Reply With QuoteYou are right Box isn’t anything special, Leith and Ranmore alone are cheeky enough but for me they come 40 miles into a ride and leave me 30-40 miles to go after them so a perfect interludeOriginally Posted by SimonH
I went for the Canyon, as with the Rose they cater for the taller rider and at 6'5" a lot are going to be not quite big enough.
Might have gone for another Rose but Canyon had better eta for delivery; the lying gits!
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You are right Box isn’t anything special, Leith and Ranmore alone are cheeky enough but for me they come 40 miles into a ride and leave me 30-40 miles to go after them so a perfect interlude
RIAC
Yep definitely some climbing to do round there that's for sure, we often go out that way! If you can get up combe and white horse you'll be fine in the Surrey hills, although maybe avoid Barhatch which is a pig!I'm deepest West Berks so have loads of hills. I'm actually in Lambourn which is a valley so its always got climbs involved. Did 55k tonight with 490m climb which is fairly typical.
In the past 3 weeks they've dragged me up combe gibbet (Hungerford) & dragon (white horse) which are both lung busters and i hated every second
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I actually really like Box, it's just not what I expected first time given its notoriety!
I've got Great Dun Fell on my list to do, looks like "fun" ! A bit far for a day out so probably do a B&B jaunt sometime.
F.T.F.A.
Thanks for the link, I then followed the climbbybike link and low and behold all the nemesis climbs by region are there. I thought I had completed a tough 55 mile 6400ft route two weeks ago, but climbbybike showed me some more hills I could have put in!!!!
Had a day off work today, so picked up a Southern rail day save ticket (unlimited travel on Southern rail network - need to book 3 days in advance) and headed off with my bike from London to the South coast.
Just done a short ride from Rye to Winchelsea then hopped on the train to Hastings and will cycle to Eastbourne. Then another train to Newhaven and then cycle to Worthing and train home. Most of it off road.
Lovely day for it and I’m purposely doing it in this direction as there is a strong easterly wind today.
Box is just a warm up for something better.
The best hills are further along in Kent (imho) Toys, Titsey, Hosey, York’s, Ide and the very horrible Chalkpit to name a few.
I lived in Tooting for 7 years so did all the Surrey hills before I moved to Crystal Palace and now have Kent for the nearest hills.
I was nearly taken out by a small oil tanker near Six Hills, on Wednesday. Most of us who ride bikes will have had some near misses from incautious overtaking but this was something else - there was just no need for it at all, the guy had plenty of space and I honestly got the impression that it might have been malicious.
I made a mental note of the registration and the company involved, went to their website and submitted the following using the contact form. I'll redact details which might disclose the identity of the company involved.
I have received the following reply:Dear XXXXX,
In over 25,000 miles of cycling I have never been provoked into issuing a complaint against a driver or his/her company, until now.
While riding my bike yesterday I was overtaken by one of your vehicles, registration XXXX XXX. There were no oncoming vehicles and the driver had plenty of room to overtake.
He or she overtook at a significant speed, leaving me a gap of roughly seven inches to my right. In many years of cycling I have never felt so threatened and intimidated by another road user. My suspicion is that he or she did this deliberately, perhaps exercising a grudge against cyclists.
As a service to other bike riders I will be sharing my thoughts on XXXXX's consideration for the safety of the general public on a number of Internet media in the coming days.
I suggest you organise some remedial driving training for your driver, or perhaps buy him/her a copy of the Highway Code - before he or she causes any further damage to the reputation of your company, or worse, kills or badly injures someone.
Regards
James
Dear James,
I would like to sincerely apologise on behalf of XXXXX for the unpleasant incident which took place involving one of our vehicles. It is simply not acceptable for any member of the public to feel threatened or intimidated by the actions of any of our drivers and I can assure you that a full internal investigation into the complaint will be carried out.
Ironically, the particular driver involved is a keen cyclist and has taken part in a number of trail competitions, and I know that he feels very passionately about cyclist safety.
As a small, family-run business, our reputation is built on excellent customer service and community responsibility, and I apologise again that on this occasion we have fallen below our own high standards. All of our drivers regularly attend an ADR (advanced drivers regs) course which comprehensively covers road safety.
As already mentioned, we are a small, independent, family-run business operating with a market saturated with XXXXX, our on-line reviews are very important to us and, as I'm sure you'll see, we pride ourselves on our fantastic feedback. So, I would ask if you would kindly refrain from leaving a bad review. If you are in the area, you'd be more than welcome to pop for a coffee and we can discuss this incident in person.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXX
Sales Manager
I cant believe a driver who is a cyclist would drive in such a manner. As a cyclist albeit not with as many miles under My belt as you Im often humbled by the large lorries that literally go into the oncoming lane to give you space and avoid wind turbulence.
I feel they are setting you up for a sympathy response. Id be tempted to ask for his name so you can look up his “trail” competitions.
Steve
Chalkpit is a cracker! Nearby Hogtrough is another that is a bit nasty, in the best possible way!
Hi all, with the weather changing I figured its time to switch to winter tyres on my road bike but being a newbie i'm lost on sizes. I presume for winter you want to try and take a wider tyre, but how do you know what size your bike can handle?
Taking my current set up, i'm riding a Specialized Allez E5 with 700x25C tyres. If we look at the following tyres, for example, which come in either 700x23/25C or 700x25/28C will the latter fit and is this a better option to get through the colder months?
https://www.cyclesuk.com/components/...ase%2051%20Ltd
You did right and that's a pretty decent response imo. No excuses for punishment style passes but equally everyone is capable of making a mistake.
Look up “tyre clearance” on your Specialized, you should be able to find it somewhere online. From pictures, looks like a standard road bike, so I’d say 28-30 would be as far as I’d go if possible (rim brakes might need adjusting too or they’ll be in the way and taking the wheel off can be a hassle when you puncture). In my personal opinion though, nothing wrong with 25’s for the UK winter (I assume you live in the UK). 28 will feel different and obviously offer more grip, but not worth it if you’re not doing a >30km/h average on your rides.
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I run 23 and 25 come rain or shine
RIAC
Yep, Conti 4 Seasons in 25c have always been good for me.
Last few years I've run Conti 4 seasons, but last winter I had about a million punctures (more to do with the incessant rain than the tyres themselves) so this year just going to crack on with the Conti 5000 tubeless I've got on my new wheels and see how we go.
Hopefully no "Please can you come and pick me up" phone calls to her indoors!
Honestly wouldn't bother, just don't go out when it's icy!
I run Schwalbe Pro One 28mm in summer and the G One Speed 30mm in winter. Both tubeless.
Had a few punctures but only once in 4 years have I had to stop an insert a tube.
Tubeless takes a bit of effort to set up but I’d rather do that than stand on the side of the road fixing punctures.
Thanks all, good advice.
I run 700x25c all year round. Scwalbe Pro One Tubeless until my last tyre change when I switched to Continental GP5000 Tubeless. I switched because I was wearing through to the canvas on the rear tyre in about 4 months of use. The Continental is just the same though. Both roll and grip really well so it’s worth it. Touchwood I haven’t had a flat tyre in the last 3 years. Plenty of punctures I suspect but they seal without you even noticing most of the time. Except for what was literally the first 100 yards that I rode on my new tubeless wheelset when I rode over a broken bottle. The sealant was spraying out like a Catherine Wheel!
A few snaps of my Levo 6Fattie Comp. Fairly standard apart from Hope brakes, DT Swiss wheels and a Vorsprung Smashpot fork conversion by TF Tuned.
In 650 fattie mode...
And 29er skinny mode...
RIAC
Any recommendations for a soft spin bike saddle?
I’m trying to lose some weight so staying within the fat burn zone as opposed to the cardio zone and as such I’m not climbing at all on the bike and well, to put it bluntly, my arse is killing me.
I’m on the bike for an hour session each day so I need something that’s really soft and comfortable. I’m already wearing cycling shorts but they are not helping much.
Fingers crossed for some good suggestions.
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I know I may be preaching to the converted here, but I've never understood why people take the wheel off to fix a puncture.
Perfectly possible to get the tube out and patch it without removing the wheel, and using instant patches, it's hugely faster than replacing the tube.
A soft saddle will actually hurt more in the long run. Within a couple of weeks on a proper saddle your arse will get used to it, and they're more efficient and cause less chafing. You don't see pros with big old padded seats do you? And they're in the saddle for 8+ hours a day.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^plus whilst you are not climbing its worthwhile getting out of the saddle every 5 mins or so for about 15/30 seconds. Just to let your ass breath and let the muscles work. Lastly make sure the saddle isnt too high, a good check is if your hips are rocking , which causes more rubbing and chafing.
Italian Stallion?
To me, it’s easier to pop the wheel off quickly. Quicker to look for possible sharps/reasons for puncture. Maybe that’s just how I learned it and I do it pretty quick.
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Totally agree no one i know in our club would entertain faffing about with patches and the wheel still on the bike ,
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There's nothing to stop you looking for reasons for the puncture with the wheel still attached. You just bypass all the faff of opening the brakes, and if the rear, getting back into the drivetrain.
As if faffing about with putting a new tube in is somehow easier? Instant patches are literally that...guarantee that they're faster than putting a new tube in. Also means you don't have to carry one on the ride.
I used to ride trials when I was younger, so punctures were an occupational hazard. By all means replace the tube when you get home, but when you're out and about an instant patch is just a million times easier.
C64 Fully Loaded
RIAC
Stopped at my local bike store yesterday to check out mountain bikes for my adult son's upcoming birthday. Inventory was depleted to about 1/3 of pre-COVID levels. Of the 20-30 new bikes on the floor, all were priced over $3,000.
Yikes!
Not what I was hoping to hearthanks anyway.
You and me both. I've got padded boxers from Amazon, a gel over seat thing which people normally bring into spin class and today I was yelping so much I folded a small towel and put that on the saddle too. Managed just over an hour but I wouldn't be able to do it again tomorrow.Not what I was hoping to hear
Little and often to ease your arse into it! Ten minutes 3 times a day, spaced out, will give quicker results than one hour long session.
Just get some quality bib-shorts, I'd always recommend Assos.
Going to go for a combo of both. Cheers guys
The heavier you are and the baggier your undercarriage skin is, the longer it will take to get used to a bike seat.
There's quite a lot of compression going on and your fatty tissue doesn't like it one bit.
It does get better though...
You could try some chamois butter to help with any chafing. Happy Bottom Bum Butter is supposed to be good and, let's face it, has an excellent name
Gary
True. I had some cheapies from Decathlon that I thought were OK, until I grabbed some actual pro-level ones (new and unworn!) that Cannondale were getting rid of at the end of the 2013 season. Since then I don't care about jerseys, cheap base layers are fine, but I've always had really good bib-shorts. I even wear them under my MTB stuff, much to the amusement of my fellow off-road enthusiasts!
Like saddles, you will find that bib shorts are also very personal in fit. I can't wear Assos personally, the pads are like wearing a nappy. YMMV.
Even the F1? Mille pads are but uno is better.
Specialized Pro shorts have a good profile and are very reasonably priced plus they have lasted alot longer than i expected. I typically use the older pairs on the turbo as the excessive sweat rots them out but they have just kept going.
RIAC
Nice Kerry , bit of a difference from you usual diet of S Works bikes. We need more photos!
Etxeondo all the way for me mate!
+1 for Assos shorts. Over priced but very good.
Just had a quick look on that Assos website
I’ll put up with a sore arse. I’m just doing a bit of exercise on the spin bike to lose weight, I’m not a serious enough cyclist to justify spending that sort of money on shorts.
Dhb are affordable and decent quality.
Like nearly everything we talk about on this forum!
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