Road Cycling Essentials

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FrenchTart said:
No tyres grip on snow :p

How are you finding them grip-wise elsewhere?
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well, my home-made mtb tyres used to be fine on thick ice! ;) deflate an MTB tyre, get an old chain, connect it up, stretch it over the tyre-- inflate! bam you've got epic winter tyres that literally break ice as they go haha!

awesome! very sticky over-all! I'm slowly getting more confident on them and when it comes to wet/cold mornings I hardly get any wheel spin when getting of the lights which is a massive difference compared to what I had before.

they do feel a bit slower tho(might be a place-bo effect) and I wonder how they will cope with punctures but time will tell! over-all, I'm happy with my purchase.
 
grudas said:
well, my home-made mtb tyres used to be fine on thick ice! ;) deflate an MTB tyre, get an old chain, connect it up, stretch it over the tyre-- inflate! bam you've got epic winter tyres that literally break ice as they go haha!

awesome! very sticky over-all! I'm slowly getting more confident on them and when it comes to wet/cold mornings I hardly get any wheel spin when getting of the lights which is a massive difference compared to what I had before.

they do feel a bit slower tho(might be a place-bo effect) and I wonder how they will cope with punctures but time will tell! over-all, I'm happy with my purchase.
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Yeah, I remember you mentioning the chain/tyre combination a while back. It sounded like fun :)

If you're enjoying the P4s but finding them not quite as fast then next time it could be worth checking out the Service Course or the SC Grip. In moving from the Ends to the SC Grips I'm not sure I've noticed a decrease in rolling resistance but supposedly they're meant to be a little bit nippier.
 
FrenchTart said:
Yeah, I remember you mentioning the chain/tyre combination a while back. It sounded like fun :)

If you're enjoying the P4s but finding them not quite as fast then next time it could be worth checking out the Service Course or the SC Grip. In moving from the Ends to the SC Grips I'm not sure I've noticed a decrease in rolling resistance but supposedly they're meant to be a little bit nippier.
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well when this -;

k1WD9Cd.jpg

is the usual during winter, with thick ice under it.. you gotta think of the ways to cycle haha! :) and when I was like 10-14 it was a cool thing to do.

I might try the SC grip next time! :) - do let me know how you find them over time!

on that note, I've realized that Im not a very patient man when it comes to cycling + slow cyclists + traffic.. I just can't deal with it and my videos are full of stuff like the below -;

 
maybe I'm just used to it eh! ;) I do know my limits, of course I can't be responsible for other drivers but hey, I did say I lack patience and it will hurt me one day - well aware of it, no point stating the obvious! plus it wasn't that tight! had enough space.
 
grudas said:
maybe I'm just used to it eh! ;) I do know my limits, of course I can't be responsible for other drivers but hey, I did say I lack patience and it will hurt me one day - well aware of it, no point stating the obvious! plus it wasn't that tight! had enough space.
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It's not your safety I'm concerned with, it's the other road users. You really need to have a think about how you ride and remember that you share the road with other users - cars, lorries, cyclists and pedestrians. How many collisions with pedestrians have you had again?
 
oli collett said:
It's not your safety I'm concerned with, it's the other road users. You really need to have a think about how you ride and remember that you share the road with other users - cars, lorries, cyclists and pedestrians. How many collisions with pedestrians have you had again?
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I wasn't putting anyone in danger?! only my self, me hitting a car will do nothing to the driver. Hardly any speed in those videos.

around 10 over the years, many of those in oxford street :) only one was my fault tho, rest are just people crossing the road without looking between buses or on phones etc. One of the reasons I stopped riding through oxford street and took a longer route

but on that note, yeah I'm know what you guys mean :) hence the video title.. those two might have been the worst I've seen from my stash of videos :P
 
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grudas said:
awesome! very sticky over-all! I'm slowly getting more confident on them and when it comes to wet/cold mornings I hardly get any wheel spin when getting of the lights which is a massive difference compared to what I had before.

they do feel a bit slower tho(might be a place-bo effect) and I wonder how they will cope with punctures but time will tell! over-all, I'm happy with my purchase.
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Glad to hear you're getting on well with them, we do like a convert ;)

grudas said:
on that note, I've realized that Im not a very patient man when it comes to cycling + slow cyclists + traffic.. I just can't deal with it and my videos are full of stuff like the below -;

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Can tell you have no patience, then again I don't blame you with a couple of those - at least the traffic around London is slow moving, used to cyclists and look to give you lots of room! The undertake on the taxi wasn't a great idea but I have no huge problem with the others.

grudas said:
I wasn't putting anyone in danger?! only my self, me hitting a car will do nothing to the driver. Hardly any speed in those videos.
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I'd try and get out of the mindset of 'me hitting a car will do nothing to the driver', then again I'm currently utterly paranoid of drivers and still regaining my confidence from being knocked off.

I think in stationary/very slow traffic the recording is slightly misleading - the speed looks higher than it is as all it can show is the bike movement.

The 'overtake stationary into oncoming traffic' I don't see as a problem (I do it some) but you really are at the mercy of oncoming traffic, the drivers awareness and their road position. I 'hop' around stationary traffic but I try not to pull out towards anyone. If I'm already out there (with room to move in) and the oncoming car obviously sees me and gives me extra room I stay out. If there's not much room/other vehicle doesn't give extra room I'm back in 'safety' on my side between the stationary cars.

My progress is slower in comparison to grudas', but I'm still making progress rather than pavementing (see lots of them) or undertaking (see less, but still more than overtaking!). :confused:
 
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The undertake with the taxi was really asking for trouble and some of the other manoeuvres looked a little dodgy but I agree with Roady - they probably looked more dangerous than they actually were.

You probably could do with being a little more patient though Grudas :) Even if some things are perfectly safe for you it doesn't mean that you aren't going to startle less experienced road users and encourage unpredictable behaviour from them.
 
those two overtakes/undertakes were stupid, no arguing about that :) but -;


is my usual commute, dangerous and busy but that's london for you :)

anyway, I bet we all do some random crap on the road.. and obviously the previous video just shows the worst bits - bar the snow, that was just random as my bike was sliding all over the place! front, rear etc..!
 
Once I start recording I'll post up some specially doctored videos of me being really patient and going slowly. The rest of the videos where I ride normally will be private :p
 
oli collett said:
Well I had a wipeout this morning on ice, managed to graze my arm in the same spot I had to have stitches last year after my big accident :( don't think I'll be trying to head out again in similar conditions given they don't bother gritting some of the roads near me
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I didn't take the risk this morning. Probably just as well because the first car I came across was a woman barreling down the road and turned into my road as if there was no ice or snow on the road. I pulled out pretty sharpish because at the speed she was going there was a pretty high chance she'd have just slid into the side of me. I think what scares me most is how many people genuinely have no idea how close they are to completely losing control.
 
FrenchTart said:
Once I start recording I'll post up some specially doctored videos of me being really patient and going slowly. The rest of the videos where I ride normally will be private :p
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haha lol! I am patient sometimes.. I'd say when it comes to big things on the road, aka trucks, buses etc.. I take it slow around them!

for e.g. -;


see? PATIENCE MAN!

what are you going to use to record your videos? I remember you mentioning that Manchester was pretty much the same as London!?
 
Lol :p

I'm considering getting a Virb but I'm also tempted by some of the cheapo Chinese cameras as for not much money I could record forward and back. I may end up getting the cheap cameras first and then vetting a Virb later on. The hassle of turning on multiple cameras for recording sounds a bit tedious though.

Not all of Manchester is that bad but certain roads are terrible around rush hour. I say certain roads but really it's pretty much just Wilmslow road - and these days I try to avoid it as even if you're happy weaving through traffic you can go so much faster if you take any of the other main roads that run in the same direction.
 
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