Road Cycling Essentials

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Well to be honest I'm in a bit of a quandary. I don't know how long I'm actually going to be able to continue to cycle. The major resorts will of course have the roads cleared, but they will be absolutely rammed with traffic. So I don't know how much it's worth spending, because for the commute to work I can carry on using my Specialized. If however I can cycle around here throughout winter (I am on a plain between Lyon and the Alpes so it may well work out) then I will want a "winter bike" with winter tyres (can't get the clearance for proper winter tyres on any of my bikes) and given some of the hills around here I'd be just an awful lot more confident with disc brakes.
 
Do they use salt on the roads over there or is it just that fine gravel that they spread around?
Do you get a lot of rain? I imagine it's mostly falling as snow higher up which isnt going to work its way into all the components like salty water does :(
Might be ok to use your summer bike with mudguards if the conditions are not so bad over there.
 
touch said:
Do they use salt on the roads over there or is it just that fine gravel that they spread around?
Do you get a lot of rain? I imagine it's mostly falling as snow higher up which isnt going to work its way into all the components like salty water does :(
Might be ok to use your summer bike with mudguards if the conditions are not so bad over there.
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The trouble with that is I can't get a mudguard on the front wheel, and I can't get fat winter tyres on it.
 
So, National Cycle to Work Day today.

A few more cyclists out than normal, but that might have just been a coincidence (i.e. 2 more spotted in addition to the chap that I pass every single morning, at the same time, at the same place).
 
Vonhelmet said:
Set off about 8, so it was dark fairly soon. I have a Smart Lunar and a Cree XM-L T6 at the front. I set the Cree to constant and the Smart to flash. On the back I have a Cateye 3 LED one which flashes. I could maybe do with another decent one upfront, instead of the Smart, for really dark riding, otherwise I have to take it slow and rely on my memory to know where the dodgy bits of road surface, potholes, grids, etc are.
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I don't know how you draw up the motivation to cycle in an evening in the dark in almost all weathers over the winter! I'm trying to cycle to work at least 3 times a week over the winter (whatever the weather) but I couldn't imagine going out on a dark December night!

I'm definitely going to make more use of my turbo over the winter, more than I did last year so that I am ready to hit the ground running when next spring happens!
 
Have any of you had to get your Garmin repaired? My 605 won't connect to any computer (I've tried it on four), but it'll still charge, so it seems that there's something wrong with the USB connector. I've got an 810 now, but I was wondering if it was worth getting the 605 repaired. Any ideas how much they charge for repairs?
 
physichull said:
So, National Cycle to Work Day today.

A few more cyclists out than normal, but that might have just been a coincidence (i.e. 2 more spotted in addition to the chap that I pass every single morning, at the same time, at the same place).
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I saw less cyclists than I usually do! Although I headed into work at around 8.30pm so probably missed most people, gotta love flexi-time.

School is definitely back today though, crazy increase in traffic! Dat filtering.
 
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The bike Grudas has linked to looks good. The brakes aren't the best on there though they're pretty comparable to BB5s. If you end up using the bike a lot I'd recommend swapping them out to Hy/Rds in the future.
 
What's wrong with a mountain bike? Most come with discs and you could get quite a decent one second hand for £400.

I use one all winter, it's great training!
 
Vonhelmet said:
I have a Smart Lunar and a Cree XM-L T6 at the front.
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Nice. I've been having another look at the eBay Crees, but where on earth do you start?! There seems so many variations. I know the stated lumen values will be pretty inaccurate. 1800lm, 2000lm, 5200lm apparently (probably more like 4 x 1300lm LEDs). But does anyone have any guidance?
 
topgun06 said:
Nice. I've been having another look at the eBay Crees, but where on earth do you start?! There seems so many variations. I know the stated lumen values will be pretty inaccurate. 1800lm, 2000lm, 5200lm apparently (probably more like 4 x 1300lm LEDs). But does anyone have any guidance?
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Something like this?
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3000...Bicycle-Bike-White-Light-Head/1501455936.html

Lots of decent feedback, and bloody cheap. You'll probably need some 18650 batteries though. Or for a bit more...

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ride...headlight-glare-caplights/1870389538.html?s=p
 
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You can get SolarStorm X2s cheaply enough from UK sellers on ebay and amazon.

I am tempted by a usb rechargeable though. Shame that Torchy's lights are so expensive.
 
Id like a cyclocross bike to use to ride on paths, down the shops and pub.

Its my first day back on the bike in 3 weeks tonight, looking forward to it but also scared to see how much ive dropped off!:D
 
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