Road Cycling Essentials

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Finally got around to buying some tools to get my BB off on my commuter bike, after two years I think it was about time it had a clean! And my god was there a lot of crap in there!
I was expecting more of a struggle to get the crank off after two years, but thankfully it was a doddle.

Next job, take off the front and rear derailleurs for a proper clean.
 
grudas said:
get this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-Q5-B...isure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item4aae21e80b


and you will have a nice set of lights! :) those cheap LED ones really are POOP :) if you want to be seen invest into proper front lights - i have those "flashlights" as my front lights with 18650 batteries in them(need to charge them up once a week - use them for ~2hrs a day) it has 3 modes strobe/full/low
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Good call on those front lights grudas! A word of warning to anyone getting the same though, they're not waterproof. Mine ended up with water on the inside of the lens due to rain getting in during this torrential weather. The head slides in and out (fnar fnar) to adjust the focus and it's not sealed fully between the head and the shaft (I give up).

Anyways, a makeshift sleeve made out of an inner tube and all is well. For £15 they're definitely worth the cash.

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Nice mod! You could smear some vaseline around the thread of the lens as well for extra waterproofing.

I've just ordered some, what is the rear light like?
 
The rear light looks like it'd be pretty good if the casing was prismed to diffuse the light. As it is it's just clear so it doesn't seem as bright. I've stuck it in a drawer as a spare.

I've noticed cars seem to be making room for me to pass a lot more with these lights. I have one steady and one flashing (both dipped slightly so as not to dazzle) and I'm guessing having a flashing light in your wing mirror is annoying as hell so they move over.

It's way more noticeable than it was when I had my old cateye front light fitted.
 
FWIW, since I've been driving again I've been paying a lot more attention to cyclists at night. I think flashing lights potentially do more harm than good, they are very distracting and not in a good way. They also make it hard to judge distance between yourself and a cyclist. I've gone back to just using steady lights now.
 
Just want to add their was a test done a while ago that aid flashing lights cause more problems when compared to steady beam.

I always have a front beam never flashing.

Flashing lights also don't "light up" the road ahead of you that will either
 
I have my rear ones doing that side to side thing. I might switch my front ones to both steady beam if it's so bad for drivers. I do reckon it's more visible when you have a steady one and a blinking one though. Most of the time it just looks like one steady light that pulses.
 
At least in an urban, inner-city environment I think steady alone can be easily drowned out by all the other lights and stuff going on.
 
[Damien];23406821 said:
Good call on those front lights grudas! A word of warning to anyone getting the same though, they're not waterproof. Mine ended up with water on the inside of the lens due to rain getting in during this torrential weather. The head slides in and out (fnar fnar) to adjust the focus and it's not sealed fully between the head and the shaft (I give up).

Anyways, a makeshift sleeve made out of an inner tube and all is well. For £15 they're definitely worth the cash.
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interesting! :O mine seem to be fine :) we'll see what happens when i get cought in a really heavy rain! and i do run one steady one flashing too! i think riding in london, specially central i need to get as much disco going as i can.. ;) i was passing some girls and they were like "ohh look disco lights yeeeee" :D


but yeah they are really bright enough and car interiors do light up if i get behind them! :)
 
I reckon you're probably ok if you have the lights perfectly horizontal. I have mine dipped down slightly though so water trickles into the head at the point where it slides back and forth. There's parts of my stretch where I'm forced to queue with traffic if it's busy and I'm conscious of some poor sod having a flashy light in their mirror for god knows how long.
 
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How quickly do those £15 lights go through AAA or AA (whichever they use) ?

Or do you have to get one of those rechargeable packs?
 
i never went through a set of batteries yet lol.. :) i thought it would eat them quickly but last time i only had to change once in 10hrs but i try to mix the modes up since i run one steady one flashing :) but now i got the 18650+charger for 12 quid of ebay and those last longer and i only charge it once a week..
 
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grudas said:
i never went through a set of batteries yet lol.. :) i thought it would eat them quickly but last time i only had to change once in 10hrs but i try to mix the modes up since i run one steady one flashing :) but now i got the 18650+charger for 12 quid of ebay and those last longer and i only charge it once a week..
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which were the batteries you got off ebay?
 
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