Road Cycling Essentials

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Streeteh said:
As above, i have it chained via a 14mm chain to a big cast iron drainpipe. I couldn't find anywhere to put an anchor that the landlord was ok with and my flat is way too small for storage.
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Pfft, me and my other half have stored two bikes in our pokey one bed flat for years - foot of the bed all the way!
 
One More Solo said:
Pfft, me and my other half have stored two bikes in our pokey one bed flat for years - foot of the bed all the way!
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Believe it or not, it'd have to be ON the foot of the bed to fit in the bedroom. I could possibly fit it in the hallway but she-who-bosses-me-around would likely get peeved with it quickly.

She's way hotter than me so that's the price I have to pay!
 
I don't insure mine. Most of the problem is all but one of my bikes came from Freecycle and despite one of them actually being quite expensive to replace I doubt I'd ever get an insurance company to pay out like for like. I've been burned by an insurance company as well, so I tend to take the opinion that stopping it getting stolen in the first place is the best route. I'd probably insure a bike if it stretched into the thousands, but not for a couple of hundred.
 
I'm in need of a new helmet. Missed out on a sale of Giro Prolights for £73 on an online store. Has anyone seen any good 2011 bargains to be had?
 
Just been for a test ride on the Trek 1.5 2012.
Loved every minute of it, definitely my bike of choice now for a first ever road bike. Just need to decide if I should wait until January and see if it goes down in the sales or get it now with the chance I wont be able to use it much until next year anyway due to the weather.
 
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H0ax! said:
Has anyone got any experience with the carbon fibre wheels from China they sell on ebay?
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I'v got a pair of the 38mm tubulars. They seem to be quite good quality. Not as good as a proper named brand, but i wasnt expecting much from them anyway so i'm happy with them.
I dont use them much, only for racing. (Tubulars are a pain if you puncture!) I'v only ridden them twice but didnt have any problems with them. Hit a few massive potholes as well with no issues.

H0ax! said:
I also noticed they sell a lot without spokes... Are they easy to fit?
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No, its very hard.
It wont work out any cheaper after you buy spokes and get someone to build it for you anyway.
 
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Right so I've been up since 5am with a bit of toothache after a night out.

Think it's a good idea to try and cycle to Luss and back today. If I don't post here again I'll probably be lying dehydrated somewhere between Hamilton and Luss.

Had a week off work so it's been 3 days since I've been on a bike aswell :(
 
Well I made it back only just! Got to Luss after a slight detour around an industrial estate!

The rain started as I was finishing my roll n sausage so for about 10 miles I was cycling in ******* rain getting drenched. Once I hit about 60ish miles I felt dead, heavy legs and no power. Was only once I got nearer home I had a burst of energy again and made it home after covering 84 miles in 5 hours :|.

Next time It's got to be warm and I'll be a bit more prepared food/gel wise as I had none this time.
 
Boo, just switched tires from my white and red striped racing to a set of Armadillos. Bike looks a bit boring now :(

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Jonny ///M said:
Well I made it back only just! Got to Luss after a slight detour around an industrial estate!

The rain started as I was finishing my roll n sausage so for about 10 miles I was cycling in ******* rain getting drenched. Once I hit about 60ish miles I felt dead, heavy legs and no power. Was only once I got nearer home I had a burst of energy again and made it home after covering 84 miles in 5 hours :|.

Next time It's got to be warm and I'll be a bit more prepared food/gel wise as I had none this time.
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That's impressive pace for that distance imo, with you saying you've not been further than 30 miles on your road bike yet :)
 
PardonTheWait said:
What bike is it?
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It's actually a dirty old Viking single speed road bike that I bought off ebay for around £200 new, chucked the tyres, tubes, rim strips, chain ring, handlebars (massive drops) brakes and brake cables and re-assembled what you see there. All the decals peeled off pretty easily. The unfortunate thing is that it's not light - it weighs all up around 13-14kgs but for rattling around the city as a commuter and the state of london roads it does really well and all for well under £400

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SteveOBHave said:
It's actually a dirty old Viking single speed road bike that I bought off ebay for around £200 new, chucked the tyres, tubes, rim strips, chain ring, handlebars (massive drops) brakes and brake cables and re-assembled what you see there. All the decals peeled off pretty easily. The unfortunate thing is that it's not light - it weighs all up around 13-14kgs but for rattling around the city as a commuter and the state of london roads it does really well and all for well under £400
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I thought it might be a Viking, a friend's old work sell them and I have considered it for kicking about on. You're right though, not light in the slightest :D
 
PardonTheWait said:
I thought it might be a Viking, a friend's old work sell them and I have considered it for kicking about on. You're right though, not light in the slightest :D
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I suspect it (the frame) might be the next thing to get replaced - get rid of the steal frame and get an aluminium one. I want to get one and strip it then paint it matt black and get some nice anodised red wheels for it... But that's a bit down the line I think - after winter...
 
Nope, stick with steel and get one in Reynolds 531 or Columbus special Italian. My Raleigh in 531 weighs 9.2kg with all its gears and my Bob Jackson in Columbus steel weighs just over 8kg in single-speed trim.

You can get lighter steel frames but the prices get silly :D
 
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