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More pedal power chat.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 8 May 13 at 19:23
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Just watched the coverage of Paris - Roubaix on ITV4.
It is 160miles, much of it over cobbled potholed roads, and they still averaged 27mph.
And they did all that without suspension!
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Flipping ech. I managed just under ten miles yesterday with an average speed of probably 8mph!! To be fair I did have to stop a few times to lift my bike over those stop things, and some of the path was so uneven if it was impossible to cycle over, so probably pushed it for around 1/4 of a mile.
I do suspect my frame is a little bit too small, but there is nothing I can do about that.
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Good suggestions RR. I would add Schwalbe Delta Cruisers. Or if you're really sure it won't rain then Michelin Wild slicks. No tread at all on the latter mind...
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Right, thank you guys. I've tried looking at the websites for bike shops here, but they're just rubbish. So I've made notes of your comments and suggestions and will go to the shops to do battle tomorrow.
Thanks again.
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As a temporary measure, if you don't find something suitable, for road use pump the existing ( or any ) tyres fitted to the maximum recommended pressures. ( should be indicated on the sidewall ) Harder tyre = easier to ride on tarmac.
Usually best to reduce the pressure a bit if the surface gets rough. Less likely to puncture if you run over something sharp and bites better in mud.
For what it's worth on an MTB tyre I run mine at about 40psi offroad but drop the back tyre to 30psi if it's really gloopy. On the road, I'll have them both up around 65psi.
"Proper" road bike tyres run much higher pressures, in excess of 100psi I believe. Wouldn't really know, don't do Lycra and sideburns.
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Schwalbe Marathons on the Bromptons or my Dawes tourer run at 90+ psi for use that's exclusively on decent tarmac. Caught out on badly degraded surface yesterday the Dawes was a bit of a handful. If I'd set out to do rough stuff I'd have been nearer 50.
Mixed use tyres on the 26*quite a bit rims on the MTB run 40-60 depending on whether I'm on or off road.
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+1 for the Schwalbe Marathons. Used them on 2 bikes since 2006 ish on road and civilised track. Haven't had a puncture yet.
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>> +1 for the Schwalbe Marathons. Used them on 2 bikes since 2006 ish on road
>> and civilised track. Haven't had a puncture yet.
>>
You will now!
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>> "Proper" road bike tyres run much higher pressures, in excess of 100psi I believe. Wouldn't
>> really know, don't do Lycra and sideburns.
>>
>>
>>
I used to use Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps, the maximum pressure was 175psi!
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No wonder they're all on steroids. You'd need to be on something performance enhancing just to pump the blinking tyres up !
:-)
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If I can offer an alternative and minority view....
For around 20yrs I've run Michelin Wildgripper tyres in the puncture resistant version. They are the top pattern in this image, mine are black though...
img7.hostingpics.net/pics/906511P6170019.jpg
There are known for having a low rolling resistance for their type and are spot on for my mixed on/off road use. As long as they are at 45psi or above they do not feel draggy on the road. (They are a discontinued tyre now replaced by the Wild grip'R)
I like these tyres enought to look most weeks on Ebay to try and pick up a couple of new old stock pairs.
Yesterday I rode locally on tarmac road, concrete farm roads, dry packed earth with the odd muddy section and a very spongy grass field at the foot of a slope next to a ditch.
I'd far prefer a little extra resistance on the road (not that I ever notice it as an issue) for the secure grip along that 1/2 mile of soggy grass.
I have noticed recently that once a "mud type" tyre gets to 2.35 width that seems to take some turning on the road.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 8 Apr 13 at 09:49
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There were three mountain bikes in my daughter's very bijou house in Bristol, two of them making it difficult to get through the tiny corridor that passes for a hall. All had very chunky knobbly tyres.
But these mountain bike tyres are not a new thing. Does anyone remember 'cycle speedway', riding brakeless, stripped and adapted bikes round a dirt oval? Tough kids from the housing estates used to do this sport in St Budeaux, Plymouth when I lived there in the early fifties, and those bikes, or the better ones, had knobbly tyres.
I didn't do it myself. It looked a bit too tough for me although the kids who did it, a year or two older than me, weren't hostile or unfriendly. Saw the leading bike lose it once and all the others just rode over it and its rider. It wasn't that I didn't dare try to get a bike sideways (my bike and I had many a scar to prove it), but all that bumping and boring looked scary to me. The other problem to me was that I could only try conclusions with adhesion on right-hand turns, while the speedway guys rode anti-clockwise like real speedway.
Bike suspension hadn't been invented then, but those speedway bikes often had extra tubes to reinforce the front fork. Looked good.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 8 Apr 13 at 12:12
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>>>three mountain bikes in my daughter's very bijou house in Bristol, two of them making it difficult to get through the tiny corridor that passes for a hall
I think you hinted she might be a bit older but getting tangled with the bikes is an essential entrance into any decent student house.
Don't quite remember the 50s cycle speedway but here is some footage on the tube...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=md37LoHrHHI
I don't remember it being easy to get a good knobbly tyre for a kids bike in the 60s but we used to strip ours down removing mudguards, lights, reflectors, front brake etc for similar antics anywhere we could find with some loose dirt.
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>>but we used to strip ours down
Yep, us too. Mountain bikes hadn't been invented but we found by trial and error that using flat straight handlebars and the knobbliest ( is that a word ? ) tyres we could find we could assemble what we called "Trackers" for off road use. Used to break front forks for a pastime on the rough stuff. Of course in those days you could just go to the tip and find some old bike to raid for bits but now they're all "re-cycled" aptly enough...
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>>>they're all "re-cycled" aptly enough...
Funnily enough took a chance on a pair of mountain bikes sold on Ebay a couple of weeks ago... very poor photo and scant description but won for only £15. They turned out to have been left outside for years... the chains were rigid, every fixing seized and every bearing rumbled. Just took the wheels/tyres off one, seat and post from the other and scrapped the rest.
As I took them out of the car at the tip heading for the metal bin I was pounced upon and despite my protests they would never see the road again they were put in the special place where they go for cycle recycling.
Roll forward to a couple of days ago and about 30 of the lower priced bikes in the used dealers where I bough mine were just such bikes with (sometimes) new chains, tyres pumped up and gears oiled... otherwise in genuine tip condition.
Give the guy credit though he was totally honest that they were sold with all cosmetic defects as seen but the basic running aspects sorted.
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Oh blimey I've just bent the plastic a bit ! Happy enough about it though. My old faithful Mont Blanc roof mounted bike racks which spend their time atop the Qashqai and have previously been attached to various cars since 2002 are nearing the end of their useful. Terminal rust has set in and no amount of paint can conceal the deterioration any longer.
So, I set about looking for replacements. Towbar mounted rigs are fiercely expensive, especially if you've got to factor in the fitting of a towbar upon which to mount them. Tailgate hanger-offers are a joke so I concentrated on finding some new rooftop jobs.
Anyway, I found a package deal on 'tinterweb at the Roofbox Company which included 3 Thule Freeride 532 racks and a set of Atera aluminium roofbars to fit the Merc, all in for just shy of £220 delivered.
Coming on Tuesday. Unreasonably excited. Sad eh ?
:-)
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>> So, I set about looking for replacements. Towbar mounted rigs are fiercely expensive, especially if you've got to factor in the fitting of a towbar upon which to mount them.
>> Tailgate hanger-offers are a joke so I concentrated on finding some new rooftop jobs.
>>
I seem to remember someone was trying to offload a bikerack on here sometime ago..
I wonder if its still available?
;-p
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Who needs a drag-increasing, theft-prone bike rack?
Damn great Mercedes estate even four up, take the wheels off, twist the handlebars, bung the whole pile of junk in the boot under a dirty blanket... Sheesh....
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>>I wonder if its still available?
Long gone, exchanged new and unused for a large jar of jelly babies. impulse buy, never to be repeated.
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Just about to order a spare pair of tyres (tubed type) and see they are available in trad wire version or folding. Folding? How does that work, what's in the bead to keep them on the rim then?
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Folding tyres have a flexible Kevlar bead. I never used anything else, they are far easier to get on the rim, lighter and on a long trip you can carry a spare tyre strapped under the saddle.
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New roof rack and bike racks to fit the Merc have just arrived. Can barely contain the excitement !
Working from home today too...
Won't of course do anything with them until this evening, naturally...
;-)
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>> New roof rack and bike racks to fit the Merc have just arrived. Can barely
>> contain the excitement !
>>
Looking forward to another box of Jelly Babies in a few months time then, Humph?
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No these are the real deal. "Thule" don't you know, (sniffs haughtily...)
:-)
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>> No these are the real deal. "Thule" don't you know, (sniffs haughtily...)
>>
>> :-)
>>
Wow!
Should get a decent size box of chocs for those...
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Well, I put the new Thule racks on the Merc this weekend and gave them a run out. Really easy to fit and adjust due to them slotting into a sort of monorail channel in the roof bars. The bike racks themselves are held in place by three cams one of which locks and allow for really quick adjustment or removal. Bikes feel really secure when in place too.
Quite noticeable how much easier it is to lift them onto the roof of an estate car rather than a taller SUV. I've got used to the height of the Qashqai but it still involved leaving a back door open and stepping up onto the sill with the bike held above your head.
Again, I'm more than used to the driving feel of the Nissan when the bikes are upstairs. Never a major issue but I was always aware of the additional feeling of slight top-heaviness when cornering. Conversely, the lower slung E Class ( admittedly with "sports" suspension ) just doesn't produce any noticable additional body roll.
You can feel the drag on the Qashqai too but of course our one has a fairly breathless 1.6 petrol engine, the 200bhp Merc shrugs it off.
As for fuel consumption, on a longer run of mixed conditions, the Qq gets +/- 42 mpg without the rig and 38mpg with it. The Merc averages 45/46 mpg ( on the trip readout ) with no bikes attached and yesterday, albeit on a relatively short 35 mile A road round trip with bikes in place it recorded 39mpg which I can live with.
Only downside so far is that it was my car getting muddy instead of "hers" !
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A road round trip with bikes in place it recorded 39mpg which I can live with.
Better than mine with nothing aboard but me, Humph.
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Not a whole bike-rack's worth, I hope! It has been a long winter though.
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What an idiot.
Vote for me, let me have power, I understand how taxation and Government spending works [not].
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Did you ever get some new tyres for your bike/s Mark?
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Half yes and half no.
I put some new ones on my bike. They really made a significant difference to the ease of pedalling and freewheeling.
However, I wasn't really able to buy something which I knew as a good brand or good model so I was hesitant about buying them for all of the bikes. Thus I'm not at all sure about what, if any, difference will be made to braking and cornering.
There seemed to be some stupid expensive ones from a shop that sold Bianchi bikes and then silly cheap ones from the local bike repairers.
There seems to be a huge range of tread patterns, rubber, sizes and I was just completely out of my depth. I'm not keen on buying something purely on the say so of a shop assistant when I'm in the UK, I certainly don't like it when in South America.
It usually rains at some point in April or May so I thought I'd wait until then and go out cycling. If it feels ok then I shall put the same tyres on the girls' bikes.
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Re the tyres - If your cycling is mainly recreational then don't agonise too much about the tyre quality. If you get narrower tyres with shallower tread then they be easier on tarmac. Best to avoid nylon if you can though, they can slip more easily in the wet. Just try to ensure that whatever make they are that they're rubber. More or less any rubber tyre will be fine and safe for pottering about.
What is Spanish for "rubber" anyway? Probably best to get clarity before asking if you can have four small ones...
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Its absolutely only recreational; me and the girls (11 & 8) cycling on mostly [bad] tarmac to the shops, the park, the cinema, the club. or other similar jaunts.
"narrower, shallower and rubber" are terms I can deal wit, so thanks for that. I'd think that virtually all tyres will be rubber here anyway.
As for Spanish for rubber, in connection with tyres I'm not sure; Strictly it ought to be caucho or something like that, but I think actually they use the word "rubber".
If we ever meet in person I'll tell you story of when we were in Sao Paulo and misled a Canadian into believing that cafezinho [small coffee] and camisinha [condom] were the same word just before he went into a coffee shop with his young daughter and his wife.
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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22397918
Motorist convicted, for the second time, of killing a cyclist in an accident. Claims that it was just an accident so shouldn't be treated as a criminal offence.
And Sheriff says the cyclist was not wearing a helmet and that partly contributed to her death. Wonder if that was just his opinion or whether there was any medical / expert evidence to back that assumption up.
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>> www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22397918
>>
>> Motorist convicted, for the second time, of killing a cyclist in an accident. Claims that
>> it was just an accident so shouldn't be treated as a criminal offence.
>>
>> And Sheriff says the cyclist was not wearing a helmet and that partly contributed to
>> her death. Wonder if that was just his opinion or whether there was any medical
>> / expert evidence to back that assumption up.
The Sherriff would, like an English coroner, have had reports stating the cause of death - presumably traumatic head injury. Whether a helmet would have helped is a different question and one on which I suspect he had no scientific evidence. Some Judges are prone to make these sort of remarks.
If the clipping of the victim's wheel in a junction happened at low speed and she hit her head on te ground then it's possible a helmet would have helped. That's the sort of scenarion theyr'e designed for.
If she was hit by other vehicles then probably not.
Be surprising if this doesn't come on on cycling fora. If anone on there links a more detailed report I'll try and remeber to pass it on.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 3 May 13 at 13:17
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The judge is a fool.
He is there to judge what the man did. Whether or not the woman wore a helmet made no contribution to whether or not she was knocked off her bike by the car driver.
Either the car driver killed her, or he did not. And since he was found guilty of "causing the death..." that ought to be pretty clear.
What would have happened if he'd '"momentarily" lost concentration' and ploughed into a bus queue full of pregnant women and children?
And he takes into account remorse? I should think the dead woman would feel pretty remorseful if she was given a chance.
And he's taking into account that the driver was suffering from depression? What in all that is holy has that got to do with anything?
If he caused her death then the judge's comments are wrong and inappropriate. If he didn't cause her death then the verdict was inappropriate.
I just hope that its not as bad as it seems and its just the quality of the BBC report.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Fri 3 May 13 at 13:43
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>> The judge is a fool.
>>
>> He is there to judge what the man did. Whether or not the woman wore
>> a helmet made no contribution to whether or not she was knocked off her bike
>> by the car driver.
>>
>> Either the car driver killed her, or he did not. And since he was found
>> guilty of "causing the death..." that ought to be pretty clear.
Its not quite that simple. The charge is based on consequences, not blame, intent or culpability. Had she not died, it would have been a mere charge of careless or dangerous, or maybe no charge at all.
Therefore contributory causes of the death may have some bearing on sentence.
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Today's Standard reports findings from Westminster Council's study of accidents involving cyclists in its area
Key Findings
68% are fault of motor vehcle drivers
20% Fault of cyclist
12% joint liability of cause not determined
Of 133 collisions between cyclists and pedestrians 60% were peds fault/40% cylists
Only 8% were due to red lights being jumped.
tinyurl.com/bskgt9e
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Here's a new one on me anyway. Lefty bikes. No, not a political standpoint but bikes with a single legged front fork.
Just been chatting to my neighbour who has just got himself a new MTB. A Cannondale "Lefty" just like this one below. It's a 29er too. Looks very odd but apparently they are a great ride. Can't believe how light it is to lift.
www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/f29-2-2013-mountain-bike-ec042871
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Like an old Vespa. I always suspected it would twist under heavy braking but it didn't seem to. Not sure I'd feel good on a bike like that either. I would fear a fatigue fracture of the front wheel spindle which, if you think about it, would be subject to very strong bending stresses. No doubt the materials are carefully chosen and well machined and so on. But to an old-fashioned person it seems an unsound engineering principle. Does it save much weight? Does it greatly reduce air resistance? Neither I would think.
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It does weigh a lot less AC but I'm rather with you. I'd not want to hurtle down some of the inhospitable places we do on one.
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I suppose it's made of carbon fibre stuff. But a single fork has to be stiffer than double ones, so the double ones can be smaller and lighter (or so reason would suggest).
I'm sure these things are the ultimate for indoor racing, but I still wouldn't want to bump around London on one (or any other bike I have to admit).
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We all drive around in cars that have wheels supported on one side!
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Well, funnily enough, my neighbour who has just bought the bike is one of the senior development engineers at Bentley. Said as soon as he saw it he had to have it. Maybe BT, you have just made a very pertinent point !
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I remember seeing one at least ten years ago so they haven't caught on very quickly. They are probably just an expensive novelty.
If I paid £1800 for a bike I would expect it to be very light. It would be interesting to know just how much weight the fork saves.
( And if it only has one side is it still a fork? )
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...or a dogleg?
(Crocks beat me to asking the question.)
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>>And if it only has one side is it still a fork?
That will bother me now !
:-)
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Ducati had a single sided swing arm on their 916, it handled the power to the back wheel ok (although the Superbike riders hated it).
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Maybe it should be called a "fo"
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>> Maybe it should be called a "fo"
>>
An "rk" sounds better.
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It's more than half a fork, though. It's got the top piece - the 'fo' - and is just missing one of its ends. I think that makes it a 'fok'.
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Suppose it depends which way you look at it.
Edit - could be an "ork"
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Fri 3 May 13 at 17:57
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A fork is a role for which two legs would seem to be the minimum requirement. Need I point out to you with overmuch emphasis where the deficiency lies as regarding this fork.
This fork is deficient in the leg division to the tune of one. The left leg I like. It's a lovely leg for the role. As soon as I saw it, I said, "Hello! What a lovely leg for the role!"
I've got nothing against its left leg.
The trouble is neither has it.
( with apologies to Pete 'n' Dud )
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My ex-wife's maternal Grandfather only had one leg. Lost the other one in WW2. I quite liked him. Dead now I should think though.
Edit - come to think of it, I'm sure he only had a real left one too. Didn't hinder him. He was an electrician I seem to remember and had a Singer Chamois. That surely must have been an auto but maybe not.
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Fri 3 May 13 at 19:06
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>> I remember seeing one at least ten years ago so they haven't caught on very
>> quickly. They are probably just an expensive novelty.
>>
>> If I paid £1800 for a bike I would expect it to be very light.
>> It would be interesting to know just how much weight the fork saves.
>>
>> ( And if it only has one side is it still a fork? )
The Giant Halfway folder was/is similar in concept but with the fork on the right.
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Earliest reference I can find to mono-blade forks is 1908.
So they have taken rather a long time to catch on!
www.oldbike.eu/iverjohnson/?page_id=419
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That was a good find Crocks.
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Yes, great. Elegant looking bike too. But I bet they rode a bit strangely. Like the superbike RR mentions.
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Yes, it was a bit earlier than I was expecting.
The most famous bike of this type is probably Chris Boardman's 1992 Olympic gold medal bike.
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/11/14/article-1227777-00027FFA000001F4-283_468x346.jpg
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Don't know anything much about old bikes, but did buy a Dursley Pederson catalogue from the early 1900s once in a jumble sale, and put it on eBay with a 99p start.
Was hoping for a modest profit, so imagine my surprise, etc, when my 60p purchase sold for £160.
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Wow! I'd want a whole bike for that.
I've now found an even earlier mono-bladed bike. 1889. I think I'll give up now.
musicbicycles.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/single-fork-frame-from-nineteenth.html
Also just realised that about 20 years ago I had a brief ride on a trike with three hubs each supported on only one side. It was the designer Mike Burrows' own trike in the carpark of the Eastway cycle circuit. (The circuit was knocked down to build part of the Stratford Olympic site.)
Here's a photo of the sort of thing.
www.cyclorama.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/522401_533394460046770_863382723_n.jpg
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>> Only 8% were due to red lights being jumped.
Only 8%.? If 8% of drivers jumped red lights there would be carnage.
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>>Only 8%.? If 8% of drivers jumped red lights there would be carnage.
As opposed to STOP / Give Way markings?????? :)
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>> >>Only 8%.? If 8% of drivers jumped red lights there would be carnage.
>>
>> As opposed to STOP / Give Way markings?????? :)
See? I told you - carnage!
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>> >> >>Only 8%.? If 8% of drivers jumped red lights there would be carnage.
>> >>
>> >> As opposed to STOP / Give Way markings?????? :)
>>
>> See? I told you - carnage!
Amber gambling is the norm for drivers in London and, on any busy junction, the first second of red is fair game too. Buses and taxis to the fore. Stand on the corner of Gt George St and Parliament Square and watch.
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>Today's Standard reports findings from Westminster Council's study of accidents involving cyclists in its area.
And how do those figures look when account is taken of the number of each category?
What percentage of all motor vehicle drivers in Westminster are responsible for cyclist accidents?
What percentage of all cyclists were responsible?
If 1 in 10 cyclists is responsible for a collision and 1 in 100 motorists or pedestrians is responsible (or vice versa), wouldn't it make more sense to target the group that would have the highest overall benefit?
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>> And how do those figures look when account is taken of the number of each
>> category?
>>
>> What percentage of all motor vehicle drivers in Westminster are responsible for cyclist accidents?
>>
>> What percentage of all cyclists were responsible?
>>
>> If 1 in 10 cyclists is responsible for a collision and 1 in 100 motorists
>> or pedestrians is responsible (or vice versa), wouldn't it make more sense to target the
>> group that would have the highest overall benefit?
Unless I'm missing something (quite likely when numbers are involved) the figures would look the same.
They're a measure of blame in (a) cyclist /vehicle and (b) cyclist/ped injury accidents expressed as a percentage of all such accidents. As long as the sample is large enough to be statistically valid then it makes no difference if its based on hundreds or millions?
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We should go back to the good old days when there were few traffic lights, no stop signs/lines at intersections, no light-controlled pedestrian or cycle crossings, no cycle lanes, no ...........
Road users in those days had to look and think before they made a move.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Sat 4 May 13 at 11:46
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I've spent a lifetime at work studying, adding up, predicting and presenting numbers in all manner of massaged ways to best appeal to the given presentee.
I'm sure not going to bother excercising what remains of my operating synapses on any of that in my leisure time. I'm much happier going for a ride on my bike, having a care of course for my own safety and the convenience of others but beyond that I don't give a toss.
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Sometimes you have to share the bad stuff.
Cyclist here utterly fails to read situation around him.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lu8acgNskV4
Caution - vid contains sweariness.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 5 May 13 at 14:42
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If Darwin was around today he wouldn't need to leave home, just do his research on YouTube.
That cyclist will not last long unless he changes his ways. The comments show he has not got the support of cyclists he was expecting.
His other two uploaded videos are also less than convincing.
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As a cyclist myself, I would never have put myself between the bus and the Golf - the guy was asking for trouble! I would have followed the Golf past the bus.
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He got little if any support on cyclechat either.
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The Golf driver was very clumsy though. If you can't get completely past a cyclist before your left turn and make the turn before the bike reaches it, you more or less have to wait for them to go first, whichever way they are going. One gets this all the time in London. A proper driver will use a rapid squirt to pass and take the turn briskly, but a lot seem incapable of doing that and of course one may be baulked by someone crossing the side street or something. You have to stay awake in big traffic. Not everyone does.
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>> www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lu8acgNskV4
>>
>> Caution - vid contains sweariness.
Similar this morning on my way into the city.
I was last of 3 cars overtaking a cyclist who was batting along quite well. The first car, a Micra decided to do a left and slowed down. The cyclist caught up with him just before the turn was complete and made a jink round his back bumper and was off up the road.
What annoyed me was that the Micra was a learner under instruction of a professional driving school and, to my mind, should never have overtaken the bike. The instructor wasn't doing his job competently. He should have slowed down and hung back until the bike had cleared the junction
Ted
>>
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My son is 13. He has wanted to know for ages how to pull and keep a "wheelie" on his mountain bike. Now, I suppose I must have figured this out by trial and error when I was his age or maybe earlier but I've been really struggling to "explain" how to do it to him. I just sort of do it sometimes, for the sheer hell of it mostly.
However, I found this wee tutorial ont' 'tinterweb last night and we both watched it through a couple of times. It very clearly explains the method which I'd previously miserably failed to verbalise.
Anyway, today, in the forest he cracked it ! Couldn't get him to keep his front wheel down for a long time after that !
It's a sort of right of passage thing. Nearly a tear in my eye !
Any old how, if anyone here wants to learn, or just wants to show someone else, here it is...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCGQXZpg2qM
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I'm much too old to try. But it occurs to me that once you can do that, a unicycle will come pretty easily.
I'm not exactly suggesting you invest in a couple of those Humph, but it might be fun, no? Amuse the neighbours.
:o}
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 5 May 13 at 17:07
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Never too old AC ! Just think of the cred you'd gain with your grandkids if you just nonchalantly got the front up on a bike...
They'd almost certainly be really full of respect when signing any resultant plaster cast anyway !
:-)
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There is a group test of folding bikes in this weeks Auto Express.
The £900 Bromp came second.
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I expect he's at work ON. But perhaps this was him caught on cctv on the way in...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBBJCCf86bs
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>> I expect he's at work ON. But perhaps this was him caught on cctv on
>> the way in...
>>
>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBBJCCf86bs
That takes some skill on any bike never mind a B. HE has of course got the main hinge locked, otherwise he'd be origami pdq.
Supposed to be working at home! The entire outfit's remote access facility has been down since yesterday. Got the office to email some urgent stuff to my home machine but I'm pretty limited with no intranet and no document archive.
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>> Supposed to be working at home! The entire outfit's remote access facility has been down
>> since yesterday. Got the office to email some urgent stuff to my home machine but
>> I'm pretty limited with no intranet and no document archive.
No sensitive information, I trust. Wouldn't want you on the front page of tomorrow's Mail now would we?
;-)
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HAve you got a link ON?
Looks as though they do this annually but cannot find 2013 results.
Which B model and what came first?
Results of course are very much dependent on the terms of the test.
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Sorry, I have the hard copy and am being hassled to go out. Will look later.
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>> HAve you got a link ON?
>>
>> Looks as though they do this annually but cannot find 2013 results.
>>
>> Which B model and what came first?
>>
>> Results of course are very much dependent on the terms of the test.
>>
My subscription copy landed on the mat at lunchtime, I can't see it on their website yet.
The test was won by a "Mezzo D9 Curve" At £825, second was the Bromp H3L at £865 and the Dahon Jifo at £600 came third out of eight tested.
the test criteria were, will it fit in the boot of a Peugeot 308, weight, pedal effort, hills, potholes, gears, wheel size, frame flex, and finally cost.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 8 May 13 at 15:37
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>> The test was won by a "Mezzo D9 Curve" At £825, second was the Bromp
>> H3L at £865 and the Dahon Jifo at £600 came third out of eight tested.
>>
>> the test criteria were, will it fit in the boot of a Peugeot 308, weight,
>> pedal effort, hills, potholes, gears, wheel size, frame flex, and finally cost.
The Mezzo's an interesting piece of kit with a slightly weird shape www.mezzobikes.com/UK . Doesn't fold quite as well or small as a Brompton but scores well in other tests for performance, gearing etc.
I tried one at an exhibition and found the cranked steerer made for an odd and slightly assymetric ride. Others take like a duck to water and swear by the model.
The Dahon Jifo is new to me and is a very light weight single speed. OK for a short London commute or getting the bread from a French campsite but no fun at all on hills. Example here www.wiggle.co.uk/dahon-jifo-16-inch-2013/
The Brompton is still the dog's do-dahs for train>office>off site visit>train>car. Never seen any other folder go between the seatbacks on a train. The H model tested is a new variant with extra inch or two on the handlebars over the otherwise similar 'standard' M model.
Looking at their previous tests makes me wonder if they've been selective or just asked Brompton for a demo machine. A six speed would have given the Mezzo a run on the gearing criteria.
No decent folder will leave you much change from £1k.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 8 May 13 at 15:59
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>> There is a group test of folding bikes in this weeks Auto Express.
What did they do? run them over with a tipper lorry?
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I might have to buy a Brompton. I can feel my credit card trying to leap out of hiding...
Manatee has been very quiet about his recently?
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I have learnt to avoid responding much in cycling threads.
Just retraining my backside actually, and my legs. Sadly it won't fit in the boot of an MX5.
AE picked the wrong one for hill climbing. The one they tested has a 3 speed Sturmey Archer type hub. There's also a 2 speed double sprocket version with a kind of derailleur.
You buy the three speed for flat areas, the 2 speed for lightness and if you wear lycra and have thighs like Chris Hoy's, or blobs like me get a 6 speed which combines the two.
It's an odd arrangement; the hub on the 6 speed has wide ratios, and the derailleur gives two steps for each. So to go up the gears you go 1-1, 2-1, 1-2,2-2,1-3, 2-3. It's fine once you're used to it.
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As I have, ahem, rather too many bikes as it is...and the purpose of a Bromp for me would be to take it either in the boot of the car or on the train to London to shoot about between Euston, Camden, the City, and Carnaby St mainly, which model would the panel recommend?
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Have you looked at www.brompton.co.uk/our-bikes/bike-explorer ?
For t'London, with you being young and fit, you might be OK with a 2 speed.
Your other main decision, assuming you want mudguards, is rack, or no rack. The rack makes it easier to trundle/stand and of course is a rack.
I have a P6R with Easy Wheels (P for the bar style, 6 for the gears, R for the rack).
Bromp of course has far more experience than I, and is probably nearer to you in fitness as well as being London-hardened.
A front bag is good, you don't have to have a rack to carry stuff.
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All good stuff thanks ! ( Dunno about the "young" bit mind )
Just got to have the "Y'know it would make a lot of sense for me to have another bike darling..." conversation.
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>> All good stuff thanks ! ( Dunno about the "young" bit mind )
>>
>> Just got to have the "Y'know it would make a lot of sense for me
>> to have another bike darling..." conversation.
>>
Just type yourself a letter saying you've won a new Brompton in a magazine competition. You can even make it a top of the range model then.
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Save the prize idea for another "toy"
However, the answer is this (it has some basis in truth like all the best lies)
Your company is participating in the "cycle to work scheme" (www.cyclescheme.co.uk) and you can get a bike tax free for work use.
No need to pour effusive thanks on my shoulder.
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>> Your company is participating in the "cycle to work scheme" (www.cyclescheme.co.uk) and you can get
>> a bike tax free for work use.
>>
>>
>> No need to pour effusive thanks on my shoulder.
Good advice Z.
C2W works well with Bromptons as there's little discount on them. More conventional kit can often be had near same saving, at least for those on basic rate, if you take last years model and are fey with interest free cards.
The catch is you have to buy the bike at market value at some point but that could be five years in future - when it's value has depreciated to near nowt. Alternatively the firm give it to you and you declare the s/h value as BIK and pay tax at either 20% or 40%.
Cyclescheme are only one of the companies offering C2W. If HR are willing it's even better value organised locally.
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Good suggestion Z but trust me, "free" will scan much better than "cheap" !
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You morals are lower than I reckoned on! Limbo dance under a snake springs to mind!
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On reflection, and do forgive me, it takes a while these days for the synapses to connect, but I guess I could actually use both aforementioned strategies concurrently...
I could pursue the C2W route and in addition claim that it was a prize.
Hmmm
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The two speed would be OK in London IF that's really all you're going to do AND weight is a significant consideration.
Once you've got a Brompton sticking it in the car 'in case' is tempting. Mrs B and I have a few rides from the car using my current B and the older 5 speed I bought originally in 1999. Six speeds give you a lot of flexibility in London traffic and can match a good quality hybrid MTB mile/mile over undulating ground. No B is going to do rough stuff but cinder tracks, old railways, tow paths etc are fine. I've ridden mine round the easier bits of Delamere Forest too.
While the 6 speed change routine is less than intuitive it's soon learned and works well in accelerate>stop>accelerate London traffic. Approaching a stop it's second nature to push both levers into position 1 ready for a flying start. I rarely use 6 but hit 5 most days on longer segments of my commute.
If using it on the train most owners unfold and push as soon as they're on the platform and reverse the process boarding. At that point weight, given the range is roughly 10-11.5kg, stops mattering. Unfortunately some train companies (Southern, Southeastern) are now enforcing a fold at the barrier policy which adds to the problem although with a rack and easy wheels you can always tow it along like a suitcase.
My current B is very similar to Manatee's except I went for the standard M bars - an M6R. Not going for the 'butterfly' P style bar is a minor regret. But not big enough to cover the £150 or so it would cost to convert.
The luggage is brilliant. The standard bag forms a capacious briefcase large enough for laptop etc with tools, phone pens, lights etc living in the side pockets. If you pack light with shirt, sock and undies it'll even do an overnight. Hardy folks tour with one.
Hardly ever use the rack to carry stuff but it's worthwhile for stability and ease of movement or when stowing between train seats or under a desk.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 8 May 13 at 17:36
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OoooooKaaaay, thanks chaps. Going to Londinium on Friday as it happens...
Been using Boris bikes when on the train sometimes and occasionally I shove one of my old hacks in the boot, park up for the day somewhere in Soho and tool about on that but a Brompton would be a lot easier...
Delamere on a Bromp? Blimey ! Round the lake maybe ok I guess, but respect nonetheless !
Wouldn't fancy Llandegla or Glentress mind !
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Mountain bike suspension. - crocks
