Road Cycling

Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2006
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5,386
Had some fantastic weather for it compared to last month!
Was it bad last month? I popped in to see some family along the way and they said most of the summer has been great - better than here. We had rain every day but generally not too bad besides day 2. We had two big deluges of rain and got drenched heading to Ullapool. Then we both froze and got wet sleeping bags/bivvies in the over night rain - no sleep. Day 3 had great weather but we spent a good 1.5 hours at the end of it drying out kit in the wind as much as we could before it rained again overnight :D
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
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25,023
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Tunbridge Wells
I think I'm going to give up cycling to Chepstow. I think it's a cursed ride.

My chain hopped off and got jammed between the small chainring and the frame and when I got it home I noticed it had bent. I suppose it's a good excuse to buy a new one but it's a bit annoying. Only had the bike a month or so and having to replace something so soon on an expensive bike is leaving a sour taste in my mouth!

I'm no expert but chains shouldn't jump off either end of the gears unless its been poorly indexed. Thats literally what the limit screws are there to prevent. If you've only had it a months then I would wager that it wasn't properly set up out of the shop.

Thats also a road bike isn't it? The chain gets whacked around a lot on an MTB but on a road bike there shouldn't be much happening that would cause it to move so violently as to fall off.

How did it happen? What were you doing at the time?
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
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11,091
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Bristol
The silver thing is just there to protect the frame and it’s not unusual for them to come off when you trap the chain like that. The damage is a bit of a bummer but nothing that would concern me. On a black bike you could probably touch it up with some carbon filler and it’d be fairly invisible.

I've done some more reading and it looks like it's just the paint that's come off, it doesn't look like it's anything deep but it is quite hard to see. Which is a blessing as it wont stick out like a sore thumb now. I'll wear it like a badge of honour!

I'm no expert but chains shouldn't jump off either end of the gears unless its been poorly indexed. Thats literally what the limit screws are there to prevent. If you've only had it a months then I would wager that it wasn't properly set up out of the shop.

Thats also a road bike isn't it? The chain gets whacked around a lot on an MTB but on a road bike there shouldn't be much happening that would cause it to move so violently as to fall off.

How did it happen? What were you doing at the time?

I wonder if that's the case that it needs indexing? I got it direct from Canyon so I had hoped it would've been ready to go out of the box as I've not fiddled with it. I've heard indexing is a fairly simple process so I'll watch some YouTube tutorials and give it a go.

I was cycling up a hill, as I was I was turning off the hill I tried to change (at first I thought I was going from the big ring to the small but it must've been the other way around) and it just jumped off and got caught. I've taken it on quite a few rides and changed gear the same way I usually do and it's never happened before so I'm not sure what I done different this time?

I've read about things called chain catchers, are they worth me checking it out or if the gears are correctly indexed and the limit screws set properly, they wouldn't be needed?
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
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Tunbridge Wells
I wonder if that's the case that it needs indexing? I got it direct from Canyon so I had hoped it would've been ready to go out of the box as I've not fiddled with it. I've heard indexing is a fairly simple process so I'll watch some YouTube tutorials and give it a go.

I was cycling up a hill, as I was I was turning off the hill I tried to change (at first I thought I was going from the big ring to the small but it must've been the other way around) and it just jumped off and got caught. I've taken it on quite a few rides and changed gear the same way I usually do and it's never happened before so I'm not sure what I done different this time?

I've read about things called chain catchers, are they worth me checking it out or if the gears are correctly indexed and the limit screws set properly, they wouldn't be needed?

It should be fine direct from the factory but it wouldn't take much for it to have been done by someone in a rush.

You can get chain devices for MTBs, not so sure about road bikes. Cheapo bikes usually have a big plastic protector to stop the chain coming off into the wheel on the rear but with properly indexed gears with the limit screws set properly shouldn't have any issue. Modern clutch derailleurs have almost eliminated the need for retaining devices as they keep the chain under good tension to prevent the chain moving around and off the cogs.

Someone on here who knows more about road bikes specifically might be able to help more than me. Might be worth taking it to a decent local bike shop and asking them. They should be able to advise you what caused this, how to prevent it and if you have any recourse with Canyon if its a problem that was present when built and shouldn't be your problem.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2004
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Shepley
You can get chain catchers for road bikes but they shouldn't really be necessary if your gears are properly set up and you shift sympathetically (like don't change the front gear if you're out of the saddle or putting down a lot of power).
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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Barnet, London
I've had the same thing happen on my Canyon, once in about 7,000 miles, when I dropped big ring to small ring while still putting a lot of watts through the drive chain. I've done the same since and it's been fine, so I've just chalked mine up to one of those things that can happen...
 
Soldato
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11 Jun 2015
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Bristol
I think I'll need to be more cautious or just think more when changing gears. I expect it was something I did so my own fault!

New chain has turned up so hopefully I'll be able to get that on today. Hopefully I don't need to shorten it. Gives me horrible flashbacks to doing it on my fixie and making it a few links too short!

Edit: Seems I bought one without a quick link included. I suppose it's not the end of the world. Should I go ahead and install or shall I order a QL and be patient?

Am I right in thinking if I cut the current chain on my bike and size the new one next to it, that'll be fine right?
 
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Caporegime
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Hhhhmm in need of help yet again. Put simply, I ragged my first bike way too much. I replaced my chain a few months ago but was warned, my gear cable and cassette were on their way out. My pedal fell off recently and it felt like it needed a service.

I had a niggling feeling the bill could be painful but boy, was that an understatement. The whole drivetrain was borked due to excessive wear and I need 5 parts replacing. It could be argued I should get a new bike due to the cost but I can't justify £1k for a bike now, would rather take the hit now and learn my lesson. Plus, after this month, I planned to calm down on my mileage.

I haven't got the bike back yet (borrowing my wife's :D) but my question is, should I get a more appropriate bike (once I have saved up)? I currently have a Boardman HYB 8.8, and didn't plan on doing so many miles when I bought it last June. What type of bike is suited to more miles? I am sure better maintenance on my part could also help :o.
Surely you now need a road bike? Boardman does a cracking road bike for about £1,100 - the SLR 8.9
Seemed like the natural evolution once I was a few months in and realised I could do cycling for many years. However, whilst most of my riding is on the roads, I like going off road and on trails. So would a gravel be more suited?

PS - coming up to ~5,500 miles in 1.25 years. Think I would level back down to around ~3,000 miles per year.
 
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fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
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Location
Tunbridge Wells
Hhhhmm in need of help yet again. Put simply, I ragged my first bike way too much. I replaced my chain a few months ago but was warned, my gear cable and cassette were on their way out. My pedal fell off recently and it felt like it needed a service.

So there are a few things. Bike components very quickly top out durability wise and then you usually end up paying more money for less durability. The upside is that they will weigh less. A steel cassette will last way longer than an aluminium one but weigh a lot more. Your pedal falling off is purely a maintenance issue. If you spend more money on a bike you will probably need to maintain it just as much if not more than this one and replacing components will be more costly as they will be more expensive in the first place.

I had a niggling feeling the bill could be painful but boy, was that an understatement. The whole drivetrain was borked due to excessive wear and I need 5 parts replacing. It could be argued I should get a new bike due to the cost but I can't justify £1k for a bike now, would rather take the hit now and learn my lesson. Plus, after this month, I planned to calm down on my mileage.

Maintenance is vital on your drivetrain if you want it to last. It doesn't need a huge amount of work but reasonably regular degreasing and re-lubing will make it last a long time. Get a chain wear checker as well which will tell you when you need to replace the chain. If you don't replace the chain at the right time it will take the whole drivetrain with it (apart from the rear derailleur.

I haven't got the bike back yet (borrowing my wife's :D) but my question is, should I get a more appropriate bike (once I have saved up)? I currently have a Boardman HYB 8.8, and didn't plan on doing so many miles when I bought it last June. What type of bike is suited to more miles? I am sure better maintenance on my part could also help :o.

Seemed like the natural evolution once I was a few months in and realised I could do cycling for many years. However, whilst most of my riding is on the roads, I like going off road and on trails. So would a gravel be more suited?

PS - coming up to ~5,500 miles in 1.25 years. Think I would level back down to around ~3,000 miles per year.

Thats a decent return on a drivetrain to be fair. 5.5K is a lot of mileage.

A gravel bike will be OK for singletrack but the tyres will wear quite quickly on the road if you are using it for both and only have one set of wheels. You could perhaps convert this bike to be your gravel bike and get a road bike at some point or use this as your road bike and get a cross country bike if you are doing slightly more serious trails.
 
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Caporegime
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18 Oct 2002
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London
Thanks @fez. Got the bike back today, £303 for a full strip down and to replace the 5 parts :eek::p. He highly recommended Big Wipes for the chain. Going to look after it a bit better, get a chain wear checker and relax on the mileage for autumn and winter :).

As a first year, even with the added expense, it's been a blast. Well worth it for all the exploring/personal achievements I've done.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2004
Posts
16,984
Location
Shepley
I think I'll need to be more cautious or just think more when changing gears. I expect it was something I did so my own fault!

New chain has turned up so hopefully I'll be able to get that on today. Hopefully I don't need to shorten it. Gives me horrible flashbacks to doing it on my fixie and making it a few links too short!

Edit: Seems I bought one without a quick link included. I suppose it's not the end of the world. Should I go ahead and install or shall I order a QL and be patient?

Am I right in thinking if I cut the current chain on my bike and size the new one next to it, that'll be fine right?

Yes on sizing, assuming whoever fitted the first chain got it right of course.

A quick link is definitely useful purely for ease of removing the chain for cleaning etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,202
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Managed a short ~7 mile ride on Saturday with the wife to/from a local brewery taproom. Ankle seemed fine, so going to try and make an effort to get out in the evenings for an hour or so just to keep this up.

With the nights getting darker is there anything i need to be aware of when cycling in the dark? I've got front/rear lights and a reflective vest i use for running i can always wear too. From a lights point of view is there any accepted rules like flashing/solid or anything like that?
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Sep 2006
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4,121
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Gloucestershire
I have a solid light, and a flashing one for the rear. I find as a driver, flashing lights are more noticeable.

For the front, DON'T have a super bright flashing light pointed at drivers. I have a flashing light to be seen (not too bright) and a main light to see.
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Feb 2003
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7,171
Location
Shropshire
Fellow tubeless users...

Have you ever seen a tyre do this before?

NhrLAVal.jpg

It "punctured" last year and took a few goes to seal on a long ride. I think I posted about it at the time but I got home from the long ride it happened on with about 30psi left in the front. The hole re-opened a few times on subsequent rides, so in the end I got a DynoPlug Racer and stuck a worm in it. I noticed towards the end of my long ride last month this "growth" on the front tyre. I fiddled with it a bit in the garage and stuck another plug into a week or so ago. On yesterday's ride, I could occasionally hear an sealant bubble pop (like a Rice Krispie!) and even whilst moving, I could see something (almost a flap) build-up on the tyre but then eventually friction/wear would knock it off.

It's odd as a I don't understand where the surplus rubber is coming from. Two worms wouldn't have that much material to be pushed out. The tyre has done about 4000km and I have spare ready, so replacing it isn't a big deal.
 
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