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The Cycling Chat Thread

FFS. Cycled home last night after seeing a friend and managed to lose my pannier bag on the way bumping up a kerb. Didn’t hear as I had headphones on (unusually, but was pootling back from the pub on the pavement at 11pm). Locking mount, my arse. Wallet, bunch of new clothes, couple of other bits all gone. Tile was useless as well. grumble
 
miss direct said:
I'm overweight and my bike itself is really heavy. So when I go on the group rides, I always feel like I am holding the others up on the long hill slog. Everyone else has those fancy lightweight bikes.
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It’s an unfortunate but inescapable fact of physics that weight is key for going uphill, be it on the bike or the rider. Less weight and you’ll go faster for a given power output. There is no way around this.

However, whether this is an issue for you only really comes down to what you want to get out of cycling. If going as fast as you can in lycra is the aim then sure, buy a fancy carbon featherweight machine, watch your diet and lose several kilos. But if cycling is simply meant to be something fun, a nice way to spend your time, then just enjoy being on the road and going at your own pace. If a group ride is advertised as “no drop” or it’s clear that people will wait/go at the pace of the slowest rider then there’s nothing to worry about. If not... find a different group. There’s loads out there. :)
 
iamwithnail said:
FFS. Cycled home last night after seeing a friend and managed to lose my pannier bag on the way bumping up a kerb. Didn’t hear as I had headphones on (unusually, but was pootling back from the pub on the pavement at 11pm). Locking mount, my arse.
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I tend to double check my panniers after hitting any bumps due to crap locking mounts. Maybe invest in some bone conducting headphones in case it happens again, I got some cheap ones off Aliexpress.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
Each to their own and all that, but I just can’t get my head around having headphones/music on whilst riding. Never mind the (arguable/potential) safety aspect, more that one of the reasons I ride is to get away from the rest of life, not to take it with me :D
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The only transport I wear earphones is public transport. I know how different music can affect my driving so I imagine I'd be dead quite quickly if I were to wear earphones while cycling.

My friend complained to me that her walks along the canal wearing her headphones were spoilt by cyclists going too fast past her. I've given up cycling there because all too often I almost come to a halt behind people who still can't hear a bell or me shouting 'excuse me!' because they're too engrossed in whatever it is they're listening to. Engage with your surroundings ffs. :mad:
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
Each to their own and all that, but I just can’t get my head around having headphones/music on whilst riding. Never mind the (arguable/potential) safety aspect, more that one of the reasons I ride is to get away from the rest of life, not to take it with me :D
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don't like it either. but then Im don't like music when I'm out and about all. Makes me feel too detached.
 
They do a combination one also for £20. Got one - it is useful.
But don't use as primary, or sole, security for the bike - If that was all that was securing the bike, your average scumbag wouldn't even break step getting through it
 
sleaterkinney said:
Footage of a bike being nicked. Broad daylight. He's through the lock in a few seconds.
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That's shocking. My advice is never lock up a bike in London worth nicking. Seems to have worked during my time living and cycling around London for years. I've just registered my current single speed with BikeRegister , not that it's worth anything but I hope that the 2 stickers on it will deter a thief because the frame no. and picture of the bike is stored somewhere. I just bought some rather expensive tyres, the final small addition to getting it just right so defo don't want it stolen now.
 
T & P said:
Ironically, a former colleague who left us and was also moving away abandoned her older and non glamorous bike chained to a post, and nearly a year later it was still there and quite intact.

Goes to show, making your bike unattractive (if such thing is possible outside of painting it in ludicrous colours) might really make it safer.
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That was always my strategy with my old tourer/commuter, I remember sorting out a few second hand bits for it in the bike coop once and deliberately choosing mismatched grips for the wide handlebars. I could leave it chained in the middle of the Headrow on a Friday night and have no bother at all, forty year old steel frame with random bits and cheap wheels, but could still go like shit off a shovel. It’s the best security strategy.

Mind, it’d probably still have got robbed in London because cunts strip bits off anything there. Never got that far as someone turned across me in queuing traffic and bent the forks before I moved there, the three grand compo paid for my fancy road bike that I can’t lock anywhere...
 
Winot said:
They look really useful - have bought a few cheers.
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Just looked at these again. They sell a set of keys for £2.50 - so a relatively minor outlay for a prospective wrongun with access to an internet browser.
Key is nice and small to carry around.
Though it all counts towards the "safety in variety" security ethos: a U lock + a chain + a z-lok means they need to be tooled up with all of angle grinder, bolt cutter and a 2.50 key (assuming all 3 are actually secured to another object

Of course, when my beloved Orange p7 got taken , they didn't bother with the chain - which was still there after the event (and which I still use - Abus City Chain x-Plus) . They must have just cut through the top tube and bent the frame enough to get it free. Wankers
 
sleaterkinney said:
What do we think?, 6 grand?

View attachment 273006
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All sorts of subliminal messaging going on here. Stars and stripes on the top tube, union jack on the down tube 🧐 mixed black and silver finishing kit?? No bike builder worth their salt has done that accidentally or without it being a conscious decision... a massive one-by cassette on a road bike? Electronic shifting but cantilever brakes? I reckon Biden's asked someone to make the most insultingly embarrassing bike built out of the leftover crap in the workshop that they can get away with. Because Boris is too thick to understand it.
 
Dont know where the £6k came from. Every story I can find says $1500 for bike and helmet.

It's all American parts built in 10 days and the fella who built it usually starts his builds at £3k with a year plus long waiting list so I imagine he's just thrown together whatever was hanging around the workshop.
 
Now Charlie does have a nice bike - saddles to low but it looks lovely. Boris bike is going to manage the Cornish hills much better though if it doesn't fall to bits.

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Saddle's not too low - the whole bloody bike's too small.

My advice is to always go to the next size bigger than Pashley recommend on their sizing chart Sizing Guide | Size your Pashley Cycle

I was able to test-ride the recommended sized Roadster and Guv'nor for my tiny legs. But in each case I tried (and bought) the next size up and it transformed the riding experience.
 
a_chap said:
Saddle's not too low - the whole bloody bike's too small.

My advice is to always go to the next size bigger than Pashley recommend on their sizing chart Sizing Guide | Size your Pashley Cycle

I was able to test-ride the recommended sized Roadster and Guv'nor for my tiny legs. But in each case I tried (and bought) the next size up and it transformed the riding experience.
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Turns out he borrowed it to lead off a race or something.
 
Ominous creaking sounds coming from what sounds like the bottom bracket - only when pedalling. I should tighten the chainring bolts etc before i book it in to the shop, right? Couple of forums suggest there are more likely candidates than the bracket. Bikes just under 2 years old, only done maybe two thousand km.
 
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