How was your cycle commute?

[The Boy]

I don't think any racer (on the road) has ridden fixed since freewheels were first permitted in 1907!

Happens occasionaly on short, very flat TTs.

eta: only really in the early season races that don't matter quite so much, mind.

edit edit: nope, aparrently they're not allowed to do that anymore.

 

[Pgd]

They're not 'cogs' they are jockey wheels. The larger sizes are used by Shimano to take up a greater amount of chain to allow a wider range of cassette sizes without increasing the size of the derailleur cage. The relative size is unimportant compared to other factors like the quality of the bushes. Some pros run larger JWs for some notional gain in efficiency as they reduce chain bend angles and hence energy.

Cheers... and noted re jockey wheels not cogs

Do you mean that Shimano intend that a single derailleur model may have any of a range of JW sizes installed dependent on the size of the cassette? And if the intention is to take up a greater amount of chain, does that mean that technically I ought to add a couple of links to my current setup? (Or I guess it's possible that my mechanic installed larger JWs for that very reason...)

 

[DownwardDog]

Cheers... and noted re jockey wheels not cogs

Do you mean that Shimano intend that a single derailleur model may have any of a range of JW sizes installed dependent on the size of the cassette? And if the intention is to take up a greater amount of chain, does that mean that technically I ought to add a couple of links to my current setup? (Or I guess it's possible that my mechanic installed larger JWs for that very reason...)

The larger jockey wheels are to allow a greater range of sprocket sizes on the cassette. If it's shifting fine now don't worry about it.

 

[Rebelda]

Hello thread - not posted for ages cos I don't currently have a commute (unless you count the ten mins to the job centre and back ) at the moment. Anyway, I don't have the readies to pay for bike maintenance so I'm having a go at it myself. Chain is looking/running much better but I've just realised it's not going to stay that way cos the derailleur is disgusting so, um, any derailleur cleaning tips?

 

[Orang Utan]

Hello thread - not posted for ages cos I don't currently have a commute (unless you count the ten mins to the job centre and back ) at the moment. Anyway, I don't have the readies to pay for bike maintenance so I'm having a go at it myself. Chain is looking/running much better but I've just realised it's not going to stay that way cos the derailleur is disgusting so, um, any derailleur cleaning tips?

Toothbrush, soapy water and elbow grease

 

[Winot]

Dreadful air quality this morning Brixton -> Chancery Lane. I can feel the emissions of a thousand buses coating the back of my throat.

 

[weepiper]

Hello thread - not posted for ages cos I don't currently have a commute (unless you count the ten mins to the job centre and back ) at the moment. Anyway, I don't have the readies to pay for bike maintenance so I'm having a go at it myself. Chain is looking/running much better but I've just realised it's not going to stay that way cos the derailleur is disgusting so, um, any derailleur cleaning tips?

Just seen this now, you may have dealt with it already but the easiest way to clean the filthy oily grot that builds up on your jockey wheels is to get a flat blade screwdriver and put the point of it against the surface of the jockey wheel sort of wedged against the cage of the derailleur and then backpedal the chain with your other hand while holding pressure against the screwdriver so it scrapes the wheel clean as it goes round. This is really hard to describe but really easy to do then WD40 on an old rag or some kitchen roll will clean the body/cage of the derailleur without making too much messy splatter.

edit, I found a picture which sort of shows what I mean

 

[The Boy]

Thought I was a superfit monster this morning. Turns out it was just that the wind was coming from the east.

 

[gentlegreen]

I've increased my maintenance interval

 

[Dogsauce]

Made the wrong call on fingerless gloves yesterday, the temp looked OK on the BBC weather but I didn't allow for the icy north-easterly wind coming at me. Back on the Aldi lobster mitts tomorrow.

 

[Rebelda]

Thanks weepiper

gentlegreen is a portion of your commute off road?

 

[gentlegreen]

It's fairly rustic a lot of the way - very little quality tarmac.
And the surface geology is predominantly red Triassic sandstone (I actually cycle past a disused quarry on the way home) so it takes its toll.

 

[Winot]

It's fairly rustic a lot of the way - very little quality tarmac.
And the surface geology is predominantly red Triassic sandstone (I actually cycle past a disused quarry on the way home) so it takes its toll.

Must be a bugger avoiding the dinosaurs too.

 

[joustmaster]

It's fairly rustic a lot of the way - very little quality tarmac.
And the surface geology is predominantly red Triassic sandstone (I actually cycle past a disused quarry on the way home) so it takes its toll.

What do you put on the chain? Looks thick.

 

[plurker]

Triassic sandstone particles.

 

[gentlegreen]

What do you put on the chain? Looks thick.

Mostly Finish line Extreme - occasionally alternated with Prolink Gold - plus added organic matter. I couldn't resist posting because a fairly large blob fell off and stuck to the bike rack at work on Monday.
I have to fix my bike outside and it's been so cold I haven't been able to face it for well over a month.

 

[gentlegreen]

Made the wrong call on fingerless gloves yesterday, the temp looked OK on the BBC weather but I didn't allow for the icy north-easterly wind coming at me. Back on the Aldi lobster mitts tomorrow.

Monday I was slightly over-warm in ski mitts.
I accidentally left them at work and it was only slightly uncomfortable yesterday with my normal gloves.
Today is definitely normal glove weather. (never fingerless - I wear Aldi "winter" gloves all year.)
I may leave off one scarf going to work and one tee shirt on the way home - I'm already down to only one buff on my head.

 

[Pgd]

Forgot to post this last night (so can't have affected me that much ) but I narrowly avoided being crushed by a van half-way up Lyham Road on the way home. To be fair, I was following him up the hill fairly close (lesson learned), but he then braked quite sharply and appeared happy to just let the van roll back to make room for an oncoming car to pass. There was maybe a couple of metres gap when we first stopped, and immediately I was like "I hope he doesn't roll back... ah, yeah he is... OH FUCK HE PROPERLY IS". Managed to turn the bike away towards the far pavement just in time, and with the adrenaline going, decided to just nip out in front of the van after the oncoming car had passed and shoot off up the hill. Not sure if he even noticed.

 

[The Boy]

First commute after me holidays. I had a wry smile at the office wankers riding around this morning in their waterproofs when it was actually quite a warm morning. I've since seen the error of my ways.

On the plus side, the rain & wind gods saw fit to bless me with slightly less horrendous conditions for the last part of the trip home after I stopped and repaired a puncture for an old geezer.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Remembered to bring my anorak today.

 

[braindancer]

Looking out of the window and wondering whether to leave the bike at work over the weekend....

Utterly shitting it down

 

[The Boy]

Sunshine! No Wind! No Rain! Double Digit Temperatures! Drivers happy to respect the fact that I have priority at a junction! Dog Walkers in a better mood than normal!

Make the most of summer, kids. it'll be gone by the weekend.

 

[Crispy]

Shunted from behind at a give way line Got a nice wonky rim now. Will see if the lbs here can straighten it out. At least the driver promised to pick up the bill and I have his contact details.

 

[Dogsauce]

As part of the derisory cyclesuperhighway scheme here they've just resurfaced the adjacent bus lane on a part I commute on with a terrible ridged surface. So if you don't want to wind up a shared path in and out of bus queues you are punished with a battering of the pelvic floor. I fucking hate this city sometimes.

 

[a_chap]

...a battering of the pelvic floor.

Not with one of these

 

[The Boy]

Lovely ride in, but got hit by a headwind and the threat of hail on the way home though the latter at least did clear quite quickly. Then I stopped off to walk a friend's dog for an hour and almost lost the feeling in my fingers when the weather turned just before we got back to theirs.

 

[Dogsauce]

Back in the leggings today. Fuck sake, winter.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Back in the leggings today. Fuck sake, winter.

i actually missed leggings - they make me feel complete.

Happy days, according to my Garmin, my average speed has increased .5mph over the last two weeks.
can't complain. no breakdown, no crashes...it's been a blissful couple of weeks.

 

[Dogsauce]

I make the mistake of thinking I'm getting fitter when I'm just wearing less clothing (less weight/friction to contend with).
Generally my commute route is screwed up by all the Superhighway work going on at the moment, of which I'm unlikely to benefit (it's not faster, more convenient or safer). At the moment they've closed some sections of the bus lane to facilitate construction which forces you to have to pull out into fast moving traffic to get around the blockages. I've taken to investigating back routes to avoid this while it goes on.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Hah, just avoid the blue lanes - they're congested with part-time cyclists, boris bikes, undertakers, slow mo-fos and dosey pedestrians. more dangerous and they serve very little practical sense.