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The Cycling Chat Thread

Bahnhof Strasse said:
My next bike will have different sized wheels, 29 at the front, 27.5 at the back. Will I die?
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Only of shame.

There are zero performance advantages and it makes buying tyres a nightmare. Also, all OEM MTB wheels are garbage. That's just a bike fact and a wheel mullet makes it very difficult to replace the wheels too.
 
Mation said:
Glove recommendations, anyone?! :D
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Any decent cycling specific ones from the likes of Halfords will be hard enough wearing for commuting. Non specific gloves will tend to wear and fray with the usage (other than things like ski gloves that are meant to be used in a similar fashion).
For deep winter I use some army mitts I got off ebay. You can pick them up for a tenner and they will be good to around minus 2 or 3C type temperatures. I have some cheap motorbike waterproof overmits for the really wet days. You can buy lots of specialist kit that is better suited to cycling, but tends to be more expensive and perhaps a bit less hard wearing. Adapt to fit budget and fashion choices.
 
~8500km since the end of lockdown in late April here in nz, I didn't really track mileage during lockdown, ~2700km before lockdown, no idea of height gain, I tend to avoid the port hills where possible 😕 everywhere else is pretty flat
 
Well last nights bike ride was unusual. I pulled into a secluded layby for a rest and a bite to eat. There was a car there with tinted windows and a running engine. Thought nothing of it, cruised in on my silent bike and had my oats and protein. Then got up for a pee and noticed two bare foot soles sticking out from the back seat. Everything became clearer almost instantly as I noticed the flabby white arse between them grinding away. I was like lol but eeeewwww.

About an hour later, after it had gotten dark, I heard the usual gunning of an engine behind me. Sounded like he was going wide so no real concern. He had not noticed the central reservation though, someone had wiped out the signs and it was dark. Went over it at x mph what ever x was. Lots of banging. About 100 meter up the road he was pulled over and out his car. As I passed he was shouting at me that he fucked his 4 tyres swerving to avoid me..... ummmm matey, that is called "over taking". He was looking rather unhappy so I carried on as to be honest I do not carry 4 spare BMW tyres in my rucksack. He tried to follow for about 2 seconds before remembering about the tyres.

If I was to sum it up, fuckers and fucked.
 
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ferrelhadley said:
Well last nights bike ride was unusual. I pulled into a secluded layby for a rest and a bite to eat. There was a car there with tinted windows and a running engine. Thought nothing of it, cruised in on my silent bike and had my oats and protein. Then got up for a pee and noticed two bare foot soles sticking out from the back seat. Everything became clearer almost instantly as I noticed the flabby white arse between them grinding away. I was like lol but eeeewwww.
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Not just you getting your oats.
 
Dear Customer,
Because of Brexit, we are immediately ceasing shipment of orders to the UK. We are very sorry that we will not be able to deliver to you, our valued customer, as we did before. If we are able to find an alternative solution through the free-trade agreement, we will inform you here. Thank you for your understanding, your loyalty, and your support.
Your ROSE Bikes Team
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From Rose Bikes like Canyon ☹ bit unclear whether this statement was made before the trade deal. Bike prices have gone up recently and will continue to do so I'd imagine.
 
DJWrongspeed said:
From Rose Bikes like Canyon ☹ bit unclear whether this statement was made before the trade deal. Bike prices have gone up recently and will continue to do so I'd imagine.
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Canyon sell direct and have stopped UK shipments until 11th January.

YT, Propain and Simplon (German, German, Austrian) are shipping without interruption. Seems there are additional taxes to pay now though.
 
DJWrongspeed said:
From Rose Bikes like Canyon ☹ bit unclear whether this statement was made before the trade deal. Bike prices have gone up recently and will continue to do so I'd imagine.
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If they are in the EU then there were schemes in place when we were in the EU to enable them to sell to the UK and account for the VAT. Now we're outside the EU they'll probably have to register for VAT in the UK. I'm not sure that's possible just at the moment or they may think the added cost simply isn't worth it in the short term.
 
Does anyone have any good advice on how to wrap bar tape?. I`ve watched all the youtube videos, and wrapped about 5 or 6 handlebars, but I`m still shit. I don`t know if there`s anything I dislike more than wrapping bar tape. Knowing that I`m shit, I`ve always used solid coloured tape, but fucked up this time and bought some "decorative(?)" tape because it was on sale, so feeling a little more pressure to wrap it nice.
 
sideboob said:
Does anyone have any good advice on how to wrap bar tape?. I`ve watched all the youtube videos, and wrapped about 5 or 6 handlebars, but I`m still shit. I don`t know if there`s anything I dislike more than wrapping bar tape. Knowing that I`m shit, I`ve always used solid coloured tape, but fucked up this time and bought some "decorative(?)" tape because it was on sale, so feeling a little more pressure to wrap it nice.
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Just go slow, be methodical, keep the tension consistent and don’t be afraid to start again.
 
sideboob said:
Does anyone have any good advice on how to wrap bar tape?. I`ve watched all the youtube videos, and wrapped about 5 or 6 handlebars, but I`m still shit. I don`t know if there`s anything I dislike more than wrapping bar tape. Knowing that I`m shit, I`ve always used solid coloured tape, but fucked up this time and bought some "decorative(?)" tape because it was on sale, so feeling a little more pressure to wrap it nice.
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It's much easier if the bike is in a workstand. Start at the end of the drop at a 45 degree angle with the end of the tape at the bottom of the bar and wind clockwise on the right side of the bars and anticlockwise on the left (as you stand behind the handlebars looking at the ends of the drops). Wrap so that there's some overlapping the end of the bar so you can push the plugs in at the end of wrapping and they'll hold in place. Keep tension on the tape but only a little, if you wind too tight it stretches and goes baggy. You're aiming to keep it so the adhesive sticks to the bar rather than the tape as far as possible. When you get to the levers, use the little short bit of bar tape to cover the lever clamp band (they're usually a bit too long, cut them down a bit) and then wind diagonally up one side, round the top of the lever clamp and down the other then run it diagonally across and underneath the clamp and back up across diagonally again. When you're done with this bit if you've done it right you see a sort of double X shape when you look at the back of the bar where your hand sits when you're in the drops. Continue winding the rest of the bar the same way you did the lower part - when you hit the bend you need to wrap sort of at an angle so that you've got a wide wrap at the outside of the bend and a narrow wrap at the inside. When you get to where you want to stop, cut diagonally along the end of the tape with scissors at an angle that leaves the tapered edge of the tape intact then finish it off with insulating tape (which sticks much better than the finishing tape they give you in the bar tape box, you can always put that on top of you like how it looks). Cork tape is much easier to wrap neatly with than Lizardskins or other fancy stuff.
 
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weepiper said:
It's much easier if the bike is in a workstand. Start at the end of the drop at a 45 degree angle with the end of the tape at the bottom of the bar and wind clockwise on the right side of the bars and anticlockwise on the left (as you stand behind the handlebars looking at the ends of the drops). Wrap so that there's some overlapping the end of the bar so you can push the plugs in at the end of wrapping and they'll hold in place. Keep tension on the tape but only a little, if you wind too tight it stretches and goes baggy. You're aiming to keep it so the adhesive sticks to the bar rather than the tape as far as possible. When you get to the levers, use the little short bit of bar tape to cover the lever clamp band (they're usually a bit too long, cut them down a bit) and then wind diagonally up one side, round the top of the lever clamp and down the other then run it diagonally across and underneath the clamp and back up across diagonally again. When you're done with this bit if you've done it right you see a sort of double X shape when you look at the back of the bar where your hand sits when you're in the drops. Continue winding the rest of the bar the same way you did the lower part - when you hit the bend you need to wrap sort of at an angle so that you've got a wide wrap at the outside of the bend and a narrow wrap at the inside. When you get to where you want to stop, cut diagonally along the end of the tape with scissors at an angle that leaves the tapered edge of the tape intact then finish it off with insulating tape (which sticks much better than the finishing tape they give you in the bar tape box, you can always put that on top of you like how it looks). Cork tape is much easier to wrap neatly with than Lizardskins or other fancy stuff.
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Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I`m going to try and do the wrap next week and will upload some pictures. This is the 4th time that I have built this bike over the past 20 years, and I love it with a passion, but I hate bar tape :(.
 
sideboob said:
Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I`m going to try and do the wrap next week and will upload some pictures. This is the 4th time that I have built this bike over the past 20 years, and I love it with a passion, but I hate bar tape :(.
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Have a look for some videos too (weeps' advice is always spot on, but visuals can aide). Here's one with the ever brilliant Calvin Jones of Park Tool:

 
Modesty aside... I am the Bar Tape King and do loads of them for my cycling club.

The most common mistake I see people make is that they don't pay fucking attention while they are doing it. Check the alignment, spacing and tension of each loop as you do it. If it's not exactly right unwind that loop and do it again.

The 'Figure 8' method is more difficult and traditional than using that little extra bit of tape and therefore superior.

If the two leftover bits of tape at the end aren't exactly the same size then you've fucked it up. Take it all off and do it again.

Lizard Skins DSP is good in my experience. Selle Italia Leather looks and feels great if you can do it but it's a challenge to get it tight and smooth.
 
DownwardDog said:
I am the Bar Tape King
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I love working on my bicycles, and have aquired most of the necessary tools over the years to do things myself. Wrapping bar tape to perfection is a skill, and although I have gotten better over time, I still suck. There are few services that I am happy to pay for, but I would gladly pay for your bar tapeing services. You aren`t currently located near Hiroshima by any chance are you?. 🙏
 
Talking bar tape
I currently have something called Cinelli 3D super reflective which I like for its keeping me alive in the dark properties.

Any recommendations for alternatives with similar features, as its getting a bit ragged now and needs replacing?
 
I haven't ridden in ages, took up running and walking instead but I've done my ankle in. And the weather is appalling, and setting off on the bike from here to anywhere actually good is a bit of a faff. So in frustration I've splashed out on a smart turbo trainer, the Tacx Flux 2, and I'm hoping that lets me get some exercise. Turns up next week. I have to say a home gym or indeed any gym is very much not my idea of a good time, I like practical outdoor exercise that ideally isn't just for its own sake, but desperate times and all that, plus one of the reasons I don't ride much is that infrequent riding hurts disproportionately and you never build up capability.

I'll put my mountain bike on it, I've bought a spare cassette to do so. I can mount an Android tablet in front of me, and position a fan somewhere too. The rest I'll figure out when it turns up.
 
mauvais said:
I haven't ridden in ages, took up running and walking instead but I've done my ankle in. And the weather is appalling, and setting off on the bike from here to anywhere actually good is a bit of a faff. So in frustration I've splashed out on a smart turbo trainer, the Tacx Flux 2, and I'm hoping that lets me get some exercise. Turns up next week. I have to say a home gym or indeed any gym is very much not my idea of a good time, I like practical outdoor exercise that ideally isn't just for its own sake, but desperate times and all that, plus one of the reasons I don't ride much is that infrequent riding hurts disproportionately and you never build up capability.

I'll put my mountain bike on it, I've bought a spare cassette to do so. I can mount an Android tablet in front of me, and position a fan somewhere too. The rest I'll figure out when it turns up.
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Get Zwift, it’s brilliant.
 
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