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You might need to adjust the
You might need to adjust the B screw. I don’t have experience of the Claris but there will be a small screw that sets how low the derailleur sits. This can be needed to clear the new largest sprocket. And you may need a longer chain but worth trying without.This should be an easy upgrade, and a 32 will make an enormous difference.
chrisonatrike wrote:
What the change will do is allow any government to trot out such “victories” fairly regularly over the next decade or so, and say “we told you so” when the EU makes some gaffe / the latest round of corruption and waste is exposed there.
I must say I am very relieved to be able to quantify the produce left in the fields to rot (because British workers are too lazy / not poor enough to want jobs harvesting it) in cwt or bushels rather than pesky horrid French kilogrammes.I have bought but not rented
I have bought but not rented from here: https://www.biketrax.co.uk/hire/ and they are good people with proper road and gravel bikes. Rental will be more expensive than many holiday destinations because bikes lead a harder life here than in sunny places.If you decide to buy a used bike for the month there are sometimes good things at the Bike Station in Edinburgh – it’s a charity that refurbs donated bikes. Prices are keen but stock very variable. You might just get something rideable for less than a month’s rental charges, but don’t expect modern or fancy stuff.
I agree with Chris, East Lothian is a good place to ride – plenty of quiet roads, coastal views, decent hills and good cafés, in particular the Old Smiddy at Tyninghame, the Lanterne Rouge in Gifford and Falko in Haddington. Cake is the main focus of my riding.
If you are into hills then take a look at Redstone Rig and Crystal Rig, two stingers quite close to each other.
You will need an eye for a pothole and a waterproof jacket – the Edinburgh festival starts at the beginning of August and torrential rain is guaranteed. And bizarrely, even in summer the local weather can be pretty cold on the coast and warm in the hills.
I bought the cheapest
I bought the cheapest Halfords racks and got 4 onto my roof bars fairly easily. The car is a Toyota Verso, so reasonably wide. Bikes went on in alternate directions, and were a mix of large gravel bike, small road bike and 2 hybrids. The hardest part was lifting the heavy hybrids onto the roof – the Verso is quite tall and I have an iffy shoulder, so I took a tiny step ladder to help with loading.Putting it all together was a pain, so I’ve kept it all in one piece since. Fitting it back on the car takes 2 people.
This is the current version: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/roof-mounted-bike-racks/halfords-roof-mount-bike-rack-635780.html so £120 for four, assuming you already have roof bars.
I seldom take 4 bikes now so have switched to a 3 bike Saris Bones rack on the tailgate, but I’m not convinced that 4 on the tailgate is sensible for weight reasons. Bikes on the roof are terrible for fuel consumption but abroad, I’d worry about obscured tail lights and inability to wriggle out of police situations in French…
Hope this helps.
All these salary sacrifice
All these salary sacrifice schemes, from childcare to pensions, suffer from the same flaws. The more you earn, the more you can save, and those who need help the most won’t get it as they don’t earn enough.There’s a school of thought that if you are not working, or not getting a better paid job, you are clearly not trying hard enough and you should get on the bike you can’t afford. Sadly some of those who adhere to that school think that people should just strive a bit harder if they earn less than the average, so we could all then earn more than the average, just like the 99.9% of drivers who are above average.
I’ve no idea how better to get bikes into the hands of those who need them but there must be some way to improve things. Universal income might do it, but to get there, it might be better not to start from here.
An Allez is probably going to
An Allez is probably going to cost more than an equivalent Btwin due to brand snobbery.My rule of thumb on used bikes is that the make and model is a lot less important than the condition. A tired drive train could easily cost you another £100-150 to sort out. So a nicely looked after aluminium bike with no suspiciously crazed paint (which would indicate crash damage), a clean chain, gear changes that just snick satisfyingly and reasonably true wheels but a humble groupset will probably do you better than a filthy wreck with fancier spec. And probably less likely to have been nicked – inspect seller as well as bike.
Clarkson has a major
Clarkson has a major opportunity – if he thinks his grandchildren might be right, he could use his profile and undoubted media skills (see his TV film about Brunel) to change a lot of minds. But he needs to do it before his influence on the drivist lot wanes.I can’t easily read the article due to the usual paywall, so perhaps he has begun the process. I choose the media payments I make carefully, which precludes Mr Murdoch’s outlets.
ktache wrote:
But on a train you don’t have to concentrate what you are doing, you can gaze at the passing countryside, read a book (join and use your local library). Eat or drink, when mask usage allows. And any delays, read a few more pages, nothing to get to worried about.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DqZ8e0PLFDeY&ved=2ahUKEwjz5-6S2tX2AhXknVwKHTLYCFsQwqsBegQIBBAE&usg=AOvVaw2Xv8U2KTu8b1yHRtinTwWA perhaps?There’s also a big dose of
There’s also a big dose of “some people sometimes need a car and hence nobody should use public transport”. I’m very tired of people saying “but what if you’re disabled?” as an excuse to carry on with their driving tiny distances. The perfect cannot be the enemy* of the good.*Auto correct offered me “enema” there and it took a major effort not to use it…
Jimwill wrote:
Cheaper and more reliable public transport, which would surely come if more people used it?
Or if you build it, they will come? Sadly I think you could gold plate the buses, serve champagne and canapes, and make it all free, and still many would not want to try it.Public transport is quite good in my city (Edinburgh). The buses are clean and modern, the information about which bus to take and when it’s coming is fairly accurate and easy to access, the fares are ok ish. You can pay by debit card, and if you’d have spent less with a day ticket than the individual journey costs, that’s all you get charged. Most routes go via the centre which is not ideal, and you get charged again if you need to change bus, but apart from that, it’s decent.
And yet still lots of people drive into the city. I cycle past many on my commute, all looking glum, tired and bored. On the bus they could snooze, read, doom-scroll, etc.
I think the problem is tribal – these people are not bus people, and they don’t want to risk sitting next to a bus person in case they catch bus fleas or poverty germs or something. “I have an Audi that I pay hundreds a month for and therefore I cannot share a bus with my inferiors. This attitude costs me hundreds more in fuel and parking but it is worth it to avoid the underclass and demonstrate my superiority.”
Cars are a status symbol and an outward marking of identity and position in a hierarchy. It takes a lot to change that. I must admit that my cycling is also an identity – I have a nice bike and nice kit and am seen to be active. We need to think about how we can change the psychology almost as much as the service and infrastructure.
A chum of mine had a similar
A chum of mine had a similar problem last week; turns out he also had WTB rims on a gravel bike, and noticed cracks when giving it the annual clean. My guess is that from strong, light cheap, WTB went with the latter two.He’s shrugged and bought some DT Swiss replacements.
3000 spaces when 1500 are
3000 spaces when 1500 are already on the waiting list in a city of 600k + people (depending on where you draw the boundaries). It’s a start.“And of course every driver
“And of course every driver is a nurse returning home after a 12 hour shift, fridge in hand or a devoted son/daughter son visiting a sick relative.”This is the thing I loathe. So many people say that no traffic reduction of any kind will ever be possible because some people need a vehicle sometimes. No one is suggesting that all motorised traffic will be banned – just that journeys that don’t need it should not use it. Quite simple, but people in SUVs travelling a few hundred yards couldn’t possibly do without their car for a moment.
Not the fault of the driver,
Not the fault of the driver, this one. His shoes are guilty as sin though.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-60335724
Fantastic Rendel, I look
Fantastic Rendel, I look forward to next Christmas’s mad fundraiser as this is now clearly a tradition.
