Be Excellent To Each Other

These look nice: http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle ... rity.shtml

I need a new rear because I've been testing my new electric bike drive by pinning the throttle and front brake and seeing if I can set the tyre on fire

The mental image of you doing burnouts on an electric cycle are never going to leave me. Fucking excellent.

Ha ha. In my head he's also wearing a full face helmet and making engine noises.

I shall post a video once I've got it built into a proper bike. Still deciding whether to go full sus or not.

MaliA went back to bike shop with bike.

Man measures seat tube.

Seat tube is 27mm.

Man puts 27mm post in.

It goes in about as far as MaliA's 27mm post does.

Man puts 26.8mm post in.

26.8mm post is too small.

Man suggests cleaning the inside of the seat tube.

MaliA looks at him like he is mad.

Man suggests reaming and mentions it'll cost £10 and MaliA won't get it back until Friday afternoon.

MaliA decides cleaning is the better option.

MaliA returns home.

MaliA empties half a bottle of fairy liquid down the seat tube and sets at it with a toothbrush.

Seatpost is now only 2 inches away from being the correct height.

MaliA is sweaty.

Toothbrush?!
Sandpaper wrapped around a long screwdriver FTW.

I wish I had thought of that earlier.

I am now using boiling water to sort out the final inch and a half or so.

I need a few more psi in the rear tyre which obviously isn't a worry but something squeaks slightly in motion; I need to check the rear brake alignment and see if that wheel's off true as well. Whatever it is doesn't seem to impede progress though, and the rough adjustment my dad made to the rear derailleur seems to have left it bang in line. With 8 gears in the rear cassette and the ratios I don't think I'll ever need anything but the middle in the front!

Excellent news, Bik!

I've just been out for 30 minutes up and down the path by the ring road. The rear suspension feels strange at first but I got used to it fairly quickly. As it is a semi active design, once you start pedalling, it locks out, so you can sprint like on a rigid bike but bump smoothly from kerbs. I quite like it.

Sounds good, if even weirder than my front suspension - I'm glad I didn't get full now.

I don't know if it's the fact I've not ridden in... fuck, ten years or something, or the front suspension, or both, but I do look like a spaz when setting off and turning at low speed. I'm sure I'll look pro in no time though.

The tyres sound dead weird on tarmac too, but they're definitely in the correct direction. Presumably an artifact of the slightly low pressure or that they're so knobbly.

Oh, and my hat and lock arrived today so in theory I could start commuting tomorrow, but I'm out in the city in the evening. Oh well.

Don't worry, I'm still teaching MrsA. As regards the squeaking, does it happen all the time, or just when you are pedalling?

All the time. It seemed to stop when I gently squeeze the rear brake lever (ie not enough to noticeably decelerate), which is why I'm looking at the brakes or wheel back there.

Interesting one. hmm. Dunno, tbh.

Also:

I went out for a short ride with MrsA last night, me on the RTS, her on her Aggressor XC 3.0 (not impressed with the tektro disc brakes on her bike, but that's another story), as she's not really ever ridden a bike so I'm trying to teach her from the ground up (We've gotten as far as pedalling-in-an-almost-straight line,slalom slowly between the breaks in the white lines and "seriously, even if you grab a whole handful of front, you're not going over the bars").

It's very, very different to what I thought it would be like. Coasting along and bouncing up and down reveals no creaks, squeaks or groans which is a relief. Sprinting on the flat feels like it has a solid back end, but as soon as you begin to coast, the rear becomes supple again.

Riding it, it feels lighter and quicker than the Kona, which cannot be the case in the real world, but I think it hides the extra weight well. Moving on and off kerbs was a strange experience the first few times, as I kept trying to unweight the rear wheel and put it down gently. I think that I'm going to have to learn to ride this in a different way to my old bike. The new chain seems to shift well with the front chainset and rear cassette which is a relief, although the brakes need a bit of work. I've to work out how to get more air into my forks as well

Come Saturday, if I get enough of my revision done, I'll be going out with a friend and he'll have his Boardman with 5 inches of travel at both ends so we'll see how it holds up.

Future plans for it? not sure, I'd like to drop some weight from it (althogh my dropping a few piunds might be better and cheaper) and maybe switch to Magura rim brakes, but I'll keep it as is until needs must.

Overall I am very, very pleased.

Almost certainly going to be pad alignment, but first I'd check the wheel is true by lifting the rear end and spinning the wheel, while watching the rim pass between the pads. If the pads are too close to the rim adjust the brake calliper. I'd suggest doing this by slackening the cable tension at the lever end by a quarter turn. If that doesn't help then maybe the pads need adjusting. Have a look online for a guide to adjusting brake pad toe-in

I can't visualise this in my head but:

When MrsA rides her bike, her wrists end up lower than the bars. I've altered the angle of the brake levers so they are point more down, but feel I should move the saddle forward as well.

Ideas?

Move the saddle back, surely? Or lower the handlebars? If her wrists are doing that, it's because her arms aren't fully extended.

Oh, I get the point of moving it forward - make her sit more upright. Hrmm.

MrsA yesterday

Yeah, saddle back about half an inch, and up about half an inch has done it. She's suddenly a lot more comfortable, confident and controlled.

I rode to work for the first time today. Nothing fell off. Woo!

I think mudguards and a waterproof jacket are going to be fairly rapid requirements though. Which of course means that I can't get either for a decent price in a good size at the moment.

Rode to work yesterday as well. But not today, because apparently two days of cycling has undone my hard-earned alcohol tolerance. Helluva pissed last night on less than a typical Tuesday, to the point I switched to Diet Coke instead. Then pints of juice when I got home. Then still a fairly crippling hangover this morning, so I drove in late instead.

But that's fine, because I haven't got mudguards and waterproofs sorted yet and it's raining, and forecast to get worse, and the canal tow-path was already a bit muddy/puddly in places yesterday.

Also, whatever's wrong with my left leg seems to be slightly worse now. It's better during and immediately after the ride, but sitting in my office chair is bastard uncomfortable. I really should sort a GP out and get them to prod at it.

Gears are slipping on the RTS. This is either the new cable stretching or new rear cassette time. I really hope it is the former.

Hiya chums, a friend has said it might be an idea to replace the heavy chunky tyres on my bike as they are more suited to offroad use. He reckons they are slowing me down.

I do 95% of my cycling on road, but where we live it there can be considerable mud and crap on the road, espcially in autumn.

My current tyres are these and they came with the bike.

http://www3.hibike.com/?sessionID=Cd01616c6f1db4121c7cb000f37fe11b5&method=m_product&nodeID=&pageID=&productID=f6c7132e295d53e73da4b18c933cff55

Can someone recommend a good tyre for my kind of riding. Needs to be something suited to roads but with enough grip that I don't end up on my arse come this winter. What I do like about my current tyres is that they gave me an awful lot of confidence last winter in the wet compared to my old bike.

Size is 26x2.3.

What I do is run a set of proper road tyres in the summer. The difference is enormous! Tioga City Slickers I think.
They're not too stupid in the rain but you'd want to keep clear of mud really.

Throw those knobby ones back on if you're going off road or when the mud season starts.

I use Contis in the winter. Just had a google for them and turned up this instead: http://www.phattire.com/contowcoun26.html Which looks like it might be an OK compromise for you, most of the time.

I do think I need something that meets in the middle. Don't really want to be swapping if I can help it. The track to our house can be bad but that's only a third of a mile. The rest is roads that do have mud and potholes, but not in offroading amounts. Leaves are a big problem in autumn but not much you can do with those.

Will any 26 inch tyre fit?

Might pop to the bike shop tomorrow and see what they have. Just getting fed up of everyone else zooming past me.

There are all kinds of tread patterns from heavy mud clearance wet weather open patterned knobbly stuff to neater designed knobbles that are closer packed and not so big all the way through to road tread on the middle with knobbles on the sidewalls. If you want a compromise try putting something a bit lighter and a little narrower on. Don't go too narrow as that will so radically alter the way your bike feels underneath you you might not like it.

Panaracer XC firetrail pros are a pretty good compromise though their sidewalls can be a bit thin and prone to tearing on sharp rocky stuff - road and a bit of mud shouldn't be a problem though.
Maxxis are another good make that do everything from full blown DH stuff to XC

Cross country or XC would be a good search term.

Most shops won't stock a great range unless they're a really big store.

Heh. I ordered a jacket and mudguards from Discount Cycles two Thursdays ago and it sat at "Processing" since. I finally got around to sending a "cancel it" email a couple of days ago, and this morning receivedUpgraded gloves to speed the bike delivery up, free mudguards now. Excellent.

Reply saying "It's 'accept', retards. And yes, I would very much like free mudguards".

Funnily enough, I went for the option of just telling them I'd like free mudguards, and sniggering quietly to myself.

Had a look in a shop. No selection and pricey. So have looked online:

These are cross country:

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=8277&cPath=358

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=7387&cPath=358


However these claim to be good for roads and "light trails". The first one looks appealing but I'm wondering if there is a downside.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Schwalbe_Marathon_Cross_MTB_Tyre/5360007838/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Continental_Town_And_Country_Semi_Slick_MTB_Tyre/5300002816/

Will that Swalbe offer a decent advantage? Worst comes to worst I can always slip my old tyres back on come October.

I can't comment, except to say I've been incredibly impressed with the grip on my Schwalbe tyres (Nobbly Nic and Racing Ralph, front/back respectively). I would buy from Schwalbe again.

The online reviews seem to suggest that the Schwalbe Marathon Cross MTB Tyre is a good compromise so have gone for it.

I used to run Scwhable marathons on my MTB before I switched to a road bike, they were good enough for a bumpy gravel canal path and very nice on the roads.

If I was buying them again I'd go for as narrow as possible, you'll be amazed how smooth the road riding will feel when you switch from knobbly tyres.

Also never had a puncture with them.

I hope you dropped down in size from 2.3 to something like 2.1 width. That'll make a profound difference to your speed without altering the handling too dramatically. I once put 1.8s on my mountain bike and it made it very darty

26x1.75 was the only option. Is that bad?

1.75 Will be nice and speedy

Well, it obviously varies from manufacturer to manufacturer with regard to both tyres and frames, but you'll find the bike quite a bit more agile beneath you insomuch that it will be a lot more willing to change direction. I'm not saying this is a bad thing just forewarning you to expect a significant change.

Hope so. I need to be able to increase my range really.

Have also ordered some cycling shorts. No lycra. They look like normal persons shorts but have padding.

Since it appears you can get cycle clothing in non-tight fit lycra style, it confirms my suspicion that all cyclists who wear lycra are pervert exhibitionists.

New tyres have arrived in a huge box. Slightly concerned about how flimsy the sidewalls are.

It's only a problem if you do a lot of off roading on very sharp rocky terrain, which you don't so I wouldn't worry unduly.

considering I have no money, is this a good bike?

Malc

um, this

Malc

I'd go for this but then again I've always liked GTs.

Try and find a bike magazine with reviews of them in it, as that helps for a good comparison.

In other news, I was able to take the RTS proper off road for the first time. it's really, really impressive. And fast. "10mph faster, everywhere" said one review, and it kinda felt like it, even through my wheezing climbs. Downhill, it's brilliant and far more capable than I am. I think I'm going to get a better front brake sooner, rather than later.

Do my new tyres make a difference? Take the same 30 mile ride:

Before - 3 hours 34 mins -Average Speed 8.4mph Max speed 26.3mph

After - 2 hours 58 mins - Average Speed 10.2mph Max Speed 28.9mph


Also 10 minutes shaved off my little regular 14 mile circuit. So big improvement. Not a fluke either as all the other times I've done that route it's been in the region of 3:30.

MaliA goes up

Saying "It climbs like a hardtail" doesn't really mean too much to me, but I've found that it's quite nimble and nifty going uphill, due to the geometry, despite the weight it is carrying


Comfort braking? probably


At the bottom safely

Work needing doing:

Tighten Aheadset - It became loose during the, erm, seat height adjustment.
Improve front brake - New pads, source hydraulic rim brake, or front disk.
Sort out seatpost - Seatpost firmly stuck. After 45 minutes work with a ehatgun, it wasn't moving, so I knocked the clamp holding assembly off with a hammer, and cut off an inch from the top, and remounted the clamp. Seems OK.

I chucked a £15 bid on a front hydraulic rim brake. Fingers crossed, eh?

I'm planning on taking tomorrow off and doing a 50 mile cycle ride. Unless it rains.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/clearance

Much cheapness.

Get yourself some SPDs and shoes, peoples!

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/PESHPDM520/ ... ls-pdm-520

SPD's, £20

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/SHTIMXECA/t ... -mtb-shoes

Shoes, £25

As you didn't buy Starcraft 2, it's all good.

Sorry to intrude with tales from the road bike end, but I finally braved the cycle from Brighton to work yesterday.

And boy was that the stupidest day - raining so much on unfamiliar roads, I was going downhill with brakes almost full on to avoid any slideoohabus moments. But I did it. Two things I learned.

- If you are reliant on one sheet of A4 as your map, maybe laminate it. It lasted, just, though turning the soggy pad of paper onto the last page without tearing it into small shreds was a bit touch and go

- Check brakes, fit new pads before they're needed. That whole "if you can still see grooves the pads are okay" is a bit generous.

Oh, and 'do a long bike ride in decent weather'. Three things.