^^There's a lot of this at the moment on Coldharbour Lane where there's roadworks shutting the road down into a single lane controlled by temp traffic lights. Combine it with all the cars following each other through after the lights have changed and it's a bit of a nightmare. Anyway, forgot I was donating platelets yesterday after work so I left my bike at work, forgot I wasn't in today so it's still there (hopefully) and I'll have to get the bus in tomorrow. Quite looking forward to spending the time on the bus reading, that's the thing I miss when I cycle. That and not feeling hungry and tired all the time!
Is it a coincidence that my health starts to return on the "first day of spring" ? The forsythia's starting to bloom too. When I was nearly home, I actually felt myself getting slightly frustrated at being behind someone who was cycling at a sensible speed on the railway path.
For me, it's not just the inherent danger of it, but also giving all cyclists, of which I am one, a bad name.
Just a heads up; I've put a wanted thread in the Recycle forum as I'm looking for a front 700... http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/700-quick-release-front-wheel.289712/
Including me. Since I got a bike with disk brakes for the first time (Jan 2011) I'm a complete convert.
Was doing a guided wine tasting in the shop tonight so left sharpish before the leftovers started getting passed around. Should probably ride after a glass or two more often - avg speed was a shade down on my normal outbound journey and top speed was higher than ride into work (although I was hungry on the way in).
i've put BB7s on a road bike, well a CX bike but its never going to go off road! they are just fantastic, really smooth and light to operate. No rim wear or pad dirt, and they work in the wet.
Wasn't expecting fog this morning!!!! Was having a fun race with another woman for a good 15 minutes (she had a similar build to me, she was on a road bike and I was on my hybrid) - we were pretty well matched, but she ruined it all by cheating and jumping the lights!!!! It was fun while it lasted
Was such a lovely morning today that had I not been helping the missus move in then I would have been straight on the bike. Thankfully, we had the move though as it pissed down at least twice. Will probably go for a spin along the canal tomorrow.
I'm poor and can only afford BB5's, but they still out-perform any rim-brake I've had. I currently have the CycleScheme-dilemma. Where I work is doing the annual 12-month-rental-zero-interest thing and I'm tempted. However, I'm too emotionally attached to my 14-year-old commuting bike.
The only problem I have with disc brakes on a commuting bike is that the pads get easily contaminated, if you ride through puddles with spilt diesel or petrol in them then your pads get contaminated with it and the brakes then basically don't work unless you replace the pads which at 12-15 quid a pop is a bit of a pain. Apart from that they make perfect sense and get rid of the hassle of getting your wheels rebuilt every however many miles because of rim wear. I don't know why rim brake pads don't do this but they don't.
Blimey, I always bow to your superior knowledge Madame Weeps but I have to say that I've not noticed any problems with my disk brake pads despite riding plenty of miles through pretty dodgy rain/filth/diesel, etc. One thing that worries me is that my aged commuting bike (did I say it was 14 years old?) is still on the same rims. I have nightmares about them finally wearing through and ruining my day/face.
Do they feel concave when you put the flat of your fingertip on them? If so, maybe it'd better be new wheel time sooner rather than later. Do the front one first, because when a front rim pops it can be rather terminal. When the back one goes you can at least control the skid. usually you'll get some kind of warning of it being imminent by a sort of 'pulsing' feel through the brake levers under hard braking, as the weakest section of rim begins to bulge out before it splits
I shall rub my finger along my rims first thing tomorrow (no sniggering at the back there) Madame Le Weep.
My experience with these exactly, they are a faff to fit if they fit at all, it's three hours out of my life I won't get back
i've finished paying for my bike through the evans version of this scheme. now i'm tempted to get another...
Keep the old bike for commuting, and invest the cyclescheme dosh in a higher spec newbie for weekend pleasure riding. I'm sure your employer won't police the fact you won't be using it for getting to work - mine never did.
Ok, a little late admittedly, but I've been and run the old digit around the commuting bike's rims. Erm... can I say "inconclusive"? The rim definitely isn't convex, I'd say it was more flat rather than convex or concave. But then in the past, and more than once, my fingers have been accused of being less-than-sensitive. So who am I to judge?
Yes, but I have a bike for weekend riding pleasure already. What I need is a wangle to get the cycle scheme to pay for a total overhaul of my old bike... Any creative suggestions?
Most bicycle disc brake pads are sintered and hence, to some degree, porous. I've had success baking oil contaminants out of them - 20 mins at 220 deg worked for me. Usual caveats apply when doing stinky maintenance experiments in the kitchen.
yeah that makes sense. Never tried baking them, have sometimes been able to save them by shaking them up in a jam jar of brake cleaner. Often the problem can be getting the rotor itself clean enough too, if it's gotten grooved at all.
Such a lovely day yesterday. Gave my bike its 100 mile maintenance, but I'm rarely up to much exertion on a Saturday.... Sunday has started off wet here in Bristol. Nearly cleared now from the west, but it's 5 degrees C out with a north-east wind. I'll wait and see if any actual sunshine appears before considering what was supposed to be my first 20-miler in over 3 months ....
the pads seem a bit of a mystery to me, I put avid organic pads in mine as the sintered ones were a bit harsh… but whats the difference? I'm never going to use them in muddy off road conditions.
My back wheel was a bit wonky this week. Looked buckled or something. So I took it the shop to see if they could do something with it. When I took it off I noticed a snapped spoke too. The Man in the shop dismantled it and found the axel snapped! So I've a new wheel now. Maybe I need less pies in future.
The rims on my rear wheel feel concave. I've had my bike for 2 1/2 years, I use it a lot. What do I do? Get a whole new wheel? What about the gears? I don't understand how it works.
It depends what kind of bike it is, if it was a relatively expensive bike £600ish or up it might be worth getting a new rim rebuilt onto the hub if the hub's still in good nick, if it was cheaper than that you're probably better off buying a whole new wheel. The gear cluster comes off and can be fitted onto the new wheel.
It was a £300 bike. It's a Mongoose Crossway 250. I've looked at 700c wheels on Evans, lowest price is about £80, I can't afford any more than that. Do they come in standard rim width? My tyres are 700 x 37. Cheers
