Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Question... Can I use an 8 speed chainset with a 9 speed cassette and chain, or will my bike explode and kill me?

The reason I ask is I want to upgrade my shifters and cassette so I have 9 speeds, but I don't want to spend £80odd on a new chainset if I can avoid it... And if I have to do that, then I may as well buy the complete groupset, rather than just the shifters, cassette, chain and derailleur.
 
Last edited:
Just a quick 'heads up' folks - Lidl have aero shaped aluminium roof bars on sale from today at £24.99. That's an absolute stonker of a bargain and if you do a little bit of research online you will see that lots of people have purchased these previously and they get excellent reviews. They are lockable too. I've just grabbed a pair at my local store but they were selling fast!!.

M9Idv.jpg
 
So the UK route of the 2014 TDF has been revealed: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21056721

I've whipped up a rough route of the stages on Bike Route Toaster:

Stage 1 - http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=493005
Stage 2 - http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=493007
Stage 3 - http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=493015


I plan on going to see Stage 2 but slightly disappointed that it didn't come further south into the Peak District and along some roads I'm familiar with.

Should have been something like this: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=493021

:p
 
I drove over my off-spot last night. The only thing I can see is I must have slipped on the drain cover. I was quite a way away from it when I got up, which confuses me, but then if I was clipped in and in a position to really drive down then I must have already been moving and slid a few metres.
 
Yup. They're all saying it's going to be chaos tomorrow, and I'm in a region which is meant to be hit worst.

I bet I'll wake up and there won't be a single flake on the ground. It's always hyped up so much.
 
[Damien];23576258 said:
Snowmageddon is upon us. I'm going to have to stick the studs back on tonight. :(
Click to expand...

lights snow for ~30hrs.. worst case scenario ill be on my bmx ;D but i bet its over hyped and ill be fine on my roadie with slicks.
 
grudas said:
lights snow for ~30hrs.. worst case scenario ill be on my bmx ;D but i bet its over hyped and ill be fine on my roadie with slicks.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the snow. It's the half melted snow freezing again I'm worried about. I've been ok with my normal tyres but I've had the odd slip on an icy patch.
 
Ach, damn. I just tried the Lidl roof bars on my Peugeot 4007 4x4 and they are too short by about an inch at least. Real shame that, looks like I'll be heading back for a refund then. :(
 
I'll definitely be taking the mountain bike in tomorrow, on the way in it'll probably be fine (~6am leaving) but if the forecast is correct not sure I want to try the ride home with 2-4 inches of snow on slick tyres :p

Not sure I'll take the tow path back though, lack of grip + canal might not be the best combo...
 
I was hoping to get a good ride in on Sun and get my miles up. Not too likely with this weather. I guess I'll be stuck in 2nd or 3rd on the base miles challenge for a while...
 
touch said:
Fat tyres just give a false sense of security in icy conditions.
They will slide out just as quickly on ice as skinny tyres (but probably will do better in snow)
Click to expand...

Of course, anything on ice will be crap (bar studded tyres etc). But inmushy snow etc they will rock (relative to road tyres at least!)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom