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How was your cycle commute?

Got upset with a white van man today, who made blahblah gestures at my yelling at him. Wanted to smash his van in. Had to stop and calm down a bit.
I used to be so placid as a commuter. It's this route!
 
I might tape one of my old lights to my helmet that looks a bit like a camera, so I can pretend to point it at offenders to shit them up a bit (though if they know how seriously police take such evidence it won't shit them up at all).

I've thought about a cheap real camera - any suggestions? It's not just for my own protection, but also considering if someone passes me then does a hit-and-run further up the road then it could help out. We need to look out for each other a bit.
 
I still use 7Dayshop cameras - £12.98 plus a decent MicroSD card - sits on the handlebar or basket, looks like a torch.

http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-vehicle-bike-action-digital-video-camera-record-your-journeys - darn - only £9.99 now - I may have to order another ...

Not exactly high quality but does the job.



Not waterproof - but then when it rains you tend to get drops on the glass anyway.

The Lithium batteries tend to give up after 18 months of daily use - and I had to solder my first one a bit...I'm about to order some allegedly higher spec batteries to try.

But I now have 600 videos on Youtube from the past few years.

I sometimes wish I had one on my helmet too ...
 
We have carwashes - why don't we have bikewashes?
Does anyone know if bikeshops will clean bikes for you or will they turn up their noses at it?
Mine is filthy
 
Last thing you want to do - especially if you have a steel frame.
Focus on keeping the important bits working.
If anything you might want to wax everything with GT85 or something - though that'll bring up the paintwork if you insist on rubbing it.
 
Bristol was close to gridlock on the way home due to multiple incidents.

gridlock.jpg

Luckily my route is at roughly 90 degrees to all the main roads.

My first bit of lane-splitting close filtering for years.

Added 2 and a half minutes to my 35 minute commute :eek:

 
Last edited:
gentlegreen said:
Last thing you want to do - especially if you have a steel frame.
Focus on keeping the important bits working.
If anything you might want to wax everything with GT85 or something - though that'll bring up the paintwork if you insist on rubbing it.
Click to expand...
Eh? I thought you were supposed to wash it every week or something daft like that.
Mine gets washed when I service it.
Anyway, you've just advised me to wax it myself :facepalm: I am trying to avoid doing anything to it myself. I only want to touch my bike when I ride it :D
 
My commute is semi-rural, so I brush the thatch off my rear mudguard every so often (after covering the chain and sprockets with newspaper).

The worst thing people do is aim a jetwash at their bike and blast out all the grease.

What do you lube your chain with ?
 
If you use something like Prolink, you can use it to clean your chain - apply, wipe off, repeat.
Lube the derailleur pivots, scrape any crud from the jockeys.

Otherwise you'll waste the investment you just made in the transmission.

You really ought to have some spare chains and a gauge.

Surely you check your brakes and tyres every 100 miles or so ?
As a fast rider you don't want any nasty surprises.
 
I used to get away with it on a short ploddy relatively traffic-free commute..my bikes used to be in a shocking state.
Never mind the safety aspects, there's the inconvenience of being without transport .... but I suppose you can just use the train or something.

It was being dropped on the floor by a rusted fork that made me change - that and the Sunday group rides that took me up to 30 miles from home...

Believe me I'm no natural mechanic.
 
gentlegreen said:
I used to get away with it on a short ploddy relatively traffic-free commute..my bikes used to be in a shocking state.
Never mind the safety aspects, there's the inconvenience of being without transport .... but I suppose you can just use the train or something.

It was being dropped on the floor by a rusted fork that made me change - that and the Sunday group rides that took me up to 30 miles from home...

Believe me I'm no natural mechanic.
Click to expand...
Getting my hands oildirty and tinkering will always hold just marginally more appeal than a bout of flu, or food poisoning.
 
Orang Utan said:
Yes you are - you built your own lights!
Click to expand...
That's electrics - and I dropped out of my HND in electronics.
And I'm supremely lazy - they're held together with gaffer tape and cable ties and I couldn't tell you how many lumens they are or anything like that.
I've made no substantive changes for years now.
 
Brakes completely fucked. Have taken the bike into a shop to get fixed. I don't have the space in my flat to repair a bike. Will have to abandon the bike tomorrow and take the tube and bus to Chingford.
 
Tbf I'm a mechanic and I don't check my brakes and tyres every week. I do pay attention to things when they start to feel different though (brake levers pulling back further to the bars before they start to work, squealing, grindy noises, random squeaks/clicks/rattles) These things are sent to us as a warning to take your bike into the shop.
 
Is it just me?

As the weather has turned steadily more wintery this week I've enjoyed my daily commute more and more.

Ok, so it's just me.
 
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