J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Ok, little bit about my progress, post yours, Especially those of us with nice new Mountain bikes...

Ok, been at it four months now, have done over 600 miles and have built up to this week and done my first week of using the bike every day, have done 85 miles this week alone, 72 to work and a few detours to the shops and stuff, I am aiming to only fill my car once a month and due to some running about I sed my tank (220 miles) in the first two weeks of the month, can buy some more but didnt want to, also the glorious weather needs to be made the most of as soon it will be cold, dark and wet. I am not guaranteeing I will do every day but I am going to try. I will use it at the weekend but I feel like I need to let my legs recover.

I have saved perhaps £110 in petrol but the costs of buying the equipment have added up,

Altura Nightvision Waterproof top (XXL, its massive so I can wear stuff under it, its bright yellow and reflective) and trousers £90
Cheap SPD Shoes from Aldi £20
Other bits like gloves from Aldi £10
Cateye Rear Light TLD 610 or something £20
New adjustable stem (was too stretched out) £17
Cateye Single shot plus front light £72
Halfords Cycle Computer (great piece of kit) £8
Mudguards £15
SPD Pedals £30 (dual purpose Shimano, clipless one side, flat the other, sold the ones that came on it on Ebay for £30
Gel Set Cover £8 (saves wear and tear on the old catflap)
Helmet Mirror £6, you look a gonk but its great, however I have upgraded to
Bar End Mirror £10 (much more stable image, avoids "Eddies" creeping up on you)
Cyclecraft book £10

So, about £250, plus buying (renting) the bike via the Cyclescheme, I suppose it saves me going to the gym or swimming baths, plus it saves time, combines exercise with the commute, in the car it was about 15 mins to do the 7.2 miles, about 30 mins on the bike, changing into my dayglo uniform

Most stuff ordered from Bikes | Bicycles | Mountain Bikes | Road Bikes | BMX Bikes, absolutely fantastic service, superb prices. I ordered the Windproof version of the Jacket by mistake, I sent it back, they just charged me the difference and sent me the right one.

The bike is a Cannondale Bad Boy 700, I like it but it does ride very hard, my commute is on some bad tarmac so I really feel the bumps. I have replaced the brakes which were Avid Juicy 3's with some Hope Mono Mini's which were on my MTB, they are way more powerful, perhaps due to having a 180 mm disk, make a bit of a raket but stop me pretty quick, the Gel seat cover helps the ride as does the new stem with is 20 mm shorter and I have gone from 12 degrees tilto to about 30, much more comfortable.

Some days I breeze in and sometimes its a slog, Rain shouldnt be a problem now I am waterproof and so what, you get wet plus you get the kudos of getting to work and looking like a double hard b4stard I am averaging about 15 mph for the journey, PB of 16 but invariably something ***** the journey and buggers the time up.

I get a shower at work and there are rumours of the two small portacabins currently in use to be replaced by a new facility with heating and stuff ! I suppose the shwer at work saves me some electricity and water as well, I however dont approve of the naked cyclist who showers with the door open.

Physically it is benefitting me, I feel fitter but it makes me realise I need to do something else as well as I will end up all legs, back to the swimming I think, might go on the way home but dont fancy locking my nice bike up, have an old rigid MTB that is going to be the pub/shop bike. I havent lost much weight but I think thats changing with doing more days, will start cutting back on the food but it does make you hungry, not as bad as it was but still need to eat more, buffet lunch in a meeting yesterday got hoovered up by me, free food, you cant wack it, pity about having to listen to waffle about time recording and Sharepoint though.

Other drivers have been a lot better than expected, that said, you cant let your guard down for one moment as thats when you will have problems, turning right can be a pain as can moving out to go around cars as driver seem to think you should stop behind a parked car and not get in their way, they dont like you moving out any more than 2 inches to the side of the parked car as they dont seem to realise I am avoiding the door.

Tipper truck drivers are the scum of the earth, always Pikey types that pass too close, I have learnt to avoid trucks at all costs, young women in trendy cars are pretty bad as are Alpha males in big cars, the worst of all are Misubishi Animal type thing drivers, usually short of ****, small of ***** but big of Ego. And theres Punto Woman, nice looking youngish girl that uses the single track road I use, every morning she is going to quick and ***** herself when she sees me coming the other way and anchors on, silly cow.

My to do list includes,

Rack and Panniers, to get some of my load (oo er) down low as it can be quite heavy

Something to light/reflect me from the side, perhaps some reflective tape or if anyone knows of any suitable lights.

jjones

good progress jacko, still not using mine for work as £2.50 a day vs inconvenience of using the bike (weather, laptop, extra time).

55 mile charity ride two weeks ago then got drunk fell over and had stitches in knee. two weeks away from the bike and went out this morning. did 5 miles and felt awful

cycling is excellent for your heart - not just your legs jacko



not sure what i will do in the winter as i have been riding 3-4 times a week (pre injury) and don't fancy a turbo trainer or dicing on the roads with lights so will probably ride weekends only.
still back in the saddle again will try 25 miles later hopefully.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Don't expect to lose weight, you will change shape tho'.

Muscle is more dense than fat, so weight may stay the same.

HTH

DunxC

Bonehead

Just got in from giving my bike a service/clean

Annoyingly when I finished the front derailieur wouldn't go into the smallest cog. It did this a while ago and tweaking the cable tension on the handlebar and the 'low' screw got me nowhere so I ended up having to take it to a local bike shop. Anyone help?

I'm still well at it. I'm not cycling on the days when I got to my martial arts class. Dont think I'd be much kop if I turn up there knackered!
Agree with Jacko's comment, turning up on yer bike when the weathers s**te is deffo good for your hard man kudos

Seriously though, had some bad stuff going on at work recently and getting on the bike and either blatting home or taking a nice chilled ride is keeping everything in perspective.

I've got a few things on my shopping list like a track pump, cause I'm sick of my hand-held jobby!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Track pump is essential for rock hard tyres, I notice a difference between perhaps 75 psi and when they are at the full 102 psi, it just rolls better, but both pressure feel rock hard to the touch.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Boy your shopping list is teensy compared to mine I went a bit mental, but i CAN help with the sideways visibility and panniers

TOURTEC TOUR ULTRALITE REAR RACK - £23.79 - you can BOLT the cateye to this rack

ALTURA URBAN DRYLINE 17" BRIEFCASE PANNIER 20% DISCOUNT!! - £47.99
totally waterproof and great for the laptop. I'm buying a second as I've realised I need the space. The beauty of these ones is that they sit at a 45 degree angle and keep out of the way of your feet

CATEYE TL LD 1100 10 LED REAR LIGHT 20% DISCOUNT!! - £23.99 is as bright as hell and has two LEDs each side. stick this on your stem

Bonehead

I've got one of those - they're superb !

I'm having a ponder now about a new bike. I was in Halfrauds the other week and saw a stunner. My work are doing a cycle to work scheme with them til the end of the month.
Might have a wander down in a bit and take a decent look at it and see if I can get a step up from the bike I've got cheaply.

TopBanana

My bike was nicked.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Couple of photos showing the pannier on





You might also note the bright white bits showing up on the photo. Even on a bright day like today, the flash highlights the reflective piping on the pannier, tyres and mudguards

LanCat

Is is just me or does everyone else end up adjusting something, tightening something up or just faffing around with their bike every couple of days? Wifey has to comment on it of course

Maybe I should get a better bike?

Mogsi

It's not just me then I can often be found in the garage 'tinkering' with one of my bikes, no real reason other than I can...

Bonehead

I'm like that with either my guitars, guitar amps, my bike or the Scoob

All quality blokey stuff

Anyone got any opinion on Chris Boardman bikes?

Gordo

errrr - why a mountain bike for cycling to and from work? wouldn't a road bike be lighter, better suited to roads and easier to ride?

btw am very impressed and probably just jealous that I can't be arsed getting on a bike again.

Volks

If the roads were in a good state of repair then of course a road bike would be ideal.

However, due to pot holes, sunken drain covers and such like a good MTB is the sensible option. I`ve got slick tyres on mine pumped reet hard so I can still maintain a good pace.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

I've got foo*ing big knobblies on mine.... you should see the state of the roads near me ! And I have a cardiac testing, lung bursting climb each way, despite it only being 4 miles.... If it's dry I can do some off-road work too !

Love it, wish they had been around when I was a nipper.

DunxC

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Road bikes are faster than MTB's but as said, the MTB wheels give more suspension and are tougher.

I've swapped my 23c tyres for 32c to give me some chance on the commute. They make a hell of a difference to the comfort factor, but I do have to sacrifice some speed.

I'm now fixing up my old road bike which has the old suicide shifters to give me a leisure bike to ride in place of the commuter... see how I get one with that one when I'm used to lugging 'round my heavyweight (due to all the extras).

Mogsi

Good bikes only let down by the service from Halfrauds. Plenty of stories about bikes being poorly assembled/setup over on the bikeradar forums....

Also good enough for Nicole Cooke yesterday, World Champion and Olympic Champion, get in.....

dpb

Yes congrats to Nicole Cooke ......:




- this women is on line to be our best ever rider ..

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I have two sets of wheels for mine, road and MTB, 2 minute job to swap them over, looking forward to a snowy day so I can put them on and turn up on it for triple HBP's (Hard B4stard Points).

GC8

Question: how long does it take before your **** stops absolutely killing after a ride?

wrx-ian

I had a great early morning ride today. Was out on a roughish footpath alongside the river when half of my crank fell off!!! It would not stay on, no sign of the bolt anywhere. luckily only about 1/2 mile walk to a road and village, so a quick phone call to the wife to pick my and broken bike up!!! Much to her amusement!! Had to pick me up from outside a pub oh how wished that pub was open.

dpb

My flite was killing me after the first 4 mile ride earlier this year - but after another 20 i was easing into it.



- i guess it depends how lardy an **** you have to start with

SiPie

Possibly could have been phrased slightly differently

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

A bit of padding wouldn't do any harm IMHO; personally I'm thin as a rake, so I just went out and bought a nice wide, gel padded saddle for £28 which has made a world of difference. Now I can go out for a ride and still sit down when I get back

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

you get used to the cycling after a while - I don't even notice any discomfort after a full hour in the saddle, and I you can see the saddle I use on the picture above

SJ_Skyline

I've managed a few 20 minute sessions on the turbo trainer now. I've got full-range of movement back into my left leg but the quads are so wasted and my cardio is way down on what it used to be.

I'm getting there slowly, thankfully there is no longer any pain or instability in the knee

Hopefully I'll be fit enough for a proper ride in a month or two.

Myles

iTrader: (40)

How to adjust your front derailleur Free advice on how to fix your bicycle: HOW TO ADJUST A FRONT DERAILLEUR

Myles

iTrader: (40)

I have a Felt road bike, and I enjoy getting some speed out of it, but I am always dodging potholes, and at speed a roadbike can be a bit skittish, so I can understand the mountain bike route.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I think we are in for some wild weather this week, its pissing down here.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Looks okay for 'round here: Derby-10-day Extended Weather Forecasts - weather.co.uk

I've got the water-proofs and shower-proof stuff ready anyway, so I'd be happy to see some proper rain to test it

Although I think I have a big enough front light to cope whatever the weather, what do you think:



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