The Cycling Chat Thread
- Thread starter ChrisFilter
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T & P
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Thanks to all. So those people riding them on the streets of London in normal conditions are not getting any benefits from them, I guess…
I’ve even seen the odd food delivery rider using them. It doesn’t sound like the kind of tyres you’d want to use to cover lots of miles in London every day…
I’ve even seen the odd food delivery rider using them. It doesn’t sound like the kind of tyres you’d want to use to cover lots of miles in London every day…
David Clapson
Well-Known Member
When those tyres became available a Polish guy used them to do the first unsupported ride of the Canning Stock Route http://www.adventurecycling.org/default/assets/resources/Postrzygacz_Canning.pdf
BigTom
Well-Known Member
Lol, no.
Sustrans in 2000 when they were awarded £42m to create the national cycle network:
"Shit. They actually went for it. Is £42m enough? How did we cost this out again?"
"Um, well if you remember, we had no idea how much it would cost and didn't think we'd win the bid anyway so we asked for 42 because that's the meaning of life, the universe and everything"
"Oh yeah. Best give someone a call and find out how much a road sign costs"
...
"How much!? Fuck it, we'll just get volunteers to stick up some tiny stickers along the way, that's bound to be easy to see whilst riding a bike"
Seriously though that's how they decided how much to bid for from the millennium fund to create the initial network. I think it's in the documentary "bicycle" which is a great watch.
Sustrans do some great work but my god some of the national cycle network needs to just be removed until there's actual cycling infrastructure on that route.
"It's going to cost about £10m to put a cycle lane in along these 5miles of rural a-road"*
"How much!? And what's the road like? National speed limit you say? Busy with traffic including HGVs you say? Sounds fine to me, get the stickers printed!"
*I honestly have no idea how much it would cost per mile on a typical rural a road but one thing i know for sure is that £42m is orders of magnitude below what would be needed to create the kind of shared pedestrian/cycle infrastructure you find running next to (some? most?) rural a roads in the Netherlands.
And that's before you start thinking about cities. £10m bought about 3 miles of segregated cycle lanes in Birmingham recently (not the covid pop up stuff, the two proper blue cycle lanes).
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
Don’t forget the ability of councils to bid for cycle funding but miraculously redo and resurface the whole road when they put the new lanes in at the edge. Oh look, we tarted up the road for cars accidentally with our ‘cycle’ money. Happened on the stretch by my old place in Leeds. Oh, and if we get to a road junction we’ll just make the ‘super’ highway do some awkward dogleg to a crossing where you have to press a button, and stick on high kerbs so you can’t rejoin the highway if you want to avoid waiting or turn off somewhere else.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
All the deliveroo peeps seem to ride them or electric variants of them round my way.
Leafster
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After an exceedingly long hiatus from cycling, my first experience of Sustrans and the NCN was using NCR21. I just assumed they were all like that - deeply rutted sections, very loose shale sections, narrow rocky bits, mud up to the bottom bracket in places, underwater sections (!), tracks where you have to duck under overhanging trees or stretches so narrow that your hands are pushing through the undergrowth on both sides. It didn't bother me on my MTB (apart from getting stuck in the mud sometimes) but then I starting looking at the comments on the Sustrans Facebook page and people were moaning about puddles. Puddles!
It was only then I realised the NCN was supposed to be more than a list of trails for people like me to have a bit of fun on. I think there's a huge disparity between the quality of some routes and people's expectations of what it should provide. It's going to cost a hell of a lot of money to bring all routes up to the standards that some would like and I can't see that happening.
I see they've started to de-list some routes which is a shame. Perhaps their routes need to be graded instead. Maybe they are, but reading the comments on Facebook asking whether they can use their road bike or a Brompton on some routes suggests they aren't.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
The NCN is a joke. If you need to ask "can I ride a...?" about it, it's not a national network.
maomao
普費斯
Latest addition to the family stable:
A very generous gift to my son from Welcome to CFC - Helping Kids with Cancer . It's a lovely bike but still a bit big for him with 16" wheels. He's been asking for a bike with pedals but this one's a bit of a jump. I've adjusted it as small as I can but those tyres are way too fat and as he's not his strongest at the moment he could barely get the wheels round and gave up and went back to his balance bike after two minutes. I think I have to get some better tyres. They're 2.25' for god's sake. I've never ridden on tyres that fat in my life and he won't be doing any serious trails on it. Those mudguards need binning too. Even his big sis reckoned it was harder to ride than her (14" wheel) bike.
A very generous gift to my son from Welcome to CFC - Helping Kids with Cancer . It's a lovely bike but still a bit big for him with 16" wheels. He's been asking for a bike with pedals but this one's a bit of a jump. I've adjusted it as small as I can but those tyres are way too fat and as he's not his strongest at the moment he could barely get the wheels round and gave up and went back to his balance bike after two minutes. I think I have to get some better tyres. They're 2.25' for god's sake. I've never ridden on tyres that fat in my life and he won't be doing any serious trails on it. Those mudguards need binning too. Even his big sis reckoned it was harder to ride than her (14" wheel) bike.
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
Kids bikes are mental expensive at the moment, we were looking for something bigger for son#1 (aged 5), all the second hand Islabikes are £150-200 and some look fucked, can’t believe how much they are new either, you can get a proper bike size for that cash. Frog seem equally dear. Going to just hope I luck out on Facebook marketplace and find one for about fifty sold by someone who hasn’t checked sold item prices on eBay.
Does anyone have suggestions for other brands that are worth looking at? We have a Puky one at the moment which has been bombproof if a little heavy, but getting a bit small now, and the three-year old has started doing pedals so waiting for the hand-me-down. He‘ll probably have to get used to not having a backpedal bike which might be an interesting learning curve...
Does anyone have suggestions for other brands that are worth looking at? We have a Puky one at the moment which has been bombproof if a little heavy, but getting a bit small now, and the three-year old has started doing pedals so waiting for the hand-me-down. He‘ll probably have to get used to not having a backpedal bike which might be an interesting learning curve...
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Best 16" kids' bikes for 4-5 year olds
How to choose a good quality 16-inch wheel bike for your child, and the best options on the market right now
www.cyclesprog.co.uk
Winot
I wholeheartedley agree with your viewpoint
There's also the rental option Dogsauce
www.theguardian.com
Cycle rental: get on your bike to beat the shops’ stock shortages
The Covid crisis has pushed demand to record levels – but there are still ways to get in the saddle
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
Cheers for that, a few suggestions in there to look at (think he needs an 18 as the 16” ones we’ve seen don’t look any bigger than his Puky which is a fairly large frame with 14” wheels)Best 16" kids' bikes for 4-5 year olds
How to choose a good quality 16-inch wheel bike for your child, and the best options on the market right now
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
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Morning cyclists 
QuickQ…
I am wanting to find cycling routes. The first “long” ride I did (to Ilkley and back) was all on main roads, and in the cycling cafe one chap and his son were surprised and it occurred to me to choose good routes not direct routes in future
How do you plot a route?
I’ve got the West Yorkshire Cycle Map from Sustrans. And if I’ve done a good route I mark it on to remind myself, like this:
But it’s 2021, there must be apps, right?!!
QuickQ…I am wanting to find cycling routes. The first “long” ride I did (to Ilkley and back) was all on main roads, and in the cycling cafe one chap and his son were surprised and it occurred to me to choose good routes not direct routes in future
How do you plot a route?
I’ve got the West Yorkshire Cycle Map from Sustrans. And if I’ve done a good route I mark it on to remind myself, like this:
But it’s 2021, there must be apps, right?!!
han
love is the answer
Yes, there are quite a few! I love the CycleStreets app, I use it all the time and it transformed my cycling experience of London and the countryside too. You can pick 'quiet' when planning a route and it'll take you off A and B roads. It's free too. I always take a battery so I can attach it to my phone if it needs more power when mounted on my handlebar. And it does turn by turn navigation so no more stopping to look at maps.Morning cyclists
I am wanting to find cycling routes. The first “long” ride I did (to Ilkley and back) was all on main roads, and in the cycling cafe one chap and his son were surprised and it occurred to me to choose good routes not direct routes in future
How do you plot a route?
I’ve got the West Yorkshire Cycle Map from Sustrans. And if I’ve done a good route I mark it on to remind myself, like this:
View attachment 277136
But it’s 2021, there must be apps, right?!!
OsMand is also another good one. Some people use Komoot, I haven't tried that yet.
I usually have Strava running in the background so a battery pack is always needed on a long ride.
han
love is the answer
There's also a CycleStreets website : CycleStreets - UK-wide cycle routing and intelligence where you can plot routes and export gpx files of a route if you want to use a Garmin or something. And the app is worldwide! I love it so much. I use CycleStreets for walking as well, if I want a nice scenic route instead of main roads.
OsMand is good if you're doing very long distances as you can buy offline maps that don't need a mobile signal. Thus saving power.
OsMand is good if you're doing very long distances as you can buy offline maps that don't need a mobile signal. Thus saving power.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Leafster
.
I tend to open up OpenCycleMap.org on the PC to get an overview and then use that to plot a route via Strava and then send it to my bike computer. You could also send it to your phone instead.
I've tried Komoot but it seems to do odd things but perhaps I just haven't worked out how to set the correct criteria for my rides.
I've tried Komoot but it seems to do odd things but perhaps I just haven't worked out how to set the correct criteria for my rides.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Strava (use the “heat maps” feature to see where others are riding), and/or Komoot.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
For route-planning I use bikehike.co.uk - Course Creator
The site has a few quirks but I like that you can choose to see the elevation of each section as you add it and you can mix'n'match on-road and off-road sections - although it's very much geared to creating on-road routes.
The site has a few quirks but I like that you can choose to see the elevation of each section as you add it and you can mix'n'match on-road and off-road sections - although it's very much geared to creating on-road routes.
I don’t understand how to do that bees, on Strava
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Strava | Stories
With athlete profiles, training tips and advice, and the latest product updates, Strava Stories is the place to discover the latest content from Strava.
blog.strava.com
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
The best way to find routes though is ride with others - have a look for any local clubs or groups. You’ll find people with encyclopaedic knowledge of your local roads…
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
These two roads that I’ve circled below are pretty good for riding on if you can include them in your route, although a bit of a long drag up to the cookridge tower. A660 can be a bit fast for traffic but used by a lot of riders, and the long decent into Otley is a joy.
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
This was the regular Wednesday evening fast social ride I’d do with my old cycling club when I was in Leeds. Roads are pretty good when you head over towards Aberford etc., often well-built full width roads that were built for mining traffic that isn’t there anymore. Gentle rolling hills rather than the mountains you get if you head north of Leeds. If I was doing this route from Meanwood I’d peel off the route at Scholes and come back through Shadwell as that’s a nice route and much quieter than the A63.
Cid
Proper break this time
I use Komoot... First map area is free, so easy to have a play with, see if it works for you. It does take a bit of fiddling, but then it offers more complex route planning, so swings and roundabouts really. I don't think there's anything that gives you a really good idea of traffic, just have to use google streetview and try different things. Or, as bees says, find people who know the area. You seem to end up chatting to random people, so this may be a better option for you than it is for me 
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Cid
Proper break this time
Dunno about other places, but cycle streets is pretty clueless when it comes to the peak district. Can be helpful for finding bridleways, off-road cycling though.
e2a: I mean it's a good mapping system, just doesn't tell you anything about relative safety of roads outside official routes I think. It has one marked route through the northern part of the peak district. It's not a particularly safe one. See upthread for problems with sustrans etc.
e2a: I mean it's a good mapping system, just doesn't tell you anything about relative safety of roads outside official routes I think. It has one marked route through the northern part of the peak district. It's not a particularly safe one. See upthread for problems with sustrans etc.
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