Road Cycling

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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4,617
It's easy to move your head and momentarily blind someone.

I'm a big fan of stvzo approved German lights mounted on the fork crown. They cut the beam off like a car light, so all your lumens are going on the road
 
Soldato
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21 Mar 2013
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Lincolnshire
Questionnnnn, around April I'll be getting a bit of a bonus from work, and likely to sell my motorbike. I've recently bought some Hunt wheels but I'm looking to upgrade my frameset. I think I want internal cables next time around, and in particular I love the look that I've seen on a few GCN presenter's bikes, ie, the cables are internal almost directly from the shifters.

I'd need rim brakes, as i've just bought new wheels, but from the few brands I've looked at it seems rare to find rim brakes with internal cables.

Anywho, does anyone have any suggestions? I'd be looking to spend maybe £1k? I'm content with Aluminium, but I'd need it to be relatively light; if i'm going to spend significant cash on a new frame I want it to be lighter :)
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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Barnet, London
I wouldn’t use the helmet light on the road as it will dazzle cars.

Yeah, it's certainly something I'm aware of and why I liked the original lights I linked, as they had a dipped more, like cars. I guess it's going to be a little trial and error.

In other news, I came off on the new bike yesterday. I think I went over the paint on a mini roundabout and the bike just slid out from under me :( Again, making me think about getting more road based tyres. Maybe I'll even get some relatively cheap second wheels so I can switch between road and off road easily? Most annoying thing, I burnt a hole in my Shakedry :( Not a massive issue on the elbow mind you, so maybe I'll patch it over or something. Bit of road rash on my hip, but nothing too bad as I wasn't going very fast.
 
Soldato
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23 Nov 2004
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First time on the bike outside in two weeks and more than my usual half hour to an hour.

Cold dull day meant 4 hours was plenty. Couldn't feel my toes for half of it:(
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2004
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18,138
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Hampshire
Snap crackle and pop for me today. Smashed a rock on a descent put a huge hole in my rear tyre and dented my rim all in one instantaneous go. Managed to get a tube in but it didn't last long even with some protective foil packaging I had on me. Pick up required. Just shoved the bike in the garage in a sulk.

KbCmA4U.jpg


Gave it a clean up and quick sand back and chucked a tyre on this morning and it went up first time! Hopefully that'll work!
 
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Soldato
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22 May 2003
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10,855
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Wigan
I’ve not been riding much recently but by contrast to everyone above I had a lovely 2 hours out yesterday, only one close pass in a car. The rest of the ride was great, not too cold, not windy and quite quiet!
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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8,420
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Hereford
Interesting. My temperature this morning immediately off the bike: 35.5° then after getting changed and 20 mins later 36.6°! Anyone else noticed that/similar? Before I've always been changed and 'cooled' before having it taken. I'm guessing sweat and evaporation/cooling efficiency while riding making the measurement low?!

The ~1630 sunset now is just so restrictive and it would take me 20-odd minutes to get ready, leaving me ~1.75 hours where I can see decently without my glasses and it's ~40mins each way at current fitness to get to any worthwhile hills.
Do it before things get much worse! Just remember you don't need to be riding back in the semi-daylight and can be riding easy - so take your specs for when needed. Hammer the outward ride when the roads are likely quieter, then the climbs if you have the legs, before a chilled/dark/spectacled ride home (with lights)!? :D

Everyone seemed to sing their praises, so I went for it...

View attachment kaywOKI.jpg

View attachment ZcX1mSi.jpg

One for the handlebars, one for the helmet. Might be overkill, but we'll see.
Good call. Love my RACE! Just be sure to change the mode on it to avoid the 'REFLEX' mode - it's an off-road light and the angle/velocity/speed of the light will increase it's brightness when that's enabled. I remember reading something somewhere that because of the speeds of road riding it'll just be ON the whole time.

I've never really tried it on mine, it's more than bright enough on the mode I have it (I chose the brightest without Reflex) and a couple of years old now. Love the LED screen easily telling you which mode you're in, so you can easily have 'full beam' and dip. Although a few times have considered getting the remote switch for ease I never have. I have mine underslung the bars so it's that little bit lower and 'out the way'. It's rubbed my hydraulic cables a bit (taken paint off the joins) but nothing too bad. Have only hit my knee on it a few times. The Quick-release mount is superb quality & solid too!

Does lead nicely onto something that occured to me on friday - at what point do I stop being 'a cyclist'... 3 (soon to be 4) days a week I'm towing a trailer, so have 4 front lights, 4 rear, a dippable ~1500 lumen headlight and using indicators (useeme - they're great). :D xD :rolleyes:

If you mount it correctly it shouldn't be an issue properly pointed down.
One of the key things with a helmet light is it's use. Many of them are designed for MTB so are very bright and not that focussed. For the road you're using it more as a 'be seen' light, pointing it at motorists to be sure they've seen you at junctions/roundabouts - so many of those off-road more designed lights are too much/too bright.

I liked the Lezyne macro DUO I had, but it was a little too bright (also rubbish burntimes and dire battery) as well as being expensive. I've got a little Cateye Duplex mounted on the side of the chariot and that's a good little lightweight light, but possibly not bright enough to 'point' at drivers. also takes normal batteries rather than being rechargeable. I had looked at the Lezyne Femto Duo and may pick one up if they release an updated one (has waterproofing issues) and I go back to using a helmet light.

Questionnnnn, around April I'll be getting a bit of a bonus from work, and likely to sell my motorbike. I've recently bought some Hunt wheels but I'm looking to upgrade my frameset. I think I want internal cables next time around, and in particular I love the look that I've seen on a few GCN presenter's bikes, ie, the cables are internal almost directly from the shifters.

I'd need rim brakes, as i've just bought new wheels, but from the few brands I've looked at it seems rare to find rim brakes with internal cables.

Anywho, does anyone have any suggestions? I'd be looking to spend maybe £1k? I'm content with Aluminium, but I'd need it to be relatively light; if i'm going to spend significant cash on a new frame I want it to be lighter :)
For 1k you really won't find anything with an integrated setup through the stem/tube. It's generally the aero road bikes which have it and then towards the top of their ranges, rather than the bottom. Many of those integrated bars or bar/stem combo 'cost' around half your budget - without the rest of the bike! :o

I'd reached a similar point myself, the Tarmac and TCR's I looked at within my budget (<£2k/3k) didn't have integration as generally last season or earlier, the ones which did where generally current, so over £6k! :rolleyes:

Most annoying thing, I burnt a hole in my Shakedry :( Not a massive issue on the elbow mind you, so maybe I'll patch it over or something.
Pronty patch should work well on that. I previously used them on lycra shorts and although it worked it didn't work very well. Would be better on something like that which doesn't need to stretch. Although you have to iron them and unsure how 'safe' that is on Shakedry. I've heard/read it's a very fragile material, snagging and ripping easily, so it's probably well worth repairing it before you catch it on something.

Nice ride today and to see a small remembrance ceremony in town. Wish I'd gone yesterday when it was sunny, as opposed to today when wet and dreary though.
Wish I'd headed out too. Was a little damp here first thing, then dried out nicely. Great day for sorting all the garden (+accessories) out ready for winter, but wish I'd headed out instead... Or in the afternoon. It was glorious here!

Snap crackle and pop for me today. Smashed a rock on a descent put a huge hole in my rear tyre and dented my rim all in one instantaneous go. Managed to get a tube in but it didn't last long even with some protective foil packaging I had on me. Pick up required. Just shoved the bike in the garage in a sulk.
Rubbish! Hope it's not as bad as it sounded/sounds! :o :(
 
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Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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14,760
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Barnet, London
Just be sure to change the mode on it to avoid the 'REFLEX' mode - it's an off-road light and the angle/velocity/speed of the light will increase it's brightness when that's enabled.

Yeah, this actually looks really clever. I need to read the instructions properly still really, to see how I enable (or not) this mode. Like the helmet light, it's supposed to have tap controls... but I can't get the bleeder to work! Will read instructions again, I'm sure I just missed something.

Although a few times have considered getting the remote switch for ease I never have.

Yeah, this would be handy actually. Can I get one for this MK15 then? Will have a look, thanks. **EDIT** Got it I think.

Pronty patch should work well on that. {...} Although you have to iron them and unsure how 'safe' that is on Shakedry.

Thanks! Order placed on some stick on Pronty patches, so hopefully no ironing needed!
 
Soldato
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1 Mar 2010
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21,778
Put a new Vittoria rubino pro 25 on rear of my commuter yesterday, felt the back starting to go on a bend -
is that, a thing accentuated by mismatched wear or, I need to scrub a new tyre in ?

leastaways, it was the first time I have done that for many years, maybe it was a drop of oil or a white line, but I take the bend multiple times a week with no problems for years.
 
Soldato
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29 Dec 2004
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Shepley
Sometimes new tyres will be a bit slick until the release agent residue and other gunk from manufacturing has worn off. If you're really cautious you can scrub them with vinegar and light sandpaper prior to first use to speed up the process.
 
Soldato
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21 Mar 2013
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3,022
Location
Lincolnshire
For 1k you really won't find anything with an integrated setup through the stem/tube. It's generally the aero road bikes which have it and then towards the top of their ranges, rather than the bottom. Many of those integrated bars or bar/stem combo 'cost' around half your budget - without the rest of the bike! :o

I'd reached a similar point myself, the Tarmac and TCR's I looked at within my budget (<£2k/3k) didn't have integration as generally last season or earlier, the ones which did where generally current, so over £6k! :rolleyes:


Aw man, that is a shame! Watching various youtube videos (mainly GCN) when I have a few minutes and there's some glorious bikes around; the internal cable set ups look so damn tidy <3

After my rant a few days ago, new rim tape, new inner tubes and puncture repair kits arrived yesterday. Within 10 minutes I had the wheels and tyres back on the bike and filled with air. 18 hours later they still have air in so i think the issue has been solved :D Looks like we're getting a sunny spell early this afternoon where I'm hoping to get to test the bike out :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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8,420
Location
Hereford
Anyone else notice over the weekend how many cyclists can't count? :D

Even saw a group of 10.
Hahaha yeah had heard rumours there was confusion over the numbers still, bit of a dispute on one of the local clubs fb pages, even though they'd announced they where not riding (one of the organisers/leaders is NHS anyway so very good at sticking to 'the rules'). Two of the others have not done social rides since the spring, so actually think there's only been 2 clubs riding between the lockdowns (and none 'officially' during) around here. All of the local ones have said not to wear club kit if out with friends and the one I joined in the spring have even said that my membership is valid for 2 years due to it all and the lack of club rides. Even better as I'd taken 12+ months to decide about joining until I was riding with them more anyway! :D;)

EDIT: for those of you unsure then my general take on it is - you can ride up to the 'rule of 6' but only if all riders are from a maximum of 2 households. You cannot mix more than 2 households outdoors.

Group of friends I mostly ride with posted a route but no official start time so although 4 of them rode it, only 2 of them met up. I was kicking myself I didn't do an hour in the afternoon as it was glorious here. Abused myself on Zwift sunday morning instead. Group ride before a crit race this time. Legs where too empty for the crit so think a race before a group ride works better for me. Then again some sweeping/sprint efforts (saw 900W!) in the group ride probably not the best before a crit. Had promised myself I wouldn't. Ooops! Saw @UTmaniac did the same crit as me later in the day. Interesting concept with Boost mode, but damn hard to get right!

Yeah, this actually looks really clever. I need to read the instructions properly still really, to see how I enable (or not) this mode. Like the helmet light, it's supposed to have tap controls... but I can't get the bleeder to work! Will read instructions again, I'm sure I just missed something.
The tap mode I wouldn't really worry too much about - you'll probably find you accidentally knock it more than you realistically need to tap the unit rather than pressing the button. It's a good button, definite press even with thick gloves, but not that hard you fail to press it. Note: I was talking about the Race, not the other. Tap would be very useful on a helmet light...

EDIT: Just noticed the price for that Exposure switch. DAMN! £35! The older ones where £16 and £20. I begrudged paying that so have always been keeping an eye out for a deal on the v1 still it stock somewhere then figure out how to better waterproof it (has ingress issues). Looks like they totally changed the design, it now has 2 buttons and they light up. Nice feature but not really needed IMO.

Put a new Vittoria rubino pro 25 on rear of my commuter yesterday, felt the back starting to go on a bend -
is that, a thing accentuated by mismatched wear or, I need to scrub a new tyre in ?
New tyres will take a bit to wear in, like a car tyre. I've never scrubbed a tyre to 'bed it in sooner' - as the one you want to bed in (summer best) generally wear so damn fast anyway! ;)
 
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Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2006
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5,386
EDIT: for those of you unsure then my general take on it is - you can ride up to the 'rule of 6' but only if all riders are from a maximum of 2 households. You cannot mix more than 2 households outdoors.

My interpretation was that you can only meet one other outside for exercise or with your household. There must be a lot of 50+ year old mamil households about judging by the weekend though I could imagine a lot of people are just unsure about the rules and decided to do whatever.

One slight caveat is support bubbles. If you live alone then I guess you could also cycle with a household.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...phased-return-of-outdoor-sport-and-recreation
 
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