Road Cycling

Man of Honour
Joined
3 Apr 2003
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15,618
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Cambridge
Urgh. Spot the MAMIL... second day commuting this week and it was -2oC this morning. How do you guys muster the enthusiasm to do this to yourselves?

Also, if pain is speed entering the body, I'm going to be hilariously fast come the summer... I feel like I've been hit by a truck (almost was a couple of weeks ago)!
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
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8,618
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Southampton
Urgh. Spot the MAMIL... second day commuting this week and it was -2oC this morning. How do you guys muster the enthusiasm to do this to yourselves?

A few benefits that immediately come to mind...
I can cycle home to work in under 20mins, it would take ~5mins to walk to bus stop; ~5-10mins waiting for the bus; then ~30mins on bus; ~1min to walk to work
Cycling keeps me away from all those people speading lurgy on the bus
Annual (or longer) drivetrain and tyre replacements on the commuter cost less than the weekly £8 bus ticket, saving me money to put towards other cycling goods for the road bike
The exercise wakes me up, albeit it's more benefit outside winter when it's light at 0600
I hate feeling cold, I'm more likely to freeze doing public transport than cycling, when if anything I may get a little too warm
etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Posts
10,646
And we all like a nice feeling when we grab a handful!

Yeah, many of the other 'solutions' on MTB really don't work on Road - hoses integrated into the forks so have to orientate the whole bike, taking the lever off the bars to rotate it is far more long winded etc etc.

My next 'solution' was to leave it sat in all the different 'directions' of the hose from the caliper backwards to hopefully (evnetually) draw all the bubbles out the top... But equally if passing oil through the system didn't flush out the bubbles causing me problems I couldn't see how that would work. :confused:

I'm still hopeful that riding it today will have 'shaken' the bubbles up through the system, so topping it up later is all I need to do. :cool:


Having just stuck a 105 7070 caliper on an RS505 lever. I pushed the fluid up which got most of the bubbles out, gravity way got a tiny pocket of small bubbles out and then getting the lever firm and opening the nipple didn't seem to get any extra out.

Last thing I did was pull the lever on and release it quickly, flicking it kinda, in the upper position, level and then pointing down. That got a surprising amount of bubbles out from the reservoir. Kept doing it until I got no more bubbles.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,617
A few benefits that immediately come to mind...
I can cycle home to work in under 20mins, it would take ~5mins to walk to bus stop; ~5-10mins waiting for the bus; then ~30mins on bus; ~1min to walk to work
Cycling keeps me away from all those people speading lurgy on the bus
Annual (or longer) drivetrain and tyre replacements on the commuter cost less than the weekly £8 bus ticket, saving me money to put towards other cycling goods for the road bike
The exercise wakes me up, albeit it's more benefit outside winter when it's light at 0600
I hate feeling cold, I'm more likely to freeze doing public transport than cycling, when if anything I may get a little too warm
etc.


i caught the bus to work the other day because i had a dental extraction part way through the day and was advised not to do anything strenuous after.

i honestly dont know how people do it every day without punching someone.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Posts
10,646
i caught the bus to work the other day because i had a dental extraction part way through the day and was advised not to do anything strenuous after.

i honestly dont know how people do it every day without punching someone.

Aye, when I go out drinking and have to mingle with the general population that I'd be about 3 weeks away from murder if I didn't cycle or drive.

Loud phone calls, people with colds touching and sneezing on hand rails, wee dicks up the back playing music on their phones, the standing waiting and having to walk to and from each stop.

I'd rather walk than get a bus.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
3 Apr 2003
Posts
15,618
Location
Cambridge
A few benefits that immediately come to mind...
I can cycle home to work in under 20mins, it would take ~5mins to walk to bus stop; ~5-10mins waiting for the bus; then ~30mins on bus; ~1min to walk to work
Cycling keeps me away from all those people speading lurgy on the bus
Annual (or longer) drivetrain and tyre replacements on the commuter cost less than the weekly £8 bus ticket, saving me money to put towards other cycling goods for the road bike
The exercise wakes me up, albeit it's more benefit outside winter when it's light at 0600
I hate feeling cold, I'm more likely to freeze doing public transport than cycling, when if anything I may get a little too warm
etc.

Oh, sure - I do feel *better* on the cost/lurgy scales... I'm just knackered most of the time. :D
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2003
Posts
10,855
Location
Wigan
And I’m done!

I cut a little bit off the front mudguards in the end.

They practically touch the fork now, I have put heli tape on there (can see where I already scuffed it trial fitting so many times) and there is probably 2mm clearance between the edge of the guard and side of the tyre. More between the guard and the top of the tyre.

The rear was as expected, no issues fitted fine. Cut the stays down, ground the ends and fitted the protectors.

Just have to do a rough bike fit now then give it a ride at the weekend!

https://ibb.co/6npDmXv
https://ibb.co/tY4Knvw
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2012
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6,595
Location
Tamworth, UK
So which side are you and how far out? Brum isn't that bad once you're out of the central madness. I recall Dale being quite central ( @ThaReaperGuy ) and he seemed to find several ok routes with various clubs. He doesn't seem to ride much now though. Lots of ok roads/riding North/West (have Family north & in Cannock and friends in Stourbridge/Halesowen) and I don't recall Solihull being that bad once out towards the M42 (had a work site there).

It's a tragic truth... can't even remember when my last proper ride was! I did some zwifting a couple months back but need to try and get a plan together... one day.

But yes, I have a fair few routes for Birmingham, getting through the city on quiet roads is a bit of a pain but depends where you're coming from, you're a bit stuck for long climbs unless you touch the tip of the Cotswolds or hang around Licky Hills.

I'm now living in Tamworth so my access to quiet lanes now takes about 5 minutes, I just need to abuse that. :p
 
Associate
Joined
9 Aug 2003
Posts
177
Location
Birmingham
It's a tragic truth... can't even remember when my last proper ride was! I did some zwifting a couple months back but need to try and get a plan together... one day.

But yes, I have a fair few routes for Birmingham, getting through the city on quiet roads is a bit of a pain but depends where you're coming from, you're a bit stuck for long climbs unless you touch the tip of the Cotswolds or hang around Licky Hills.

I'm now living in Tamworth so my access to quiet lanes now takes about 5 minutes, I just need to abuse that. :p

Riding on the weekend or later evenings after work in spring/summer is OK - I'm in Selly Oak, so it's only a few minutes to get out west or south, depending on where I want to go. Hillier routes being out west.

I work in Shirley/Solihull though, so commuting's not ideal, given the bits of the city and the major roads I've got to get across.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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8,420
Location
Hereford
@Asprilla hmmm. Can't seem to tag him any longer, did he change name? Was interested in some extremely reflective overshoes I'd seen on one of his Strava pictures.

£50 plus £6 postage. Now £35 at PBK.
Damn that's quite a drop! Hate to say it... But if you're feeling flush buy another pair and put them up for several years time when you need parts/replacement from damage etc/need longer stays due to tyre size change (why I had to buy some)...

Urgh. Spot the MAMIL... second day commuting this week and it was -2oC this morning. How do you guys muster the enthusiasm to do this to yourselves?

Also, if pain is speed entering the body, I'm going to be hilariously fast come the summer... I feel like I've been hit by a truck (almost was a couple of weeks ago)!
I thought pain was weakness leaving the body, not speed entering it lol ;)

My commute is short, under 3 miles. Car wouldn't even warm up in the time. Takes me sub 10 mins on bike, again not enough time to really warm up! Although 3 times a week my evening commute is 7 miles, 4.5 of it towing a trailer from my littles ones days at Nursery. For me the money saved from commuting not using the car is the biggest thing - also the other half riding her commute 3 days a week (5 miles each way) helps too!

So around 72 miles a week between us we're not using the car for, say on average 40 weeks a year (when the weather is really bad/icey we use the car, time off for holidays/xmas etc) that's nearly 3000 miles a year we're not using the car for. Our car generally does 3-4k a year, prior to riding our commutes we had 2 cars doing around 10k a year (but we did live in a different area then so not exactly the same commutes). Still I tell myself the cost of fuel is £10-15 a week, saved over a whole year, the reduced running costs (tyres/wear & tear) alongside the saving from only having 1 (small) car as opposed to two. Then £2 a day also saved on parking... So call it around £30-40 saved a week by cycling our commutes & only having 1 small car. Not huge for some of you, but enough for us to justify it. Providing I spend less than ~£1200 on bikes/components a year we're saving money, but lets be honest, I've probably spent that a couple of times over lol.

Then there's the health benefits... I used to get out of breath running up a flight of stairs. No longer. I can probably do 3-4 flights before my breathing/HR really increases lol. I've also trimmed 3-4 stone and 4-5" off my waistline from cycling. Without riding my commute I probably wouldn't be a cyclist... Like what Steve says - arriving at work full of endorphins and the feeling of fitness. I really struggle to be as productive at work if I drive a couple of days in a row. For me riding my commute is now the norm. It also allows me to keep an ongoing base of fitness throughout the year so I can enjoy my other riding far more.

Nice and snug! To be fair with it that snug and being metal the guards are hopefully going to be nice and solid, which only increases the 'enjoyment' as you can't hear them clattering over every bump in the road lol.

Bike looks superb, love that matt grey look!

It's a tragic truth... can't even remember when my last proper ride was! I did some zwifting a couple months back but need to try and get a plan together... one day.

But yes, I have a fair few routes for Birmingham, getting through the city on quiet roads is a bit of a pain but depends where you're coming from, you're a bit stuck for long climbs unless you touch the tip of the Cotswolds or hang around Licky Hills.

I'm now living in Tamworth so my access to quiet lanes now takes about 5 minutes, I just need to abuse that. :p
Haha hey & welcome back! Hope you didn't mind the tag :o

Tamworth is nice (Snowdome!?), you're away from much of the brum madness out that side and it probably only gets quieter if heading out towards Derby direction. Get yourself back on Zwift, no excuse this time of year! You don't have to commit too much time to Zwift to get some easy miles under your belt without deciding too much about riding outside/kits/routes/clubs/etc, you don't evene need much of a plan, but just a bit of 'drive' to want to do it. I know that might sacrifice some other time/hobbies so really that's where the decision has to be. :D
 
Soldato
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Location
Southampton
Soldato
Joined
20 Nov 2005
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4,732
Location
Redditch
Missing my daily commute miles this winter.

I've cycled to work the past 10 years through all manner of weather, however after last years accident I'm still wary of the conditions & my winter riding confidence is still to return.

Thank god for Zwift, otherwise I'd be doing nothing :(
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2003
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10,855
Location
Wigan
Had a little test ride round the block to get the saddle height.

Need to watch the toe overlap on the flaps!

Otherwise, nice and smooth, quiet and felt comfortable, brake power felt good which I am happy about after spending the £ on the TRPs.

Not quite as much pop as my R5 but then again my legs don’t have that either after bit of time off and lurgy! Hopefully it will be ideal for winter training rides.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
3 Apr 2003
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15,618
Location
Cambridge
Missing my daily commute miles this winter.

I've cycled to work the past 10 years through all manner of weather, however after last years accident I'm still wary of the conditions & my winter riding confidence is still to return.

Thank god for Zwift, otherwise I'd be doing nothing :(

A van almost had me two weeks ago... And it wasn't even dark.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Apr 2008
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24,070
Location
Lorville - Hurston
Missing my daily commute miles this winter.

I've cycled to work the past 10 years through all manner of weather, however after last years accident I'm still wary of the conditions & my winter riding confidence is still to return.

Thank god for Zwift, otherwise I'd be doing nothing :(
Your not gunna overcome it now or will be very difficult too!

You left it so late to try and get back into cycling. when i got ran over, as soon as i was able to cycle again i did!!!
 
Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
326
Location
London
i shortened my journey these days, just dont want to get exposed to the cold too much. i now ride to train station and use that then ride to office (5-10mins each leg). train station is otherwise 25 minutes walk or bus but im cheapskate and want to ride abit every day. So this hybrid journey seems to be the best blend.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2004
Posts
18,141
Location
Hampshire
Had to hapepn sooner or later, but dropped it on the way to work this morning! Luckily no major damage to Bike, Clothing or myself, just a nice graze to my left thigh!
 
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