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Certainly enjoyed. Could feel
Certainly enjoyed. Could feel pain in my legs just watching – I’m really awful at hillclimbs. Thanks for putting that together – very nicely done.It’s been 10 days now and I
It’s been 10 days now and I still can’t think of a joke around “wife rear derailleur”. Someone help out?Whoever that was should do
Whoever that was should do the right thing! Questions and answers could keep this forum going, and it will be people like you who give their time we should all thank. So on behalf of whoever got to ride in the Wye Valley (long time since I’ve been there but so beautiful) I say thanks Welsh Boy.Mine were the Routes North of Otley (N Yorkshire). I felt a bit guilty for my lack of planning but the forum rescued me. Also a shame that I couldn’t ride them all – almost every road was well worth doing.
Home now, having done Norwood
Home now, having done Norwood Edge, then a loop based on iandusud’s list of roads and villages via Kirby Overblow. After that I had a bit of trouble with my Achilles, but got persuaded to have a go at Buttertubs and then back to Hawes by Oxnop Scar after a day off. Buttertubs was hard but Oxnop is just mental.You’re all right, it’s a wonderful area to ride (with the right gearing) and I hope to be back soon. Thank you to everyone for the tips etc, much appreciated.
Just try Cycling Weakly or
Just try Cycling Weakly or Bike Radar if you want pish reviews. They’re just above the level of “I bought this for my grandson, hasn’t been delivered yet but he’s sure to love it, 5*” on Amazon. At least here I get the impression that someone has used something for a while and has some clue. We know how the commercials work and read carefully, but these are the best we have.I really hope that it thrives
I really hope that it thrives, as it has been useful and interesting. I’m currently on a week’s holiday and riding some routes that were suggested in the forum. I’ve got mechanical questions which I’ll post after I’m home. I’ll surely have other things to say and ask and I hope the community is around for those.Perhaps like many, this site is one I read almost daily. The reviews are the best I’ve found, the news is there, and the comments are usually thoughtful. If the forum is a bit quiet, perhaps that’s a reflection of the news team getting more of the day’s issues into the blog or main stories.
Turns out we are 300 metres
Turns out we are 300 metres from Norwood Edge so that was used for the first little sortie. Blimey, I’ll be a better climber by the end of the week!There is / was a feature in a
There is / was a feature in a pilots’ magazine called “I learned about flying from that”. Pilots who had made mistakes were encouraged to write in anonymously and tell a story that could be instructive for others. This is the closest we have, and as others have said, sometimes comments do help give the benefit of their knowledge of roadcraft.On and off, I’ve been road cycling for 40 years (with quite a long break in the middle) but the regular commuters on here are still way ahead of me and I have plenty to learn. Nowhere else (that I know of in the UK) does this so I think it would be a shame to lose it.
Thanks both. An atonement
Thanks both. An atonement holiday sounds quite useful, burning off cakes past, soon to be replaced… I will look at all of these and get planning!Disc rotors are fairly cheap
Disc rotors are fairly cheap so if your preferred wheels are centre lock then it’s probably not a deal breaker. Zondas have many fans, but these were well reviewed recently too: https://road.cc/content/review/prime-baroudeur-road-disc-wheelset-272611The 105 vs SRAM Rival article
The 105 vs SRAM Rival article that has been, er, re-released to a grateful audience today, also contains the suggestion that the R7000 105 medium cage derailleurs can do 40t. 5800 not very different So fill your boots with spinny gears.I have (I think) the medium
I have (I think) the medium cage 105. Def the 5800, ~90 mm between the pulley centres. Has run 32t from new. Other bike has same size Tiagra and I switched that from 28 to 34 (& still really struggled in the Lake District!). Both shift perfectly once the B screw is adjusted to get the chain tensioning right. The 28-34 switch didn’t even seem to need a longer chain.Alledgedly these derailleurs can cope with 40t.
How about a stem with
How about a stem with negative rise (i.e. sloping down from the steerer to the bars)? You might even find the existing stem can be turned over.You may also find that you could get a bit more effective reach with a longer stem, and whilst it’s not the same as having the geometry that you really want, it might work.
Obviously don’t go too extreme with either idea as the handling will change a bit.
FWIW the stack / reach ratio is my favourite measure of frame raciness. There’s a lot more to that (e.g. chainstay length) but it gives a decent idea of how flexible you need to be, or how much it’ll ask of your core and back.
Sounds as if you have enough
Sounds as if you have enough tips but here’s mine… As long as you go carefully (small adjustments, know what you’ve done, be prepared to undo again), truing on a rim braked bike isn’t very difficult and you won’t do any damage that a shop couldn’t rectify easily.So this might be a good time to learn. For small adjustments you don’t need anything more than a spoke key, and some patience. There will be videos out there – I don’t know them cos I taught myself shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire.
I actually look forward to truing as it’s quite satisfying, like getting a guitar or violin exactly in tune.
I found the roundabout
I found the roundabout discussion troubling. Usually we have found ways to say “the cyclist could have done better” or “actually that wasn’t all that bad” or “I can see that being difficult for all”. Without rehashing the zillions of posts on that topic, I thought all parties were wrong and yet all deserved some sympathy. Those nuances were lost. We have become polarised just like American politics.Why has this happened? I do think it’s recent and it is due to repeated postings with a pro-motorist, right-of-centre slant. That viewpoint has about 90% of the dead tree press and a good proportion of electronic media firmly on its side. This site is pretty much the only voice of the road cyclist and we do need to protect that. I am not in favour of the “safe spaces” idea that has arisen in universities. We should consider and hear the other side of the debate, and not remain in bubbles – despite temptation to use scripts to exclude some contributors, and confirmation from one of those prolific posters that they do the same.
But it is very difficult to stay calm that when some contributors take only one line, repeatedly and stridently. They never seem to comment on kit, or help those with technical questions, or offer encouragement. They just predictably pop up with at best, spin on behalf of the dangerous majority. LTN opposition, compulsory helmets, registration, insurance, all the topics calculated to push a lot of buttons. It is difficult not to see them as interlopers from Planet Car. As hawkinspeter says, there are trigger words. Hard to see a point being made or anyone being persuaded to question their ideas; easy to see a rise being encouraged.
I usually disagree with eburtthebike* on helmets, but eburt has other things to say, which I read and value. I do not see that very much from the two accounts that are causing such angst. I have tried very hard not to rise to the bait of their postings, and often failed. I have agreed with both, very rarely – but I’m always going to comment when I do, because that’s only fair.
So I challenge both – you know who you are. Take a month, build up a track record of positive posting. Show this community that you have help to offer but stay off your favourite controversies. Give opinions on cleats, wheel truing, Julian Alaphillipe, Hardknott vs the Bealach, etc. You may even find an appreciative audience. Otherwise I think you’ll find the oxygen of readership in short supply, whether by filters, or simply avoiding your posts.
*Just an example – someone who I’m sure will not mind my use of their name, who has trenchant views. I apologise if eburt is in any way affronted by this.
