[TheBillder]

Just got round to reading
Just got round to reading this – very interesting. Amazing guts to head off with almost nothing but a bike and a lot of initiative.

Sadly the racism encountered is still so relevant today.

Thanks for sharing.

[TheBillder]

I’d second all of this and it
I’d second all of this and it’s nicely put. 50-34 and 11-32 on my main bike and 11-34 on the other one, because I don’t race, I’m quite heavy, I live in a hilly-ish area, and my climbing style is sit and spin.

If you get it wrong or your fitness changes, or you want to ride in the Dales or Lakes etc, I think it’s easier to change cassette than rings. So get the longer cage derailleur if in doubt, as that still works with smaller cassettes, so gives you options.

[TheBillder]

In my experience the symptoms
In my experience the symptoms you describe are more likely to be in the chain and / or derailleur, especially the back pedalling problem. Freehub designs vary widely and it’s difficult to know how to get a specific one off. This is where a proper bike shop will earn its crust, but if you can’t get the bike booked in… here’s what I would do:

1) clean the chain and re lube, moving every link to find any that are tight. May be time for new chain.

2) clean cassette and derailleur until really sparkling.

3) test back pedalling again with smallest sprocket & largest chain ring selected and hence hopefully all the tension out of the rear gear cable. If your limit screw is correct and so the chain is nicely in gear, but you still have grumbling back pedalling, check that the derailleur cage is hanging vertically – if not, something is bent.

4) you can bend things back straight if v careful but you are into bike shop territory really. A good one (not most Halfords branches) will have the tools to diagnose and fix this. The hanger (bit of metal between frame and derailleur) is designed to bend if the bike is dropped as it’s cheaper to replace. A good bike shop will have the ability to straighten or replace.

5) if nothing is bent, index the gears (YouTube).

6) if after all this, it’s still bad and you suspect the freehub, can you borrow a known ok wheel to help eliminate? The main issue tends to be broken or gummed up pawls, and this gives either no drive at all or a distinct clunk when starting to pedal after coasting.

7) if after all this, the bike shop is still not an option, consider buying another wheel. I have a spare rear wheel for exactly this reason: the freehub failed (broken pawl) and the parts took ages to arrive at the LBS. In the end, for a low end wheel, replacement at the start would have been about the same cost, and now I have a spare so I can swap for different tyre choices and when the hubs need doing…

Hope this helps a bit.

[TheBillder]

Wide shoes made a huge
Wide shoes made a huge difference for me. My feet are not that wide but most road shoes are designed to look cool rather than fit actual human feet.

eBay is good for cheap shoes to try. I’m selling a pair at the moment and prices seem a lot lower than when I’m buying…

[TheBillder]

A belated thank you to all
A belated thank you to all who contributed to this discussion. In the end Santa went for the Regal. The bike it’s going on has been at the painters for over a month so I’m yet to put them together.

Eventually I got so keen to try the saddle that it has gone onto my winter bike, displacing the Madison Flux (a Charge Spoon derivative). So far (3 rides) I’m still getting used to it – much more curved side to side than the Flux. Not yet super comfy but does look amazing, even though the bike is wrong for it.

At some point when the weather is milder I’ll be able to try it with various shorts instead of the Galibier Mistral bib tights that are essential at the moment, and then perhaps I’ll find the perfect combination. If not,. Flite will be on the birthday list.

Thanks again all.

[TheBillder]

I’d like this, and not just
I’d like this, and not just for comments, but in the forum too.

[TheBillder]

Just 2 points here:
Just 2 points here:

1. Car is cheaper than public transport at the margin. If you’re happy paying £250 a month or whatever in fixed costs then yes, it might be cheaper for a specific journey if the car is full. But not a given.

2. The problem with this privileged elite is that it includes an awful lot of people who wouldn’t consider themselves that at all. Car ownership / access is normal and assumed – you get your covid test in a car exactly as schools assume you have broadband and a spare device. This attitude is so hard to shift – many, perhaps most people are going to need to change their life in a way that will not seem positive at first.

[TheBillder]

I get the equality thing,
I get the equality thing, that each road should carry its fair share. But the sat nav era has made small roads far busier and minor streets should carry less through traffic because lots of people live, work, play etc on them.

But also, bluntly, LTNs are about making car travel relatively less convenient as non LTNs take more load. Cost rises only do so much unless we can install road pricing systems – otherwise rural drivers get hit too hard. So congestion can be used as a natural barrier to further car use.

This sucks for people who live on main routes, but there’s no perfect solution until single occupancy car travel us reduced by it being untenable.

[TheBillder]

… lovely thing.
Do I win?
… lovely thing.

Do I win?

[TheBillder]

Thanks for this, I’ll read
Thanks for this, I’ll read that thread. Most of the disc braked bikes in my club squeal in the wet – or they did in Feb 2020… Apart from one guy whose brakes never have. Happens to me on different wheels too, although none of mine is above cheap level.

The only benefit is not needing a bell on a shared use path.

[TheBillder]

Is there a secret? I’ve tried
Is there a secret? I’ve tried different pads etc and only found grease on the back of the pads helps – but it’s no panacea.

[TheBillder]

I do get the ease of levering
I do get the ease of levering the bead back onto the rim but when new to fitting folding tyres they are horrible floppy things that turn inside out while you watch them and your hands get colder and colder at the roadside.

Like trying to tie the thread on a Christmas tree bauble but without the large glass of something agreeable nearby to take the edge off the fury.

Perhaps it’s just me.

[TheBillder]

I got my prescription
I got my prescription sunglasses from spex4less. They were not the absolute cheapest but could supply lenses with details like prism correction. £75 or thereabouts a couple of years ago. I’ve been very happy with them – seem decent optically, frame quality is fine and they look ok – there’s a lot of choice of styles but not many looked right for cycling.

The ones with inserts look a bit nose-heavy to me and that’s a pet hate of mine.

I am short sighted and don’t quite yet need varifocals to read the Garmin. Obviously varifocals will put the price up but when the day comes I’ll try the stick-on films from Amazon first, because I’m a miser.

[TheBillder]

At first sight though, it’s
At first sight though, it’s perhaps better than nothing. How many days is the plain flooded per year? If the alternative is mixing with buses and lorries with magic painted lines for protection, I’d be happier with any improvement.

[TheBillder]

At only 3 x 4m, I’d go for
At only 3 x 4m, I’d go for plenty of height if possible, to allow you to store things above head height. Otherwise 3 x 4 with shelves etc soon becomes pretty small – you’ll end up having to take a bike you’re working on outside to turn it round.

If your domestic politics are anything like mine, the shed soon becomes the place that anything not in current use by your other half goes. Once you have a roof rack, step ladder, mower, other garden tools, bike rack, a chair you’re supposed to have mended and some wood for the fire pit in there, it’s pretty full. I expect my clothes will be exiled next.

[Author]

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