How was your cycle commute?

[gentlegreen]

And why not, it only partially impacts on your sight, and you can still see the tailgating cager cunts, etc, etc, me, me, me. Everyone else is wrong.

Oh do fuck off - you're like a one groove record.

 

[weepiper]

Arse. arse, arse.
No ride this evening - I even had a special banana sandwich in preparation for it.
Just as I was wheeling the bike out of the bike shed I realised what the scrunching sound had been coming from my front wheel.
I could actually get my fingernail in through the crack in the rim at one point.

Argh have you seen what happens when a front rim fails?

 

[gentlegreen]

Argh have you seen what happens when a front rim fails?

Luckily when it happened before, I was slowly exiting where I work.
Being Mavic EX721 double wall rims, the tyre stayed inflated - the wheel simply unzipped.
Though thinking about it, it was the back wheel.

This current wheel was the one I had on at the time - not quite as bad, but I replaced it on impulse ...

 

[steeeve]

How about one of these?

https://www.missionbicycle.com/store/ulock-holster

I want to use the bike mount ideally but it rattles like hell, the bar rattles against the u bit and the rubber washers supplied don't work. terrible design. Will try the old inner idea though

 

[Crispy]

Mine rattles too, but I don't mind. Means people can hear me coming.

 

[steeeve]

Mine rattles too, but I don't mind. Means people can hear me coming.

ah well I'll just have to turn my headphones up to drown it out (joke)

 

[Orang Utan]

Stick it in a rucksack! (Again)

 

[Crispy]

I like having it on the bike. It's impossible to forget to take it with me.

 

[gentlegreen]

Mine has lived in the same place for 12 years and 20-odd thousand miles - I can't say I notice it rattling particularly.

 

[steeeve]

I don't where a rucksack so as to avoid a sweaty back at work (only 1 shower) and my seat post bag is usually full.

It's the kryptonite design that the issue, the locking bar is removable and sits loose

 

[gentlegreen]

It's the kryptonite design that the issue, the locking bar is removable and sits loose

But you have to unlock it to detach it ?
That's how mine works.
Not sure of the actual brand.

I bought a new one recently - on special offer by the fuzz.
But not only is it insanely heavy, you have to unlock it to extract it from the clamp and I forsee that being somewhat annoying.

 

[steeeve]

But you have to unlock it to detach it ?
That's how mine works.
Not sure of the actual brand.

I bought a new one recently - on special offer by the fuzz.
But not only is it insanely heavy, you have to unlock it to extract it from the clamp and I forsee that being somewhat annoying.

the U part clips into the bracket without needing to unlock it and the bracket holds the U part securely which is good, but the locking bar is relatively loose on the U part and not held by the bracket making it rattle a lot.

 

[Orang Utan]

I like having it on the bike. It's impossible to forget to take it with me.

Fair dos, I just don't want anything on my bike that doesn't need to be there. I never forget my bag as it has all my stuff in it

 

[goldenecitrone]

Been a pleasant week back on the Regent's Canal. It's going to be hard to change jobs and give up this lovely ride.

 

[gentlegreen]

Got in my extra 15 miles on the way home - totally cloudy, but no actual rain that far south - I'd checked the radar.
I wish I'd stopped and chilled, the view of the hills in that light was very atmospheric - should have taken a camera.

I decided against the tango for the ride home and stayed with the chilled Russian ambient electro/house mix - which was quite surreal when I went through the Staple Hill tunnel as there were roosting birds noisily settling in for the night and also bird squawks in the mix.

 

[gentlegreen]

I fitted a new front V brake - half-decent Shimano Deore - meaning I could put the old one on the back - it's the Avid rear brake that came with the bike - the rear pivots are very worn - so the brake took a lot of setting up.
Thankfully, a while after I'd fitted it I remembered that I should have swapped the cartridges over so braking doesn't make the shoes come out.

This meant I could fit an old (but good) non-disc rear wheel and take the current one in for trueing.
When I removed the cassette, I saw that I must have dropped the chain off the back at some point - in fact I cut my thumb on the burrs on the spokes - so the guy is going to replace all 8 spokes on that side.

All that faff and he reckoned it would be done by tomorrow lunchtime
I suppose I could have walked the two miles, but it made me get organised in the spare wheel department.
Of course I also need to get a new fork so I can fit the front disc brake.
I reckon before I get around to that I'll need a new front rim...

There isn't much life left in the chain / cassette. I sort of gave up replacing chains.
I bought a gauge and the first chain lasted hardly any time at all.
I missed the critical point the second time - also much too soon - so I though sod it and let the two wear out together.

I've been trying (cheap) Shimano chains ..

 

[weepiper]

I saw this and thought of you gentlegreen (from 1898)

 

[gentlegreen]

Mind you, that's pre-derailleur, so a different style of chain - perhaps it would suit fixie riders

 

[gentlegreen]

I'll have to take a look at some other people's bikes today.
I feel sure they supplied a rear brake by mistake - the cable fits the same way around as the "back brake" I was using before. And it was supplied with a 90 degree noodle - so I'm using my old noodle.
Though the brake cartridges were supplied the correct way around.



Either that or my bike is unusual in the way the cables run - or I simply got it wrong years ago when I first replaced the cables.

 

[DownwardDog]

There no difference between front and rear brakes in 570/580 LX.

You need some more cable tension there I reckon.

 

[gentlegreen]

It does look a little relaxed.

 

[gentlegreen]

Reading about it, the left-right, front-back thing is a bit of a minefield - conflicting opinions on which side of the road you ride - in my case on the left - (the correct side - leaves the sword hand available on the conflict side) and therefore which brake one should have access to when giving the more important hand signal - right turn in my case - and which brake is useful to still have available - also harking back to reins versus sword hand.
My right hand is both my stronger hand AND it has finer control...

With my front brake where it is, it's certainly a challenge giving a right hand signal when descending a hill ...

Perhaps as you suggested about my proposed indicator switch, I ought to get used to how it will be once I get to France.

When I go fishing, I have the handle on the wrong side of the reel for a right-handed person.

 

[DownwardDog]

Rural French drivers won't be taking a blind bit of fucking notice of your indicators or hand signals so I wouldn't worry about it.

You could always go for a thumb brake on the left for additional front brake activation. I had one on my motocross bike for a while. You'd probably need to frig about with the master cylinder to make it work with bicycle hydraulics.

 

[gentlegreen]

Hydraulics LOL

Even when I get around to fitting a non-sus front fork and the other cable disc brake, I'll probably carry at least one V brake on any long tour - "just in case" - though finding a bike shop in France hopefully won't be a problem - I don't plan to go further afield - unless someone teaches me Spanish.

-------------

Well, there goes another couple of hours of my life - fitting my re-trued back wheel - plus a new chain and cassette.

The pièce de résistance was forgetting the rim tape.
Thankfully the air leaked out while I was working on the bike rather than 10 miles from home with only a crappy pump - and it was only one pin-prick.

I re-routed the rear brake cable to the other side of the steerer tube while I was at it - I think it's an improvement.

The shop where I got the wheel done has loads of secondhand bikes - so once I've cleared some room, I may well invest in a second, similar MTB for emergency use - though I at least now have viable spare wheels and am fairly adept at swapping the bits over.

 

[stavros]

I took it fairly easily this morning, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. My legs feel a bit leaden when walking today but when on the bike they felt fine.

 

[Frances Lengel]

[quote"Orang Utan, post: 12497043, member: 3081"]Just remembered another thing the bellend said to me this morning.
On learning I wore earphones on my bike: "how is a lorry supposed to see or hear you if you are wearing earphones?'
Classic

That is quite funny.

Cyclists who cycle with headphones on are idiots though. Why intentionally remove one of your senses?

Too right. AFAIC, it's no different than motorists driving with tinted windows.

 

[gentlegreen]

Too right. AFAIC, it's no different than motorists driving with tinted windows.

Though I reckon tinted windows are for privacy because they spend so much time in jams.
Means it's easier to get away with updating their arsebook status.

 

[a_chap]

Either that or my bike is unusual...

Surely a contender for the 2013 Urban75 understatement of the year award.

 

[gentlegreen]

But what do you think of my cable routing ?

 

[Dogsauce]

Broadsided this afternoon by someone doing a three-point turn, front wheel and forks bent, possibly crank too. Right leg hurts a bit but don't think it's anything serious. More upset if my frame gets written off, old brown and silver falcon tourer, bit of a shed but I've been all over on that bike (bit of an extension of the self).

Can bent steel forks be repaired?