Road Cycling
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Someone at work said when I notice the contact point of the tyre getting wider it's time for new tyres.
Is this true?
If you roll your fingers gently over the tyre you can feel approx a third of the tyre is flat across the width, you can feel the edges of the flat.
These tyres are rubbish in my opinion. In comparison to others I've seen they look poor quality.
Need to find some of those Conti tyres everyone raves about now
Edit: I'll need them eventually so I've ordered some.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/continental-grand-prix-4000-s-ii-tyre/aid:709344
These are based in Germany, they change the vat at checkout.
Sign up to their website and they'll give you a £10 voucher effectively having the tyres delivered for £48.10, even without the voucher £58.10 isn't a bad price! 700x23c standard, in the comments ask for 25c if that's what you require, i wernt sure if 23c would fit my tube and wheel and I'm paranoid about potholes so just got 25c
tyres will start to "square off" as they wear because most of the time you're riding straight and level
a point will come when they start to feel a little weird when you're leaning over (because the profile no longer suits it). This is replacement time
rears generally wear quicker than fronts, so if you replace the pair, pop the old front on the shelf for the day you accidentally ride over a Stanley knife blade
The back tyre looks a really odd shape, it's obviously round but more rounded to one side, it's like the right side of the tyre has worn more than the left.
They've had a good run! 800+ miles on very poor roads carrying 14.5 stone whilst I were learning to handle the bike properly! I hope to see gains from the New tyres at that price though!
Ty for the advice!
Back on the road bike for this morning's commute. Glad it was only 2.4 miles, quite a bit of knee pain by the time I got in. Saddle was actually pretty comfy though, I think I just need to move it back slightly, felt like I was a little too far forward.
I didn't have chance to look at my cleats last night, so will re-adjust those during my lunch hour as well. Just about remembered to un-clip when I hit the bike shed at work this morning
I didn't have chance to look at my cleats last night, so will re-adjust those during my lunch hour as well. Just about remembered to un-clip when I hit the bike shed at work this morning
I'll get a voucher to replace it, but as I said before I'm annoyed because they dont make this particular jersey any more, and it was a gift.
Soldato
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That's what I mean, replacing it is the very least they should be doing, should be giving you another free, or a cash voucher by way of apology.
If I were you I'd write a well worded letter of complaint. Get on LinkedIn and see if you can find out who the top boss is, use the company email convention and forward the email his/her way. Have done that before, usually with very good results.
I'd feel like a bit of an arse though, wanting something for nothing?
Soldato
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Your call, I certainly wouldn't word it that you're after something just that you are extremely unsatisfied with whats happened. I think that's outrageous customer service personally. Goes so far to put me off buying their stuff.
Man of Honour
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If it's their attitude that is the problem state that. I wouldn't be too bothered about getting something extra out of them beyond a proper apology that reflects the value of your loss and an explanation of how it happened that shows they have bothered to investigate it properly.
i know he would have done a lot of miles on it as he bought it brand new back in 2012 and upgraded the wheels ~6 months later iirc, so as far as life left in the rims etc i think it would be best if i can get someone who knows their stuff to look it over before we advertise it,
thanks for your help
EDIT: also, the original wheels that came with the bike are still on his old bike in the garage, would it be better to put those back on the bike and sell these upgraded ones seperatly?
these are the original wheels (my mums keeping this bike for sentimental reasons and will have his old Mavik wheels put back on it)
Firstly, sorry for your loss. Great to see your father took such enjoyment in cycling!
If he used a local bike shop, you could take it to them and see if they'd do a trade in for you although that would really depend if that's any benefit to you (ie buying anything from them)? They may know the bike very well (and your father) and some of the upgraded components they could more easily estimate value for you, they may even have fitted some parts fairly recently for your dad which would be worth removing to sell separately. They won't offer you as much money as selling privately but you'd have no problems with payment or other 'unhappy customer' type experiences. Like trading in a car - a garage knows what they're buying and what they'd need to do after purchase before selling it on.
Both the bikes have similar pedals on, they might be worth selling (along with any shoes?). Both also have speed and cadence sensors with cycle computers, again they may be worth selling seperately. Same with the turbo, pump tools etc (if they are of no use to you?).
Final thoughts, if you were ever likely to get into road cycling then it would be a fantastic ride to keep, there's obviously a lot of value tied into it you will never fully recoup by selling it.
So kept checking back, and no update by 12:30, so dropped them another mail asking, they replied saying please check now and apologies for the delay but we'll chuck in some aero gloves for free! Which I was going to buy anyway! So all round great customer service, and their prices aren't half bad! Worth a look if you're in the market.
Suit turned up today, is a lovely fit, not as tight as my old skin suit, but this seems to be much comfier and a nicer material for year round riding. Going to give it its first outing tomorrow evening, along with my new gloves.
I liked the care instructions they chucked in with it too.
P.S this is the suit I got http://galibier.cc/product/speedsuit/
TL : DR I got a new skin suit(Jesus I don't half go on)
Haha a fun read and those instructions are brilliant! Always great to get good customer service & free stuff!
I won't buy the Giant ones then haha
<snip>
I wana do more miles! The difference in my performance and body is crazy! Need to up it a bit, had a hell of a ride this morning and I'm now competing for some KOMs which is great!
The Raceblades are worth getting sooner rather than later, even if you're not fitting them until later in the year - they're EOL and the longer time goes on the hard they'll be to source (if not impossible) as well as probably being more expensive. I paid £24 for mine which was an absolute steal compared to the Giant guards (considering the hassle fitting & noise from them). In retrospect I would rather use Crud Road Racer mk2's (and replace them every time they broke/every year) than use the Giant guards. Hindsight is a great thing!
Kudos on the progress and KOM opportunities, I've always wanted one but there's no chance around here - too many cyclists I'll never be better than! I'm fully intending on getting some near where I used to live as there's far less cyclists (so any I get I'm also likely to keep!).
I'm noticing body differences too, enough that other people are commenting/complimenting (which is awesome!). Still want to lose a little more, although loss is the wrong word, it's more changes in shape! I'll never be a classic cyclist shape - I'm too short and stocky with stubby legs for that!
Someone at work said when I notice the contact point of the tyre getting wider it's time for new tyres.
Is this true?
If you roll your fingers gently over the tyre you can feel approx a third of the tyre is flat across the width, you can feel the edges of the flat.
These tyres are rubbish in my opinion. In comparison to others I've seen they look poor quality.
Need to find some of those Conti tyres everyone raves about now
Edit: I'll need them eventually so I've ordered some.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/continental-grand-prix-4000-s-ii-tyre/aid:709344
These are based in Germany, they change the vat at checkout.
Sign up to their website and they'll give you a £10 voucher effectively having the tyres delivered for £48.10, even without the voucher £58.10 isn't a bad price! 700x23c standard, in the comments ask for 25c if that's what you require, i wernt sure if 23c would fit my tube and wheel and I'm paranoid about potholes so just got 25c
Your Defy 3 wouldn't be much different wheel wise to my Defy 1, mine came with Giant 25mm's and I swapped them to my old Mitch P4E 23mm tyres to wear them out/use them up/winter riding/increased grip. So you could drop down to 23mm if you wanted.
I'm back on 25mm now and it is more comfortable but I will be changing these Giant tyres back to some with more grip for autumn/winter. The GP4000S II's I would look at along with the GP4S. I'd probably head the GP4S or Pro4 Grip route for increased grip during the wet, but anything (even the P4E's 'slick look') are better grip than the Giant tyres.
Tubes for 25mm would fit 23mm.
Regarding tyre wear... It's very hard to judge, I've used the increase in punctures as an indication as I've noticed no lack in traction or increase roar wear. Tyres will look worn/untidy/rubbish (compared to new!) long before they're actually worn enough to replace!
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800 miles sounds a bit low..
even I get around 2k-3k out of my tyres.. not on my single speed tho, rear is dead ish already after 300ish miles!! - not a fan of v-brakes for commuting.
Man of Honour
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No its not their attitude at all, the guy dealing with the case has been nice and polite, he just had a sense of humour fail when I suggested the team sky training session thing
In that case I'd let it go, yeah. Though perhaps make even more jokes to the guy to try and annoy him
Don't ask for anything - just send them a polite email/letter saying how you were disappointed with the loss of a present/beloved top etc. (Simon Mottram is the CEO)
Some of your guys rides are insane, they'd kill me.
Much training and riding to be done this year!
Just keep riding mate! This time last year I had only had my road bike a few months and doing ~40 miles a week commuting was pushing myself. Now I'm regularly doing 30-40 mile rides and nearing 100 miles a week without suffering much! Fitness feels superb!
No its not their attitude at all, the guy dealing with the case has been nice and polite, he just had a sense of humour fail when I suggested the team sky training session thing
Thomas' suggestion is a good one to 'get something done' if you were getting bad service. I think it's more a problem with their lack of responsibility for the issue rather than bad service.
I'd be lurking on their Facebook/Twitter/Strava/LinkedIn voicing how unhappy I was that they'd lost an irreplaceable jersey sent back for repair. Unsure how active Rapha are on social media but you'd at least get a public facing response to your very public gripe. You should get some other follow up from someone there who may even find your jersey!
Onto my second rest day (in a row) and my quads are not feeling that rested?!
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