How was your cycle commute?

[fredfelt]

My new saddle has arrived.
Much better made than the Brooks - but very hard.

Before fitting it thoroughly check your seat post for any signs of wear. Where you attach the saddle to it may well be damaged and this can cause saddles to fail.

 

[gentlegreen]

Before fitting it thoroughly check your seat post for any signs of wear. Where you attach the saddle to it may well be damaged and this can cause saddles to fail.

in what way ?
The new one has chrome rails .. the seatpost clamp is alloy and I considered smearing copper grease just in case there was electrolytic action - but I've only used it for 12 months, 2,000 miles, 200 hours...

 

[DownwardDog]

My new saddle has arrived.
Much better made than the Brooks - but very hard.

The Merckx solution of olive oil works quite well to soften a new leather saddle. Use sparingly on the underside.

 

[DownwardDog]

in what way ?
The new one has chrome rails .. the seatpost clamp is alloy and I considered smearing copper grease just in case there was electrolytic action - but I've only used it for 12 months, 2,000 miles, 200 hours...

You can't get galvanic corrosion without an electrolyte present. Unless you're going to be cycling around the deck of a Bering Sea crab boat I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Onket]

I thought I was going a bit slow today, then I got overtaken by someone wearing chinos and shirt, who had his rucksack hanging off one side of his handlebars.

 

[gentlegreen]

The Merckx solution of olive oil works quite well to soften a new leather saddle. Use sparingly on the underside.

These saddles actually have a synthetic fabric glued to the underside and maybe a coat of lacquer - perhaps to make up for cheap leather - so I don't think it would penetrate ...
Perhaps the Brooks was as hard as this when I got it - I certainly resisted deploying it...

 

[Orang Utan]

Got an email from the rozzers about the incident last week:

Thank you for your submission to Road Safe London, it is appreciated and has now been investigated by Police.
You reported an incident on 16.07.13 where the driver of a Highways Maintenance liveried van deliberately tried to knock you off your bicycle in Queen's Road, Peckham.
You provided details of the vehicle concerned and we have undertaken all appropriate checks on that vehicle. Unfortunately, the registration number you provided does not relate to a Highways Maintenance vehicle and so we are unable to proceed with your complaint any further. If additional information becomes available then this position can be reconsidered.
I appreciate this may not be the outcome you were hoping for however I would ask that this does not deter you from reporting poor driving practices to Road Safe London in the future.
I would appreciate that you did not reply to this e-mail but submit any future reports/information through the official Road Safe web site.

eh?

 

[gentlegreen]

Cameras are definitely a good idea.
Some people manage in addition to say the reg out loud, but I never can.
I also don't wear my driving glasses when cycling so I can't even read them in the first place.

 

[Orang Utan]

Are they telling me I got the registration wrong?
What are they saying?

 

[Ted Striker]

The van isn't a Highways Maintenance one...Maybe a subcontractor that had Highways livery but not a 'Highways Maintenance' van proper?

Either way they should continue investigating - unless they're only interested in HM faults?

 

[weepiper]

gentlegreen that saddle failed because you were using the wrong component, Brooks won't be interested because you've invalidated their warranty by doing so. When the original tensioning pin snapped you should have stopped using it and taken it back to a shop to get sent off.

 

[weepiper]

Also, stand up for the bumps. You're a big bloke and arms and legs are great suspension. We spend a lot of time repairing broken spokes/buckled wheels/broken bits that could have been prevented by the owners not riding over kerbs/potholes while sitting down.

 

[gentlegreen]

I definitely don't treat my saddle as a comfy chair
But I have naturally high core strength so don't find myself out of the saddle for sprints or hills - perhaps if I manage to lose the excess weight and start seeking them out and raising my cadence.
Being a MTB, I do stand up when it gets really bumpy - and there's no jumping off kerbs.

 

[Orang Utan]

I never get out of my saddle! It seems like cheating or summat

 

[gentlegreen]

I struggle to see how using an improvised tensioner could cause the support rails to break - it may explain the cracked nose.

 

[joustmaster]

I never get out of my saddle! It seems like cheating or summat

even when going over speed bumps?

 

[fredfelt]

in what way ?
The new one has chrome rails .. the seatpost clamp is alloy and I considered smearing copper grease just in case there was electrolytic action - but I've only used it for 12 months, 2,000 miles, 200 hours...

My last two saddles broke on the rails due to a burr / fracture on the seat post mounts for the saddle. It wasn't an obvious break on the seat post and I only identified the problem after the second saddle failed and I thought something must be wrong.

It was a good excuse to treat myself a Thompson seat post and a Charge Spoon saddle which has currently given three years of good service.

 

[Orang Utan]

even when going over speed bumps?

I tend to go around them

 

[girasol]

Are they telling me I got the registration wrong?
What are they saying?

couldn't you just report directly to the police? If you have the number plate, then it doesn't matter if the vehicle is or isn't from the people you contacted... (Highway Maintenance)

 

[gentlegreen]

My last two saddles broke on the rails due to a burr / fracture on the seat post mounts for the saddle. It wasn't an obvious break on the seat post and I only identified the problem after the second saddle failed and I thought something must be wrong.

Thanks.


I'll get my rat-tail file out

Actually I suppose it could spur me to order a new seatpost with more layback ...

 

[Orang Utan]

couldn't you just report directly to the police? If you have the number plate, then it doesn't matter if the vehicle is or isn't from the people you contacted... (Highway Maintenance)

I did - the email I quoted is from the police

 

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[girasol]

I did - the email I quoted is from the police

In that case, no wonder you are confused... I am...

 

[weepiper]

I struggle to see how using an improvised tensioner could cause the support rails to break - it may explain the cracked nose.

The fact that the tensioner pin broke in the first place probably compromised the saddle. It should have been returned for a replacement.

 

[Onket]

Are they telling me I got the registration wrong?
What are they saying?

Put their response "through the official Road Safe web site" and ask them.

 

[gentlegreen]

The fact that the tensioner pin broke in the first place probably compromised the saddle. It should have been returned for a replacement.

I bought the saddle second-hand. I only looked underneath after I realised it was slacker than other people's. And there was an annoying squeaking ...
I'm still amazed that a burr on an alloy seatpost clamp could stress a steel rail... but it is at the limit of rear placement - even though I already seem to have a post with layback.

 

[weepiper]

I bought the saddle second-hand. .

so why are you sending them emails saying you'll never buy their product again they didn't sell you it in the first place and you've no idea what its history is or whether it's a manufacturing defect or a result of previous abuse.

 

[gentlegreen]

so why are you sending them emails saying you'll never buy their product again they didn't sell you it in the first place and you've no idea what its history is or whether it's a manufacturing defect or a result of previous abuse.

It was completely unused - bought from a fellow CTC member. Took me several weeks to break it in - which is a key reason I'm pissed off.

 

[gentlegreen]

Well my new saddle is bloody hard.
At the moment I feel a bit like Sheldon when someone has replaced his spot with a board.

 

[Orang Utan]

Put their response "through the official Road Safe web site" and ask them.

I was hungover and exhausted this morning, but I am going to try and speak to her. That's a really shitty fobbing off.