Road Cycling Essentials

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I have the LD20 and have decided to use it for my commute instead of buying a P7, because I have an unlimited supply of AA batteries (non-rechargeable) and if I bought the P7 I'd also have to buy a AAA charger really. It's now attached to my bike handlebars (courtesy platypus) and I'm looking forward to trying it out on the dark lanes coming home from work on Monday night. These lock block things normally attach ok to helmets also, so if mounted on the bars doesn't work I'll try that instead.

Anyway the LD20 will provide the light no question...as mentioned above, it's the battery life on full power that might be an issue for some. But then it has loads of dimmer modes that would still light up the road sufficiently.
 
Jamesbcd said:
Sounds good then, will order the LD20 soon. I have a bunch of 2700mah Uniross batteries in a drawer somewhere that should be good to go, no idea how they compare to the Eneloops or GP ReCykos though.
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ReCykos are 2100mAh :)
 
So I made some little aluminium hooks to hang my bike on. I was going to put it in my room, but I decided to put it in the corner of the lounge in the end.

Does it look ridiculous? I only recently bought the flat, it won't be so bare eventually. I will have some storage underneath etc. Just no cash at the moment.

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Luckily George Hincapie I don't have anyone to answer to :)

One More Solo I am a bit of a fair weather rider to be honest. I always wipe the bike down when I get in if there has been rain. It is only touching on the saddle so maybe a bit of bum sweat will be transferred. Things like that don't really bother me.

I was originally going to make some pulleys and suspend it. But I am unsure how strong the ceiling is. Most of the ones you can buy suit a garage, have the wheels touching the wall or cost a small fortune for what essentially looks like a plant pot :)
 
looks good - solid brick wall or stud wall though?
i would rig up something to protect the wall where the saddle touches it and also where the pedal might hit off the other wall if you accidentally bump into the bike. simpler than repainting.
 
Stud wall. Fitted using rawl interset fixings.

I might put a little touchpad on the wall. My saddle has a hole in the centre which I might use. Have something which pokes through there and the rests on the clamp underneath.

Glad you think it looks good as well.
 
First day out with the M520 pedals today and I don't think it was the smartest idea doing it in central London! I came off a total of five times, the worst being outside the big Evans in the West End and once right outside Harrods!! Felt like a complete *** especially as my mate manoeuvred himself in an attempt to keep me upright by pushing me upright from my left but instead I ended up landing right on top of him so we both came crashing to the ground.

Three out of the five times was simply because I forgot i was was using the clips and the other two was due to wearing Lidl crappy SPD shoes; firstly the bolts on my left cleat decided to rip themselves out of the metal plate in the shoe so i couldn't unclip. I had to take my feet out and take the screws out of the pedal to get the cleat out (that was outside Harrods). Luckily the right cleat came apart 100m from my front door so that wasn't so much of a disaster.

All in all, looking back on it it was quite comical and I was quite lucky to only come back with a scrape on my leg! I think I need to invest in some quality shoes and the Lidl specials are destined for the skip!
 
milgo said:
So I made some little aluminium hooks to hang my bike on. I was going to put it in my room, but I decided to put it in the corner of the lounge in the end.
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Looks good.
I went for the other way around - wheels against the wall :)

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Hamster said:
<snip>Traumatic first clipped in experience</snip>
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To be fair, Central London would not have been my first choice of venue to ride clipped in for the first time - you have some balls my friend ;)

I know this is going to make me sound a right old ninny, but please, please consider going to a proper bike shop and have your cleats set up properly. It is really important. Being clipped restricts the way your leg moves (in a biomechanical sense), so it's important to make sure your position is right from the start.

I use Speedplay myself, but I believe SPD cleats have a mechanism to reduce the force required to clip out (can anyone help here?) - it really ought to be set to the lowest setting until you are more confident.

The only other advice I can give you is to think about unclipping at least 15-20m before the junction and practise, practise, practise! :)
 
George Hincapie said:
I use Speedplay myself, but I believe SPD cleats have a mechanism to reduce the force required to clip out (can anyone help here?) - it really ought to be set to the lowest setting until you are more confident.
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On the rear of the peddle you can adjust the tension spring to make it easier to clip out.
 
touch said:
Looks good.
I went for the other way around - wheels against the wall :)

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Hah, that's just greedy!

Yeah hamster that sounds like a mad first try. I just went up and down a quiet residential road and spent about an hour or so playing with tension and adjusting the angles. I think I have come off once in a park waiting for some people to cross a bridge.
 
George Hincapie said:
To be fair, Central London would not have been my first choice of venue to ride clipped in for the first time - you have some balls my friend ;)

I know this is going to make me sound a right old ninny, but please, please consider going to a proper bike shop and have your cleats set up properly. It is really important. Being clipped restricts the way your leg moves (in a biomechanical sense), so it's important to make sure your position is right from the start.

I use Speedplay myself, but I believe SPD cleats have a mechanism to reduce the force required to clip out (can anyone help here?) - it really ought to be set to the lowest setting until you are more confident.

The only other advice I can give you is to think about unclipping at least 15-20m before the junction and practise, practise, practise! :)
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Thanks very much for your advice George :)

I agree, central London was not the best place to try them out, in fact I don't think it could have been any worse!! Oh well, baptism of fire and all that!!

From the start I had set the pedals to the lowest tension but still managed to find them difficult to clip into, very hit and miss, especially the left side after the right has already clipped in. I must say that the shoes didn't help in the slightest in that i found it getting more and more difficult to clip in and out of before the cleat bolts ripped out of them. Looking back on the day, I count myself damn lucky to only come away with scrapes being so ill-prepared for what was to happen. I didn't actually fall off in the last hour and I think that I was thinking to unclip, like you suggest, a decent distance before the junction.

Next step will be to get some decent shoes. I was thinking of the Wiggle DHB MTB shoes as it would be nice to be able to walk somewhat normally when off the bike but I am open to suggestions. After that I'll look into getting cleats fitted professionally; especially at the start of today's escapade, riding did feel very strange, almost as if my energy wasn't nearly going into the pedal as much as it should and it did cross my mind that the cleats could be better positioned.
 
useful pictorial here for setting up your shoes
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Install-and-Adjust-Pedal-Cleats-2011.html

i bought some shimano spd shoes from decathlon with recessed cleat that you can walk on ok. my top tip is to buy shoes 2 sizes bigger than fit you neatly as with spd pedals you can end up with the ball of you foot going numb if the shoe is anyway tight across the part of your foot that is level with the cleat (happens to me with my wide feet and is very distracting). it will also allow for thicker socks such as a pair of sealskinz
 
encephalopathy said:
i bought some shimano spd shoes from decathlon with recessed cleat that you can walk on ok. my top tip is to buy shoes 2 sizes bigger than fit you neatly as with spd pedals you can end up with the ball of you foot going numb if the shoe is anyway tight across the part of your foot that is level with the cleat (happens to me with my wide feet and is very distracting). it will also allow for thicker socks such as a pair of sealskinz
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Apparently insoles can help quite a lot if hot foot becomes a problem.
 
Hamster said:
Thanks very much for your advice George :)
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No worries - there's a few guys on this board who really love their cycling, so don't be afraid to ask :)

When you're ready for a cleat fit, please let us know. There are a couple of decent places in London that will do it we can recommend.

How people clip in/out can be very personal. One approach you can try is to clip the same foot out every time. For me, it's my right foot - then if I need to, I'll clip my left out. Perhaps try this for a while? It might help.
 
She's finished and she coped with this morning's run in:

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Pretty, pretty.

I'm aware of the saddle angle, that's wash't deliberate, that's just the result of levelling it when it's in a repair stand. It' wasn't uncomfortable though.
 
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