Looking warmer from middle of this week here but still a fair bit of rain. Rode over to help at our club TT and it was zero when I left the house this morning. Full winter kit and had to pack a down coat for standing around, ffs.
Pretty much the same here...
Rode out to local Road Race to help marshal, great success and loads of fun even though not many riders - BC got behind it so had a bunch of very experienced outriders and organisers. Linked to the new cycle track we have, using that as a push for more road racing in Herefordshire. Club who used to run the RR kinda stopped it a year or so before Covid, so we've been overdue getting something back. As where really one of the few counties around here without an annual RR! Great experience and we had weather loads better than forecast, with no rain, less winds and amazing sunshine! I rode out at 8.15 and caught the tail end of the rain, block headwind and 3-4 degrees. On the way home at 1pm it was 14-15 degrees & I totally melted!
I got sick of the weather apps playing games about when the rain would start today, so flogged myself doing the first two Zwift Insider Tiny Races instead.
That was a baptism of fire, no chance of attempting the third or fourth race!
They're brutal, some very good regular racers in them these days!
I know I'm tempting fate now, but I've had Gator Hardshells on my winter bike for 2 months now riding in some pretty bad conditions and I don't think I've had a puncture with them, which for me, is kind of amazing! I check them now and then, like today I picked two bits of stone/flint out with no worries. One was huge too! I guess the rubber itself might not be too different from faster tyres, but maybe the layer/lining under the rubber is what makes the difference?
The Gatorshell where always traditionally a tough and heavy tyre, but we've always blasted them in here (more tradition than anything else) for being slippy and poor in the rain. Usually because they're spec/recommended by places like Halfrauds and we like to think we know better (there where always cheaper & better tyres!). But being Continental then quite likely they've delveloped and improved them, not to mention the Hardshell being different again. How heavy do you find them?
Probably over did it in the end as I went out with the full shebang. thermal base layer, winter coat, thermal legwarmers and overshoes. Got to a point I was feeling pretty warm but never uncomfortably so but I much rather that than feel cold because I am a massive fanny and a tiny bit of chill has me whinging
Same here... I'll nearly always overdress (bit of a running joke in my club), but due to my short commute and being office based I'd rather be warm and taper my efforts/layers to stop overheating, than being cool/cold and not be able to warm up!
I am hoping it's just a case of replacing the cables and having it indexed rather than the actual shifter being broken. To be fair, I've done 10K on it it and it hasn't been serviced before, only had the chain replaced so it's definitely due one.
It *should* just be the cable/outer, but obviously could be more. A LBS will obviously try and tell you other things are 'worn and should be changed', but always treat that as advisory on what to plan for at some point (like your car MOT!). I've had a bike shop tell me I needed new chainrings, a new cassette and chain, "oh you mean the chain and cassette you sold me a couple of months ago and I only fitted last week have worn out already?"... Obviously not.
My bikes is currently soaking and i can't be bothered trying to go dry it, but i know i should. This isn't meant to happen in Spain
Wait, we're meant to be drying out our bikes after the rain? I forgot but mine doesn't seem to be made of sugar...
Oh **** you
Thats the next 12 days here. We will be in June at this rate before we get even a few days of something other that **** on the trot. If this is genuinely the weather we can expect in the UK going forwards I will seriously consider moving abroad. This year has been miserable so far.
Wow nice where you are. Mine is about the same, with less sunlight, lows of 4-5 degrees and nothing above 15 degrees until Tuesday 7th! (MET Office app, BBC is a bit better!)
Yeah, it's very tempting. I can't really justify it at the moment. I'm really hoping it's just a case that the cable wire has snapped or something and it'll be a relatively cheap fix.
Cheap fix:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHIMANO-Shift-Inner-Outer-Y60098501/dp/B00YP2RPXY - can obviously find cheaper from cycling specific places & alternatives from other brands.
If you do it yourself obviously... And Likely just the cable (£2.50-3?) rather than the outer, but with that distance (10,000 km is what, nearly 7k miles?) likely just gunk/dirt in the housing, then if you've not been 'servicing' (I don't mean cleaning!) it can block the cable moving freely, causes wear so the cable frays and can eventually snap. If anything cleaning more will cause it more - water getting into the housings causing rust/corrosion in the outer. Easily mitigated with some grease/lube at those points of friction/water ingress. But certainly the costs involved something worth learning yourself - as very linked to smooth shifting. Also replacing cables can be fiddly so take time, but are a cheap consumable, so you'll end up paying 'workshop time' far in excess of the component... Like paying for a LBS to replace a chain.
I honestly hate you lot. I may have laid some groundwork with my partner that it may well end up being expensive as I have to replace so many parts at once and I’m really annoyed that I may need to buy a new groupset. So frustrating…
She sighed and said “well you use your bike a lot so if you have to spend money just get it over with”.
I’d obviously prefer to get it fixed for cheap but we will see.
Liar
In other news... Still not ridden my Tarmac (wtf!). I've got an Invisiframe kit to fit to it, which is best done before it gets any 'road grime' on it. Also easier without things like cranks fitted... Then the kit involves spraying lots of water + shampoo around so I can't do it indoors and they recommend the temperatures being no cooler than 16 degrees (ideally 18)... So I'm temperature watching for a weekend afternoon with several hours of 18+ degrees. In the UK. In April. HAHAHA
