work by me, and the brilliant work of the medical team that put me back together.
Looks a nicely specc’d bike 105 groupset, hydro brakes wide, tyre capability. I noticed it has a braze on derailleur, so might limit you if want to change size of crankset. But why would you, if its an fast road bike.Video link to look over bike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tra7ez0jobM
Thanks! It’s nice to see more than just a few static images.
I’ve found that braze on derailleur mounts still tend to have enough range to be able to switch between a semi compact 52-36 and a proper 50-34 compact. I’ve got a more ‘all-purpose’ bike (GT Grade carbon 105) so this would don’t really need any greater flexibility for this and the 52-36 would be my choice if i was choosing the components myself
I’d probably stick some deeper section carbon wheels – nothing too fancy but probably something along the lines of Hunt’s 50mm deep rims or prime’s deeper rims – and keep the stock wheels for one of my other bikes.
The trek emoda alr 5 would seem to be another good option and seems highly rated but on purely aesthetic grounds it doesn’t really ‘look’ racy, and if I’m going to go for an agressive bike I at least want it to look the part (well, until my rotund carcass gets on it at least).
I’ve had my Hammerhead Karoo since December last year. Initially it was a pretty basic unit, but the regular (at first almost weekly, now bi-weekly) updates have meant I now have a unit which I’m proud to use. Two major issues though that may turn some off (didn’t turn me off) 1) there is no audio chip so no beeps or other audio cues and 2) it’s BIG. The screen size works for me as it’s been great for routes, the maps are clear and turn by turn instructions fantastic. The display is awesome, nice and bright and works in all light conditions. Battery life is spot on me for me too (have done a few 10 hour plus rides with stll over 25% battery left at the end). I like how you can turn the screen off too, to help battery life and also avoid any distractions.I got to test one for a month early this year. Overall I quite liked it. There was some massive issues with the software and holes in what it could do, but nothing that couldn’t be patched. Indeed, it looks like most of the issues on that front that I had have now been patched through the regular updates (although from what I’ve been told by a few friends recently it still has a number of areas that desperately need attention). Batterly life was good and I loved the screen both for interacting with and just being able to see detail well. The massive size (and substantial weight) would almost certainly put racier types off, but for most of my use it was hardly a major issue.
The lack of audio cues was a dealbreaker for me though. I live in central london and spend a lot of time riding in heavily built up areas (both in and out of london). If I have to look at the screen all the time to be able to follow a route then I’ll end up under the wheels of a car. No matter how good the routing software and how clear the mapping, for me that whole side of things was ruined by the lack of something that would warn me when I needed to look at the unit to see a turn.
I normally spend very little time actually looking at my head unit when riding. I take very quick glances every now and again or when it beeps to warn me that I need to do something. That’s one of the reasons why a really clear big screen that the Hammerhead has would have been a good thing for me (helps really quickly see the information i want), but i just can’t live with it without the audio signals
I recently purchased a Kickr Core off of Wiggle. A week worth of use and the heavy knocking sound had kicked in. I contacted both Wiggle and Wahoo at the same time, sending a short video of the unit in use making the noise. Wahoo replied almost immediately to say they would replace the unit. I’m currently waiting to receive the replacement – fingers crossed it works as intended.Exactly the same as my experience. I’ve asked them 3 times what the situation is with getting a replacement & either they can’t read or just conveniently forget to see it & just bang on about how to return the trainer. I must’ve had the same generic return email 3 times rather than 1 that actually address my points.
Incidentally I didn’t think Wiggle have ever stocked the Core?
It looks like Wiggle received a small supply of the units which went very quickly (the platinum discount meant that it was significantly cheaper than everywhere else). I bought mine a couple of weeks ago – now not showing on wiggle at all.
I contacted wahoo last friday and they had the unit collected from my house on Tuesday. If I receive the replacement withn a week of that I will be happy with their service.
I recently purchased a Kickr
I recently purchased a Kickr Core off of Wiggle. A week worth of use and the heavy knocking sound had kicked in. I contacted both Wiggle and Wahoo at the same time, sending a short video of the unit in use making the noise. Wahoo replied almost immediately to say they would replace the unit. I’m currently waiting to receive the replacement – fingers crossed it works as intended.
I’ve got 28mm hutchinson
I’ve got 28mm hutchinson sectors on my bike at the moment and I’ve found their wet weather grip to be good. I’m running then at around 70psi (I’m just over 80 kilos). Recently did Land’s End to John O’Groats on them and they were great. They do take a good bit of wearing in when brand new, but that’s generally my experience for all road tubeless tyres.
The hutchinson fusion 5 11storm tyres are faster and grippier than the sectors (and the pro ones), but more lightweight / not as resilient.
Conti are bringing edit- road tubeless tyres to market, there was some news about it a month or so ago..Regarding comfort, you can run tubeless at a lower psi to tubes.
I’m happily running road tubeless at high (or low) pressures and have been for years.Get it right and it’s no faff whatsoever, it’s a revelation!
Be warned, buy the wrong sealant or set it up wrong and you’ll be swearing about tubeless, many people have got it wrong, often the people you see ‘warning you off it’ on forums like this.
I use bontrager sealant which is excellant at high pressures, but be warned you need to shake the bottle to get the sediment mixed before putting in your tyre. I’ve also used orange seal which I found not to be okay. Keep away from Continenal Revo, Stans (although I hear they’ve revised their formula now) and Schwable Blue – all of which I’ve found to be pretty useless over about 70psi).
Can’t agree enough about getting the right sealant. Standard Stans is useless at the sort of pressures you would be using in a road bike tyre (although the stans race sealant is much better). I’ve found standard Orange Seal works really well, but that the ‘endurance’ versions is awful. Conti Revo, understandably since its explicitly aimed at using with their MTB tyres, is pants at road pressures. Not tried the schwalbe blue – i’ll avoid on your advice. I really like the hutchinson sealant – I’ve never had any major issues with it.
I’ve been using road tubeless since 2012 and things have certainly got a lot better since then – mainly the design of the tyres having improved making them much easier to fit (which also makes them easier to deal with when you do get a puncture that won’t seal)
Standard puncture patches
Standard puncture patches should hold, but you can also get more specific products designed for the inside of the tyre, such as the Hutchinson Rep’Air kit (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hutchinson-repair-tubeless-repair-kit/) – I’ve used these in the past with a lot of success
